MY Relation of the other Campagne, for the Year 1692▪ finish'd with the Fortifi­cation of Furnes and Dixmuyde (both which Places we possess'd our selves of, by a Detachment from the Army at Granimen, un­der the Command of Lieutenant General Talmash, which afterwards join'd 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 abandon'd, after they had Bombarded the Lower Town, situated on the other side of the [Page 2] 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 happen'd 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 it self, endeavour'd 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 gather'd together a Body of Men to Besiege Huy, 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, Quarter'd upon and about the Maes, made such diligence to gather themselves together, to make a Head against the Enemy, that they were oblig'd to raise the Siege, and to quit their Undertaking. The French Syco­phants, who wou'd not have their Invincible Mo­narch miscarry in any thing that he undertakes, to palliate this ill Success, made it afterwards pass only for a Feint to amuse the Allies, and to make their Designs upon Furnes more successful. But if a Man will consider of what Importance Huy was to the French, who are so desirous to perswade or to force the Bishop of Liege to a Neutrality, that they may have the Passage free to Attack the States General in their own Dominions, and to make themselves [Page 3] Masters of Maestricht, their most considerable Ga­rison: I say, if we consider this, we must rather think that the Feint (if any where) was at Furnes, particularly since the Taking of this Place was not follow'd with the Siege of Newport. However, whether it was a Feint or no, Count Horne took it for Earnest.

This Place was Invested by the Marquis de Boufflers, December [...]9/19, who Encamp'd in the Downs between it, Newport, and the Sea side. The Weather was then so extraordinary bad, that 'tis the common be­lief there was no necessity of Surrendring 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 flank'd was too sharp, and the Flanks but small, and an over-long Courtin be­tween them; yet this defect was at that time suppli­ed by a very good Fossé, well supplied with Water. The Ravelins and Half-Moons which cover'd the body of the Place, were much better than the Bastions, and more Capacious, the Counterscarp and Cover'd-way good and well Pallisado'd. The Weather was so extraordinary bad at this time, that our Forces which went out of the Garisons 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 remain'd stuck in it; and 'tis very probable, that a League or two difference cou'd not make such a change in the constitution of the Weather, as to make it more favourable for the E­nemy than it was for us. However, the Marquiss de Boufflers, notwithstanding the badness of the Wea­ther, [Page 4] made a shift to open the Trenches on New-Years-Day, New-Stile. The third, in the Evening, he fir'd some Cannon against the Place, and the next Morning Count Horne Capitulated, and the Garison march'd 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 Knocke and at Furnes, was abandon'd by the Dutch Commandant, in the absence of Count Horne, who had both Go­vernments. The Garison of this Place consisted of Si [...] Battalions, of which Colonel L [...]der's was one, which Regiment afterwards went to Garison in Ostend.

The French continu'd very quiet in their Quarters the remaining part of the Winter; and tho' 'twas expected they wou'd be very busie in the beginning of the Spring, yet it pass'd 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 wou'd have been more for their Advantage if it had been the Prelude of a Campagne. Doubtless the reason why it was not Attack'd in the Spring must be because of the great Rains we had then, which hinder'd their Troops from so early taking the Field; but why they did [Page 5] 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 Garison of Huy, 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 conferr 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 cou'd afford; whose Number is far from being so great as we cou'd 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 Weather, 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 [Page 6] of France, (viz.) Luxembourg, Boufflers, Joy­euse, and Villeroy: The first of these two▪ Armies had its Rendezvous at Givry, between Mons and Binch, under the Command of the Mareschal Duc de Luxembourg, with the Mareschals of Joyeuse and Villeroy: The second, commanded by the Mares­chal 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, remain'd in our Rear. On the 12th of May the King, who had left Loo to come to Breda, arriv'd 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 Bathes 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 rendezvous'd at Degham, another Body gather'd to­gether near Ghendt, under the Command of the Duke of Wirtemberg, and Lieutenant-General Tal­mash, consisting chiefly of the Garisons of Ghendt, Bruges, and Ostend, where they were very well posted to observe the Mareschal de Boufflers, in case he would have attempted any thing in Flanders. [Page 7] My Lord of Athlone commanded likewise a Body of Horse between Tongres and Maestricht, drawn out of our Garisons upon the Meuse. As for the In­fantry, they remain'd 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 Garison; such was the Care that was taken for the Safety of our Towns upon the Meuse. Most of our English Infantry encamp'd near Ghendt, except what quarter'd at Mecklen, and the two Battalions of the Royal Regiment, Sellwyn's and Stanley's, which joyn'd the Army at Degham.

The French, May. who had rendezvous'd in two seve­ral Bodies, began to move; and Boufflers who commanded the Second, march'd 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, arriv'd at Quesnoy the 15th. where he was stopp'd some few days by reason of an Indisposition, for which he was twice let Blood; but upon his recovery he joyn'd the Mareschal de Boufflers the same day at Oboure, and the same day saw the Army march be­fore him. The next, he review'd those Troops which the Mareschal had there under his Com­mand. Upon this Motion of the Mareschal de Boufflers from the Scheld towards Mons, to joyn the Army commanded by the Mareschal de Luxem­bourg, [Page 8] the Army near Ghendt, under the Command of the Duke of Wirtemberg, and Lieutenant-Gene­ral Talmash, had Orders to march, to come and joyn our main Body, which continu'd encamp'd at Degham; and accordingly they came the 20th. to Dendermond, and after they had march'd the 22d. to Stanhoff, and the 23d. to Hamme, on the 25th. they pass'd the Canal of Brussels at Vilvorde, and en­camp'd 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 decamp'd with his Army from Givry, and continu'd his march towards Nivelle, and encamp'd at Falay the day following; and the French King, who now headed Boufflers's Army, came the 26th. and encamp'd 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 Garison 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 march'd on to Gemblours, where both his Armies joyn'd, 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 [Page 9] 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 cou'd 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 Battel at Landen, 'twill not be amiss to insert it here, where it has its most proper place.

Note, That those Regiments that are mark'd with an Asterism * are those which were detach'd after­wards towards the Rhine, with the Mareschal de Boufflers, under the Command of the Dauphin.

[Page 26] 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 arriv'd the 16th. of June; so inconside­rable a Siege as that of Huy, was not worth his pre­sence. Every body was very much surprized at this return, but more particularly the Zealots of his own Nation, who think that Victory and Conquest are entail'd upon every Journey he undertakes: They have been very much puzl'd 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 Feint for the Allyes to bring their best Forces here, to make his design'd Conquests more sure in Germany; and when the Dauphin was de­tach'd, they fancied this Project so sure, that they talk'd before-hand of nothing but of his Conquests and Victories upon the Rhine; and a Man wou'd al­most believe by their Writings, that they expected the Dauphin wou'd 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 cou'd meet with no other in this Journey, they made this Project pass for a Triumph of Wisdom, and the Ma­ster-piece of Policy; but it has pleas'd God that in this design they have reckon'd without their Host, and so have been oblig'd to reckon twice. The Allyes 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 return'd to Versailles without attempting any thing upon the Empire.

