The port of Cádiz was surrounded on land by the armies of Soult and Victor, in three entrenched positions at Chiclana, Puerto Real and Santa Maria, positioned in a semicircle around the city. In the case of the former position, only an area of marshland separated the forces. The French initially sent an envoy with a demand for surrender, which was refused. The fortress of Matagorda, north of Cádiz, was bombarded by the French. When the fort became untenable, it was evacuated by the defending 94th Regiment of Foot. The last person to leave was to be Maj Lefebure of the Royal Engineers, whose job was to fire a mine to destroy the fort, but he was killed by a cannon shot. The French forces now had access to the coast close to Cádiz. The ensuing bombardment of the Spanish coastal city involved some of the largest artillery pieces in existence at the time, including "Grand Mortars", which were so large they had to be abandoned when the French eventually retreated, and fired projectiles to distances previously thought impossible, some up to in range. (The "Grand Mortar" was placed in St. James's Park in London as a gift to the British in honour of the Duke of Wellington.) The French continued to bombard Cádiz until the end of 1810, but the extreme distance lessened their effect.