THE HISTORY OF THE Last Campagne IN THE Spanish Netherlands. Anno Dom. 1693. WITH An Exact Draught of the several Attacks of the French LINE by the DUKE of WIRTEMBERG, with the Detachment under his Command. Done upon Copper. By EDWARD D'AVVERGNE, M. A. Rector of St. Brelad in the Isle of JERSEY, and Chaplain to Their Majesty's Regiment of Scots Guards. Tunc tua res agitur paries cum proximus ardet Angligena! LONDON, Printed for John Newton, at the Three Pigeons, over-against the Inner Temple-gate, in Fleetstreet, 1693. Imprimatur. EDWARD COOK. Decemb. 11. 1693. TO HIS GRACE The DUKE of ORMOND. MY LORD, THe Author of this History, who is my Countryman and my Friend, having committed the Printing and Publishing of it to my Care, I now humbly present it to YOUR GRACE, whose Illustrious Name is more than once mentioned in it, with just and deserved Honour. We have had such slender Account of the Transactions of the Last Campagne in Flanders, that this History, promised by my Friend when he Printed his Relation of 1692, has been impatiently expected. It is now done even to a Niceness, as to all Circumstances of Action, and carries with it such an Air of plain and modest Truth, as suits with the Profession and Character of Him that writes it. Our Author has been very careful all along to Right those Gallant Men of our own Nation who have distinguished themselves in this Summer's Service, and to whom Foreign Prints have not given the full Commendations they deserve. Among those Gallant Men, YOUR GRACE holds an Eminent Rank, in this History. Those Honourable Wounds which You took in the Great Action at Landen, where You headed our foremost Squadrons, and with admirable Courage fought among the thickest of the Enemies, are Noble Proofs of the share You had in the Dangers of that Day. What may we not promise ourselves from such early and blooming Valour, trained up under the Conduct, and led on by the Example of the Greatest King and General this day in Europe? MY LORD, The Way you tread in, is that which leads to certain Glory. 'Tis the same wherein Your Renowned Grandfather, and Your Brave and Heroic Father, have walked before You: And They were in their Time the Honour and Ornament of the English Nation; the Support of the Crown; the Love and Delight, the Wonder and Admiration of Mankind. May Your growing Virtue equal one day, and, if possible, surpass Theirs! May You, in that Great Field of Triumph and Victory to which You are returning, reap a Harvest of the most Verdant Laurels! But may You gather them died only in the Blood of our Enemies, and without Tincture of one Drop of Your own! I am, May it please YOUR GRACE, YOUR GRACE'S Most Humble, and most Obedient Servant, PHILIP FALL. THE AUTHOR TO THE READER. LAst Year I Published a small Narrative of this Kind, to give an Account of the Campagne for the Year 1692. I did not in the least design such a Work when I was in the Field, and so was not very careful to inform myself of each particular. When I came to London, I undertook that Relation for a private Library, but without any thought of making it public; and tho' 'tis exact, as to the truth of the Matter contained in it, I could have made it more perfect, if I had been more curious and Inquisitive in the Field. This is also the reason that the Style is not so Correct as it might have been; and as Winter was already far spent when I resolved to have it Printed, the Bookseller made such haste to have it out, that a great many Errors have crept into the Print, especially in Foreign and Proper Names. Such as it was, I found it had the acceptance of the Public, and that the Book was not altogether unwelcome: If it please God to give me Life, another Edition shall make it better. This, with the Promise I then made to the Reader, had engaged me to undertake a just Narrative of the Last Campagne; and the Advantage both of the English and French Tongues, has made me curious and inquisitive all along the Campagne, both among Friends and among Strangers: Therefore I believe the Reader will find this Account more Perfect than the last, as I have made it more my Business to get Intelligence, and to inform myself of several Matters: So that for the most part of what I say, the Reader may believe that I have it from good Hands. When we fought at Landen, I was then with the Earl of Bathe's Regiment in the Duke of Wirtemberg ●s Detachment, Encamped almost under the very Walls of Lisle; and therefore I ought to let the Reader know what Credit he may give to my Relation of that Engagement, which I did not see: As for the Manner how the French attacked us, and the Order of their Battle, I have drawn it out of their Relation printed at Paris, as the Account given of it▪ to the French King: And for the Manner how we sustained their Efforts, and the Disposition of our own Army, I have taken it out of the Relation printed at the Hague, which bears the Title of His Majesty's Account of it to the States of Holland: Both which are the most exact that have been published, and agree together in every particular (as the Reader will find) except in two or three Cases which I have remarked in this Relation, viz. In the Attack of our ●ost at Neerlanden, the French Account gives out that they had the Advantage there, and ours, that we clearly repulsed them: At their Second Repulse at Neerwinden, the French Account pretends that we had a considerable Relief from our Body of Foot, and ours says the contrary: The other Difference is in their Sum of our Losses. I shall not stolen the Truth of the Matter here, which the Reader will find in this History: For the rest, they agree so exactly together, that the Reader finds them both made up in this one Relation, which I may therefore say without Vanity, is the most Perfect that has yet been published. I have added some Particulars which do not alter the Substance of the Thing. I have them from such Persons that I dare assure the Reader of the truth of them. As for the Duke of Wirtemberg's Expedition into the French Conquests, I have been an Eye-witness of most of what I say, and therefore need make no farther Apology. The Reader may believe me if he pleases. I shall only desire him to correct one mistake: I have said, That the little River Espiers went through the Fosse of the Line of Wymbergs, and Alfeld ' s Attacks; but 'twas not so, it went before, as upon our Attack at the Left; only at Wymbergs Attack 'twas so narrow, that they easily made a way to pass over with their Fascines, and at Alfeld's Attack there was a good Bridge to go over. Since I have made this Relation, I have been presented with a Draught of the Three several Attacks, which is very finely and very exactly done. I must add concerning the Siege of Charleroy, that most of what I say, is the News and Advice we had in our Camp. The French have not yet published a Journal of it. What I say likewise of the Baron de Renesse the Commandant of Huy's having been suspended by a Council of War from his Employments, 'tis the News that have been published about him; They may be true, or they may be false, for any thing I know. I have also omitted the Regiment of Saxe Gotha of Horse, which the Reader will be pleased to insert in the List of the Reserve under my Lord of Athlone. And thus I present to the Reader my History of the Last Campagne, writ I dare say impartially, as to Matters of Fact: As for the rest, the Reflections upon, and Conclusions from these several Matters, are such that the Reader is left to judge whether they are just or no. And this is the only thing in which I can be taxed of Partiality, which so far I am sure is no Crime. I do only express my Zeal and Affection for the Cause in which I am engaged; and I should be very sorry to have writ this Account so as to leave the Reader in suspense, whether I am for French Slavery or English Liberty. I design, if God grants me Life and Health, to give another Relation of the next Campagne. And I hearty pray God that the Allies may be so earnest and zealous in their Work, that it may be the Last; but above all, that we may every one of us, both Allies and Enemies, so endeavour to amend our Lives, and appease the Wrath of God kindled against us, that he may have pity upon the present Distractions of Christendom, and restoke among us all the blessings of Peace. Bruges, Novemb. 13/23. 1693. The Reader is desired to observe, That I go in this Relation by the old or Julian Account used in England. ADVERTISEMENTS. THere is now in the Press, and will be speedily Published, An Account of the Isle of JERSEY the greatest of those Islands that are now the only Remainder of the English Dominions in France. By Philip Fall▪ M. A. Rector of St. Saviour, and late Deputy from the States of the said Island to Their Majesties, 8vo. Lately Published: A Letter to D●. South, upon occasion of a late Book, Entitled, Animadversions upon Dr. Sherlock ' s Bock in Vindication of the Trinity. A Discourse of Natural and Revealed Religion, in several Essays. By Mr. Tim. Nourse▪ Next Term will be Published, The Anatomy of the Earth, Dedicated to all Gentlemen Miners. By Tho. Robinson, Rector of 〈◊〉 in Cumberland. All Printed for John Newton at the Three-Pigeons over-against the Inner-Temple-Gate in Fleetstreet. THE HISTORY OF THE Last CAMPAGNE IN THE Spanish Netherlands, Anno Dom. 1693. MY Relation of the other Campagne, for the Year 1692▪ finished with the Fortification of Furnes and Dixmuyde (both which Places we possessed ourselves of, by a Detachment from the Army at Granimen, under the Command of Lieutenant General Talmash, which afterwards joined the Duke of Leinster, with Fifteen Battalions of the Transport Troops under his Command, that had Landed at Ostend) and with the Marquis de ●●●fflers's and the Count de Montal's joint but fruitless Attempts upon Charler●y, which they abandoned, after they had Bombarded the Lower Town, situated on the other side of the Sambre, for two days together; after which, both Armies separated, and went into Winter-Quarters. But before we enter upon an Account of the Operations of the Last Campagne, 'twill not, I believe, be amiss to say something of what happened in Flanders, during the last Winter-Quarters, which may serve for a Connexion between the History of the Last and This Campagne. The French, who seldom miss an opportunity of doing something when it offers itself, endeavoured the last Winter to make some Profit of those Advantages which the taking of Namur had given them, in the Prince and Bishop of Liege's Territories; for which end, they gathered together a Body of Men to Besiege Hue, situated on the Maes, between Namur and Liege, and actually Invested the Place the 16/26 of December last, and they went on so far in this Design as to make themselves Masters of that part of the Town which lies on this side of the River; but the Forces of the Allies, Quartered upon and about the Maes, made such diligence to gather themselves together, to make a Head against the Enemy, that they were obliged to raise the Siege, and to quit their Undertaking. The French Sycophants, who would not have their Invincible Monarch miscarry in any thing that he undertakes, to palliate this ill Success, made it afterwards pass only for a Faint to amuse the Allies, and to make their Designs upon Furnes more successful. But if a Man will consider of what Importance Hue was to the French, who are so desirous to persuade or to force the Bishop of Liege to a Neutrality, that they may have the Passage free to Attack the State's General in their own Dominions, and to make themselves Masters of Maestricht, their most considerable Garrison: I say, if we consider this, we must rather think that the Faint (if any where) was at Furnes, particularly since the Taking of this Place was not followed with the Siege of Newport. However, whether it was a Faint or no, Count Horn took it for Earnest. This Place was Invested by the Marquis de Boufflers, December ●9/19, who Encamped in the Downs between it, Newport, and the Sea side. The Wether was then so extraordinary bad, that 'tis the common belief there was no necessity of Surrendering the Place at that Time; for tho' the Body of the Place was not the best Fortified, having but two weak and small Bastions, towards the Downs or Sand-Hills, that their Angle flanked was too sharp, and the Flanks but small, and an overlong Courtin between them; yet this defect was at that time supplied by a very good Fossé, well supplied with Water. The Ravelins and Halfmoons which covered the body of the Place, were much better than the Bastions, and more Capacious, the Counterscarp and Cover'd-way good and well Pallisadoed. The Wether was so extraordinary bad at this time, that our Forces which went out of the Garrisons of Ghent, Bruges, and Ostend, for its Relief, could hardly March, the Ways were so deep and bad, that several Soldiers went almost to the middle in Dirt, and several Horses remained stuck in it; and 'tis very probable, that a League or two difference could not make such a change in the constitution of the Wether, as to make it more favourable for the Enemy than it was for us. However, the Marquis de Boufflers, notwithstanding the badness of the Wether, made a shift to open the Trenches on New-Years-Day, New-Stile. The third, in the Evening, he fired some Cannon against the Place, and the next Morning Count Horn Capitulated, and the Garrison marched out with Bag and Baggage to Newport, consisting of five Battalions. As I remember, they were Count Horne's own Battalion. Noy●lle's, S●heltinga, Wey, and Marquet. Dixmuyde which was now hardly tenable by the Neighbourhood of the French on both sides at the Knock and at Furnes, was abandoned by the Dutch Commandant, in the absence of Count Horn, who had both Governments. The Garrison of this Place consisted of Si● Battalions, of which Colonel Lender's was one, which Regiment afterwards went to Garrison in Ostend. The French continued very quiet in their Quarters the remaining part of the Winter; and tho' 'twas expected they would be very busy in the beginning of the Spring, yet it passed without any undertaking, till both Armies took the Field. We did at least expect that the French would Form the Siege of Charleroy▪ very early, and before the beginning of the Campagne, to pull this Thorn out of their Foot, which Place did most Incommode them whilst their Armies were in the Field, by the frequent Attacks it made upon their Convoys, and very often successful: So that for this particular Consideration, we may conclude this Siege would have been more for their Advantage if it had been the Prelude of a Campagne. Doubtless the reason why it was not Attacked in the Spring must be because of the great Rains we had then, which hindered their Troops from so early taking the Field; but why they did let it alone at the beginning of this Campagne, and why they did let it remain in our Hands to plague their Convoys, when the French King came to Head his two numerous Armies, no other reason can be given, but that the French King had greater Designs in undertaking this Journey, than the reduction of the weak Garrison of Hue, or the taking of Charleroy. As the French King's Designs upon this Country were very great for this Campagne, and far greater than the Success he has had in it: So our Indefatigable Monarch has been no less Active and Vigilant to thwart and oppose them. To this end His Majesty came over from England the latter end of March to the Hague, to confer before the beginning of the Campagne with the Plenipotentiaries of the Allies, and to settle with them the most effectual Methods for opposing the French Power, that the Forces the Allies had then on foot could afford; whose Number is far from being so great as we could wish it, for the Benefit of the Common Cause. Afterwards his Majesty went to Loo to take the usual Divertisement of the Season; but still ready to take the Field upon the first opportunity of the Wether, or as soon as the French began to make their Motions in order to take the Field. The French made very great Preparations this Campagne to attack the Remnant of Flanders with all Vigour, and greater than they had made hitherto during this War. His most Christian Majesty prepared two Powerful Armies to invade this Country; which, besides himself in Person, and the Dauphin, were to be commanded by four Mareschals of France, (viz.) Luxembourg, Boufflers, Joyeuse, and Villeroy: The first of these two▪ Armies had its Rendezvous at Giury, between Mons and Binch, under the Command of the Marshal Duc de Luxembourg, with the Mareschals of Joyeuse and Villeroy: The second, commanded by the Marshal de Boufflers, had its first Campment between Antoing and Mount Trinité, within a Mile of Tournay. At the same time the Confederate Army began to rendezvous in several Bodies; the most considerable at Degham, between Brussels and Louvain, and within half a Mile of Vilvorde; which place, with the Canal of Brussels, remained in our Rear. On the 12th of May the King, who had left Loo to come to Breda, arrived at the Camp, where his Majesty was met by the Elector of Bavaria, who conducted him to Brussels, where they held a Conference with Prince Vaudemont, and Chief Officers, about the present State of Affairs; and some days after Prince Vaudemont, who is very much troubled with the Gout, left his Command in Flanders, by the King of Spain's leave, to go to the Baths in Italy, where the Physicians gave him hopes of a better Health: And his Majesty took his Quarters near Degham, in a Castle belonging to the Prince of Tassis, Master-General of the Post-Office at Brussels. At the same time that part of our Army rendezvoused at Degham, another Body gathered together near Ghendt, under the Command of the Duke of Wirtemberg, and Lieutenant-General Talmash, consisting chief of the Garrisons of Ghendt, Bruges, and Ostend, where they were very well posted to observe the Marshal de Boufflers, in case he would have attempted any thing in Flanders. My Lord of Athlone commanded likewise a Body of Horse between Tongres and Maestricht, drawn out of our Garrisons upon the . As for the Infantry, they remained in Quarters for the Conservation of our Towns upon that River; and such a Body was left in Liege, for the Guard of that place, that the French (tho' they were so big with their Expectations upon this City) yet they have not thought it convenient to insult it. Lieutenant-General Tettau was left to Command in Maestricht, with a considerable Garrison; such was the Care that was taken for the Safety of our Towns upon the . Most of our English Infantry encamped near Ghendt, except what quartered at Mecklen, and the two Battalions of the Royal Regiment, Sellwyn's and Stanley's, which joined the Army at Degham. The French, May. who had rendezvoused in two several Bodies, began to move; and Boufflers who commanded the Second, marched the 20th. from the Neighbourhood of Tournay to Leuze, the 22d. to Cambron, the 23d. to Oboure. The French King, who had left Versailles the 5th. to come in Person to Command his Armies in Flanders, arrived at Quesnoy the 15th. where he was stopped some few days by reason of an Indisposition, for which he was twice let Blood; but upon his recovery he joined the Marshal de Boufflers the same day at Oboure, and the same day saw the Army march before him. The next, he reviewed those Troops which the Marshal had there under his Command. Upon this Motion of the Marshal de Boufflers from the Scheld towards Mons, to join the Army commanded by the Marshal de Luxembourg, the Army near Ghendt, under the Command of the Duke of Wirtemberg, and Lieutenant-General Talmash, had Orders to march, to come and join our main Body, which continued encamped at Degham; and accordingly they came the 20th. to Dendermond, and after they had marched the 22d. to Stanhoff, and the 23d. to Hamme, on the 25th. they passed the Canal of Brussels at Vilvorde, and encamped in a separate Body between it and our main Army. The same day the French King had made a review of his Army under the Command of Boufflers, Luxembourg decamped with his Army from Giury, and continued his march towards Nivelle, and encamped at Falay the day following; and the French King, who now headed Boufflers' Army, came the 26th. and encamped at Herlaymont-Capelle, upon the River of Pieton, between Mons and Charleroy, and within two or three Leagues of the latter. 'Twas now expected that the French King would not suffer this Garrison to molest any more the Convoys that came to his Army, and that he would set down before it; but he had greater Designs in his Head than the reduction of this small Place, and so marched on to Gemblours, where both his Armies joined, and made a formidable Body of 119700 Men, both Horse and Foot; computing, as 'tis always done the first opening of a Campagne, every Battalion to consist of 600 effective Men one with another, and every Squadron of 150 Maîtres one with another. Boufflers had in his Army 52 Battalions, 117 Squadrons. Luxembourg 78 Battalions, 161 Squadrons. Total of Battalions 130, which makes 78000 Foot. Total of Squadrons 278, which makes 41700 Horse. Total of Horse and Foot 119700 Men; which made more than double the Number of our Army: So that if it had not been for the special Care of His Majesty, and the Elector of Bavaria, the disproportion between our Forces and the Enemies was so great, that the French King could think of nothing less than the forcing the Bishop of Liege to a Neutrality, the making himself Master of Brabant, and the overthrow of the Allies. There have been a great many Lists of this numerous Army printed both in England and Holland, according to the Original published at Paris, nevertheless because a particular List may very much contribute to the understanding of the following Account, especially that of the Battle at Landen, 'twill not be amiss to insert it here, where it has its most proper place. Note, That those Regiments that are marked with an Asterism * are those which were detached afterwards towards the Rhine, with the Marshal de Boufflers, under the Command of the Dauphin. The Marshal de Luxembourg's Army. Right Wing of Horse. Marshal de Villeroy. First Line. General Officers under him. Lieutenant General Fenquiers Rohan. Marshal de Camp, (i. e.) Major General Duc de Roquelaure. Second Line. General Officers under him. Lieutenant General Vatteville. Marshal de Camp Duc de Monmorency. Brigades. Regim. Squad. Grammont Dragoons Colonel General 4 De Grammont 4 Roussy— Gensd'armes * 8 Dalon Cavalry Du Roy 4 Bourgogne 4 Bourbon 4 Villeroy 4 Chalons 4 St. Simon Cavalry Gournay 2 St. Simon 2 Orleans 4 Cravattes du Roy 4 Total 48 Brig. Regim. Squad. Massot Dragoons Massot 4 Lomaria 4 Rotembourg Cavalry Lavaliere 4 Rotembourg 3 Fienne 4 Levi 4 Presle Cavalry Nassau 4 Presle 4 Total 31 Body of FOOT. Marshal de LUXEMBOURG. First Line. Lieutenant Generals, The Prince of Conti The Duke of Berwick. Marshal de Camp The Count de Mailly. Second Line. Lieutenant General, Rubantel. Mareschals de Camp. Count de Solre. Sarsfield Lord Lucan. Brig. Regim. Batt. Navarre Navarre 3 Humieres 2 Lyonnois Lyonnois 2 Mauleurier 2 Bourbonnois Bourbonnois 2 Provence 2 Crussol Crussol 1 Greder Allemand 2 Lauzonois 1 Guiche Guiche 2 Royal Ital. 1 Beavoisois 1 Thiànge La Couronne * 2 Thiànge 2 Rousillon Rousillon 2 Vermandois 2 Haynaut 1 Orleans Orleans 2 La Saure 1 Foix 1 Piedmont Chartres 1 Piedmont 3 Total 38 Brig. Regim. Batt. Anjou Anjou 2 Royal Danes 2 Nice Nice 1 Pugey 1 Perigueux 1 Moulin 1 Artois Artois 1 Solre 1 Berry 1 Blaisois 1 Montenay 1 Harbauville La March 1 Charoloys * 1 Harbauville 1 K. Jam. Guar. 2 Reynauld Suisse Reynauld 4 Scheilberg 2 Salis Suisse Greder 4 Salis 4 La Châtre Limoge 1 Launois 1 La March 1 La Châtre 2 Total 37 Left Wing of HORSE. Marshal de Joyeuse. First Line. Lieutenant Generals, The Duke of Bourbon Marquis de la Vallette. Mareschals de Camp, Conte de Marsin The Duke d' Elbeouf. Second Line. Lieutenant General, Ximenes. Marshal de Camp, Pracontal. Brigades. Regim. Squad. Montfort Curassiers 4 Roussilon 4 Chartres 2 Furstemberg 2 Carabiniers 8 Phelipeaux Celainvillier 2 Pralin 2 Dauph. Strang. 