[Page 27] After the French King had left his Army, and that the Dauphin had march'd with his detachment towards the Rhine, Luxembourg advanc'd 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) spoil'd and plunder'd. The French King's Quarters were mark'd at Meldert, and Luxembourg took his at Cluis. The Bois de Merdal remain'd between us, and equally cover'd our left Wing of Horse and the Body of our Army. The French possess'd 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 order'd a detachment of six English and Scots Regiments, (viz.) two of the Royal Regi­ment, Bathe, 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 In­camp'd in that Line of Horse and Dragoons that ran perpendicular from this Post to the center of our left Wing of Horse, where they were ready to second us if attack'd.

On the 7th. in the Evening, the French entertain'd us with a Feu de joy, that is, a tripple 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 Mareschal de Noailles in Catalonia. We found that their fire went a prodigious length, which we cou'd very easily see in the dusk of the Evening; by which means we perceived the [Page 28] great length of Ground upon which the French Army was there Incamp'd.June.

The thick and close Wood of Merdal which re­main'd 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 reckon'd to go through Brussels for Holland, where they have been entertain'd in the Suisse Regiments which the States have rais'd; be­sides their own Native Troops, which deserted as well as Forreigners: 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 Catholicks, who were debauch'd 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 Majesties Service: There were daily Executions in both Armies to deterr Sol­diers from it, and to hinder them from running away by Cabals. His Majesty publish'd 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 Dis [...]arge, if they ask'd for it; which afterwards hinder'd them from deserting in Companies▪ The Mareschal 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 caus'd a great deal of mischief in both Armies: All those Battalions which encamp'd in lower Grounds were overflow'd with the Torrents of Water, their [Page 29] Tents and Baggage swimming; but the greatest mis­chief was at the King's Quarter, among the Sutlers 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 Abby of Park re­main'd under Water, where, besides those that were kill'd by the fall of the Banks, many were drown'd 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 Forragers, and daily took either Men or Horses.

On the 20th. we made a considerable Detach­ment from the Garison 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 sustain'd by 500 Foot of that Garison 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 forc'd 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 enter'd the Enemies Country, and rais'd Contribution as far as Maubeuge; and brought back with them a great many head of [Page 30] Cattle, besides Hostages for such Contributions which had not been paid in ready Money.

We made another Attempt some days following from the same Garison of Charleroy, where we had not equal success. The French had prepared at Beaumont 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 Garison of Charleroy in their Attempts upon the Ene­mies Convoys, made with the same Colonel de Bay a small Body in order to attack it upon the way to the French Army. The Enemies Convoy was es­corted with a Detachment from the Garisons of Namur, Mons, and Maubeuge, under the Commands of the Counts de Guiscard, Vertillac, and Ximenes, their respective Governours. Du Puy and de 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 forc'd to retreat to their Body of Foot, which was not yet come up; after which the French left off the pursuit, content to have sav'd their Convoy; and tho' re­inforc'd with our Foot, yet du Puy did not think himself strong enough to Rally for a second At­tempt. Many were kill'd 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 kill'd, but their most considerable loss was of the Count de Vertillac Governour of Mons, who was wounded mortally, and dy'd soon after: The French King has since dispos'd of his Govern­ment [Page 31] to Monsier de Lubanie, Mareschal de Camp and Commandant of Calais.

The French, whilst at Meldert, had still several small Parties which sculk'd 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 ventur'd to graze thereby upon scarceness of For­rage: 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 Serjeant 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, retir'd 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, seem'd to try who cou'd keep them longest. On our side we were very much put to it for want of Forrage, and the French on theirs suffer'd great want of Provisions; for, besides that Namur was then their nearest Garison, from whence they cou'd 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 cou'd 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 Forrage, that Louvain, remaining open to them, might fall into their Hands; and also to con­sume as much Forrage as they cou'd hereabouts, and between this and the Maes, to hinder our Army from marching that way, when they should attempt [Page 32] any thing thereabouts. His Majesty (lost the French by their obstinacy shou'd cause an universal want of Forrage in our Camp) order'd Hay, and Oats, and other dry Forrage to come from Holland for the subsistence of the Army at Park, rather than be oblig'd 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, resolv'd at length to quit first their Camp at Meldert; which according­ly they did the 28th. The Right Wing march'd by one of the Clock in the morning, and the rest fol­low'd with all the secresie possible, lest we shou'd make some attempt upon their Rear-Guard: 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 form'd a considerable Body of Horse out of our Left Wing, with which his Majesty endea­vour'd to overtake the Enemy's Rear-Guard, but it prov'd too late. The King rid into the Enemy's Camp, and view'd it. Some of our Refugies Offi­cers came near enough to speak with some of their acquaintance of the French Army, which they found stragling behind. A very deep way remain'd between them, which hinder'd 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, fir'd amongst them, and broke the Conference. The French march'd this day to Heylissem, making their way towards the Meuse.

[Page 33] 'Twas then that we expected to know what designs the French had that way;July▪ The King, who endeavour'd as much as lay in his Power to frustrate them all, or­der'd a Detachment to march incessantly towards Flanders, to attack the French Lines that cover'd his Conquer'd 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 encamp'd between Liege and Maestricht, with 13 Bat­talions (as many as could be spar'd out of those two Garisons since the Detachment upon the Rhine) lay ready to fill up the room of this Detachment in our Army, and as the French cou'd not expect such re­inforcement, if they had detach'd towards the Line, it would in all probability have saved Huy, and in case they did not, it did put us in a condition to raise good Contributions in their Country, to re­compence the loss of that place. 'Twas for this reason that His Majesty order'd 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, &c. of Foot, Alfeldt, Bernstorf, L'Ecluse and Rhingrave, Brigadiers; the 13 Battalions were Bathe, 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.

