eleven
o'clock
At midnight on the 18th , when the armistice came to a conclusion , the troops began throwing up earthworks , the heavy guns were landed from the flotilla and , at ten o'clock the next morning , twenty-eight guns were in position ready to open fire . In spite of remonstrances that had been made , the Burmese had , night after night during the armistice , continued to work surreptitiously at their entrenchments . It was hoped for a moment that , when they saw the speed with which our batteries had been thrown up and armed , they would offer no farther resistance . As , however , they were evidently preparing for action , our guns opened fire at eleven o'clock . This was kept up for two hours . While it was going on , the troops intended for the assault were embarked in boats , some distance up the river , so as to ensure their not being carried by the force of the stream across the face of the Burmese works , and exposed to the concentrated fire of the enemy . They were divided into four brigades ; the first of which -- consisting of the 13th and 38th Regiments , under Lieutenant Colonel Sale -- were to land below the stockade , and to attack its south-western angle ; while the other three brigades were to land above it , to carry some outworks there , and to attack the northern face .