4 Mestre de Camp-General 4 Precontal Drag. Bretoncelle 4 Fimarton 4 Total 40 Brig. Regim. Squad. Rassaut Rassant 4 Pracontal 4 Manderscheid 4 La Bessiere La Bessiere 4 Chatillon 4 Montreüil Drag. Dignon 4 Count Tesse 4 Montreüil 4 Total 32 Reserve Dragoons. Squadr. Bellegarde 4 Asfeld 4 St. Fremond 4 St. Hermine 4 Total 16 Battal. * Royal Artillery 3 One battalion with the Dauphin. A List of the Marshal de Boufler's ARMY. Right Wing of HORSE. First Line. Lieutenant General, Duc de Maine. Mareschals de Camp, Lanion, Lignery. Second Line. Lieutenant General, Tallard. Marshal de Camp, Vaudeville. Brig. Regim. Squad. Cailus Drag. Regim. Royal 4 Cailus 4 Chantreau 4 Reneville Granadiers 1 Life-Guards * 12 Gensdarmes 2 Chevaux legers 2 Blainville Carabiniers * 5 Total 34 Brig. Regim. Squad. Blanchefort Anjou 2 Bouflers * 4 Bezons' 4 Courtehonne Clermont 4 Glisy 4 Courtebonne * 4 Total 22 Note, That there were Three Squadrons of the Life-Guards, and Two of the Carabiniers only detached with the Dauphin. Body of FOOT. The Marshal de Boufler's. First Line. Lieutenant General, Count de Montcheureüil. Marshal de Camp Marquis de Crequi. Second Line. Lieutenant General, Monsieur de Gasse. Marshal de Camp Baron de Bressy. Brig. Regim. Batt. Champagne Champagne * 3 Boufler's * 2 Cadricus Dauphin * 3 Poulouse 2 Guards French Guards 6 Suisse Guards 4 Chavaux La Rhine * 3 Perigord * 1 Du Roy ou Turville Le Roy 4 Total 28 Brig. Regim. Battal. Cavois Poitou 2 Cavois 1 Dantin Languedoc * 2 Montroüy 1 Fontenay * 1 Zurbeck Suisse Stouppe 4 Zurbeck 4 Surlaube Surlaube 2 Lignery * 1 Sauterre 1 Theroy Du Pas 1 Theroy 1 Du Maine * 2 Total 23 Left Wing of HORSE. First Line. Lieutenant-General, Maurevers. Marshal de Camp, La Motte. Second Line. Lieutenant-General, Busca. Marshal de Camp, Nassaw. Brig. Reg. Squad. Bole. Royal Allemand 3 Berry 2 Condé 2 Roguespine 4 Villequier 2 Conat. Rohan 2 Aubusson 2 Conat 3 Du Maine * 2 Commis. Gen. 4 D'Asfeld D'Asfeld 4 Drag. Dauphin 4 Total 34 Brig. Reg. Squad. Immecourt. Langallerie * 4 Immecourt 4 Courcelle * 2 Rozel. Valay 4 Melac * 4 Rozel * 4 Total 22 Reserve. Squad. * 1. Musqueteers 2 2. Musqueteers 4 6 Bombardiers, 1 Battalion. Note, That of the Reserve of the Grand Musqueteers, three Squadrons were detached with the Dauphin. I have in this List given the Names to many of the Brigades, not as they are in the printed List of the Army, but as we find them in the Relation of the Battle of Landen printed at Paris, to make it more Intelligible; and tho' the Dauphin's Detachment did (no doubt) very much alter the Disposition of the several Brigades in the French King's Army, from what 'twas at first when this List was published, yet you shall find most of the Brigades by Name that the Author of that Relation makes mention of, in this List. This was the numerous Army which the French King came to Head in Person in Flanders, strong enough to have better answered the Designs of his Voyage, considering how inferior we were to them in Number, if it had not been for the Care His Majesty and the Elector took to thwart his ambitious Designs, by their prudent ordering of Business upon the Maes, and in our little Army a handful of Men, I may say, in comparison of our Enemy's Forces; which the Reader may compare by the List of our own Army when at Park-Camp, which we shall hereafter insert. The King made such Diligence to possess himself of Park-Camp, by which he covered equally Brussels, Louvain, and Malines, that He entirely broke the French King's Designs upon Brabant, unless the Enemy had ventured to force us in our strong Camp at Park, which indeed would have been a deciding of the Business; and worth the undertaking of so great a Monarch as the French King's, considering the prodigious Army he had, and that success in such an Attempt promised him no less than all the great and rich Towns in Brabant, as Brussels, Louvain, Antwerp and Malines; and consequently the remainder of the Spanish Netherlands; which would have been a more effectual way of bringing the Allies to a Peace, than sending a Detachment in Germany, under the Dauphin. But the French King did not think it fit to hazard either his Person or his Army at that time. 'Twas on the 26th of May that His Majesty decamped from Degham to possess himself of this strong Post, which balked the designs of our numerous Enemies; and whereas His Majesty generally made two Marches from Degham to Park, the first to Bethlehem; yet upon this pressing occasion the Army marched it in one day, which proved so hot Wether, that several Soldiers fell down dead under their Arms. Our Right at this Camp was at Haure, a House belonging to the Duke of Arschot, where the Elector took his Quarter, covered by the River Dyle, Louvain, and the little Brook that runs from the Bois de Merdal to Parck-Abbey, and so to Louvain, remained in our Rear: Our Left was covered by the strong Defiles of the Bois de Merdal, which from thence covered the Front of our Army to the River Dyle, making with our Left Wing an acute Angle. There remained between the Bois de Merdal, and the River Dyle, a little space of open ground which could give Passage to the Enemy in our Camp; but this being commanded by the heights of Birbeck, His Majesty caused afterwards several Battalions to Incamp there, as we shall hereafter tell you, which were sustained by a perpendicular Line of Horse and Dragoons between this place and the Centre of our Left Wing. The Body, under the Duke of Wirtemberg and Lieutenant General Talmash, joined us in this March, and Encamped in the Line. We were likewise joined with the Body of Horse under my Lord of Athlone, who had advanced as far as Tillemont, in order to join us upon this March. He encamped a part in the Rear of our Left Wing of Horse, to make the Body of Reserve; so that our Army consisted then of the Forces following. A List of the Confederates ARMY at Parck-Camp. [Note, That Count d' Egmont, General of the Spanish Horse, has not served at all this Campagne, by reason of Sickness, of which he died at Brussels, last September, for which reason he is omitted in the List of the General Officers.] Right Wing of HORSE, Elector of BAVARIA. General Officers under him were: The Marquis de Bedmar, Mestre de Camp, or Colonel General of the Spanish Horse. Lieutenant Generals, The Electoral Prince of Hanover, Du Puy, Count d' Arco, Lieutenant General of the Bavarian Cuirassiers; Baron d' Offener, Lieutenant General of the Hanover Horse. Du Mont, Lieutenant General of the Hanover Foot. Major Generals; Prince Charles of Brandenbourg, Counts de Brovay, de Thian, de Soye, Bouche, Oorh. First Line. Regim. Squad. Spanish Valençar 2 Drag. Fourna 2 Guards of Bavaria 2 Guards of Egmont 1 Guards of Vaudemont 1 Guards du Puy 1 Brancaccio 1 Chimay 1 Hartman 1 Bavar. Arco 2 Cuir. Weickel 2 Hanou. Bulau. 3 Drag. Hanou. Offner 3 Horse. Hanou. Du Mont 1 Foot. St. Paul 1 Guards 1 Montigny 2 Hanou. Prince Elector Horse. de Hanover 1 Gua. d'Hanouer 1 Total Horse 26 Foot 3 Bat. Second Line. Regim. Squad. Prince of Steenhuy's Dra. 2 Vaudemont 1 Du Puy 1 Moncade 1 Bettencourt 1 Don Augustino 1 Ximene 1 Spinosa 1 Prince Char. of Lorraine 1 Pignatelli 1 Bavar. Arco 2 Cuir. Weickel 2 Hanou. Breitenbachk 2 Horse. Tarkenheel 2 Hanou. Cordon 1 Foot. Koningsmark 1 Breemer 1 Hanou. Oorh 2 Horse. Voght 2 Total Horse 23 Foot 3 Bat. Body of FOOT. His Majesty of GREAT-BRITTAIN. General Officers under Him. Prince Cassimir of Nassau, Velt Marshal, General of Foot; Count Solmes, General of Foot. Lieutenant Generals, Duke of Wirtemburg, Talmash, Prince of Birkenfeldt. Major Generals, Count Nassau, Sir Henry Bellasis, Wymbergh, Noyelles, Ellembergh. Brigadiers of the King's own Forces, Churchil, Ramsey, Earl, Count d' Alfeldt of the Danes. Note, That where the Line is stopped by a stroke thus— so far reaches the Body of Foot in the King's Pay. First Line. Battal. English Guards 1 Reg. 1 English Guards 2 Reg. 1 Dutch Guards 1 Scots Guards 1 Royal Regiment 1 Pr. George, or Churchil 1 Fuziliers, or Fitzpatrick 1 Collingwood 1 Stanley 1 Earl 1 Scotch Fuzil. or Offerrel 1 Mackay 1 Monroe 1 Second Line. Battal. English Guards 1 Reg. 1 Dutch Guards 1 Scotch Guards 1 Royal Regiment 1 Selwyn 1 The Queens or Trelawney 1 1 Tidcomb 1 Graham 1 Lauder 1 Leven 1 Argyle 1 Queen of Denmark 1 First Line. Battal. Danish Guards 1 Prince Frederick 1 Prince George 1 Jutland 1 Nassaw 1 Oork lately Greben 1 Suerin 1 Rhingrave 1 Noyelles 1 Wymberg 1 Tersay 1 Nassaw Friesland 2 Total 26 Second Line. Battal. Prince Christian 1 Zeeland 1 Finland 1 Packmoer 1 Buwer 1 Swerin 1 Anhalt 1 Aylica 1 L' Ecluse 1 Bernstorf 1 Fagel 1 La Motte 1 Nassau Groningue 1 Total 26 Left Wing of HORSE. Prince of NASSAU SARBRUCK, Velt-Mareschal, General of Horse. Lieutenant Generals, Earl of Portland, Auverquerque, Opdam, Scravenmore. Major Generals, Lord Galloway, Duke of Ormond, Earl of Scarborough, my Lord Colchester, La Forrest, Zuylestein. Brigadiers of the King's Forces, Boncourt, Letang, Lumley. First Line. Squad. Lipzel 2 Warfusé 2 Saxe-Goth● 2 Darmstadt 2 Ryswick 2 Athlone 2 Queens, or Lumley 3 Langston 2 Wyndhant 2 Leinster 2 Galloway 3 Berkley 2 Life-Gu. Auverquerque 1 Life-Gu. Colchester 1 Life-Gu. Scarborough 1 Hesse Marowitz Dutch 3 3 Dra. 3 3 Fitzharding Eppinger Total 41 Second Line. Squad. Nassau Friesland 3 Brendick 2 Dompré 2 Welfembuttel 2 Lip, Holl. 2 Opdam 2 Hombourg 2 Monpoüillan. 2 Zuylestein 2 Schack 2 Vittinghoff 2 Boncourt 2 Wirtemberg Zeeland La Forrest 2 Danes 2 2 Total 31 A List of the Body of Horse under the Command of the Earl of Athlone, which made the Reserve at Parck-Camp. Earl of Athlone, General of Horse. Count Nassau Weilbourgh, Major General. First Line. Squad. Dorfling 2 Nassau Weilbourgh. 3 Ostfriese 1 Wesel or Chauvet 2 Erpach 2 Prince Philip of Brandenbourg 2 Tilly 2 Total 14 Second Line. Squad. Hesse 2 Dewits 2 Flodorf 2 Hubert 2 Slain 2 Saxe Heylberg 2 Heyden 2 Nassau Sarbruck 2 Total 16 We had likewise six Brandenburg Battalions in the King of Spain's Service, which Encamped apart about a League from Louvain, in the way to Vilvorde, under the Command of Major General Baron de Heyde. So that the whole Body of our Army summed up together, consisted of 151 Squadrons, which at 150 Maîtres per Squadron, make 22650 Horse; and 64 Battalions, viz. 52 in the main Body, 6 Hanovers in the Right Wing, 6 of Brandenbourg under the Command of Major General Baron de Heyden, which at 600 Men effective per Battalion, makes 38200. All which makes the sum Total of our Army at that time to be 60850 effective Men; whereby it appears, that the French at the beginning of this Campagne▪ out-numbered us by 58850 Men; so that the difference between the Enemy and us, made as good an Army as our own. This I hope will convince the World, that tho' the French have had no small Success this Campagne in Flanders, yet it must be the effect of a great deal of Conduct on our side that they have not had more. After that his Majesty had posted himself in the Important Camp at Park, which frustrated all the French King's designs upon Brabant; and that we had an Army, rather than a Garrison, in Liege; that Maestricht was likewise very well provided (which Place we may reckon pretty safe, till the French can make themselves Masters of the Maes, between it and Namur) the French King chose rather to make a fruitless tho' expensive Voyage, than meddle with so inconsiderable a Siege as that of Hue or Charleroy, which was the only undertaking that he could now propose to himself: And besides, the Marshal de L' Orge having made himself Master of Heydelberg, the French King thought he could make considerable Conquests in Germany, if the Marshal de L'Orge was supplied with a speedy Detachment; for which reason he detached the Dauphin, and the Marshal de Boufflers, with 27 Battalions and 46▪ Squadrons, whereof a List has been thus published. The DAUPHIN. June. The Marshal de Boufflers. Lieutenant-Generals, Duc du Maine, Tallard; Gasse. Major-Generals, Lanion, La Motte, Vaudeville, Mailly. Infantry. Regim. Batt. Champagne 3 Dauphin 3 The Queens 3 Du Maine 2 Poitou 2 Languedoc 2 La Chatres 2 Fuziliers 1 18 Infantry. Regim. Batt. Boufflers 2 Perigord 1 La Couronne 2 Charolois 1 Cavois 1 Lignery 1 Fontenay 1 9 18 Battalions 27 HORSE under the Danphin. Regim. Squad. Anjou 2 Du Maine 2 Courcelle 2 Boufflers 4 Balincourt 4 Courtebonne 4 Langallerie 4 22 Regim. Squad. Melac 4 Rozel 4 Carabiniers 2 Life-Guards 3 Grand Mousquetiers 3 Gensd'arms 8 24 22 Squadrons 46 After the French King had made this detachment for the Rhine, he thought fit to return to Versailles without attempting any thing in this Country, where his Majesty arrived the 16th. of June; so inconsiderable a Siege as that of Hue, was not worth his presence. Every body was very much surprised at this return, but more particularly the Zealots of his own Nation, who think that Victory and Conquest are entailed upon every Journey he undertakes: They have been very much puzzled to reconcile this with their Invincible Monarch's Glory: Some have fancied (to make it out) that the French King's Journey in Flanders was but a Faint for the Allies to bring their best Forces here, to make his designed Conquests more sure in Germany; and when the Dauphin was detached, they fancied this Project so sure, that they talked beforehand of nothing but of his Conquests and Victories upon the Rhine; and a Man would almost believe by their Writings, that they expected the Dauphin would have had his Winter Quarters at Vienna, and shared the broken Empire with the Grand Signior. And as Triumph must attend the French King wherever he goes, so because he could meet with no other in this Journey, they made this Project pass for a Triumph of Wisdom, and the Masterpiece of Policy; but it has pleased God that in this design they have reckoned without their Host, and so have been obliged to reckon twice. The Allies upon the Rhine, under the Command of the brave Prince of Baden, have been so Watchful and Unanimous, that the Dauphin has made as fruitless a Journey upon the Rhine, as the King his Father had done in Flanders, and is returned to Versailles without attempting any thing upon the Empire. After the French King had left his Army, and that the Dauphin had marched with his detachment towards the Rhine, Luxembourg advanced with the Army as far as Meldert in sight of our own his Right near Tillemont, and his Left at Florival upon the River Dyle, which Abbey the French (who spare nothing tho' in their opinion Sacred) spoiled and plundered. The French King's Quarters were marked at Meldert, and Luxembourg took his at Cluis. The Bois de Merdal remained between us, and equally covered our left Wing of Horse and the Body of our Army. The French possessed themselves of the Cloister of Valdue, a Cloister of Benedictin Nuns, situated almost in the middle of the Wood, where they kept a continual Guard. The Ground between the skirts of this Wood and the River Dyle being something open, his Majesty ordered a detachment of six English and Scots Regiments, (viz.) two of the Royal Regiment, , Collinwood, Scots Fuziliers and Levens, to Incamp upon the Heights, and amongst the Defilés of Birbeck, which commanded this Passage to our Camp; besides two Danish Battalions which Encamped in that Line of Horse and Dragoons that ran perpendicular from this Post to the centre of our left Wing of Horse, where they were ready to second us if attacked. On the 7th. in the Evening, the French entertained us with a Feu de joy, that is, a triple discharge of their Artillery and small Shot, which was drawn out of their Lines for that purpose, to express their Joy for the taking of Roses by the Marshal de Noailles in Catalonia. We found that their fire went a prodigious length, which we could very easily see in the dusk of the Evening; by which means we perceived the great length of Ground upon which the French Army was there Encamped. June. The thick and close Wood of Merdal which remained between us and the Enemy, gave opportunity to a prodigious multitude of Deserters on both sides to leave the Army: Of the French there were no less than 1100 Suissers reckoned to go through Brussels for Holland, where they have been entertained in the Suisse Regiments which the States have raised; besides their own Native Troops, which deserted as well as Foreigners: On our side 'twas never known that the King's Subjects deserted so much as they did in this Camp, but most of them were Irish Roman Catholics, who were debauched from the Service by the Irish Priests at Louvain, who when our Army is near this place, are very busy to alienate the Soldiers affections from his Majesty's Service: There were daily Executions in both Armies to deter Soldiers from it, and to hinder them from running away by Cabals. His Majesty published a Proclamation, to promise a reward of 100 Guilders, or Ten pounds Sterling, to any Soldiers that would discover such as had a mind to Desert, besides their Discharge, if they asked for it; which afterwards hindered them from deserting in Companies▪ The Marshal de Luxembourg put forth an Edict for the same purpose, promising a reward of 30 Crowns, besides their Discharge, to such Soldiers as would discover their Contrades that had a mind to desert. On the 14th. of this Month at night, there was a very great Storm of Thunder and Rain, which caused a great deal of mischief in both Armies: All those Battalions which encamped in lower Grounds were overflowed with the Torrents of Water, their Tents and Baggage swimming; but the greatest mischief was at the King's Quarter, among the Sutler's and Toy-Shops, which being under Banks of sandy Ground that made the hollow Way, the Banks broke in upon them, and buried a great many of them▪ and all the Ground about the Abbey of Park remained under Water, where, besides those that were killed by the fall of the Banks, many were drowned in it. Whilst we were in this Camp, we sent weekly Detachments to Arschot, Diest, and Leuwe, to hinder the French from Foraging on the other side of the River Rupel; particularly that at Leuwe, which was still commanded by a Field-Officer, being pretty near the Right of the French Army, very much incommoded their Foragers, and daily took either Men or Horses. On the 20th. we made a considerable Detachment from the Garrison of Charleroy, where we had sent some Horse and Dragoons for such Expeditions: This Detachment consisted of 500 Horse under the Command of Colonel de Bay, 400 Dragoons under the Prince of Steenhuys, with 50 Granadiers sustained by 500 Foot of that Garrison commanded by Colonel Heyden, which forced afterwards the Line between Mons and Maubeuge, took first the Redoubt Vieuxreng defended by several Suissers, of whom they put 50 to the Sword; and afterwards they forced six other Redoubts, where they made 200 Prisoners; amongst which were three Captains, three Lieutenants, and three Ensigns: After they had forced this Line they entered the Enemy's Country, and raised Contribution as far as Maubeuge; and brought back with them a great many head of Cattle, besides Hostages for such Contributions which had not been paid in ready Money. We made another Attempt some days following from the same Garrison of Charleroy, where we had not equal success. The French had prepared at Beaumond a great Convoy of Money for the payment of their Army for six Weeks, besides Ammunition and Provisions. Lieutenant-General du Puy, who had been commanded from the Army with a Detachment of Horse and Dragoons to assist the Garrison of Charleroy in their Attempts upon the Enemy's Convoys, made with the same Colonel de Bay a small Body in order to attack it upon the way to the French Army. The Enemy's Convoy was escorted with a Detachment from the Garrisons of Namur, Mons, and Maubeuge, under the Commands of the Counts de Guiscard, Vertillac, and Ximenes, their respective Governors. Du Puy and the Bay, who had advanced with their Horse and Dragroons, fell upon the Convoy at Bossu, where the dispute was hot for some time, but the French Convoy being too strong for them, they were forced to retreat to their Body of Foot, which was not yet come up; after which the French left off the pursuit, content to have saved their Convoy; and tho' reinforced with our Foot, yet du Puy did not think himself strong enough to Rally for a second Attempt. Many were killed and wounded in this Skirmish on both sides. The Allies lost three Officers and a good number of Soldiers. On the French side many were killed, but their most considerable loss was of the Count de Vertillac Governor of Mons, who was wounded mortally, and died soon after: The French King has since disposed of his Government to monsieur de Lubanie, Marshal de Camp and Commandant of Calais. The French, whilst at Meldert, had still several small Parties which skulked up and down the Bois de Merdal, to be ready to pass out of the Wood upon occasion to steal our Horses, which we often ventured to graze thereby upon scarceness of Forage: They have taken a great many of our Horses that way, but particularly on the 25th. of June several Horses of my Lord of Bathe's Regiment grazing thereabouts, with a Sergeant and ten Men to look after them, a Party of the French sallied out of the Wood, and wounded three of the Soldiers: The French after they had taken four of Sir Bevil Granville's Horses, retired into the Wood, the wounded Soldiers were brought off, and two of them are since dead of their Wounds. The French and we whilst our respective Camps of Meldert and Park, seemed to try who could keep them longest. On our side we were very much put to it for want of Forage, and the French on theirs suffered great want of Provisions; for, besides that Namur was then their nearest Garrison, from whence they could have subsistence, their Convoys that brought them Provisions were not very safe for the Neighbourhood of Charleroy, unless they had a very strong Escorte, which they could have but seldom. 'Twas their Interest to endeavour by their long stay at Meldert to force us to leave the Camp at Park for want of Forage, that Louvain, remaining open to them, might fall into their Hands; and also to consume as much Forage as they could hereabouts, and between this and the Maes, to hinder our Army from marching that way, when they should attempt any thing thereabouts. His Majesty (lost the French by their obstinacy should cause an universal want of Forage in our Camp) ordered Hay, and Oats, and other dry Forage to come from Holland for the subsistence of the Army at Park, rather than be obliged to decamp first for want of it. The French perceiving that there was no likelihood of our decamping first, and their Army suffering very much for want of Provisions, resolved at length to quit first their Camp at Meldert; which accordingly they did the 28th. The Right Wing marched by one of the Clock in the morning, and the rest followed with all the secrecy possible, lest we should make some attempt upon their Rearguard: And we were near Neighbours enough to have undertaken such a thing if we had but had timely notice. Early in the morning we saw all their Camp in a flame, which gave us the first news of their marching; upon which his Majesty got on Horseback, and formed a considerable Body of Horse out of our Left Wing, with which his Majesty endeavoured to overtake the Enemy's Rearguard, but it proved too late. The King rid into the Enemy's Camp, and viewed it. Some of our Refugies Officers came near enough to speak with some of their acquaintance of the French Army, which they found straggling behind. A very deep way remained between them, which hindered any other Action but Compliments on both sides; they consented mutually to a Truce to have a little discourse together; but a small Party of our Horse which knew nothing of the agreement, came up another way, fired amongst them, and broke the Conference. The French marched this day to Heylissem, making their way towards the . 'Twas then that we expected to know what designs the French had that way; July▪ The King, who endeavoured as much as lay in his Power to frustrate them all, ordered a Detachment to march incessantly towards Flanders, to attack the French Lines that covered his Conquered Country in it, by this means to oblige the French to do the same thing to secure their Country from our Invasion. Lieutenant General Tetteau, who encamped between Liege and Maestricht, with 13 Battalions (as many as could be spared out of those two Garrisons since the Detachment upon the Rhine) lay ready to fill up the room of this Detachment in our Army, and as the French could not expect such reinforcement, if they had detached towards the Line, it would in all probability have saved Hue, and in case they did not, it did put us in a condition to raise good Contributions in their Country, to recompense the loss of that place. 'Twas for this reason that His Majesty ordered on the first a Detachment of 13 Battalions and 40 Squadrons, under the Command of the Duke of Wirtemberg, to march towards the Lines, with the Marquis de la Forest of Horse, Wymberg and Ellemberg of Foot, Major Generals under him. Of Horse, Hubert, etc. of Foot, Alfeldt, Bernstorf, L'Ecluse and Rhingrave, Brigadiers; the 13 Battalions were , Argyle, Danish Guards, Queens, Prince Christian, Prince George, Jutland, Torsay, L'Ecluse, Bernstorf, Rhingrave, Wymberg, and La Motte of Lunenbourgers; Of the Horse, the Duke of Leinster's Regiment was one. After this Detachment had been made, Lieutenant General Tetteau came up with his 13 Battalions to reinforce our Army. The same day that we were detached from the Army, under the Duke of Wirtemberg, the Foot marched as far as Vilvorde, under the Command of Major General Ellemberg; the Horse marched on faster for more Expedition. The second we came to Mellem, after we had passed the Canal at Vilvorde. The third we met with very foul Wether, that made our march very troublesome and difficult. It Thundered and Reigned for most part of the day, insomuch that the Ways became almost unpassable, particularly for our Baggage; however, we made a good march that day, and passed the Dender at Alost, a pretty clean and neat Town, which the French took in the Wars of 1667. dismantled it, and so it has continued since without any Fortification, till last Year that the Spanish Forces made a Winter-Quarter of it; for which end they have made an indifferent Breast-work, and Pallisadoed the place, which they have renewed again this Year for the same purpose. After we passed the Dender at this place, we encamped at Meyer, and so marched the next day to St. George Oudenhore, and passed the Scheld the day following at Oudenarde. This is one of the most considerable Garrisons the King of Spain has in this Country, extremely well Fortified. 