[Page 34] The same day that we were detach'd from the Army, under the Duke of Wirtemberg, the Foot march'd as far as Vilvorde, under the Command of Major General Ellemberg; the Horse march'd on faster for more Expedition. The second we came to Mellem, after we had pass'd the Canal at Vilvorde. The third we met with very foul Weather, that made our march very troublesome and difficult. It Thunder'd and Rain'd 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 pass'd the Dender at Alost, a pretty clean and neat Town, which the French took in the Wars of 1667. dismantl'd it, and so it has continu'd 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 Pallisado'd the place, which they have renew'd again this Year for the same purpose. After we pass'd the Dender at this place, we encamp'd at Meyer, and so march'd the next day to St. George Oudenhore, and pass'd the Scheld the day following at Oudenarde. This is one of the most considerable Garisons the King of Spain has in this Country, extreamly 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 Sluces 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 [Page 35] Masters of it in both the Wars since the Pyrenean Treaty, and have restor'd it again by those of Aix la Chapelle, and Nimeguen. We encamp'd 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, arriv'd at Oudenarde on the third, where he was joyn'd by several Batta­lions from our Neighbouring Garisons to reinforce his Detachment. We had from Bruges, my Lord Castleton's Regiment; from Brussels, Baron Spaar and Wey; from Charleroy, the Regiments of Carle, 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 Vicount d' Audrigny, which came out under the Command of the Count de Libercey, Gover­nour of Audenarde, who had orders to joyn 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 joyn'd him at Aude­narde, marched on towards the Line, and encamp'd 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 pass'd the Scheld at Au­denarde, march'd the next day in order to join the Duke of Wirtemberg before the Lines; The Artillery [Page 36] consisting of 12 Pieces of Canon, of which two were 12 Pounders, joyn'd us upon this march, be­sides Tin-Boats, 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 remain'd unmoveable, and the great Torrents of Water gather'd so fast to­gether in a little Valley between us and the Lines, thar Count Horne's Regiment which march'd first, cou'd but just wade through, and several of the Rear of the Regiment were drown'd in the pas­sage; upon which, the rest of the Forces that fol­low'd, 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 Weather so unseasonable for our Undertaking. We were forced to lye that Night in the dirt by the Water-side, without any shelter for want of our Baggage, and of convenient ground to incamp upon. The Duke of Wirtemberg who upon our approach, had march'd 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 cou'd 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 [Page 37] the English, Scotch, German, 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 mark'd for our Camp, and the Quarter-Masters went the Rounds, and Sentries challeng'd 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 hinder'd 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 gather'd together, and so found the ways passable by Three of the Clock, at which time we began to march, and joyn'd our Forces very early that Morning, coming up to the Ground that had been mark'd for us by our Quar­ter-Masters, just before the Enemies Line. Prince Wirtemberg, who took great compassion of the Sol­diers sufferings in this march, that had continu'd 8 days together, most in very foul Weather, order'd a quantity of Corn-Brandy of about six Gallons to be distributed to each Company, in every Batta­lion, to chear up our Soldiers, who imme­diately cleans'd and fix'd their Arms (which had been very much spoil'd by the foul Weather) for the approaching Service. The Rain continu'd the seventh, and the ground so deep that we went al­most to the Knees in dirt in our Camp; which like­wise hinder'd our Artillery and Ammunition from coming, by the badness of the Ways, till late in the Evening. The Weather was so very bad that it al­most dash'd the hopes we had in this Undertaking.

[Page 38] Before we proceed to give an Account of the At­tack that follow'd the next day, 'twill not be amiss to describe to the Reader what kind of Works we had to attack, and the strength of the Enemies Line. This is a Work which the French have made since the be­ginning of this War, to cover their Conquer'd Coun­try from our Incursions, to make them pay Con­tribution. It is continu'd from the Scheld to the Lys, and so to Ipres, Berg St. VVinnox, and to the very Sea by Dunkirk. The late Monsieur de Calvo, Lieutenant General, Commanded a Body of Men to cover the Boors who were order'd from all sides to come and work to make up this Line; and the French King gave him the Commission of Go­vernour to command all along this Retrenchment. Since the French have been Masters of Mons they have made the same, tho' not so strong a Work (be­cause the course of the Country is not so capable of it) between Tournay and Mons, and to the very Sambre by Maubeuge, which, as we have before gi­ven an Account, has been forced this Year by the Garison of Charleroy. But where this Line or Re­trenchment has the most strength, is where we At­tack'd it, between the Lys and the Scheld, where the French have been most industrious to make it strong for the Neighbourhood of the Garison of Audenarde, and for a greater security to the rich and fertile Chatelenies of Lisle and Courtray. The little River of Espiers runs cross the Country, and has its Spring not far from the River Lys, within a League of Courtray, and so falls into the Scheld, at Pont d'E­spiers. The French have taken the Advantage of this little River to make their Line stronger▪ and have drawn it just within; so that this River runs [Page 38]

[Page 39] sometimes through the Fossé of the Retrenchment, and as its running (as of other Rivers) is irregular, sometimes it runs within 20 or 30 paces of it. The Village of Pont d' Espiers, where both the Line and River joyn the Scheld, was very well Fortified, and from thence all along as far as the Lys, this Line was Fortified with good Redans and Redoubts all within Musquet-shot of one another, all Pallisado'd; besides every Redoubt was environ'd with a good Fossé. The French, to defend this Work between the Lys and the Scheld, where they found we re­solv'd to Attack it, had drawn together as many Forces as they could take out of the Neighbouring Garisons; besides what Forces lay all along for the defence of the Lines, joyn'd all together here un­der the Command of the Marquiss de la Valette, Lieu­tenant General, and made up a Body of 12 Batta­lions; among which was the entire Regiment Royal Savoy, one Battalion of Normandy, one of La Marche, and one of Anjou, &c. besides 600 Suissers; three Regiments of Horse, and five of Dragoons. At three Squadrons in each Regiment (which is the least the French have) makes 24 Squadrons. And now let the Reader judge whether there was not as great a disproportion between the French Army and ours at Landen, as there was now between the Duke of VVirtemberg and La Valette; The French out­number'd us as much in proportion there as we outnumber'd them here; and therefore if we had a mind to dress this Account in as Pompous a Stile as that of the French King's Letter to the Arch-Bishop of Paris, after the Battle of Landen, I leave the World to judge, whether we had not most reason to say, that we attack'd the Marquis de la Valette, [Page 40] very advantageously posted in his formidable Re­trenchments; certainly as much more reason as the Marquis de la Valette's Retrenchment had been the Work of many Years, and our Retrenchment at Landen not of as many Hours. I hope the Reader will pardon this Digression, to let the World know what we cou'd do, if the Allies wou'd once but se­riously apply their utmost efforts in the prosecuti­on of this War, and not play the good Husbands so much as they do, to the Ruine of their Common Interest.

