six in the morning
`` By the side of the bridge was the village of Thobal ; and as , with so small a force , it was impossible to advance against the overwhelming numbers that would meet us before we got to Manipur , fifteen miles away , Grant determined to hold Thobal ; where he could , he thought , defend himself , and afford refuge to any who had escaped the massacre . As soon as the enemy had retired , we all set to work to prepare a defensive position ; by setting fire to the crops , so as to prevent the enemy from creeping up unseen , and by making an abattis . `` The night passed off quietly . At six in the morning the enemy were seen advancing in force , but Lieutenant Grant sent out thirty men to the farthest wall of the village , some four hundred yards in advance of the enclosure ; and their fire checked the enemy , and forced them to retire . At three in the afternoon the enemy advanced in great force , their line being over a mile long . Grant again occupied the front wall , and held his fire till the enemy reached a point which had been carefully marked as being six hundred yards away . Fire was then opened , the muskets being sighted for this known range .