'Tis commanded by a Hill on the Mons side of the Scheld, that quite overlooks the Town, which exposes it very much to Bombs and Fire-Works from an Enemy, but they have such Sluices within their Works that they can overflow when they please all about the Town, except at Deynse-Port which is the only place where the Enemy can break Ground, and open a Trench before the place. Nevertheless, tho' it be so strong by nature, and so well Fortified by Art, the French have made themselves Masters of it in both the Wars since the Pyrenean Treaty, and have restored it again by those of Aix la Chapelle, and Nimeguen. We encamped in this place, just on the other side of the Town, after we had passed the Scheld. The Duke of Wirtemberg, who with the Major Generals La Forrest and Wymberg hasted on before with the Detachment of Horse, arrived at Oudenarde on the third, where he was joined by several Battalions from our Neighbouring Garrisons to reinforce his Detachment. We had from Bruges, my Lord Castleton's Regiment; from Brussels, Baron Spaar and Wey; from Charleroy, the Regiments of Carl, Heyden, and the Duke of Holstein's; from Ath, Potbus, and Slayembourg; from Audenarde, Scheimelpenning, besides the two Walloon Regiments of the Count de Falay, and the Viscount d' Audrigny, which came out under the Command of the Count de Libercey, Governor of Audenarde, who had orders to join us, being a Gentleman of old Experience, and that understood the Country where we were going very well. We were likewise accompanied by the Count de Bergeth, the King of Spain's Intendant for Flanders, to take in the Contributions, and to account for them. On the fourth, Prince Wirtemberg, with the Horse and Battalions that had joined him at Audenarde, marched on towards the Line, and encamped in presence of the Enemy before D' Otignies, where he expected the coming up of Major General Ellembergh to back his undertaking. Ellembergh, who with the 13 Battalions under his Command, had on the fifth passed the Scheld at Audenarde, marched the next day in order to join the Duke of Wirtemberg before the Lines; The Artillery consisting of 12 Pieces of Canon, of which two were 12 Pounders, joined us upon this march, besides Tinboats, and all manner of Ammunitions, under the Convoy of Count Horne's Regiment. As this march was great, we halted when we came to St. Denys, within a League of the Lines, to refresh our Men; but we were taken with such a violent Storm of Thunder and Rain, that the Artillery, and Boats, and Ammunitions remained unmoveable, and the great Torrents of Water gathered so fast together in a little Valley between us and the Lines, that Count Horne's Regiment which marched first, could but just wade through, and several of the Rear of the Regiment were drowned in the passage; upon which, the rest of the Forces that followed, were forced to the Right about, and to Attempt a Passage another way, but all in vain; so that 'twas impossible for us to come to Prince Wirtemberg that Night, which grieved both him and us very much to meet with Wether so unseasonable for our Undertaking. We were forced to lie that Night in the dirt by the Waterside, without any shelter for want of our Baggage, and of convenient ground to incamp upon. The Duke of Wirtemberg who upon our approach, had marched about half a League to the Right before Maucron, to leave to us the Attack at D' Otignies, had left only some Squadrons of Horse there, which, with Count Horne's Regiment that only could come up to the Line that Night, were very much Inferior to the Enemy before them. To cover this weakness of theirs, our Quarter-Masters and their Men had orders to borrow some Drums from Count Horne's Regiment, and about the dusk of the Evening to beat sometimes the English, Scotch, Germane, and Dutch Marches, as if our Battalions had then been coming up to encamp there; and afterwards to beat their several Retreats. They made likewise several Fires all the length that was marked for our Camp, and the Quarter-Masters went the Rounds, and Sentries challenged with as much noise as they could, to make the Enemy believe we were come up. Early in the next Morning, we that had been hindered from joining by the great Torrent of Waters which had fallen in the Storm of Thunder the day before, found that these Torrents dissipated themselves almost in as little time as they had gathered together, and so found the ways passable by Three of the Clock, at which time we began to march, and joined our Forces very early that Morning, coming up to the Ground that had been marked for us by our Quarter-Masters, just before the Enemy's Line. Prince Wirtemberg, who took great compassion of the Soldiers sufferings in this march, that had continued 8 days together, most in very foul Wether, ordered a quantity of Corn-Brandy of about six Gallons to be distributed to each Company, in every Battalion, to cheer up our Soldiers, who immediately cleansed and fixed their Arms (which had been very much spoiled by the foul Wether) for the approaching Service. The Rain continued the seventh, and the ground so deep that we went almost to the Knees in dirt in our Camp; which likewise hindered our Artillery and Ammunition from coming, by the badness of the Ways, till late in the Evening. The Wether was so very bad that it almost dashed the hopes we had in this Undertaking. A DRAUGT OF THE ACTION ON THE FRENCH LINE JULY Y E 8 TH. 1693 The Notes Explained A The French Line B Our Camp before the Action C The French Foot in the Line D Our Foot drawn up E Our Horse F Our Dragowns G Our Batteries H The French marching off 1 Betincours 2 Don de Augustins Spanish. 3 Brinicks 4 ●●. Philip's 5 ●●●● Hubert's Brandeb: 6 Viscount Dernies 7 Slangenburghs 8 Baron Sparrs 9 Holsteins' 10 Caarles 11 My Lord Castletons' 12 Blancatz 13 Baron Stains 14 Saxe goths 15 Count Tollies 16 Barron de Heyden's 17 Potbush's 18 Shemilpenning's 19 My Lord Bath's 20 Danish Guards 21 Prince Christiens 22 The juitland Reg: 23 Lamothe's 24 Bernstore's 25 Weinbergs 26 Count Hoorns 27 Saxa Heyfields 28 Barron de Heydens' 29 Fitinghofs 30 The Duke of Leinsters' 31 My Lord Argiles 32 Danish Guards 33 Prin▪ George's 34 Rhynberghs 35 L' Ecluses 36 Forsel's 37 La Forests 38 Vallareds Dragowns 39 Morvits Dragowns Prince Wirtemberg, as we have said before, had moved from D'Otignies with the Right Wing of Horse, and the Battalions that had joined him at Audenarde, about half a League to the Right, and encamped before the Redoubt of Maucron, to make room for the 14 Battalions under the Command of Ellemberg, that were to encamp at D'Otignies; so that in all we made 25 Battalions, 14 with Ellemberg, and 11 with the Prince; and about 40 Squadrons of Horse; with which on the 8th, (as it proved fair Wether) Prince Wirtemberg resolved to attack the French in their Lines. For which purpose the Boors had been ordered the day before, and this morning, to bring a great quantity of Fascines to our Camp. The Prince left the Right to come in Person to our Attack upon the Left; after which Major-General Wymberg commanded at the Right. Count D'Alfeldt, Brigadier of the Danes, was ordered with four Battalions to attack the Redoubt at Pont-David, in the Centre between us and the Right; these four Battalions were Argyle, his own or Prince George, Wymberg, and La Motte. The order of the Attack was on this manner; First an advanced Party of Granadiers under the Command of a Captain; then a Detachment of 30 Pikes per Battalion to carry Fascines to fill the Ditch, and their Pikes carried bound up together four and four to lay under the Fascines; then followed all the Granadiers under the Command of a Field-Officer. Upon the Left Attack the Granadiers were commanded by a Dutch Lieutenant-Colonel, and Major Chavonne of Torsay's Regiment. Our Artillery was advanced upon an adjoining height that overlooked the Enemy's Line, consisting of nine Pieces of Cannon upon the Left Attack, and three we had sent upon the Right. After the Granadiers followed the Battalions drawn up upon three Lines on the Left Attack to sustain one another. We marched in this order till we came very near Musket-shot of the Redoubts, and then we were ordered to halt. Three Pieces of Cannon were fired upon the Right for a Signal that they were ready to begin the Attack, which we answered with three like Pieces to show the same disposition upon the Left; and afterwards our Cannon began to fire upon the Enemy; the small Field-Pieces fired upon the Corpse de Guard of the Redoubt to make that Post uneasy for the Soldiers that were lodged in it, and our two twelve Pounders fired upon the Enemy's Horse that were drawn up in a Line, mounted on Horseback at more distance, and fronting us. The French set two Houses on fire within half Musket-shot of the Redoubt upon our Left, lest they should shelter our Foot that were going to attack them. As soon as the Cannon began to play, both our Detachments upon the Right of us, that is Wymberg and Alfeldt began to attack the Enemy. The Walloons with my Lord Castleton's Regiment had the Van upon the Right, and my Lord of Argyle in the Centre Attack. The French made a pretty good defence for about half an hour together, but their Redoubts were not so strong there as before us upon the Left. A Way went through the Redoubt of Pont-David, so that Brigadier Alfeldt had only the Barriere and Palissadoes to attack; and upon the Right the little River ran through the Fossé of the Line about the Redoubt of Maucron: Tho' the Enemy were weakest at these two Attacks, yet 'twas where they made the best defence; Alfeldt's Redoubt was defended by the Suissers, who made a very brisk fire upon us; Argyles Granadiers had the Van and suffered very much in this Attack: The first Lieutenant was killed upon the place, and the second wounded, and about fifteen of the Company killed upon the spot, besides the wounded. After that Wymberg and Alfeldt had fired so briskly for some time upon the Right, we upon the Left, where Prince Wirtemberg was in Person, were ordered to march on and attack the Redoubt. The attempt was difficult in this place, because the River did not run here through the Fossé, but made another Ditch about twenty paces from the Counterscarp of the Redoubt and Line, and both very deep and full of Water by the great Rains we had before. But that which encouraged our Soldiers mightily, was, that our Cannon, particularly the two 12 Pounders, played so briskly upon the Horse, that they were obliged to shelter themselves behind the Hedges and Trees of a neighbouring Village. My Lord of Bathe's Regiment went on the first next to the Granadiers, sustained by Torsay's Regiment, and Count Horne's upon the Left. All the Men expressed a great deal of Resolution and Joy, particularly my Lord of Bathe's (the only English Regiment at this place) gave several Huzza's according to the Custom of our Country. Our Pike-men, that were covered by their Fascines, marched to the very brink of the River, within 30 paces of the Redoubt, and when they came to fling their Fascines in the River, they found that the Stream carried them away; the Granadiers, who were very eager, immediately fling themselves into the River to get on t'other side; and tho' they are still the tallest and best of the Foot, yet the River was then so deep that most of them either swum or went to the Neck in Water: And when they came to t'other side, the Enemy fired two or three Discharges round from the Redoubt, both upon the Granadiers and the neighbouring Plattons of the advanced Battalions. The Left Plattons of my Lord of Bathe's Regiment being nearest the Redoubt which they flanked, fired upon the Enemy, which covered very much our Granadiers, who still went on, and had Orders not to fire till they came to the very Palissadoes of the Redoubt. But in the mean while, Major-General Wymberg, and the Count D'Alfeldt who exposed himself very much in this Action, having carried their Attacks, our Cavalry upon the Right got within the Line at the Passage of Pont-David, and formed their Squadrons in order to attack the Enemy's Horse; but as they had now reason to be afraid lest we should charge them both Front and Flank, they had Orders to quit the Redoubt we were attacking upon the Left, which otherwise could not have been so easily carried, and with the loss of so little Blood. Two Battalions that lined the Retrenchment to our Left of this Redoubt, marched off formed and Colours flying, but they were so much exposed to our Cannon, that our Shot fell very thick among their Divisions upon their Retreat; for which reason the rest did not observe so much order, but retreated as they could by the favour of some Hedges and Houses just by. The Horse rid off as fast as they could, and about 200 Men which defended the Redoubt made a small fire once, and so abandoned it. The Granadiers then fling themselves in the Ditch, as deep, if not deeper than the River, and so came the Palissadoes, which they broke down, and so got upon the Redoubt with their Swords in their Hands. The Officers, and some of my Lord of Bathe's Granadiers, were the first in it. The Battalions could not follow so fast, because the Stream of the River carried the Fascines away, so that we could not presently make a Bridge with them; but as soon as it could be done, a vast many Boors, who had been commanded for that purpose, passed to pull down with their Shovels and Spades a convenient space of the Line for our Horse and Foot of the Left to march through: After which we laid a Bridge over the Ditch of the Line, and so both Horse and Foot got within the Enemy's Retrenchments. Whilst we were getting in, one of the Enemy's Squadrons appeared out of the Village of D'Otignies to obscure us; but they did not think fit to stay there long, and so went off to the Right-about. They made 26 Prisoners at Count D'Alfeldt's Attack, and found three small Pieces of dismounted old Cannon, and Bathe's Granadiers got a large Barrel of good French Brandy in the Corpse de Garde of their Redoubt. After we had got within the Line, the Battalions drew up upon the rising Ground, and Detachments both of Foot and Horse were sent in pursuit of the Enemy; but they had hastened to get to t'other side of the Pass at St. Leger before we could overtake them, only some of their Wagons fell into our hands. The Soldiers took the Liberty to plunder, which they did that night with a witness: They set all the Country about us in a flame, and burned at least twelve Villages, besides the Churches of Verigny and St. Leger, where the Boors had heaped all their movable Goods, and the Soldiers set fire to what they could not bring off along with them, which was the occasion of burning those two Churches to consume what was in them of the Boor's Goods. At Verigny some of them went into the Church to endeavour to save somewhat of what was their own, as Flax, etc. and two or three remained in the flames. In the Evening Prince Wirtemberg's Army joined together in one Body, and marched to t'other side of the Village of D'Otignies, where it encamped upon two Lines; and the Duke of Wirtemberg took his Quarter in that very House, where the Marquis de la Valette had his. This is a considerable Village, which belongs to the Prince of Steenhuys, Colonel of a Regiment of Dragoons in the King of Spain's Service; and to reap some benefit of his Estate in the French Conquests, his Mother lives at Menin to hinder it from being forfeited into the French King's hands; which is a way that many of the Persons of Quality have in this Country to preserve their Estates in the French Conquests. The Marquis de la Valette, after he had been forced from his Post within the Lines, retired to Pont a Tresein upon the River Marck, within two Miles of Lisle, to try t'other push at the defence of that Pass. The next day the Regiments we had left to guard the Line for that night marched into our Camp, and the Boors were ordered from all the Villages about as far as Audenarde, to come and levelly the Line, and the Enemy's Works, from the Lys to Pont d' Espiers upon the Scheld, between three and four Leagues in length; which they have done, tho' not so throughly as it should have been. The Villages our Soldiers had set on fire the overnight, caused a very great Consternation throughout the Country, and tho' 'twas a very miserable sight, yet it produced this good effect, that it made the Inhabitants of the Chatellenie of Courtray, which extends itself beyond Tournay, to come in the readier to pay their Contributions. On the 9th. the day after we had come within the Lines, Prince Wirtemberg, to prevent the Disorders which Soldiers might commit, put out a Proclamation forbidding all Soldiers to rob, plunder, or spoil any of the Inhabitants upon pain of death, nor to set any House or Church on fire upon pain of being burnt alive. But at the same time he took care that the Country should bring in gratis Refreshments to the Soldiers, as Cows, Sheep, and Corn-Brandy; and they had this in such plenty, that every Company in each respective Battalion had generally two Cows a Week, and the Officers upon each Company a couple of Sheep: And so Prince Wirtemberg remained some days encamped at D'Otignies, as well to refresh his Soldiers, who most of them had now marched eight days together, as to settle the Contributions with the Inhabitants of the Chattellenie of Courtray. And here we shall leave him for some time, to speak of what the two Armies were doing towards the . We had left the Enemy encamped at Heylissem, the 28th of the last Month, which Camp they afterwards left to come nearer to the , and encamped at Borchworm, or Warem, a Town belonging to the Bishop of Liege, situated upon the River Jaar or Jecker, which has its rising near the Mehaigne, within three Leagues of Hue, and so runs the same course as the , by Warem, Lootz, Tongres, and at last falls into the at Maestricht. Count Cerclaes' of Tilly, General of the Liege Troops, was at the same time with a Body of five Regiments of Horse, and three of Dragoons, encamped near Tongres, with a design to join our Army to reinforce it; of which the Marshal de Luxembourg was advertized by the Marquis de Nesle, whom he had sent upon Party to get Intelligence. Luxembourg thought 'twas necessary to hinder this Reinforcement from joining our Army; and therefore resolved to attack it. To compass this design, orders were given for eight Squadrons of the King's Guards, two of the Gens d Armes, and of the Light Horse, the Regiment of Horse Granadiers, and three of Horse, to march between six and seven at Night, as secretly as possible, to come and join him some distance from thence, where he expected them, besides other Troops both Horse and Foot, as many as would make a Body of 10000 Men. The Foot marched on straight before, because they did not know very well whether Tilly had any Foot with him or no, and about an hour before Night Luxembourg marched at the Head of the Horse upon two Columns, he at the Head of the one, and the Marshal de Villeroy at the Head of the other. They marched as fast as they could without breaking Order all the Night, till about three in the Morning, at which time they were come within two English Miles of the place where they expected to find the Count de Tilly, when they mended their pace to possess themselves of a height from whence they could discover Count Tilly upon the March, who had been advertized about Midnight of the Enemy's design: Upon which he gave orders for the Baggage to load immediately, and to march off, but yet they had not so much time, but that a great deal of it fell into the hands of the French. Luxembourg perceiving that Count Tilly had been a little too quick for him, ordered some of his best mounted Horse to file off, and to ride as fast as they could to overtake him, whilst the rest of the Horse should follow them the great Trot. The Princes of the Blood, who were at the head of them, came pretty near Tilly's Horse, after they had passed several hollow ways; but when they expected to fall upon them, they found just between them and Tilly's Flank a very deep and hollow way, where 'twas impossible for their Squadrons to pass: Only about 100 of them found a way to harrass them upon their Flank; but Tilly's Horse, which there made up the Rear, consisting of six or seven Squadrons, being very much pressed by the narrowness of the Ground, and besides having express Orders not to engage, only skirmished with them retreating, whilst Telly's main Body rid on to get a Village where to repass the Jecker. In the mean while the Princes were looking for a convenient place where they might Charge these Squadrons upon the Flank, but when they came to it, they found but few of Tilly's Squadrons that made the Rear, the rest retreating as fast as they could. The French pursued these very briskly within two hours of Maestricht, where Count Tilly was forced to retire, after he had understood that the Ways to Liege were possessed by the Enemy. We had on Count Tilly's side one Colonel, Lieutenant-Colonel, Major, and two Lieutenants made Prisoners, and the best part of the Baggage taken. On the French side Monsieur Sanguinet, Exempt of the Life-Guards, was killed, and the Duke of Montfort, Son to the Duke of Cheureuse, wounded; the Marquis of Thiange wounded, and about 50 of the Life Guards and Carabiniers, killed or wounded. Immediately after this Success, the Marshal de Luxembourg resolved to Besiege Hue, which place he caused to be Invested the 9th. This Town is situated upon the , between Liege and Namur, the best part of it on the other side of the , towards the Condros, (for so that part of the Principality of Liege is called, which lies on the other side of the , between Liege, Hue, and Dinant) the other on this side of the River, to which 'tis joined by a Bridge, but at the best but a Dirty poor Town. The Castle is on the Condros-side of the , seated in the midst of the Town, upon a steep Hill and a solid Rock. The Castle is small, and commanded by adjoining Hills. At the foot of the Hill (whereon the Castle is seated) stands the chief Church of the Town. This Place in the last Wars, after the then Archbishop of Cologne and Bishop of Liege, had left the French Party to enter into the League, was Besieged and Taken by the Marshal de Rochefort in the Year 1675. This Town, before the taking of Namur, was only Environed with a weak Stone Wall, as we have in our ancient Towns in England, but since they have made several Halfmoons, and Retrenchments about it, to make the place more Defensible. The Baron de Renesse, Brigadier of the Bishop of Liege's Forces, Commanded in it with a Garrison of near 2000 Men. Upon the approach of the Enemy, they abandoned that part of the Town situated on this side of the River, and broke down the Bridge upon the , that joined it to the other. The Commandant had promised to make as good defence as the situation of the Castle, which is upon the Rock, could afford; for tho' 'tis commanded, yet it is of so difficult Access, that 'twas almost impossible to Assault it after the Breach had been made by the Enemy's Cannon; so that we expected 7 or 8 days resistance from it; but the Commandant did not think fit to stay so long to deliver up the Place into the Enemy's hands. The same day that the Marquis de Harcourt had Invested Hue, the Enemy began to batter the Town with their Cannon; and the 10th. it Surrendered upon Condition that the Governor and Garrison should have liberty to retire into the Castle. Afterwards they Summoned the little Fort Picard to Surrender, which is a New Work that had been made upon the point of a Rock, but not yet finished. The Officer that Commanded, agreed to yield it upon Condition he should have the liberty to retire into the Castle with his Garrison, which the Enemy refused; upon which he resolved to defend himself till the 13th. that 'twas Surrendered at discretion, and the Garrison made Prisoners of War. The same day the Enemy fired their Bombs and Cannon into the Castle: In the Evening the Granadiers of the Regiment of Orleans made themselves Masters of an old Tower within 100 Paces of the Castle, which commanded the Way to the Breach which the Enemy's Cannon had begun to make upon the Place, and the next day the 14th. the Governor Capitulated. The Conditions agreed upon were, that he should be conducted safely to Liege with his Garrison: But the French, contrary to the Capitulation, retained them upon pretence of Moneys due to the Cardinal of Furstemberg, who is one of the Canons of Liege. His Majesty having been informed that the French had Invested Hue, resolved to march nearer to the to watch after the security of Liege, and accordingly on the 10th. the Army marched from Park (where we had hitherto remained Encamped) to Tillemont, and the overnight all our heavy Baggage was ordered to be ready to march the next day to Diest. The 11th. the Army continued its march from Tillemont to Neerhespen, after it had passed both the Geets, and halted the next day. 13th. the Army marched on to Vellem, having the Town and Abbey of St. Tron in the Rear, and the day following the King advanced as far as Hupertingue, our Right near St. Tron, and our Left near Tongres, where his Majesty heard of the sudden Capitulation of the Castle of Hue, whose weak Defence the Bishop of Liege has so much resented, that he has since ordered the Baron de Renesse to be Tried by a Council of War, with a great many other Officers of the Garrison. The Baron de Renesse has been condemned thereupon to three months' Imprisonment, and to be suspended from his Employments for the space of one Year: Of the other Officers some have been Suspended, and some Absolved; but one who had broke Prison, and fled, has been ordered to be hanged in Effigy. After the taking of Hue, the Marshal de Luxembourg drew nearer to Liege, and Encamped at Hellish, as if he had some Design upon that Place; of which the King being informed, detached 10 Battalions to