Prince Wirtemberg, as we have said before, had mov'd from D'Otignies with the Right Wing of Horse, and the Battalions that had join'd him at Audenarde, about half a League to the Right, and encamp'd 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 prov'd fair Weather) Prince Wirtemberg resolv'd to attack the French in their Lines. For which pur­pose the Boors had been order'd 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 order'd with four Battalions to attack the Re­doubt at Pont-David, in the Center 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 [Page 41] 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 fol­low'd 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 adjoyning heighth that overlook'd the Enemies Line, consist­ing of nine Pieces of Cannon upon the Left Attack, and three we had sent upon the Right. After the Granadiers follow'd the Battalions drawn up upon three Lines on the Left Attack to sustain one ano­ther. We march'd in this order till we came very near Musket-shot of the Redoubts, and then we were order'd to halt. Three Pieces of Cannon were fir'd upon the Right for a Signal that they were ready to begin the Attack, which we answer'd with three like Pieces to shew the same disposition upon the Left; and afterwards our Cannon began to fire upon the Enemy; the small Field-Pieces fir'd upon the Corps de Guarde of the Redoubt to make that Post uneasie for the Soldiers that were lodg'd in it, and our two twelve Pounders fir'd upon the Enemies Horse that were drawn up in a Line, mounted on Horse-back 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 [Page 42] attack the Enemy. The Walloons with my Lord Castleton's Regiment had the Van upon the Right, and my Lord of Argyle in the Center 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 Palis­sado's 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; Argyle's Granadiers had the Van and suffer'd very much in this Attack: The first Lieutenant was kill'd upon the place, and the second wounded, and about fifteen of the Company kill'd upon the spot, besides the wounded. After that Wymberg and Al­feldt had fir'd so briskly for some time upon the Right, we upon the Left, where Prince Wirtemberg was in Person, were order'd 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 incourag'd our Soldiers mightily, was, that our Cannon, particularly the two 12 Pounders, plai'd so briskly upon the Horse, that they were oblig'd 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, su­stain'd [Page 43] by Torsay's Regiment, and Count Horne's up­on the Left. All the Men express'd 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 cover'd by their Fascines, march'd 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 flung 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 swam or went to the Neck in Wa­ter: And when they came to t'other side, the Ene­my fir'd 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 flank'd, fired upon the Enemy, which cover'd very much our Gra­nadiers, who still went on, and had Orders not to fire till they came to the very Palissado's of the Re­doubt. But in the mean while, Major-General Wymberg, and the Count D'Alfeldt who expos'd 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 form'd their Squadrons in order to attack the Ene­mies Horse; but as they had now reason to be a­fraid lest we shou'd charge them both Front and Flank, they had Orders to quit the Redoubt we were attacking upon the Left, which otherwise [Page 44] cou'd not have been so easily carried, and with the loss of so little Blood. Two Battalions that lin'd the Retrenchment to our Left of this Redoubt, march'd off form'd and Colours flying, but they were so much expos'd 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 cou'd, and about 200 Men which defended the Redoubt made a small fire once, and so abandon'd it. The Grana­diers then flung themselves in the Ditch, as deep, if not deeper than the River, and so came the Pa­lissado's, 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 cou'd not follow so fast, because the Stream of the River carry'd the Fascines away, so that we cou'd not pre­sently make a Bridge with them; but as soon as it cou'd be done, a vast many Boors, who had been commanded for that purpose, pass'd to pull down with their Shovels and Spades a convenient space of the Line for our Horse and Foot of the Left to march thorough: After which we laid a Bridge over the Ditch of the Line, and so both Horse and Foot got within the Enemies Retrenchments. Whilst we were getting in, one of the Enemies Squadrons appear'd 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 [Page 45] Bathe's Granadiers got a large Barrel of good French Brandy in the Corps 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 hasten'd to get to t'other side of the Pass at St. Leger before we cou'd over­take them, only some of their Waggons 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 burn'd at least twelve Villages, besides the Churches of Verigny and St. Leger, where the Boors had heap'd all their moveable 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 Boors Goods. At Verigny some of them went in­to the Church to endeavour to save somewhat of what was their own, as Flax, &c. and two or three remain'd in the flames.

In the Evening Prince Wirtemberg's Army joyn'd together in one Body, and march'd to t'other side of the Village of D'Otignies, where it encamp'd upon two Lines; and the Duke of Wirtemberg took his Quarter in that very House, where the Mar­quiss 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 [Page 46] to preserve their Estates in the French Conquests. The Marquis de la Valette, after he had been forc'd from his Post within the Lines, retir'd 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 march'd into our Camp, and the Boors were order'd from all the Vil­lages about as far as Audenarde, to come and level the Line, and the Enemies 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 shou'd have been. The Villages our Soldiers had set on fire the over-night, caus'd a very great Consternation throughout the Country, and tho' 'twas a very miserable sight, yet it produc'd this good effect, that it made the Inhabi­tants of the Chatellenie of Courtray, which extends it self 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 shou'd 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 remain'd some days encamp'd at D'Otignies, as well to refresh his [Page 47] Soldiers, who most of them had now march'd 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 Meuse.

We had left the Enemy encamp'd at Heylissem, the 28th of the last Month, which Camp they after­wards left to come nearer to the Meuse, and encamp'd 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 Huy, and so runs the same course as the Meuse, by Warem, Lootz, Tongres, and at last falls into the Meuse 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, encamp'd near Tongres, with a design to joyn our Army to reinforce it; of which the Mareschal de Luxembourg was adver­tiz'd by the Marquis de Nesle, whom he had sent upon Party to get Intelligence. Luxembourg thought 'twas necessary to hinder this Reinforcement from joyning our Army; and therefore resolv'd 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 joyn him some distance from thence, where he expected them, besides other Troops both Horse and Foot, as many as wou'd make a Body of 10000 Men. The Foot march'd on streight be­fore, because they did not know very well whe­ther [Page 48] Tilly had any Foot with him or no, and about an hour before Night Luxembourg march'd at the Head of the Horse upon two Columnes, he at the Head of the one, and the Mareschal de Villeroy at the Head of the other. They march'd as fast as they cou'd 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 heighth from whence they could discover Count Tilly upon the March, who had been advertiz'd about Midnight of the Enemies 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, order'd some of his best mounted Horse to file off, and to ride as fast as they cou'd 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 pass'd 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 press'd by the narrowness of the Ground, and besides having express Orders not to engage, only skirmish'd with them retreating, whilst Telly's main Body rid on to get a Village where to [Page 49] 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 pursu'd these very briskly within two hours of Maestricht, where Count Tilly was forc'd to retire, after he had un­derstood that the Ways to Liege were possess'd 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 kill'd, and the Duke of Montfort, Son to the Duke of Chevreuse, wounded; the Marquis of Thiange wounded, and about 50 of the Life Guards and Carabiniers, kill'd or wounded.

