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Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..9fc30ab --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #55968 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/55968) diff --git a/old/55968-0.txt b/old/55968-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 1b30f6e..0000000 --- a/old/55968-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,23974 +0,0 @@ -Project Gutenberg's A History of the British Army, Vol. 1, by J. W. Fortescue - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A History of the British Army, Vol. 1 - First Part—to The Close of The Seven Years' War - -Author: J. W. Fortescue - -Release Date: November 14, 2017 [EBook #55968] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Italic text is denoted by _underscores_. - - A superscript is denoted ^{xx}, for example 19^{th} or 3^{rd}. - - Footnote anchors are denoted by [number], and the footnotes - themselves have been placed at the end of the book. - - This volume covers the period up to 1713 when the Julian calendar - was still in use in England. The change to the Gregorian calendar - took place in Europe beginning in 1582, though much later in - Protestant regions, and not in Britain until 1752. This produced a - difference of eleven days in contemporary documents and books using - the Julian Old Style (OS) and those using the modern Gregorian New - Style (NS) dates. - - The author follows the convention of using the dates as recorded - at the time of the event, so that events in England, Scotland and - Ireland are noted in the text and Sidenotes in Julian OS, and - events in (Catholic) Europe after 1582 are noted in NS. When a - specific day is noted for an event in Europe the corresponding - Sidenote will with few exceptions give both dates in the format - OS/NS. - - Some minor changes are noted at the end of the book. - - - - - A HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY - - - [Illustration: (Publisher's colophon)] - - - - - A History of - - The British Army - - BY - - THE HON. J. W. FORTESCUE - - _FIRST PART--TO THE CLOSE OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR_ - - VOL. I - - _Quæ caret ora cruore nostro_ - - London - MACMILLAN AND CO., LIMITED - NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY - 1899 - - _All rights reserved_ - - - - -PREFACE - - -The civilian who attempts to write a military history is of -necessity guilty of an act of presumption; and I am not blind -to my own temerity in venturing to grapple with such a task as -the History of the British Army. But England has waited long -for a soldier to do the work; and so far no sign has been given -of the willingness of any officer to undertake it beyond the -publication, a few years since, of Colonel Walton's _History of the -British Standing Army from 1660 to 1700_. Nor is this altogether -surprising, for the leisure of officers is limited, the subject is -a large one, and the number of those who have already toiled in -the field and left the fruit of their labour to others is sadly -small. A civilian may therefore, I hope, be pardoned for trying -at any rate to make some beginning, however conscious of his own -shortcomings and of the inevitable disadvantage from which he -suffers through inexperience of military life in peace and, still -more fatally, in war. His efforts may at least stimulate some one -better qualified than himself to treat the subject in a manner -better befitting its dignity and its worth. - -My design is to write the history of the Army down to the year -1870, the two present volumes carrying the story down to the Peace -of Paris in 1763, and two future volumes bringing it forward to -the great reforms which virtually closed the life of our old Army -and opened that of a new. It would have been easy to have filled a -score of volumes with matters germane to the subject and of genuine -interest to at least some groups of military students; nor would -such treatment have been foreign to the methods of one school of -British historians. There is indeed much to be said for it from -the writer's standpoint, for it simplifies his task beyond belief. -To me, however, rightly or wrongly, it seemed better to gather -the story if possible into a smaller compass, even at the cost -of omitting many instructive statistics and picturesque details. -Accordingly I have compressed the six hundred years of our military -history from Hastings to Naseby into one-third that number of -pages, endeavouring only to set down such points and incidents as -were essential to a coherent sketch of the growth of our military -system. Even after Naseby and up to the reign of Queen Anne I have -dealt with the history in a like arbitrary spirit, thus passing -over, not I confess without regret, the Irish campaigns of Cromwell -and King William, though entering with some detail into that of -Schomberg. All could not be written down, as any one can bear me -witness who has attempted to go below the surface of the Great -Civil War alone. The reader must decide whether I have judged well -or ill in that which I have left unwritten. - -I must plead guilty also to deliberate omission of sundry small -details which are rather of antiquarian than of true military -interest, minute particulars of dress, armament and equipment -and the like, the real place for which is rather in a military -dictionary than in a military history. These I have sacrificed, -not because I felt them to be trivial, but because I thought that -the space which they demanded would be more profitably occupied -by a sketch of the political relations between the Army and the -country. I cannot, however, claim completeness for this sketch: -and I am conscious that many questions of great constitutional -importance are left unresolved, as I must frankly acknowledge, -through my inability to cope with them. I have sought our -acknowledged authorities on constitutional questions in vain; not -one is of help. I confess that I have been amazed when reading our -innumerable political histories to see how unconcernedly Army, -Navy, and the whole question of National Defence are left out of -account. - -It is this, the political not less than the military aspect of -the Army's history that I have endeavoured, however slightly and -however unsuccessfully, to elucidate, at the sacrifice sometimes -of purely military matters; and it is this which makes the -subject so vast as to be almost unmanageable. The difficulties -of tracing military operations are frequently trying enough, but -they are insignificant compared to those presented by the civil -administration of the Army, and by the intolerable complication of -the finance. Here again the reader must judge whether or not I have -chosen aright; and I would ask him only not to attribute to neglect -omissions which have been made after mature deliberation. - -My authorities from the reign of Queen Anne onward, and -occasionally before, are quoted at the foot of the page; but in the -earlier portion of the first volume I have been content to group -them in a brief note at the close of each chapter or section;[1] -and I have followed the same plan with some modification -throughout. I must, however, mention that these notes rarely -comprise the whole of the authorities that I have consulted, much -less all that lie open to consultation. It would be a simple -matter, for instance, to cover a page with works consulted on the -subject of the Civil War alone; but while I have, as I trust, taken -pains to make my work thorough, I have been content frequently to -refer the reader to such authorities as will guide him to further -sources of information, should he desire to pursue them. I have -spared no pains to glean all that may be gleaned from the original -papers preserved at the Record Office in reference to the military -administration and to the various campaigns, and I have waded -through many thousands of old newspapers, with and without profit. -What unknown treasures I may have overlooked among the archives -preserved by individual regiments, I know not, since with an army -so widely dispersed as our own it seemed to me hopeless to attempt -to search for them; but such regimental histories as exist in print -I have been careful to study, sometimes with advantage but not -always with profound respect for their accuracy. - -Maps and plans have been a matter of extreme difficulty, owing to -the inaccuracy of the old surveys and the disappearance of such -fugitive features as marsh and forest. I have followed contemporary -plans wherever I could in fixing the dispositions of troops, but -in many cases I should have preferred to have presented the reader -with a map of the ground only, and left him to fill in the troops -for himself from the description in the text. Blocks of red and -blue are pleasing indeed to the eye, but it is always a question -whether their facility for misleading does not exceed their utility -for guidance. Actual visits to many of the battlefields of the -Low Countries, with the maps of so recent a writer as Coxe in my -hand, did not encourage me in my belief in the system, although, in -deference to the vast majority of my advisers I have pursued it. - -It remains to say a few words on some minor matters, and first as -to the question of choosing between Old Style and New Style in the -matter of dates. Herein Lord Stanhope's rule seemed to be a good -one, namely to use the Old Style in recording events that occurred -in England, and the New for events abroad. But I have supplemented -it by giving both styles in the margin against the dates of events -abroad; lest the reader, with some other account in his mind, -should (like the editor of Marlborough's Despatches) be bewildered -by the arrival in England of news of an action some days before it -appears to have been fought in the Low Countries. One difficulty -I have found insuperable, which is to discover when the New Style -was accepted in India; but finding that the dates given by French -writers differ by eleven days from those of Orme I have been driven -to the conclusion that the Old Style endured at any rate until -1753, and have written down the dates accordingly. - -Another difficulty, more formidable than might be imagined, has -been the choice of orthography for names of places abroad. Before -the war of 1870 the French form might have been selected without -hesitation; but with the rise of the German Empire, the decay of -French influence in Europe and the ever increasing importance of -German writings in every branch of literature, science and art, -this rule no longer holds good. Finding consistency absolutely -impossible, I have endeavoured to choose the form most familiar -to English readers, and least likely to call down upon me the -charge of pedantry. Even so, however, the choice has not been easy. -Take for instance the three ecclesiastical electorates of the -Empire. Shall they be Mainz, Köln and Trier, or Mayence, Cologne -and Trèves? The form Cologne is decided for us by the influence -of Jean Maria Farina; Trèves is, I think, for the present better -known than Trier; but Mainz, a large station familiar to thousands -of British travellers, seemed to me preferable to the French -corruption Mayence, as reminding the reader of its situation on -the Main. For German names of minor importance I have taken the -German form, since, their French dress being equally unfamiliar -to English readers, there seemed to be no reason why they should -not be written down correctly; but the French form is adopted -so exclusively in contemporary histories that possibly not a -few instances of it may have escaped my vigilance. In Flanders -again it is frequently necessary to choose between the French and -the Flemish spelling of a name; and, where it has been possible -without pedantry, I have preferred the Flemish as nearer akin -to the English. Thus I have always written Overkirk rather than -Auverquerque, Dunkirk rather than Dunquerque, Steenkirk rather -than Estinquerque (the form preferred for some reason by Colonel -Clifford Walton), since the French forms are obviously only -corruptions of honest Flemish which is very nearly honest English. -Actual English corruptions I have employed without scruple, -though here again consistency is impossible. It is justifiable -to write Leghorn for Livorno; but The Groyne, a familiar form -at the beginning of this century, is no longer legitimate for -Corunna, any more than The Buss for Bois-le-duc (Hertogenbosch) or -Hollock for Hohenlohe. Then there is the eternal stumbling-block -of spelling Indian names. Here I have not hesitated to follow the -old orthography which is still preserved in the colours of our -regiments. Ugly and base though the corruptions may be they are -at any rate familiar, and that is sufficient; while they probably -convey at least as good an idea of the actual pronunciation as the -new forms introduced by Sir William Hunter. Here once more it would -be confusing to write Ally for Ali or Caubool for Cabul, though -possibly less so than to confront the reader with Machhlípatan -or Machlípatan (two forms used indifferently by Colonel Malleson) -for Masulipatam, and Maisur for Mysore. We are an arbitrary nation -in such matters and very far from consistent. Even in such simple -things as the names of West Indian Islands we have dropped the old -form Martinico in favour of Martinique, though we still affect -Dominica in lieu of Dominique. All that a writer can do is to study -the prejudices of his readers without attempt either to justify or -to offend them. - -Lastly, I must give the reader warning that I have spoken of -our regiments throughout by the old numbers instead of by their -territorial titles. As I do not propose to carry the history beyond -1870 I may plead so much technically in justification; but apart -from that I would advance with all humility that life is short, -and that it is too much to ask a man to set down such a legend as -"The First Battalion of the York and Lancaster Regiment" (in itself -probably only an ephemeral title), when he can convey the same -idea at least as intelligibly by writing the words Sixty-fifth. I -have also called regiments by their modern appellations (so far -as the numbers may be reckoned modern) throughout, ignoring the -anachronism of denominating what were really regiments of Horse by -the term Dragoon Guards, for the sake of brevity and convenience. -An Appendix gives the present designation of each regiment against -its old number, so that the reader may find no difficulty in -identifying it. I may add that I have written the numbers of -regiments at full length in the text in all cases where such -regiments have survived up to the present day, so that the reader -need be in no doubt as to their identity; and I have carefully -avoided the designation of disbanded regiments by the numbers which -they once bore, in order to avoid confusion. - -In conclusion, I have to express my deepest thanks to Mr. G. K. -Fortescue at the British Museum and to Mr. Hubert Hall at the -Record Office for their unwearied and inexhaustible courtesy in -disinterring every book or document which could be of service to me. - - J. W. F. - - _June, 1899._ - - - - -CONTENTS - - - BOOK I - - - CHAPTER I - - PAGE - - The true Starting-Point for a History of the Army 1 - - The Primitive Army of the English 5 - - Its Distinctive Peculiarity 6 - - Battle of Hastings 6 - - The English at Durazzo 7 - - The Introduction and Insufficiency of Knight-Service 8 - - Persistence of the old English Tactics; Battle of Tenchbrai 9 - - Battles of Brenville, Beaumont and the Standard 10 - - Blending of Offensive and Defensive Arms of Infantry 11 - - Rise of the Cavalry; the Tournament 11 - - Henry II.'s Military Policy 11 - - The Assize of Arms 12 - - Richard I. and the Crusades 13 - - Introduction of the Cross and of the Military Band 14 - - Decay of the Feudal Force and its Causes 14 - - The Great Charter and its Results 15 - - Reforms of Edward I.; Commissions of Array; Statute of - Winchester 16 - - Battle of Falkirk 17 - - Battle of Bannockburn 18 - - Revival of old English Tactics at Halidon Hill 19 - - - CHAPTER II - - The System of Hiring Troops by Indent 22 - - Chivalry; the Men-at-Arms 23 - - Horses 25 - - Retinue of the Knight 26 - - Administrative Organisation and Tactical Formation of - Men-at-Arms 26 - - Pauncenars and Hobelars 27 - - Welsh Spearmen; English Archers 28 - - General Organisation of the Army; Pay; Corrupt Practices 30 - - - CHAPTER III - - Invasion of France by Edward III. 33 - - Edward's Retreat to Creçy 33 - - Battle of Creçy 35 - - Renewal of the War 37 - - The Black Prince's Advance to the Loire and Retreat to Poitiers 38 - - Battle of Poitiers 39 - - Peace of Brétigny 41 - - The Free Companies; Battle of Cocherel 42 - - Battle of Auray 43 - - The White Company 44 - - The Black Prince's Invasion of Spain; Sir Thomas Felton 45 - - Battle of Navarete 46 - - Revolt of Gascony and Aquitaine 47 - - Death of the Black Prince 48 - - - CHAPTER IV - - The Spread of English Tactics; Battle of Sempach 50 - - The Free Companies; Rise of the Purchase System 51 - - Sir John Hawkwood 51 - - Battle of Aljubarotta 53 - - Improvement of Firearms 53 - - Henry V.'s Invasion of France 54 - - Siege of Harfleur; the March for Calais 55 - - Battle of Agincourt 58 - - Scots enter the French Service; Battle of Beaugé 62 - - Death of Henry V. 63 - - - CHAPTER V - - Continuation of the War under the Duke of Bedford 64 - - Battle of Crevant 64 - - Battle of Verneuil 65 - - Siege of Orleans; Battle of the Herrings 67 - - Joan of Arc 68 - - Decline of the English Efficiency; Defeat of Patay 69 - - Artillery used against the Archers 69 - - Foundation of the French Standing Army 70 - - Continued Decline of the English 70 - - Their Final Defeat at Chatillon 71 - - Discontent and Disorder in England 72 - - Wars of the Roses; Edward IV. 74 - - Battle of Towton 74 - - Battle of Barnet 76 - - Introduction of Firearms; Decay of Old English Tactics 77 - - Martin Schwartz at the Battle of Stoke 77 - - Close of the First Period of English Military History 78 - - - BOOK II - - - CHAPTER I - - Renascence of the Art of War in Europe; John Zizka 81 - - Rise of Swiss Military Power 82 - - Swiss Tactics 83 - - Decline of the Swiss; Marignano, Bicocca, Pavia 85 - - Rise of the Landsknechts 85 - - Their Organisation 86 - - Their System of Discipline 90 - - Their Tactics 91 - - French Invasion of Italy in 1496 93 - - The Artillery of the French Army 93 - - French Military Terms 93 - - Corruption in the French Army 95 - - Rise of the Spanish Military Power 96 - - Gonsalvo of Cordova 97 - - Pescayra's Firing System 97 - - Spanish Arquebusiers 98 - - Spanish Discipline 99 - - Spanish System of Training 100 - - Their Improvements in Firearms 101 - - Rise of Dragoons 102 - - Change in Tactics of Cavalry 102 - - Old Surgery and Gunshot Wounds 103 - - Missile Tactics of the Reiters 104 - - The Military Renascence founded on Classical Models 106 - - - CHAPTER II - - Accession of the Tudors 108 - - Results of the Loss of France; Calais 108 - - Dislocation of the old Military Organisation 109 - - Coat- and Conduct-Money; Yeomen of the Guard 110 - - The Tudor Colours 111 - - The Office of Ordnance 111 - - Military Efforts of Henry VIII. 112 - - War with France; Defects of the Army 112 - - Slow Improvement in Organisation 113 - - Foreign Mercenaries 114 - - The Northern Horsemen 114 - - Battle of Flodden 115 - - Continued Discouragement of Firearms 117 - - Scheme for Rearmament of Infantry Abandoned 119 - - The Artillery Company 119 - - The Great Review of 1539 119 - - The Breed of English Horses 121 - - Henry as an Artillerist 122 - - The Three Divisions of the English Forces 123 - - The Lords-Lieutenant 124 - - New Statute of Defence under Philip and Mary 125 - - Loss of Calais 126 - - - CHAPTER III - - Disorder in the Military System on Elizabeth's Accession 127 - - Great Efforts to Restore Efficiency 128 - - Report of the Magistrates on Existing Means of National - Defence 128 - - The New School of Soldier 129 - - Opportunity lost for Erecting a Standing Army 130 - - English and Scots Volunteers aid French Protestants 131 - - War with France; Unreadiness of England 131 - - A Corps of Arquebusiers formed 132 - - Insurrection in the North; Bad Equipment of English Troops 133 - - Gradual Displacement of Bows and Bills by Pikes and Firearms 133 - - First English Volunteers sail for the Low Countries 135 - - London leads the Way in Military Reform 135 - - Gradual Introduction of Foreign Methods and Terms 135 - - Outburst of Military Literature at the close of Elizabeth's - Reign 136 - - - CHAPTER IV - - Revolt of the Netherlands; Morgan's English Volunteers 141 - - The English School of War in the Netherlands; Sir Humphrey - Gilbert 142 - - Thomas Morgan 142 - - John Norris; Battle of Rymenant 143 - - Elizabeth's Double-dealing with the Dutch Insurgents 144 - - Despatch of Leicester to the Low Countries 146 - - Battle of Zutphen 147 - - Edward Stanley 150 - - The Camp at Tilbury 151 - - Maurice of Nassau 152 - - Reorganisation of the Dutch Army 152 - - The Infantry 153 - - The Cavalry 155 - - Francis Vere 155 - - Corruption in the Army 156 - - The British taken into Dutch Pay 157 - - - CHAPTER V - - The Campaign of 1600 159 - - Battle of Nieuport 160 - - The Defence of Ostend 165 - - Death of Francis Vere 167 - - The Twelve Years' Truce 168 - - Renewal of the War 168 - - The British Officers in the Dutch Service 169 - - Some peculiar Types 170 - - Improvement of the British Soldier 171 - - - CHAPTER VI - - The British School of War in Germany 173 - - Early Entry of Scots into the Swedish Service 173 - - Mackay's Highlanders 175 - - Their early Exploits in the Service of Denmark 175 - - Their Defence of Stralsund 178 - - Their Entry into the Service of Gustavus Adolphus 179 - - Reforms of King Gustavus; the Infantry 179 - - The Cavalry 182 - - The Artillery 184 - - His Matching of Mobility against Weight 185 - - Battle of Leipsic 186 - - The Action with Wallenstein before Nürnberg 189 - - The Scots Regiments enter the French Service 190 - - - CHAPTER VII - - King James I.; Repeal of the Statute of Philip and Mary 191 - - King Charles I.; Buckingham's Military Mismanagement 191 - - Lord Wimbledon's efforts to Restore Military Efficiency 193 - - Military Writers; Hopeless Condition of the English Militia 194 - - Collapse of the Military System at the Scotch Rebellion - of 1639 194 - - The Collapse repeated in 1640 195 - - Resistance to enforcement of the Military Requirements of the - King 196 - - Rout of the English at Newburn 198 - - The Scots Army subsidised by the Parliament 198 - - Widening of the Breach between King and Parliament 198 - - The Futile Struggle of both Parties for the Militia 198 - - Outbreak of the Civil War 199 - - The Rival Armies; Prince Rupert 199 - - Oliver Cromwell; Rupert's Shock Action at Edgehill 200 - - Cromwell sees the Remedy for ensuring Victory over the - Royalists 200 - - Helplessness of the Parliament in the Early Stages of the War 201 - - Superiority of the Royalist Cavalry 201 - - The King's Success in the Campaign of 1643 202 - - It is checked by Cromwell 203 - - Fairfax and Cromwell at Winceby Fight 204 - - Parliament votes a Regular Army 204 - - The Scots cross the Tweed; the Committee of both Kingdoms 205 - - Marston Moor 205 - - Sir William Waller urges the Formation of a Permanent Army 207 - - Collapse of the Existing System of the Parliamentary Army 208 - - The New Model Army voted 208 - - - BOOK III - - - CHAPTER I - - Fairfax appointed to Command the New Model 211 - - Philip Skippon his Chief Officer 212 - - The Making of the Army; Red Coats 213 - - The Organisation of the Army; Infantry and Cavalry 214 - - Shock Action 215 - - The Dragoons; the Artillery 217 - - The Engineers 219 - - Organisation of the War Department 219 - - List of the Army 220 - - The Ruling Committee's Plan of Campaign 222 - - It is upset by Montrose's Victory at Auldearn 223 - - Cromwell appointed Lieutenant-General 223 - - Battle of Naseby 224 - - The New Model's victorious Campaign in the West 227 - - Charles's Last Hope destroyed at Philiphaugh 228 - - - CHAPTER II - - The English and Scots 229 - - The Parliament and the Army 230 - - Fatuous Behaviour of Parliament 231 - - The Army advances on London 232 - - The House purged 233 - - Charles throws himself into the arms of the Scots 234 - - Cromwell's Dash into Yorkshire; Preston 234 - - The Army appeals for Justice upon Charles 235 - - Cromwell accepts the Command in Ireland 236 - - The Mutiny at Burford 237 - - The Irish Campaign 237 - - Threatened Invasion of Scots; Fairfax resigns 239 - - Cromwell succeeds Him; George Monk 239 - - The Coldstream Guards 240 - - The Campaign in Scotland 240 - - Cromwell Outmanœuvred; Retreat to Dunbar 241 - - Leslie's False Movement 242 - - Battle of Dunbar 243 - - Reduction of the Lowlands 245 - - The Scots unite again under Charles Stuart 245 - - Cromwell's Plan of Campaign 246 - - Battle of Worcester 247 - - - CHAPTER III - - Gradual increase of the Army during the Civil Wars 248 - - Measures for reducing it 248 - - The Dutch War; George Monk 249 - - The Expulsion of the Rump by Cromwell 250 - - The United Kingdom under Military Government 251 - - George Monk in Scotland 251 - - His Highland Campaign 252 - - Henry Cromwell in Ireland 254 - - Oliver Cromwell in England 256 - - Military Districts and Mounted Constabulary 257 - - - CHAPTER IV - - The West Indian Expedition 258 - - The Plan of Campaign 259 - - Faults in the Composition and Direction of the Force 260 - - Refusal of Barbados to assist 261 - - Failure of the Attack on St. Domingo 262 - - Capture of Jamaica; the bulk of the Expedition returns to - England 263 - - Frightful Mortality among the Troops in Jamaica 263 - - War with Spain; Six Thousand men sent to Turenne in Flanders 266 - - Excellence of their Discipline 267 - - Their Mad Exploit at St. Venant 268 - - Sufferings of the Troops in Winter Quarters 268 - - Sir William Lockhart appointed to Command 269 - - The British Regiments in the two contending Armies 270 - - Battle of Dunkirk Dunes 271 - - The King's English Guards 273 - - Further Exploits of the Six Thousand 273 - - Death of Oliver Cromwell 274 - - Richard Cromwell resigns; the Officers restore the Rump 274 - - Monk concentrates at Edinburgh and moves South 275 - - The Camp at Coldstream 276 - - Monk's March to London 276 - - The Rump dissolves itself under Monk's pressure 277 - - The Restoration 277 - - - CHAPTER V - - The Revival of the Military Spirit in England 279 - - The new type of Soldier introduced by Cromwell 280 - - Discipline of the Army 281 - - Incipient Organisation of a War Department 283 - - Stoppages of Pay; Barracks 284 - - Abolition of Purchase 284 - - Suppression and Revival of Fraudulent Practices 285 - - - BOOK IV - - - CHAPTER I - - The Disbandment of the New Model 289 - - The First Guards and Blues raised 290 - - The Coldstream Guards reserved from the New Model 290 - - The Life Guards 291 - - The First Foot brought to England 292 - - Second Foot and Royal Dragoons raised 292 - - Reorganisation of the Militia 292 - - Growth of the Empire 293 - - War with the Dutch 293 - - The English Regiment in Holland returns, to become the Buffs 294 - - France and England declare War against Holland 295 - - James, Duke of Monmouth; John Churchill; William of Orange 296 - - Tangier 297 - - The Fourth Foot formed 298 - - Accession of James II.; his Powers of Administration 298 - - Monmouth's Rebellion 299 - - Fifth to Eighteenth Foot, First to Sixth Dragoon Guards, and - Third and Fourth Hussars established 300 - - The Camp at Hounslow 300 - - The Twelfth Foot refuses to accept the Declaration of - Indulgence 303 - - Tyrconnel and the Army in Ireland 303 - - Invasion of William; Sixteenth and Seventeenth Foot raised 305 - - Desertion of Officers and Flight of James 306 - - - CHAPTER II - - Administration of the Army; the Commander-in-Chief 308 - - The Office of Ordnance 309 - - Finance 310 - - The Secretary-at-War 311 - - The Staff at Headquarters 312 - - No Means of Enforcing Discipline 313 - - Pay of the Army; General Corruption 314 - - Regimental Organisation and Equipment; the Cavalry 321 - - Dragoons; the Scots Greys 323 - - The Infantry 324 - - The Artillery 328 - - Chelsea Hospital and Kilmainham 328 - - - BOOK V - - - CHAPTER I - - Accession of William; Discontent in the Army 333 - - Mutiny of the First Foot 334 - - The First Mutiny Act passed 335 - - Increase of the Army 336 - - Seventh Dragoon Guards and Nineteenth to Twenty-fourth Foot - raised 337 - - Rottenness in the Military System 337 - - Marlborough's First Fight with a Marshal of France 338 - - The Rebellion in Scotland; Twenty-fifth Foot raised 338 - - Killiecrankie 339 - - Twenty-sixth Foot formed 340 - - Dunkeld 341 - - Socket Bayonet introduced by Mackay 341 - - Londonderry and Enniskillen 342 - - The Fifth Lancers, Inniskilling Dragoons and Twenty-seventh - Foot formed 342 - - Schomberg sails for Ireland 343 - - The Campaign breaks down 344 - - Disgraceful State of the Army 345 - - Preparations for a New Irish Campaign 348 - - - CHAPTER II - - The Theatre of War in the Low Countries 351 - - The French passion for a Siege 354 - - The old-fashioned Campaign as then understood 355 - - The Allies and French compared 356 - - Campaign of 1691 357 - - Campaign of 1692 358 - - Namur captured by the French 359-360 - - Battle of Steenkirk 360 - - End of the Campaign 367 - - - CHAPTER III - - Additions to the Army; Eighth Hussars raised 368 - - The Campaign of 1693 369 - - Battle of Landen 370 - - Increase of the Army for next Campaign; the Seventh Hussars 376 - - Tolmach's failure at Brest 377 - - Campaign of 1695 377 - - Siege of Namur 378 - - Peace of Ryswick 379 - - - CHAPTER IV - - Financial Exhaustion of England 381 - - Kidnapping of Recruits 382 - - The Troops unpaid 383 - - The cry of No Standing Army 384 - - Harley's Motion for Reduction of the Army carried 384 - - Abuse heaped on the Army in consequence 385 - - Distress of the Army through withholding of its Arrears 385 - - William tries to keep a larger Army 386 - - The English Establishment reduced to Seven Thousand Men 386 - - Distribution of the Army so reduced 388 - - Renewed outcry of Soldiers for their Arrears 389 - - Helplessness of the Commons 390 - - The outcry increased owing to the Resumption of Crown Grants 391 - - Renewal of the War; King William 392 - - - BOOK VI - - - CHAPTER I - - The Spanish Succession 397 - - Increase of the Army; Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Foot 398 - - Marlborough sails for the Low Countries 399 - - Twenty-eighth to Thirty-second Foot, Thirty-seventh and - Thirty-ninth Foot raised 400 - - Opening of the Campaign of 1702 401 - - Marlborough takes the Field 402 - - His Campaign ruined by the Dutch Deputies 403 - - The Centre of Operations tends towards the Danube 406 - - The Descent on Cadiz 407 - - Marlborough's Escape from Capture in Flanders 407 - - He is raised to a Dukedom 408 - - Scandals in the Paymaster's Office 408 - - The Office reconstituted 410 - - - CHAPTER II - - Increase of the Army 411 - - The French Plan of Campaign 412 - - Marlborough's Plan 413 - - A Second Campaign ruined by the Dutch 414 - - French Successes on the Rhine and Danube 415 - - Eugene of Savoy 416 - - Marlborough's Plan for a March to the Danube 416 - - Disposition of the French 418 - - The March to the Danube 419 - - Action of the Schellenberg 423 - - Pursuit of the defeated Bavarians to Friedberg 427 - - - CHAPTER III - - Tallard marches for the Danube 429 - - Eugene follows parallel with him 429 - - Junction of Marlborough and Eugene 431 - - Battle of Blenheim 432 - - The close of the Campaign 444 - - Effect of the Victory in England 445 - - - CHAPTER IV - - A British Army sent to the Peninsula 447 - - Siege of Gibraltar 448 - - The Fortress relieved by Admiral Leake 450 - - Increase of the Army; the Thirty-eighth Foot 450 - - Marlborough's design to carry the War into Lorraine 451 - - It is foiled by the supineness of the Allies 451 - - He returns to Flanders 451 - - The Lines of the Geete 451 - - The Campaign again ruined by the Dutch 456 - - Peterborough in Catalonia 459 - - Capture of Barcelona 460 - - Catalonia and Valencia gained 463 - - - CHAPTER V - - Increase of the Army 464 - - Marlborough's Plan for a Campaign in Italy 465 - - He reluctantly abandons it for Flanders 465 - - The French move from the Dyle to meet him 466 - - Battle of Ramillies 466 - - The pursuit after the Action 472 - - Fruits of the Victory 473 - - Ostend and Menin taken 474 - - Close of the Campaign 475 - - - CHAPTER VI - - The War in the Peninsula 476 - - Peterborough in San Mateo 477 - - His Capture of Nules 479 - - His Relief of Valencia 481 - - Galway's Advance from Portugal to Madrid 482 - - He is cut off from his base and marches for Valencia 483 - - Peninsula Campaign of 1707 484 - - Galway defeated at Almanza 485 - - Peterborough leaves the Peninsula 488 - - - CHAPTER VII - - Marlborough's Campaign of 1707 490 - - His only chance ruined by Dutch Deputies 491 - - His Difficulties in England 492 - - His Campaign of 1708 493 - - Ghent and Bruges betrayed to the French 494 - - His march to Oudenarde 495 - - Battle of Oudenarde 496 - - The Siege of Lille 503 - - Marlborough shifts his base to Ostend 507 - - Action of Wynendale 507 - - The Elector of Bavaria invests Brussels 509 - - Marlborough's march to relieve it 509 - - Fall of Lille; recovery of Ghent and Bruges 510 - - Capture of Minorca 511 - - - CHAPTER VIII - - Unsuccessful Negotiations for Peace 512 - - Campaign of 1709; Villars in command of the French 513 - - Siege of Tournay 513 - - The march upon Mons 515 - - Indecisive Action of the Allies 517 - - Battle of Malplaquet 517 - - Fall of Mons 526 - - - CHAPTER IX - - The Peninsular Campaign of 1709; Siege of Alicante 528 - - Death of General Richards 529 - - Campaign in Portugal; Action of the Caya 529 - - Catalonian Campaign of 1710 530 - - Combat of Almenara 531 - - Action at Saragossa 531 - - Reinforcement of the French; Evacuation of Madrid 532 - - The Defence of Brihuega 532 - - British forced to Capitulate 534 - - Action of Villa Viciosa 534 - - Virtual close of the War in the Peninsula 535 - - Political Changes in England 536 - - Marlborough's Campaign of 1710 537 - - Fall of the Government in England 538 - - Insults offered to Marlborough 538 - - - CHAPTER X - - The _ne plus ultra_ of Villars 540 - - Death of the Emperor Joseph 541 - - Opening of the Campaign of 1711 541 - - Eugene's Army withdrawn 541 - - Marlborough's Stratagem for passing the French Lines 542 - - Despair in his Army 544 - - The French Lines passed 545 - - Perversity of the Dutch Deputies 547 - - Capture of Bouchain 548 - - Marlborough dismissed from all Public Employment 549 - - The Command for 1712 given to the Duke of Ormonde 549 - - Rage of the British Troops at their withdrawal from the - Allied Army 550 - - Mutiny 551 - - Peace of Utrecht; Virtual Banishment of Marlborough 552 - - Honour paid to him in the Low Countries 553 - - - CHAPTER XI - - Growth of the British Army during the War 554 - - Apparent defects in its Organisation 556 - - Opposition of Marlborough to the System of Drafting 557 - - The chief Causes of Waste in Men 558 - - Unpopularity of Colonial Service 560 - - Neglect of Soldiers' Welfare in England 562 - - The sources of Recruiting 563 - - The Recruiting Acts 564 - - Introduction of Short Service 566 - - Abuses under the Recruiting Acts 567 - - Desertion 569 - - Reforms for the Soldiers' Benefit 570 - - The Board of General Officers 571 - - Good Discipline of Marlborough's Army 572 - - Officers 572 - - Colonel Chartres 573 - - Hardships of Officers; Recruits 574 - - Remounts 575 - - Dishonesty of Agents 576 - - Contributions to Pensions 577 - - Infant Officers 577 - - Order for Abolition of Purchase 578 - - Marlborough's Intervention 578 - - General Administration; Effects of the Union with Scotland 580 - - Marines made Subject to the Admiralty 581 - - Enhanced Powers and Change of Status of the Secretary-at-War 581 - - The Office of Ordnance 582 - - Armament; Disappearance of the Pike 584 - - The British Musket; Marlborough's Fire-discipline 585 - - Drill and Discipline of the Infantry 585 - - The Cavalry; Shock Action; Defensive Armour 586 - - The Artillery 587 - - The Duke of Marlborough 587 - - - - -MAPS AND PLANS - - - The Campaign of 1346 _To face page_ 36 - - The Campaign of 1356 " 40 - - The Campaign of 1367 " 46 - - The Campaign of 1415 " 62 - - Dunbar, 1650 " 244 - - Dunkirk Dunes, 1658 " 272 - - Steenkirk, 1692 " 366 - - Landen, 1693 " 376 - - Namur, 1695 " 378 - - Schellenberg, 1704 " 426 - - Blenheim, 1704 " 442 - - Gibraltar, 1705 " 450 - - Lines of the Geete " 454 - - Barcelona, 1705 " 462 - - Ramillies, 1706 " 472 - - Oudenarde, 1708 " 500 - - Malplaquet, 1709 " 524 - - The Campaign of 1711 " 548 - - The British Islands and Northern France: Map 1 _End of volume_ - - The Netherlands in the 18th Century Map 2 " - - Spain and Portugal Map 3 " - - Germany, 1600-1763 Map 4 " - - - - -BOOK I - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -The history of the British Army is commonly supposed to begin with -the year 1661, and from the day, the 14th of February, whereon -King Charles the Second took over Monk's Regiment of Foot from the -Commonwealth's service to his own, and named it the Coldstream -Guards. The assumption is unfortunately more convenient than -accurate. The British standing army dates not from 1661 but from -1645, not from Monk's regiment but from the famous New Model, which -was established by Act of the Long Parliament and maintained, in -substance, until the Restoration. The continuity of the Coldstream -regiment's existence was practically unbroken by the ceremony of -Saint Valentine's day, and this famous corps therefore forms the -link that binds the New Model to the Army of Queen Victoria. - -But we are not therefore justified in opening the history of the -army with the birth of the New Model. The very name indicates the -existence of an earlier model, and throws us back to the outbreak -of the Civil War. There then confronts us the difficulty of -conceiving how an organised body of trained fighting men could have -been formed without the superintendence of experienced officers. We -are forced to ask whence came those officers, and where did they -learn their profession. The answer leads us to the Thirty Years' -War and the long struggle for Dutch Independence, to the English -and Scots, numbered by tens, nay, hundreds of thousands, who fought -under Gustavus Adolphus and Maurice of Nassau. Two noble regiments -still abide with us as representatives of these two schools, a -standing record of our army's 'prentice years. - -But though we go back two generations before the Civil War to find -the foundation of the New Model Army, it is impossible to pause -there. In the early years of Queen Elizabeth's reign we are brought -face to face with an important period in our military history, with -a break in old traditions, an unwilling conformity with foreign -standards, in a word, with the renascence in England of the art -of war. For there were memories to which the English clung with -pathetic tenacity, not in Elizabeth's day only but even to the -midst of the Civil War, the memories of King Harry the Fifth, of -the Black Prince, of Edward the Third, and of the unconquerable -infantry that had won the day at Agincourt, Poitiers, and Creçy. -The passion of English sentiment over the change is mirrored to -us for all time in the pages of Shakespeare; for no nation loves -military reform so little as our own, and we shrink from the -thought that if military glory is not to pass from a possession -into a legend, it must be eternally renewed with strange weapons -and by unfamiliar methods. This was the trouble which afflicted -England under the Tudors, and she comforted herself with the -immortal prejudice that is still her mainstay in all times of doubt, - - "I tell thee herald, - I thought upon one pair of English legs - Did march three Frenchmen." - -The origin of the new departures in warfare must therefore be -briefly traced through the Spaniards, the Landsknechts, and the -Swiss, and the old English practice must be followed to its source. -Creçy gives us no resting-place, for Edward the Third's also was -a time of military reform; the next steps are to the Battle of -Falkirk, the Statute of Winchester, and the Assize of Arms; and -still the English traditions recede before us, till at last at -the Conquest we can seize a great English principle which forced -itself upon the conquering Normans, and ultimately upon all Europe. - -This then is the task that is first attempted in this book: to -follow, however briefly and imperfectly, the growth of the English -as a military power to the time of its first manifestation at -Creçy, and onward to the supreme day of Agincourt; then through -the decay under the blight of the Wars of the Roses to the revival -under the Tudors, and to the training in foreign schools which -prepared the way for the New Model and the Standing Army. The -period is long, and the conditions of warfare vary constantly from -stage to stage, but we shall find the Englishman, through all the -changes of the art of war unchangeable, a splendid fighting man. - - * * * * * - -The primitive national army of the English, as of other Teutonic -nations, consisted of the mass of free landowners between the ages -of sixteen and sixty; it was called in the Karolingian legislation -by the still existing name of _landwehr_, and known in England as -the fyrd. Its term of service was fixed by custom at two months -in the year. The force was reorganised by King Alfred or by his -son through the division of the country into military districts, -every five hides of land being required to provide an armed man at -the king's summons, and to provide him with victuals and with pay. -Further, all owners of five hides of land and upwards were required -to do thane's service, that is to say, to appear in the field as -heavily-armed men at their own charge, and to serve for the entire -campaign. The organisation of the thanes was by shires. With the -conquest of England by Canute a new military element was introduced -by the establishment of the royal body-guard, a picked force of -from three to six thousand Danish troops, which were retained by -him after the rest of the army had been sent back to Denmark, and -were known as the house-carles. - -It was with an army framed on this model--the raw levies of the -fyrd and the better trained men of the body-guard--that King -Harold, flushed with the victory of Stamford Bridge, marched down -to meet the invasion of William of Normandy. The heavily-armed -troops wore a shirt of ringed or chain-mail, and a conical helmet -with a bar protecting the nose; their legs were swathed in bandages -not wholly unlike the "putties" of the present day, and their arms -were left free to swing the Danish axe. They carried also a sword, -five missile darts, and a shield, but the axe was the weapon that -they loved, for the Teutonic races, unlike the Latin, have ever -preferred to cut rather than to thrust. The light-armed men, who -could not afford defensive armour, came into the field with spear -and shield only. Yet the force was homogeneous in virtue of a -single custom, wherein lies the secret of the rise of England's -prowess as a military nation. Though the wealthy thanes might ride -horses on the march, they dismounted one and all for action, and -fought, even to the king himself, on their own feet.[2] - -The force was divided into large bands or battalions, of which -the normal formation for battle was a wedge broadening out from a -front of two men to a base of uncertain number; the officers and -the better armed men forming the point, backed by a dense column -of inferior troops. It was with a single line of such wedges, -apparently from five-and-twenty to thirty of them, that Harold -took up his position to bar the advance of the Norman army. Having -no cavalry, he had resolved to stand on the defensive, and had -chosen his ground with no little skill. His line occupied the -crest of a hill, his flanks were protected by ravines, and he had -dug across the plain on his front a trench which was sufficient -to check a rapid advance of cavalry. Moreover, he had caused each -battalion to ring itself about with sharp stakes, planted into -the ground at intervals with the points slanting outwards, as a -further protection against the attack of horse.