He came closer to the fort than originally planned, and using ladders of bamboo scaled its walls at the head of his men and had a lucky escape when a wooden cartouche (powder cartridge) box strapped to his waist was struck by grapeshot but left him unharmed. His men reached the top of the outer wall and were met with a volley of musket fire which injured only three of the men. They drew their cutlasses ready to attack, but the French turned and fled into the main fortress.