Immediately after this Success, the Mareschal de Luxembourg resolved to Besiege Huy, which place he caus'd to be Invested the 9th. This Town is situated upon the Meuse, between Liege and Na­mur, the best part of it on the other side of the Meuse, towards the Condros, (for so that part of the Principality of Liege is called, which lies on the other side of the Meuse, between Liege, Huy, and Dinant) the other on this side of the River, to which 'tis joyn'd by a Bridge, but at the best but a Dirty poor Town. The Castle is on the Condros-side of the Meuse, seated in the midst of the Town, upon a steep Hill and a solid Rock. The Castle is small, and commanded by adjoyning Hills. At the foot of the Hill (whereon the Ca­stle is seated) stands the chief Church of the Town. [Page 50] 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 Be­sieg'd and Taken by the Mareschal de Rochefort in the Year 1675. This Town, before the taking of Na­mur, was only Inviron'd with a weak Stone Wall, as we have in our ancient Towns in England, but since they have made several Half-Moons, 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 Garison of near 2000 Men. Upon the approach of the Enemy, they abandon'd that part of the Town situated on this side of the River, and broke down the Bridge upon the Meuse, that joyn'd it to the other. The Commandant had promis'd to make as good defence as the situation of the Castle, which is upon the Rock, cou'd 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 Enemies 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 Enemies hands. The same day that the Marquis de Harcourt had Invested Huy, the Enemy be­gan to batter the Town with their Cannon; and the 10th. it Surrender'd upon Condition that the Go­vernour and Garison should have liberty to retire into the Castle. Afterwards they Summon'd the lit­tle Fort Picard to Surrender, which is a New Work that had been made upon the point of a Rock, but not yet finish'd. The Officer that Commanded, agreed to yield it upon Condition he should have the liberty to retire into the Castle with his Gari­son, [Page 51] which the Enemy refus'd; upon which he re­solv'd to defend himself till the 13th. that 'twas Sur­render'd at discretion, and the Garison made Priso­ners of War. The same day the Enemy fir'd 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 Governour Capitulated. The Conditions agreed up­on were, that he should be conducted safely to Liege with his Garison: 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 inform'd that the French had Invested Huy, resolv'd to march nearer to the Meuse to watch after the security of Liege, and accordingly on the 10th. the Army march'd from Parck (where we had hitherto remain'd Incamp'd) to Tillemont, and the over-night all our heavy Baggage was order'd to be ready to march the next day to Diest. The 11th. the Army continu'd its march from Tille­mont to Neerhespen, after it had pass'd both the Geets, and halted the next day. 13th. the Army march'd on to Vellem, having the Town and Abbey of St. Tron in the Rear, and the day following the King advanc'd 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 Huy, whose weak Defence the Bishop of Liege has so much resented, that he has since order'd the Baron de Renesse to be Tried by a Council of War, with a great many o­ther [Page 52] Officers of the Garrison. The Baron de Renesse has been condemn'd 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 order'd to be hang'd in Effigie.

After the taking of Huy, the Mareschal de Lux­embourg drew nearer to Liege, and Incamp'd at Hellick, as if he had some Design upon that Place; of which the King being inform'd, detach'd 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 march'd back on the 15th. to the Camp at Neerhespen. The Mareschal of Luxembourg being Incamp'd at Hellick, and his Right not very far from Liege, sent to the Bishop to offer him a Neutrality; upon which the Bishop call'd a Chapter, where 'twas deliberated by them, and re­jected almost unanimously, except by two or three Cannons in the French Interest, who endeavour'd 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 Diocess, according to their History, was St. Mater­nus, one of St. Peter's Disciples, who preached the Gospel here, and had his See at Tongres, then 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 transferr'd to Liege upon this Occasion. St. Lam­bert, Bishop of Maestricht, was Murder'd about that [Page 53] 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 Forrest 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 Murder'd at Liege. This Bishop was afterwards advertiz'd 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 cloath'd in Purple Furr'd Robes, whereas other Cannons are onely cloath'd with Black Robes lin'd with Furr. The Cardinals of Bouillon 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 Emperour, so call'd, 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 Diocess, as well as to that of Rome. We shall at present leave Luxembourg at his Camp at Hellick, and the King at Neerhespen, just entring 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.

[Page 54] On the 12th. of this Month Prince Wirtemberg left the Camp at D'Otignies, and march'd 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 Garison. 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 Em­perour 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, Douay, Courtray, Ath, Audenarde, and Charleroy, &c. which were all again restor'd 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. Martins.

The day after we had Incamp'd at Esquermes, the Duke of Wirtemberg order'd 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 [Page 55] Marck, about two English Miles from Lisle, upon the way between it and Tournay, which is along a very good Causway, rais'd above five Foot higher than the Grounds about, and Pav'd 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 cou'd have been defended. When Bri­gadier Hubert came near with his Detachment, the Enemy drew out some Men upon the Causway, and Posted them among the Houses to defend the Pass; the Fire continu'd a little time on both sides, but when our Cannon was once come up, they forsook the Causway and Houses, and retir'd within the Barriers of the Bridge, where they seem'd 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 favour'd this Detachment by their Fire upon the Enemy, having been planted in a convenient place after we had made our selves Masters of the Houses upon this side of the Bridge. The Enemy fir'd 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 march'd on) their Fire upon the E­nemy. Our Detachment of English and Scotch Granadiers, who had the Van in this Action, be­hav'd 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; [Page 56] Our Cannon, which play'd at the same time, and the rest of the Detachment that follow'd to sustein them, made at last the Enemy resolve to quit this Post. We found several of their Men kill'd upon the place, their Number 14 or 15, the loss about equal on our side; no Commission Officers, only one English Sergeant. We cou'd hear the Fire during this Attack very plain from our Camp at Esquermes. After this Defeat, the Enemy re­tir'd 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 de­tach'd to force the Pass of Pont a Tresein, we were joyn'd by the Regiment of Scheltingua from the Garison of Ghendt.

Whilst we were Incamp'd at Esquermes so near Tournay, we made the Inhabitants of the Countrey come in with their Contributions all along the Scheld, as far as Mortagne, where 'tis joyn'd by the Scarpe, and so on along the Scarpe from from St. Amand and Marchiennes, as far as Douay. On the 15th. the two Walloon Regiments of Count Falay and the Vicount d' Audrigny, were detach'd to reinforce Brigadier Hubert, who remain'd Incamp'd 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 Tournay behind us in this march, so the Duke order'd that day a good Rear-Guard of the Bat­talions of Bathe, Castleton, and Argyle, besides several Squadrons of Horse under the command of Briga­dier Count d' Alfeldt. Some of the Enemy's Squa­drons [Page 57] of the Garison of Tournay appear'd in sight of the Rear-Guard, t'other side of a Defile, upon our Left Flank, about a Mile beyond Templeur; upon which Count d'Alfeldt order'd to draw up in Battel, and so we march'd as long as the Ground would per­mit it: We pass'd the Marck that Evening at Pont a Tresein, where we joyn'd Brigadier Hubert, and encamp'd at Anapes, within two small English Miles from Lisle, and the Duke of VVirtemberg took his Quarter at a Castle belonging to the Count d'Anapes, and so summon'd 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 Governour General of the Païs Conquis, at present the Mareschal d' Hu­mieres. There is a very fine Cittadel, of which Monsieur de Vauban is Governour, the most famous Ingenier this day in Europe, and a Man may call this his Jewel, for he has spar'd neither Art nor Mo­ney to make it the finest Citadel, and the best in France.