[3] The reader -should take note of these stakes, for he will find them constantly -reappearing up to the seventeenth century. There then the English -waited in close compact masses, a wall of shields within a hedge -of stakes, the men of nine-and-twenty shires under a victorious -leader. There is no need to enter into details of the battle. The -English, as has been well said,[4] were subjected to the same trial -as the famous squares at Waterloo, alternate rain of missiles and -charges of cavalry, and as yet they were unequal to it. Harold's -orders had been that not a man should move, but when the Normans, -after many fruitless attacks, at last under William's direction -simulated flight, the order was forgotten and one wing broke its -ranks in headlong pursuit of the fugitives. Possibly, if Harold had -been equal to the occasion, a general advance might have saved the -day, but he made no such effort, and he was in the presence of a -man who overlooked no blunder. The pursuing wing was enveloped by -the Normans and annihilated; and then William turned the whole of -his force against the fragment of the line that remained upon the -hill. The English stood rooted to the ground enduring attack after -attack, until at last, worn out with fatigue and choked with dead -and wounded, they were broken and cut down, fighting desperately to -the end. Indiscipline had brought ruin to the nation; and England -now passed, to her great good fortune, under the sway of a race -that could teach her to obey. - -But the English had still one more lesson to learn. Many of the -nobles, chafing against the rule of a foreigner, forsook their -country and, taking service with the Byzantine emperors, joined the -famous Varangian Guard of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus. At Durazzo -they for the second time met the Normans, under the command of -Robert Guiscard. True to their custom, they dismounted and fought -on foot, a magnificent corps, the choicest of the whole army. As -at Hastings, the Normans attacked and were repulsed, and as at -Hastings, the undisciplined English broke their ranks in pursuit. -Robert Guiscard saw his opportunity, hurled his cavalry on to their -flank, and then surrounding them on all sides cut them down, in -spite of a furious resistance, to the very last man. So perished -these untameable, unteachable spirits, the last of the unconquered -English. - -The Conquest was immediately followed by the institution of -knight-service. But this system, as introduced into England, -differed in many material respects from that which reigned on the -continent of Europe. It was less distinctly military in character, -and far less perfect as an organisation for national defence. -The distribution of England into knight's fees, however clearly -it might be mapped out on paper, was a work of time and not to -be accomplished in a day. Moreover, there was disloyalty to be -reckoned with; for the English were a stiff-necked people, and were -not readily reconciled to the yoke of their new masters. We find, -therefore, that in very early days the practice of accepting money -in lieu of personal service crept in, and enabled the Norman kings -to fight their battles with hired mercenaries. For this reason -England has been called the cradle of the soldier; the soldier -being the man who fights for pay, _solde_, _solidus_, or, as we may -say by literal translation of the Latin, the man who fights for a -shilling. - -The sole military interest therefore of the reigns of the Norman -kings is to follow the breakdown of the feudal system for military -purposes, and the rapid reversion to the Saxon methods and -organisation. William Rufus was the first to appeal to the English -to arm in his cause, and he did so twice with success. But in the -seventh year of his reign he played them a trick which lost him -their confidence for ever. The fyrd had furnished twenty thousand -men for service against the Norman rebels in France, and had -provided every man, at the cost of his shire, with ten shillings -for the expenses of his journey or, to use a later expression, -for his conduct-money. William met them at the rendezvous, took -their two hundred thousand shillings from them to hire mercenaries -withal, and dismissed them to their homes. This Rufus has been -selected by an historian of repute as the earliest example of an -officer and a gentleman; he should also be remembered as the first -officer who set the fashion, soon to become sadly prevalent, of -misappropriating the pay of his men. The reader should note in -passing this early instance of conduct-money, for we shall find in -it the germ of the Queen's shilling. - -[Sidenote: 1106.] - -[Sidenote: 1116.] - -[Sidenote: 1125, 25th March.] - -The reign of Henry the First is interesting in that it shows us -English knights serving in the field against Robert of Normandy -under the walls of Tenchbrai. We find that the old order of -battle, the single line of Hastings,[5] has disappeared and has -given place to the three lines of the Byzantine school, but that, -strange to say, the Saxons have forced their peculiar principle -upon the Normans. Henry caused his English and Norman knights to -dismount, formed them into a solid battalion and placed himself at -their head, keeping but one small body still on their horses. The -enemy's cavalry attacked Henry's mounted men and dispersed them; -but the phalanx of the dismounted remained unbroken, pressed on -against the rabble of hostile infantry, broke it down and almost -annihilated it. The victory was hailed by the English as atonement -for the defeat at Hastings, so bitter even then was the rivalry -between ourselves and our gallant neighbours across the channel. -Ten years later the English were again in France, fighting not -only against rebellious Norman barons but against their ally, the -French King Louis the Sixth. A long and desultory war was closed by -the action of Brenville. Again Henry dismounted four hundred out of -five hundred of his knights and following the tactics of Tenchbrai -won, though not without hard fighting, a second victory. A third -engagement, known as the battle of Beaumont, saw the old English -practice repeated for the third time with signal success; but here -must be noticed the entry of a new force, a company of archers, -which contributed not a little to the fortunate issue of the day. -For as the Norman cavalry came thundering down on the English -battalion, the archers moved off to their left flank and poured in -such a shower of arrows that the horsemen were utterly overthrown. -These archers must not be confounded with the famous English bowmen -of a later time, for most probably they were merely copied, like -the order of battle, from the Byzantine model; but they taught -the English the second of two useful lessons. Henry had already -discovered that dismounted knights could hold their own against -the impetuous cavalry of France; he now learned that the attack of -horse could be weakened almost to annihilation by the volley of -archers. This, at a time when cavalry held absolute supremacy in -war, was a secret of vital importance, a secret indeed which laid -the foundation of our military power. Henry, evidently alive to -it, encouraged the practice of archery by ordaining that, if any -man should by accident slay another at the butts, the misadventure -should not be reckoned to him as a crime. - -[Sidenote: 1141.] - -The miserable reign of Stephen, so unsatisfactory to the general -historian, possesses through the continued development of English -tactical methods a distinct military interest. The year 1138 -is memorable for the Battle of the Standard, the first of many -actions fought against the Scots, and typical of many a victory -to come. The English knights as usual fought on foot, and aided -by archers made havoc of the enemy. Here is already the germ of -the later infantry; we shall find lances and bows give way to -pikes and muskets, but for five whole centuries we shall see the -foot compounded of two elements, offensive and defensive, until -the invention of the bayonet slowly welds them into one. At the -battle of Lincoln, on the other hand, we find the defensive element -acting alone and suffering defeat, though not disgrace; for the -dismounted knights who stood round Stephen fought with all the old -obstinacy and yielded only to overwhelming numbers. Thus, though -two generations had passed since the Conquest, the English methods -of fighting were still in full vigour, and the future of English -infantry bade fair to be assured. - -Nor was the cavalry neglected; for amid all the earnest of this -turbulent reign there was introduced the mimic warfare known as the -tournament. This was an invention of the hot-blooded, combative -French, and had been originally so close an imitation of genuine -battle, that the Popes had intervened to prohibit the employment -therein of any but blunt weapons. The tournament being not a duel -of man against man, but a contest of troop against troop, was a -training not only for individual gallantry, but for tactics, drill, -discipline, and leadership; victory turning mainly on skilful -handling and on the preservation of compact order. Thus by the -blending of English foot and Norman horse was laid, earlier than in -any other country of Europe, the foundation of an army wherein both -branches took an equal share of work in the day of action. - -[Sidenote: 1181.] - -The next in succession of our kings was a great soldier and a great -administrator, yet the work that he did for the army was curiously -mixed. Engaged as he was incessantly in war, he felt more than -others the imperfection of the feudal as a military system. The -number of knights that could be summoned to his standard was very -small, and was diminished still further by constant evasion of -obligations. He therefore regulated the commutation of personal -military service for payment in money, and formed it, under the -old name of scutage, into a permanent institution. Advantage was -generally taken of the system, and with the money thus obtained -he took Brabançon mercenaries, the prototypes of the landsknechts -of a later time, permanently into his pay. When he needed the -feudal force to supplement these mercenaries, he fell back on the -device of ordering every three knights to furnish and equip one -of their number for service; and finally, driven to extremity, -he re-established the old English fyrd as a National Militia by -the Assize of Arms. This, the earliest of enactments for the -organisation of our national forces, and the basis of all that -followed down to the reign of Philip and Mary, contained the -following provisions:-- - -Every holder of one knight's fee shall have a coat of mail,[6] a -helmet, a shield, and a lance; and every knight as many coats of -mail, helmets, shields, and lances as there are fees in his domain. - -Every free layman having in chattels or rent to the value of -sixteen marks shall keep the same equipment. - -Every free layman having in chattels or rent ten marks, shall keep -an habergeon,[7] a chaplet[8] of iron, and a lance. - -All burgesses and the whole community of freemen shall have a -wambais,[9] a chaplet of iron, and a lance. - -It is noteworthy that neither the bow nor the axe appear in this -list of the national weapons, an omission for which it is difficult -to account, since the bow was evidently in full use at the time. -Possibly the temptation to employ it for purposes of poaching may -have been so strong as to make the authorities hesitate to enjoin -the keeping of a bow in every poor freeman's house. The influence -of the poacher will be found equally potent when the time comes -for the introduction of firearms. - -Richard the Lion-Heart, like his predecessors, preferred to -employ mercenaries for his wars, while even the knights who -accompanied him to the Crusade were in receipt of pay. Were it not -that his achievements in the Holy Land had left little mark on -English military history they would be well worthy of a detailed -narrative, for Richard was beyond dispute a really great soldier, -a good engineer, and a remarkably able commander. The story of -his march from Joppa to Jerusalem and of his victory at Arsouf is -known to few, but it remains to all time an example of consummate -military skill. A mixed force compounded of many nations is -never very easy to control, and it was doubly difficult when the -best of it was composed of knights who hated the very name of -subordination. Yet it was with such material, joined to a huge body -of half-disciplined infantry, that Richard executed a flank march -in the presence of the most formidable of living generals, and -repulsed him brilliantly when he ventured, at an extremely trying -moment, to attack. The plan of the campaign, the arrangements and -orders for the march, the drill and discipline imposed on the -knights, and the handling of the troops in the action are all -alike admirable. Yet, as has been already stated, the lessons of -the Crusades wrought little influence in England, mainly because -she had already learned from her own experience the value of a -heavily armed infantry, and of the tactical combination of missile -and striking weapons. In the rest of Europe they were for a time -remembered but very soon forgotten;[10] and England was then once -more left alone with her secret. - -Two small relics of the Crusades must however find mention in this -place. The first is the employment of the cross as a mark for -distinguishing the warriors of different nations, which became in -due time the recognised substitute for uniform among European -soldiers. Each nation took a different colour for its cross, that -of the English being at first white, which, curiously enough, is -now the regular facing for English regiments of infantry. The -second relic is the military band which, there seems to be little -doubt, was copied from the Saracens. In their armies trumpets and -drums, the latter decidedly an Oriental instrument, were used -to indicate a rallying-point; for though at ordinary times the -standards sufficed to show men the places of their leaders, yet in -the dust of battle these were often hidden from sight; and it was -therefore the rule to gather the minstrels (such was the English -term) around the standards, and bid them blow and beat strenuously -and unceasingly during the action. The silence of the band was -taken as a proof that a battalion had been broken and that the -colours were in danger; and the fashion lasted so long that even in -the seventeenth century the bandsmen in all pictures of battles are -depicted, drawn up at a safe distance and energetically playing. - -[Sidenote: 1214.] - -The reign of King John accentuated still further the weak points -of the English feudal system as a military organisation. The -principle introduced by the Conqueror had been to claim for the -sovereign direct feudal authority over every landholder in the -country, suffering no intermediate class of virtually independent -vassals, such as existed in France, to intercept the service of -those who owed duty to him. Of the advantages of this innovation -mention shall presently be made elsewhere, but at this point it -is necessary to dwell only on its military defects. The whole -efficiency of the feudal system turned on the creation of a caste -of warriors; and such a caste can obviously be built up only by -the grant of certain exclusive privileges. The English knights -possessed no such privileges. There were no special advantages -bound up with the tenure of a fief. Far from enjoying immunity -from taxation, as in France and Germany, the knights were obliged -to pay not only the imposts required of all classes, but scutage -into the bargain. Again the winning of a knight's fee lay open -to all ranks of freemen, so that it could not be regarded as the -hereditary possession of a proud nobility. Yet again, the grant of -the honour of knighthood was the exclusive right of the sovereign, -who converted it simply into an instrument of extortion. Briefly, -there was no inducement to English knights faithfully to perform -their service; the sovereign took everything and gave nothing; -and at last they would endure such oppression no longer. When -John required a feudal force, in the year 1205, he was obliged to -arrange that every ten knights should equip one of their number -for service. Moreover, the knights who did serve him showed no -merit; the English contingent at Bouvines having covered itself -with anything but glory. Finally, came mutiny and rebellion and the -Great Charter, wherein the express stipulation that fiefs should -be both alienable and divisible crushed all hopes of an hereditary -caste of warriors for ever. - -[Sidenote: 1252.] - -After the Charter the national force was composed nominally of -three elements, the tenants in chief with their armed vassals, the -minor tenants in chief, and the freemen subject to the Assize of -Arms, the last two being both under the orders of the sheriffs. -It made an imposing show on paper, but was difficult to bring -efficient into the field. No man was more shameless than Henry -the Third in forcing knighthood, for the sake of the fees, upon -all free landholders whom he thought rich enough to support the -dignity; yet, when the question became one not of money but of -armed men, he was forced to fall back on the same resource as his -greater namesake. He simply issued a writ for the enforcement of -the Assize of Arms, and ordered the sheriffs to furnish a fixed -contingent of men-at-arms, to be provided by the men of the county -who were subject thereto. - -[Sidenote: 1282.] - -The defects of feudal influence in military matters were now so -manifest, that Edward the First tried hard to do away with them -altogether. Strictly speaking the feudal force was summoned by a -special writ addressed to the barons, ordering them to appear with -their due proportion of men and horses, and by similar directions -to the sheriffs to warn the tenants in chief within their -bailiwicks. The system was however, so cumbrous and ineffective -that Edward superseded it by issuing commissions to one or two -leading men of the county to muster and array the military forces. -These Commissions of Array, as they were called, will come before -us again so late as in the reign of Charles the First. - -[Sidenote: 1285.] - -But, like all his predecessors, Edward was careful to cherish the -national militia which had grown out of the fyrd. The Statute of -Winchester re-enacted the Assize of Arms and redistributed the -force into new divisions armed with new weapons. The wealthiest -class of freemen was now required to keep a hauberk[11] of iron, -a sword and a knife, and a horse. The two lower classes were now -subdivided into four, whereof the first was to keep the same arms -as the wealthiest, the horse excepted; the second a sword, bow and -arrows, and a knife; the third battle-axes, knives, and "other less -weapons," in which last are included bills;[12] and the rest bows -and arrows, or if they lived in the forest, bows and bolts, the -latter being probably less deadly to the king's deer than arrows. -Here then was the axe of Harold's day revived, and the archers -established by statute. It is evident, from the fact that they wore -no defensive armour, that the archers were designed to be light -infantry, swift and mobile in their limbs, skilful and deadly with -their weapons. The name of Edward the First must be ever memorable -in our history for the encouragement that he gave to the long-bow; -but we seek in vain for the man, if such there was, who founded the -tradition, still happily strong among us, that the English whatever -their missile weapon shall always be good shots. Even at the siege -of Messina by Richard the First the archers drove the Sicilians -from the walls; "for no man could look out of doors but he would -have an arrow in his eye before he could shut it." - -[Sidenote: 1297.] - -[Sidenote: 1298.] - -The bowmen had not long been a statutory force before they were -called upon for active service. The defeat of the English by -William Wallace at Cambuskenneth had summoned Edward from France -to take the field in person against the Scots; and he met them on -the field of Falkirk. The Scottish army consisted for the most part -of infantry armed with pikes, not yet the long pikes of eighteen -feet which they were to wield so gallantly under Gustavus Adolphus, -but still a good and formidable weapon. Wallace drew them up -behind a marsh in four circular battalions ringed in with stakes, -posting his light troops, which were armed principally with the -short-bow, in the intervals between them, and his one weak body of -horse in rear. The English knights were formed as usual in column -of three divisions, vanguard, battle and rearguard, and with them -was a strong force of archers. Untrue to its old traditions, the -English cavalry did not dismount, but galloped straight to the -attack. The first division plunged headlong into the swamp (for -the mediæval knight, in spite of a hundred warnings, rarely took -the trouble to examine the ground before him), did no execution, -and suffered heavy loss. The second division, under the Bishop of -Durham, then skirted the swamp and came in sight of the Scottish -horse. The Bishop hesitated and called a halt. "Back to your mass, -Bishop," answered one contemptuous knight. His comrades charged, -dispersed the Scottish cavalry, and drove away the archers between -the pikemen; but the four battalions stood firm and unbroken, and -the knights surged round them in vain. Then the king brought up -the archers and the third division of horse. Pushing the archers -forward, he held the cavalry back in support until an incessant -rain of arrows had riddled the Scottish battalions through and -through, and then hurling the knights forward into the broken -ranks, he fairly swept them from the field. It was the old story, -heavy fire of artillery followed by charges of cavalry, the -training of the Scots as Hastings had been of the English, for the -trial of Waterloo. - -[Sidenote: 1314.] - -It is interesting to note that Edward made an effort even then -for the constitutional union of the two countries which had so -honourably lost and won the day at Falkirk, but he was four -centuries before his time. The war continued with varying fortune -during the ensuing years. The maker of the English archers died, -and under his feeble son the English army learned at Bannockburn -an ignominious lesson in tactics. The Scotch army, forty thousand -strong, was composed principally of pikemen, who were drawn up, as -at Falkirk, in four battalions, with the burn in their front and -broken ground on either flank. Their cavalry, numbering a thousand, -a mere handful compared to the host of the English men-at-arms, -was kept carefully in hand. Edward opened the action by advancing -his archers to play on the Scottish infantry, but omitted to -support them; and Bruce, seeing his opportunity, let loose his -thousand horse on their flank and rolled them up in confusion. The -English cavalry then dashed in disorder against the serried pikes, -failed, partly from want of space and partly from bad management, -to make the slightest impression on them, and were driven off in -shameful and humiliating defeat. So the English learned that their -famous archers could not hold their own against cavalry without -support,[13] and they took the lesson to heart. The old system of -dismounting the men-at-arms had been for the moment abandoned with -disastrous results; the man who was to revive it had been born at -Windsor Castle just two years before the fight. - -[Sidenote: 1327.] - -[Sidenote: 1333.] - -Thirteen years later this boy ascended the throne of England as -King Edward the Third, and almost immediately marched with a -great host against the Scots. The campaign came to an end without -any decisive engagement, but on the one occasion when an action -seemed imminent, the English men-at-arms dismounted and put off -their spurs after the old English fashion. Peace was made, but -only to be broken by the Scots, and then Edward took his revenge -for Bannockburn at Halidon Hill. The English men-at-arms alighted -from their horses, and were formed into four battalions, each of -them flanked by wings of archers, the identical formation adopted -two centuries later for the pikemen and musketeers. The Scots, -whose numbers were far superior, were also formed on foot in four -battalions, but without the strength of archers. "And then," says -the old historian,[14] "the English minstrels blew aloud their -trumpets and sounded their pipes and other instruments of martial -music, and marched furiously to meet the Scots." The archers shot -so thick and fast that the enemy, unable to endure it, broke their -ranks, and then the English men-at-arms leaped on to their horses -for the pursuit. The Scotch strove gallantly to rally in small -bodies, but they were borne down or swept away; they are said to -have lost ten thousand slain out of sixty thousand that entered the -battle. - -The mounting of the men-at-arms for the pursuit gave the finishing -touch to the English tactical methods, and the nation was now ready -for war on a grander scale. Moreover, there was playing round the -knees of good Queen Philippa a little boy of three years old who -was destined to be the victor of Poitiers. It is therefore time, -while the quarrel which led to the Hundred Years' War is maturing, -to observe the point to which two centuries and a half of progress -had brought English military organisation. - - AUTHORITIES.--By far the best, so far as I know the only, - account of the rise of English tactics and of English military - power is to be found in _Die Entwickelung des Kriegswesens in - der Ritterzeit_, by Major-General Köhler, vol. ii. pp. 356 sq., - and vol. v. pp. 97 sq., a work to which my obligations must be - most gratefully acknowledged. The authorities are faithfully and - abundantly quoted. Freeman's _Norman Conquest_, Mr. J. H. Round's - _Feudal England_, Hewitt's _Ancient Armour_, Oman's _Art of War - in the Middle Ages_, Grose's _Military Antiquities_, and Rymer's - _Fœdera_ are authorities which will occur to every one, as also - the Constitutional Histories of Hallam, Stubbs, and Gneist. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -Attention has already been called to the defects of the feudal -system for military purposes, and to the shifts whereby successive -sovereigns sought to make them good. With Edward the Second resort -was made to a new device. Contracts, or as they were called -indents, were concluded by the King with men of position, whereby -the latter, as though they had been apprentices to a trade, bound -themselves to serve him with a force of fixed strength during a -fixed term at a fixed rate of wages. In some respects this was -simply a reversion to the old practice of hiring mercenaries; but -as Edward the Third placed his contracts for the most part within -his kingdom, the force assumed a national character. The current -ideas of organisation were still so imperfect that the contractors -generally engaged themselves to provide a mixed force of all arms; -but as they naturally raised men where they could most easily get -hold of them, that is to say in their own neighbourhoods, there was -almost certainly some local or personal feeling to help to keep -them together. For the rest the contractor of course made his own -arrangements for the interior economy of his own particular troops, -and enjoyed in consequence considerable powers, which descended -to the colonels of a later day and have only been stripped from -them within the last two generations. It is not difficult to -imagine that men thus enlisted should presently, when released -from national employment, have sold their services to the highest -bidder and become, as they presently did become, _condottièri_. -It is characteristic of the commercial genius of our race that -England should be the cradle not only of the soldier but of the -_condottière_;[15] in other words, that she should have set the -example in making warfare first a question of wages, and next -a question of profit. But her work did not end here; for these -reforms created the race of professional soldiers and through them -the renascence of the Art of War. In short, with the opening of the -Hundred Years' War the British army quickens in the womb of time, -and the feudal force sinks into ever swifter decay. - -But there is another side to this picture of feudal inefficiency. -Moral not less than physical force is a mighty factor in war; and -it was precisely the military defects of the English feudal system -that first made her a military power. Though the growth of a caste -of warriors was checked, it was to make room for that which was -worthy to overshadow it, a fighting nation. For in England there -was not, as in other countries, any denial of civil rights to the -commons of the realm. Below the ranks of the peerage all freemen -enjoyed equality before the law; nay, the peerage itself conferred -no privilege except on those who actually possessed it, the sons of -peers being commoners, not as elsewhere noble through the mere fact -of their birth. In England there were and are nobility and gentry: -in other countries nobility and gentry were merged in a single -haughty exclusive caste, and between them and other freemen was -fixed a great and impassable gulf. Thus the highest and the lowest -of the freemen were in touch with each other in England as nowhere -else in Europe. More than two centuries later than Creçy, so great -and gallant a gentleman as Bayard could refuse with disdain to -fight by the side of infantry. In England, whatever the pride of -race, the son of the noblest peer in the land stood shoulder to -shoulder with his equal when the archer fell in by his side, and -where the son stood the father could feel it no shame to stand. -No other nation as yet could imitate this; no other could recall a -Hastings where all classes had stood afoot in one battalion. Other -nations could indeed, when taught by experience, dismount their -knights and align cross-bowmen with them, just as at this day they -can erect an upper and lower chamber and speak of a constitution on -the English model; but then as now it was the form only, not the -substance, that was English. - -So far for the commercial and political influence that helped to -mould our military system; there remains yet another great moral -force to be reckoned with. Chivalry, which had been growing slowly -in England since the Third Crusade, burst in the fourteenth century -into late but magnificent blossom. The nation woke to the beauty -of a service which gave dignity to man's fighting instincts, which -taught that it was not enough for him to be without fear if he were -not also without reproach, and that though the government of the -world must always rest upon force, yet mercy and justice may go -hand in hand with it. The girding on of the sword was no longer a -social but a religious act; it marked not merely the young man's -entrance into public life, but his ordination to a great and noble -function. Concurrently there had arisen a sense of the charm of -glory and adventure. Hitherto the English knights had gained no -repute in Europe. Hatred and jealousy had held the Saxon aloof from -his Norman master; now there was no more Saxon and Norman, but the -English, united and strong, a fighting people that thirsted for -military fame. - -Let us now briefly consider the composition and organisation of -the armies that were to work such havoc in France. The cavalry -was drawn for the most part from the wealthier classes, though, -as has been seen, there was one division of the freemen under the -statute of Winchester which was called upon to do mounted service. -The more important branch, the men-at-arms, was composed of two -elements, knights and squires. From the first institution of -the feudal system, the number of men required from the greater -vassals had forced them to equip their sons and serving-men, who -after many changes were finally in the thirteenth century merged -together under the generic name of _servientes_, a term which -was soon corrupted into its present form of sergeants. In the -year 1294 these _servientes_ were dignified by the higher title -of _servientes equites_, mounted sergeants, which was six years -later abandoned for the familiar name of squires. These squires -must not, however, be confounded with a different class of the -same appellation, namely, the apprentices who were the personal -attendants of the knights. The squire of which I now speak was -rather a knight of inferior order corresponding to the _bachelier_ -(_bas chevalier_) of France. The word knight itself gives us a hint -of this inferiority, being the same as the German _knecht_, whereas -_ritter_ is the German term that expresses what is generally -understood as a knight in English. The inner history of chivalry is -the story of the struggle of the sergeants to rise to an equality -with the knights of the first order, and in the fourteenth century -they were not far from their goal. Even now they were considered -the backbone of the English army, and were equipped in all points -like the class above them. - -Men-at-arms, an expression derived from the French, were so -called because they were covered with defensive armour from top -to toe; but as the middle of the fourteenth century is a period -of transition in the development of armour, it is difficult to -describe their equipment with any certainty. Their offensive arms -were the lance, sword, dagger, and shield. Trained from very early -youth in the handling of weapons they were doubtless proficient -enough with them; but they do not seem to have been great horsemen, -and indeed it is recorded that they were sometimes tied to the -saddle. Monstrelet, writing in the year 1416, tells us of the -astonishment which certain Italians created among the French -because they could actually turn their horses at the gallop. It -is probable that the bits employed were too weak, and that the -cumbrousness of the saddle and the weight carried by each man were -sad obstacles to good horsemanship; but it is worth remembering -in any case that, as this passage plainly shows, men-at-arms in -the saddle were reduced to one of two alternatives, to move slowly -and retain control of their horses, or to gallop for an indefinite -period wherever the animals might choose to carry them. - -The favourite horses, alike for speed, endurance, and courage, -were the Spanish, which, as they could only reach England by the -journey overland through France, were not always very easily -obtained. Philip the Bold in 1282 refused to allow one batch -of eighty such horses to be transhipped to England; but from a -contract still extant, of the year 1333, it appears that Edward the -Third still counted on Spain to provide him with remounts. These -horses, however, were only bestridden for action, being committed -on the march to the care of the shield-bearers or squires, who -led them, as was natural, on their right-hand side, and thus -procured for them the curious name of _dextrarii_.[16] The usual -allowance of horses for a knight was three, besides a packhorse -for his baggage, the smallest of which, named the palfrey, was -that which he rode on ordinary occasions; in fact, to put the -matter into modern language, a knight started on a campaign with a -first charger, a second charger, and a pony. The first charger was -always a stallion; the rest might be geldings or mares. From the -year 1298 the practice of covering horses with defensive armour -was introduced into England, an equipment which soon came to be -regarded as so essential that one branch of the cavalry, and that -the most important, was reckoned by the number of barded horses. - -The personal retinue of the knights was made up of apprentices or -aspirants to the rank which they held. The squire or shield-bearer -took charge of the knight's armour on the march, and was -responsible for maintaining it in proper order; and it is worth -remarking that the English squire took a pride in burnishing the -metal to the highest pitch of brilliancy, thus early establishing -those traditions of smartness which are still so strong in our -cavalry. It was also the squire's duty, among many others, to -help his master to don his harness when the time for action -came, beginning with his iron shoes or sollerets, and working -upwards till the fabric was crowned by the iron headpiece, and -the finishing touch added by the assumption of the shield. The -reader will readily understand that a really efficient squire must -have been invaluable, for if an engagement came in any way as a -surprise there was an immediate rush for the baggage, and a scene -of confusion that must have beggared description. Fortunately, -the fact that both sides were generally alike unready, and the -punctiliousness of chivalric courtesy, permitted as a rule -ample time not only for the equipment of all ranks, but for the -marshalling of the host. - -In the matter of administrative organisation the men-at-arms were -distributed into constabularies, being commanded by officers called -constables. The strength of a constabulary seems to have varied -from five-and-twenty to eighty; and this variety, together with the -absence of any tactical unit of fixed strength, makes it impossible -to state how many constabularies were included in the next tactical -division. This was called the banner, and was commanded by a -banneret, a rank originally conferred only upon such as could bring -a certain number of followers into the field. Promotion to the -degree of banneret was marked by cutting off the forked tail of the -pennon which was carried by the ordinary knight, and leaving the -remnant square. So at the present day, the pennons of lances are -forked, the square being reserved for the standards of squadrons -and regiments. - -The independent employment of small bodies in action was -almost unknown, the rule being to pack an indefinite number of -men-at-arms, hundreds or even thousands, into a close and solid -mass, its depth almost if not quite as great as its frontage. -The _haye_, or thin line, is of much later date. Ordinarily some -modification of the wedge was the formation preferred; that is to -say, that the frontage of the front rank was somewhat less than -that of the rear; the mass of that particular shape being judged -to be less liable to disorder and better adapted for breaking -into a hostile phalanx. The relative strength of the front and -rear ranks depended entirely on the numbers that were packed in -between them, and it may readily be supposed that the evolutions -which so unwieldly a body could execute were very few. Probably, -until the moment of action came, sufficient space was maintained -to permit every horse to turn on his own ground, after the Roman -fashion, to right, left, or about; but for the attack ranks -and files were closed up as tightly as possible, and all other -considerations were sacrificed to the maintenance of a compact -array. It was said of the French knights who marched with Richard -the Lion-Heart that an apple thrown into the midst of them would -not have fallen to the ground. We must therefore rid ourselves -of the popular notion of the knight as a headlong galloping -cavalier. The attack of men-at-arms could not be very rapid unless -it were made in disorder; and though it comes strictly under the -head of shock-action, the shock was rather that of a ponderous -column moving at a moderate pace than of a light line charging at -high speed. By bearing these facts in mind it will be easier to -understand the failure of mounted men-at-arms to break a passive -square of infantry. - -Next after the men-at-arms came a species of cavalry called by -the name of pauncenars,[17] which was less fully equipped with -defensive armour, but wore the habergeon[18] and was armed with the -lance. - -Lastly came the light cavalry of the fyrd, originally established -to patrol the English coast. These were called hobelars, from the -hobbies or ponies which they rode, and were equipped with an iron -helmet, a heavily padded doublet (_aketon_), iron gloves, and a -sword. - -Turning next to the infantry, there were Welsh spearmen, carrying -the weapon which gave them their name, but without defensive -armour. Indeed it should seem that they were not overburdened -with clothes of any kind, for they were every one provided at the -King's expense with a tunic and a mantle, which were by express -direction made of the same material and colour for all. These Welsh -spearmen therefore were the first troops in the English service -who were dressed in uniform, and they received it first in the -year 1337.[19] The colour of their clothing unfortunately remains -unknown to us. - -Next we come to the peculiar strength of England, the archers. -Though a certain number of them seem generally to have been -mounted, yet, like the dragoons of a later day, these rode for -the sake of swifter mobility only, and may rightly be reckoned as -infantry. As has been already stated, the archers wore no defensive -armour except an iron cap, relying on their bows alone. These bows -were six feet four inches long; the arrows, of varying length -but generally described as cloth-yard shafts, were fitted with -barb and point of iron and fledged with the feathers of goose or -peacock. But the weapon itself would have gone for little without -the special training in its use wherein the English excelled. "My -father," says Bishop Latimer (and we may reasonably assume that in -such matters there had been little change in a hundred and fifty -years), "My father was diligent in teaching me to shoot with the -bow; he taught me to draw, to lay my body to the bow, not to draw -with strength of arm as other nations do, but with the strength -of the body. I had my bows bought[20] me according to my age and -strength; as I increased in these my bows were made bigger and -bigger." The principle was in fact analogous to that which is -taught to young oarsmen at the present day. The results of this -training were astonishing. The range of the long-bow in the hands -of the old archers is said to have been fully two hundred and forty -yards, and the force of the arrow to have been such as to pierce at -a fair distance an inch of stout timber. Moreover, the shooting was -both rapid and accurate. Indeed the long-bow was in the fourteenth -century a more formidable weapon than the cross-bow, which had been -condemned by Pope Innocent the Second as too deadly for Christian -warfare so far back as 1139. It was at no disadvantage in the -matter of range, while it could be discharged far more quickly; and -further, since it was held not horizontally but perpendicularly -to the ground, the archers could stand closer together, and their -volleys could be better concentrated. Thus the long-bow, though the -cross-bow was not unknown to the English, was not only the national -but the better weapon. In action the archers were ranked as deep -as was consistent with the delivery of effective volleys, the rear -ranks being able to do good execution by aiming over the heads of -the men before them. It may be imagined from the muscular training -undergone by the archers that they were physically a magnificent -body of men. - -Strictly speaking the archers were the artillery of the army, -according to the terminology of the time,[21] the word _artillator_ -being used in the time of Edward the Second to signify the officer -in charge of what we now call the ordnance-stores. But to avoid -confusion we must use the word in its modern sense, the more so -since we find among the stores of the custodian[22] of the King's -artillery in 1344 the items of saltpetre and sulphur for the -manufacture of powder, and among his men six "gonners." Gun, it -should be added, was the English, cannon the French name for these -weapons from the beginning. It will presently be necessary to -notice their first appearance in the field. - -As to the general organisation of the army, the whole was divided -into thousands under an officer called a millenar, subdivided -into hundreds, each under a centenar, and further subdivided -into twenties, each under a vintenar. The commander-in-chief was -usually the King in person, aided by two principal officers, -the High Constable and the Marshal, whose duties were, roughly -speaking, those of Adjutant and Quartermaster-General. For tactical -purposes the army was distributed into three divisions, called the -vanguard, battle and rearguard, which kept those names whatever -their position in the field or on the march, whether the host was -drawn up, as most commonly, in three lines, or in one. Trumpets -were used for purposes of signalling, though so far as can be -gathered they sounded no distinct calls, and were dependent for -their significance on orders previously issued. The failing in this -respect is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the signals of the -chase with the horn were already very numerous and very clearly and -accurately defined. - -The pay of all ranks can fortunately be supplied from the -muster-roll of Calais in 1346, and although I shall not again -encumber these pages with a pay-list I shall for once print it -entire: - - The Prince of Wales 20s. a day. - The Bishop of Durham 6s. 8d. " " - Earls 6s. 8d. " " - Barons and Bannerets 4s. " " - Knights 2s. " " - Esquires, Constables, } - Captains, and Leaders } 1s. " " - Vintenars 6d. " " - Mounted Archers 6d. " " - Pauncenars 6d. " " - Hobelars 6d. " " - Foot-Archers 3d. " " - Welsh Spearmen 2d. " " - " Vintenars 4d. " " - Masons, Carpenters, Smiths, Engineers, Miners, - Gunners, 10d., 6d., and 3d. - -It is melancholy to have to record that even so early as in 1342 -corruption and fraudulent dealing had begun in the army. The -marshals were ordered to muster the men-at-arms once a month, -and to refuse pay for men who were absent or inadequately armed -or indifferently mounted. We shall see the practice of drawing -pay for imaginary men and the tricks played on muster-masters -increase and multiply, till they demand a special vocabulary and a -certain measure of official recognition. A favourite abuse among -men-at-arms was the claim of extortionate compensation for horses -lost on active service, leading to an order in this same year that -all horses should be valued on admission to the corps, and marked -to prevent deception. Thus early was the road opened that leads to -the broad arrow. The taint of corruption, indeed, clings strongly -to every army, with the possible exception of the Prussian, in -Europe. War is a time of urgency and stress, which does not admit -of strict audits or careful inspections, and poor human nature -is too weak not to turn such an opportunity to its profit. It -is an unpleasant thought that dishonesty and peculation should -be inseparably associated with so much that is noble and heroic -in human history, but the fact is indisputable, and must not be -lightly passed over. Moreover the days when English cavalry shall -go to war on their own horses may not yet be numbered; and it may -be useful to remember that the mediæval man-at-arms would mount -himself on his worst animal in order to break him down the quicker, -and claim for him the price of his best. It is only by constant -wariness against such evils that there can be built up a sound -system of military administration. - - AUTHORITIES.