reinforce the Garrison under the Command of Brigadier Swerin, who underwent very great Dangers and Hazards, but at length got safely into the place. After the King had made this detachment for Liege, and 3 to Maestricht, he marched back on the 15th. to the Camp at Neerhespen. The Marshal of Luxembourg being Encamped at Hellish, and his Right not very far from Liege, sent to the Bishop to offer him a Neutrality; upon which the Bishop called a Chapter, where 'twas deliberated by them, and rejected almost unanimously, except by two or three Cannons in the French Interest, who endeavoured to raise a Mutiny among the People to compass their end; whereupon they were taken into Custody, and sent Prisoners to Maestricht. The first Bishop of this Diocese, according to their History, was St. Maternus, one of St. Peter's Disciples, who preached the Gospel here, and had his See at Tongres, than a very big and populous City, where it continued till St. Servatus, upon some disgust with the Inhabitants, translated it to Maestricht, from whence 'twas afterwards transferred to Liege upon this Occasion. St. Lambert, Bishop of Maestricht, was Murdered about that place where the Cathedral of Liege, dedicated to him, does now stand. St. Hubert, who at first was a Heathen, that lived by Hunting in the Forest d' Ardenne, being by a Miracle (as their Legend gives out) converted to the Christian Faith, grew into such a reputation of Sanctity, that he was chosen for the Successor of St. Lambert, that had been Murdered at Liege. This Bishop was afterwards advertized in a Dream, to transfer his See from Maestricht to Liege, with the Bones of St. Lambert, where he afterwards began the Cathedral Church, and dedicated it to his Predecessor. There are three Orders of Secular Cannons in this Church: (1) The Cannons of St. Lambert, who are always chosen out of the best Families of Liege, France, or Germany, and in Ceremony at Church are clothed in Purple Furred Robes, whereas other Cannons are only clothed with Black Robes lined with Furr. The Cardinals of Bovillon and Furstemberg, are both at this time Cannons of St. Lambert in this Church. (2) The Cannons of St. Maternus; and (3) those of St. Servatus, first Bishop of Maestricht, whom we may call Petty Cannons. His Majesty has the rich Barony of Herstal just without the Gates of the Town towards Maestricht, which he holds immediately from the Emperor, so called, quasi stabulum Domini; and they say, that King Pepin of France kept his Court sometimes at this Place, who was a great Benefactor to the Bishop of this Diocese, as well as to that of Rome. We shall at present leave Luxembourg at his Camp at Hellish, and the King at Neerhespen, just entering upon the most Important Action of this Campagne, to speak something of our Affairs within the Lines, where we have brought the Duke of Wirtemberg to the Camp of D'Otignies. On the 12th. of this Month Prince Wirtemberg left the Camp at D'Otignies, and marched by the Pass of St. Leger over a Bridge of Boats, and so came to Esquermes, our Left then within a good English Mile of Tournay. Upon which, two Regiments of Dragoons, that had been at the defence of the Lines, got into the Town that very Evening to reinforce the Garrison. This Town has undergone several Revolutions, and was once in the hands of the French in the Reign of Francis I, but was retaken by the Emperor Charles V, and so it continued in the possession of the Kings of Spain, till that great Irruption which the French made in Flanders in the Year 1667, after the death of Philip IV King of Spain, upon pretence of a Right which the Queen of France had to these Countries immediately after the death of her Father. The Spaniards, who thought themselves secure by the Sacredness of the Pyrenean Treaty, had left all their Frontiers unprovided, and so in one Year the French King made himself Master of Lisle, Tournay, Dovay, Courtray, Ath, Audenarde, and Charleroy, etc. which were all again restored to the King of Spain by the Treaty of Aix la Chappelle, except Lisle, Tournay, and Charleroy. The most considerable Inhabitants of the Town that had any Lands thereabouts, came out and paid their Contributions, and among the rest, the rich Abbot of the Abbey of St. Martin's. The day after we had Encamped at Esquermes, the Duke of Wirtemberg ordered a strong Detachment of 1200 Horse and 600 Foot, commanded by Colonel Potbus, all under the Command of Brigadier Hubert, with three Pieces of Cannon, to force the Pass at Pont a Tresein, where the Enemy had above 2000 Men to defend it. This is a Bridge over the River Marck, about two English Miles from Lisle, upon the way between it and Tourney, which is along a very good Causeway, raised above five Foot higher than the Grounds about, and Paved with good Stone. There are very good Barriers of Palisado's upon the Bridge, behind which the Enemy had made a small Barricade, besides a great many Houses by the River side, which could have been defended. When Brigadier Hubert came near with his Detachment, the Enemy drew out some Men upon the Causeway, and Posted them among the Houses to defend the Pass; the Fire continued a little time on both sides, but when our Cannon was once come up, they forsook the Causeway and Houses, and retired within the Barriers of the Bridge, where they seemed resolute to defend it: Upon which a Detachment of all the Granadiers there, was made under the Command of a Dutch Lieutenant-Colonel, their Number about 200, to go and force the Bridge; at the same time our three Pieces of Cannon favoured this Detachment by their Fire upon the Enemy, having been planted in a convenient place after we had made ourselves Masters of the Houses upon this side of the Bridge. The Enemy fired very briskly for some time upon our Detachment of Granadiers, who notwithstanding went up to the very Palisado's of the Barriere, returning (as they marched on) their Fire upon the Enemy. Our Detachment of English and Scotch Granadiers, who had the Van in this Action, behaved themselves very well, and got the approbation and applause of their Commanding Officer, who was an Eye-witness of their Bravery. As soon as our Granadiers came up to the Palisado's, they fell on to cut them down with their Sabres; Our Cannon, which played at the same time, and the rest of the Detachment that followed to sustain them, made at last the Enemy resolve to quit this Post. We found several of their Men killed upon the place, their Number 14 or 15, the loss about equal on our side; no Commission Officers, only one English Sergeant. We could hear the Fire during this Attack very plain from our Camp at Esquermes. After this Defeat, the Enemy retired to the other side of Lisle, leaving a small Body for the Guards of the Passes of Pont a Ventin and Haubourdin, which lead into the Pais d' Artois. The same day that Brigadier Hubert had been detached to force the Pass of Pont a Tresein, we were joined by the Regiment of Scheltingua from the Garrison of Ghendt. Whilst we were Encamped at Esquermes so near Tournay, we made the Inhabitants of the Country come in with their Contributions all along the Scheld, as far as Mortagne, where 'tis joined by the Scarpe, and so on along the Scarpe from from St. Amand and Marchiennes, as far as Dovay. On the 15th. the two Walloon Regiments of Count Falay and the Viscount d' Audrigny, were detached to reinforce Brigadier Hubert, who remained Encamped at Pont a Tresein; And the Chatellenie of Lisle being now open to us after we were Masters of this Pass, the Duke of Wirtemberg followed the 17th. with his whole Army to raise Contributions there; and as we were to leave Tourney behind us in this march, so the Duke ordered that day a good Rearguard of the Battalions of , Castleton, and Argyle, besides several Squadrons of Horse under the command of Brigadier Count d' Alfeldt. Some of the Enemy's Squadrons of the Garrison of Tournay appeared in sight of the Rearguard, t'other side of a Defile, upon our Left Flank, about a Mile beyond Templeur; upon which Count d'Alfeldt ordered to draw up in Battle, and so we marched as long as the Ground would permit it: We passed the Marck that Evening at Pont a Tresein, where we joined Brigadier Hubert, and encamped at Anapes, within two small English Miles from Lisle, and the Duke of Wirtemberg took his Quarter at a Castle belonging to the Count d'Anapes, and so summoned the Inhabitants of the Chattellenie of Lisle, to come in and pay their Contributions. The Town of Lisle (in Latin Insulae, because situated among a great many cross Rivulets between the Marck and the Deule, which form so many Islands) is a very large, handsome, and populous City, the largest Town next to Ghendt in the Province of Flanders, and the best of the French Conquests. 'Tis the place where resides the Governor General of the Païs' Conquis, at present the Marshal d' Humieres. There is a very fine Citadel, of which Monsieur de Vauban is Governor, the most famous Ingenier this day in Europe, and a Man may call this his Jewel, for he has spared neither Art nor Money to make it the finest Citadel, and the best in France. Whilst we were encamped at Anapes, 'twas discoursed either that we should push our point farther, and have forced the Passes of Pont a Ventin and Haubourdin upon the River Deule, so to have raised Contributions to the very Gates of Arras and St. Omer, or that we should have Bombarded Tournay in our Retreat, or else have formed the Siege of Menin. There was a good Train of Artillery and Mortar Pieces, and a great quantity of Ammunitions ready at Sas van Ghendt, and it was said Orders were given to have them brought to us by Water to Audenarde: But what hindered us from undertaking any thing more in the French Conquests, is what we are now going to relate. After that the Bishop and Chapter of Liege had refused the Neutrality offered them by the Marshal de Luxembourg, when he had taken the Frontier Town of this Principality; the Marshal de Luxembourg made as if he designed to force it to accept of his Conditions; for which reason (as we have said before) the King detached 10 Battalions, under the Command of Brigadier Swerin, to reinforce that Garrison, which now was so numerous, that it made as considerable a Body as that we had within the Lines, being about 17000 Men. Luxembourg, who found the place in such a condition of defence, seeing that he could not force the Bishop to a Neutrality, resolved to Attack the King, who continued in his Camp at Neerhespen from the 15th. to observe the success of Luxembourg's Attempt upon Liege, and who was very much weakened by the Detachment he had been obliged to put in Liege and Maestricht, for the security of those places; so that His Majesty's Army was now reduced to 51 or 52 Battalions: And to cover his design with more secrecy, Luxembourg ordered a great quantity of Fascines to be brought into his Camp, as if he had persisted in the resolution to Attack Liege, and at the same time to send a Detachment to the Païs' Conquis to make a head against the Duke of Wirtemberg; for which reason the Count de Montcheureüil was ordered on the 16th. with a considerable Detachment both of Horse and Foot to encamp a little way off, upon the Left of their Army at Hellish, of which the King had notice; whereupon the King continued encamped at Neerhespen, where we had greater plenty of Forage than about Tillemont or Louvain. On the 17th. Luxembourg designed to march to Attack the King, and Montcheureüil had orders to join him, but the Rain that happened that day hindered his march. The 17th. in the Evening he gave Orders for Forage, and about Midnight the whole Army had Orders to pack up Baggage, and to march forthwith in the Resolution to come and Attack us in our Camp at Neerhespen, distant six or seven Leagues from Hellish; and Montcheureüil had Orders to join Luxembourg. The Army marched as soon as 'twas day upon four Columns, the Foot upon two in the Centre, and the Horse upon two in the Right and Left, for the greater Expedition upon so long a March; and so the Army passed the Jecker, part about its Spring, and part above between Warem and Latin upon the Mehaigne. The Marshal de Luxembourg at first had put himself at the Head of the Left Wing, commanded by the Marshal de Joyeuse, which made upon this March the Right Column. When he was come as far as Warem, he learned by his Spies that the Allies still continued in their Camp at Neerhespen, and so ordered a halt to give time to this Column to pass the River Jecker. The Marshal then left the Command of the Left Wing to Joyeuse, and advanced to the Right Wing, Commanded by the Marshal de Villeroy, which made the Left Column; and having marched above the Springs of the Jecker, was got before as far as Avernas, whilst the Foot passed the Jecker upon several Bridges, Commanded by the Prince of Conti, July 18. the Duke of Berwick, and Rubantel, Lieutenant Generals. Luxembourg advanced as fast as he could with the King's Household, and the rest of the Right Wing of Horse, to come in sight of our Camp, to charge our Rearguard, in case we had resolved to repass the Geet, upon the Enemy's approach; but Luxembourg found that he was not to have so cheap a Bargain. From Avernas he marched along the Plain, between the Geet and Beck, and about four in the Afternoon he was got as far as Reithoven in sight of our Camp, and forthwith posted two Regiments of Dragoons in the Villages of Gertruydenland and Overwinden, which were soon after relieved by several Battalions of Montchevreüil's Detachment, which having encamped apart upon the Left the night before, was for that reason more advanced than the rest of the Infantry of their Army. The King, who still continued in the Camp of Neerhespen to know the certainty of the Enemy's designs before he went off farther from the , sent out daily some Parties of Horse to get intelligence of the Enemy; and the same day that Luxembourg came up to us, one of our Parties returned, which gave His Majesty an account that they could not go beyond Warem, because they had met there with a great Party of French Horse, for which reason they had gone no farther; which Body of Horse was indeed the Left Wing of their Army upon the March. As soon as the King had notice of the Enemy's approach, he got on Horseback, with the Elector of Bavaria, and chief Officers of the Army. His Majesty found by the Enemy's Countenance, that 'twas the Vanguard of their whole Army that was coming up to attack him in his own Camp; whereupon the King immediately ordered to Arms, and to draw in Battle in order to expect the Enemy. And this His Majesty chose, rather than expose his Rear in repassing the Geet to the Enemies Charge, and to certain ruin, and so to make the best advantage of the Ground he had, and to venture a Battle, notwithstanding the vast disproportion between the two Armies. Besides, the French were now as near our great and defenceless Towns of Brabant as we were, unless their proceed had been stopped by venturing the Engagement: And as the advantages of a Victory were great, so upon the worse supposition of the event, we had still Prince Wirtemberg's Army ready to make up the Breaches of our own, an advantage which the Enemy had not then so ready on their side. Our Right in this Camp was at Heylyssem and Wangen upon the River Geet, and reached as far as Neerwinden, being covered with a small Brook, several Hedges, and hollow ways. The Elector of Bavaria had his Quarter at Wangen; the Body of Foot, and Left Wing of Horse reached from thence as far as Dormal, upon the Brook of Beck, where Lewe remained in our Rear. There are hereabouts two Rivers, both which have the name of Geet, the Greater and the Less. The Greater Geet comes from judoigne to Tillemont; the Lesser, which did run upon the Right and part of the Rear of our Camp at Neerhespen, has its Spring about Lens-les-Beguines, and so runs to Hannuy, and several other Villages, to both the Heylissems, to Neerhespen, and so to Lewe. The little River, or rather Brook of Beck, has its rising about Putsay and Avernas, from thence runs to Landen, and so to Lewe, July 18. where it joins with the lesser Geets; and all these three small Rivers join in one, about half a League below Lewe, which continues its course to the River Rupel, about a League higher than Diest, from whence 'tis conveyed by Arschot and Mecklin to the Scheld. About six in the Afternoon the Marshal de Joyeuse came up with the Left Wing of Horse, and the Body of Foot about eight of the Clock, which for more expedition the Prince of Conti had ordered to march, after they had passed the Jecker, upon four Columns, with the best part of the Train of Artillery. As 'twas then too late to begin so great a Work as the Enemy had now in hand, Luxembourg contented himself to order the disposition of the Army to the several Posts in order to begin early the next day. For this end he possessed himself of the Village of Landen upon his Right, where he ordered the Marquis of Crequi Mareschal de Camp, with the Brigades of Bourbonnois and Lyonnois, to which the Marquis of Feuquieres Lieutenant General joined afterwards the Brigade of Mauleurier; besides, between this Village of Landen and that of St. Gertrudenland, he ordered the Brigades of Navarre, Anjou, and Artois, under the Command of the Count de Solre Marshal de Camp, with the Dragoons of Caylus and Finmarcon, and the Regiments of Asfeldt; Berwick and Rubantel both Lieutenant Generals, the Baron of Bressey, and Sarsfield Lord Lucan, Mareschals de Camp, were ordered to march with the Brigades of Piémont, the King's, Crussol, Orleans, and Reynold, to the Village of High-winden, where they joined the Brigades of Salis and Arbouville, which had been posted here before by the Lieutenant General Montcheureüil. Note, That the late King James' Guards were in this Brigade of Arbouville, but not being detached with Montcheureüil upon the pretended design of the Lines, they were afterwards put in some of the Brigades which were posted upon the Enemies Right at Landen, and between that and St. Gertruydenland, of which we have now given an account, and which afterwards charged us at Neerlanden, where they were vigorously repulsed; of which more hereafter. Between these two Villages where the foresaid Infantry had been posted, viz. Landen and Overwinden, Luxembourg ordered a Line of Horse of 7 Squadrons of the King's House, of the Mestre de Camp or Colonel General of Horse's Regiment, of the Regiments of Dauphin Stranger, and that of Bourbon, with the Marshal de Villeroy, and the Sieur Lieutenant General, and the Duke of Roquelaure Mareschal de Camp. He ordered a second Line, made up of the Brigades of French and Suiss Guards, and that of Guiche, Commanded by the Prince of Conti: A third of Horse, made up of the rest of the Household, the Brigades of Bolen, Carabiniers, and the Regiment of Praslin which remained of the Mestre de Camp General's Brigade; The Marquis de Feuquieres, and the Sieur Busca, both Lieutenant Generals, the Duke of Elboeuf, and the Count of Nassau, Mareschals de Camp, had the Command of this Line. After, he ordered a fourth Line of Foot, consisting of the Brigades of Vermandois, Zurbeck, and Zurlaube Suissers, Nice, Royal Roussillon, and la Sarre. The rest of the Horse, Commanded by Lieutenant General Vateville, made up several other Lines, as the Ground would permit; and the whole disposition of the Horse was made according to the Orders received from the Duke of Chartres, who commanded it. The Chevalier the Bezons Marshal de Camp, with the Reserve, was posted behind the Village of Overwinden, and Lieutenant-General Ximenes, and Marshal de Camp Pracontal were commanded to the same place with several Brigades of Horse drawn both from the Right and from the Left. The Reserve was made up here with three Squadrons of the Grand Mousquetaires, the Regiments of Dragoons of Bellegarde, St. Fremond, St. Hermine, each consisting of four Squadrons, besides two Battalions of the Fuziliers. This is the Order in which the French Army remained this Night. As soon as the Enemy drew up by our Camp, the King ordered Brigadier Ramsey with his Brigade then composed of five Battalions, viz. Offerrell, Mackay, Lauder, Leven, and Monroe, to the Right of all before our Right Wing of Horse, to guard some Hedges and hollow Ways which there covered our Right just upon the Right of the Village of Laér. The Brandenbourg Battalions were posted at this Village, and to the Left of it, and more to the Lest the Infantry of Hanover. Prince Charles of Brandenbourg, as Major-General, commanded the six Battalions of Brandenbourg, and Lieutenant-General Du Mont those of Hanover, with whom he was to defend the Village of Neerwinden, that covered part of our Camp between the Right Wing of Horse and our main Body. These were afterwards reinforced by the First Battalion of the First Regiment of Guards, the Second Battalion of Dutch Guards, and the Second Battalion of Scotch Guards. Upon the Left at Neerlanden his Majesty ordered the First Battalion of the Royal Regiment, Churchill's, Selwyn's, and Trelawney's, Prince Frederick's Battalion of Danes, and Fagels, to possess this village that covered the Left of our Body of Foot, which upon the Enemy's approach had wheeled from the Left to the Right, to bring up their Left to the Brook of Beck, where 'twas covered by this Village of Neerlanden. The Ground was open between Neerwinden and Neerlanden, whereupon his Majesty ordered a Retrenchment to be made in the night from the one to the other, to cover our Body of Foot, which indeed was but a slight Breast-work, as a Man may judge by the time they had to make, and the number of Men that worked about it, viz. 30 Men per Battalion; and yet the French King is pleased to call this, in his Letter to the Archbishop of Paris, a formidable Retrenchment; which Hyperbolical Epithet would certainly have been more becoming a Poet's licentious way of writing, who to render the least things admirable is allowed to heighten their Ideas with pompous and highflown Epithets, than the Honour and Credit of a King, who, one would think, should be obliged in such a Case to the strictest Rules of Truth, particularly when 'tis to set forth his own Praise. What remained of the Body of Foot was drawn up in one Line within this Retrenchment to defend it. Our Dragoons upon the Left were ordered to the Village of Dormal to guard that Pass upon the Brook of Beck, and from thence our Left Wing of Horse reached to Neerlanden, where 'twas covered by this Brook, and from thence turned off to the Right behind our Body of Foot, where it made as 'twere the Figure of an Elbow. The King, July 19 who hitherto had been on Horseback, continually till late in the Evening, to order the disposition of his Army, to visit and secure the Posts that covered us, and to see how our Retrenchment went on, at last ordered his Coach to be brought up to the Rear of Stanley's Regiment, where his Majesty went in to take a little rest, and at the same time to be ready upon every Occasion. The King reposed in his Coach two or three hours, and early in the morning his Majesty, whose Piety is as unparallelled as his Valour, sent for Doctor Menard, one of his Chaplains, into the Coath to pray with him suitably to the Occasion, and to beg a Blessing upon his Majesty's Arms, but above all that God would be pleased to preserve his precious Person (as he had hitherto done in the most evident Dangers) under the Wings of his Almighty and Gracious Providence. And tho' the King, who is Pious without Ostentation or Hypocrisy, would not have his Devotion published out of his Closet, yet I thought myself obliged to publish this, for an Example to our Officers and Soldiers, that they may be sensible that the most Heroic Valour is that which is grounded upon a good Conscience, and a true Christian Piety; that they are mightily mistaken who think that Piety at such a time does express a dejectedness and fear of Mind, (which indeed is true in those, who are never Pious but then) and that Men cannot express how undaunted and unconcerned they are at such an hour, but by bellowing out their Oaths, and telling Stories of their filthy and infamous Debaucheries. Would to God his Majesty's Forces would as readily propose to themselves the King's Example in this Case, as they are willing to follow him when he leads them to engage their Enemies. At Sunrising we found the Enemies drawn up within Canonshot, which then began to play upon them with good success: They sustained it with an admirable Constancy, and tho' our Cannon made great execution (being very well posted upon several Batteries on the Right and Left, and all along within the Retrenchment) yet the Enemy's Horse remained as firm and immovable as so many Rocks, without offering to make any motion for about two hours together, till about six of the Clock that they made a motion to draw nearer to our Retrenchment, but they found our Cannon so inconvenient, that they quitted the middle of the Plain, and made their Infantry march off some to our Right towards the Villages of Neerwinden and Lare, and to our Left towards the Village of Neerlanden. Luxembourg, who found that to make his way into our Camp he must first make himself Master of the Villages of Lare or Noerwinden, ordered about eight of the Clock the Attack of this Left Village after this manner. Lieutenant-General Rubantel commanded the Right of the Attack with the King's and Crussol's Brigades: Montcheureüill the Left with the Brigades of Salis, Suissers, and Arbouville. The Duke of Berwick the Centre with the Brigades of Piémont and Orleans. These