Whilst we were encamp'd at Anapes, 'twas dis­cours'd either that we should push our point farther, and have forc'd the Passes of Pont a Ventin and Haubourdin upon the River Deule, so to have rais'd Contributions to the very Gates of Arras and St. Omer, or that we shou'd have Bombarded Tournay in our Retreat, or else have form'd the Siege of Menin. There was a good Train of Artillery [Page 58] 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 hinder'd 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 refus'd the Neutrality offer'd them by the Mareschal de Luxembourg, when he had taken the Frontier Town of this Principality; the Mareschal de Lux­embourg made as if he design'd to force it to accept of his Conditions; for which reason (as we have said before) the King detach'd 10 Battalions, under the Command of Brigadier Swerin, to reinforce that Garison, 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, resolv'd to Attack the King, who continu'd in his Camp at Neerhespen from the 15th. to observe the success of Luxembourg's Attempt upon Liege, and who was very much weaken'd by the Detach­ment he had been oblig'd to put in Liege and Mae­stricht, for the security of those places; so that His Majesty's Army was now reduc'd to 51 or 52 Batta­lions: And to cover his design with more secresie, Luxembourg order'd 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 Montchevreüil was order'd on the 16th. with a considerable Detachment both of Horse [Page 59] and Foot to encamp a little way off, upon the Left of their Army at Hellick, of which the King had notice; whereupon the King continu'd encamp'd at Neerhespen, where we had greater plenty of Forage than about Tillemont or Louvain. On the 17th. Lux­embourg design'd to march to Attack the King, and Montchevreüil had orders to joyn him, but the Rain that happen'd that day hinder'd his march. The 17th. in the Evening he gave Orders for Forrage, 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 Hellick; and Montchevreüil had Orders to joyn Luxembourg. The Army march'd as soon as 'twas day upon four Co­lumns, the Foot upon two in the Center, and the Horse upon two in the Right and Left, for the greater Expedition upon so long a March; and so the Army pass'd the Jecker, part about its Spring, and part above between Warem and Latine upon the Mehaigne. The Mareschal de Luxembourg at first had put himself at the Head of the Left Wing, com­manded by the Mareschal de Joyeuse, which made upon this March the Right Column. When he was come as far as Warem, he learn'd by his Spies that the Allies still continued in their Camp at Neerhespen, and so order'd a halt to give time to this Column to pass the River Jecker. The Mareschal then left the Command of the Left Wing to Joyeuse, and advanced to the Right Wing, Commanded by the Mareschal de Villeroy, which made the Left Column; and having march'd above the Springs of the Jecker, was got before as far as Avernas, whilst the Foot pass'd the Jecker upon several Bridges, [Page 60] Commanded by the Prince of Conti, July 18. the Duke of Berwick, and Rubantel, Lieutenant Generals. Lux­embourg advanc'd as fast as he could with the King's Houshold, and the rest of the Right Wing of Horse, to come in sight of our Camp, to charge our Rear-Guard, in case we had resolv'd to repass the Geet, up­on the Enemies 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 en­camp'd apart upon the Left the night before, was for that reason more advanc'd than the rest of the In­fantry of their Army.

The King, who still continu'd in the Camp of Neerhespen to know the certainty of the Enemies de­signs before he went off farther from the Meuse, 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 re­turn'd, which gave His Majesty an account that they cou'd 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 E­nemies approach, he got on Horseback, with the Elector of Bavaria, and chief Officers of the Army. His Majesty found by the Enemies Countenance, that 'twas the Vanguard of their whole Army that was [Page 61] coming up to attack him in his own Camp; where­upon the King immediately order'd to Arms, and to draw in Battel 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 ruine, and so to make the best advantage of the Ground he had, and to venture a Battel, 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 proceedings had been stopt 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 reach'd as far as Neerwinden, being cover'd with a small Brook, several Hedges, and hollow ways. The Elector of Bavaria had his Quarter at VVangen; the Body of Foot, and Left Wing of Horse reach'd from thence as far as Dormal, upon the Brook of Beck, where Lewe remain'd 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 Iudoigne 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 [Page 62] Lewe, July 18. where it joyns with the lesser Geet; and all these three small Rivers joyn 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 Mareschal 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 order'd to march, after they had pass'd 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 possess'd him­self of the Village of Landen upon his Right, where he order'd the Marquis of Crequi Mareschal de Camp, with the Brigades of Bourbonnois and Lyonnois, to which the Marquis of Feuquieres Lieutenant Gene­ral joyn'd afterwards the Brigade of Maulevrier; besides, between this Village of Landen and that of St. Gertrudenland, he order'd the Brigades of Navarre, Anjou, and Artois, under the Command of the Count de Solre Mareschal 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 order'd to march with the Brigades of Piémont, the King's, Crussol, Orleans, and Reynold, to the Village of High-VVinden, where they joyn'd the Brigades of Salis and Arbouville, which had been posted here before by the Lieutenant General Montchevreüil. Note, That the late King James's [Page 63] Guards were in this Brigade of Arbouville, but not being detach'd with Montchevreüil 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 charg'd 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 order'd a Line of Horse of 7 Squadrons of the Kings 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 Mareschal de Villeroy, and the Sieur Rozen Lieutenant General, and the Duke of Ro­quelaure Mareschal de Camp. He order'd 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 Houshold, the Brigades of Bolen, Carabi­niers, and the Regiment of Praslin which remain'd of the Mestre de Camp Generals 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 order'd 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 wou'd permit; and the whole disposition of the Horse was made according to the Orders received from the Duke of Chartres, who [Page 64] commanded it. The Chevalier de Bezons Mares­chal de Camp, with the Reserve, was posted behind the Village of Overwinden, and Lieutenant-General Ximenes, and Mareschal 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 remain'd this Night.