--As for previous chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -[Sidenote: 1339.] - -[Sidenote: 1340, June 24.] - -Having now sketched the composition of the English forces, let -us move forthwith to the scene of action. We must omit the early -incidents of the war, and the assumption by Edward of the famous -motto wherein he consecrated his claim to the crown of France, -_Dieu et mon droit_. We must pass by the famous naval action of -Sluys, where the English commanders in their zeal to follow the -precepts of Vegetius, thought it more important to have the sun in -the enemy's eyes than the wind in their own favour, and where the -archers, acting as marine sharp-shooters, were the true authors -of the English victory. We must overlook likewise the innumerable -sieges, even that of Quesnoy, where the English first came under -the fire of cannon, merely remarking that owing to their ignorance -of that particular branch of warfare, the English were uniformly -unsuccessful; and we must come straight to the year 1345, when -Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, landed at Bayonne with a force -of three thousand men for a campaign in Gascony and Guienne. The -name of our first artillery-officer has been given; attention must -now be called to our first engineer, this same Earl of Derby, who -had lately been recalled from service with the Spaniards against -the Moors at the siege of Algesiras, and was the first man who -taught the English how to take a fortified town. - -[Sidenote: 1346, June.] - -Derby then with his little army harried Gascony and Guienne for a -time, until the arrival of a superior French force compelled him to -retire and gave him much ado to defend himself. Accordingly, in -June 1346 Edward the Third impressed a fleet of innumerable small -vessels, none of them exceeding sixty tons burden, embarked thereon -four thousand men-at-arms, ten thousand archers and five or six -thousand Welsh spearmen, and sailed for the coast of France. On the -12th of July he put into St. Vaast de la Hogue, a little to the -east of Cherbourg, dispersed a French force that was stationed to -oppose him, and successfully effected his landing. Six days were -allowed to recruit men and horses after the voyage, and the army -then moved eastward to the Seine, leaving a broad line of ruin and -desolation in its wake, and advanced up the left bank of the river. -King Philip of France had meanwhile collected an army at Rouen, -whence he marched parallel to the English along the right bank of -the Seine, crossed it at Paris, and stood ready to fall upon Edward -if he should strike southward to Guienne. But Edward's plans were -of the vaguest; his diversion had already relieved Derby, and he -now crossed the Seine at Poissy and struck northward as if for -Flanders. Philip no sooner divined his purpose than he too hastened -northward, outmarched the English, crossed the Somme at Amiens, -gave orders for the occupation of every bridge and ford by which -the English could pass the river, and then recrossing marched -straight upon Edward's right flank. - -The position of the English was now most critical, for they could -not cross the Somme and were fairly hemmed in between the river and -the sea. At his wits' end Edward examined his prisoners, and from -them learned of the ford of Blanche Tache in the tidal water about -eight miles below Abbeville. Thither accordingly he marched, and -after waiting part of a night for the ebb-tide, forced the passage -in the teeth of a French detachment that had been stationed to -guard it, and sending six officers to select for him a suitable -position pursued his way northward through the forest of Creçy. On -the morning of the 26th of August he crossed the river Maie, and -there swinging his front round from north to south-east he turned -and stood at bay. - -[Sidenote: August 26.] - -The position was well chosen. The army occupied a low line of -heights lying between the villages of Creçy and Wadicourt, the left -flank resting on a forest, the right on the river Maie. Edward -ordered every man to dismount, and parked the horses and baggage -waggons in an entrenched leaguer[23] in rear. The army was too weak -to cover the whole line of the position, so the archers were pushed -forward and extended in a multitude of battalions along the front, -and backed with Welsh spearmen. Echeloned in rear of them stood -the three main divisions of the army; foremost and to the right -the vanguard of twelve hundred men-at-arms under the Black Prince, -next to it the battle of as many more under the Earl of Arundel, -and behind it, covering the extreme left, the rearguard, consisting -of fifteen hundred men-at-arms and six thousand mixed archers and -infantry under the King. The country being rich in provisions -Edward ordered every man to eat a hearty meal before falling into -his place, for he knew that the Englishman fights best when he is -full. When the host was arrayed in order he rode round the whole -army to cheer it; and then the men lay down, the archers with their -helmets and bows on the ground before them, and waited till the -French should come. - -Philip meanwhile had crossed the Somme at Abbeville on the -morning of the 26th, and turned eastward in the hope of cutting -off the English. Finding that he was too late, he countermarched -and turned north, at the same time sending forward officers to -reconnoitre. The afternoon was far advanced, and the French were -wearied with a long, disorderly march when these officers returned -with intelligence of the English. Philip ordered a halt, but the -indiscipline and confusion were such that the order could not -be obeyed. The noblest blood in France was riding on in all its -pride to make an end of the despised English, and a mass of -rude infantry was waiting to share the slaughter and the spoil. -So they blundered on till they caught sight of the English lying -quietly down in order of battle; and therewith all good resolutions -vanished and Philip gave the order to attack. - -It was now nearly five o'clock, and the heaven was black with -clouds, which presently burst in a terrific thunderstorm. The -English archers slipped off their bowstrings to keep them dry, -and waited; while six thousand Genoese cross-bowmen, jaded by -the long march, drenched and draggled with the rain that beat -into their faces, conscious that they were almost disarmed by the -wetness of their bowstrings, shuffled wearily into their stations -along the French front. Their leaders complained that they were -unfairly treated. "Who cares for your rabble?" answered the Count -of Alençon. "They are nothing but useless mouths, more trouble than -help." So the cross-bowmen sulkily took their position, and the -rest of the French army, from twelve to twenty thousand men-at-arms -and some fifteen thousand infantry, ranged themselves in three -massive lines behind them. A vast flight of ravens flew over the -opposing arrays, croaking loudly over the promised feast of dead -men. - -Then the storm passed away inland into France, and the sun low -down in the west flashed out in all his glory full in the faces -of the French. The Genoese advanced and raised a loud cry, thrice -repeated, to strike terror into the English: the archers over -against them stood massive and silent. The loud report of two or -three cannon, little more harmful than the shouts of the Genoese, -was the only answer; and then the archers stepped forward and drew -bow. In vain the Genoese attempted to reply; they were overwhelmed -by the torrent of shafts; they shrank back, cut their bowstrings -and would have fled, but for a line of French mounted men-at-arms -which was drawn up in their rear to check them. The proud chivalry -of France was chafing impatiently behind them, and Philip would -wait no longer. "Slay me these rascals," he said brutally; and -the first line of men-at-arms thundered forward, trod the hapless -Genoese under foot, and pressed on within range of the arrows. -And then ensued a terrible scene. The great stallions, maddened -by the pain of the keen barbed shafts, broke from all control. -They jibbed, they reared, they swerved, they plunged, striking and -lashing out hideously, while the rear of the dense column, carried -forward by its own momentum, surged on to the top of the foremost -and wedged the whole into a helpless choking mass. And still the -shower of pitiless arrows fell swift as snow upon the thickest -of the press; and the whole of the French fighting line became a -confused welter of struggling animals, maimed cross-bowmen, and -fallen cavaliers, crippled by the weight of their armour, an easy -prey to the long, keen knives of the Welsh. - -[Illustration: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1346. - - _To face page 36_ -] - -Nevertheless some few of the French men-at-arms had managed to -pierce through the archers. The blind king of Bohemia had been -guided by two faithful knights through the centre, Alençon had -skirted them on one flank, the Count of Flanders on the other, -and all had fallen upon the Black Prince's battalion. The danger -was greatest on the left flank; but the Earl of Arundel moved up -the second line of the echelon to his support, and the English -held their own. Then the second line of the French advanced, broke -through the archers, not without heavy loss, and fell likewise -upon the English men-at-arms. The Prince of Wales was overthrown, -and was only saved by the devotion of his standard-bearer, but the -battalion fought on. It was probably at this time that Arundel -sent a messenger to the King for reinforcements. "Is my son dead -or hurt?" he asked. "No, sire, but he is hard beset." "Then return -to those who sent you and bid them send me no more such messages -while my son is alive; tell them to let the boy win his spurs." -The message was carried back to the battalion, and the men-at-arms -fought on stoutly as ever. The archers seem also to have rallied -and closed on the flank and rear of the attacking French. Alençon's -banner could still be seen swaying behind a hedge of archers, and -Philip, anxious to pour his third and last line into the fight, -had actually advanced within range of the arrows. But the power of -the bowmen was still unweakened, the ground was choked with dead -men and horses, and the light was failing fast. He yielded to the -entreaties of his followers and rode from the field; and the first -great battle of the English was won. - -When morning dawned the country was full of straggling Frenchmen, -who from the sudden change in the direction of the advance had -lost all knowledge of their line of retreat; the few that retained -some semblance of organised bodies were attacked and broken up. -Never was victory more complete. The French left eleven great -lords, eighty-three bannerets, over twelve hundred knights and some -thousands of common soldiers dead on the field. It was a fortunate -issue to a reckless and ill-planned campaign. It is customary to -give all credit for the victory to the archers, but this is unjust. -Superbly as they fought they would have been broken without the -men-at-arms, even as the men-at-arms would have been overwhelmed -without the archers. Both did their duty without envy or jealousy, -and therein lay the secret of their success. - -[Sidenote: 1355.] - -[Sidenote: 1356.] - -[Sidenote: July.] - -[Sidenote: August 28.] - -The siege and capture of Calais followed, and then by the mediation -of the Pope peace was made, and for a time preserved. Petty -hostilities however never ceased in Brittany, and finally in -1355 the war broke out anew. Three armies were fitted out,--one -of a thousand men-at-arms under the Black Prince for operations -in Guienne, a second under the Earl of Derby for Brittany, and a -third under the personal command of the King. Little, however, was -effected in the campaign of 1355. The King was recalled to England -by an invasion of the Scots, and the operations of 1356 in Brittany -were checked by the appearance of the French King in superior -force. But at the close of July the Black Prince suddenly started -on a wild raid from the Dordogne in the south to the Loire. His -object seems to have been to effect a junction with Derby's forces -at Orleans; but it is difficult to see how he could have hoped for -success. He had reached Vierzon on the Cher when he heard that the -King of France was on his way to meet him in overwhelming strength. -Unable to retreat through the country which he had laid waste on -his advance, he turned sharp to the west down the Cher and struck -the Loire at Tours. There for four days he halted, for what reason -it is difficult to explain, since the delay enabled the French to -cross the Loire and seriously to threaten his retreat. - -There was now nothing for the Prince but to retire southward with -all haste. The French were hard on his track, and followed him -so closely that he was much straitened by want of supplies. On -the 14th of September the English were at Chatelheraut and the -French at La Haye, little more than ten miles apart, and on the -15th the French made a forced march which brought them fairly -to southward of the Prince, and between him and his base at -Bordeaux. All contact however had been lost; and the French King, -making sure that the Prince had designs on Poitiers, swung round -to the westward and moved straight upon the town. On the 17th, -while in full march, his rearguard was suddenly surprised by the -advanced parties of the Prince. As in the movements after the -Alma, each army was executing a flank march, quite unconsciously, -in the presence of the other. The French rearguard pursued the -reconnoitring party to the main body of the English, and after a -sharp engagement was repulsed with heavy loss. The French army had -actually marched across the line of the Black Prince's retreat, and -left it open to him once more. - -[Sidenote: Sept. 18.] - -Edward lost no time in looking for a suitable position, and -presently found it at Maupertuis some fifteen miles south-west -of Poitiers. There to the north of the river Miosson is a plain -seamed with deep ravines running down to that stream; and behind -one of these he took his stand, facing north-east. The sides of the -ravine were planted with vineyards and blocked by thick hedges, so -that it was impossible for cavalry to cross it except by a track -which was broad enough for but four horsemen abreast; and these -natural advantages the Prince improved by repairing all weak places -in the fences and by digging entrenchments. One exposed spot on -his left flank he strengthened by a leaguer of waggons as well as -with the spade. He then told off his archers to line the hedges -which commanded the passage across the ravine, and drew up his -men-at-arms, all of them dismounted, in three lines behind it. The -first line he committed to the Earls of Warwick and Suffolk, the -rearmost to the Earl of Salisbury, and the centre he reserved for -himself. His whole force, augmented as it was by a contingent of -Gascons, did not exceed six or seven thousand men, half of whom -were archers. - -So passed the day of the 18th of September on the English side. -The French on their part, instead of blocking up their retreat to -the south and reducing them by starvation, simply moved down from -Poitiers to within a league of the English position and halted for -the night. Their force amounted to sixty thousand men, and they -might well feel confident as to the issue of an action. Indeed, -when the Black Prince, fully alive to the desperate peril of his -situation, negotiated for an evacuation of the country, they -imposed such terms that he could not in honour accept them. They -therefore reconnoitred the English position, and laid their plans -for the morrow. Three hundred chosen men-at-arms, backed by a -column of German, Italian, and Spanish knights, were to charge down -the ravine upon the archers, disperse them, and attack the English -men-at-arms on the other side. Three lines, each of three massive -battalions containing from three to four thousand men-at-arms, with -lances shortened to a length of five feet, were to follow them -afoot, and the English were to be crushed by their own tactics. - -[Sidenote: Sept. 19.] - -It is hardly surprising that in the night the Black Prince's heart -failed him. He resolved while he could to place the Miosson between -him and the French, and at dawn began his retreat, leaving the -rearguard, however, still in the position at Maupertuis in case -withdrawal should be impossible.[24] He also sent two knights to -watch the French army, who however approached too closely to it and -were captured. His first line had already crossed the Miosson when -intelligence reached him that the French had advanced, and that the -rearguard was engaged. He at once ordered the vanguard to return, -and himself hastening back with his own division, despatched three -hundred mounted men-at-arms and as many mounted archers without -delay to strengthen his right wing. The French meanwhile had moved -forward, gaily singing the song of Roland, to find the way blocked -by the hedges and vineyards of the ravine. Undismayed they plunged -down into the narrow track; and then the English archers behind -the hedges opened at close range a succession of frightfully -destructive volleys. The foremost of the horsemen fell headlong -down, the rear plunged confusedly on the top of them, and the pass -was blocked with a heaving, helpless crowd, on which the arrows -hissed down in an eternal merciless shower. The supporting column -of foreign cavalry was unable to act in the confusion; it was -already under the fire of the archers, and before it could move the -English mounted men on the right wing came down full upon its left -flank, and killed or captured every man. - -[Illustration: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1356. - - _To face page 40_ -] - -And now the wounded French horses, mad with pain and terror, -many of them riderless and all beyond control, dashed back on to -the first line of the dismounted French men-at-arms. It was a -charge of mad animals, the most terrible of all charges, and the -huge battalion fell into confusion before it. Edward was watching -the battle keenly from his position; he had already ordered his -men-at-arms to mount, and now Sir John Chandos, whose name must -always be linked to Edward's as that of Collingwood to Nelson, -broke out aloud with, "Forward, sire, forward, and the day is -yours!" "Aye, John," answered the Prince, with a thought perhaps of -the morning's retreat, "No going backward to-day. Forward banner, -in the name of God and St. George!" The preliminary attack of the -mounted men on the right had already cleared the way for them. The -English cavalry scrambled in haste down into the ravine on the -right, and fell upon the French men-at-arms. The front and centre -divisions, already much shaken, were easily broken and dispersed; -the third and strongest still remained, and against this, which -resisted desperately, the whole force of the English was turned. -The lesson of Falkirk was remembered. The mounted archers made the -gaps and the men-at-arms rode into them. The division was broken, -the King was captured, and the mass of the fugitives making for -Poitiers found the gates closed against them and were cut down by -hundreds. The action began at six in the morning, and lasted till -late into the afternoon. The French losses were enormous. Over and -above the King and many great lords two thousand men-at-arms were -captured, and two thousand five hundred more were left dead on the -field; the number of the unhappy foot-men that were slain it is -impossible to state. The English loss is variously set down, the -reports ranging from half the force to sixty-four men. The battle, -from the disparity between the strength of the two sides, must -remain ever memorable in the annals of war. To the English, who had -but lately risen above the horizon as a military power, it gave a -prestige that has never been lost. - -[Sidenote: 1360.] - -[Sidenote: 1364, May 16.] - -The peace of Brétigny closed the war, and the English army was -disbanded. But the soldiers, like the ten thousand Greeks who -returned from Cunaxa, were too deeply bitten with their profession -to abandon it for the tedium of peace. They therefore formed -themselves into independent bodies, or Free Companies, and for -years were the scourge of France, their chamber as they called -it, which they plundered and ravaged at their pleasure. The -greatest of their leaders was John Hawkwood, of whom something -more must presently be said, but these bands, in less or greater -numbers, were constantly to be found fighting for hire against the -French. Thus three hundred of them fought for the King of Navarre -against the King of France at Cocherel. The numbers engaged were -little more than fifteen hundred on each side, but the action -is interesting as showing the efforts of the French to meet the -peculiar tactics of the English. In order to have no more trouble -with unruly horses the French men-at-arms dismounted and fought -on foot, and now for the first time the archers found themselves -outdone. The armour of the French was so good that it turned the -cloth-yard shafts; and being slightly superior in numbers the -French men-at-arms forced their enemy off the field. It was but a -slight success, but a defeat even of a small body of English was -such a rarity in those days that it gave the French great hopes for -the future, hopes which were soon to be dashed to the ground. - -[Sidenote: 1365.] - -[Sidenote: Sept. 29.] - -In the following year a quarrel as to the succession to the -Duchy of Brittany between Charles of Blois and John of Montfort -brought the English again into the field. The French King Charles -the Fifth sent assistance to support the former, whereupon John -of Montfort at once appealed to the English. John Chandos and -several more of the garrison in France, eager for fresh battle -against their old enemies, asked permission to join Montfort as -volunteers. "You may go full well," answered the Black Prince. -"Since the French are going for Charles of Blois, I give you good -leave." The English, both volunteers and mercenaries, accordingly -hurried to the scene of war; and at Auray they fought the action -which decided the campaign. The numbers engaged did not exceed -four thousand in either army. Both sides dismounted, and the -French men-at-arms discarding the lance as unfit for fighting -afoot equipped themselves with battle-axes, so that there promised -to be a stubborn fight. The English archers as usual opened the -engagement, but as at Cocherel their shafts could not penetrate the -armour of the French; whereupon with great deliberation they threw -down their bows, and boldly advancing to the French men-at-arms -plucked their axes from their hands and plied the weapons against -their astonished owners with terrible effect. The whole proceeding -furnishes so good an example of the thoughtless, thick-headed -gallantry of the English soldier, that one can only marvel that the -battle of Auray should be practically unknown to Englishmen. The -intensely ludicrous picture that can be conjured up of a series of -detached struggles between the brawny active Englishmen in their -doublets and hose, and the unhappy Frenchmen cased stiffly in their -mail, the panting, the staggering, and the rattling, the agonised -curses from behind the vizor, and the great broad laugh on the -honest English face--this alone should have saved it from oblivion. -The English men-at-arms came quickly to the support of the bowmen, -and after a long and desperate engagement, for the noble and -gallant Bertrand du Guesclin was in command of the French, the -English drove their enemy from the field and as usual finished -the pursuit on horseback. There was no question in the action of -superior archery or advantage of position, though Chandos indeed -handled his reserve in a masterly fashion, but it was simply a -matter of what the Duke of Wellington called bludgeon-work; and at -this too the English proved themselves the better men. - -[Sidenote: 1366.] - -By this time the oppression of the Free Companies had become so -insufferable that, in order to rid the country of them, Charles -the Fifth ordered Bertrand du Guesclin to take a certain number -of them into service and march with them to fight for the bastard -Henry of Trastamare against Pedro the Cruel of Castile. It would be -a mistake, we must note in passing, to look upon these companies as -composed simply of low ruffians; they seem on the contrary to have -been made up largely of the class of esquires, while there were -poor noblemen serving even among the archers. On entering Spain -they took to themselves a white cross, the old English colour of -the Crusades, as their distinctive mark, and were apparently the -first English troops that introduced this substitute for uniform. -Further, they called themselves the White Company, and were in this -respect the forerunners of the Buffs and Blues. They did little -profitable work under du Guesclin, and were presently dismissed, -just in time to be re-enlisted to the number of twelve thousand by -the Black Prince, who, dreading an alliance of France with Spain, -was preparing an expedition for the rescue of Peter the Cruel. The -vassals of Aquitaine and Gascony were also summoned to the Prince's -standard, a reinforcement under the Duke of Lancaster was sent from -England to Brittany, whence it marched overland to the south, and -by December 1366 thirty thousand mounted troops were concentrated -on the frontier of Navarre. It was by general consent admitted to -be the finest army that had ever been seen in Europe; so rapid -had been the growth of military efficiency in England under the -two great Edwards. It was organised in the usual three divisions, -the vanguard being under command of the Duke of Lancaster, with -Sir John Chandos at his side. The battle was under the command of -the Prince himself, and the rearguard under a Gascon noble and -famous soldier, the Captal de Buch. Every man wore the red cross -of St. George on a white surcoat and on his shield, a badge which -henceforth became distinctive of the English soldier for two -centuries. The Spaniards, it is worth noting, wore a scarf, a -fashion which, already two generations old, was destined to last -through our great Civil War, and to survive, in the form of a sash, -to the present day. - -[Sidenote: 1367.] - -On Monday the 22nd of February 1367 the first division crossed -the Pyrenees by the Pass of Roncesvalles. The next two followed -it on the two succeeding days, and the whole force was reunited -at Pampeluna. The Prince had now two lines of operations open to -him, both leading to his objective, Burgos; the one by Vittoria -and Miranda on the Ebro, the other by Puente la Reyna and Logrono. -He chose the former, the identical line followed in the contrary -direction by Wellington in chase of the beaten French, and sent -only a small detachment of volunteers under Sir Thomas Felton -along the latter route. This party of Felton's deserves mention as -the first body of English irregular cavalry under a reckless and -daring officer. No exploit was too hare-brained for them and they -did excellent service, for they were the first to find contact -with the Spanish army, at Navarete, and having obtained it they -preserved it, keeping the Prince admirably informed of the enemy's -movements. Henry of Trastamare, on learning the advance of the -English, crossed the Ebro and marched on Vittoria, but finding that -the Black Prince had been beforehand with him fell back on Miranda. -Felton's volunteers stuck to him so persistently and impudently -during this retreat that the Spaniards at last lost patience and -attacked them in overwhelming force. The English, a mere hundred -men, were too proud to retire but stood firm on the hill of Arinez, -the very spot where Picton broke the French centre in the battle -of the 21st of June 1813, and were killed to a man. Henry then -recrossed the Ebro to his first position at Navarete; the Black -Prince crossed the same river at Logrono, and on the 3rd of April -the two hosts stood face to face on the plain between Navarete and -Najera. - -[Sidenote: April 3.] - -It is not easy to ascertain the force engaged on each side, but -it is certain that the Black Prince, with about ten thousand -men-at-arms and as many archers, was superior in numbers and very -decidedly superior in the quality of his troops. Nevertheless the -force had suffered much hardship, and the men were individually -enfeebled by want of food. The Spanish army was distributed into -four divisions. The first of these, consisting of dismounted -knights, was placed under the command of Bertrand du Guesclin and -formed the first line. The remaining three formed the second line; -the largest of them, composed of mounted men-at-arms and a rabble -of rude infantry, being drawn up in rear of the vanguard, while -the other two, made up chiefly of light cavalry copied from the -Moorish model, were drawn up on either flank slightly in advance of -the second and in rear of the first line. The arrangement of the -Black Prince's army was similar but more massive; first came the -vanguard under John Chandos, then a second line with two flanking -divisions pushed slightly forward, as in the Spanish army, and -lastly the third line in reserve. Every man in the English host -was dismounted. The battlefield was a level plain; and the sight -of the two armies advancing against each other, armour and pennons -glancing under the morning sun was, in Froissart's words, great -beauty to behold. - -[Illustration: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1367. - - _To face page 46_ -] - -The English archers as usual opened the engagement, and then the -divisions of Chandos and du Guesclin, the two most gallant and -chivalrous soldiers of their day, met in full shock. In spite of a -furious resistance the English, weakened by privation, were for a -moment borne back. Chandos was overthrown and went near to lose his -life. But meanwhile the English archers in the flanking divisions -had driven off the light horse that stood before them, and now -wheeling inward enveloped du Guesclin's devoted band on both -flanks. The bastard Henry strove gallantly to save the day with -the second line, but the Black Prince brought up not only a second -line but a third, and the battle was soon over. Then the English -men-at-arms flew, as at Poitiers, to their horses, and the defeat -was turned into a rout. A rapid torrent, spanned by but a single -bridge, barred the retreat of the fugitives; the narrow passage -was choked by the press of the flying, and thousands were taken or -slain. - -This battle marks the zenith of early English military power. -But the campaign was after all a failure. The ill faith of Pedro -the Cruel forced the Black Prince to tax Gascony heavily for the -expenses of the war; the province appealed to the King of France, -and the Prince was summoned to be judged before his peers at -Paris as a rebellious vassal. He shook his head ominously when -he received the message. "We will go," he said, "but with helmet -on head and sixty thousand men at our back." The war with France -broke out anew, and petty operations were soon afoot all over the -country; but now noble after noble in Aquitaine and Gascony forsook -his allegiance and revolted to the French. Disaster came thick upon -disaster. The Earl of Pembroke, a new commander, disdaining the -help of the veteran Chandos, was defeated, and Chandos himself, -while advancing to his relief, was slain in a skirmish, to the -grief alike of friend and of foe. The Prince, already sickening -of a mortal disease, turned in fury upon the insurgent town of -Limoges, besieged it, took it, and ordered every soul in it to be -put to the sword. Three thousand men, women, and children were cut -down, crying "Mercy, mercy!" but the stern man, too ill to ride, -looked on unmoved from his litter, till at the sight of three -French knights fighting gallantly against overwhelming odds his -heart softened, and he gave the word for the slaughter to cease. - -A few weeks later his little son, but six years old, the boy upon -whom the great soldier had lavished all that was tender in his -nature, died suddenly at Bordeaux. The blow aggravated the Prince's -sickness, and the physicians ordered him to England, in the faint -hope that he might get better at home. He returned, hid himself -in strict seclusion in his house at Berkhampstead, and waited for -the end. Meanwhile things in France went from bad to worse. A -great naval defeat before Rochelle cost England the command of the -sea, and with the loss of the sea Guienne and Gascony were lost -likewise. An expedition under John of Gaunt landed at Calais and -marched indeed to Bordeaux, but lost four-fifths of its numbers -through sickness on the way. By 1374 the English possessions in -France were reduced to Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne; so swiftly -had victory passed away with the withdrawal of the master's hand. - -[Sidenote: 1376.] - -At length, in 1376, the Prince came up to Westminster to attend, -even in his sick-bed, the deliberations of Parliament. This was -his last effort. Two months later, on the 8th of June, he summoned -his faithful comrades to his chamber to bid them farewell, and as -they filed past he thanked them for their good service and asked -their pardon for that he could not reward them as he wished. Then -he entreated them to be faithful to his son as they had been to -himself: and they swore it, weeping like women, with all their -hearts. The end came with a flash of the imperious soldier's -spirit. Observing that a knight who had offended him had come in -with the rest, the Prince instantly bade him begone and see his -face no more; and then the noble heart cracked, and with a last -ejaculation that he forgave all men as he hoped to be forgiven, -the Black Prince, the hope and pride and treasure of England, sank -back and died. Two months later he was buried with military pomp -in the cathedral at Canterbury; and over his tomb were hung, and -still hang, his helmet, his surcoat, his gauntlets, his crest, his -shield, and his sword,[25] the veritable arms worn by the first -great English soldier.[26] For a great soldier he was and a great -commander. He could be stern and he could be merciless, but those -were stern and merciless times, and the man whose last thoughts -were for his comrades-in-arms was a chief who could hold men to him -and a leader whom they would follow to the death. Men no longer -pray for his soul in the chapel which he founded in the crypt of -the cathedral; but morning and evening the voice of the trumpet, -calling English soldiers to their work and dismissing them to their -rest, peals forth from the barracks without and pierces faintly -into the silence of the sanctuary, no unfitting requiem for the -great warrior who, waiting for the sound of a louder trumpet, -sleeps peacefully beneath the shadow of his shield. - - AUTHORITIES.--The principal authority for the period is of - course Froissart, whose narrative has been elucidated, by the - help of minor authorities, by Köhler with his usual care and - pains. See his vol ii. pp. 385-523, and in particular the list of - authorities on pp. 385 and 417. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -[Sidenote: 1382.] - -The works of the Black Prince lived after him. Not that we must -look for them immediately in England, where we now enter on forty -years of intestine division and civil strife. We do indeed find -that Richard the Second, on his invasion of Scotland in 1385, -adopted for his army the organisation that had been taught by his -father at Navarete; but we discover no trace of military progress. -Far more instructive is it to look to the continent of Europe and -watch the spread of English military ideas there. It has already -been seen that the French, not daring to meet the English archers -on horseback, adopted the English system of dismounting for action; -and it is interesting to note that the same fashion spread to -Germany and Italy, steadily tending to overthrow the supremacy of -cavalry wrought by the feudal system, and to make a revolution -in the art of war. Not one of the nations, however, seems to -have grasped the pith of the English tactics, the combination of -the offensive and defensive elements in the infantry. The French -indeed, under King Charles the Sixth, strove to raise up archers, -and with all too good success, for they became so efficient -that they were esteemed a menace to the nobility, and were soon -effectively discouraged out of existence. Perhaps the most striking -example of the misapplication of the English system is the conduct -of the Austrian commander at Sempach, who by dismounting his -knights deliberately gave away every advantage to the Swiss, and -thus helped forward that nation on the way to make its infantry the -model of Europe; a very significant matter in the history of the -art of war. - -But the truest disciples of the Black Prince were the English -Free Companies, from whom there descended to England, and indeed -to Europe, a legacy of a remarkable kind. These companies were -military societies framed very much on the model of the ancient -trade-guilds, and had as good a right to the name as they. A -certain number of adventurers invested so much money in the -creation of a trained body of fighting men, and took a higher -or lower station of command therein, together with a larger or -smaller share of the profits, according to the proportion of their -venture. If any man wished to realise his capital he could sell -out, provided that he could find a buyer; if any one partner seemed -to the rest to be undesirable they would buy him out and take in -another. Thus grew up what was known as the purchase-system. The -abuse of their monopoly by these companies drove the sovereigns of -Europe after a time to issue commissions to their subjects to raise -companies for their own service only; but even so the commercial -basis of the company remained unchanged, being only widened when -the time came for the amalgamation of companies into regiments. -These military adventurers taught the nations the new art of war, -and the nations could not but follow their model. - -[Sidenote: 1387.] - -[Sidenote: 1391.] - -The greatest leader of free companies was an Englishman, a pupil -of the Black Prince but greater even than his master, John -Hawkwood. It is true that he did his work for foreign nations and -in a foreign land, but even so his name must not be omitted from -a history of the British Army. The company which he commanded, -English almost to a man, was the terror of Italy, and not only the -most formidable in the field but the smartest to the eye, for its -arms were burnished till they shone like silver. Hawkwood, though -a mercenary, was celebrated as the only one who never broke faith, -and as a general his reputation was European. The action which -he fought at Castagnaro, when, in spite of great inferiority in -numbers, he deliberately laid his plans for a sudden counterstroke, -after the manner of Poitiers, extorts the admiration even of modern -generals. Still more remarkable is his once famous retreat in the -face of an overwhelming force from the Adda to the Adige, and -perhaps greatest of all was the closing scene of that retreat. For, -as he lay encamped in the plains by the Adige, the enemy broke the -dykes of the river and turned the whole flood of its waters upon -his army. It was night, and the men were encamping, weary after -a hard day's march, when the deluge came upon them. Everything -conspired to create a panic, but Hawkwood's coolness and confidence -were equal to the danger. He bade every horseman take up one of -the foot-men behind his saddle, and then placing himself at their -head he led them through ten miles of the trackless waste of water, -never less than girth-deep, and brought them out by sheer sagacity, -not indeed without loss but without heavy loss, to the dry bed of -the river. This was in his last campaign, when he was past seventy -years of age; and Florence, the state which he had long faithfully -served, voted him a pension for life and a monument even during his -lifetime. He was making arrangements to return to England when he -died; and King Richard the Second begged the city of Florence that -the bones of so famous a warrior might be returned to his native -land. The request was gracefully granted by the citizens, but the -last resting-place of Hawkwood is now unknown. His monument in the -Cathedral at Florence records that he was the most skilful general -of his age, a height of military fame that has been reached by one -other Englishman only, John, Duke of Marlborough. - -[Sidenote: 1385, August 14.] - -Yet another action must be briefly noticed to show the value set -on English military skill. During the invasion of Portugal by -the King of Castile, in 1385, the Portuguese were joined by a -party of about five hundred English adventurers, whose leaders -appear to have directed most of the operations. It was under their -guidance that the decisive battle of Aljubarotta, of which the -Portuguese are still proud, was finally fought; and it is worthy -of remark that, finding no advantageous position to hand, they -deliberately constructed by means of abattis an imitation of the -position of Poitiers, making it unassailable from the front except -through a narrow strait, which was purposely left open and lined -with archers. Marvellous to relate, the Spaniards and the French, -who were fighting with them, rushed straight into the trap, and -were of course utterly overthrown; whereupon, in due accordance -with precedent, the Portuguese made their counter-attack and won -a complete victory.