three Lieutenant-Generals had under them Baron Bressey, and Sarsfield Lord Lucan, for Major-Generals. Thus far the French Account. To sustain the Attack made by these six Brigades, as we have before told it, we had only the six Battalions of Hanover, and three of the Guards. The Sieur Reynold had at the same time Orders to join the Reserve with his Brigade, and the Sieurs Ximenes and Pracontal with their Body of Horse, and to attack the Village of Lare, where Brigadier Ramsey commanded with his five Battalions, besides the Battalions of Churchill and Trelawney that had been sent off from the Left at Neerlanden (where they had been posted the night before) to reinforce Ramsey upon the Right. The Enemy made their Attack with all the Vigour possible, and the success was various for some time. The First Battalion of Guards was at first broken, and then rallied again with the Second, after the loss of a great many Officers and Soldiers. The French were forced to give way, but the Duke of Bourbon came to their relief with the Brigade of Guiche, which renewed their Vigour, and then ours on their side began to make way. Brigadier Ramsey was attacked very vigorously with the whole Reserve of Dragoons besides the Regiment Colonel, that had reinforced it with Reynold's Brigade. The Brandenbourg Battalions who lined the Hedges and Way between Lare and Neerwinden had their share between these two Attacks. The Dispute was hot at Lare, and the Fire very violent, but our People at last gave way, by which the Enemy had the opportunity to come in upon the Right and charge our Horse, but the Elector of Bavaria received them with such Vigour that he drove them back again with a great slaughter: Brigadier Ramsey rallied his Brigade, and they charged the Enemy that had possessed themselves of the Village of Lare with such Fury that they beat them out again, regained their Post, and made great slaughter among the Enemies. The Brandenbourg Battalions with Prince Charles became again Masters of their Post; and the King rallied the Hanover and his own Battalions at Neerwinden, and made them Charge the Enemy again, where they had now, as appears by their own Account which I have inserted, seven Brigades; Crussoll, the King's, Salis, Arbouville, Piémont, Orleans, and Guiche, under the Command of three Lieutenant-Generals, besides the Duke of Bourbon who had come to the Relief with the last Brigade; nevertheless our handful of rallied Men charged them with such Vigour, that they made them retreat, tho' they could not so entirely beat them out of this Village, but that they continued Masters of some of the outermost Hedges. The French Account to cover this, says, that we were then considerably reinforced both at Lare and Neerwinden from our Body of Foot; but 'tis certain there was no such thing; 'twas only the same Forces rallied that had the Credit of regaining their former Post, and of beating back their numerous Enemies that had taken it from them. What remained of our Infantry was but enough to line the Retrenchment that covered us to the Plain, and 'twas not thought fit to bring one Battalion from thence to reinforce our Troops at Neerwinden, lest we should have left the most dangerous way into our Camp open to the Enemy. The Duke of Berwick, who had been very busy and eager at this Attack, pushed so far as to fall in amongst our Men with his Aid de Camp Acmoughty: They were undistinguished for some time, till Brigadier Churchill came near, and heard them cursing the Suissers for not having done their Duty. The Brigadier remembered Acmoughty's Face, and tho' he did not see the Duke of Berwick's, yet by Acmoughty's Employment he guessed at the Person, and so made them both his Prisoners. The French tried their Fortune after this at Neerlanden, to see if they could have better success upon our Left than they had upon our Right. The King (as we have said before) had in the morning, sent off from this Post the Battalions of Churchill and Trelawney to reinforce Brigadier Ramsey upon the Right, so that there remained but four Battalions for the Defence of this Place, viz. The First Battalion of the Royal Regiment, Selwyn's, Prince Frederick's, and Fagels. The four Regiments of Dragoons of Cailus, Finmarcon, and two of Asfeld had passed the Brook of Beck, between this and Landen, to come and attack us upon our Flank in this Post. The Marquis de Crequi, who commanded the Brigades that had been posted the overnight at Landen, ordered them down to Charge us at the same time in Front on this side of the Brook. The Brigades were, Bourbonnois, Lyonnois, Anjou, and Artois, King James his Guards being then amongst them. 'Tis true, the Post we had to defend was not weak; but 'twas attacked with a great disproportion of Forces, and the Fire was very smart on both sides. The King, who was every where where there was any Action, rid from the Right here to the Left as soon as the Enemy attacked this Post. The First Battalion of the Royal Regiment was after a sharp dispute forced to retire, but after sustained by Selwin's, who observing a Passage in this place where Horse could come in upon his Rear, ordered Trees to be cut down, and stop it up. We caused likewise that House to be set on fire, where Hamilton's Granadiers had before been posted: But both these Regiments were at last sustained by Prince Frederick's, and Fagels, and after a sharp Dispute of about two hours had the advantage; the Enemy were entirely beaten off, and pursued quite out of our Defilé into the very Plain, so that they attempted this Place no more. The King, who was present most part of the time with Selwyn's Regiment, was an Eye-witness of this Action, and beheld them pursuing the Enemies. The French Account pretends that we were beaten from this Post quite into our Retrenchment, and that because Luxembourg found that this was not a place where Horse could pass into our Camp, he ordered them to leave it; but the truth is they left it because we beat them from it. Hitherto the success of the Day was visibly on our side, and both our Artillery and small Shot had done wonders. And the French who continued still a faint fire at Neerwinden seemed to have their Belly full. 'Tis said that most of the General Officers were of Opinion to retire, but Luxembourg, who had still the Brigade of the French and Suisse Guards, and the Suisse Brigades of Zurlaube and Zurbeck, as a Reserve of fresh Men, resolved with these to try t'other Onset, and to see if they could not carry the Village of Neerwinden by this their very last effort. The Prince of Conti came at the Head of these Brigades to make the Attack. The Enemies had remained Masters of the outermost Hedges of this Village, as we have said before, and our rallied Forces, tho' they had the advantage in the last Charge to make the Enemy give way considerably, yet they could not entirely clear the Village of them. The Prince of Conti, with these three fresh Brigades, and the best Foot the French had in their Army, charged our People so vigorously (who had been engaged here from the beginning to this time, which was now between two and three of the Clock, and wearied with so long service) that they were forced at last to give way, and the French remained Masters of the Avenues of this Village. Immediately upon this success the Marshal de Luxembourg came to observe the Passages that led to our Camp for the Horse to march in. He found a very narrow one; however the Marshal de Villeroy undertook to bring in Horse this way, and so he ordered five Squadrons of the King's House to file off upon the Left (which was the nearest to the Pass) to come into our Camp. The Light-Horse first, than the Gens d'Armes, and after three Squadrons of Life-Guards. As this Body of Horse came into our Camp they extended themselves upon their Left, and formed their Squadrons under their Infantry. Count d'Arco, General of the Bavarian Curassiers, charged them with such Vigour that he repulsed them quite within their Foot, notwithstanding their brave resistance. The Duke of Chartres, who charged at the Head of the French Horse, found himself environed with our Forces, and narrowly escaped being made Prisoner. 'Twas then that we endeavoured to regain once more this Post of Neerwinden. The Elector upon the Right, ordered two Battalions to Charge the Enemy in Front, whilst three others should Charge them upon their Left Flank, but the first Brigades of Piedmont, the King's, Crussol, Guiche, Arbouville, and Orleans, upon the Advantage the Brigade of Guards and Suissers had now gained at this place, Rallied and reinforced them; so that the Attempt became impossible; They fell upon two Battalions of Hanover, and made them quite give way. The two Battalions▪ one of Dutch and tother of Scots Guards, which the Elector had commanded to Charge the Enemy in the Front, had spent all their Ammunitions by their continual Fire for so many hours: The Elector ordered to have Ammunition brought them, but it could not come time enough to do business. The King, who had left Neerlanden upon the Enemy's fresh Attempt upon this Place, led twice the English Battalions to the Charge, up to the right of the Retrenchment, which was now Flanked and under the Enemy's Command, where they Fought with very much bravery as they had done every where else. In the mean while Luxembourg, who had found a more convenient Passage for the Horse between the Posts of the King's and Zurbeck's Brigades, came in himself with the Prince of Conti and the Count de Marsin into the Plain of our Camp, with the Carabiniers and several other Regiments, whilst the Marshal de Joyeuse and the Duke of Bourbon (who had left the Brigade of Guiche to Post himself upon his Wing of Horse) passed with the Count Nassau Marshal de Camp, more to his Left between the Villages of Neerwinden and Lare, with the Mestre de Camp's Royal Roussillon, and Cuirassiers Brigades. The first that had come in with Conti joined with the King's House (that had Rallied behind their Foot where they had been repulsed by the Count d' Arco) and fell on upon the Hanover Horse, and broke them. The Sieur Ximenes, the Count de Guiscard, the Chevalier Bezons, and the Sieur Pracontal, came in upon their Left, with part of the second Line of Horse, and the Reserve, along the Hedges of Lare. The Marquis of Harcourt, who had been sent for from Hue with his Detachment of 22 Squadrons, came time enough to have his share of the day; He joined these, and made his Dragoons alight to chase our Foot out of the Village of Laer. The Duke of Villeroy came in upon our Right of the Retrenchment with the Sieur Rosen, and the Marquis de Feuquieres, and the Sieur Busca, Lieutenant-Generals, and the Duke of Roquelaure, Marshal de Camp, with the rest of the King's House; however, this Place was disputed with a great deal of Bravery by our Right of the English Foot Posted here. They were Flanked by the Enemy's Foot, now Masters of the Village of Neerwinden, and in Front by the Brigades of Vermandois, Nice, Roussillon, and la Sare: They came off and Rallyed several times, and went on again with a great deal of Courage, notwithstanding the Enemy's continued Fire both Front and Flank; but at last the Enemy overpowered them so much, that they remained Masters of this part of the Retrenchment, which they levelled to make room for this Body of Horse to come in: However, they did not come in upon so easy Terms, but that the first Troop of Life-Guards, whereof the Marshal de Luxembourg is Colonel, lost their Standard, which was taken by a Soldier of Talmash's Battalion of Guards. The Fusiliers suffered very much in this Action. After the Hanover Horse had been broken by the Enemy, the rest of our Right Wing of Horse being cut off from our Body of Foot, was soon overthrown by them, who now had the opportunity to Charge us both Front and Flank. The Elector of Bavaria did what he could to resist the numerous Multitude of the Enemy's Horse that Charged him thus; but finding it impossible, he, with the Advice of his Generals, resolved to Retreat, and made the Cuirassiers by a Countermarch face the Enemy; but the Enemy had already so far overpowered them, that the Retreat was difficult. The Enemy Charging on all sides, mingled themselves with the Horse that had got to the River. The Elector with some difficulty and hazard passed the Bridge, and Rallied on t'other side as many of our scattered Horse and Foot as could get over, which did some Service to those who were still on this side of the River ready to pass. The King did what he could to remedy this Disorder in our Right Wing of Horse; he rid to the Left to bring up the English Horse for the relief of our Right: But the Enemy, who were now Masters of our Retrenchment, had got another Body of Horse in our Camp more, to their Right of Villeroy, under the Command of the Duke d' Elboeuf Mareschal de Camp, followed by Lieutenant-General Vatteville, with the Right of the Second Line. The Duke de Montmorency, who hitherto had been with the Marshal de Luxembourg his Father, repaired to his Post here as Marshal de Camp, and put himself at the Head of the Brigades of Rotembourg and Presle; these fell upon the Right Flank of the Dutch Horse, and put them in disorder before that the English Horse which were led on by the King, could come up and form their Squadrons; so that they were forced to Charge the Enemy in the same order they rid up to them, and most of them had rid as fast as the Horse could Gallop; however, that did not hinder several of them from doing extraordinary Service that day. The King Charged at the Head of them himself, and Luxembourg's Account says the same thing of his Majesty, that he Fought at the Head of my Lord Galloway's Regiment, which distinguished its self very much this day. Colonel Wyndham Charged several times through and through the Enemy's Squadrons. Colonel Langston was made Prisoner. The Duke of Ormond Charged at the Head of one of Brigadier Lumley's Squadrons, that had the opportunity to form itself in Order, and Fought amongst the thickest of the Enemies with an incomparable Bravery, such as became the Son of the Great Ossory, and the Heir of the Virtues as well as of the Wealth of a Family of Hero's. His Horse (as he was Engaged in the crowd of Enemies) was shot under him, and a Villain was offering to Stab him, which he already had endeavoured by a push of his Sword down the upper part of his Breast, after he had first cut him upon the Wrist; when a Generous Enemy (a Gentleman of the French King's Guards) perceiving such an air of Virtue and Quality, rid up and stopped the bloody Villain's Hand, and asked his Name and Quality, of which he gave immediate notice to the Duke d' Elboeuf, who (as we have now said) Headed the Horse in this place. He received the Duke of Ormond with very great Civility, gave him the ablest Surgeons to dress him, and sent him in his Coach to his Quarter. The King, who saw now that the French Horse was got in every where, that they had overthrown our Right Wing which already passed the River in great disorder, and that 'twas impossible to resist, ordered our Infantry to retreat to Dormal upon the Brook of Beck, which Post had hitherto been kept by the Dragoons of the Left Wing, who had nothing to do this day: The Left of this Wing of Horse passed at Osmal a little below, and so they went by the King's Orders to Lewe. The King, who had stayed so long to give Orders for the Retreat till he found that the Enemies were surrounding him on all sides, and had already taken several Prisoners almost by his Majesty's Person, resolved to repass the River at the Bridge that had been made at Neerhespen. 'Twas with very great difficulty that the King gained this Pass. There was now nothing but Confusion and Disorder in our Camp; all those which could not get the Passes for the Retreat, being pressed by the Enemy, were forced to fling themselves into the River in our Rear; this was the fate of our Right Wing of Horse, and part of the Left, and of the Foot that had Engaged at Neerwinden and Lare, where the Enemy had cut off the Communication with our Left. A great many of both Horse and Foot were drowned in the River, where the opposite Banks were generally so very steep and high, that when they were got to t'other side, yet even then they found 'twas very difficult for them to save themselves, especially the Horse: My Lord of Athlone narrowly escaped being drowned. The Cannon and Artillery Wagons made up so fast to the Passes upon the River, that they meeting from all sides, (besides Horse and Foot) were generally so wedged in, that 'twas almost impossible to get either one way or tother, which is the reason that so many of our Cannon were taken, and only that escaped which went off with the Infantry by Dormal to Lewe. If the Enemy's Horse were so brisk to Charge those who could retreat no where but by the River, where our People were in the greatest Confusion imaginable, they were as cautious to meddle with those who could observe the least Order in their Retreat. Lieutenant-General Talmash had the care to bring off the English Foot of the main Body by Dormal, which he did with as much Prudence as he had before fought with Bravery in the unequal dispute of the Retrenchment, where he had a Horse shot under him. He had Sir Henry Bellasis Major-General along with him, who signalised himself very much this day. As the Enemy offered to trouble his Retreat, he made the Battalions face, and Present to them, and then they halted, unwilling to feel any more the fire of our Foot, and thus he brought them off safely to Lewe; this is the cause that so many Battalions of his Majesty's Forces of the Body of Foot suffered so little that day. When the King had passed the River at Neerhespen, he joined part of his Foot Guards, and of the Horse of the Left Wing, and what had passed of Ramsey's Brigade, with which he joined the Elector of Bavaria, and those Forces that he had brought off along with him, and retreated to Boutechem near Tillemont; and the rest of the Army that had retreated by Dormal to Lewe, marched on, and Encamped at Diest. There were some whom the disorder of the day sent as far as Breda. All our Baggage had been sent to Lewe the overnight, where 'twas safely brought off in respect of the Enemy, but generally▪ Plundered by our own People. As soon as the King came to his Quarters that Night at Boutechem, notwithstanding the perpetual Fatigues of the day, and that he had been on Horseback from Three in the Morning, yet he dispatched Thirty Expresses with his own hand to the several Princes and States our Allies, to give them notice of what had happened, one to the Duke of Wirtemberg, who was then Encamped almost under the Walls of Lisle, where we have left him. A Man may safely challenge History to produce all its Hero's, and see, not only if any King, but if any General has ever exposed his Person so much as his Majesty did this day, who shared the hazards of it equally with any Officer or Soldier in the Army. His Majesty was every where, where there was any Action in the midst of the Enemy's Fire, both with the Horse and with the Foot, whom he led on himself several times to the Enemy, and all this while without Armour, which the King would not put on to be better able to resist the Fatigues and Labours of the day, which his Majesty foresaw would be very great; and 'twas a Special or rather Miraculous effect of the goodness of God that then preserved his Majesty, which can never be too much acknowledged by his People. The King narrowly miss three Musket shots, one through his Periwig, which made him deaf for a while; another through the Sleeve of his Coat, which did no harm; the third carried off the Knot of his Scarf, and left a small confusion on his Side. His Majesty got this day even the Respect and Admiration of his Enemies, who proclaimed louder his Majesty's Heroic Valour than we can do ourselves. 'Twas the common saying amongst them, That they wanted but such a King to make them Masters of Christendom. The Prince of Conti, in his intercepted Letter to the Princess his Wife, mentions, that he saw the King every where present where there was any Action, exposing himself to the greatest dangers, and that so much Valour deserved very well the quiet possession of the Crown he wore. I do not say this out of a principle of Flattery; His Majesty is above it, and I so much below, that the most I can say cannot amount to it; but I have said this only to disabuse many of the King's good Subjects, who may be imposed upon by ill minded malicious People. I dare say, not only that no General, but even no Officer nor private Sentinel, can be produced out of ancient or modern History, that for his Age has been exposed to so many dangers as the King, that has seen so many Warlike Actions, and that has been present at so many Battles and Sieges, and therefore 'tis certainly a wonderful blessing of God, and a singular token of the Care he takes of his Majesty's Person, that his Majesty has hitherto escaped: So that we may reasonable expect, that as God had so wonderfully raised him to a Throne, so he will still preserve him for some greater Work; and that notwithstanding the present prosperity of the Enemy's Arms, yet he is still reserved (when once our Sins will not be more prevalent than our Arms) for a Curb to check the French Power and Greatness, and to protect his People. As soon as Luxembourg was Master of our Camp, he contented himself to pursue his Victory no farther than the Banks of the River in our Rear, and the best part of our Foot had retreated in Order (as we have said before) in spite of their Success, to Lewe. When the Camp remained clear, and that most of our Troops had repassed the River, the Marshal de Luxembourg ordered the Cannon that had been taken from us to be drawn upon a Line, which was fired thrice in token of their Victory; their small Shot, both Horse and Foot drew up, and did the same, and remained encamped about Landen that night. Luxembourg dispatched post immediately Monsieur d' Artagnan to the French King, to let him know the advantage he had got over our Army; for which good News the French King gave him the Government of Arras, vacant by the death of Lieutenant General Count de Montcheureüil killed in this Engagement. He likewise ordered the Te Deum to be sung in the Cathedral Church of Nostre Dame at Paris, and writ the following Letter to the Archbishop of the Place; which, for the Pomp and Greatness of its Style, considering the truth of the matter, 'twill not be amiss to Insert here. The French King's Letter to the Archbishop of Paris. COZEN, THe Army which the Enemies had in Flanders, made up of the choicest of their Troops, and Commanded by the Prince of Orange in Person, was attacked in its own Camp the 29th. of the last Month, by my Cousin the Marshal Duc de Luxembourg, in pursuance of the Orders I had given him. The Enemies, who did foresee his design, left nothing undone that could secure them; and tho' their Camp was already very advantageous by its situation, yet they had fortified it with Formidable Retrenchments, and with an Incredible Work; nevertheless they have been forced in it, and put to flight: Part of their Army is remained upon the Place, part drowned in the River, and the rest dispersed; many of their General Officers, and a great number of others killed or taken Prisoners; 76 Pieces of Canon, 8 Mortars, 9 ponton's left in the Field of Battle, 12 Kettledrums, 60 Standards, and 22 Colours, either taken by force or left by the dying Men. There is nothing but what my Enemies ought to fear after so terrible a Defeat; there is nothing but what I have a right to expect, but I restrain all my Wishes to the good of my Subjects; and I desire no other fruits of so great a Victory, but that my Enemies may at last open their Eyes, and prove attentive to their true Interest, and think of a solid and durable Peace, which I have still offered them in the midst of my greatest Prosperity. 'Tis to ask it of God, and to render him thanks for so many Blessings, that I desire you would cause the Te Deum to be sung in the Cathedral Church of my good Town of Paris, at the day and hour which the Grand Maître, or Master of the Ceremonies shall tell you from me; and so, Cousin, I pray God to have you in his good and holy keeping, Given at Marly, the 7th. of August, in the Year 1693. Signed Lovis, and beneath, Phelypeaux. Indors'd, To my Cousin the Archbishop of Paris, Duke and Peer of France, and Commander of my Orders. Tho' the advantage the French had this day was considerable enough to order the Archbishop of Paris to sing the Te Deum in his Cathedral Church, yet Truth is stretched to such a height in it, that the Style of it is altogether Romantic. 