As soon as the Enemy drew up by our Camp, the King order'd Brigadier Ramsey with his Brigade then compos'd 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 cover'd 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 cover'd part of our Camp between the Right Wing of Horse and our main Body. These were afterwards re­inforc'd 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 order'd the First Battalion of the Royal Regiment, Churchill's, [Page 65] Selwyn's, and Trelawney's, Prince Frederick's Battalion of Danes, and Fagel's, to possess this Vilage that co­ver'd the Left of our Body of Foot, which upon the Enemies approach had wheel'd from the Left to the Right, to bring up their Left to the Brook of Beck, where 'twas cover'd by this Village of Neerlanden. The Ground was open between Neer­winden and Neerlanden, whereupon his Majesty or­der'd 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 pleas'd 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 licencious way of writing, who to render the least things admirable is allowed to heigthen their Idea's with pompous and high-flown Epithets, than the Honour and Credit of a King, who, one would think, shou'd be oblig'd in such a Case to the strictest Rules of Truth, particu­larly when 'tis to set forth his own Praise. What remain'd of the Body of Foot was drawn up in one Line within this Retrenchment to defend it. Our Dragoons upon the Left were order'd 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 cover'd by this Brook, and from thence turn'd off to the Right behind our Body of Foot, where it made as 'twere the Figure of an Elbow.

[Page 66] 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 cover'd us, and to see how our Retrench­ment went on, at last order'd 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 repos'd in his Coach two or three hours, and early in the morning his Majesty, whose Piety is as unparallel'd 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 pleas'd 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 Hypocrisie, would not have his Devotion publish'd out of his Closet, yet I thought my self oblig'd to publish this, for an Example to our Officers and Soldiers, that they may be sensible that the most Heroick 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 unconcern'd 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 [Page 67] Case, as they are willing to follow him when he leads them to engage their Enemies.

At Sun-rising we found the Enemies drawn up within Cannon-shot, which then began to play up­on them with good success: They sustain'd 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 Enemies Horse remain'd 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, order'd 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: Mont­chevreüill the Left with the Brigades of Salis, Suissers, and Arbouville. The Duke of Berwick the Center 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 [Page 68] had at the same time Orders to joyn 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 re-inforce 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 rally'd again with the Second, after the loss of a great many Of­ficers and Soldiers. The French were forc'd to give way, but the Duke of Bourbon came to their relief with the Brigade of Guiche, which renew'd their Vigour, and then ours on their side began to make way. Brigadier Ramsey was attack'd very vi­gorously with the whole Reserve of Dragoons be­sides the Regiment Colonel, that had re-inforc'd it with Reynold's Brigade. The Brandenbourg Bat­talions who lin'd 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 rally'd his Brigade, and they charg'd the Enemy that had possess'd them­selves of the Village of Lare with such Fury that they beat them out again, regain'd their Post, and made great slaughter among the Enemies. The [Page 69] 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 charg'd them with such Vigour, that they made them retreat, tho' they cou'd 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 re­inforc'd both at Lare and Neerwinden from our Bo­dy of Foot; but 'tis certain there was no such thing; 'twas only the same Forces rally'd that had the Credit of re-gaining their former Post, and of beating back their numerous Enemies that had ta­ken it from them. What remain'd of our Infantry was but enough to line the Retrenchment that co­ver'd us to the Plain, and 'twas not thought fit to bring one Battalion from thence to re-inforce 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 busie and eager at this Attack, push'd so far as to fall in amongst our Men with his Aid de Camp Ac­moughty: They were undistinguish'd for some time, till Brigadier Churchill came near, and heard them cursing the Suissers for not having done their Duty. The Brigadier remember'd Acmoughty's Face, and [Page 70] tho' he did not see the Duke of Berwick's, yet by Acmoughty's Employment he guess'd at the Person, and so made them both his Prisoners.

The French tried their Fortune after this at Neer­landen, to see if they cou'd 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 re-inforce Brigadier Ramsey upon the Right, so that there remain'd but four Battalions for the Defence of this Place, viz. The First Batta­lion of the Royal Regiment, Selwyn's, Prince Frede­rick's, and Fagel's. The four Regiments of Dra­goons of Cailus, Finmarcon, and two of Asfeld had pass'd 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, order'd 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 attack'd 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 attack'd this Post. The First Batta­lion of the Royal Regiment was after a sharp di­spute forc'd to retire, but after sustain'd by Selwin's, who observing a Passage in this place where Horse could come in upon his Rear, order'd Trees to be cut down, and stop it up. We caus'd likewise that House to be set on fire, where Hamilton's Grana­diers [Page 71] had before been posted: But both these Re­giments were at last sustain'd by Prince Frederick's, and Fagel's, and after a sharp Dispute of about two hours had the advantage; the Enemy were in­tirely beaten off, and pursu'd 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 cou'd pass into our Camp, he order'd 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 continu'd still a faint fire at Neerwinden seem'd 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, resolv'd 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 remain'd Masters of the outermost Hedges of this Village, as we have said before, and our rally'd Forces, tho' they had the advantage in the last Charge to make the Enemy give way con­siderably, yet they could not intirely clear the [Page 72] 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 Ma­reschal 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 Mareschal de Villeroy undertook to bring in Horse this way, and so he order'd 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, then 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 form'd 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 inviron'd with our Forces, and narrowly escaped being made Prisoner. 'Twas then that we endeavour'd to regain once more this Post of Neerwinden. The Elector upon the Right, order'd two Battalions to Charge the Ene­my in Front, whilst three others should Charge them upon their Left Flank, but the first Brigades of Piemont, the King's, Crussol, Guiche, Arbouville, and Orleans, upon the Advantage the Brigade of Guards [Page 73] and Suissers had now gained at this place, Rally'd and reinforced them; so that the Attempt became impossible; They fell upon two Battalions of Hanouer, and made them quite give way. The two Batta­lions▪ one of Dutch and t'other 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 order'd 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 Mareschal de Joyeuse and the Duke of Bourbon (who had left the Brigade of Guiche to Post himself upon his Wing of Horse) pass'd with the Count Nassau Mareschal 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 joyn'd with the King's House (that had Rally'd behind their Foot where they had been repuls'd by the Count d' Arco) and fell on upon the Hanouer Horse, and broke them. The Sieur Ximenes, the Count de Guis­card, the Chevalier Bezons, and the Sieur Pracontal, [Page 74] 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 Huy with his Detachment of 22 Squadrons, came time enough to have his share of the day; He joyn'd 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, Mareschal 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 Flank'd 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 overpower'd them so much, that they remain'd Masters of this part of the Retrench­ment, which they levell'd 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 Mareschal de Luxem­bourg is Colonel, lost their Standard, which was taken by a Soldier of Talmash's Battalion of Guards. The Fusiliers suffer'd 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 [Page 75] did what he could to resist the numerous Multitude of the Enemy's Horse that Charg'd him thus; but finding it impossible, he, with the Advice of his Generals, resolved to Retreat, and made the Cuiras­siers by a Counter-march face the Enemy; but the Enemy had already so far overpower'd them, that the Retreat was difficult. The Enemy Charging on all sides, mingl'd themselves with the Horse that had got to the River. The Elector with some difficulty and hazard passed the Bridge, and Rally'd on t'other side as many of our scatter'd Horse and Foot as cou'd 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 Mareschal de Luxembourg his Father, repaired to his Post here as Mareschal 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 forc'd 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 [Page 76] Service that day. The King Charg'd 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 Charg'd 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 it self 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 Ingaged in the crowd of E­nemies) was shot under him, and a Villain was of­fering to Stab him, which he already had endea­vour'd 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 stopt 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 pass'd the River in great disorder, and that 'twas impossible to resist, order'd our Infantry to retreat to Dormal upon the [Page 77] 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 pass'd at Osmal a little below, and so they went by the King's Orders to Lewe. The King, who had stay'd 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 Ingaged 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 escap'd be­ing drowned. The Cannon and Artillery Waggons 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 t'other, 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 [Page 78] 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 signaliz'd himself very much this day. As the Ene­my offer'd 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 suffer'd so little that day. When the King had passed the River at Neerhespen, he joyn'd part of his Foot Guards, and of the Horse of the Left Wing, and what had passed of Ramsey's Brigade, with which he joyned 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 Incamp'd 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 over-night, where 'twas safely brought off in respect of the Enemy, but generally▪ Plunder'd 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 [Page 79] 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 happen'd, one to the Duke of Wirtemberg, who was then Incamp'd 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 acknowledg'd by his People. The King narrowly missed three Mus­quet 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 Majesties Heroick Valour than we can do our selves. '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 [Page 80] where present where there was any Action, exp [...]sing 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 ex­pos'd to so many dangers as the King, that has seen so many Warlike Actions, and that has been present at so many Battels 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 rais'd 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 reserv'd (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 spight of their Success, to Lewe. When the Camp remained clear, and that most of our Troops had repass'd the River, the Mareschal de Luxembourg order'd the Cannon that had been taken from us to be drawn upon a Line, [Page 81] which was fir'd thrice in token of their Victory; their small Shot, both Horse and Foot drew up, and did the same, and remain'd encamp'd 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 Montchevreüil kill'd in this Engagement. He likewise order'd the Te Deum to be sung in the Cathedral Church of Nostre Dame at Paris, and writ the following Letter to the Arch-Bishop of the Place; which, for the Pomp and Greatness of its Stile, considering the truth of the matter, 'twill not be amiss to Insert here.