[27] All this was due, as Froissart says, to -the counsel of the English; and indeed, little though we may be -conscious of it, it is doubtful whether even after Waterloo the -prestige of English soldiers was greater than at the end of the -fourteenth century. - -But while the English military doctrines were thus spreading -themselves over Europe, fresh innovations, which were destined to -render them obsolete, were already making rapid progress. Artillery -in the hands of the Germans was tending more and more to lose its -cumbrous character and to take new form in mobile and practicable -weapons. The heavy bombards, which could be neither elevated nor -traversed, had before the close of the fourteenth century given -place to lighter guns of smaller bore fixed on to the end of a -shaft of wood and supported on a fork or hook, whence they derived -their name of _Hakenbüchse_, a word soon corrupted by the English -into hackbut, hagbush, and finally harquebus. A later improvement -had fitted guns with a stock like that of the cross-bow, which -could be brought up to the shoulder, thus more readily aligning -the barrel to the eye. The step from this to the hand-gun, which -could be served out as the individual weapon of a single man, was -but a short one and was soon to be taken. But as the traditions of -Wellington and the Peninsula were to be tried once more at Alma -and Inkerman before they finally perished, so the system of the -two great Edwards was to be revived forty years after Navarrete at -Agincourt. - -[Sidenote: 1415.] - -It is unnecessary to dwell on the pretensions which were put -forward to excuse the wanton aggression of Henry the Fifth -against France. Ambitious, like Frederick the Great, of military -glory he made his will the true ground for his action, counting -on the spirit of a people that was never strongly averse from a -French war. The military devices introduced by the Edwards, the -commissions of array,[28] and the system of indentures, were still -in good working order, while the discipline of the Black Prince, -like his order of battle, was stereotyped in a written code of -Ordinances of War. All the old machinery was therefore to hand; -and perhaps the most noteworthy change that had come over the -English military world was the doubling of the archers' wages -from threepence to sixpence a day. Parliament voted the King a -large sum of money, which however proved to be insufficient, for, -significantly enough, not a contractor would furnish his contingent -of men without security for the repayment of his expenses. The -crown jewels were pledged in all directions, ships were hired in -Holland and in England, seamen were impressed, artisans of every -trade, from the miner to the farrier, were engaged, and on the 7th -of August 1415 the army embarked at Southampton and the adjacent -ports, and sailed for the Seine. The whole fleet numbered some -fourteen hundred vessels, and the army is reckoned at thirty -thousand men, men-at-arms with their attendants, and archers both -mounted and afoot, all distinguished by the red cross of St. -George. Further, there was a great train of the newest and best -artillery, great guns called by pet names such as the London and -the King's Daughter, the whole under the charge of four German -gunmasters. - -On the second day out the fleet anchored before Harfleur. A day was -taken up by the disembarkation, which was unhindered by the French; -and by the 19th of August the town was fully invested. Then came a -month of siege, wherein the art that was dying blended strangely -with that which was just coming to birth; wooden towers and quaint -engines that might have been employed by the Romans plying side -by side with sap and mine and countermine and the latest patterns -of German artillery. The French made a most gallant defence, and -dysentery breaking out in the English camp swept off thousands of -the besiegers; but at length the heavy guns prevailed. The garrison -begged for terms, praying that the King would make his gunners -to cease, "for the fire was to them intolerable." On the 22nd of -September the capitulation was agreed on, and Harfleur received -an English garrison. It was the first town that the English had -reduced by the fire of cannon. - -But Henry was not yet satisfied. Two-thirds of his force had melted -away, dead or invalided, but he had no intention of re-embarking at -Harfleur. He devoted a fortnight to the repair of the defences of -the captured town, and then collecting provisions for eight days -he marched northward for Calais with an army, or, as we should now -call it, a flying column, of nine thousand men. - -Meanwhile the French, disorganised though they were by the insanity -of their king, Charles the Sixth, began to bestir themselves, and -collecting an army of sixty thousand men, fourteen thousand of -them men-at-arms and several thousand archers and cross-bowmen, -determined to hold the line of the Somme and bar Henry's passage of -the river. Henry's idea, dictated like the whole of his campaign -by the precedent of Edward the Third, had been to cross the Somme -by the ford of Blanche Tache. He now learned that the passage was -defended by the French in force. He wheeled at once to the right, -and following the left bank of the river upward, tried in vain to -find a crossing-place. Every bridge was broken down and every ford -beset. It was plain that he was more effectually entrapped even -than his predecessor Edward. - -[Sidenote: October.] - -The eight days' supply of provisions was now consumed, and the -position of the English became most critical. Retreat Henry would -not, force the passage of the Somme he could not. He decided to -follow the river upward to its head-waters, and on reaching Nesle -learned from a countryman of a ford, the access to which lay across -a morass. Two causeways that provided a footing over it had been -broken down by the French, but these were quickly repaired with -wood and faggots and straw till they were broad enough to admit -three horsemen abreast. Henry himself was indefatigable in the -work. He took personal charge of one end of the passages, and -appointed special officers to attend to the other. The baggage -was carried over along one causeway, and the men by the second. -Thus the passage both of morass and river was accomplished between -eight in the morning and an hour before dusk of an October day. -The French, who were lying in force at Peronne, now for some -unexplained reason retreated towards the north-west, but sent, -according to custom, a challenge to Henry to fix time and place for -battle. "I am marching straight to Calais through open country," -he replied. "You will have no difficulty in finding me." And he -continued his advance. - -At Peronne the English struck the line of the French march and -looked for an immediate engagement. The force moved in order of -battle, every man armed and ready for action, while the archers by -Henry's order carried a stake, eleven feet long and pointed at both -ends, to make them defence against cavalry. To their surprise no -enemy appeared; and Henry was presently able to disperse his force -along a wider front, with the advantage alike of obtaining easier -supply of victuals and surer information of the enemy. The English -were much distressed by want of bread: other provisions were -abundant, but grain was absolutely undiscoverable. Nevertheless -discipline was most strictly enforced, and the order of the -columns, as the speed of the march can avouch, was quite admirable. -Robbery of churches or peasants, the slightest irregularity on -the march or in the camp, the presence of women in the camp, all -offences alike were visited with the severest punishment. One man, -whom Shakespeare has immortalised as Bardolph, was detected in -the theft of a pyx: he was paraded through the army as a criminal -and hanged. Even French writers admit that the English dealt -more mercifully with them than their own countrymen. The King -himself avoided anything that might seem to indicate the slightest -discouragement. One night he missed the camping-ground assigned to -his division and took up that of the vanguard. "God forbid that in -full armour I should turn back," he said; and pushing the vanguard -further forward, he halted for the night where he stood. - -On the 24th of October, Henry, who was lying at Frevent on the -river Canopes, was informed by his scouts that the French were -moving forward from St. Pol and must inevitably get ahead of -him. He pushed on to Blangy, crossed the river Ternoise there, -and advancing to Maisoncelle drew up his army in battle order -before it. The whole French army was before him at Ruisseauville, -but as dusk fell without an attack he withdrew for the night to -Maisoncelle, and conscious of his desperate situation opened -negotiations with the French, offering to restore Harfleur and make -good all injuries if he might be permitted to evacuate France in -peace. His overtures were rejected and he was warned to fight on -the morrow. On the same evening the French moved down to a narrow -plateau between the villages of Tramecourt and Agincourt, and -there, cramped into a space far too narrow for sixty thousand men, -they halted till the morrow within less than a mile of the English -position. - -The night was spent in very different fashion in the two camps. The -French, doubtless much inconvenienced by the straitness of their -quarters, were shouting everywhere for comrades and servants as -noisily as a mob of sheep; while some, forgetting the lesson of -Poitiers, gambled for the ransom of the prisoners that they were -to take in the morrow's battle. Huge fires were kept burning round -their banners, for the rain was incessant, and the English could -see everything that passed among them. They too began shouting like -the French till sternly checked by the King; and then the English -camp fell silent, and the men, forbidden to forget their situation -in the din of their own voices, sat down to face it in all its -stern reality. They could be excused if they felt some misgiving. -They had covered over three hundred miles in a continuous march of -seventeen days, often in hourly expectation of a fight; for four -days they had not tasted bread; and now, after a few short hours -more of waiting in the ceaseless pattering rain, they were to meet -a host outnumbering them by five to one. Arms and bowstrings were -overhauled and repaired; and the priests had little rest from the -numbers that came to them for shrift. But in the discipline of that -silence lay the promise of success. - -[Sidenote: October 25.] - -At dawn of the next morning Henry was astir, fully armed but -bare-headed, riding a gray pony. Presently he led the army out of -Maisoncelle to a newly-sown field, which was the position of his -choice, and drew it up for battle. Every man was dismounted, and -horses and baggage were parked in the rear under the protection of -a small guard. But the numbers of his army were so weak that the -favourite formation of the Black Prince could not be followed. The -vanguard under the Duke of York became the right, the battle under -the King the centre, and the rearguard under Lord Camoys the left -of a single line, which even then was ranked but four men deep. It -was a first example of English line against French column. Henry -made the men a short speech, recalling to them the deeds of their -fathers, and then the whole host kneeled down, thrice kissed the -ground, and rose upright again into its ranks. - -Meanwhile not a sign of attack came from the French. Their order of -battle had been determined many days before, but it was ill adapted -to so narrow a position. It was evident that only the vanguard -could possibly come into action, and such was the indiscipline that -every man of rank wished to command it. Finally the whole of the -magnates were placed in the vanguard, and its strength was made up -to about seven thousand men-at-arms, every one of them dismounted. -On each flank was a wing of twelve hundred more dismounted men, and -on their flanks again two small bodies of cavalry, three hundred -on the right, and eight hundred on the left, which were designed -to gallop down upon the archers. This was the first French line. -The second was also made up of about eight thousand dismounted -men-at-arms; while the remainder, who were ordered to dismount but -would not, composed the third line. The whole stood on ploughed -ground, soaked by the rain of the previous night and poached deep -by the trampling of innumerable feet. - -The French took advantage of the delay to give their men breakfast, -an example which Henry immediately followed. Then seeing that -the enemy remained motionless he prepared to attack. A gray -old warrior, Sir Walter Erpingham, galloped forward with two -aides-de-camp to make the necessary changes of formation. The -archers were deployed in front and flanks, and when all was ready -old Sir Walter tossed his baton into the air and sang out "Now -strike." Then galloping back to the King's battalion he dismounted -and took his place in the ranks. The King, already dismounted, -gave the word "Forward banner," and the English answered with a -mighty cry, the forerunner of that "stern and appalling shout" -which four centuries later was to strike hesitation into so fine -a soldier even as Soult. Then the whole line advanced in close -array, with frequent halts, for the ground was deep, and the -archers in their leathern jackets and hose, ragged, hatless, and -shoeless after two months of hard work, could easily wear down the -men-at-arms in their heavy mail. Artillery in such a sea of mud -could not be brought into position on either side, and the German -gunners took no part in the fight. The French on their side stood -firm and closed up their ranks. They were so heavily weighted with -their armour, always heavier than that of the English, that they -could hardly move, and their front was so much crowded that they -could not use their archers; so they broke off their lances as at -Poitiers to the length of five feet, and stood in dense array, -thirty-one ranks against the English four. - -Arrived within range the archers struck their stakes slantwise into -the ground, and drew bow. The French vanguard then shook itself -up and advanced slowly, while the cavalry on their flanks moved -forward against the archers. The division of three hundred lances -on the right made but a poor attack; little more than half of them -really came on, and even these their horses, maddened as at Creçy -by the pain of the arrows, soon carried in headlong confusion to -the rear. The stronger division on the left charged home, and the -leader and one or two others actually reached the line of stakes; -but the stakes had no firm hold in the mud; the horses tripped over -them and fell, and not one rider ever rose again. The remainder -had as usual been carried back by their wounded horses upon their -comrades in rear, and thence with them upon the wings of dismounted -men-at-arms in which they tore terrible gaps. The centre of the -French vanguard fared little better. Dazzled by the eastern sun -that shone full in their eyes, and bending their heads before the -sleet of arrows, they lost all idea of their direction, and became -so clubbed together that they could not use their weapons. By -sheer weight they forced back the English men-at-arms a lance's -length, and for a time they fought hard. King Henry was twice -struck heavily on the helmet, one blow lopping a branch from the -crown that encircled it. But meanwhile the archers had noted the -gaps torn by the horses in the wings of the French fighting line. -They dropped their bows, and with whatever weapon--axe, hammer, -or sword--that hung at their girdle, they fell, light and active, -upon the helpless, hampered men-at-arms and made fearful havoc of -them. The French centre, exposed by the defeat of the wings to -attack on both flanks, gave way before the King's battalion, and -their first line was utterly defeated. There was no question of -flight among the French men-at-arms, for the unhappy men could not -move. The English simply took off the helmets of their prisoners, -and, leaving them thus exposed, pressed on against the second line. -This, however, was already shaken by the defeat of the vanguard; -and though one leader who had arrived late in the field, the Duke -of Brabant, set a gallant example, he was quickly cut down, and the -defeat of the second line followed quickly on his fall. The third -line still remained, but being mounted, contrary to orders, had no -mind to stay and fight, but turned and fled, leaving some few of -their leaders alone to redeem French honour by a hopeless struggle -and a noble death. - -This battle was hardly won when word was brought to Henry that -his baggage, with all his treasure as well as all the horses, was -in the hands of plunderers. The guard in fact had been unable -to resist the temptation to join in the fight, and had left the -baggage to take care of itself. The momentary confusion hereby -caused gave some of the French time to rally, and Henry, not -knowing how great the danger might be, ordered every man to kill -his prisoners. The English hesitated, less possibly from humanity -than from reluctance to lose good ransom, whereupon Henry told -off two hundred archers for the duty, which was promptly carried -out. He can hardly be blamed, for the fight had been won less by -the slaughter than by the capture of the men-at-arms; and the -risk of undertaking a new attack in front with some thousands of -unwounded prisoners in rear, was serious. Be that as it may, the -deed was done. Henry then advanced against the rallied French and -quickly broke them up; and at four o'clock, the victory being at -last complete, he left the field. The French loss in nobles alone -numbered from five to eight thousand men killed, exclusive of -common men. A thousand prisoners and a hundred and twenty banners -were taken. The losses of the English are uncertain, but probably -did not exceed a few hundreds, the most distinguished of the fallen -being the Duke of York. - -So ended the great fight which King Harry himself decreed to be -called by the name of Agincourt.[29] It sums up in itself the -leading features of Creçy, Poitiers, and Cocherel, in a word of all -the finest actions of the Edwards. But it was, as fate ordained, -but the afterglow of the glory of the Plantagenets, not the light -of a sun new risen like a giant to run his course. - -[Illustration: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1415. - - _To face page 62_ -] - -[Sidenote: 1420.] - -To attempt to follow the later campaigns of Henry the Fifth in -France would be alike tedious and unprofitable. To the last he -stuck to the principles of the Black Prince, but his military -talents ripened year after year, and while he lived France -trembled under his sword. Finally, torn to pieces by the strife of -Burgundian and Armagnac, France by the Treaty of Troyes surrendered -her kingship into his hand. The contempt of the English for their -enemy was such that the men once assaulted and captured a town -without orders. But in the very next year came a reverse that boded -ominously for the future. The Duke of Clarence was defeated at -Beaugé, less by the French than by a body of Scottish auxiliaries, -who had been sent to their assistance under the Earl of Buchan. -Henry had hoped that the Scots would not fight against him, and -ordered them henceforth to be treated as rebels, but it was to no -purpose. The reader should take note of this fateful year 1421, -for it marks the permanent entrance of the Scots into the service -of France, a fact full of import for both countries. Moreover, he -will in due time see a regiment, still called the Royal Scots, -withdrawn from the French army to become the first of the English -Line. - -[Sidenote: 1422.] - -The return of King Henry to France after Beaugé soon re-established -the ascendency of the English arms; and then, while still in the -prime of life, he sickened even in the midst of his operations and -died. He was but thirty-four years of age, a great administrator, -a great captain, and above all a grand disciplinarian. Yet he was -no brutal martinet; nay, when once he had cast his wild days behind -him he never even swore. "Impossible," or "It must be done," was -the most that he said. But "he was so feared by his princes and -captains that none dared to disobey his orders, however nearly -related to him, and the principal cause was that if any one -transgressed his orders he punished him at once without favour or -mercy."[30] He and the army that fought with him at Agincourt are -the true precursors of Craufurd and the Light Division. His body, -borne with mournful pomp from the castle of Vincennes, still rests -among us in Westminster Abbey, and above it still hang his saddle, -his shield blazoned with the lilies of France, and the helmet, -deeply dinted by two sword-cuts, which he wore at Agincourt. Not -for three centuries was another soldier to rise up in England of -equal fame with the Black Prince, John Hawkwood, and King Harry the -Fifth. - - AUTHORITIES.--For the life of Hawkwood see Temple Leader's _Sir - John Hawkwood_. For the campaign of Agincourt, _Gesta Henrici - Quinti_ and Monstrelet's Chronicles are the chief authorities, - while Sir Harris Nicholas's _Agincourt_ furnishes a quantity - of supplementary information. Other authorities will be found - enumerated in Köhler, who is always the best guide in respect of - military operations. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -It is now our sad duty to watch the military glory of the -Plantagenets wane fainter and fainter, until it disappears, to -be followed by a period of darkness until the light is slowly -rekindled at the flame of foreign fires. The decline of our -supremacy in arms was not at first rapid. John, Duke of Bedford, -possessed a combination of military and administrative talent -little less remarkable than that of his brother the late King, and -as Regent of France he took up the reins of government and command -with no unskilful hand. Everything turned upon the maintenance -of existing factions in France. England working with Burgundy, -the red cross of St. Andrew with the red cross of St. George, -could preserve the English dominion; otherwise that dominion must -inevitably fall. The French, after the lull created by Henry's -death, gathered an army together of which the kernel was three -thousand Scots, and marched into Burgundy to besiege Crevant. -A body of four thousand picked English and Burgundians at once -hastened after them, and although outnumbered, and compelled, -by the advance of a second French army in their rear, to fight -their battle and win it at whatever cost, they defeated the enemy -completely and cut the Scots to pieces almost to a man. All was -still done as King Harry had done it. English tactics were forced, -on pain of death, upon English and Burgundians[31] alike, and -discipline was most strictly preserved. It was not a promising -beginning for the French, but Scotland was ready to furnish -more men, and France not less ready to receive them; and so the -extraordinary struggle of French against French, and English -against Scots was renewed once more. - -[Sidenote: 1424.] - -Early in 1424 ten thousand Scottish men-at-arms, under Archibald, -Earl of Douglas, arrived at Rochelle, and were welcomed with -eagerness by the French. Douglas was created Duke of Touraine, and -all went merrily until on the 17th of August French and English, -with their allies, met under the walls of Verneuil. The French and -Scots numbered close on twenty thousand men, the English twelve -thousand, of whom eight thousand were archers. Contrary to the -hitherto accepted practice, the French formed their army into a -single huge central battalion of dismounted men, with cavalry on -each wing, the mounted men being designed to fall upon the English -flanks and rear. Bedford, who commanded the English, imitated the -enemy in forming only a single battalion, but dismounted the whole -of his force, covering his front and flanks with archers, who as at -Agincourt carried stakes as a defence against the attack of horse. -His baggage he parked in rear, the horses being tied collar to tail -that they might be the less easily driven off; and he appointed as -baggage-guard no fewer than ten thousand archers. - -For the whole morning the two armies stood opposite to each other -in order of battle, each waiting for the other to attack; but at -last, at three in the afternoon, the French advanced and were -received by the English with a mighty shout. The French cavalry on -the wings charged, broke through the archers, and sweeping round -the English rear fell upon the baggage. They were greeted by the -guard with a shower of arrows, but contrived none the less to carry -off some quantity of spoil, with which they galloped away, feeling -sure that the day was won.[32] But meanwhile the two battalions of -dismounted men-at-arms, those on the French side being exclusively -Scots, had closed and were fighting desperately. For a moment the -English were beaten back by superior numbers; but Salisbury, John -Talbot, and other tried leaders were with them, and they soon -recovered themselves. The archers on the wings rallied to their -aid, while those of the baggage-guard, freed from all further alarm -of cavalry, hurried up with loud shouts in support. The Scots -wavered, and the English pressing forward with one supreme effort -broke through their ranks, split up the battalion, and threw the -whole into helpless confusion. And then began a terrible carnage, -for the Scots had told Bedford that they would neither give nor -receive quarter, and they certainly received none. Five thousand -men, mostly Scots, were killed on the French side, John Stewart, -Earl of Buchan, the Earl of Douglas and James his son being among -the slain, and two hundred more were taken prisoners. Of the -English some sixteen hundred only went down. - -[Sidenote: 1428.] - -To France Verneuil was a disaster little less crushing than -Agincourt, and indeed it seemed as though she had passed -irrevocably under English dominion. All was however spoiled by -Bedford's brother Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, who, having made -a match with a rich heiress, Jacqueline of Holland, carried away -English troops to take possession of her dower-lands, and, worst -of all, gave the deepest offence to Burgundy. At home Humphrey was -equally troublesome, so much so that in 1425 Bedford was compelled -to return to England to set matters right. It was not until three -years later that he took the field again, well reinforced with -men and with a powerful train of artillery. So far we have rarely -found artillery employed except for sieges, but henceforth we see -gunners regularly employed at the high wage of a man-at-arms, one -shilling a day, and "hand-cannons" and "little cannons with stone -shot of two pounds weight," playing ever a more prominent part in -the field. - -[Sidenote: 1429.] - -Against his better judgment Bedford now resolved to carry the -war across the Loire, and detached the Earl of Salisbury with -ten thousand men to the siege of Orleans. The operations opened -unfortunately with the death of Salisbury, who was mortally -wounded by a cannon-shot while examining the enemy's works; but -the investment was carried on with spirit by the Earl of Suffolk, -and a little action at the opening of 1429 showed that the English -superiority still held good. This, the battle of Roveray, better -known as the action of the Herrings, has a peculiar interest, -though the occasion was simple enough. Lent was approaching; -and as, among the many complications of mediæval warfare, the -observance of the fast was by no means forgiven to fighting -men,[33] it was necessary to send provisions of "Lenten stuff," -principally herrings, to the besieging force round Orleans. The -convoy being large was provided with an escort of sixteen hundred -men under command of Sir John Falstolfe. The French and Scots -decided to attack it on the march, but unfortunately could not -agree as to their plan; the Scots insisting that it was best -to dismount, the French preferring to remain in the saddle. -Meanwhile Falstolfe with great dexterity drew his waggons into a -leaguer, leaving but two narrow entrances defended by archers. It -was the trap of Poitiers once more. The French and Scots after -long discussion agreed to differ, and attacked each in their own -fashion. The English archers shot with admirable precision; the -Scots lost very heavily, the French after a short experience of -the arrows rode out of range, and Falstolfe led his herrings -triumphantly into Orleans, having killed close on six hundred of -the enemy with trifling loss to himself. This was the last signal -employment of the tactics of Poitiers, the last brilliant success -of the English in the Hundred Years' War, the first glimpse of a -lesson learnt by England from the military genius of a foreign -power. For the tactics of the waggon were those of John Zizka, the -greatest soldier of Europe in the fifteenth century. - -From this point the story is one of almost unbroken failure for -the English in France. They were now about to pass through the -experience which later befell the Spaniards in the Low Countries, -and the French themselves in the Peninsula. The turning-point is -of course the appearance in the field of Joan of Arc, a phenomenon -so extraordinary that it has become the exclusive property of -the votaries of poetry and sentiment, and is, perhaps rightly, -not to be rescued from their hands. It is certain that her -military talents were of the slightest; but, on the other hand, -she possessed the magic of leadership and the amazing power of -restoring the moral strength of her countrymen, which had been -impaired as never before by an endless succession of defeats. -The English not unnaturally attributed this power to witchcraft: -for by what other agency could a peasant girl have checked the -ever-victorious army? and the punishment of witchcraft being the -fire they burnt her to death. Any other nation would have done the -same in their place then, and there are still a few folks both in -France and the United Kingdom who would do so now. But the fire in -the market-place of Rouen availed the English little. "The French," -as Monstrelet says, believed that "God was against the English"; -and the English began to believe it themselves. - -[Sidenote: 1430.] - -For the woman's quick instinct and the pure insight of a saintly -soul had guided the maid aright. The moral quality of the English -force was corrupted, and needed only to meet some loftier spirit -to fall into decay. The chivalrous character of the war was gone. -Hostile commanders no longer laid each other friendly wagers on the -success of their next operations. The army too was ceasing to be -national; the English element was growing smaller and smaller in -number, and fast sinking to the level of the lawless adventurers -who furnished the majority in the ranks. Long contempt of the -enemy had bred insolence and carelessness, and the old discipline -was almost gone. The sight of a deer or a hare sufficed to set a -whole division hallooing, sometimes, as at Patay, with disastrous -results. On that day the French scouts, who were feeling for the -enemy, roused a stag, which ran towards the English array, and was -greeted with such a storm of yells as told the French all that they -wanted to know. The English force blundered on, without advanced -parties of any kind, till it suddenly found itself on the verge -of an engagement. Then the leaders wrangled as to the question -of fighting in enclosed or open country, and, having finally in -overweening confidence selected the open, were surprised and routed -before the archers could plant their stakes in the ground. Worst of -all, an officer in high command, Sir John Falstolfe, seeing that -defeat was certain, disobeyed the order to dismount and galloped -away. He was disgraced by Bedford, but was afterwards for some -reason reinstated, though had Harry been king he would assuredly -have lost his head.[34] - -[Sidenote: Sandacourt, 1431.] - -Among the French the revival of the military spirit soon showed -itself in a remarkable development of new ideas. They had -long copied, though with a bad grace, the English practice of -dismounting men-at-arms and furnishing archers with a palisade of -stakes, but in 1434 at Gerberoy they used the three arms, cavalry, -infantry, and artillery, in combination, with signal success. -Artillery was still so far a novelty in the field that only three -years before a whole army collected by the Duke of Bar had flung -itself howling to the ground at the first discharge; but the -English archers, though they knew better than to behave thus, were -sadly dismayed when the round stone shot came bounding within their -trusted palisade. It was just after this, too, that two fatal -blows were struck at the English by the shifting of Burgundy to the -French side, and by the death of their ablest leader, John, Duke of -Bedford. - -Still the war, wantonly and foolishly continued by an inefficient -Government, dragged on and on, and, though not unbroken by -occasional brilliant exploits, turned steadily against the English. -The behaviour of the soldiers was sullied more and more by shameful -barbarity; and gradually but surely their hold on Normandy and -Guienne slipped from them. Truce was made at last in 1444, and -Charles the Seventh seized the opportunity to execute a series -of long-meditated reforms in the French army. He established a -national militia of fifteen companies of men-at-arms and archers, -each six hundred strong, organised garrisons of trained men for -the towns, took the greatest pains for the equipment, discipline, -and regular payment of the troops, and formed the finest park of -artillery thitherto seen. In a word, he laid the foundation of -the French standing army, with the Scottish archers and Scottish -men-at-arms at its head, two famous corps that remained in their -old place on the army-list until the French Revolution. Thus French -military organisation, spurred by a century of misfortune, made one -gigantic bound ahead of English, and may be said to have kept the -lead ever since. - -[Sidenote: 1440.] - -[Sidenote: 1449.] - -[Sidenote: 1450, April 18.] - -In England there had been no such improvement. A feeble effort had -been made to check by statute fraudulent enlistment and the still -graver abuse of embezzlement of the soldiers' pay by the captains, -but this was of little help when the enforcement of the Act[35] -was entrusted to so corrupt and avaricious a commander as the Duke -of Somerset. Throughout the truce the soldiers on the English side -behaved abominably; but, since they were robbed of their wages -by their officers, it is hardly surprising that they should have -repaid themselves by the plunder of the country. When finally the -truce was broken, and the French invaded Normandy, the English -dominion fell before them like a house of cards. Town after town, -their garrisons depleted to fill Somerset's pocket, surrendered -to superior force, and the English as they marched forth had the -mortification to see the Normans gleefully doff the red cross of -St. George for the white cross of France. An attempt to save the -province was foiled by the rout of the English reinforcements at -Fourmigny, and Normandy was lost. Anjou and Maine had been already -made over to the father of Henry the Sixth's Queen, and Guienne -and Gascony, which had been English since the reign of Henry the -Second, alone remained. Next year they too went the way of Normandy -and were lost. - -[Sidenote: 1453, July 20.] - -Gascony, however, notwithstanding her hot southern blood, was -in no such anxiety as Normandy to be quit of the English, and -sent messages to England that, if an army were sent to help her, -she would revolt against the French to rejoin her old mistress. -England lent a willing ear, and John Talbot, the veteran Earl of -Shrewsbury, was sent out to this, his last campaign. The decisive -battle was fought under the walls of Chatillon. The French were -strongly entrenched, with three hundred pieces of artillery in -position, a striking testimony to their military progress. The -English fought with the weapon which for a century had won them -their victories, and for the last as for the first battle of the -Hundred Years' War, every man alighted from his horse. John Talbot -alone, in virtue of his fourscore years, remained mounted on his -hackney; and with the indomitable old man at their head the English -hurled themselves upon the entrenchment. It was a mad, desperate, -hopeless venture, but they stormed forward with such impetuosity -that they went near to carry the position. For a full hour they -persisted, until at last, riddled through and through by the fire -of the artillery, they fell back. Then the French sallied forth -and turned the defeat into a rout. Old John Talbot's pony was shot -under him, and being pinned to the ground under the dead animal he -was killed where he lay. Young John Talbot, Lord Lisle, refused -to leave his father, and fell by his side. The army was dispersed -over Aquitaine, and the ancestral domains of seven generations -of English kings passed from them for ever. By the irony of fate -a Scottish soldier[36] was appointed to hold for the crown of -France the French provinces that had clung with such attachment -to England. Of all the great possessions of the English in France -Calais now alone was left, to break in due time the heart of an -English Queen. - -At home the discontent over the national disgrace was profound. The -people of course cast about to find a scapegoat, and after one or -two changes finally fixed upon the blameless and unfortunate Henry -the Sixth. Want of a strong central government was undoubtedly -the disease from which England had suffered ever since the death -of King Henry the Fifth, but for this the nation itself was -principally responsible. It had chosen for its rulers the House -of Lancaster because Henry of Bolingbroke had agreed to accept -constitutional checks on the royal power before the country was -ripe for self-government. It had thrown off the yoke of discipline -which alone could enable it to tug the heavy load of English weal -and English honour, and it paid the inevitable penalty. Numbers of -republics have made the same mistake during the present century and -have suffered or are suffering the same punishment. There is no -surer sign of an undisciplined nation than civil war. - -In the England of the fifteenth century the disease had been -deeply aggravated by the interminable campaigns in France. All -classes at home, from the highest to the lowest, were equally -selfish and apathetic in respect of the national good: internal -order was at an end, and riots and outrages which amounted to -private war continued unceasingly and remained unrepressed. The -system of indentures between king and subject for the supply of -troops had been extended from subject to retainer and, as has -been well said, the clause "for the King's service" could easily -be dropped out of the contract.[37] The red cross of St. George -never appears in the English battlefields; red rose and white were -indeed the emblems of contending factions, but we hear far more of -the badges of great families, the ragged staff, the cresset and -the like, and of the liveries, which, though forbidden by statute -to any but the king, were conspicuous all through the Civil War. -The loss of France furnished but too much material to the hands -of violence and strife. England was full of unemployed soldiers, -who had been trained in the undisciplined school of French faction -to treachery and plunder and all that is lowest and most inhuman -in war. Hundreds of men who had held comfortable posts in French -garrisons, and had turned them to purposes of brigandage, were cast -adrift upon England, barbarised, brutalised, demoralised, to recoup -themselves in their own country. After the peace of Brétigny the -disbanded soldiery had made France their chamber and swept down -thence upon Italy; the like men[38] were now to be let loose upon -England, and France was to be well avenged of her old enemy. Worst -of all, the leaders of factions, in the madness of their animosity, -were not ashamed to import foreign troops and set them at each -other's throats. - -[Sidenote: 1460.] - -[Sidenote: 1461.] - -I shall not dwell upon this miserable and disastrous period, -marking as it does the wreck of our ancient military greatness. -Such few military points as present themselves in the scanty -chronicles of this time must be noted, and no more. Of the -principal figures one only is to be remarked. Warwick the -"King-maker" must be passed over as rather a statesman than a -soldier; Margaret of Anjou--the pestilent, indomitable woman--must -be remembered only for her importation of mercenaries; Edward the -Fourth, full of the military genius of the Plantagenets, alone is -deserving of lengthier mention. There was not an action at which he -was present wherein he did not make that presence felt. It was he -who at Northampton turned his treacherous admission to the left of -the Lancastrian position to instant and decisive account. It was -he who in the following year, still only a boy of twenty, crushed -Owen Tudor at Mortimer's Cross; it was he who held supreme command -at that more terrible Marston Moor of the fifteenth century, the -battle of Towton. - -[Sidenote: March 28.] - -This action has a peculiar interest as an example of English -tactics and tenacity turned upon themselves. The Lancastrians, -sixty thousand strong, were formed up on a plateau eight miles -to the north of Ferrybridge, facing south-their right resting on -a brook, called the Cock, their left on the Great North Road. It -was a strong position, but too much cramped for their numbers, -having a front of less than a mile in extent. They were probably -drawn up according to the old fashion in three lines of great -depth. The Yorkists numbered but five-and-thirty thousand, but they -were expecting an additional thirteen thousand under the Duke of -Norfolk, which, advancing from Ferrybridge, would come up on their -own right and against the left flank of the enemy. Edward appears -to have remedied his numerical inferiority after the pattern of his -great ancestor at Creçy by forming his army in echelon of three -lines, refusing his right. The foremost or left line of the echelon -was commanded by Lord Falconbridge, the second by Warwick, and the -third by Edward in person. The Yorkists advancing northward to -the attack had just caught sight of the enemy on a height beyond -a slight dip in the ground called Towton Dale, when there came -on a blinding snowstorm, which so effectually veiled both armies -that it was only by their shouts that they could know each other's -position. Falconbridge with great readiness seized the moment to -push forward his archers to the edge of the plateau, whence he bade -them shoot flight-arrows, specially adapted to fly over a long -range, into the Lancastrian columns. This done he quickly withdrew -his men. The Lancastrians thereupon poured in a tremendous shower -of fighting arrows, all of which fell short of their supposed mark, -and maintained it till their sheaves were well-nigh exhausted. Then -Falconbridge again advanced and began to shoot in earnest; his men -had not only their own stock of shafts but also those discharged by -the enemy. The rain of missiles was too much for the Lancastrians: -they broke from their position on the height and poured down across -the dip to drive the Yorkists from the slope above it. Then the -action became general and the whole line was soon hotly engaged. - -What followed for the next few hours in the driving snow no one -has told us, or, it is probable, could ever have told us. All that -is certain is that the Lancastrians, though occasionally they -could force the Yorkists back for a space, could never gain any -permanent advantage, a fact that points to extremely judicious -handling of the refused division by Edward. From five in the -morning until noon the combat raged with unabated fury, and the -pile of the dead rose so high that the living could hardly come to -close quarters. At length at noon the Duke of Norfolk's column, -timely as Blücher's, appeared in the Great North Road on the left -flank of the Lancastrians, and began to roll them back from their -position and from the line of their retreat. Slowly and sullenly -the Lancastrians gave way; there was probably little attempt to -alter their disposition to meet the attack in their flank; but -for three long hours more they fought, disputing every inch of -ground, till at last they were forced back from it upon the swollen -waters of the Cock. Then the rout and the slaughter became general; -thousands were drowned in the brook; and the pursuit, wherein -we again see the hand of Edward, was carried to the very gates -of York. Thirty-five thousand Lancastrians and eight thousand -Yorkists perished in the fight, an appalling slaughter for so -miserable a cause. But this was a contest not merely of faction -against faction, but of North against South; and the North never -spoke disrespectfully of the South again. This perhaps was the -principal result of what must be reckoned the most terrible battle -ever fought by the English. - -[Sidenote: 1471, April 14.] - -The decisive battle of Barnet furnishes a still more brilliant -instance of Edward's skill, and of his quickness to seize the vital -point in a campaign. All turned upon his forcing his enemies to -action before they could gather their full strength about them. -Edward marched his men up to Warwick's position actually after dusk -had fallen, a rare accomplishment in those days, and drew up his -men as best he could in the dark. When day broke with dense fog he -discovered that his army far out-flanked Warwick's left, and was as -far out-flanked by Warwick's on his own left. The result seems to -have been that the two armies edged continually round each other -until their respective positions were reversed,[39] for some of -Warwick's cavalry, coming back from the pursuit of Edward's left, -found itself on its return not, as it supposed, in rear of Edward's -army, but of its own. The cry of treason, always common in the Wars -of the Roses, was quickly raised, and in the general confusion the -battle was lost to Warwick. None the less the victory was due to -Edward's promptness; and indeed the rapidity alike of his decisions -and of his marches stamp him as a soldier of no ordinary talent, -and as in many respects far in advance of his time. - -[Sidenote: 1487.] - -For the rest the Wars of the Roses show unmistakable signs of the -changes that were coming over the art of war.