'Tis observable, that the French King says in this Letter, That our Army was Commanded by the King in Person, which is as much as to say; That the King generously exposed his Person in all the dangers of the day, when Luxembourg attacked his Army; but the French King's Imperious Greatness would not allow him to do the King Justice in so explicit Terms. Next, the Letter says, that we had foreseen the design, and had omitted nothing that was necessary for our security, that tho' the situation of our Camp was very advantageous, yet we fortified it with a Formidable Retrenchment, and an Incredible Work, and that nevertheless we were forced in it, etc. Certainly a Man that knows nothing else of the Matter, would think by this, that the Allies had known of the design at least several days before hand, and that they had been all this time fortifying themselves in their Camp, in order to a vigorous resistance; nay, that they had almost as good Works as those about a Fortified Town to cover them, else what is the meaning of Formidable Retrenchments, and an Incredible Work? and yet it appears by their own Relation sent to Court (of which the French King was not therefore ignorant) that when first they came in presence of our Camp, 'twas open, and had no other strength but what the nature of the ground afforded, and that the Retrenchment was made in very few hours in the night before the Engagement; and 'tis certain, the order was but for 30 Men per Battalion to work at it; Let any Man judge therefore whether in five hours' time at most they could make a Retrenchment so formidable as 'tis here represented. But the advantage they have had over us, wanted reality to make it so great a Victory, and therefore the Author of the Letter has supplied it with words. As for the particulars of our Losses, as Colours, Standards, Kettledrums, Cannon, Mortars, and ponton's, for the most part 'tis but an imaginary advantage, and, so far as there is a real loss in it, 'tis what can be easily recovered; but all the Soldiers, the brave Generals, and other good Officers which the Freach King has lost this day, is what he cannot so soon recover, and here his loss does very much exceed ours. And now therefore is there so much reason to say, that there is nothing but what the Allies have reason to fear from him, after so terrible a defeat? The latter end of the Campagne is a sufficient testimony to the contrary. But however, to comfort the Allies in their Losses, his most Christian Majesty is very compassionate, and notwithstanding so great an advantage, which gives him reason to hope every thing, yet he expresses the greatest tenderness imaginable for their Interest, and desires no other Fruits of so great a Victory, but that the Allies would be made sensible of their true Interest (which so far I pray God they may) and enter into the sentiments of a solid and durable Peace, which he had so often offered to them in the midst of his Victories; that is, for all Europe to put on his Fetters, which indeed is the way to make a lasting Peace when no body shall be able to resist him. This kindness for the Allies Interest (notwithstanding so great a Victory) is, I suppose, the reason why after our Defeat, and that our Army, as his Letter says, was entirely dispersed, yet the French King would not take Brussels, Louvain, and Malines, etc. which now (if our Army was dispersed) did lie open and defenceless to his victorious Forces; that likewise he did not insult the City of Liege, which had so Insolently refused the Neutrality; and that he has only Besieged Charleroy after so great an overthrow, which place we were not in a capacity to relieve, whether we had fought or no. This is sufficient to convince Impartial Men, that the Victory was far from being so great and so advantageous in reality, as 'tis in this Letter to the Archbishop, wherein there is more of the Te Regem than Te Deum Laudamus, which at last only comes in by the by. Luxembourg's Letter to the French King, sent by Monsieur d' Artagnan, as it has been published, is a piece much of the same Style, only he gives the Allies their due commendation, saying, That they did Wonders: But this comes in only to Enhance the Glory of the Victory, and to pass a greater Compliment upon his Forces, who, as he says, did better, (i. e.) did more than those who did Wonders in their defence: It should rather have been said, that they were double the number, and by that means overpowered the bravery of their Enemies. He adds, That the Princes of the Blood out did themselves in this Action; that as for his part, he had no other share in the Action, but only to take Hue, to attack the Prince of Orange, and to beat him (which is as much as to say, that all this is no great matter for the Marshal de Luxembourg) as His Majesty had expressly Commanded him: But not a word of God, nor the least expression of Thankfulness to him for the Victory. If we read former Histories, we shall find as great Hero's that have done as great Exploits, but have been more humble in their success. The French make their loss very little and inconsiderable, about 2000 killed, and 3000 wounded; but that the Allies had about 20000 Men Killed, Wounded, and Prisoners; but I believe 'twill appear by and by, that when they reckoned our Losses, 'twas rather their own, and that if we transpose them, 'twill be near the truth of the matter. 'Tis certain, that we have taken from them 19 Colours, and 37 Standards, which, considering the proportion of Forces, is more than they gained from us, particularly as to the number of Colours; for besides, that the French had double our number of Foot, that their Battalions never have but three Colours at the most in each, our Brandenbourg and Hanover Foot have as many Colours as there are Companies in every Battalion, insomuch that some Battalions have a dozen; and therefore 'tis more for us in proportion to have taken 19 Colours from them, than if they had taken 50 from us; by which the Reader may judge which suffered most this day, the French Infantry or ours. They have had a prodigious number of Officers Killed and Wounded, of all sorts and Ranks, but the chiefest are these: Officers Killed. The Count de Montcheureüil, Lieutenant General; Marquis de Lignery, Lieutenant of the Life-Guards, and Major General; The Counts of Montfort, St. Simon, and Montrevel, Brigadiers; Brigadier Quoadt, Brigadier Bohle, Colonel of the Royal Germane Regiment; the Duke d' Vzés, Colonel of the Regiment of Crussol; Prince Paul of Lorraine, Son to the Prince of Lislebonne; Count de Gassion, Officer of the Life-Guards, and Governor of Rochel; Marquis of Chanvallon of the Guards; Chevalier Rosen, Count de St. Mark, Son to the Lieutenant General and Colonel; Messieurs Chassenet, Gaviat, Vauroüy, etc. Captains of the Guards; Du Guay, and Dongy, Majors; Micheli, Commandant of one of Reynolds Battalions. Dead of their Wounds. Sarsfield Lord Lucan, Major General, at Hue; Marquis of Rebé, Brigadier and Colonel of the Regiment of Piedmont; The Marquis d' Allegre, Colonel of the Regiment of Peronne, both at Namur; The Count de Canisy, Captain of the Guards, at Hue, and Sir Carls Murray. Officers Wounded. Marshal de Joyeuse, Prince of Conti, and Ximenes, Lieutenant Generals; Duke de Montmorency, Major General; the Dukes of la Rochegayen, and Bournonville; Count de Lux, second Son to the Marshal of Luxembourg, and Brigadier; Count d' Immecourt, Brigadier; The Marquises of Rochefort, Sillery, and Tracey, Officers of the Life-Guards; the Saillant, of the Foot Guards, Count de Grandpré, the Chevalier de Villeroy, Reynold, Salis, and Zurbeck, Suiss Brigadiers; Greder and Scheilberg, Suiss Colonels; d'Asfeldt, Colonel of Dragoons; Lieutenant Colonels Brendlin, Buisson, and Planta, Schenauner, Commandant of one of the Battalions of Stouppa Suissers. Prisoners. The Duke of Berwick, Lieutenant General; Captain Acmoughty, one of his Aides de Camp, and several others of less Note. They had above 1400 wounded Officers at Hue and Namur, besides what they had at Dinant, Charlemont, and other places, of which several died daily. The Religious, both at Namur and Hue, were every day marching backwards and forwards to Burials; and the Drums did not beat at Namur, either for the retreat, or mounting, or relieving of the Guard for three Weeks together: Every Window in the Town, if open, had two or three Nightcaps at it, which were Officers drawn thither in their Chairs to take a little Air. This is what I have had from a worthy Gentleman, that was both Wounded and Prisoner amongst them, and I give the very words he was so kind to send to me in a Letter. So that of these 5000 of the Enemies Killed and Wounded, it appears that above half the number were Officers; and let any body judge whether there was no more of the Soldiers; nay rather, how many Soldiers must be both Killed and Wounded, when they had above 2000 Officers of the number. But what is an unanswerable argument of the greatness of the Enemy's loss, notwithstanding their Relations, is that Luxembourg retreated the day following to Warem, where he remained without the least attempt for fifteen days together; and yet shall the World believe, that we lost 20000 Men, and they so inconsiderable a number, when they were twice as strong as we before the Engagement? and that our Army, as they said, should be dispersed, and yet that they would not pursue their Victory by some considerable Attempt, as on Brussels, Louvain, or rather Liege, that had disobliged them so much by rejecting the Neutrality? and yet notwithstanding this great Defeat, and dispersion of the Allies, we find that Luxembourg Encamped very peaceably at Warem, within four small Leagues of this City, without offering the least violence to it; whereby it appears, that the Allies do the French no wrong, when they compute their loss to be about 17000 Men killed and wounded; and that the best part of their Infantry was shattered and broken. As for the loss on our side, 'twas far from being so great as at first apprehended; for the passage of the River had put our Troops in such confusion, that for the first four or five days after the Fight, it made our loss appear far greater than really it was. As for what loss we really sustained the River killed as many, if not more men, than the Enemy; 'tis certain that 'twas the destruction of many more Horses, for the Banks were generally so high on the opposite side, that the Horses could not get out, and the Riders thought themselves happy if they could get off, and leave the Horses to the mercy of the Water. We have found by the review made after the joining of our Troops from the several places they had retreated to, that we missed but between 5 and 6000 fight Men killed, wounded and taken Prisoners; that we lost 2700 Horses either killed, or taken by the Enemy, or drowned in the River. We had several both Men and Women drowned in the River that were Attendants on the Army, as Servants, Soldiers Wife's, and Sutler's; and if the French will have them put in the number of our losses, 'twill not yet amount to half their sum of 20000 Men. I will not contest their reckoning of our Cannon, Mortars, ponton's, Colours and Standards, because I have not seen our own List of it; but if they have taken so many Cannon, Mortars, and ponton's, they may thank the River Geet for it. The chief Officers killed were, the Prince of Brabanzon, who fought with great bravery, to show that he did not lose Namur through any want of it; Baron d' Offener, Lieutenant General of the Hanover Troops; Major-General Bouche of Hanover; Colonel Wiesel; Lieutenant-Colonels Whaley, Macdougal, Wingfield, Mudie, & Hamilton. Dead of their wounds, Count Solmes, General of Foot, who had his Leg shot off by a Cannon-Ball the beginning of the Action in the Rear of Earle's Regiment, of which he died two or three days after at Malines; Lieutenant Colonel Cludde dead of his wounds at Louvain. Chief Officers Wounded, the Duke of Holstein Admiral of Flanders; Count d' Arco General of the Bavarian Cuirassiers; the Duke of Ormond Major-General, Baron of Heyden, Brigadier Earl, Colonel Fitz-patrick, Sir Charles Harah, Colonel Seymour, Don Nicolo Pignatelli a Spanish Colonel, and a Relation of the present Pope; Don Lovis Borgia, Brother to the Duke of Gandia, Colonel of Spanish Horse; Colonel de Bay, Colonel Aylüa, Colonel Cordon. Prisoners of note, Lieutenant-General Scravenmoor, the Duke of Ormond Major-General, Zuylestein Major-General, Count Broüay Major-General, Colonel Langston, Colonel Lauder, Colonel Cordon, Lieutenant-Colonel Graham, Major Peyton. But for a more particular satisfaction, I shall here insert an exact List of all the Officers Killed, Wounded, and Prisoners, of the English Infantry. I could not get that of our English Horse. A List of the Officers Killed, Wounded, and Prisoners in the Battle of Landen, in the four English Brigades of Foot. Brigade of GUARDS. First Regiment of English Guards. Killed, Lieutenant-Colonels Wyngfield, and Cludde dead of his Wounds, Captains of the Guards; Captains Faucet, Villers, Forster, Lieutenants; Ensigns Swannick and Car. Wounded, Sir Charles Harah, Lieutenant-Colonel and Commandant of the Regiment; Lieutenant-Colonel Shrimpton Captain; Captains Sandys, Barkley, and Evans, Lieutenants; Ensigns, Hussey and Saransey. Prisoner Lieutenant-Colonel Gorsuch, Captain. Second Regiment. Killed o. Wounded, Colonel William Seymour, Son to Sir Edward Seymour, and Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment; Captains, Wakelin, Bisset, Markham, and O Brian Lieutenants; Ensigns, Hill and La-Ferrelle. In the two Battalions of Dutch Guards. Killed, Count Solmes, General of Foot and Colonel; Lieutenant-Colonel Kretsmar, Commandant of the third Battalion; Lieutenant-Colonels Valenbourg, Forgel, and Harsott, Captains; Captains, Travercy, Jongman, Obrecht, Lieutenants; Ensigns, Schaep, Beaumond, de la Varenne; Adjutant Dunmeyer. Wounded, Colonel Weck Lieutenant-Colonel; Lieutenant-Colonels, Steincallenfels, Metral, Botzheim, Wassenaer, Captains; Captains, Ferié, de Witte, Patot, Baker, Colombiere, Schmidt, Lieutenants; Tilly Quartermaster; Ensigns, Zollincoffer, Evertzen, Else, Rechteren, and Mortagne; Prisoners, Lieutenant-Colonels Rapine, and Freyman, Captains. In the Regiment of Scotch Guards. Killed, Lieutenant-Colonels Mudie, and Archibald Hamilton, Captains; Captain Johnston Lieutenant; Ensigns, Verrell and Lundy. Wounded, Lieutenant-Colonel Scot, Captain: Captains, Keir, Douglas, Sinclair, and Cosset, Lieutenants; Ensign Campbel. CHURCHILL'S Brigade. Royal Regiment. Captain Young dead of his wounds: Sir James Cockbourne Captain, Lieutenants George Browne, and Blake, and Ensign White wounded. Selwyn. Killed, Captain Collier, Lieutenant Campbel; Ensign Burt dead of his wounds: Wounded, Captain Sandys. Churchill. Killed, Captains Norwood, and Parrey, and two Ensigns: Wounded, Captain Salusbury, one Lieutenant, two Ensigns: Prisoners, Major Peyton, Captain Salusbury's Lieutenant, three Ensigns. Trelawney. Killed, Captain Crofts, Lieutenant Woodcock: Wounded, Captains Carryl and Wharton, Lieutenant Cole: Prisoners, Captain Carryl, Lieutenant Cole. Fuziliers. Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel Whaley; Lieutenants Fairbrother, Cooper, and Blackmore. Wounded, Colonel Fitz-patrick, Major Wilson, Captain's Heart, Ruthvin dead of his wounds, Betsworth, and Withers, Lieutenant Fletcher. EARLE'S Brigade. Tidcomb. Killed, Captains Vanbrugh, Cassin, and Heniosa, Lieutenant Worley. Wounded, Captains Devaux, and Stannix, Lieutenants Nicholson dead of his wounds, Campbel, Forbes, Petitpierre, Ensign Revison, and Perrot; Lieutenant-Colonel Graham Prisoner. Collingwood. Killed, Captain Louther, Lieutenant East, Ensign Wood Stanley. Killed, Captain Cole, Ensign Johnston: Ensign Campion Prisoner. Earl. Wounded, Brigadier Earl, who being sick of a Fever at Louvain, and hearing the Armies were going to engage, road sick as he was to the Camp, and came time enough to Command upon his Post, where he behaved himself very gallantly, and was dangerously wounded. Graham. Killed, Lieutenants, Ramsey, Swenberg, Ensign Maul. Wounded, Captains Boyd, Mushet, Ensign Forbes. RAMSEY'S. Brigade. Offerrell. Wounded, Captain Campbel, Captain Strayton; Lieutenants Douglas, Dunbarre, Adjutant Walle: Captain Paterson Prisoner. Mackay. Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel Mackdougal; Captain Puchter dead of his wounds; Lieutenants Mackay, and Southerland dead of his wounds. Wounded, Colonel Mackay, Captains Lamie, and Maccloud, Lieutenant Maclean, Ensigns Stevenstone, Maccloud, Mackenzie. Leven. Killed, Captain Denholme, Ensign Adam St. Clair. Wounded, Ensign John Gordon: Prisoners, Captains Bruce, Gordon, Cadour, Maxwell, Ensigns Hamilton, Bruce, Lundy, Gordon. Monroe. Wounded, Captain Stuart, Ensign Hutchinson: Prisoners, Captains Alexander Campbel, Fullerton, and Monroe. Lauder. Killed, Lieutenant-Colonel Balfour, Sir James Erskin Captain-Lieutenant, Charles Bruce Senior. Wounded, Captain Murray dead of his wound, Ensign Nisbet. Prisoners, Colonel Lauder, Captains Levingstone, and Cunningham; Lieutenant Peter Bruce. We have said before that the King after the Fight of Landen, or Neerwinden, (for so 'tis differently called) had retreated with what Forces, both Horse and Foot, he had rallied on tother side of the River, where he joined the Elector of Bavaria with the Troops he had rallied. 20th. The next day the King marched on to Louvain, and the 21th. he Encamped at Eppeghem, our Right at Burntbridge, upon the Road to Brussels, and our Left near Malines. The Elector with the Spanish Troops came nearer Brussels, and Encamped at Scarbeck. The 24th. the Infantry that had retreated by Leuwe to Diest with what Horse had followed them, joined us here, Commanded by Lieutenant-General Talmash, Sir Henry Bellassis Major-General, and Brigadier Churchill under him. Some few who had gone as far as Breda, came up about the same time, and now we found that we had not suffered so much as 'twas at first imagined. We have left Prince Wirtemberg with the Body under his Command, Encamped at Anapes within two small English Miles of Lisle; but before we bring him off from thence, we must not forget to mention that he ordered a Ducat per Man to be distributed to all the Pikemen that carried Fascines at the Attack of the Lines, to all the Granadiers, and besides to all those who had the Van Guard at the Attack of Pont a Tresein, whereby several Soldiers had two Ducats in their Pockets to comfort them in their Fatigues, which encouraged them very much. On the 20th. the Duke of Wirtemberg gave Orders for the Army to march early in the Morning, July. and repass the Marck at Pont a Tresein. 'Twas then supposed we were going upon some farther Enterprise, and the French were so jealous of Menin, that Monsieur de Vauban had been ordered there to assist Monsieur Pertuys in the defence of it, but 'twas rather believed we were going to chase the French out of Courtray, who still kept that part of the Town situated on the other side of the Lys, and to have fortified it for a Winter Quarter. As Pont a Tresein is a very difficult and narrow Pass, and that we left one of the Enemy's best Garrisons in our Rear, so Prince Wirtemberg was very circumspect in the ordering of it; our Vanguard went off first, than the Baggage, Cannon, ponton's, etc. The Infantry marched in Battle; the Front made the Flank towards the Enemy where all the Officers marched; in the mean while our Rearguard of Horse drew up their Squadrons in the Plain, fronting Lisle; three or four pieces of Cannon were ordered to remain at the Bridge for the defence of it. Our Vanguard and Quarter-masters, just as they had passed the Bridge met with a Party of 60 Horse of the Enemy's, and they took most of them Prisoners with their Horses: in this order we repassed the Bridge. The Cannon ordered there came off with the Rearguard, and when they were all passed except one or two Squadrons, some Squadrons of the Enemies rid down full speed upon them, (these had been sent out of Lisle on purpose) but 'twas too late; they did us no other harm; but they put the last Squadron in disorder by their so great haste in getting over. Not long after we had repassed Pont a Tresein, the Duke of Wirtemberg had an Express from the King, that the French were come before his Camp, and that the Armies were just going to Engage, and so we marched to our former Camp of Esquermes near Tournay, where in the Evening the Duke had a Letter from the King, which gave him an account of our Defeat at Landen, and withal, ordered him to make all the haste he could to join him; whereupon Prince Wirtemberg made the next day a very great march from Esquermes, within a mile and a half of Tournay, to Peleghem, about the same distance from Audenarde, which is in all about six Leagues march. We repassed the Lines at Pont d' Espiers. We found that the Boars had pulled down the Line all along, and ruin'd the Fortification of this place. The 22th. the Prince marched and repassed the Scheld at Audenarde, and Encamped that day at Aldereghem, on the little River Swalme, that falls not far from hence into the Scheld. The 23th. he made another great march to reach to Alost, where he Encamped that Night. Orders were given to march the next day to join the King as soon as possible; but that night the Duke of Wirtemberg had an Express from the King to let him know that there was no necessity of pressing his march; that he found his Army in a better condition than he expected, and so ordered him to remain there till he should repass the Canal of Brussels. We left the two Walloon Regiments in their Garrison of Audenarde: One or two of ours were sent into Garrison, but afterwards countermanded, so that Prince Wirtemberg had a Body of about 40 Squadrons and 24 Battalions ready to reinforce the King's Army, whereas he had brought from thence no more than 13 Battalions. Tho' the French were not in a condition (after they had so much boasted their Victory, and that our Troops, as they said, were totally routed and dispersed) to do us any harm either in Liege or Brabant; yet because they would make some noise after it, the Marshal de Luxembourg detached Lieutenant-General Rosen with 10000 Horse to go and make Incursions in the Mayerie of Bois le duc, and raise Contributions upon the State's Country on this side of the , but the King took care he should not go so far. Upon the first notice he detached my Lord of Athlone with about 7000 Horse, to march that way. Baron Lubeck, who commanded the Neubourg Troops between the Rhine and the , had orders to advance between Aix la Chappelle and Maestricht, to be ready to pass that River and join the Earl of Athlone; upon which Lieutenant-General Rosen retreated to the Army, after he had raised Contributions only in the County of Horn, and some neighbouring Villages of the Mayerie of Bois le duc: And then the Earl of Athlone had orders to come back to our Army. Prince Wirtemberg remained still in his Camp at Alost, expecting the King's Orders to march, which he received the 31th. in the Night, and the next day he marched towards the Canal, and Encamped between Mertom and Mellem. The day following August the 2d. both Armies marched, the King passed the Canal with his at Vilvorde, and so we joined at Wemmel, where the King took his Quarter. Our Right reached beyond Grimberg, and our Left at Lacker. The Elector with the Spanish Troops, marched from Scarbeck, passed the Canal at Lacker, and Encamped upon our Left at the Abbey of Dilleghem. And now our Army after this junction was stronger by many Battalions than it had been all this Campagne. August. Mine Heer Heynsius, Pensionary of Holland, and Deputy from the States-General of the United Provinces, came to this Camp to wait upon the King, and to congratulate his safe Deliverance from those many and great Dangers to which he exposed his Sacred Person for our common safety. He brought along with him Bills for two Millions of Guilders, which the States-General sent to his Majesty as a Token of the entire Satisfaction and Confidence they had in him. He had orders likewise to assure the King, that they were ready to venture the very last Stake for the defence of their Liberties under his Majesty's Conduct, and that they would unanimously concur to increase their Forces both by Land and Sea, so as to be able to check for the future, the exorbitant Power of our Enemies. And this was the State's resolution, when we thought ourselves that our Affairs were in a far worse posture than we found them afterwards; for which generous Resolution they can never be too much commended, and for the great Respect and Affection they have expressed in this occasion to his Majesty. Major-General Zuylestein, who had been Prisoner at Namur since the last Action, came likewise to this Camp; and I cannot omit the great Compliment and Civility he received from the Marshal de Luxembourg; who, when Zuylestein took his leave of him to come to our Camp, expressed the greatest Respect for the Person of our Monarch; and we may say, that the King's Heroic Valour was so signally conspicuous that day, that he Conquered the very hearts and affections of his Enemies, who unanimously proclaimed his Praise and Commendation. 