THE Fortress of Charleroy, being Situated between the French Kings Two late Conquests, Mons and Namure, has Intercepted their Communication, and rendred those Places, in a Great measure Useless to the French, in their main Designes in the Campaigne; the Confederates keep­ing a great Garrison in the Place, of at least Eight Thousand Effective Men; by which means not a Convoy durst stir to or from the said Garrisons, but they were Intercepted by the Governour of Charleroy: Upon which Account, after the Takeing of Namure 'twas generally expected that the French King would take the First Opportunity of Besieging this Place, but for divers Reasons he has either been diverted from it, or delayed the puting this Design in Execution, till the shuting up of the Campaign. Now this place, upon the Account of the Siege, being the general Discourse of the Town, I thought it would not be amiss to describe a Place which most Discourse of, yet few Know.

Charleroy is a Frontier Town in the Province of Namure, it was Built by the Spaniards in the Year 1666. (in Honour of [Page 2] Charles the 2d. the present King of Spain) it was Surrendred to the French in the Year 1669. the Fort then not being strong enough to resist a Siege. It was afterwards extraordinary well Fortified by the French, by the Model and Direction of Mon­fieur Vaubon (the present Famous Engineir) by which means it became a considerable Hold; it was restored to the King of Spain by the Treaty of Nimeguen, since which the Spaniards have made many Additional Fortifications, and is now the strongest Town on that side the Countrey: 'Tis Scituated upon a rising Ground in the Exterior and Western Angle made by the meeting of the Rivers Pieton and Sambre, so that it has on the South the River Sambre, and on the West the River Poyeton, and on the East a deep Marsh, by which means it is Attackable on one side only, and that too is extraordinary well Fortified and Guarded with Forts; The Chief Fortifi­cations of this Place are thus Named: The Mons-Gate, the Brussele-Gate, the Tourney-Gate, the Grand Horn-Worke, the Half-Moo [...] of Valonne, the Half-Moon of Coffree, the Half-Moon of Rec [...]llets, the Half-Moon of Brabanzone, the Half-Moon of Tournay, the Flemish Half-moon, the Half-moon of Mons, the Luxemburg half-moon, the Hainault Bastion, the Bur­gundy Bastion, the Luxemburg Bastion, &c. This Place stands Fourteen miles West of Namure, and Twenty one East of Mons. The Town it self is no way Considerable but by its Fortifications.