[40] A most important -point is the ever increasing employment of artillery in the field -and the greater value attached to it. Richard, Duke of York, is -said to have had a great train of ordnance and so many as three -thousand gunners with him at Dartmouth in 1452. Artillerymen were -becoming far more common, and as a natural consequence bade fair to -command a smaller price in the wage-market. From this time also it -may be said that the duel of artillery tends to become the regular -preliminary to a general action. Still more significant is the -augmented prominence of the common foot-soldier, known from his -peculiar weapon as the bill-man, who now begins to supplant the -dismounted man-at-arms in the work of infantry, and as a natural -consequence restores the latter to his proper station among the -cavalry. New weapons again make their appearance in the hands of -the foot-soldier. Both Edward and Warwick introduced hired bands -of Burgundian hand-gun men, whereby the English became acquainted -with the new arm that was to drive out the famous bow. Again, on -the field of Stoke there were seen two thousand tall Germans armed -with halberd and pike, under the command of one Martin Schwartz, -who fought on the losing side, but stood in their ranks till they -were cut down to a man.[41] Lastly, the old order of battle in -three lines was becoming rapidly obsolete. At Bosworth both armies -were drawn up in a single line, with the cavalry on the wings; and -the cavalry itself was beginning at the same time to forsake the -formation in column for that in line, or as it was called, _en -haye_. - -All these changes were symptoms of a great movement that was -passing over all Europe. The art of war, like all the other arts, -was undergoing a transformation so fundamental that it has received -the name of a renascence. England, cut off by her expulsion out of -France from her former contact with continental nations, exhausted -by her civil wars, reduced to her true position as a naval power, -and above all wedded to the peculiar system which had brought her -such success, lagged behind other nations in the path of military -reform. The century of the Tudors' reign is for the English army -a century of learning, and to understand it aright we must first -look abroad to the countries that were before her in the school, -and glance at the innovations that were introduced by each of them -in the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Not without -such study can we trace to their source innumerable points, great -and small, that are observable in our army of to-day, nor grasp to -the full the greatness of the English soldiers who, long before the -renascence of the art of war, had divined its leading principles, -had established for their country noble military traditions, and -above all had made it a national principle that the English must -always beat the French. - - AUTHORITIES.--Monstrelet as before is the most important - authority for the wars in France. The _Wars of the English in - France_ (Rolls Series) are valuable in elucidation. For the rise - of the Scots in France M. Francisque Michel's _Les Ecossais en - France_, and Forbes Leith's _Scots Men-at-Arms in France_. For - the Wars of the Roses the sources of information are proverbially - meagre, but the material has been worked up with admirable skill - by Mr. Oman in his _Warwick_, to which I am greatly indebted. For - the reorganisation of the French Army Daniel's _Ancien milice - Française_ may be consulted. - - - - -BOOK II - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -[Sidenote: 1420.] - -Five years after the battle of Agincourt the religious wars in -Bohemia had given birth to one of the great soldiers of the -world's history, John Zizka, the blind general of the Hussites. -His military genius, quickened by fanaticism and spurred by the -stern necessity of encountering an enemy always superior in -numbers and equipment, had led him to ideas which were far in -advance of his age. A master in organisation and discipline, he -had evolved literally out of nothing the most famous army of its -day in Europe, and by inexhaustible activity and resource had -rendered it invincible. Beginning with such rude material of war as -waggons and flails, and with no more skilful men than poor Bohemian -peasants, he matured a system of tactics which defeated not only -the chivalry of Europe but even the light irregular cavalry, soon -to become famous as hussars, of Hungary. As victory supplied him -with the means of procuring better arms, he rose rapidly to the -occasion. Throwing all military pedantry to the winds he fought as -his own genius dictated, and in the rapidity of his movements and -unrelenting swiftness with which he followed up a victory he bears -comparison with Napoleon. He was the first man to make artillery -a manœuvrable arm, the first to execute complicated evolutions in -the face of an enemy, and the first to handle cavalry, infantry, -and artillery in efficient tactical combination. The employment of -waggons for defence we have already seen copied by the English at -the battle of the Herrings, but Zizka's influence[42] spread far -wider than this by breaking down the strength of European chivalry, -and showing that drill, discipline, and mobility could make the -poorest peasant more than a match for the armoured knight. - -[Sidenote: 1382.] - -Zizka, however, had not been the first to deal a blow at the -supremacy of feudal cavalry. The English archers and dismounted -men-at-arms had been before him, and another power, which was -destined to abolish that supremacy for ever, had been in some -respects the predecessor even of the English. Allusion has already -been made to the victory of the Swiss over the Austrian chivalry at -Sempach; from that day it may be said that they began their advance -to the highest military reputation of Europe. Appointed from the -ruggedness of their country as well as by their own poverty to -fight rather on their own feet than on horseback, cut off in great -measure by the same causes from the feudalism that had overrun the -rest of Europe, they were by nature destined to be infantry, and -as infantry they developed their fighting system. Beginning like -all primitive foot-men in all countries with the simple weapons of -shield, spear, and axe, they improved upon them to meet their own -peculiar wants. The problem before them was, how to defeat mounted -men mailed from head to foot in the open field, how to keep the -horses at a distance and cut through the iron shells that protected -the men. The instinct of a Teutonic nation led them to give first -attention to the cutting weapon. The English had turned their -axes into broad-bladed bills; the Flemings had gone further and -produced the _godendag_, a weapon good alike for cut and thrust; -the Swiss, improving upon the _godendag_, invented the halberd, -which combined a hook for pulling men out of the saddle, a point to -thrust between the joints of their armour, and a broad heavy blade, -the whole being set on the head of an eight-foot shaft. The weight -of the halberd made it, as an old chronicler[43] says, a terrific -weapon, "cleaving men asunder like a wedge and cutting them into -small pieces." Altogether it was calculated to surprise galloping -gentlemen who thought themselves invulnerable in their armour. - -[Sidenote: 1422.] - -[Sidenote: 1444.] - -[Sidenote: 1476.] - -[Sidenote: 1477.] - -[Sidenote: 1515.] - -[Sidenote: 1522, 1525.] - -But the halberd did not solve the problem of keeping horses at -a distance. For this purpose the primitive spear was lengthened -more and more till it finally issued in the long pike, the pike -of the eighteen-foot shaft, which for nearly two centuries ruled -the battlefields of Europe. The birthplace of the long pike is -obscure,[44] but it was undoubtedly first brought into prominence -by the Swiss, and that by a series of brilliant actions. Arbedo -attested the firmness of the new infantry in the field; St. -Jacob-en-Birs, where the Swiss detached sixteen hundred men to -fight against fifty thousand, its boundless confidence; and finally -the three crushing defeats of Charles the Bold at Granson, Morat, -and Nancy, established its reputation as invincible. For action -the Swiss were generally formed in three bodies, van, battle, -and rear--the van and rear being each of half the strength of -the battle or main body. These bodies were always of a very deep -formation, and if not actually square were very solidly oblong. -Occasionally the whole were massed into one gigantic battalion in -order that the proportion of pikes to halberds, which was about one -to three, might go further in securing immunity from the attack -of cavalry. The van, from the desperate nature of its work, was -called the _Verlorener Hauf_, from which is derived our own term, -not yet wholly extinct, forlorn hope.[45] As regards discipline -the Swiss appear to have been orderly and sober men until spoiled -by the multitude of their successes, but at the last they became -intolerably insubordinate. The cantons indeed were so deeply bitten -with the military mania, that all great occasions, feasts, fairs, -and even weddings, were made the occasion of some form of military -display, while the very children turned out with drums, flags, and -pikes, and marched with all the order and regularity of full-grown -soldiers. In fact fighting became the regular trade of Switzerland, -and as her people enjoyed for a time a practical monopoly of that -trade they soon became grasping and avaricious, and would dictate -to generals under threat of mutiny when and where they should -fight, select their own position in the order of battle, and open -the action at such time as they thought proper. Their officers lost -control of them, and would plaintively say that if they could but -enforce obedience in their men they would march through France from -end to end. This insubordination was their ruin. The French, who -were their chief employers, at last lost all patience with them, -and gave them at Marignano a lesson which they did not speedily -forget. The suppression of this mutiny, which was in fact a two -days' battle of the most desperate description, cost the Swiss -twelve thousand men; and it speaks volumes for the fine qualities -that were in them that the defeat attached them more closely than -ever to the cause of France. But the spell of their invincibility -was broken, and two more severe defeats at the hands of a rival -infantry at Bicocca and Pavia destroyed their prestige for ever. -Nevertheless they were superb soldiers, and as their good fortune -delivered them from a meeting with the English archers, who would -certainly have riddled their huge bristling battalion through -and through, they became as they deserved the fathers of modern -infantry. Let it be noted that they marched in step to the music -of fife and drum, that they carried a colour in each company, and -that several of the cantons carried a huge horn, whose sound was -the signal for all to rally around it. - -It was not to be expected that the Swiss should long enjoy their -monopoly as the infantry of Europe without exciting competition. -In the last quarter of the fifteenth century arose the rivals who -were to wrest their supremacy from them, namely, the landsknechts -of Swabia, or as the contemporary English called them, the -lance-knights of Almain, who were the direct forerunners of the -modern German infantry. The records that survive of them are very -full, and as it was through them that the teaching of the Swiss -was carried into England, with results that are visible to this -day, a brief study of their history is essential to the right -understanding of the history of our own army. - -The Swabian infantry was called into existence by the imperative -necessity for preventing any potentate who might be so fortunate -as to enlist the Swiss, from dictating his will to Europe. Swabia -being the province next adjoining Switzerland was not unnaturally -the first to learn the methods of her neighbour; and though at -first all fighting men who imitated the tactics and equipment of -the mountaineers were known by the generic name of Swiss, yet the -Swabians, as if from the first to point the distinction between -them and their rivals, took the name of landsknechts, men of -the plain, as opposed to men of the mountains. Maximilian the -First, seeing how valuable such a force would be in the eternal -contest of the House of Hapsburg against the House of Valois, more -particularly since the Swiss were the firm allies of the French, -gave them all possible countenance and encouragement; and very soon -the landsknechts grew into one of the weightiest factors on the -battlefields of Europe. Though mercenaries like the Swiss and the -still earlier bands of Brabançons, and as such engaged on all sides -and in all countries, they yet cherished not a little national -sentiment; and the greatest of all their work was done in the -service of the Empire. - -When therefore the emperor needed infantry he issued a commission -to some leader of repute to enlist for him a corps of landsknechts. -The colonel[46] thus chosen thereupon selected a deputy or -lieutenant-colonel and captains[47] according to the number of -men required, and bade them help him to raise his regiment. Then -the fifes and drums were sent into the district, with a copy of -the Emperor's commission, to gather recruits. The recruits came, -gave in their names and birthplaces to the muster-master, were -informed of the time and place of assembly, and received a piece -of money,[48] conduct-money as the English called it, to pay the -expense of his journey thither and to bind the bargain. Here we -draw a step closer to the Queen's shilling. At the assembly the men -were formed in two ranks, facing inwards. An arch[49] was built -by planting two halberds into the ground and laying a pike across -them, and then every man passed singly beneath it under the eye -of the muster-master and of his assistants, who watched every one -sharply, rejecting all who were physically deficient or imperfectly -armed, and above all taking care that no man should pass through -twice, nor the same arms be shown by two different men. For -captains were still unscrupulous, and were ever striving to show -more men on their roll than they could produce in the flesh, and -put the pay that they drew for them into their own pockets. So old -was the trick and so deep-rooted the habit, that even in Hawkwood's -bands the legitimate method of increasing a captain's pay was to -allow him a certain number of fictitious men, called _mortes payes_ -(dead heads), and permit him to draw wages for them. This practice -in a legitimised form continued in our own army within the memory -of living men. - -Four hundred men was the usual number assigned to a company[50] -of landsknechts, but there was as yet no certainty either in the -strength of companies themselves or in the number of them that were -comprised within a regiment. The muster[51] over, the men formed -a ring round the colonel, who read aloud to them the conditions -of service and the rate of pay, including under the former all -the ordinary points of discipline. The men thereupon raised their -hands, and with three fingers uplifted, swore by the Trinity that -they would obey. The colonel then called into the ring the officers -whom he had selected to be ensigns,[52] and delivered to each the -colour of his company, exhorting him to defend it to the death. -Nor must it be supposed that the ensign was then the beardless boy -with which our own later experience has accustomed us to identify -the title. He was rather a hardened, grizzled old warrior, who -could be trusted at all critical times to rally the men around him. -Pursuant to Oriental tradition, the fife and drum of each company -were under the ensign's immediate orders, so that the position of -the colour might always be known by sound if not by sight. The -flag itself, which gave the officer his title, bore some colour or -device chosen by the colonel, and among the landsknechts was always -very large and voluminous, probably to contrast with the flags of -the Swiss, which were the smallest in Europe. The landsknechts -prided themselves on the grace and skill with which they handled -these huge banners, and indeed all the dandyism (if the term may -be allowed) observable in later years in the manipulation of the -colour may be traced to them. - -This ceremony over, the various companies separated and formed -each a distinct ring round its captain and ensign. The captain -then selected his lieutenant,[53] and calling him under the -colours bade the men obey him. He then chose also his chaplain -and quartermaster, and having added to these a surgeon his -patronage was exhausted. The men were then handed over to the -senior non-commissioned officer,[54] a very important person, who -was responsible for all drill and for the posting of all guards, -and received his appointment directly from the colonel. Under -his guidance the company elected a sergeant, who then in turn -selected himself an assistant;[55] the assistant then chose a -reconnoitrer,[56] and the reconnoitrer a quartermaster-sergeant. -Finally, the company was distributed into files[57] of ten men -apiece, which selected each of them a file-leader,[58] who, though -he received no extra pay, enjoyed certain privileges within his -file, such as the right to a bed to himself in quarters and the -like. With his election, the file being the unit of the company, -the hierarchy was complete. - -It is unnecessary to trouble the reader with a list of the -regimental staff, but a word must be said of the provost. His -principal function was the maintenance of discipline, for which -purpose he was provided with a staff of gaolers and an executioner, -and his title is still attached to the same duties in the English -army of to-day. But apart from this, it was his office to fix the -tariff of prices of goods sold by the sutlers who accompanied the -regiment. It was a most difficult and dangerous duty, for if he -fixed the price too high the men became discontented and mutinous, -and if too low the sutlers deserted the camp and left it to provide -for itself, which was an alternative little less formidable -than the other. In consideration of the perils of his office the -provost received certain perquisites in addition to his salary, -such as the tongue of every beast slaughtered and an allowance for -every cask broached, and even so was none too well paid.[59] It is -hardly necessary to point out that in this commercial side of the -provost's duties there lies the germ of our modern canteen, wherein -the practice of taking perquisites, though strictly forbidden, -still prevails among canteen-stewards. - -The duties of another officer, whose name must be written down in -the original, the _Hurenweibel_, show the early methods of coping -with a difficulty which particularly besets our Indian army. Every -regiment of landsknechts was accompanied by a number of followers -on the march; and although by strict rule no woman was allowed -to accompany a man except his lawful wife, yet we hear without -surprise that there were many women following the colours whose -status was not recognised by the rule above referred to. The poor -creatures led a hard life. The washing, cooking, scavenging, and -all manner of unpleasant duties, as well as the more congenial task -of nursing the sick and wounded, was entrusted to them, and in case -of a siege they were required to make the fascines and gabions. -Their masters treated them very brutally, and as every colonel -naturally wished to cut down their numbers as low as possible, no -pains were spared to make their lives a burden to them. Over all -this rabble the _Hurenweibel_ was king, the sceptre of his office -being a thick stick called a "straightener,"[60] which he used -unmercifully. Yet these followers loved the life and tramped after -their lords all over Europe, increasing their numbers as they went; -the boys as they grew up being employed to carry the men's weapons -or harness on the march. Such boys, or rather fags, were called in -French _goujats_, and are a curious feature in the armies of the -time. The greatest of all _goujats_, if legend may be trusted, was -Thomas Cromwell, the Hammer of the Monks. - -For the trial of military offences a board of justices accompanied -each distinct body, but there were some corps of landsknechts that -enjoyed the privilege of the trial of the long pikes,[61] which -gave the rank and file sole jurisdiction in respect of crimes -that brought disgrace on the regiment. In such cases the provost -laid his complaint; and the ensigns, thrusting their flags point -downward into the ground, vowed that they would never fly them -again until the blot on the fair name of the regiment was removed. -The culprit was then tried according to a certain fixed procedure -by his comrades alone, without the intervention of any officer. -If he were found guilty, the men drew themselves up in two ranks, -north and south, facing inwards; the ensigns, with colours flying, -posted themselves at the east end of the lane thus formed, and the -prisoner was brought to the west. The ensigns then exhorted him to -play the man and make bravely for the colours, and the provost, -clapping him thrice on the shoulder in the name of the Trinity, -bade him run. Then the doomed man plunged into the lane, and every -comrade plied pike and halberd and sword on him as he passed. -The swifter he ran the sooner came the end, and as he lay hewn, -mangled, and bleeding, gasping out his life, his comrades kneeled -down together and prayed God to rest his soul. Then all rose and -filed in silence three times round the corpse, and at the last the -musketeers fired over it three volleys in the name of the Trinity. - -The strength of a regiment of landsknechts varied very greatly. -There might be thirty companies or there might be ten; the total -force sometimes reached ten or twelve thousand men, and in such a -case was frequently strengthened by a contingent of artillery. The -weapons were the pike, the halberd, and a proportion of firearms, -which last tended constantly to increase. Every man found his -own arms, and the dress of the landsknechts, being that which it -pleased each man best to wear, was generally both fantastic and -extravagant, for they had all the soldier's ambition to let their -light shine before women. Maximilian's courtiers were so jealous -of their gorgeous apparel that they begged him to forbid it, but -the emperor was far too sensible to do anything so foolish. "Bah!" -he said, "this is the cheese with which we bait our trap to catch -such mice," a sentiment which English officers will still endorse. -Not all the prejudices of dying feudalism could induce Maximilian -to discourage his new infantry; on the contrary, meeting a regiment -once on the march he dismounted, shouldered a pike, and marched -with them for the rest of the day. It is worth noting that the -drum-beat of the landsknechts, whereof they were extremely proud, -probably the selfsame beat as that to which Maximilian strode along -that day, still preludes the marches of our own military bands.[62] - -The drill of the landsknechts was probably crude enough. There -was no exercise for pike or halberd, and there is no sign of the -complicated manœuvres that were so common at the opening of the -seventeenth century; but as they always fought, like the Swiss, in -huge masses, there was probably little occasion for these. The men -fell in by files, probably at sufficient distance and interval to -allow every man to turn right or left about on his own ground; but -for action they were closed up tight in vast battalions far too -unwieldly for any evolution. Moreover, few of the officers knew -anything of drill. They were selected for bravery and experience, -no doubt, in some cases, but not for military knowledge; and it is -the more probable that the colonels, according to custom, sold the -position of officer to the highest bidder, since Maximilian could -rarely furnish them with money for their preliminary expenses. The -one duty expected without fail of officers was that they should be -foremost in the fight, and as a rule they one and all took their -place in the front rank with the colonel for centre, and, armed -like their men, showed the way into the enemy's battalion. Not one -remained on a horse in action, though he might ride regularly on -the march; and indeed the landsknechts disliked to see an officer -mounted on anything larger than a pony at any time, admitting -no reason for an infantry-man to ride a good horse except that -he might run away the faster. The duties of officers being thus -defined, it is easy to see why the colonel reserved to himself the -appointment of the colour-sergeants, for they were practically the -only men who knew anything of drill or manœuvre. The colonel might -prescribe the formation of his battalion for action, but only the -colour-sergeants could execute it; and hence arose the rule that -sergeants should be armed with no weapon but a halberd, since any -heavier weapon would impede them in the eternal running up and -down the ranks which was imposed on them by their peculiar duty. -The influence of these traditions was still visible in our army -until quite recently. But a few years have passed since sergeants -shouldered their rifles as though they carried a different weapon -from the men, and officers have only lately ceased to depend on -them greatly in matters of drill. - -Such was the new infantry of Europe at the close of the fifteenth -and the opening of the sixteenth centuries, not yet perfected, -but advancing rapidly to an efficiency and importance such as had -for many centuries been unknown in Europe. And now the nations -poured down into the fair land of Italy to teach each other in -that second birthplace of all arts the new-born art of war. France -was the first that came; and few armies have caused greater -wonder in Europe than that which marched with Charles the Eighth -through Florence in 1496. The work begun for the expulsion of -the English from France had been steadily continued. Louis the -Eleventh had hired Swiss sergeants to drill his infantry, and -Picardie, the senior regiment of the old French line, was already -in potential existence. But it was not these, but other men who set -the Florentines at gaze. For there were to be seen the Scottish -archers, the finest body-guard alike for valour and for stature in -the world, the Swiss, marching by with stately step and incredible -good order, the chivalrous gentlemen of France, mailed from top -to toe and gorgeous in silken tabards, riding in all the pride of -Agincourt avenged, mounted archers less heavy but more workmanlike -as befitted light cavalry, and lastly a great train of brass -artillery, cannons and culverins, and falcons, the largest weighing -six thousand pounds and mounted on four wheels, the smallest made -for shot no bigger than a doctor's pills and travelling on two -wheels only. Already the quick-witted French had thought out the -principle of the limber, and had made two wheels of their heavy -guns removable. Already too they had trained the drivers of the -lighter ordnance to move as swiftly as light cavalry.[63] - -We cannot follow this army through the triumphs and the disasters -of the next half century, but we must needs glance briefly at the -rapid progress of French military organisation. Louis the Twelfth -took the improvement of his foot-soldiers seriously in hand and -increased the number of the companies, or bands as they were -called, that had been begun by the bands of Picardy. The number -of these bands, permanent and temporary, demanded the appointment -of an officer who should be intermediary between the general and -the captains of independent companies. About the year 1524 such -an officer was established with the new title of colonel,[64] and -the companies placed under his command were said, in French, -to be under his regiment. The word soon grew to be used in a -collective sense, and such and such companies under Colonel -A.'s regiment became known simply as Colonel A.'s regiment. The -colonel had a company of his own, but having no leisure to attend -to it made it over to a captain, who was called the colonel's -lieutenant or lieutenant-colonel. Another company was commanded -by the sergeant-major, the word sergeant, which we met with first -at the very beginning, having come into use in France with a new -meaning in the year 1485. As already mentioned in speaking of the -landsknechts, the name of sergeant became for some reason bound -up with the functions of drill, and the sergeant-major was to the -regiment what the sergeant was to the company. He was therefore -the only officer who remained on his horse in action, his duties -compelling him continually to gallop from company to company for -the correction of bad formation, and for the ordering of ranks -and files. It will be seen that the sergeant-major, or as we now -call him major, originally did the work which is now performed in -England by the adjutant. - -Captain was of course an old title, and had been used for the chief -of a band in France ever since 1355, having been borrowed possibly -from the free companies. The captain's _locum tenens_ or lieutenant -had been instituted by the reforms of Charles the Seventh in 1444, -and together with him his standard-bearer or ensign,[65] but there -were other junior officers who came later even than the colonels to -supplement the new military vocabulary. In 1534 we encounter for -the first time _fouriers_, _caps d'escouade_, and _lancepessades_. -The first of these, which existed for a time in the corrupted form -_furrier_, has passed from the English language.[66] The second -is the French form of the Italian _capo de squadra_, head of the -square, a reminiscence of the days when men were formed into square -blocks, squads or squadrons, which passed into _caporal_ and so -into our English corporal. The third, again a French form of the -Italian _lanz pesato_, signified originally a man-at-arms whose -horse had been killed and who was therefore compelled to march with -the foot. Being a superior person, he was not included among the -common infantry-men but held this distinctive and superior rank, -whence in due time was derived the prefix of lance to the titles of -sergeant and corporal. Finally, in the year 1550 foot-soldiers in -France began to be called by the collective name of _fanterie_ or -_infanterie_. This word, too, was a corruption from the Italian, -for Italian commanders used to speak of their troops as their -boys, _fanti_, and collectively as _fanteria_; and from them the -term passed into all the languages of Europe. Nothing could better -commemorate the situation of Italy in the sixteenth century as at -once the cockpit of the nations and the school of the new art of -war. - -But before leaving France there is another aspect of her military -institutions to be touched on. After the death of Francis the -First, and particularly during the period of the religious wars, -the discipline and tone of the French army underwent woeful -deterioration. Captains from the first had been proprietors of -their companies, which indeed were sometimes sold at auction by -the colonel to the highest bidder; and, as they received a bounty -in proportion to the numbers that they could show on their rolls, -the rascality and corruption were appalling. The enforcement of -strict discipline was bound to cause desertion, and every deserter -meant a man the less on the captain's roll and a sum the less in -the captain's pocket. No effort therefore was made to restrain the -misbehaviour of soldiers when off duty; they were allowed to rob -and plunder at their own sweet will, and they had the more excuse -since they were encouraged thus to indemnify themselves for the -pay stolen from them by their officers. This recognised system of -pillage was known as _picorée_,[67] a word which has passed through -the English language in the form of pickeer. Yet another method -there was among many of falsifying the muster-rolls, namely on the -day of inspection to collect any yokels or men that could be found, -thrust a pike into their hands, and present them as soldiers. They -were duly passed by the muster-master, and as soon as his back was -turned were dismissed, having served their purpose of securing -their pay for the illicit gain of the captain till next muster. -Such men were called _passe-volans_, a word which also was received -into the military terminology of Europe, and like _mortes-payes_ -received at last official recognition. It must not be thought -that such abuses were confined to France, but it is significant -that she was the country to find names for them.[68] Nor must the -reader be unduly impatient over the mention of these details in the -military history of foreign nations. The English soldier for the -next century and more is going to school, where like all pupils he -will learn both good and evil; and it is impossible to follow his -progress unless we know something of his schoolfellows as well as -of his tutors. - -[Sidenote: 1495.] - -[Sidenote: Atella, 1496.] - -[Sidenote: 1503.] - -[Sidenote: 1512.] - -Last of the nations let us glance at Spain, at the close of the -fifteenth century just emerging triumphant from eight centuries -of warfare against the Moors and girding herself for a great -and magnificent career. Her training in war had been against an -Oriental foe, swift, active, and cunning, and it is not surprising -that when first she entered the field of Italy and met the massive -columns of the Swiss at Seminara she should have given way before -them. But at the head of the Spanish troops was a man of genius, -Gonsalvo of Cordova, who was quick to learn from his enemies. -Confining himself for a time to the guerilla warfare which he -understood the best, he mingled pikes among the short swords -and bucklers which were the distinctive weapons of the Spanish -infantry, and within a year had gained his first victory over the -Swiss. His next campaign found him with a body of landsknechts -in his pay, when he quickly perceived the possibilities that lay -not only in the pikes but still more in the fire-arms which they -brought with them. Before the year was past he had routed Swiss -infantry and French cavalry in two brilliant actions at Cerignola -and on the Garigliano, and fairly driven them out of Naples. He -then set himself to remodel the Spanish foot by the experience -which he had gathered in his later campaigns, and this with full -appreciation of the moral and physical peculiarities of his -countrymen. Thus though it was in the Spanish tongue that the -pike was first named the queen of weapons, yet the value of the -sword in the hand of a supple active people was never overlooked, -and at Ravenna no less than Cerignola the rush of nimble stabbing -Spaniards under the hedge of pikes had proved fatal to the -lumbering unwieldy Teuton. - -[Sidenote: 1522.] - -[Sidenote: 1525.] - -Still more remarkable was the rapid development of the power of -musketry in Spanish hands. At Bicocca the Marquis Pescayra met -the attack of a gigantic Swiss battalion by drawing up a number -of small squares or squadrons of Spanish arquebusiers in front -of his own battalion of pikes. His instructions were that not a -shot should be fired without orders, a fact that points to early -excellence in what is now called fire-discipline, but that each -front rank should fire a volley by word of command and having done -so should file away to the rear to reload, leaving the remaining -ranks to do the like in succession. The results of this manœuvre -were disastrous to the Swiss; and this ingenious method of -maintaining a continuous fire of musketry was the law in Europe -for the next century and a half. In fact, if it were necessary to -fix an arbitrary date for the first really effective use of small -fire-arms in the battlefield the day of Bicocca might well be -selected. But we must not fail to note concurrently the drill and -discipline which made Pescayra's evolution possible. Three years -later, at the famous battle of Pavia, this same skilful soldier -attempted a still bolder innovation with his arquebusiers, and with -astonishing success. Being threatened with a charge of French heavy -cavalry (men-at-arms) he deployed fifteen hundred of his marksmen -in skirmishing order before his front, who, taking advantage of -every shelter and moving always with great nimbleness and activity, -maintained a galling fire as the cavalry advanced, and finally, -taking refuge under the pikes of the battalions which were drawn -up in their support, smashed the unfortunate French as effectively -as the English archers at Creçy. In truth, the effect of this -daring experiment on military minds in Europe was hardly less -than that of Creçy itself. Henry, Duke of Guise,[69] an excellent -soldier, was so much struck by its success that he showed how the -principle might be indefinitely extended and find ultimate shape, -as many years later it did, in the formation of distinct corps of -light-infantry. His own attempt to organise such a body in France -was however a failure, and the Spanish arquebusiers long held their -own as the first in Europe, a proud position which they had most -worthily gained. - -The remarkable prowess of the Spanish infantry soon made it popular -with the nation. The cavalry, in the palmy days of chivalry -the most gorgeous in Europe, lost its attraction for the young -nobles, who enrolled themselves as private soldiers in the ranks -of the foot, and carried pike and arquebus with the meanest of -the people. Charles the Fifth himself once shouldered a piece, -and marched, like Maximilian, in the ranks, until ordered by -the commander-in-chief[70] of his own appointment not to expose -himself to unnecessary danger, when like a good soldier he at -once obeyed orders. And this leads us to another eminent feature -of the Spaniards, the excellence of their discipline. English -and French contemporary writers[71] agreed that they owed their -victories to nothing else but obedience and good order, for that -they were not in themselves remarkable as a fighting people. "I am -persuaded," says Roger Williams, "that ten thousand of our nation -would beat thirty thousand of theirs out of the field, excepting -some three thousand [the choicest of the army] that are in the Low -Countries." Gonsalvo was the man who had laid the foundation of -this discipline, and it was worthily maintained by his successors. -Charles the Fifth went so far in his respect for it as always to -salute the gallows whenever he happened to pass them. And yet there -are no signs of extraordinary brutality in the Spanish army, but -on the contrary most remarkable tokens of good fellowship between -officers and men, and of healthy _esprit de corps_. There was a -system of comradeship which was the envy of all Europe. The two -officers of each company, the captain and ensign,[72] would each -take to themselves and entertain from three to six comrades from -the young nobles who served in the ranks; sergeants would also take -one or two such comrades, and the privates formed little messes -among themselves in like manner, with the result, unique in those -days, that fighting and brawling were unknown in a Spanish camp. -Quite as striking was the pride which the old soldiers took in -themselves and their profession. It is recorded that a party of -Spanish recruits, who had arrived at Naples, ragged, slovenly, and -unkempt, and were staring about them in a clownish and unsoldierly -fashion, were at once taken in hand by the old soldiers, who -lent them good clothes, made them tidy, and taught them proper -manners.[73] - -For the rest the Spaniards originated a system which, though it now -seems obvious enough, was in those days a new thing. It consisted -simply in the maintenance of a nucleus, or as we should now call -it a depôt, of trained men sufficiently numerous to teach recruits -their duty. All recruits were trained in the garrisons at home, and -from thence passed into the ranks of the regiment wherein they were -needed; and every draft so disposed of was immediately replaced -by an equal number of new recruits. When it is remembered that, -according to the ideas of the time, seven thousand trained infantry -and three thousand cavalry were judged sufficient to leaven an army -of fifty thousand men, the strength which her system of recruiting -gave to Spain is not easily exaggerated. The trained regiments -of Spanish infantry were but four, and their united strength did -not exceed seven thousand men, but their ranks were always full. -The number of companies into which they were distributed was -uncertain, and the strength of the companies themselves varied -from one hundred and fifty to three hundred men, a curious defect -in the most perfect organisation of the time. Lastly, the Spanish -regiments were known by the name of tercios,[74] a term with -which the reader must not quarrel, as he will encounter it on the -battlefield of Naseby. - -[Sidenote: 1475.] - -[Sidenote: 1567.] - -Not less remarkable than their forwardness in organisation -and discipline was the ready quickness of the Spaniard in the -improvement of fire-arms. The primitive hand-gun, as I have already -said, differed little except in size from the smaller cannon of -the time. It consisted simply of a barrel with a vent at the top, -and though indeed attached to a wooden stock had no lock of any -description. Hand-guns were often made so short that they could -be held even by a mounted man with one hand and fired with the -other. Match-cord or tinder for purposes of firing the charge by -the vent was already in full use. The next step was to increase -the length of the barrel and support it on a forked rest, a plan -introduced by the Spaniards at Charles the Fifth's invasion of -the Milanese in 1521. Ten years later a vast stride was made by -the substitution of a pan at the side of the barrel for a vent at -the top, and by the addition of a grip to the stock to hold the -match-cord, which was brought in contact with the pan by pressing a -trigger. In a word, the barrel was fitted with a lock. An extremely -ingenious Italian in the French service, Filippo Strozzi, then -took the improvement of fire-arms in hand, copying however, as -always, from the Spanish model. The bore of the harquebus (for the -primitive German _hakenbuchse_ had by this time found its permanent -corrupted form) was by him enlarged to bear a heavier charge and -carry a larger bullet; and so perfect was the workmanship of the -Milanese gunsmiths whom he employed that he succeeded in killing a -man at four hundred and a horse at five hundred paces. The stock -being long and the recoil very severe, men suffered not a little -from bruises and contusions with this weapon; but its efficiency -was proved. Strozzi also introduced another Spanish improvement, -namely the practice of making all his arquebuses of one bore, -which, though it now sounds obvious enough, waited for some years -to find general acceptance in Europe. Hence the weapons were -known as arquebuses of calibre, which phrase in England was soon -shortened simply to calivers. These however were arms of small -bore:[75] it was, as usual, the Spaniards who were the first to -arm their infantry with muskets[76] of large calibre. Alva was the -man who introduced them, and the rebels of the Low Countries the -first who felt their power. It needed but the substitution of a -flint-lock for a match, and the abolition of the rest, to turn this -weapon into Brown Bess, never so famous in English hands as in the -battlefields of Alva's home. Bandoliers and cartridges had long -been known to the Spaniards, and even to the French[77] before the -middle of the sixteenth century, so that the general progress in -arms and equipment was rapid. - -But the weapons had hardly been improved for infantry before -cavalry also began to crave for them. The simplest method of course -was to place pike and arquebus in the hands of mounted men and -turn them into mounted infantry, which was duly done in the French -army by Piero Strozzi in 1543, and has earned him the title of the -father of dragoons.