'Twas Luxembourg's expression to Zuylestein, That their two Masters deserved to share the World between them. On the 5th. the King reviewed the Army, which drew out of the Camp upon two Lines; and as it would have been too much work for one day to have viewed the Regiments by single Companies, as the King rid by the Commissaries took only an Account of the Number and Depth of the Files in each Regiment, and the whole Army appeared in a very good condition, and stronger than it had hitherto been this Campagne. The same day three Battalions were detached to Charleroy for the reinforcement of that Garrison, under the command of the Marquis de Castillo, General of the Spanish Ordnance, who was sent to command the Garrison there. Colonel Potbus' Regiment of Suedes in the King of Spain's Service was one; he was pleased to grumble and to express his disgust for this command up and down Brussels, for which the Elector of Bavaria ordered him to be put in Arrest there. On the 7th. the Army marched from Wemmel to Nostre dame de Halle. Our Left reached considerably beyond Tubise, and our Right beyond Halle, so that we seemed to take up more Ground this Year, than we did the last before the Action at Steenkirk. The King took his Quarter at the same place where he had it last Year, viz. at alembic, a House belonging to the Prince of Steenhuys. The Marshal de Luxembourg, who hitherto had Encamped quietly at Warem since the Fight at Landen, began to move on the 5th, and marched that day to Bonef upon the Mehaigne, and the next day to Sombref, where he halted the 7th. The 8th. he marched on to Nivelle, and had his Right at Bois Seigneur Isaac; and tho' 'twas now a more favourable Season to have form the Siege of Charleroy, yet Luxembourg's Army had been so disordered at Landen, that tho' they had then double our Army, yet now Luxembourg was not in a condition to Besiege Charleroy till he had been reinforced considerably with the Troops that Guarded the Coasts of Normandy and Britain, who were ordered forthwith towards this Country, and with the Body the Marquis de la Valette commanded in Flanders. The same day that we marched from Wemmel to Halle, Lieutenant-General Scravenmoor came from Namur and joined us upon this march, where he waited upon the King to give him an account of his Imprisonment, and what he had learned with the Enemies. On the 10th. Brigadier Churchill's Regiment was ordered to Garrison at Malines; this Regiment had suffered very much at Lare, where 'twas sent to reinforce Brigadier Ramsay, but more particularly in the loss of their Colours which were taken by the Enemy, two of the Ensigns that carried them were killed, and the third taken Prisoner. On the 16th. the Duke of Ormond came to Brussels with the English and Scotch Officers and Soldiers that had been taken Prisoners at Landen. He was Treated very civilly at Namur; the Count de Guiscard Governor, took him into his own House, where he was attended with all the care and respect they could express to a Person of so much worth and of so great Quality, and the ablest Physicians and Surgeons of the Army were sent to Namur to look after him. His Grace took at this time the greatest care imaginable for his Majesty's Interest, for tho' he was so ill for the two first days after his arrival at Namur, that the ablest Surgeons doubted of his Life, notwithstanding the illness of his condition, he sent for the Officers that were Prisoners there, and made them come into his Chamber, and told them that whatever Money they wanted either for themselves or for the Soldiers, he would give it them, and begged of them, that for their King and Country's sake, they would take such care of the poor Soldiers that were Prisoners, that want and necessity might not force them to take on in the Enemy's Service contrary to their inclinations. His Grace ordered the Officers Quarters in the Town. Most of our Prisoners were sent afterwards to Dinant, each Foot Soldier received 7 s. and 6 d. to subsist him, and each Horseman a Pistol; they were afterwards removed again to Charlemonnt, and they received the same Sum; so that such care was taken for our Prisoners, that not six either English or Scots took Service with the Enemy, and of those few 'tis to be presumed, that they were such who would of themselves have deserted to the Enemy on the first opportunity. The Prisoners that were wounded were put into the King's Hospital at Namur, and carefully looked after. I must not omit at the same time to say something of the Condition of our English and Scots Officers that have followed the late King in France, or that have since deserted from our Service to betake themselves to his, of which I have had an account by the same Ingenious Person that was Prisoner at Namur, and who saw and conversed with some of them daily. Not three of them are yet provided for, and this Gentleman saw many of his acquaintance that had been Officers in our Troops who still carried Muskets: and tho' the French have formed several Bodies both of Horse and Foot of the Irish in their Service, yet there are not above three English or Scots Officers that have a Commission amongst them, by which a Man may see that 'tis still a Crime in the late King's Court to be an Englishman and a Protestant, and such a one as renders them uncapable of a Commission in his Service: His beloved Irish Roman Catholics are the only preferred. The day after the Duke of Ormond arrived at Brussels, he came to the Camp at Halle to wait upon his Majesty, tho' he was still very weak, and returned the same Evening. Most part of the time that we continued in this Camp at Halle, the Wether proved so excessive hot, that it caused a great Sickness in both Armies: The Soldiers fell sick daily, and many Officers. My Lord of Athlone went sick into Brussels, Prince Wirtemberg, the Lord George Hamilton, and many others of note. Colonel Monroe died, and his Majesty has bestowed the Regiment upon Colonel Ferguson his Lieutenant-Colonel. Prince Casimir of Nassau left the Army here, and returned towards Leewarden in Friezland, after he had ordered his Equipage to be sold. The Prince of Birkenfeldt Lieutenant-General in the State's Service did the same. On the 18th. Prince Wirtemberg, who was now pretty well recovered of his Indisposition, was presented to the Dutch Guards for their Colonel. Both Battalions were drawn out, and the King, attended with all the General Officers and the whole Court, came and presented him himself. All the Officers of the Regiment were called together near his Majesty, who made a short Speech to them, to let them know that he could not give them a more deserving Colonel than the Duke of Wirtemberg; afterwards his Majesty spoke to the Duke, and made him a short Compliment, than the King took a half Pike which was held by one of his Pages, and put it in the Duke's right hand. The two Battalions had their Arms presented all this while, and then the King commanded himself the Drums to beat a March. Afterwards the Duke marched on Foot at the head of the Regiment before the King, and so the Ceremony ended. The 19th the Marshal de Luxembourg left his Camp at Nivelle, and marched to Soignies, in order to join the Normandy and Britain Troops that came to reinforce his Army, for the Siege of Charleroy; Those likewise which the Marquis la Vallette commanded within the Lines were ordered to join him here, and other Battalions that were not in so good a condition were sent into their places. 'Twas necessary that Luxembourg should advance thus far notwithstanding the designed Siege of Charleroy, because his Army was not yet in a condition to undertake it, and therefore he reserved the Forage thereabouts for that time; also because he was here more conveniently Posted for the reinforcement to join him, which otherwise we could have disturbed if his Army had been farther off, and likewise to consume the Forage hereabouts to hinder our Army from marching towards the Sambre for the relief of Charleroy. The same day that the French marched to Soignies, we sent two Regiments to reinforce the Garrison of Ath; Spaarvelt's Regiment of Swedes was one. The Finland and Zeeland Battalions of Danes were sent to Garrison in Ghendt; they were weak, and had suffered at Landen. We had likewise 900 Prisoners returned to us this day by the Enemy, which was all that remained of what they had taken in the last Battle. As soon as the King heard of the Enemies marching, Orders were given for our Army to be ready to march; and the same day the Baggage and Artillery were sent before under the Escorte of the first Battalion of the Royal Regiment. And on the 20th. early in the Morning, the Army marched, and encamped at St. Quintin Linneck, where the King took his Quarters, and the Elector at Goicke. Orders were given for the Armies marching again the next day: accordingly the General-beat, for the King had been informed that the French continued their march towards Ath, but the King was soon after informed, that 'twas only a Detachment of about 6000 Men that the Enemy had sent towards Grammont and Lessines, which they afterwards countermanded; upon which our Army remained in the Camp at St. Quintin Linneck. In the Afternoon the King rid out upon the Left to * A Term used when a General of an Army rides out to view and observe the several Posts about his Camp. Reconnoitre; and besides the usual Detachment of his Life-Guards he took a good Party of Eppinger's Dragoons to ride just before him, because the King went to observe several narrow Defilés in a Wood upon our Left. These Dragoons fell in with a Party of about 30 French Horse, under the Command of a Cornet, the King ordered them himself to charge them, and they took 17 Prisoners. Another Party of them had the same Fortune this day near Nostre Dame de Halle: this Party had come from the Garrison of Mons to see what Stragglers they could take after we had decamped from this place: A Party of Spaniards, far Inferior to them in number, met with them, killed some upon the place, and took most of them Prisoners. 'Twas said that they had taken one of our Officers Prisoners (as he was riding from Brussels to Halle) that knew nothing of our being marched from thence, and that he was killed amongst them. On the 25th the Duke of Holstein Ploen came to the Camp. The States have chosen him to be Velt-Mareschal General of their Forces, and Governor of Maestricht, in the room of the late Prince Waldeck, and have given him the same advantages which his Predecessor had. He was Velt-Mareschal General of the King of Denmark's Forces, and is come by his leave, and with his consent to the Service of the States. His Brother is Admiral of Flanders, and was sent last Year to Newport, to Command there, when the French drew near this place, after they had so easily made themselves Masters of Furnes, and he has a very large and stately House that Fronts the Governors' Palace at Brussels. This Duke of Holstein is most particularly Famous for the Action at Treves, in the Year 1675. He Commanded then a Body of the Allies, with which he fell upon the Marshal de Crequi, who was posted in a very strong Camp near this place. He suffered the Duke of Holstein to come quietly by a very difficult Pass to his Camp, for he computed them as so many men lost, and that he would cut them to pieces. The Marshal de Crequi had concerted with the Sieur Vignory, Governor of Treves, to come and join him with his Garrison about 5000 strong; but as the Governor was riding back over the Bridge, to order the Garrison to draw out, some body fired a Pistol, which made his Horse fling so violently, that he threw him over the Bridge into the Fossé, and broke his Neck. The Duke of Holstein, that had passed the Defilé, fell upon the Marshal de Crequi, and gave him an entire Rout. The Marshal just saved himself in the Town of Treves. The Duke of Lorraine came with his Army, and after he had joined the Duke of Holstein, formed the Siege of this place, which Holstein had Invested upon his late Success. The Marshal de Crequi made a most desperate resistance to redeem his Credit. He Fortified the great Church, after the Duke of Lorraine had made himself Master of the Works of the Town, where he defended himself so well, that tho' this Town is not very strong, yet he held out in all a Siege of 35 days, and at last refused to sign the Capitulation, because he was a Marshal of France, and thought he could not in Honour sign a Capitulation for any of the King his Master's Towns; for which reason he was made Prisoner of War, and carried to Coblentz. Two Battalions of Dunbarton's Regiment stood by him in the desperate defence of the Town, when the French mutinied to surrender; for which good Service the French King afterwards expressed his thankfulness to the Regiment. Since this digression does not come in Mal-a-propos, I thought myself obliged to mention this, because none of the French Writers have been so just as to give the Honour and Commendation due to our Soldiers for this service. On the 27th. the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck being Indisposed in the Camp, left the Army to go to the Baths of Aix la Chappelle, and from thence to Bois le Duc, of which place he is Governor; and the day following my Lord Sidney arrived here from England, and had all the Honours paid to him that are due to the Master of the Ordnance, which Office was conferred upon him after his Lordship had left Ireland. The Dutch Troop of Guards was sent from this Camp to Loo, and to several Villages upon the Road to it, to Escorte His Majesty thither by Reliefs, and to do duty there and at the Hague, during His Majesty's stay in Holland. We have said, in the relation of the Fight at Landen, that several Soldiers had fled after our Defeat to Breda, where many of them took the opportunity to desert to Holland, many also had got thither before; for which reason the King caused Letters to be writ to the Magistrates of Rotterdam, and other Seaport Towns, to apprehend all English and Scots Soldiers they found there; to which Order they readily complied, tho' they could have pleaded the Privileges of their Towns. After the apprehension of these Soldiers the Grand Provost had them brought safely to the Camp, and thirty of the English and Scots Brigades, besides that of the Guards, were condemned to die for Desertion, but the King graciously Pardoned Four and Twenty of them; the other six that had drawn the Lots for Death, were Executed on the fifth of September, at the head of their respective Brigades; six of the Brigade of Guards were condemned, and three drew Lots to die (the other three Pardoned) and were accordingly Hanged at the head of their Regiments the day following. On the 30th. of August the French left their Camp at Soignies to come nearer to the Sambre, all things being now in a readiness for the Siege of Charleroy. La Vallette, and the Brittanny and Normandy Troops had joined them; and besides, the Marshal de Boufflers was detached back from the Rhine with 12 Battalions to make their Work so sure that the Allies might not be in a condition to Relieve it. All these precautions are very evident Arguments of what the French suffer'd, and how much they were weakened at Landen. The French marched this day to Hayne St. Pierre, and Hayne St. Paul, and the 31st. they continued their March nearer to Charleroy, and encamped by the River Pieton, their Right at Goüy and Pont de Cells, and their Left at Fontaine l' Evesque, and the River before them. The same day Charleroy was Invested by the Count de Guiscard, Lieutenant General and Governor of Namur, who had marched the day before from this place with six Battalions of his Garrison, and a Regiment of Dragoons, which sufficiently shows what shifts the French were put to for Foot to carry on the Siege, since they drew out these Battalions that had not at first been thought fit to bring into the Field. The Count de Guiscard, encamped that day at Covillet, on t'other side of the Sambre; and at the same time Lieutenant General Ximenes took his Post on this side at Marchienne au pont, with 16 Squadrons of Horse, and a Regiment of Dragoons. The day following the Count de Guiscard passed the Sambre below Charleroy, and encamped at Montigny. Rubantel, Lieutenant General, and Vauban Engineer General, took theirs at Gilly, with 32 Battalions, and 34 Squadrons detached from the Army. In the mean while the Artillery, ponton's, Mortarpieces, and all other necessaries for a Siege were sent from Namur and Maubeuge by Water, and the Engineers who had been commanded to rendezvous at Mons, came to the Camp before Charleroy. Monsieur de Vauban promised to put this place into the French King's hands within 15 days at most from the opening of the Trenches. Septemb. Charleroy is situated upon the best pass of the Sambre, for this River runs generally between rocky Hills and steep Banks; for which reason 'tis not passable by an Army but at few places, and this where Charleroy is built to Command it, is the best. The Town, which at the best is but a very indifferent one, is seated on the other side of the Sambre, and the Fortifications are very weak. 'Twas Bombarded last Year by the Marshal de Boufflers, for two days together. But the strength of Charleroy is on this side of the Water, situated upon a Hill that commands the River, and a great part of it rocky Ground, where 'tis very difficult to make any Trenches. Tho' 'tis a perfect Hill towards the River, yet on t'other side of the place 'tis much plainer, and is somewhat commanded by several Neighbouring heights. In the Year 1666 this place was but an inconsiderable Village, called Charnoy; but because it commanded this Pass upon the Sambre the Spaniards Fortified it, and called it Charleroy, for their King's sake, who is named Charles; but the French King called it Charlamoy, to jest upon the Name, which Jest soon after proved a very true one, for he took it the Year following, and kept it by the Treaty of Aix la Chappelle. 'Twas Besieged the latter end of the Year 1672. by our King, than Prince of Orange, who used a very cunning Stratagem to get the Count de Montal, the Governor, out of it. He was Governor both of Tongres and this place. The King made a Faint to Besiege Tongres, which made the Count de Montal leave Charleroy for the defence of that Place, whereupon the Count de Marsin, who Commanded a small Body, was ordered by the King to Invest Charleroy, and he at the same time left Tongres to go and Besiege it. Montal was very much concerned to be so tricked out of the place, and that made him so desperate that he forced his way into it in the middle of the Night, and got in through the Besiegers Camp with about 100 Horse along with him; however, if the Wether had been more favourable, the King would have carried it before any Relief could have come to it; but the Wether proved so unkind for such an Attempt, that the French had the time to make up their Army, and upon their advancing the King raised the Siege. The French, whilst this place was in their possession, Fortified it very well, and made all the Bastions and Halfmoons with Brick and Freestone, and some of the last have very good Counter-Guards to cover them. They have a great many Redoubts round the place, at the foot of the Glacis, under the defence of the covered way, all very strong, and built with Brick and Freestone. This place was restored to the King of Spain by the Treaty of Nimeguen, in a far better condition than it had been before in the hands of the Spaniards; they have since this War added very little to the Fortification of Charleroy; except some few Mines under the Glacis and Angles of the covered way, and undermost of the Works of the Town, to blow them up when taken by the Enemy. There is a large Pond of Water that covers part of the place, between Brussels Port and the way to Fontaine l'Evesque, with a good Redoubt in the very middle of it, and another for the defence of the Sluice, covered by a Horn-work. The French brought a prodigious Train of Artillery and Mortarpieces before the Place▪ and soon reduced the Houses and Barracks in it to Ashes: They fired their Cannon perpetually, whole Batteries at a time, and likewise Mortarpieces, which they fired together by Batteries in the Besieged's Works to dislodge them. On the 2d. the French began to trace out their Lines, and the 3d. they put 12000 Pioners on Work about them; the 4th. they prepared two Attacks, and the 5th. at Night the Duke of Roquelaure, Marshal de Camp, opened the Trench before the place with the Regiment of Navarre. Six Battalions of the French and Suiss Guards, and the King's Regiment mounted the Trench: and the Rain, and a Fog which happened then, made the Air so thick, that the Enemies worked three hours before the Besieged perceived it. The French, at the same time, attacked an Outpost called the Warren-House, and carried it after a vigorous resistance, and several men killed and wounded on both sides; a Captain of the Guards was wounded in this Action, and the Enemy lost about 40 men in carrying on the left Attack. The next day the Besieged made a Sortie upon the Enemies, killed many, among the rest the Count de Broglio the Son, who was killed just by the Marquis de Crequi, one of their Engineers was Wounded, and Grandcomb Brigadier of the Engineers made Prisoner, and the Marquis of Rochefort, and a Captain, Wounded. On the 7th. the Elector of Bavaria was detached from our Army at St. Quintin Linneck towards Flanders, with a Body of 30 Battalions and 50 Squadrons; 16 of these Battalions were English and Scots, viz. The Second Battalion of the First Regiment of Guards, Talmash's Battalion, Two Battalions of Scots Guards, (and these mounted the Guard upon his Electoral Highness whilst he commanded this Body) two Battalions of the Royal Regiment, , Tidcomb, Castleton, Graham, Offerrel, Mackay, Leven, Lauder, Ferguson, and Argyle; Six Danes, viz. The Guards, the Queens, Prince Frederic, Prince Christian, Prince George, and the Jutland Battalions; two , viz. Count Horn, and Bernstorff; and the six Brandenbourg Battalions in the King of Spain's Service. These were detached, as 'twas supposed, to attack Furnes, to recompense by this the loss of Charleroy, which would have given great ease to Newport. For the French had mustered all their Forces to make this Siege, and expected besides the Marshal de Boufflers from the Rhine, to reinforce them with twelve Battalions and fourteen Squadrons, so that, besides this small Body which they expected with Boufflers, they had above 100 Battalions to besiege and cover the siege of Charleroy; and if their Battalions were most of them weak, none of ours were very strong, and Sickness had sent a great Number into the Hospitals, particularly of the King's Troops which weakened them extremely; besides, the French had eaten up all the Forage between Brussels and the Sambre, except what they covered for the subsistence of their Troops; so that there was no possibility for our Army's marching that way to attempt its Relief, even if it had been in a better Condition. As therefore there was no prospect of relieving Charleroy, the Elector of Bavaria commanded this Body for some enterprise in Flanders, and marched this day as far as Ayegem Capelle, after he had passed the Dender at Ninove, with a good Train of Artillery; and the next pay he marched to Gaure upon the Scheld: The Ways were so bad and deep that the Artillery could not come up till the next day, and several Wagons and Carriages came to damage. Orders were given to be ready to march, but we halted the next day. The French had left Furnes in a good Posture of Defence, with about 5000 Men in Garrison, and we found the Ways such that 'twas very difficult and hazardous to draw our Artillery. And besides, the Marshal de Luxembourg upon the News of this Detachment, marched from his Camp at Herlaymont-Capelle to Estines, nearer to Mons, and to the King's Army, which was now but small after so great a Detachment; upon which the King did not think it safe to venture this Detachment any further, thereby to give Luxembourg the opportunity to have fallen upon him; therefore this Body was countermanded. But before the Elector marched back, he detached Horne's and Bernstorf's Regiments to the Garrison of Newport, and the same day Offerrel's and Ferguson's Regiments were sent to Winter Quarters, the first to Bruges, and the latter to Ostend. On the 11th. which was the day following, the Elector marched with the Body under his Command to St. Levinus-Haltheim in order to rejoin the King at Ninove, who had marched hither from St. Quintin-Linneck the day before; and in leaving this Camp the King ordered to Louvain the Regiments of Ecker, and Fagel, and those of Aylua, Anhalt, and Oxenstierne to Brussels. The 12th. the Elector rejoined the King at Ninove. On the 13th. about 900 English Recruits came up to the Camp, 300 of them were for the Guards, and the other six that had been drawn out of the Princess Ann's, Sir David Collier's, Hasting's, Prince of Hesse's, St. George's, and Tiffeney's Regiments were divided by Lot amongst the English Regiments that had suffered most at Landen. On the 14th. the King's Domestics left the Camp to go to Loo, and the day after the King, seeing that nothing could be done for the relief of Charleroy, and that the Campagne drew near to an end, left the Command of the Army in the Elector's Hands, and went by Breda to Loo, in order to repass soon after the Sea to meet his Parliament in England, and prepare Matters for a more vigorous Prosecution of the War, according to the Resolution taken by the rest of the Allies; and the King's Guards did after Duty upon the Elector, and gave him the same Honours that they are obliged to show to the King. The 18th. the two Battalions of Friesland, Guards to Prince Casimir of Nassau, were sent to Garrison in Louvain. In the mean while the French pursued very vigorously the Village of Charleroy, and the Garrison between 4 and 5000 strong commanded by the Marquis de Castillo, Master of the Spanish Ordnance, Colonel Pimentel the Governor, and Bulau Brigadier of the Dutch, made as brave and noble resistance. The French fired continually their Cannon and Mortars to make the Place as uneasy as possibly they could to the besieged. They battered to Pieces the Redoubt or detached Bastion that is without Brussels Port, but it was so Mined that the Enemies would not venture to take it. They changed their Attack to the Horn-work that covered the Sluice of the Pond, and to the Redoubt that was in the middle of it; and the Enemies had now advanced their Works within ten or twelve paces of the outer Angles of the covered Way towards the Pond, and on the other side beyond the Point of the Horn-work upon its Flank. The Enemy's Cannon had fired hitherto