Tho' the advantage the French had this day was considerable enough to order the Arch-Bishop of Paris to sing the Te Deum in his Cathedral Church, yet Truth is stretched to such a heighth in it, that the Stile of it is altogether Romantick. '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 [Page 83] expos'd his Person in all the dangers of the day, when Luxembourg attack'd 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, &c. 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 supply'd it with words. As for the particulars of our Losses, as Colours, Standards, Kettle-Drums, Cannon, Mor­tars, [Page 84] and Pontons, 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 recover'd; 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 offer'd 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 intirely dispers'd, yet the French King would not take Brussels, Louvain, and Malines, &c. which now (if our Army was dispers'd) did lye open and defenceless to his victorious Forces; that likewise he did not insult the City of Liege, which had so Insolently refus'd the Neutrality; and that he has only Besieged Charleroy after so great an over­throw, [Page 85] 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 Arch-Bishop, 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 Stile, only he gives the Allies their due commendation, saying, That they did Wonders: But this comes in only to Inhance 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 overpower'd 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 Huy, 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 Mareschal de Luxembourg) as His Majesty had ex­presly 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 kill'd, and 3000 wounded; but that the Allies had about 20000 Men Kill'd, Wounded, and Prisoners; but I believe 'twill appear by and by, that when they reckon'd our Losses, 'twas ra­ther [Page 86] 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 gain'd 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 Hanouer 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 suffer'd most this day, the French Infantry or ours. They have had a prodigious num­ber of Officers Kill'd and Wounded, of all sorts and Ranks, but the chiefest are these:

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 promis'd 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 inferiour 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 Ingeniers, 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 [Page 125] cover'd 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 repuls'd 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 Rodomontado's, 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 oblig'd 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 then 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 [Page 127] paid off there. After the reduction of Charleroy the French King bestowed this Government upon Mon­sieur Boisselot, the late Governour 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 Mareschal 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 publish'd of the Battle of Landen. On the 5th. our Army began to separate, and to go into Winter Quarters; Part of the Garison of Bruges and Ostend was de­tach'd, under the Command of Brigadier Ramsey, to march towards the Canal of Bruges, and got the 7th. into their Quarters. The 6th. the Army de­camp'd from Ninove, and repass'd the Dender, be­tween it and Alost, and so the Foot continued to march off towards Quarters. The remainder of the Infantry of the Garison 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, &c. the Horse continued canton'd up and [Page 126] 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 Mareschal de Boufflers remain'd in the Condros to consume the Forrage. That part of Luxembourg's Army that was to Quarter between the Scheld, the Sambre, and the Meuse, was sent to Garison, but the rest that was to Winter from the Scheld to the Sea, came near Courtray to Fortifie that Town, which they have a mind to put in a Condition to hold a formal Siege. They made another Detachment to­wards Dixmuyde, to Fortifie 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 Wea­ther 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 Mareschal de Boufflers remains to Command in Flanders. And now that Bouffler's Detachment of 12 Battalions from the Rhine is Quarter'd 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 [Page 128] wholly their Interest, and by what hath hitherto appear'd 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 appear'd, that they do owe their Success meerly 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 Parcimony, which has rather serv'd to augment the French King's Power, than answer'd in the least the design'd 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 onely 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 onely ruine and weaken our selves, 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 expence of augmenting their [Page 129] 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 reduc'd 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 Garisons. The Colonels had only Bills assign'd them for the payment of their Troops, upon which they were to get ready Money as well as they could. In their Garisons 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 authentick proofs of it, tho' in the Preface of those Edicts they endeavour'd to throw dust in the Peoples 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 encrease 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 [Page 130] than Starve, leave the Plough, and thus only aug­ment the Famine and the publick 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 convinc'd, 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 publick Christian King-like 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?

[Page 131] And since we have follow'd His Majesty in this History from the Field, which he left on the 15th. to Loo, where he arriv'd 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 remain'd at Loo to divert himself (after the Fa­tigues of the Field) in Hunting till the 1st. of Octob. that he arriv'd at the Hague, where His Majesty spent some time in Conferences with the States Ge­neral, and Council of State, who have consented to a new Levy of 15000 Men, besides the 4000 Suissers rais'd 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 detain'd by Storms and contrary Winds till the 28th. that His Majesty sail'd from Oranie Polder, and arriv'd 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 expos'd his Person this Cam­pagne.

[Page 132] 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.

BRƲGES, Scots Guards, Royal Regiment, Bathe, 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 Quarter'd at GHENDT, except the Life Guards; that have their Quarters at BREDA.