[78] But still earlier in the century there had -grown up in Germany a new kind of cavalry, called by the simple -name of Reiters, which had perfected the smaller fire-arms, the -petronel[79] and the pistol, and had finally adopted the latter for -its principal weapon. The result was an important revolution in the -whole tactics of cavalry. - -[Sidenote: 1554.] - -Mention has already been made of the abandonment, at the close of -the fifteenth century, of the dense column of mounted men-at-arms -in favour of the less cumbrous formation in line, or as it was -called _en haye_. The lance being still the principal arm of the -cavalry, the freedom of movement gained by the change brought -the attack of horse much nearer to the shock-action which is the -rule at the present day. The new formation had, however, its -disadvantages, for in the imperfect state of military discipline -there was no certainty that the whole line would charge home. -Retirement was so easy that cowards would drop back, feigning to -bleed at the nose, to have lost a stirrup or cast a shoe,[80] while -men of spirit, and this was especially true of the impetuous -French, would race to be the first into the enemy's squadron, and -from premature increase of speed would arrive at the shock in loose -order, and with horses blown and exhausted. So well was this defect -realised that a shrewd French officer, Gaspard de Tavannes, at the -battle of Renty deliberately reverted to the old dense column and -overthrew every line that he met. - -Yet another cause was contributing to restore the column as the -favourite formation for the attack of cavalry. With the steady -improvement in fire-arms, the bullet became more and more potent in -velocity and penetration, and increasingly difficult to fend off by -means of armour. It must never be forgotten that a bullet-wound, -for a century and more after the introduction of fire-arms, -generally meant death. The primitive surgery of the time, misled by -the livid appearance of the edges of the wound, pronounced bullets -to be in their nature venomous, and treated the hurt somewhat -as a snake's bite, with such tortures of boiling oil and other -descriptions of cautery as are sickening even to read of. Wise men -took refuge in the virtues of cold water, and kept the surgeons at -a safe distance. "Trust a doctor and he will kill you; mistrust him -and he will insult you," wrote a Frenchman[81] who had suffered -much from the profession. But above all, men relied on prevention -rather than cure; so to keep bullets out of their bodies they -made their armour heavier and heavier, covering themselves with -stithies, to use the words of contemptuous critics,[82] till they -could neither endure swift movements themselves nor find horses -that could maintain any pace under the burden.[83] It was obvious -therefore that if cavalry was to act by shock, the shock must be, -as in former days, that of ponderous weight rather than of high -speed. - -Moreover, quite apart from all questions of formation there was -much in the prevailing tactics of infantry to encourage cavalry to -change the lance for the pistol. Huge square battalions, bristling -with eighteen-foot pikes and garnished with musketeers, were not -easily to be broken by a charge, but presented a large mark at a -fairly safe range to the mounted pistolier. Thus all circumstances -conspired to favour a great and radical reform in the tactics of -cavalry, the change not only from line to column, but from shock -to missile action. When once the pistol was recognised as the -principal weapon of the horsemen, it was obvious that all other -tactical considerations must give way to the maintenance of a -continuous fire. To this end there was but one system known, namely -the old method of Pescayra, that the front rank should fire first -and file away to the rear to reload, leaving successive ranks to -come up in its place, and go through the same performance in turn. -Plainly, therefore, a reversion to the old dense column, as great -in depth as in breadth of front, was imperative. It was accordingly -re-introduced, and from its quadrate outline was called by the -name of a squadron, which from this period tends to become a term -applied exclusively to cavalry. Massed together in such squadrons -men could move slowly and steadily, willingly sacrificing speed -that they might take the better and surer aim. - -[Sidenote: 1557.] - -Such was the new principle brought forward early in the sixteenth -century by the mounted mercenary bands of Germany, and with -ever-increasing success. Very soon the reiters become recognised as -a valuable force, and received from Charles the Fifth something of -the encouragement that the landsknechts had gained from Maximilian. -The military aspirants of the Empire, forsaking the ranks of the -once honoured infantry, hastened to enrol themselves among the -new horse, and the landsknechts decayed that the reiters might -flourish. That the new service was as honourable as the old may -be doubted, for the reiters were proverbial for brutality, and -their practice of blackening their faces betokens something of -a ruffianly spirit; but, be that as it might, they forced their -system, in spite of bitter opposition, upon the cavalry of Europe, -and from the day of the battle of St. Quentin may be said to have -assured their evil supremacy. - -It is therefore necessary to glance briefly at their organisation. -The tactical unit was the squadron, which was of uncertain -strength, varying from one hundred to three or even five hundred -men. The officers were a captain,[84] lieutenant, ensign,[85] and -quartermaster,[86] and the staff was completed by a chaplain, -a sergeant[87] and a trumpeter. As every man brought his own -equipment there was no precise uniformity, but it may be assumed -as certain that all wore complete defensive armour to the waist, -and some even to mid-thigh. For offensive purposes a pistol, or -rather a brace of pistols, was indispensable. As in the case of -the landsknechts, all matters of drill were the business of the -sergeant, but it does not appear that the reiters ever attained -great proficiency in manœuvre. Thus in action the successive -ranks of the squadron seem to have been unable to file to the -rear except to their left, so that it was impossible to post them -on the right wing without bringing them into collision with the -centre of their own line of battle. The trumpeters, it is worth -noting, were required to be masters of but six calls,--Saddle, -Mount, Mess, March, Alarm, Charge,--of which the French employed -the first two and last two only. We shall presently make further -acquaintance with these six calls, but it is sufficient meanwhile -to call attention to their existence in the middle of the sixteenth -century. The reiters however, should not be forgotten, for though -not comparable to the landsknechts for quality as troops, they -furnished the model for the first famous regiment of English -cavalry.[88] - -Lastly, let me close this necessarily brief and imperfect account -of the renascence of the art of war by a remark which should -perhaps have come first rather than last. Amid all the innovations -which went forward during the sixteenth century in the province -of armament, classical models reigned supreme in organisation and -manœuvre. The whole story of the renascence resembles, if I may -be allowed to use the metaphor, a long musical passage in pedal -point, on the deep bass note of classical tradition. For this the -revival of classical learning was doubtless responsible. When -generals celebrated a triumph, as more than one general did, in the -Roman manner after a victory, the pageant could hardly be complete -without the presence of legions; and when Machiavelli declared that -the Swiss tactics were those of the Macedonian phalanx, military -students could be in no doubt where to seek out models for their -own imitation. Francis the First adopted in 1534 both the name and -organisation of the Roman legions for a time, while no military -writer omitted to recommend the Roman ideal to aspirants of his -profession. Every soldier steeped himself in ancient military lore, -and quoted the Hipparchicus of Xenophon[89] and the Tactics of -Ælian, the Commentaries of Cæsar and the expeditions of Alexander, -Epaminondas' heavy infantry and Pompey's discipline. A Frenchman -could not even praise the merits of the Englishman as a marine -without calling him _epibates_. In a word Europe for two centuries, -went forth to war with the newest pattern of musket in hand, and -a brain stocked with maxims from Frontinus and Vegetius and Æneas -Poliorceticus, and with examples from Plutarch and Livy and Arrian. -She might well have found worse instructors; but their lessons -were for the most part imperfectly understood, and their broad -principles seldom correctly deduced or intelligently applied. An -opportunity was thus afforded for the demon of pedantry, which was -eagerly and joyfully seized. Nevertheless, the present armies of -Europe still double their ranks and files, by whatever name they -may designate the evolution, after the manner prescribed by Ælian, -and by him borrowed, it is likely, from the stern martinets of -ancient Lacedæmon. - - AUTHORITIES.--The chief authorities for Zizka's campaigns and - organisation are Æneas Sylvius, Balbinus, _Miscellanea Rerum - Bohem._ 1679; Dubravius, _Hist. Bohem._ 1602; Palacky, _Gesch. - v. Böhmen._ His articles of war will be found in _Neuere - Abhandlungen der königl. Böhm. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft_, - Band I. p. 375. For the Swiss, Simler, _de Repub. Helvet_; John - of Winterthur, Pirckheimer, and the _Chronicle of Berne_. All - the authorities for the battle of Sempach have been collected in - Liebenau's memorial volume. A fantastic work, but not without - useful information, is Karl Bürkli's _Der wahre Winkelried_, - 1886. Köhler has handled both Bohemians and Swiss with his - wonted thoroughness. For the landsknechts there are Adam - Reissner's _Georg von Frundsberg_ (1st ed. 1568, 3rd ed. 1620); - Fronsperger's _Kriegsbuch_; Hortleder's _Der römischen Kaiser_, - etc.; _Adelspiegel_, von Cyriack Spangenberg, 1594; the whole - of which are more or less summarised in Barthold's _Georg von - Frundsberg_, 1833, and in a still more compact form by Dr. - Friedrich Blau, _Die deutschen Landsknechte_, 1882. The Spanish - military reforms are more difficult to ascertain. I have relied - principally on Roger Williams's brief account, sundry notices - in Brantôme's _Vie des hommes illustres_; Paul Jove's _Vita - Gonsalvi Magni_, and, perhaps most valuable of all, Reissner. - For the French there are Daniel's _Ancien milice_; Susanne's - _Hist. de l'ancienne infanterie française_; Paul Jove, and the - _Memoires_ of Vieilleville, Du Bellay, Villars, de Mergey, de la - Noue, Tavannes, Onosandre, Brantôme, Monluc, and others. I have - also consulted, among Italian writers, Julius Ferrettus, _De re - militari_, 1575; Domenico Mora, _Il soldato_, 1570; Savorgnano's - _Arte militare_; and of course Machiavelli. Lastly, I have not - failed to study the classical authorities quoted in the text. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -The accession of the Tudors to the throne of England marks an -important period in our military history. The nation, after -thirty years of furious internal war, during which it had lost -all sense of national honour, began to settle down once more to -a life of peace, and awoke to the fact that England was now no -more than an insular power. France was lost to her except Calais, -but Calais was something more than a mere sentimental possession. -It was the bridge-head that secured to the English their passage -of the Channel; and while it remained in the hands of an English -garrison there was always the temptation to engage in Continental -wars and to employ the army for purposes of aggression as well -as of defence. Still the prospects of regaining the ancestral -possessions of the Plantagenets in France seemed so hopeless that -the English sovereigns might well doubt whether it were not now -time to give the Navy the first and the Army the second place; and -this question, already half decided by the keen good sense of King -Henry the Eighth, was finally determined by the loss of Calais -itself. There was, of course, always a frontier to be guarded on -the Tweed, but with the cessation of expeditions to France, which -had invariably called the Scotch armies across the border, there -was no longer the same danger of Scottish invasion; and moreover, -England and Scotland were now beginning to draw closer together. -Thus it would seem that after the death of Queen Mary there -should have been little reason for the existence of an English -army, and indeed it will be seen that the national force became -in many respects lamentably deficient. But meanwhile the wars of -Europe changed from a contest between nation and nation to a death -struggle between Catholic and Protestant. It was religion that drew -the Scotch from their old alliance with the French to their former -enemies the English; and it was religion which led the English to -the battlefields of the Low Countries, where they learned the new -art of war. The reign of the Tudor dynasty therefore falls for the -purpose of this history into three periods, which are conveniently -separated by the fall of Calais or the more familiar landmark of -the accession of Elizabeth, and by the first departure of English -volunteers to the Low Countries in 1572. - -It is extremely difficult to discover the exact condition of -England's military organisation when Henry the Seventh was fairly -seated on the throne. The old feudal system, which had been turned -by the nobles to such disastrous account for their own ends in -the Civil War, seems to have been but half alive. Compositions, -indents, and commissions of array had already weakened it in the -past, and indents in themselves had been shown to be unsafe. The -difficulties wherein Henry found himself are shown by two statutes -imposing the obligation of military service on two new classes, -namely holders of office, fees or annuities under the crown, or -of honours and lands under the King's letters patent. It was -stipulated that they should receive wages from the day of leaving -their homes until the day of their return to them; but they were -strictly forbidden to depart without leave, and their service was -declared to be due both within the kingdom and without. But in -fact the sovereign seems to have been driven back on the force -which represented the old Saxon fyrd, and had its legal existence -under the Statute of Winchester. Noblemen and gentlemen could of -course still show a body of retainers, but many, indeed most, of -the ancient magnates had perished, and recent experience had shown -the danger of permitting their retinue to become too powerful. -A curious complication, to which I shall presently return, in -the collapse of the old feudal service was the extreme dearth of -good horses. Altogether everything tended to compel resort to the -national militia as the principal military force of England. Two -allowances to the levies of the shire seem to have been finally -established in this reign, namely coat-money and conduct-money. -The first, as its name denotes, helped the soldier to provide -himself with clothing and was a step further towards uniform; and -indeed it is possible that it was deliberately designed to exclude -the liveries of the nobility, already condemned by statute, in -favour of the national white with the red cross of St. George. The -conduct-money was simply the old allowance which was seen in the -days of William Rufus, but which from henceforth apparently was -refunded to the shire from the Exchequer. Both, however, though -paid in advance to the soldier, were ultimately deducted from his -pay, and are therefore of interest in the history of the British -soldier's stoppages. Finally, we find indications of a stricter -discipline in a statute that makes desertion while on service -outside the kingdom into felony, and subjects captains who defraud -men of their pay to forfeiture of goods and to imprisonment. - -[Sidenote: 1485.] - -A few points remain to be mentioned before we pass to the reign of -Henry the Eighth. The first was the establishment of that royal -body-guard, which with its picturesque old dress and original -title of Yeomen[90] of the Guard still survives among us. Though -doubtless imitated from the Scottish Guard of the French kings, -it is of greater interest as being composed not of aliens but of -Englishmen, and as the first permanent corps of trained English -soldiers in our history. Another smaller matter cannot be ignored -without disrespect to military sentiment. After the victory of -Bosworth Field Henry offered at the altar of St. Paul's Cathedral a -banner charged with "a red fiery dragon" upon a field of white and -green, the ensign of Cadwallader, the last of the British kings, -from whom he was fond of tracing his descent. The scarlet of this -red fiery dragon became from this time the royal livery, and was -for the present reserved, together with purple, to the King's use -alone.[91] But the green and white was more liberally distributed -both to soldiers and mariners. A white jacket with the red cross -of St. George had long been a common distinction of the English -soldier, and the white as a colour of the Tudors now became so -general that for a time "white coat" was used as a synonym for -soldier. - -Lastly must be noticed the definite establishment of the Office -of Ordnance for the custody of military stores. The early history -of the office is exceedingly obscure, and the existence of King -Edward the Second's _artillator_ hardly warrants us in assuming the -permanent foundation of the department in the fourteenth century. -The record of a Clerk of the Ordnance in 1418 sets the office on -surer ground, and in 1483 the appointment of a Master-General -advances it to a stage at which it becomes recognisable by us even -at the present day; for the title of Master-General was held by -John, Duke of Marlborough, and by Arthur, Duke of Wellington. - -With Henry the Eighth we reach a new example in our history of an -English soldier-king. Young, able, accomplished, and ambitious, he -was strongly imbued with the military spirit, and possessed many -qualities that must have made him a popular and might have made him -a distinguished commander. He excelled in every exercise of arms; -he was the finest archer in his kingdom; he had studied the art of -war in the best authorities; he understood the conduct both of a -siege and of a campaign; and lastly, he was no mean artillerist. -This last attribute, however, he shared with several sovereigns of -his time. Artillery was a favourite hobby with the crowned heads of -Europe, possibly as a symbol of their military strength, for being -unable to give themselves the pleasure of a great review owing to -the inevitable confusion and expense, they were fain to console -themselves with the several pieces, each one of them called by its -pet name, that composed their park of ordnance. Altogether Henry -was a prince who bade fair to restore the military prestige of -England. - -[Sidenote: 1509.] - -[Sidenote: 1511.] - -His first step was to increase his standing force by the creation -of a second body-guard of men-at-arms,[92] composed of young men -of noble blood; the reason given being that there were far too -many such young men in the kingdom who were untrained in arms. The -corps, as might have been expected with the best dressed sovereign -in Europe, was so gorgeously arrayed that it perished after a few -years under the weight of its own cost. His next act was more -practical, a writ to the sheriffs for the better enforcement of -the Statute of Winchester, which is interesting for its attempt to -restore the command of the forces of the shore to their original -holders.[93] Concurrently, however, we encounter a large number -of the old-fashioned indents and commissions of array, all issued -in prospect of English intervention in the eternal strife of the -Hapsburgs and the Valois.[94] In 1512 an expedition was sent to the -south of France, and there the defects of the army were lamentably -seen. Although the importation of hand-guns and arquebuses shows -that England was not blind to the progress of fire-arms in Europe, -this force was armed principally if not exclusively with the -old-fashioned bows and bills, and worse than all, these bows, which -had been issued from the stores in the Tower, were found nearly -all of them to be useless. Moreover, the victuals were "untruly -served" to the men, their pay was withheld from them, and, acutest -of all grievances, they could get no beer. The Council of War, -in which the command was vested, could never agree as to a plan -of operations, and though it kept the men thus inactive made no -attempt to drill or exercise them. The natural result was a mutiny. -One large band struck work for eightpence a day in lieu of the -regular sixpence, several others swore that nothing should keep -them from going home, and the disturbance was only quelled by the -hanging of a ringleader.[95] - -[Sidenote: 1513.] - -Henry seems to have had suspicions of the state of affairs, for -in the same year Acts were passed to renew the existing statutes -against desertion and fraud; though from the incessant re-enactment -of these particular provisions it is clear that they were either -easily evaded or negligently enforced. In the following year, -however, Henry took the field in person in Normandy, where his -presence appears materially to have altered the complexion of -affairs. His force was designed to have consisted of thirty -thousand men, but was reduced by impending trouble with Scotland -to less than half that number. The details of its organisation -are still extant, and it is curious to find that, after but two -generations of severance from France, the French terms vanguard, -battle, and rearguard have given place to fore-ward, mid-ward, -and rear-ward. Another novelty is the addition of wings, which -had formerly been attached to the vanguard only, to the midward -also; which was clearly a new departure.[96] There is again a -strong tendency, which after a year becomes a rule, to make the -tactical units of uniform strength, one hundred men being the -common establishment for a company. Every captain too has an -officer under him called his petty captain, a name which appears -in the statutes of the previous reign, and was not yet displaced -by the title, as yet reserved to the King's deputies only,[97] of -lieutenant. The ensign[98] does not yet make his appearance, for -the grouping of companies is strictly territorial, and one standard -apparently alone is allowed to each shire. Every company, however, -has the distinctive badge of its captain, and the archers of the -King's Guard are dressed in uniform of white gaberdines. Lastly, -there are in the army fifteen hundred Almains, the landsknechts -of whom account was given in a previous section, eight hundred -of whom, "all in a plump," marched immediately before the King. -Possibly this place of honour was granted to them to kindle -the emulation of the English, but more probably because Henry, -following the evil example of the French, trusted more to trained -mercenaries than to his own subjects. We shall constantly meet with -such contingents of aliens among the English during the next forty -years, until at last England awakes, like every other nation in -Europe, to the truth that her own children, as carefully trained, -are worth just double of the foreigners. - -The most remarkable of the mounted men in this army were the -Northern Horsemen, who, called into being at some uncertain period -by the eternal forays on the Scottish border, now appear regularly -on the strength of every expedition as perfectly indispensable. -They were light cavalry, the first deserving the name ever seen -in our army, and probably the very best in Europe. They wore -defensive armour of back and breast and iron cap, carried lance -and buckler or sometimes a bow, and were mounted on "nags" which -were probably nearer thirteen than fourteen hands high. For duties -of reconnaissance they were perfect, and they must be reckoned the -first regular English horse that were the eyes and ears of the -army. We shall see them at a later stage merged in a mounted body -much resembling them, namely the demi-lances, which were destined, -during the period of transition that is before us, to fill the -place already almost vacated by the men-at-arms. - -There is no need to dwell on the incidents of a not very eventful -campaign. The panic flight of the French at the Battle of the -Spurs upheld the old belief that they could not stand before the -English; and the siege and capture of Terouenne under the personal -direction of Henry helped to confirm it. A fruitless attack on an -English convoy, curiously resembling the Battle of the Herrings in -its main features, also helped to maintain the ancient reputation -of the English archers. Lastly, the siege of Tournay gave Henry -an opportunity of showing off some of his new artillery. There -were twelve huge pieces, called the twelve apostles, of which he -was particularly proud; but as St. John stuck in the mud and was -unfortunately captured, it is well not to say too much of them. -But the French were by no means impressed with the appearance of -their old enemies in the field. "The English," wrote Fleuranges in -a patronising way, "are good men and fight well when parked in a -strong position, but otherwise I make no great account of them." - -[Sidenote: 1513, September.] - -[Sidenote: September 9.] - -But while Henry was plying his apostles against Tournay, some -still older enemies of the nation had formed a very different -opinion of the English. For in September, Thomas, Earl of Surrey, -met the Scots at Flodden Field, and dealt them a blow from which -they never wholly recovered. The odds against the English were -heavy, for they could bring but twenty-six thousand men against -forty thousand or, as some say, eighty thousand Scots, and the -position taken up by James the Fourth was so strong that Surrey -could not venture to attack it. With ready intelligence he made a -detour from south to north of the Scottish host, and James, who -had not attempted to molest him during the movement, hurried down, -fearful of being cut off from his base, to meet him in the open -field. The sequel is an example of the helplessness of pedantry, -even of the newest pattern, in the face of genuine military -instinct. The Scotch had studied the methods of the landsknechts; -they were armed principally with pikes; they were drawn up in five -huge battalions, after the Swiss model, and they advanced to the -attack in silence "after the Almain manner." Lastly, they had with -them some of the finest artillery hitherto seen.[99] Yet all this -availed them nothing. The English too were formed, after a method -which had lately come into fashion, in two divisions, fore-ward -and rear-ward, each with two wings; but Surrey boldly wheeled both -into one grand line,[100] holding but one small body of horse in -reserve, and appears to have overlapped the cumbrous masses of the -enemy. There is no need to give details of the battle; it began -between four and five in the evening and was over in an hour. The -English leaders seem to have shown not only bravery but skill. The -English archers as usual wrought havoc against unarmoured men; the -English bills got the better of the Scottish pikes, and the English -light cavalry, admirably handled, twice saved the infantry from -defeat. Ten thousand Scots were slain, and James himself, with -the head and heir of almost every noble house in Scotland around -him, lay covered with ghastly wounds among the dead. He had, from -some whimsical return to an obsolete practice, dismounted his -men-at-arms, who, in obedience to the new fashion which counselled -protection against the new-fangled bullets, were clad in the -heaviest armour. Arrows fell harmlessly from them, and even bills -could not cut them down with less than half a dozen strokes; but -they could not fly, and the bill-men did not weary of killing. And -so on Flodden Field was shown a forecast of what was to be seen -later in Italy, when infantry, finding men-at-arms prostrate on the -ground, hammered them to death like lobsters within their shells -before they could break through their armour. - -Still the lesson of Flodden to the English was mainly that bows -and bills were still irresistible; and to a conservative people -none could have been more welcome. Henry, who was an enthusiastic -archer, had already renewed a statute of his father's prohibiting -the use of the cross-bow without a licence, and he now withdrew -all licences and extended the prohibition to hand-guns.[101] The -long-bow, on the other hand, received all the encouragement that -enactments and sentiment could afford it. Henry dressed himself -and his body-guard in green, which was the archer's peculiar -colour; and the Venetian ambassador Giustiniani writing in 1519 -described, with but slight exaggeration, the English military -forces as consisting of one hundred and fifty thousand men, whose -peculiar though not exclusive weapon was the long-bow. Men-at-arms -were extinct, light cavalry insignificant in number. Giustiniani, -however, did not add that the archers were now more efficiently -equipped than at any previous period, being provided with two -stakes instead of one, and further protected by a breastplate.[102] -Nor did he notice a new weapon, the Moorish or Morris pike, which -had lately come into use among the English, and had brought them a -little closer to the famous infantry of the Continent. - -[Sidenote: 1520.] - -It is, however, almost with a smile that we see Henry with -undiminished satisfaction flaunting his archers in the face of -Francis at the Field of Cloth of Gold. Francis on his side produced -his Swiss, and gave the English an opportunity of studying the -first infantry in Europe. Fleuranges was at their head, and as -his eye wandered from the scarlet and gold of the body-guard to -the white and green of the other English troops, he probably felt -justified in his opinion that they could not meet his own men in -the open field. Henry, however, was unchangeable,[103] and the only -sign of novelty that we see at this famous pageant is a horn-shaped -flag borne in the retinue of Cardinal Wolsey, the _cornette_, which -was in due time to give its name to the standard-bearers of the -English cavalry.[104] - -[Sidenote: 1522.] - -[Sidenote: 1523.] - -[Sidenote: 1525.] - -Peace never endured long in those days, and in 1522 Henry was again -at war with Francis, in alliance with Charles the Fifth. Again the -English deficiencies became patent. In his expedition to France, -which led to little result, Henry was forced to rely principally -on Charles for cavalry;[105] and when it was evident that France -would require to be fought on the Scottish border also, the Earl of -Surrey, who held command in the north, begged for a reinforcement -of four thousand landsknechts. The French, he said, would certainly -bring pikes with them, and the English were not accustomed to -pikes, though they would soon learn from the Almains.[106] In plain -words, the English soldiers with their existing equipment were -unfit to meet the French in the field. Fortunately the Duke of -Albany, who was opposed to Surrey, was a coward, and little came of -the alarm in the north. But the danger seems for the moment to have -aroused Henry to a sense of his backwardness, for we find in 1523 -a scheme for the purchase of ten thousand eighteen-foot pikes and -corselets, five thousand halberds, and ten thousand hand-culverins -with matches,[107] bullet-moulds and powder-flasks complete. This -is the first indication of a design to equip the army according -to the best rules of the age, and, if it had been adopted, little -change would have been needed for a century and a half. It is -difficult to say why it was not, for at this time there are signs -of an intention to take the improvement of the army seriously in -hand.[108] But Henry changed his policy. Peace was made, and was -immediately followed by a proclamation to enforce the statute -for the encouragement of the long-bow and the discountenance of -cross-bows and hand-guns.[109] We must come down to the prolonged -rejection of breech-loading artillery by the country in our own day -before we can find a parallel to such perversity. - -[Sidenote: 1539.] - -Nevertheless, in spite of all Henry's efforts fire-arms seem to -have taken some hold on England, and particularly on London. In -the general alarm that followed the insurrection known as the -Pilgrimage of Grace, the King relied principally on London; and in -1537 he granted a Charter of Incorporation to the Artillery Company -of the city, an association formed for the improved training of -the citizens in weapons of volley, which term included hand-guns -and cross-bows as well as the long-bow. This association survives -as the Honourable Artillery Company. Again, at the great review of -the London trained-bands two years later we find like symptoms of -a change. The old account of this pageant is of singular interest -for the sight which it gives us of the most efficient soldiers in -England. The force consisted of fifteen thousand picked men, all -able-bodied and properly equipped, and all, except the officers, -clothed in white even to their shoes. White was at once the old -colour of England, the colour of the city, and the colour of the -Tudors. The men paraded at Mile End, the famous drill-ground which -was later to pass into a proverb, at six o'clock in the morning, -and at eight moved off on their march to Westminster, in the three -orthodox divisions of fore-ward, mid-ward, and rear-ward. First -came the artillery, thirteen field-pieces, with their ammunition -and "gun-stones," for shot was not yet always made of metal, in -carts behind them. Then came the banners of the city, and then -the musketeers, five in rank, with five feet of distance between -ranks; after them came the bowmen in open order, every man a bow's -length[110] from his neighbour; then followed the pikemen with -their morris-pikes, "after the Almain manner," and lastly came the -bills. Every one of the five divisions in each ward had its own -band, its own colours, and its officers riding at its head; and -it is worthy of note that the hand-guns and pikes took precedence -of the bows and bills. So they marched on in their spotless white -to Westminster, where the King awaited them on a platform. As the -musketeers passed him they fired volleys, for a volley was of -old the salute to the living as well as to the dead, the great -guns were manœuvred and "shot off very terribly," doubtless to -an accompaniment of female screams, and the force marched back -through St. James' Park to the city. The review was intended as a -demonstration against the menaces of foreign powers, and it had its -due effect. - -[Sidenote: 1544.] - -The danger passed away; but within four years Henry was again in -the field fighting with Charles the Fifth against the French. -There is little that is worth remarking in the campaigns that -followed. The English as usual took with them their bows and -bills, and the archers still came off with credit. A contingent of -landsknechts was with them, who behaved so ill as to draw upon -themselves more than ordinary dislike; and indeed the palmy days -of the landsknechts were over. One portion of the English army -alone provoked the warm admiration of Charles, namely, the Northern -Horsemen. Wallop, the English commander, took justifiable pride in -them, and detached them to clear the country before the Emperor on -his departure. Away started the sturdy border-men on their tough -little ponies, while Charles watched with all his eyes; and when he -saw them breast an ascent before them and "hurl" up the hill, he -cried out with honest delight.[111] - -Nevertheless it must be confessed that Henry, though the eight and -thirty years of his reign were perhaps the most eventful in the -history of the modern art of war, did singularly little for the -army. The passion for the bow, which evinced itself in repeated -enactments and proclamations to the very close of his reign, -and the false system of hiring mercenaries, led to a neglect of -the infantry which might easily have proved disastrous. For the -cavalry, though here again he was inclined to use mercenaries, -he showed more care. He was much exercised by the decay of the -English breed of horses, and passed three several Acts for its -remedy. The wording of these throws a flood of light on our ancient -troop-horse. To improve the breed it was enacted that every owner -of a park should keep from two to four brood-mares not less than -thirteen hands high, and that no stallions under fourteen hands -should be employed for breeding; the hand to be reckoned as four -inches and the measurement to be made to the withers. From the -operation of this Act the counties of Northumberland, Cumberland, -and Westmoreland, the home of the Northern Horsemen, were excluded. -By a subsequent Act it was ordained that all chases, forests, -and commons should be driven once a year, the unlikely mares and -foals slaughtered, and no stallions allowed to run free that were -under fifteen hands in height. What effect these measures may -have wrought I am unable to say; but the knowledge of the small -stature of brood-mares can help us to a better understanding of -the difficulties which beset the maintenance of an efficient -cavalry.[112] - -[Sidenote: 1513.] - -But the arm wherein Henry worked most improvement was undoubtedly -the artillery. We find him at first purchasing all his guns abroad, -for the most part in Flanders, and procuring his gunners also from -foreign parts; but it is clear, from the number of Englishmen -whose appointment to the post of gunner remains on record, that -the English were rapidly learning their business from their -instructors, while as early as 1514 we find Lord Darcy pleading -for the employment of native gunners.[113] There is evidence too -that the artilleryman's art was by no means so rare as it had -been, gunners receiving no more than the ordinary soldier's pay of -sixpence a day.[114] The casting of ordnance in England was less -common, though there are scattered notices of English gun-founders -from the beginning of the reign. Finally, in the year 1535 John -Owen began to make even the largest guns, and obviated the -necessity of depending on foreign makers for artillery. In 1543, -moreover, Henry induced two foreigners to settle in England, Peter -Bawd and Peter van Collen, who among other improvements devised -mortar-pieces[115] of large calibre and shells to fire from them. -Shell, indeed, was frequently used in the campaign of 1544, and -Henry was early in appreciating its advantages. There was, however, -still the difficulty of finding horses to draw the field-guns, -which he seems to have attempted to overcome as early as in the -third year of his reign by some kind of registration of waggoners -and teams. The drivers were to wear the white coat and red cross, -and to be mustered and paid every month; and for their protection -it was ordered that their paymaster should take no bribes from them -beyond one penny a month from each man, a curious commentary on the -financial morality of the army. Be that as it may, however, there -exists no doubt that Henry the Eighth created the British gunner -who, as his proud motto tells, has since worked his guns all over -the world. - -[Sidenote: 1542.] - -[Sidenote: 1544.] - -His zeal as an artillerist led Henry also, perhaps almost -insensibly, towards the peculiar organisation for defence which -was copied at a later period by the colonies, and for a short -time was expanded even into an imperial system. The mounting of -valuable guns entailed the necessity of maintaining a small body of -trained men to keep them in order; and thus grew up the practice -of stationing small independent garrisons in all the principal -fortresses, which garrisons were immovably attached to their -particular posts and constituted what was really a permanent force. -Thus almost at a stroke the military resources of England fell into -three divisions--the standing garrisons just mentioned, the militia -which could be called out in case of invasion, and the levies, -nominally feudal but in reality mercenary, which were brought -together for foreign service and disbanded as soon as the war was -over. The attention devoted by Henry to the defence of the coast -identifies his name peculiarly with certain modern strongholds, -which stand on the same site and bear the same appellation as he -gave them three centuries ago. Nor must it be forgotten that, -though he did comparatively little for the army, Henry did very -much for the navy, and perceived that the true defence of England -was the maintenance of her power on the sea. - -Two small points remain to be mentioned before we dismiss the most -popular of English kings. A dear lover of music he took an interest -in his military bands, and we find him sending all the way to -Vienna to procure kettle-drums that could be played on horseback -"after the Hungarian (that is to say the Hussars') manner," -together with men that could make and play them skilfully. Ten -good drums and as many fifers were ordered at the same time, with -advantage, as may be hoped, to the English minstrels. Lastly, Henry -was the first man of whom we may authentically say that he brought -the English red-coats into the field for active service. Red garded -with yellow was the uniform worn by his body-guard at the siege of -Boulogne; and perhaps it was right that the scarlet should have -made its first appearance in the presence of such old and gallant -enemies as the French. - -[Sidenote: 1547.] - -[Sidenote: 1549.] - -Under the rule of his boy successor we find little change in the -old order of things. There was the usual fight with the Scotch on -the border, and yet another crushing defeat, at Pinkie, of the old -inveterate enemy. But hired Italian musketeers contributed not a -little to the victory; and the state of the forces of the shires -was most unsatisfactory. Fraudulent enlistment and desertion, -doubly expensive since the payment of coat- and conduct-money had -been instituted, were as common as ever, and the dishonesty of -officers was never more flagrant. A stringent Act was passed to -check these irregularities, with apparently the usual infinitesimal -measure of success. Foreign troops were never so much employed -in England, though even they complained of unjust dealing. The -insurrection in the west was suppressed principally by landsknechts -and Italian harquebusiers, not however before they had suffered -one repulse from the men of Devon, beyond doubt to the secret joy -of all true Englishmen. Nevertheless the reign saw the rise of the -Gentlemen Pensioners and, more important still, the appointment -of a lord-lieutenant in every county, to be responsible for the -forces of the shire. The latter was no doubt a stroke in the right -direction, but it did not touch the heart of the matter. The -worn-out machinery which had been patched and tinkered for five -centuries was not so easily to be repaired; and a new fly-wheel, -though it might turn magnificently on its own axis, could not keep -the other broken-down wheels in motion. - -[Sidenote: 1553.] - -The reign of Queen Mary brought the most important change in the -military system of the country that had occurred for two centuries. -The Statute of Winchester was superseded and a new Act enacted in -its place. The reform, however, was in reality quite inadequate to -the occasion. It provided for the supply of more modern weapons -and for a new distribution, according to a new assessment, of the -burdens entailed by the maintenance of a national force; but in -substance the new statute was drafted on the lines of the old, and -the variations were very superficial. The extinction of men-at-arms -hinted at by Guistiniani is sufficiently proved by the mention of -two different kinds of cavalry, "demi-lances" or "medium" horse and -the light horse with which we are already acquainted; and progress -in the equipment of the infantry is shown by the mention of long -pikes and corselets and of harquebuses. But alongside of these -improved weapons are the familiar bows and bills; and a clause -which, considering that Mary had married the heir of Spain is truly -marvellous, provides that a bow shall in all cases be accepted as -an efficient substitute for an arquebus. These details, however, -are comparatively unimportant. The difficulty was one, not of arms, -but of men; and Mary knew it. She would have formed a standing -army if she had dared, but as she designed it principally for the -coercion of her own subjects she ventured neither to ask for the -money to establish it nor to brave the indignation that would have -followed on its establishment. - -[Sidenote: 1557.] - -[Sidenote: 1558.] - -Her unpopularity at the close of her reign, so strikingly in -contrast with the devoted loyalty which she had enjoyed on first -mounting the throne, told heavily against the efficiency, always -largely dependent on sentiment, of the forces of the shire. -Never children crept more unwillingly to school than the English -contingent which joined the Spaniards after the battle of St. -Quentin. Never half-witted woman looked on with more helpless, -impotent distraction at the robbery of her jewels than the once -iron-willed Mary, when Guise marched up to Calais. The English -garrison made all the resistance that could be expected of brave -men, but they were outnumbered, and the commanders asked in vain -for reinforcements. The Government awoke to the danger too late; -and, yet more sadly significant, the forces of the shires came -unwillingly to the musters and came unarmed. Yet Mary's name is -bound up with two material benefits conferred on the British -soldier. The men who went to St. Quentin received eightpence a day, -the sum for which her father's men had mutinied forty years before; -and from this time, for two full centuries, eightpence replaces -sixpence as the soldier's daily stipend. More thoughtful too than -any of the kings that came before her, she left directions in her -will for the provision of a house in London, with a clear endowment -of four hundred marks a year, "for the relief and help of poor, -impotent and aged soldiers" who had suffered loss or wounds in the -service of their country. For all her man's voice and masculine -will, she had a woman's heart which warmed to the deserving old -soldier, and whatever her demerits in the eyes of those who wear -the gown, her memory may at least be cherished by those who wear -the red coat. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -[Sidenote: 1558.] - -We enter now on the fateful reign of Queen Elizabeth. The -condition of England at its opening after the previous years of -misgovernment was most unpromising. Wrenched from its moorings by -the Reformation, the country had been tossed about by a hurricane -of religious fanaticism, which, working round through all points -of the compass, had left her helpless and bewildered, uncertain -by which course to steer or for what port to make head. Elizabeth -was by political exigency rather than religious conviction a -Protestant, but her great object in life was to sail, if she could, -clear of the circular storm and lie outside it. The design was an -impossible one, and her obstinate persistence therein went near -to bring England to utter ruin, but in the extremely difficult -position wherein she found herself on her accession to the throne -she had much excuse for a tortuous policy. The finance was in -hopeless disorder, and the realm through long neglect virtually -defenceless. There was no discipline in such forces as the country -could raise; and the military stores, which her father had taken -such pains to collect, appear to have perished. The French were in -Scotland in considerable force, and, as the Council pointed out, -France was a state military, while England was established for -peace. There in reality lay the kernel of the whole matter. England -was behind all Europe in military efficiency, and all Europe was -keenly alive to the fact. - -The situation was so desperate that heroic measures, however -distasteful to the Queen from their expense, were inevitable. -Arms were purchased hastily in vast quantities in Flanders, the -forces of the shire were called out, and Elizabeth exercised in St. -James' Park with fourteen hundred men of the trained-bands, who -had been equipped by the city with caliver, pike, and halberd. But -up in the north, the loyalty of the troops was doubtful, and their -discipline more doubtful still. Fraud again was rife among the -officers. The landsknechts during their stay had set the fashion -of extravagance in clothing, and some captains, as it was quaintly -said, carried twenty to forty soldiers in their hose. Thus, though -the muster-rolls of the army in Scotland showed eight thousand men -for whom the Queen paid wages, but five thousand were actually with -the colours, and the pay of the remaining three thousand went of -course into the captains' pockets. This state of things was put -down with a strong hand by special Commissioners, and the little -army round Leith became orderly and efficient; but corruption had -sunk so deep that it had eaten its way even among the officials of -the ordnance at the Tower of London. - -[Sidenote: 1560.] - -The French, however, were in due time compelled to evacuate -Scotland, and the danger in the north ceased to be pressing. -There was, however, constant trouble in Ireland; and to provide -the necessary troops to keep it in order, resort was made to an -instrument of which we shall hear much in the years that follow, -namely, the press-gang. None the less the revelations discovered -by the war in Scotland prompted Cecil to require a report from the -magistrates all over England as to the condition of the population -and the working of the statutes enacted for national defence. -The answer was by no means complimentary to the influence of the -Reformation, nor encouraging in respect of military efficiency. The -people, reported the magistrates, were no longer trained to the -use of arms, because the gentlemen no longer set them the example. -In plain words the old system of the fyrd, a people in arms, was -obsolete. Not one but many causes had conspired to make it so. -The country was passing through a social as well as a religious -revolution; old landmarks were vanishing, old customs dying out; -and the loss of the old faith had become to many an excuse for -disburdening themselves of every irksome duty. Again, Calais was -lost, and though there were still vague hopes that it might yet be -regained, England was now strictly insular and France was closed as -a field of national adventure. The people had awaked to the fact -that their heritage was the sea; and the life of the corsair, free, -stirring, lucrative, and dangerous, appealed powerfully to a race -at once adventurous and grasping, energetic and casual, bold and -born gamblers. - -Moreover, the national weapon, the long-bow, and the tactics that -went with it, were things of the past, while the new arms were at -once distasteful and costly, and in the unsettled state of the -country not to be trusted in every man's hand. The whole business -of war, too, was becoming difficult and elaborate, and was passing -through transitions too rapid to permit it to be learned once for -all. Military training no longer consisted in friendly matches at -the archery butts, but in precise movements of drill and manœuvre, -unwelcome alike because their advantages were unrecognised, and -because they could no longer be learned from the old masters. The -acknowledged leaders in hundred and parish and shire gave place -to experts trained in foreign schools, men who swaggered about in -plumed hats and velvet doublets and extravagant hose, swearing -strange oaths of mingled blasphemy taught by Spanish Catholics and -Lutheran landsknechts, and prating of besonios and alferez, of -camp-masters and rote-masters, of furriers and huren-weibels, of -false brays, mines and countermines, in one long insolent crow of -military superiority. Such instructors were not likely to soften -the painful lesson that war had become a profession, and could no -longer be tacked on as a mere appendage to the everyday life of the -citizen. - -Now, therefore, if ever, was the time for the establishment of a -standing army in England. She was menaced by foreign enemies on all -sides, and in perpetual peril of intestine insurrection. There was -unceasing trouble in Ireland, and eternal anxiety on the Scottish -border. The forces of the shires had been proved to be worthless, -and the service was not only inefficient but unpopular; the -people came unwillingly to the muster, and would gladly have paid -to be relieved of the burden. Great results would have followed -from the institution of a standing force; order would have been -maintained at home; interposition in foreign affairs would have had -redoubled weight; untold expense through unreadiness, knavery, and -inefficiency would have been spared; and finally, the British Army -would have grown up to be honoured as a great national possession, -called into existence to stave off a great national peril, instead -of to be abused as an instrument of tyranny, and to be condemned to -a blighting heritage of jealousy and suspicion. - -But Elizabeth would have none of such things. She refused, to her -credit, to employ foreign mercenaries, and by breaking off that -evil tradition did lasting good. But she was incapable of living -except from hand to mouth. She hated straight dealing for its -simplicity; she hated conviction for its certainty; above all she -hated war for its expense. She loved her money as herself, and to -these twain she would sacrifice alike the most faithful servant -and the most friendly State. She was so mean and dishonest in -defrauding even such troops as she employed of their due, that -no one seems to have dared even to hint to her the expediency of -keeping a standing army. It may be urged that this was well for -the liberties of England, but, on the other hand, it went near to -destroy them altogether; and, after all, a standing army did not -save either James the Second of England or Louis the Sixteenth of -France. The people of England, however, saw more clearly than -their tricky inconstant Queen, and made good her delinquencies in -their own way. - -[Sidenote: 1562.] - -The French had not long evacuated Scotland when the desperate -condition of the Protestants in France forced the Prince of -Condé to offer Elizabeth Havre and Dieppe as pledges for the -restoration of the lost Calais, if she would send him money and -men. Elizabeth consented; and seven or eight thousand men were -despatched to garrison these two ports. Five hundred of them, -English and Scots, at once volunteered to cut their way into Rouen, -which was closely besieged by Guise, and fell at the capture of -the town, fighting desperately till they were cut down almost to -a man. These volunteers should be remembered, for they cleared -the ground for the foundation-stone of the British Army, English -and Scots fighting side by side for the Protestant cause in a -foreign land. The remaining troops were, as was inevitable under -the parsimonious rule of Elizabeth, ill-equipped and ill-provided, -a miserable contrast to the armies of the Plantagenets, and a -shameful example which has been followed only too faithfully since. -War between France and England at once broke out in earnest, and -the garrison of Havre required reinforcement. No troops of course -were ready, and it was necessary to raise recruits in a hurry. The -prison doors were opened; the gaols were swept clean; robbers, -highwaymen, and cut-purses, the sweepings of the nation, were -driven into the ranks; and a second evil precedent, companion to -the press-gang, was set for the misleading of England the Unready. -None the less these poor men fought gallantly enough against the -besieging French, until the plague suddenly broke out among them; -and then they went down like flies. Between the 7th and 30th of -June the effective strength of the garrison of Havre sank from -seven thousand to three thousand men. More men were hurried across -the channel to perish with them, but the waste was greater than -the repair, and in another fortnight but fifteen hundred of the -whole force were left. Further requests for men and arms were met -by the despatch of raw boys and of all the worn-out ordnance in the -Tower--"The worst of everything is thought good enough for this -place," wrote the General, Lord Warwick, in the bitterness of his -soul--and finally after a grand defence Havre was surrendered. - -Nevertheless, little or nothing was done to make good defects in -the years that followed. The dishonesty of the officers and the -indiscipline of the men in Ireland was past all belief; but it was -only with extreme difficulty that Elizabeth was induced to remedy -the evil, which brought untold misery and oppression upon the -forlorn Irish, by the simple process of paying her soldiers their -wages. It was not until 1567, when the movements of Philip the -Second gave the alarm of invasion, that a corps of arquebusiers, -four thousand strong, was formed for the defence of the coast -towns from Newcastle to Plymouth, and prizes were given for the -encouragement of marksmanship with the new weapon. Even so, -practice with the bow was still enjoined upon the villagers, as -though no better arm could be discovered for them.[116] - -[Sidenote: 1569.] - -Then came the rebellion, which but narrowly missed a most serious -character, of the Catholic nobility in the North. Disloyalty was -widespread in Yorkshire, and it was proverbial that the Yorkshire -levies would not move without pay; but Elizabeth was too economical -to send the train-bands from London to nip the insurrection in the -bud, and only at the last moment consented to provide money for -the payment of the troops on the spot. The difficulties of the -commanders were frightful. The numbers that came to muster were far -short of the true complement; horsemen were hardly to be obtained -by any shift, and the footmen that presented themselves came with -bows and bills only, there being but sixty firearms, and not a -single pike, among two thousand five hundred infantry. The rebels, -on the other hand, were very well equipped, and had a force of -cavalry armed after the newest pattern of the Reiters. "If we had -but a thousand horse with pistols and lances, five hundred pikes -and as many arquebuses," wrote Elizabeth's commanders, "we should -soon despatch the matter"; but even so trifling a contingent as -this could not be produced except after infinite difficulty and -delay.[117] - -For all this Elizabeth was responsible; but the peril was so great -that it stirred even her avaricious soul. From this year bows -and bills began slowly to make way for pikes and firearms; and a -manuscript treatise in the State Papers shows that the reform was -brought under the immediate notice of the Royal Council.[118] - -[Sidenote: 1570.] - -An alarm of invasion by the French in the following year led also -to a general stirring of the sluggish forces of the shire. The -French ambassador reported that one hundred and twenty thousand men -could take the field in different parts of the country; and the -muster-rolls showed the incredible total of close on six hundred -thousand men. Yet when we look into these muster-rolls we find -simply a list of able-bodied men and of serviceable arms in each -shire without attempt at organisation. In truth, throughout the -long reign of Elizabeth we feel that in military matters one effort -and one only is at work, namely, in Carlyle's words, to stretch the -old formula to cover the new fact, to botch and patch and strain -the antiquated web woven by the Statute of Winchester and newly -dyed by the Statute of Philip and Mary to some semblance of the -pattern given by the armies of France and Spain. - -But when we turn from the Queen to the people we perceive the -energy of a very different force. The English army indeed was -not created by a sovereign or a minister; it created itself in -despite of them. The superior equipment of the northern rebels over -that of the forces of the Queen was typical of the whole course -of English military progress in the sixteenth and seventeenth -centuries. The army was conceived in rebellion, born in rebellion, -nurtured in rebellion. Protestantism all over Europe went hand in -hand with rebellion; and Elizabeth, always irresolute and incapable -of conviction, was distracted between a political preference for -Protestantism and a natural abhorrence of disloyalty. For years -she struggled by the most contemptible trickery to be true to -both these opposing principles, and for a time, by the help of -extraordinary good fortune, she attained the success which only -a false woman could compass. But long before she could make up -her mind, the people had taken matters into their own hands, and -thereby begun the creation of our present army. It was on May Day -1572, four years later than the first rising of the Low Countries -against Spain, that the army took its birth from a review of -Londoners before the Queen at Greenwich. In the ranks that day were -many captains and soldiers who had served in Scotland, Ireland, -and France, and were now adrift without employment on the world. -Subscriptions were raised by sympathetic Protestants in the city, -and three hundred of them were organised into a company and sent -to fight for the Dutch under Captain Thomas Morgan. From this -beginning we must presently trace the history of the English -regiments in the Low Countries to the eve of the Civil War; and -for the next seventy years therefore our story must flow in two -distinct streams--the slender thread that runs through England -itself, and the broader flood which glides on with ever-increasing -volume in the Low Countries, on the Neckar, and even in distant -Pomerania. And since at every great national crisis the two streams -for a time unite, the lesser tributary may be dismissed forthwith -by a brief review of the progress of the military art in England -to the close of the sixteenth century. - -[Sidenote: 1573.] - -London as usual led the van of military improvement. In the year -following the departure of Morgan's company, three thousand men -of the train-bands were formed into a special corps, which was -mustered three times a week for exercise, and having been armed -with weapons of the newest pattern was regularly drilled by -experienced officers on the once famous ground at Mile End. William -Shakespeare, it is evident, was one of the spectators that went -from time to time to see them, and no doubt laughed his fill at -the failings of the recruits. These were sometimes not a little -serious. Thus one caliverman left his scouring-stick in the barrel, -and accidentally shot it into the side of a comrade, whereof -the comrade died; so that the whole body of calivermen gained -the enjoyment of a military funeral in St. Paul's Churchyard, -whither they followed the corpse with trailing pikes and solemn -countenances, and at the close of the ceremony fired their pieces -over the grave.[119] - -[Sidenote: 1587.] - -Something therefore had at least been learned from the -landsknechts, and other changes were coming fast. The old white -coat and red cross seems to have disappeared abruptly at the -beginning of the reign, and coats, or, as they were called, -cassocks,[120] generally red or blue, were provided by shires and -boroughs in their stead. Once, indeed, these bright hues are found -condemned as too conspicuous for active service in Ireland, and -some dark or sad colour, such as russet, is recommended in its -stead,--a curious anticipation of our modern _khaki_.[121] Again, -to turn to smaller changes, the word petty captain had dropped out -of use since 1563, to yield place to the title of lieutenant, and -the word ensign seems to have been accepted generally at about the -same time. Sergeant had been the title of the expert at drill since -1528, but in 1585 there is a distinct order that the men appointed -to instruct the bands of the shires shall be called corporals.[122] -Two years later we find officers of higher rank asking for a new -denomination, and proposing that they may bear the title of colonel -and the officers next below them that of sergeant-major, or, as -we now call it, major. It was indeed time, for the word regiment -came likewise into use at the same period, and a regiment without a -colonel is naught. Before the end of the century the term infantry -had also passed into the language, while the flags of the infantry, -from their diversity of hues, had gained the name of colours.[123] - -But far more striking than these superficial changes is the sudden -deluge of military pamphlets which burst over England from the -year 1587 onwards. The earliest military treatise, so far as I -have been able to discover, that was delivered to the English in -the vulgar tongue is _The Ordering of Souldiours in battelray_, -by Peter Whitehorn, which was published in 1560. This book -produced, no doubt, some effect in its time, but it is of small -import compared with those that follow. The earliest written by an -Englishman, though not published until four years after his death, -was the work of one William Garrard, gentleman, who had served -with the King of Spain for fourteen years and died in 1587. It is -a remorseless criticism of the existing English military system. -The author sweeps away bows and bills in a single contemptuous -sentence, and lays it down for a dogma that there are but two -weapons, for the tall man the pike and for the little nimble man -the arquebus. But in the matter of equipment, he notes that the -English are lamentably deficient. As good an arquebus could be -made in England as in any country, but the armourers had already -learned to make cheap and nasty weapons for common sale to the poor -men of the shire. Again, other nations carried their powder in -flasks or metal cartridges, but the English actually carried theirs -loose in their pockets, ready to be kindled by the first spark or -spoiled by the first shower, and in any case certain to suffer from -waste. Such slovenliness, says the indignant Garrard, is fit only -"for wanton skirmish before ladies"; it is impossible for such -arquebusiers to attain to the desirable consummation of "a violent, -speedy, and thundering discharge." The pikemen, again, instead of -a light poniard carried "monstrous daggers like a cutler's shop," -fitter for ornament than use. Moreover, the dress of both was open -to objection. Colour was a matter of indifference, though some fine -hue such as scarlet was preferable for the honour of the military -profession, but all military garments should be profitable and -commodious, whereas nothing could hamper the limbs more than the -great bolstered and bombasted hose that were then in fashion. I -cannot resist the temptation of transcribing Garrard's picture of -the march of the ideal soldier, and the delicate appeal to the -soldier's vanity. - -"Let the pikeman march with a good grace, holding up his head -gallantly, his face full of gravity and state and such as is fit -for his person; and let his body be straight and as much upright -as possible; and that which most important is that they have their -eyes always upon their companions which are in rank with them and -before them, going just one with another, and keeping perfect -distance without committing the least error in pace or step. And -every pace and motion with one accord and consent they ought to -make at one instant of time. And in this sort all the ranks ought -to go sometimes softly, sometimes fast, according to the stroke -of the drum.... So shall they go just and even with a gallant and -sumptuous pace; for by doing so they shall be esteemed, honoured -and commended of the lookers on, who shall take wonderful delight -to behold them." - -Earlier in appearance though not earlier composed than Garrard's -was a shorter work by one Barnaby Rich, which appeared in 1587, -and wherein the writer had the courage to condemn the practice of -emptying the gaols into the ranks; but the great military book -of the year was a translation from the French of La Noue, one of -the noblest and ablest of the Huguenot commanders. Though written -of course for Frenchmen, the soundness of doctrine in respect of -discipline and equipment and the commendations of the Spanish -system were of value to all; while of still greater import to -England was the impassioned advocacy of the missile tactics of the -Reiters for cavalry. But perhaps most striking of all in the light -of later events is the deep note of Puritanism to which every page -of the treatise is attuned. In La Noue's Huguenot regiments there -were no cards, no dice, no swearing, no women, no leaving the -colours for plunder or even for forage, but stern discipline at all -times and public prayers morning and evening. It is difficult to -suppress the conjecture that this book had been read and digested -by Oliver Cromwell. - -The strong opinions expressed in these books of course provoked -controversy. Sir John Smyth, knight, an officer of some repute, -boldly took up the cudgels on the other side, and undertook to -prove even in 1591 that the archer was more formidable than the -arquebusier and the arrow than the bullet, which was an argument -only too welcome to old-fashioned insular Englishmen. On the other -hand, he enters minutely and intelligently into points of drill -and manœuvre, condemns the bombasted hose as vehemently as Garrard -himself, and prescribes a more serviceable dress for the soldier. -From him we learn our first knowledge of the manual exercise of -the pike, how it should be advanced and how shouldered with comely -and soldierlike grace, and how men should always step off with -the right foot. From him also we obtain sound instruction for -the shock attack of cavalry, and some mention of the Hungarian -light horsemen, called "ussarons"; and from him finally we gather -information of the extraordinary inefficiency even at the close -of the reign of the shire-levies of England, of the neglect of the -arms and the corruption of the muster-masters. - -Roger Williams, whom I have already quoted, also entered the -lists at this time with an account of the Spanish organisation, -and combated warmly for the superiority of the lance over the -pistol as the weapon of cavalry; and a translation by Sir Edward -Hoby from the Spanish of Mendoza (1597) also upheld the cause of -shock-action. Hard upon these followed a version of the striking -work of Martin du Bellay, with its complete scheme for what we -now call the short-service system; and in the same year (1598) -appeared a dialogue by one Barret, which sought to close the -whole controversy. A conservative gentleman who upholds bows and -bills is utterly demolished by a captain who pleads for pike and -musket, would abolish the shire-levies bodily as useless, and would -substitute a reorganised force on the favourite model, already -once adopted in France, of the Roman legion. But Barret knew his -countrymen and expected little. "Such as have followed the wars," -he says, "are despised of every man until a very pinch of need doth -come"; and military reform then as now could not be pushed forward -except under pressure of a scare of war. - -So matters drifted on to the close of the sixteenth century and -beyond it. The military spirit was abroad, and the military pen -busy beyond precedent. The character of the old soldier became -a favourite with beggars and vagabonds, and was rewarded so -freely at the hands of the charitable that it was necessary to -suppress the imposture by special statute. Yet in spite of all -this simmering and seething nothing was done in England for the -English army. Soldiers who wished to learn their profession -sought service elsewhere than with the Queen; even in Ireland -the value of a company sank to fifty pounds;[124] and the most -conspicuous type of warrior that was to be found at home was the -worst. Shakespeare, who saw everything and into the heart of -everything, marked these impostors and reproduced them with such -genial satire, such incomparable humour, that in our delight in the -dramatist we overlook the military historian. Yet he is as truly -the painter of the English army in his own day as was Marryat of -the navy in later years. Falstaff the fraudulent captain, Pistol -the swaggering ensign, Bardolph the rascally corporal, Nym the -impostor who affects military brevity, Parolles, "the damnable -both sides rogue," nay, even Fluellen, a brave and honest man but -a pedant, soaked in classical affectations and seeking his model -for everything in Pompey's camp--all these had their counterparts -in every shire of England and were probably to be seen daily on -the drill ground at the Mile End. Not in these poor pages but in -Shakespeare's must the military student read the history of the -Elizabethan soldier. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -The arrival of the first English volunteers, under Thomas Morgan, -in the Low Countries was, as fate willed it, most happily timed to -synchronise with the movement that laid the foundation of Dutch -Independence. In April 1572 an audacious enterprise of the fleet -of Dutch privateers under the Count de la Marek had led to the -surprise and capture of the town of Brill, a success which at once -fired the train of revolt in the seven provinces north of the Waal -and shook the hand of Spain from town after town first in Holland -and Zealand, and later in Friesland, Gelderland, Utrecht, and -Overyssel. The incident, which time was to prove so far reaching -in its results, was a curious commentary on the latest phase of -Elizabeth's policy. She had just reconciled herself with Alva and -forbidden De la Marck's privateers to enter English ports: the -sea-rover's reply was to beard Alva in his own stronghold and deal -Elizabeth's friend a blow from which he never recovered. The whole -island of Walcheren, excepting Middelburg, fell into the hands of -the insurgents, and Alva, who was a splendid soldier, whatever his -other failings, lost no time in attempting to recover the port of -Flushing. By the irony of fate Morgan's volunteers arrived in the -very nick of time to save it, and in the sally which brought them -first face to face with the dreaded troops of Spain they made a -brilliant beginning for the new British Army. Of the three hundred, -fifty were killed outright in this action, the first of fifty -thousand or twice fifty thousand who were to lay their bones in -Holland during the next seventy years. - -Morgan, having rescued Flushing, at once wrote letters to England -to point out the importance of the town which he held and to beg -for reinforcements. In the autumn accordingly appeared Colonel -Sir Humphrey Gilbert, with a regiment, the first of many English -regiments that were to enter the Dutch service, of ten companies -and fourteen hundred men, raw troops under a raw leader. Morgan -would have been the better commander, but he was a modest -unambitious man; Gilbert, on the other hand, suffered from fatal -ignorance of his own incapacity. Sir Humphrey at once launched -out boldly into complicated operations which he was utterly -incompetent to direct, was outwitted and outmanœuvred, fell back on -swearing when things went wrong, and not only lost his own head but -completely broke the spirit of his men. The new regiment in fact -behaved very far from well. "I am to blame to judge their minds," -wrote Roger Williams, the ablest of Morgan's officers, after -Gilbert's first defeat, "but let me speak truth. I believe they -were afraid." He adds elsewhere a gentle but telling criticism, -that lays the blame on the right shoulders. "A commander that -enters the enemy's countries ought to know the places that he doth -attempt: if not he ought to be furnished with guides." So ignorant -were even educated Englishmen of the alphabet of war. Gilbert, -however, did not learn his lesson quickly. A slight success, -wherein the English displayed conspicuous gallantry, heated his -ambition once more to boiling-point; he essayed another adventure -in the grand manner, failed utterly, and sailed home with the -scanty remnant of his regiment, a sadder and wiser man. - -Morgan meanwhile had gone home and raised ten more companies, with -which however he could do very little. The men were not paid on -their disembarkation in Holland, as William of Nassau had promised -them, and they became discontented and insubordinate. Morgan -naturally took their part, and the result was, that after some few -petty engagements against the Spaniards, he took his departure in -dudgeon and sailed with the seven hundred men that were left to -him to England. He had done good work, and his name deserves to be -remembered; for he was the first man who made perfect arquebusiers -of the English, and the first who taught them to love the musket. -Fifty years had flown since the Spaniards had shown the way, and -the English were only just beginning to follow. Roger Williams on -Morgan's retirement took service with the Spaniards for a time, -in order to learn his duty the better, and presently returned, -without reproach, to wield the knowledge that he had gained against -themselves. To such shifts were British officers reduced who wished -to master their profession. - -[Sidenote: 1578, January 29.] - -[Sidenote: August.] - -To follow the actions of sundry other corps of volunteers during -the succeeding years would be tedious. I pass at once to the -landing in July 1577 of a company of three hundred Englishmen -under the command of John Norris, one of the first and most -eminent of the new school of officers who were the fathers of -our Army. He had learned his work first in Ireland, and later in -France under a great disciplinarian, the Admiral Coligny. He too -arrived at a critical time. A few months after his disembarkation, -while he was still in garrison at Antwerp, Don John of Austria -surprised the Army of the States at Gemblours, and not only -defeated it but shattered it to fragments. Six months later Don -John attempted to repeat the blow against a second Army of the -States, a heterogeneous force of English, Scotch, and Flemings, -under the command of the veteran Huguenot, De la Noue. Having but -fourteen thousand men against thirty thousand of the finest troops -in Europe, De la Noue took up a strong position at Rymenant, near -Malines, and stood on the defensive. After trying in vain to draw -him from his entrenchments Don John finally launched a desperate -attack on the quarter held by the English and Scotch under Norris. -Four companies of Scots bore the first brunt of the assault, but -were presently reinforced, just in time, by Norris's eleven -companies of English; and then the struggle became as desperate as -ever was fought by British soldiers. The Spanish troops were the -flower of the army, the Old Regiment,[125] which had not its peer -in Europe; but with all their magnificent training and discipline -they could not carry the position. Three times they forced the -British back, and three times when success seemed assured they were -met by a resistance that would not be broken, and were hurled back -in their turn. The day was intensely hot, and the British, scorning -all armour, fought in their shirt-sleeves, but they fought hard, -and not only hard but, thanks to John Norris, in good order. Norris -himself, always in the thickest of the fight, had three horses -killed under him in succession, but never lost hold of his men; and -at last the famous infantry of Spain drew back, beaten, and Don -John abandoned the attack. It was a great day for old "Bras de fer" -De la Noue, but a still greater for John Norris and his British. -They had, by general admission, not only saved the day, but they -had repulsed the most formidable troops in the world. - -During the years that follow Norris and his companies were -incessantly engaged, generally victorious, though once at least -defeated with heavy loss; their gallant leader, though frequently -wounded, reappearing always whenever work was to be done. Their -highest trial was when they encountered the greatest General of the -day, Alexander of Parma, and the whole Spanish army with him, in a -rearguard action, and beat them off with such persistent bravery -that the French volunteers after the engagement crowded to their -colours and begged to be allowed to serve under them. Norris indeed -was the Moore of the sixteenth century, alike as a teacher in the -camp and as a General in the field. - -[Sidenote: 1584, July 10.] - -Nevertheless, brilliant as his service was, he could not stay the -victorious advance of the Spaniards. After ten years of fighting -the Dutch States had lost almost the whole of Spanish Flanders -except a few large towns and the sea-coast from Dunkirk to Ostend, -and still Elizabeth would not move to help the Dutch insurgents in -a task, no less vital to England than to them, which lay beyond -their strength. At last the assassination of William the Silent -forced her to make up her uncertain mind to the inevitable rupture -with Spain. The United Provinces were in the utmost need; the -strong hand of Alexander of Parma was at the throat of Antwerp, and -unless its grip could be relaxed the city must inevitably fall. The -States threw themselves upon the English Queen, entreating her even -to make them a part of her realm, and at last, after much paltry -haggling, Elizabeth consented to send them four or five thousand -men, taking over the towns of Brill, Flushing, Rammekins, and -Ostend as security for their obligations towards her. Elizabeth was -always careful to look after the money. - -[Sidenote: 1585.] - -This agreement being at last concluded the press-gang[126] was at -once set to work in England; four thousand men were raised and -dressed in red coats, and within a fortnight after the signing -of the Treaty they had crossed the North Sea, only to find that -Antwerp was already in Parma's hands and that they had come too -late. Norris, however, at once took the force in hand, and was -carrying on active operations with brilliant success when he was -stopped by a peremptory rebuke from the Queen; the troops had been -transported for the relief of Antwerp, and she would not have them -employed on any other service. The States, naturally exasperated by -this contemptible double-dealing, received the troops reluctantly -into the cautionary towns and left them with no very good grace -to take care of themselves. Elizabeth, as her nature was, had -refused to send a penny of money or an ounce of supplies, and the -soldiers, ill-fed, ill-clothed, and ill-lodged, began to melt away -by hundreds through death and desertion. - -[Sidenote: 1586.] - -In December, however, Robert, Earl of Leicester, was sent out as -Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the Low Countries, and as -he brought with him a reinforcement of cavalry, and also money -sufficient to pay the arrears of the soldiers' wages, it was hoped -that matters would be placed on a better footing. But it was not to -be. Elizabeth was not yet in earnest in breaking with Spain, and -Leicester, gathering an inkling of her intentions from her refusal -to provide him with additional funds, went very unwillingly to -take up his command. On arriving in Holland he found things even -worse than he had anticipated. The men were in a shocking state, -dying fast of cold and hunger; they had not a penny wherewith to -supply themselves; and their clothing was so deficient that for -very nakedness they were ashamed to appear in public. Leicester -with all his faults had evidently a genuine tenderness for his -unfortunate soldiers; he wrote letter after letter pressing -vehemently for money, but Elizabeth would not give a farthing. The -natural consequences followed. By February half the men were dead, -and the half that remained alive were in a state of suppressed -mutiny. No good officer would accept a command in the army on -such terms, and the companies fell into the hands of unscrupulous -swindlers who sent their men out to plunder and did not omit to -take their own share, rejoicing over every soldier who died or -deserted for the money that would pass into their pockets when the -long-deferred pay-day should come. There have been many sovereigns -and many ministers in England who have neglected and betrayed their -soldiers, but none more wantonly, wilfully, and scandalously than -Elizabeth. - -[Sidenote: July.] - -Nevertheless, as the spring of 1586 approached, it behoved -Leicester to open a campaign of some kind. Parma was advancing -along the line of the Maas, evidently bent on taking every -fortified town on the river, and it was necessary if possible to -check him. The Generals, however, were ill-matched; Parma easily -brushed aside Leicester's feeble opposition, and having secured -the line of the Maas turned next to that of the Rhine. Meanwhile a -large reinforcement of men, unarmed and untrained, had been sent -from England; and Leicester concentrated his forces, summoning -all the garrisons of the cautionary towns to join him at Arnheim. -Philip Sidney came from his government at Flushing, Lord Willoughby -came from Bergen-op-Zoom, John Norris and his brother Henry hurried -up likewise, the veteran Roger Williams joined them, and lastly, in -the retinue of Lord Willoughby, came a young man of greater promise -than any, named Francis Vere. The plan of operations was soon -determined; since Parma could not be checked on the Rhine, he must -be called away from it by a diversion in the north on the Yssel, -where the Spaniards still held the towns of Doesburg and Zutphen. - -All turned out as had been expected. Doesburg was easily captured, -and Parma no sooner heard that Leicester was before Zutphen than -he abandoned his operations on the Rhine and marched north to -relieve it. Halting on the evening of the 21st of September at -some distance from the town, he sent forward a convoy of supplies -towards it, protected by an escort of three thousand men under the -command of the Marquis of Pescayra.