so furiously that they had dismounted all the Cannon the besieged had; but on the 12th. the Besieged made a shift to refit two or three Pieces, and in the Night they killed and wounded about 100 of the Enemies, among whom were some Officers. De Pont an Ingenier was wounded mortally. The 13th. the besieged fired a Bomb which fell in the Magazine of Powder upon one of the Enemy's Batteries, killed six Men, and dismounted two of their Cannon. The French continued their fire upon the two Redoubts, that without Brussels Port, and that in the Pond; in this last a Spanish Captain with 50 Men was posted for its defence; and besides the Batteries of Cannon they fired against it, they threw twice more Bombs into the Place than there were Men to defend it. They fired their Mortars here by Batteries, so that the Soldiers had ten or twelve Bombs sometimes about their Ears. On the 14th. in the Afternoon Monsieur de Vauban ordered six ponton's to be fastened together, upon which a Detachment was sent for the Assault of the Redoubt in the Pond. The Spaniards were now reduced to little above half the Number, notwithstanding they made a good resistance, but at last were forced to Capitulate. The same Day the Duke of Luxembourg, who had advanced as far as Mons (upon our Detachment towards Flanders) returned to the Camp by Charleroy, after he heard that the Elector had rejoined the King at Ninove. He left the King's House contoned near St. Guislain for the conveniency of Forage, and generally all the Horse between Mons, Valenciennes, and Maubeuge. The French and Suisse Guards remained at Estines, and another Body at Giury. The 15th. the Besieged made a very brave Sortie; they levelled part of the Enemy's Works, and killed many of the Enemies; a Captain was killed, and the Marquis of Charrost wounded. On the 16th. in the Evening the Enemies attacked the Work that covered the Sluice of the Pond, 120 Men defended it very bravely, but at last the French made themselves. Masters of it, after they had lost 50 Men in the Attack, a Captain and two Engineers wounded. When the Enemies had made themselves Masters of the Redoubt in the Pond, and of the Work that covered the Sluice, they began to drain it. The 19th. the besieged made a very brave and vigorous Sortie, they beat the Enemies from a great part of their Works, which they destroyed and levelled, and killed the Enemies a great many Men. The 22d. the Besieged made another Sortie upon the Enemies, which proved not so successful as the former. They wounded a Lieutenant-Colonel and five Engineers, and in the Afternoon one of their Bombs fell among some Magazines of the Enemies Granades, but they took such care that it did them no great damage. The 23d. the Besieged continued their Sortie, but were repulsed. The same Day we made a very great Detachment of 28 Men per Battalion from our Army at Ninove, with a proportionable number of Horse, under the Command of Lieutenant-General Opdam, to Escorte a Convoy of 250 Wagons, and seven Pieces of Cannon, into Ath. The Wagons were loaded with all manner of Provisions and Ammunitions, which got safely into the Place that Evening. Wey's Regiment was sent at the same to reinforce the Garrison of this Place. Lieutenant-General Opdam, upon his return, found that the Countrypeople about Lessines had made a great quantity of Beer, expecting that the French Army would come and Encamp there, as usually it did every Year; and because they had not brought it to be sold in our Camp, the Convoy Wagons that returned empty from Ath had orders to take all this Beer away, and to bring it into our Camp at Ninove. We made much about the same time a good Detachment out of all our Dragoons, and 'twas reported that their Design was to steal a Relief into Charleroy; that Jacob, Son to the Major that Commands into the Bois de Sognes', was to take care of it, and conduct them to the Place by the most secret ways, and so to surprise in the Night the French Camp, and force their way into the Town. But Jacob, as he was observing the most convenient ways for the Design, was made Prisoner. This is a report we had in our Camp. The 24th. the Enemy assaulted the Horn-Work and Half-Moon upon their Right Attack, which they at last carried with some loss on their side. The 25th. the Enemy made a very furious Assault upon the Counterscarp of the Body of the Place, but the Besieged made a very gallant resistance, and repulsed the Enemy several times one after another, which doubtless could not be without some considerable loss on the Enemy's side. 'Tis said they lost above 600 Men. The Attack lasted five hours. The 26th. they made another Assault upon the Counterscarp, but as fruitless as the former. The 28th. the Enemies made themselves at last Masters of the Counterscarp, and lodged themselves in the covered Way, the whole length of the Front of their Attacks from Right to Left. The besieged sprung a Mine under one of the Angles of the Counterscarp: Two of their Captains were wounded, and an Ingenier killed. On the 29th. the Besiegers descended the Fossé to fix their Miner to the Body of the Place, and made all things ready for a general Assault the next day, and 'twas very much feared in our Camp that the Marquis del Castillo's brave Obstinacy would reduce the Garrison to this last extremity of being carried by Assault, and put to the Sword. The 30th. the French played very furiously with their Artillery upon the Place. The Marshal de Villeroy, who had the Command of the Siege, summoned the Governor to Surrender, which he refused: Upon which they made a general Assault upon the Breach, which the Besieged received very vigorously, and obliged the Enemies to retire: But being now sensible that they could not resist another, on Sunday the first of October about eight in the morning, the Governor, with the Advice of the chief Officers of the Garrison, ordered to beat the Chamade, and Hostages were immediately exchanged on both sides to Capitulate; which was agreed to on the following Articles. The Capitulation of Charleroy the 11th. October of October, new Style, 1693, By Don Francisco-del Castillo y Taxardo, Marquis de Villa de Arias, Captain-General of his Catholic Majesty's Ordnance, and agreed unto by the Duke of Luxembourg, General of his most Christian Majesty's Forces. I. Done Joän Anthonio de Pimentel de Prado, Marquis de la Florida, Governor of the Place, Don Joän Francisco Manriqués Major-General, Monsieur Bulau Brigadier, the Engineers, Bombardiers, Gunners, Miners, the Commissaries of Victuals and Forage, the Receivers as well of his Catholic Majesty as of the State's General, and all the Garrison, as well Officers as Soldiers, and all other Officers both Civil and of the Revenues, of what Quality, Character, or Nation soever, as well Horse as Foot, their Families, Domestics, and Servants, shall departed the Town freely with their Movables and Effects, whatever they be, without offering them any hurt, violence, or injury, either directly or indirectly, in their Persons or Families, nor shall their Baggage be visited, either at their going out of the Town, or any where else upon the Road to Brussels. II. That the Infantry shall go out by the Breach, and the Dragoons and other Horse by Namur-Port, and all the Garrison, and Persons comprised in this Capitulation, with their Arms and Baggage, Drums beating, Trumpets sounding, Colours flying, their Match lighted at both ends, and Ball in their Mouths, and four Pieces of Cannon, two for the Marquis del Castillo, and two for Monsieur Bulau Brigadier of the States Forces, besides necessary▪ Ammunitions at the rate of 10 Shots per piece: for which end the Besiegers shall furnish the Wagons, Horses, and Equipages, and all other things necessary for their Carriage and Transport. III. That for the Carriage of the Baggage, Goods, and Effects, belonging to the Officers and others now mentioned, as also for the Sick and Wounded that shall be in a condition to be so carried, the Besiegers shall furnish 200 Wagons with four Horses a piece, 24 hours before the Garrison leaves the Place: and as these 200 Wagons will not suffice to carry all the Sick and Wounded, and all the Officer's Equipages, they shall have to Morrow a sufficient number of Boats to Transport all the rest to Liege; That the King shall furnish them all things necessary for their subsistence upon the way, without being stopped or hindered any where. iv That the said Garrison, and all that is here mentioned, shall be safely conducted under a good Escorte to Brussels, by the straightest, shortest, and most convenient way, viz. by Gosseliers, Fraine, Genappe, and Waterloo, marching two hours the first day, and three hours and a half the two days following, or otherwise if the Marquis del Castillo shall find it more convenient, and that they shall be followed with all things necessary upon the Road for the subsistence both of Man and Horse. V That no body of what Quality or Condition soever, shall be Arrested for private Debts; and if there be any Officers or others of the Garrison who shall owe any thing to the Burghers and Inhabitants of the Town, the Marquis del Castillo shall give them a Note under his own Name, for such Debts which may be due to them, and which he will engage himself to pay. VI That all Prisoners, whether Officers or Soldiers, made before or during this Siege by this Garrison, as also those of this Garrison who are now under the King's Power, wherever or of what condition soever they be, and likewise those that have been taken endeavouring to get into the place during the Siege, and such Miners who have been taken in the Mines, shall be immediately Surrendered on both sides, bona fide, without any Ransom or Compensation, more or less. VII. That the Sick and Wounded who shall not be able to endure an immediate Transportation, shall remain in the Hospitals: That the Besieged shall have liberty to leave some Commissaries behind to look after them; and as for the rest, they shall be taken care of at the Expenses of his Majesty's Physicians and Surgeons, and provided with all things necessary for their Cure; after which they shall be safely sent by the same way, and to the same place as the Garrison, furnishing them Passports for the safety, carriage, and transport of their Persons, and they shall not be forced to take on in their Service. VIII. That for the space of three Months it shall be free for any Persons either to remain in the Town or to go elsewhere; they shall not be molested nor ill treated, and shall enjoy the same Privileges with the Inhabitants. IX. The Burghers who shall be willing to leave the Town within this space of three Months, shall have liberty during this time to dispose of all their movable Goods and Effects that are in the Town, but they shall not have the same liberty neither for their movable Goods nor that are without the said Town. X. That his Majesty shall continue to the Inhabitants and Burghers of the Town the same Liberties and Exemptions which they enjoyed formerly when 'twas under his Dominion. XI. That the Officers, Receivers of the Victuals and Forage, shall in no wise nor under any pretext whatsoever, be responsable for the Impositions that have been laid upon the plain Country in Money, Hay, Oats, or other things. XII. That the Besieged shall deliver this Evening, after the Capitulation Signed, Bruxells-Port to his Majesty's Troops, which shall not suffer any body to come into the Town till the Garrison has left it, four Officers of the Ordinance and four Commissaries of War excepted, who shall come in with a Pass from the Marshal de Luxembourg, or Monsieur de Bagnoles, to make an Inventory of the Provisions both of War and Mouth. XIII. The Garrison shall go out of the Place the 13th. at Ten in the Morning, upon these foresaid Conditions. XIV. If there be any of his Most Christian Majesty's Subjects that are Hostages in the Town for Contributions, they shall be set at liberty. Upon these Conditions the Place shall be delivered bonâ fide in the King's Possession, with all its Dependencies, if it has any. XV. Hostages shall be given on both sides for the due Execution of these Articles. Given at Charleroy the 11th. of Octob. 1693. Thus Charleroy is fallen once more into the French King's hands, after a very fine defence which▪ the besieged have made; and after a Siege of 26 days from the opening of the Trench▪ and 32 from the time that 'twas Invested. Monsieur de Vauban had promised to make it the French King's own within 15 days at farthest, but he has found that he can mistake sometimes in his Calculation, when he has to deal with brave Men who will resolve upon a stout and vigorous Defence. This is but a small Place, and much inferior to the Castle of Namur for Strength, and yet we find that it has made twice the resistance. But the French King, to save his Honour, in the Letter to the Archbishop of Paris, to order the Te Deum to be Sung in his Cathedral for the Reduction of this Place, says, That 'twas not so much the Resistance of the besieged, as his own care for the preservation of his Men, that has drawn the Siege to such a length: which is a very unjust assertion to rob the besieged of the Honour due to them for their brave defence, rather than to let the World think any thing can resist the vigour of the French Arms. I do not know how much they spared their Men, but 'tis plain they did not spare Cannon, Bombs, nor Engineers, since a great many of the latter have left their Bones before this Place; and 'tis certain, that as soon as they have been able to make themselves Masters of the Outworks that covered the Glacis and Counterscarpe of the Place, they were not very sparing of their Assaults to carry the Counterscarpe, where they have been several times repulsed by the bravery of the besieged. But whether the French King has been so sparing of his Subjects in this Siege or no yet this makes the face of Affairs look quite otherwise than 'twas represented after the Fight of Landen, for then there was nothing but what the Allies ought to fear from him after so great a Defeat, there was nothing but what he might expect after this Success: And yet after all these Rodomontadoes, this Letter to the Archbishop of Paris to Sing the Te Deum for the taking of Charleroy, does ingeniously own, that the French King could not better end this Campagne than by the Siege of this Place; and the Author is very careful not to insinuate in the least that 'tis a fruit of this so great Victory, which gave the French King reason to expect so very great Matters; and therefore if it was so, the Allies are very much obliged to him that he would undertake no more, after so important a Victory, than the Siege of Charleroy, and that too so late in the Year, when it must close the Success of this Campagne; Whereas, if the French had so prodigious an advantage at Landen, what is the reason they did not set down before this small Place sooner? for than they would have had time to besiege either Ath or Audenarde afterwards, which would have given the World some proofs of the great advantage they had at Landen. 'Tis plain therefore that the reason why they did not was, because they were not then able: and their Army, which then outdid ours by 45 Battalions and above 100 Squadrons, had been too well paid off there. After the reduction of Charleroy the French King bestowed this Government upon Monsieur Boisselot, the late Governor of Limerick. And now Winter drawing on, the Armies began on both sides to File off towards Winter Quarters. On the 3d. of this Month, a Party of French came by our Camp at Ninove, and took some of the Elector's and other Horses that were grazing on the other side of the Dender, below the Windmill, but upon immediate notice a Detachment was made of the Elector's Guards and Dragoons, who took all the Horses back again, and made several Prisoners. On the 4th. we heard a Triple discharge of the Enemy's Fire for the advantage the Marshal de Catinat had got the 24th. of September over the Duke of Savoy and his Allies, in the Plains of Marsaglia. We had the News of it the Night before, by way of France, which made the Defeat as great and as terrible as could be, but we judged of the truth of the matter by what they had published of the Battle of Landen. On the 5th. our Army began to separate, and to go into Winter Quarters; Part of the Garrison of Bruges and Ostend was detached, under the Command of Brigadier Ramsey, to march towards the Canal of Bruges, and got the 7th. into their Quarters. The 6th. the Army decamped from Ninove, and repassed the Dender, between it and Alost, and so the Foot continued to march off towards Quarters. The remainder of the Infantry of the Garrison of Bruges and Ostend left the Camp under the Command of Sir Henry Bellassis the 7th. and the rest of the Foot marched off to Brussels, Ghendt, Louvain, Malines, Dendermond, Leer, and Maestricht, etc. the Horse continued cantoned up and down the Country between Brussels and Ghendt, till the beginning of November, but the Elector, as soon as the Foot had broke up, left the Army, and went to Brussels, the place of his residence. The Marshal de Boufflers remained in the Condros to consume the Forage. That part of Luxembourg's Army that was to Quarter between the Scheld, the Sambre, and the , was sent to Garrison, but the rest that was to Winter from the Scheld to the Sea, came near Courtray to Fortify that Town, which they have a mind to put in a Condition to hold a formal Siege. They made another Detachment towards Dixmuyde, to Fortify that Place for a Winter Quarter, and are since separated in their several Quarters all along as near our Frontier as possibly they can, in order not to be idle this Winter if the Wether proves kind and favourable; and they will be so much the more pressing and urgent to undertake something, that they know the Allies are all resolved to make new Levies this Winter, to be in a better Condition the next Campagne to resist the French Greatness, than they have yet been during this War. Both the Mareschals of Luxembourg and Villeroy are gone to the French Court, to concert Matters for some undertaking, and the Marshal de Boufflers remains to Command in Flanders. And now that Bouffler's Detachment of 12 Battalions from the Rhine is Quartered in the Pays de Luxembourg, that besides they have now in Flanders the Troops that Guarded the Coasts of Normandy and Britanny, 'tis not doubted but that they will be able to do us some considerable Damage this Winter, unless the Allies are very quick both in the recruiting and augmenting the Forces they have here. 'Tis wholly their Interest, and by what hath hitherto appeared in this War, 'tis reasonable to think that it would not be done in vain, since the advantage that the French have hitherto had in this War, has not proceeded so much from their Bravery as from their Numbers; for in all the Rencounters which the Allies have had with them this War, it has plainly appeared, that they do owe their Success merely to the prodigious greatness of their Armies: Therefore, if it be true that all the Allies put together have more Men and Money than the French King, I am of opinion they must attribute the ill Success of this War to nothing else but their unseasonable Parsimony, which has rather served to augment the French King's Power, than answered in the least the designed ends of the present League. So long as we do all ease our Shoulders of the Burden, 'tis reasonable, nay 'tis necessary the French should have Success. Their efforts are vigorous, and ours are faint and languishing. We make the War as cheap as possibly we can, and that only serves to make it last the longer; and the Charges must be the same at long-run, but they are far from being so much to our advantage as when our efforts are great, tho' for the present more burdensome. The Allies had as good fling their Money into the Sea, as think to continue the War with Forces so unequal to those of our Enemy's; for whilst they continue on this Foot, we only ruin and weaken ourselves, to no other purpose than to increase the French Power. Whatever success the Enemies have had hitherto, yet still the Iron is hot for the Allies to strike, if they will but go to the expense of augmenting their Forces. The French has made very great efforts this War, and his Treasures are not inexhaustible. It appears rather by the uncertain value of Coin, which is hardly the same two Months together in France, that he is reduced to very great shifts to replenish his Coffers, which were so exhausted the latter part of this Campagne, that Money was very scarce in his Armies and Garrisons. The Colonels had only Bills assigned them for the payment of their Troops, upon which they were to get ready Money as well as they could. In their Garrisons the Officers were generally so poor that they gave Notes under their hands for want of Money to pay for their Subsistance. I have heard of one of our Soldiers, that was two Months in their Service, after they had made him a Prisoner, and deserted over to us again, that for the time he was amongst them, he received no more than one French Half-Crown of pay. All this that I say, I have from Gentlemen that have been among them, and whom I ought to believe, else I should take care not to publish this. Besides, there reigns a very great Famine and scarceness of Corn all over France; and in their Conquests their daily Edicts are authentic proofs of it, tho' in the Preface of those Edicts they endeavoured to throw dust in the People's Eyes, but words do not feed hungry Bellies: And we hear daily in this place what misery the People suffer at Lisle, and in other parts of the French Conquests. 'Tis true, this helps the French King to make his Recruits, and to increase his Forces, since his Subjects must either be Soldiers or starve; but still I dare say, that the French King does not love to see his Kingdom in so universal a Desolation, when those who are Soldiers rather than Starve, leave the Plough, and thus only augment the Famine and the public Calamity. In short, I may safely affirm, that we are all weary of this War, the French King as well as the Allies; and therefore what the Allies have to do is to raise such an Army for the next Campagne, as may put them in a condition to treat of a Peace upon advantageous terms, and not be forced to accept of such an one as will only put the French King (after a little breathing, and that he has replenished his Stores) into a better capacity to enslave Christendom, which Peace is worse than the worst of Wars. And the Allies have this to encourage their vigorous Prosecution of this War (I speak particularly as to England and Holland) that they have a King who does yet venture his precious Life for the advantage of the common Cause, more freely than they can venture their Purses. Let the King's greatest Enemies consider but impartially His Majesty's Conduct and Circumstances, and they must be convinced, that what the King does, is not out of any Interest of his own, but in an uprightness and sincerity of Conscience, to do good to Europe in general, and to us his Subjects in particular. God has not blest His Majesty and us with an Heir, therefore he does not seek the aggrandizing of a Family. What then can be the reason that the King does so freely and so often expose his Sacred Person to the greatest Dangers, but only a public Christian Kinglike Spirit of doing good to his Allies and to his People, and to procure a firm and lasting establishment of Christ's true Religion in its ancient and primitive Purity in his Kingdoms, and in the Dominions of his other Protestant Allies? And since we have followed His Majesty in this History from the Field, which he left on the 15th. to Loo, where he arrived on the 17th. we ought to see him safe in England among his good People, before we finish the account of this Campagne. The King remained at Loo to divert himself (after the Fatigues of the Field) in Hunting till the 1st. of Octob. that he arrived at the Hague, where His Majesty spent some time in Conferences with the State's General, and Council of State, who have consented to a new Levy of 15000 Men, besides the 4000 Suissers raised last Summer, and to augment proportionably their Maritime Forces. The Plenipotentiaries of the other Allies at the Hague, have consented to the same Resolution according to their different proportions. The King was now hastening over to meet his Parliament in England, but he was detained by Storms and contrary Winds till the 28th. that His Majesty sailed from Oranie Polder, and arrived safely the day following about three in the Afternoon at Harwich, and so went on to London, to the great joy and satisfaction of his good People, to see His Majesty safe amongst them, after all the great Dangers to which he had exposed his Person this Campagne. The Repartition of the English and Scots Infantry's Quarters for this Winter. GHENDT, The three Battalions of English Guards, the Regiments of Selwyn, and Fuziliers. BRUGES, Scots Guards, Royal Regiment, , Tidcomb, Castleton, Graham, Offerrel, Mackay, and Leven. MALINES, Dutch Guards, Churchil, Trelawney, and Earl. DENDER MOND, Collingwood and Stanley. OSTEND, Lauder, Ferguson, Argyle. All the English Horse are Quartered at GHENDT, except the Life Guards; that have their Quarters at BREDA. FINIS. Errors of the Press. PAg. 29. line 1. for Swimming, r. Swimming. p. 44. l. 14. for and so came the Palisado's, r. and came to the Palisado's. p. 44. l. 30. for Obscure, r. Observe. p. 56. l. 21. deal from. p. 115. l. 24. for Village, r. Siege. p. 118. l. 19 for into, r. in.