[127] The convoy was to start -at midnight, and it was reckoned that it would be within a mile -and a half of Zutphen by daybreak. Pescayra was then to halt at -an appointed place, send a messenger into the town and concert -arrangements with the Governor for a sortie to facilitate the -entrance of the convoy. - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 22 - -------- - Oct. 2. -] - -Intelligence of Parma's design was duly brought to Leicester, who, -calling John Norris, ordered him to take two hundred horse and -three hundred foot and lie with them in ambuscade by the road by -which the convoy was expected to arrive. Norris readily picked out -two hundred horse, ordered Sir William Stanley to follow them with -three hundred pikemen, and before dawn of the 22nd had successfully -taken up the position assigned to him. No force appears to have -been detailed by Leicester to support the ambushed party, and no -scouts to have been sent forward by Norris to give warning of the -enemy's approach. The morning broke with dense impenetrable fog, -amid which the English could hear a distant sound of rumbling -waggons and tramping men. Presently Norris was joined by all the -adventurous gentlemen--Lord Essex, Lord Audley, Lord North, and -many others--who were to be found in Leicester's camp: they had not -been able to resist the temptation of an action, and came galloping -up with their retinue at their heels to see the sport. The sounds -of the approaching convoy became more distinct, but nothing could -be seen till the fog suddenly rolled away and revealed straight -before them the three thousand Spaniards, horse and foot, marching -by their waggons in beautiful order. - -The English gentlemen threw all discipline to the winds at the -sight: they never dreamed of anything but a direct attack, and -one and all went at once, each in his own way, to work. Young -Lord Essex called on his squadron of troopers to follow him, -and couching his lance flew straight upon the enemy's cavalry, -overthrew the foremost man and horse, flung away his broken lance -for his curtel-axe, and with his handful of men hard after him -burst into a heavy Spanish column and shivered it to pieces. -The routed Spaniards fled in disorder to the shelter of their -musketeers, with Essex still spurring at their heels; and then -Spanish discipline told. The musketeers fired a volley which -brought down many of the English horses and compelled the rest to -wheel about. Then the action became simply a series of furious -personal combats. Sir Philip Sidney's horse was killed under him -at the first charge, but he mounted another and plunged into the -hottest of the fight. Lord North, unable owing to a recent wound -to draw on more than one boot, dashed in half-booted as he was and -fought as busily as any. Sir William Russell swung his curtel-axe -so murderously that the Spaniards vowed he was a devil and no man. -Lord Willoughby was so beset with enemies that only great good -fortune and immense personal strength served to pluck him out. -Sir William Stanley's horse was struck by seven bullets but found -strength to carry him safe out of action. And meanwhile the drivers -of the waggons had fled, and English and Spanish soldiers were -tugging the heads of the teams this way and that with oaths and -yells and curses; but still Spanish discipline told, and still the -convoy moved slowly forward. Again and again the Spanish horsemen -shrank before the English cavaliers, but the firm ranks of the -musketeers always gave them shelter, and, charge as the English -might, the waggons crept on and on till they fairly entered the -town. Nothing was gained by the action. The attack, if supported, -might have been fatal to Pescayra, but no support could be looked -for from Leicester, and there was so little intelligence in the -onslaught that no one seems to have attempted even to hamstring -the waggon-horses. Zutphen therefore remains no more than one of -the maddest of the many mad exploits performed by English officers -of cavalry, and is remembered chiefly through the death of one of -the noblest of them. Before the action, Philip Sidney had given -the thigh-pieces of his armour to the Lord Marshal, Sir William -Pelham; at its close he was seen riding painfully back, with the -unprotected thigh shattered by a musket bullet. He lingered in -agony for some days and then died. His body was brought back to -England to be followed to St. Paul's Churchyard by the London -train-bands and laid to rest, as befitted a good and gallant -soldier, under the smoke of their volleys.[128] - -Yet another scene of desperate valour was witnessed at Zutphen -before the campaign came to an end. One principal protection of -the town was an external sconce,[129] which on a former occasion -had resisted the troops of the States for a whole year, and was -now carried by the English by assault. The breach was barely -practicable, the footing on the treacherous sandy soil being so -uncertain that the storming party could hardly mount it. Their -leader, Edward Stanley, however, was not to be turned back. Dashing -alone into the breach he caught the head of a Spanish soldier's -pike that was thrust out against him and tried to wrench the weapon -from his grasp. Both men struggled hard for a time, while a dozen -pikes were broken against Stanley's cuirass and a score of bullets -whistled about his ears. At last Stanley, without quitting his -hold, allowed the Spaniard to raise the pike, used the purchase -so gained to help him up the wall, scrambled over the parapet and -leaped down alone into the press of the enemy with his sword. -His men, redoubling their efforts, hoisted each other up the -breach after him and the sconce was won. Stanley, marvellous to -say, escaped unhurt, and received not only warm commendation in -Leicester's despatches, but a pension for life from Leicester's own -pocket, for the most daring act that is recorded of the whole of -that long war. - -[Sidenote: 1587.] - -[Sidenote: 1588.] - -The plot of the Spanish Armada now began to thicken, and the scene -must be shifted for a moment to England. In the Low Countries Parma -was looking about for a port of embarkation from which to ship his -men across the North Sea. He fixed upon Sluys, and in spite of a -desperate resistance from a handful of gallant Englishmen, led -by Roger Williams, he succeeded in capturing it after a siege of -three months. At the end of 1587 Leicester resigned his command -and returned to England; and in the following year all the best -officers, and many of the English companies, were gathered together -in the camp at Tilbury. Leicester was in chief command, with -John Norris for his second, and Roger Williams among others for -assistant, but these officers were not on very friendly terms with -each other; and, indeed, the less said of Tilbury Camp as a whole -the better. Contemporary writers indeed aver that it was a pleasant -sight to see the soldiers march in from the various shires, "with -cheerful countenances, courageous words and gestures, leaping -and dancing";[130] but such a display was a better indication of -loyalty than of discipline, and sadly different from the pace, -full of gravity and state, which had been enjoined by the best -authorities. There was, moreover, great disorder and deformity of -apparel; most of the men wore their armour very uncomely, and the -whole army refused point-blank to use the headpieces issued from -the Tower. Ammunition again was short, provisions were scanty, -organisation was extremely defective, and the general confusion -incredible. Four thousand men who had marched, pursuant to orders, -twenty miles into Tilbury, found that they must go that distance -from the camp again before they could find a loaf of bread or a -barrel of beer. A thousand Londoners who were likewise in the march -were ordered to halt unless they could bring their own provisions -with them. Leicester might safely remark that "great dilatory wants -are found upon all sudden hurly-burlies,"[131] but there was no -excuse for such chaos after the incessant warnings of the past -thirty years. Elizabeth must bear the chief share of the blame. The -woman who in her imbecile parsimony starved the fleet that went -forth to fight the Armada could not be expected to show better -feeling towards the army. It was no thanks to the Queen that the -Spanish invasion was repelled. - -[Sidenote: 1589.] - -[Sidenote: 1590.] - -I shall not follow the veterans John Norris and Lord Willoughby -on their expeditions to Corunna and Brittany in the following -year. Far more important to us is the rise of a great leader, -and the opening of a new era in the war of the Low Countries. -On Leicester's resignation of the chief command, there was -appointed to succeed him a man whose name must ever be venerated -in the British Army, Prince Maurice of Nassau,[132] second son of -William the Silent. Though but twenty years of age when selected -as Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the United Provinces, he had -already made up his mind that if the War of Independence were to -end in victory it must be fought not, as heretofore, with a mob of -irregular levies, but with a trained, disciplined, and organised -army. His own natural bent lay chiefly towards mathematics, which -he cultivated as a means to the mastery of military engineering, -and eventually reduced to practice by so sedulous a use of the -spade in all military operations as to provoke many a sneer from -soldiers of a more primitive type. But Maurice knew his own mind, -and was not to be deterred by sneers. His principal assistant was -his cousin, Louis William, Stadtholder of Friesland, an industrious -student of classical antiquity with the rare faculty of adapting -old systems to modern requirements. To his diligence was due -the instruction of the army in drill and discipline, and to his -influence must be ascribed Maurice's admiration for the _Tactics -of Ælian_.[133] His new and elaborate manœuvres also elicited -the scorn of the old school of officers,[134] but he too was not -easily discouraged; and the two cousins worked hand-in-hand, -the one at the broader principles, the other at the hardly less -important details, of their profession, until they raised up an -army which supplanted the Spanish as the model for Europe. Not -the least weighty of Maurice's reforms was the regular payment -of the men, and the stern repression of fraudulent practices -among the officers. In a word, he appreciated the value of sound -administration no less that of pure military skill and training in -the conduct of a war. - -The tactical organisation of the new army was not so perfect -as, with the Spanish model before us, we might with reason have -expected. The tactical unit of infantry was the company, and the -regiment still consisted of an uncertain number of companies -temporarily united under the command of a colonel. The composition -of the companies again was uncertain. The normal strength was one -hundred and thirteen men, which was later reduced to eighty, but -colonels had double companies--some even double regiments--and -there appears to have been no very great exactitude, probably -because men could only be persuaded to serve under the captain of -their choice. The officers of a company were of course captain, -lieutenant, and ensign; the non-commissioned officers included -two sergeants and three corporals, as well as a "gentleman of -the arms," who was responsible for the condition of the weapons. -Lastly, there were two drummers, who, it should be noted, like the -trumpeters in the cavalry, were not the mere signal-makers that -they now are, but the men regularly employed in all communications -with the enemy, and as such expected to possess not only discretion -but some skill in languages. They received far higher pay than the -common soldier, and if they did a tithe of that which was expected -of them they were worth every penny of it. - -Every company was divided into three corporalships, each of -which was the peculiar care of one of the three corporals and -of one of the three officers. In equipment there were at first -three descriptions of arms--halberds, pikes, and muskets--of -which however the halberds soon disappeared, leaving pikes and -shot in equal numbers, but with an ever-growing tendency towards -preponderance of shot. The normal formation of a company was in -ten ranks; and the men were never less than three feet apart from -each other, such open order being essential to the execution of -the prescribed evolutions. To increase the front, the ranks were -doubled by moving the even ranks into the intervals of the odd; -to diminish the front, the files were doubled by the converse -process.[135] To take ground to flank or rear every man turned to -right or left or about on his own ground, and it is worth remarking -that the best men were always stationed in the front rank and the -next best in the tenth, and that while the captain was posted in -front of his company, the lieutenant, except in a charge, remained -always in the rear. - -The musketeers were usually drawn up in two divisions, one -on either flank of the pikes; and the problem that eternally -confronted the captain was how to handle the two elements in -effective combination and yet contrive never to confuse them. In -action the musketeers generally moved in advance of the pikes, -firing by ranks in succession, according to Pescayra's method, and -filing to the rear to reload. Sometimes they were extended across -the front of the pikes, but more often they kept their place on -the flanks. Meanwhile the pikemen, heavily weighted by helmet, -corselet, and tassets (thigh-pieces), moved stolidly on: as they -drew nearer the enemy the musketeers fell back until they were -first aligned with them, and then abreast of the fifth or sixth -rank. If neither side gave way, matters came to push of pike and a -general charge, wherein the musketeers ceased firing and fell in -with the butt, a method of fighting which was peculiarly favoured -by the English. To resist cavalry the musketeers fled for shelter -under the pikes, generally in considerable disorder, and the outer -ranks of pikemen, lunging forward, stayed the butts of their pikes -against the hollow of the left foot. - -The cavalry was divided at first into lancers and carbineers, -the former being fully covered with armour to the knee; but the -lance, in deference to the fashion of the Reiters, was soon[136] -discarded for the pistol. The carbineers carried a carbine[137] -with a wheel-lock, and were trained to shoot from the saddle, the -ranks firing in succession according to Pescayra's system. The -tactical unit was the troop or cornet, which, after many changes, -was finally fixed at a strength of one hundred and twenty men, -and divided, like the company, into three corporalships. Captain, -lieutenant and cornet, three corporals, a trumpeter, a farrier, -and a quartermaster made up the higher ranks of the troop, no such -title as a sergeant appearing in the cavalry. Of artillery I shall -say nothing, since the Dutch organisation was in this respect -peculiar, and could not serve like that of the infantry and cavalry -as a model for the English. - -[Sidenote: 1589.] - -Concurrently with the rise of Maurice as Commander-in-Chief must -be noted that of a new English General, whose name is bound up -for ever with the actions of his countrymen in the Low Countries. -Francis Vere came of the old fighting stock of the Earls of -Oxford. The seventh Earl had fought with the Black Prince at -Creçy and Poitiers, the twelfth with King Harry at Agincourt, and -succeeding holders of the title had distinguished themselves on the -Lancastrian side in the Wars of the Roses. Francis, grandson of the -fifteenth Earl, was born about 1560, came to Holland with Leicester -in 1585, and after brilliant service at the defence of Sluys and -elsewhere rose to be sergeant-major of infantry, a sure proof that -he was not only a gallant man but an adept in his profession. -Finally, in August 1589 he was appointed sergeant-major-general of -the Queen's forces in the Low Countries, where he was joined by -two gallant brothers, Horace and Robert, who worthily upheld the -honour of the name. - -[Sidenote: 1591.] - -[Sidenote: 1595.] - -[Sidenote: 1596.] - -His task, as that of every officer who had to do with such a woman -as Elizabeth, was at first no easy one. His force being very small -required constant reinforcement, and was accordingly strengthened -by five hundred of the "very scum of the world," such being the -description of recruit that Elizabeth preferred to supply. He took -care, however, to procure for himself better material, and at the -opening of 1591 had no fewer than eight thousand men under his -command. But as fast as he trained them into soldiers Elizabeth -required their services for her own purposes, and frittered them -away in petty meaningless operations in France, filling their place -with some more of the very scum of the world, which could be swept -out of the gaols and taverns at a moment's notice. The system was -in fact that of drafting, in its most vicious form. Vere for a -time bore it in silence, but at last he protested, and like all of -Elizabeth's best men was soundly abused for his pains. Still the -Queen knew his value well enough to withdraw not only his troops -but himself from the expedition to Cadiz, and the disastrous -island-voyage to the Azores. - -A far more serious difficulty was the corruption of departments and -contractors at home and the vicious system of paying the men. The -wages of a private at eightpence a day were reckoned for the year -at £12 : 13 : 4, of which £4 : 2 : 6 was deducted for two suits -of summer and winter clothing,[138] £6 : 18 : 6 paid in imprests -at the rate of 2s. 8d. a week, and the balance, £1 : 2 : 6, alone -made over in money. Even in theory the allowance does not sound -liberal, but in practice it was ruinous. The men drew their pay -and clothing from their captains, and the captains received the -money in uncertain instalments, the balance due to them being -made good at the close of every six months. This in itself was -wasteful, since it enabled the captain to put in his own pocket -the wages of soldiers who had died or had been discharged in the -interval. But apart from this the captains frequently withheld the -clothing altogether, or served out material of uncertain quality, -charging the men treble the just price for the same; or again they -would make their own contract for victualling the men, of course -to their own profit, in lieu of paying to them the weekly 2s. 8d. -which was due to them for subsistence. How widely the practice may -have obtained among officers it is difficult to say, but the system -was presently altered to the advantage alike of the State and the -soldier by the officials in London. The officers also had their -complaints, not a whit less sweeping, against those officials, and -they preferred them in uncompromising terms. Such representations -were not likely to meet with encouragement. Elizabeth was not -friendly to soldiers, and hated to be troubled with obligations -towards men who had faithfully served her. An Act had been passed -in 1593 throwing the relief of crippled or destitute soldiers on -their parishes, and she could not see what more they could want. -Bloody Mary had shown them compassion; not so would Good Queen -Bess; she would not be pestered with the sight of the "miserable -creatures." As to the complaints of officers, she had heard enough -of their ways, and would take the word of the Treasurer of the -Forces against theirs. Still Vere and his captains persisted, and -at last the shameful truth was revealed that the Treasurer himself -was the culprit, and had for years been cheating alike his Queen, -her officers, and her men. - -It is easy therefore to understand the relief with which the -English commanders in the Low Countries must have welcomed a -new treaty made in 1598, whereby Elizabeth was quitted of her -engagement to furnish the United Provinces with auxiliary troops, -and all English soldiers were ordered henceforth to take their -pay from the States and their orders from the Dutch Generals. The -troops in the Low Countries were now comparatively freed from the -caprices of the Queen and could work in harmony with their masters. -From this point therefore the English fairly enter the school of -the new art of war. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -[Sidenote: 1600.] - -So far I have abstained from any attempt to describe the military -operations of the States, or even the brilliant little enterprises -of Vere himself, since his assumption of the command: but at -this point, when we enter upon the palmy days of the English in -Holland, it is worth while to be more precise. So far Maurice had -occupied himself principally with the task of recovering the towns -occupied by the Spaniards within the seven provinces;[139] the -States-General in the year 1600 resolved upon the bold step of -carrying the war into the enemy's country. Ostend, which was held -by the Queen of England, was to be the base of operations, and -the design was to land a force on the Flemish coast and besiege -first Nieuport, to the west of Ostend, and afterwards Dunkirk. -Maurice and Vere both thought the enterprise hazardous in the -extreme, but they were overruled by the civilians. A force of -twelve thousand infantry, sixteen hundred cavalry and ten guns was -assembled at Flushing, and a fleet was collected to transport it -to its destination. The army was organised in the three familiar -divisions, vanguard, battle, and rearguard, of which the rearguard -under Sir Francis Vere consisted of sixteen hundred English -veterans, two thousand five hundred Frisians, two hundred and fifty -of Prince Maurice's body-guard, and ten cornets of horse, making in -all four thousand five hundred men. With Vere were men whose names -through themselves or through their successors were to become -famous--Sir Edward Cecil, Sir Charles Fairfax, Captain Holles, and -others. In another division of the army was a regiment of Scots -under Sir William Edmunds, which had recently been recruited to the -high strength of one hundred and fifty men to each company. English -and Scots already loved to fight side by side. - -The force embarked on the 21st of June, but being delayed by -calms landed short of Nieuport, marched overland, capturing the -fort of Oudenburg on the way, and on the 1st of July was before -Nieuport. The Spanish commander, the Archduke Albert, no sooner -heard what was going forward than he at once concentrated his -army at Ghent for an immediate advance; and Maurice, who was -busily preparing for the siege of Nieuport, was surprised by the -sudden intelligence that his little garrison at Oudenburg had been -overwhelmed, and that the Spanish forces were in full march for -his camp. The situation in which he found himself was now very -critical. Expecting no such movement Maurice had divided his forces -round Nieuport into two parts, which were cut off from each other -by the haven that runs through the town. Though dry at low water -this haven was unfordable at high tide, and the bridge which was -constructing across it was still unfinished. Worst of all, it was -the weakest division of the force, three thousand five hundred men -under Ernest of Nassau, that stood on the side of the haven nearest -to the enemy; and a battle within twenty-four hours was inevitable. - -[Sidenote: July 2.] - -The question therefore arose whether the action should be fought -in dispute of the enemy's passage over a stream called the Yser -leet which barred the line of his advance, or on the sandy dunes -by the sea-shore, where the Spaniards would certainly seek it -if the passage were successfully accomplished. Vere was for the -former course, and Maurice, thinking the advice good, ordered -Count Ernest's division to march straight for the bridge on the -Yser leet, saying that he would shortly follow with the rest of -the army. Vere protested in vain that this was a perversion of his -counsel: either the whole army must march with Count Ernest, or no -part of it must move at all; for to send forward a weak division -in the hope of delaying the Spanish advance was simply to court -defeat. Maurice, however, stuck to his opinion, and at midnight -Count Ernest marched off with his division unsupported to the -bridge. He arrived too late, for the Spaniards had already secured -the passage, and he therefore took up the best position that he -could find, behind a dyke, to defend himself as well as he could. -The first shot had hardly been fired when his men began to run. -It was such a panic as has rarely been matched in the annals of -war. Cavalry and infantry, Dutchmen and Scots, threw down their -arms, took to their heels and fled like swine possessed of devils -into the sea. The Scotch officers of Sir William Edmunds' regiment -strove to rally the fugitives, but in vain: they were cut down one -after another, and the men that escaped death by lead or steel were -swallowed up literally in the waves. Two thousand five hundred men, -including a thousand massacred at Oudenburg, were thus lost, and -Maurice had now to face his enemy with a weakened army and with -his retreat barred by the haven behind him. Defeat would mean not -only annihilation but the undoing of all the work of the rebellion. -With superb courage he ordered his fleet of transports to sea, and -staked all on the hazard of the coming battle. - -Meanwhile Vere, whose division had this day the place of the -vanguard, had moved at daybreak down to the bank of the haven -and was waiting for the ebb-tide to cross it, when the news came -that the Archduke's army was in full march along the sea-shore. -As soon as the tide permitted he forded the haven with all haste, -not allowing the men to strip, for, as he said, by nightfall they -would have dry clothes or want none. Presently he came in sight -of the enemy, ten thousand foot, sixteen hundred horse and six -guns, moving along the flat sands of the sea-shore. The space -between the sea and the enclosed country was broken up into three -descriptions of ground running parallel one to another; next the -sea was the narrow plain of the strand between high- and low-water -mark, next the strand were the broken hillocks of the sand-dunes, -and between the dunes and the enclosed land ran a margin of -unbroken green, called by Vere the Greenway. Vere lost no time in -taking up a position at the narrowest point that he could find, -distributing his division skilfully among the hillocks to repel -an advance through the dunes, and posting two guns, by Maurice's -order, to command the Greenway. To his right rear stood the battle -or second division, one thousand strong, and in rear of the battle -the third division of rather more than two thousand men. The army -was thus formed in echelon of three lines with the right refused, -its left resting in the sea, its right on the enclosed land. - -Weak in cavalry, the Spaniards halted till the rising tide had -covered all but thirty yards of the strand, and then moved the -whole of their horse to the Greenway and of their infantry into -the dunes. Maurice likewise withdrew his cavalry from the shore -and massed it in columns on the Greenway, leaving but two troops, -both of them English, still standing on the beach. For two whole -hours of a beautiful summer's afternoon the two armies waited -each for the other to advance, and at last, at half-past two, the -Spaniards began to move. Vere, taking every possible advantage of -the sandhills to protect and conceal his men, had thrust forward -small parties to contest every inch of ground; and it was against -the foremost of these, two and fifty English and fifty Frisians, -that the first attack of five hundred of the flower of the Spanish -infantry was directed. Meanwhile the Spanish cavalry moved forward -along the Greenway. This cavalry, disordered by the fire of Vere's -two guns and galled in flank by a detachment of his musketeers, -soon gave way before the cavalry of the States; but the struggle -of the infantry in the van was very severe. The first attack of -the Spanish vanguard was repulsed, but being quickly reinforced it -moved forward again and the fight then became desperate. For a time -the battle seems to have resolved itself into a furious contest -for the possession of a single sandhill, round which, as round the -two-gun-battery at Inkermann, both sides fought madly hand to hand, -each alternately repelling and repelled, till at last this "bloody -morsel," as Vere called it, was finally carried by the English. - -The Archduke without delay brought up his centre in line with his -vanguard, and essayed to force his way through Vere's right. The -columns were met by a murderous fire from a party of musketeers -which had been posted by Vere to check any such movement, and were -driven back; and then the whole strength of the Spanish attack -was concentrated once more upon Vere's main position. Husbanding -his strength to the utmost, Vere gradually drew the whole of his -English into action and fought on. So far, owing to the skill of -his dispositions, little more than half of his force had been -engaged, but seeing that they were likely to be overwhelmed by -numbers, he sent messengers to summon his reserve of two thousand -Frisian infantry, and to beg Maurice to help him with cavalry -from his right. Messenger after messenger was despatched without -result. Vere went down among his few remaining men, and the little -force, cheered by his presence, fought gallantly on and still held -the enemy at bay. He was struck by a musket ball in the thigh and -by a second in the leg, but he concealed the wounds and held his -men together. Yet the expected reinforcements came not, and the -English were slowly forced back, still in good order and still -showing their teeth, from the dunes on to the beach, the Spaniards -following after them, but afraid to press the pursuit. As the -English retired, Vere's horse was shot under him and fell, pinning -him helpless to the ground. Three of his officers ran up and freed -him; and mounted on the crupper behind one of them, he continued -calmly to direct the retreat. - -Arrived on the sands he found his reserve of Frisians still -halted in their original position, having never received orders -to move, and with them the two troops of English horse. A charge -of the cavalry, supported by two hundred infantry under Horace -Vere, soon swept the Spaniards back into the dunes, and then at -last Sir Francis made himself over to the surgeon, while Maurice -came forward, cool and unmoved, to save the day. The Spaniards -now massed two thousand infantry together for a further advance, -while the English officers, weary with fighting and parched with -heat and sand, exerted themselves to rally their men. The English -were quickly reformed, so quickly that the Spaniards, who had sent -forward a party to disperse them, promptly withdrew it at the sight -of Horace Vere returning with his two hundred men from the beach. -Maurice saw the movement and exclaimed joyfully, "Voyez les Anglais -qui tournent à la charge." He at once ordered up the cavalry from -the right under Sir Edward Cecil; and meanwhile Horace Vere and his -brother officers hastily decided that their only chance was at once -to charge the two thousand Spaniards with their handful of men. -They rushed desperately down upon them; the Spaniards, worn out by -a long march and hard fighting, gave way, and Maurice catching the -supreme moment launched Cecil's troopers into the thick of them. -A second charge disposed of the Spanish horse; Maurice ordered a -general advance, and the battle was won. Three thousand Spaniards -were killed outright; six hundred more with all their guns and one -hundred and twenty colours were captured. On the side of the States -the loss fell almost wholly on the English. Of their captains eight -were killed, and but two came out of the field unhurt; of the -sixteen hundred men eight hundred were killed and wounded. They -with the Frisians had borne the brunt of the action, and Maurice -gave them credit for it. So ended the fight of Nieuport,[140] the -dying struggle of the once famous Spanish soldier, and the first -great day of the new English infantry. - -[Sidenote: 1601.] - -[Sidenote: July 9.] - -Next year the Archduke Albert sought revenge for his defeat by -the investment of the one stronghold of the United Provinces in -Flanders, the little fortified fishing-town of Ostend. The garrison -had made itself so obnoxious to the surrounding country that -the States of Flanders petitioned the Archduke to stamp out the -pestilent little fortress once for all; and hence it was that in -the following years the principal operations grouped themselves -around the siege. The Archduke's army consisted of twenty thousand -men with fifty siege-guns; the garrison of barely six thousand men, -half English and half Dutch, of which fifteen hundred English, -all dressed in red cassocks, were a reinforcement just imported -from across the sea. Francis Vere was in supreme command, and his -brother Horace commanded a regiment under him. - -I shall not weary the reader with details of Vere's skill and -resource in improving the defences of the town, or of the incessant -encounters that took place during the first weeks of the siege. -The Spanish fire was so hot and the losses of the besieged so -heavy that the garrison was fairly worn out with the work. Vere -was dangerously wounded in the head within the first three weeks -and compelled to throw up the command until restored to health, -and at the close of the first month hardly a red cassock of the -fifteen hundred was to be seen, every man being wounded or dead. -Nevertheless, the sea being always open to the besieged, fresh -men and supplies could always be poured into the town to repair -the waste. Two thousand English, for a wonder well equipped and -apparelled, were the first to arrive, and were followed by a -contingent, of French and Scots. They too went down with terrible -rapidity. The town was but five hundred yards across, and the -Spanish batteries were built within musket-shot of the defences. -Hardly a house was left standing, and the garrison was compelled to -burrow underground as the only refuge from the incessant rain of -missiles. The winter set in with exceptional rigour, the defenders -dwindled to a bare nine hundred effective men, and at Christmas -Vere, in the face of foul winds and failing supplies, was compelled -to resort to a feigned parley to gain time. By a fortunate change -of wind four hundred men were able to enter the harbour and recruit -the exhausted garrison. - -[Sidenote: 1602.] - -So far the Spaniards had fired one hundred and sixty-three thousand -cannon-shot into the town, and they now decided on a general -assault. On the 7th of January Vere received intelligence of the -coming attack, and, though his force was far too weak to defend -the full extent of his works, made every preparation to repel it. -Firkins of ashes, barrels bristling with tenterhooks, stones, -hoops, brickbats, clubs, what not, were stored on the ramparts, and -at high tide the water was dammed up into the ditch. At nightfall -the Spanish columns fell on the devoted town at all points. They -were met by a shower of every description of missile; flaming hoops -were cast round their necks, ashes flung in their eyes, brickbats -hurled in their faces; and storm as they might they could gain -no footing. Thrice they returned to the assault, and thrice they -were beaten back, and at last they retired, sullen and furious, -for the tide was rising, and on one side they could advance to the -town only by a passage which was not fordable at high water. Vere -opened the sluices of the ditch as they retreated, and the rush of -water swept scores if not hundreds of them out to sea. The Spanish -loss was two thousand men; that of the garrison did not exceed one -hundred and thirty. - -[Sidenote: 1603-1604.] - -I shall not further follow this memorable siege. Vere and his -brother Horace left the town worn almost to death in March 1602, -but still the defence was maintained. Reinforcements from England -came in by hundreds and by thousands. Rogues, vagabonds, idle, -dissolute, and masterless persons were impressed impartially -together with men of honesty and reputation, clapped into red or -blue cassocks and shipped across to Ostend. Volunteers of noble and -of humble birth, some in search of instruction, some with a thirst -for excitement, hurried likewise to the siege, and Ostend became -one of the sights of Europe. Governor after governor, gallant -Dutchmen all of them, came to take command. Three of them were -killed outright, but still the defence continued, until at last on -the 13th of September 1604 the heap of ruins which marked the site -of Ostend was surrendered into the generous hands of Spinola. The -siege had lasted three years and ten weeks, and had cost the lives -of one hundred and twenty thousand men. - -Before the town fell the campaigns of Francis Vere were ended. In -1602 he accompanied Maurice to the siege of Grave, where he was -once more dangerously wounded, and in the summer of 1604 he retired -from the service of the States, from whom he deservedly received a -pension for his life. In the very same year King James the First -made a treaty with the Archdukes of the Spanish Netherlands, -which left the Dutch patriots henceforth to fight their battles -by themselves; but nations like the English and Scotch are not -bound by the decisions of such a creature as James. The British -troops not only remained in the service of the State but grew -and multiplied exceedingly, and Francis Vere, who had made their -service honourable and given their efforts distinction, could feel -that his work was well done. A few short years of rest closed a -life that was shortened by hardship and wounds; and on the 28th of -August, 1609, within four months of the signing of the truce which -gave breathing time to the exhausted combatants of the Dutch war, -the old soldier died peacefully in his house in London. His tomb -in Westminster Abbey is admired by thousands who know not one of -his actions, but surely it is no derogation to art to remember -that the recumbent marble effigy, and the four noble figures that -kneel around it are those not of conventional heroes, but of honest -English fighting men, typical of many thousands who perished in -the cause of Dutch freedom and lie buried and forgotten in the -blood-stained soil of the Netherlands. - -[Sidenote: 1619.] - -The twelve years' truce gave the English regiments a rest which, -though not wholly unbroken, left some of the more daring spirits -free for other adventure. The cause of the Elector Frederick, a -prince less interesting to the English as the Winter King than as -the husband of their favourite Princess Elizabeth, called Horace -Vere and many another gallant gentleman with four thousand good -soldiers into the Palatinate, where however their bravery could not -avail to save them from inevitable failure. King James of course -had no part in the venture; so far from moving a finger in aid of -the Protestant cause in Germany, he even conspired secretly with -Spain for a partition of the Netherlands, which was to be effected -by the English troops in the Dutch service, the very men who had -made the cause of the United Provinces their own and had carried it -through the perils of Nieuport and Ostend. It is hardly surprising -that such a man should, not indeed without searching of heart but -without stirring a hand, have suffered Germany to drift into the -Thirty Years War. - -[Sidenote: 1621.] - -[Sidenote: 1624.] - -[Sidenote: 1625-1637.] - -The lapse of the twelve years' truce found a large contingent of -English under the command of Sir Edward Cecil attached to the -army of Prince Maurice; and three years later the final breach -of England with Spain increased its number from six to twelve -thousand, and in 1625 even to seventeen thousand men. It would -be tedious to follow them through the operations of the ensuing -campaigns; it must suffice to call attention to the rise of men who -were to become famous in later days and thus bridge over by a few -stepping-stones the connection of the British army with the old -Dutch schools of war. The first names are those of Philip Skippon, -whom we find wounded before Breda in 1625, and of Captain John -Cromwell, a kinsman of the great Oliver, who was also wounded in -the same action. Coming next to the siege of Bois le Duc in 1629 -we find the list far longer--Lord Doncaster, Lord Fielding, who -trailed a pike in Cecil's regiment, Lord Craven, a Luttrell, a -Bridgeman, a Basset, a Throgmorton, a Fleetwood, a Lambert, a -second Cromwell, Thomas Fairfax, Philip Skippon, Jacob Astley, -Thomas Culpeper, the veterans Balfour and Sandilands from north of -the Tweed, and many more. Lastly, at the siege of Breda in 1637 we -see Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, sons of the Winter King, as -forward in the trenches as any needy cadet could be, working side -by side with Philip Skippon, Lord Warwick, and George Goring. Of -these Skippon and Goring divided the honours of the siege. Skippon -at a post of extreme danger drove off two hundred Spaniards at -push of pike with thirty English; he was struck by five bullets -on helmet and corselet and at last shot through the neck, but he -merely sat down for ten minutes and returned to his work until -recalled by the Prince of Orange. Goring in the extreme advanced -sap paid extra wages from his own pocket to any who would work with -him, and remained there while two-and-twenty men were shot down -round him, until at last he was compelled to retire by a bullet in -the ankle. Meanwhile fresh volunteers kept pouring in--Herbert, -son of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Sir Faithful Fortescue of the -King's cavalry in Ireland, Sir Charles Slingsby, with many more, -and lastly Captain George Monk of Potheridge in Devon, one day -to be the first colonel of the Coldstream Guards, and even now -distinguished by peculiar bravery. - -There they were, brave English gentlemen, all wearing the scarf of -orange and blue, fighting side by side with the pupils of Francis -Vere, learning their work for the days when they should be divided -into Cavaliers and Roundheads and flying at each other's throats. -It was a merry life enough, though with plenty of grim earnest. -Before each relief marched off for the night to the trenches -it drew off in _parado_[141] to the quarters of the colonel in -command, heard prayers, sang a psalm and so went to its work; but -though there was a preacher to every regiment and a sermon in the -colonel's tent, there was no compulsion to attend, and there were -few listeners except a handful of well-disposed persons.[142] It -was to be a very different matter with some of them ten years -later, but that they could not foresee; and in truth we find among -the gentlemen volunteers some very familiar types. One of them -arrived with eighteen suits of clothes, got drunk immediately -on landing and remained drunk, hiccuping "thy pot or mine," for -the rest of his stay. It is not difficult to understand why this -gentleman was sent to the wars. Another, Ensign Duncombe, came for -a different reason; he had fallen in love with a girl, who though -worthy of him was not approved of by his parents. So he too was -sent out to forget her, as such foolish boys must be; and he became -a great favourite and did well. But unluckily he could not forget; -so one day he sat down and wrote two letters, one full of passion -to his beloved, and another full of duty to his father, and having -done so, addressed the passionate epistle, as is the way of such -poor blundering boys, to his father and the dutiful one to the -lady. And so it came about that some weeks later the regiment was -horrified to hear that young Duncombe had shot himself; and there -was an ensign the less in the Low Countries and a broken heart -the more in England, sad silence at the officers' table and much -morbid discussion of the incident in the ranks. It is such trifles -as these that recall to us that these soldiers of old times were -really living creatures of flesh and blood. - -The men too were learning their business with all the elaborate -exercise of musket and of pike, and familiarising themselves with -the innumerable words of command and with the refinements in -the execution of the same. The pikeman learned by interminable -directions to handle his weapon with the better grace, and listened -to such cautions as the following. "Now at the word _Order your -pikes_, you place the butt end of your pike by the outside of your -right foot, your right hand holding it even with your eye and -your thumb right up; then your left arm being set akimbo by your -side you shall stand with a full body in a comely posture." The -musketeer too grasped that the minutest motion must be executed -by word of command. Stray grains of powder spilled around the pan -disappeared at the word _Blow off your loose corns_, sometimes by -a puff or two sometimes by a "sudden strong blast," but always -in accordance with regulation. At the word _Give fire_ again he -learned the supreme importance of "gently pressing the trigger -without starting or winking," and soon revived the old English -reputation, first won by the archers, for fine marksmanship. An -eye-witness records with delight that after each shot they would -lean on their rests and look for the result as coolly as though -they had been so many fowlers watching for the fall of their bird. -Lastly, they learned a new feat, untaught in any drill-book, with -which this section may fitly be closed. Pikemen and musketeers were -drawn up in line, every pike with a wisp of straw at its head, and -every musket loaded with powder only; and at the word every wisp -was kindled and every musket fired in rapid succession. The volley -met with a stop at first, to use the words of our authority, as was -perhaps natural at a first attempt, but eventually it ran well; and -thus was fired before Bois le Duc in the year 1629 the first _feu -de joie_ that is recorded of the British Army.[143] - - AUTHORITIES.--The chief sources of information for the actions of - the British in the Low Countries are the histories of Meteren, - Grimeston and Commelyn; Roger Williams's _Actions of the Low - Countries_; Hexham; Vere's _Commentaries_; the _Leicester - Correspondence_ (Camden Society); the _Calendars of State - Papers, Domestic and Foreign Series_; and the _Holland Papers_ - in the Record Office. These last, consisting of several scores - of portfolios of manuscript documents, I cannot pretend to have - studied exhaustively. Sir Clements Markham's _Fighting Veres_ - and Mr. Dalton's _Life of Lord Wimbledon_ are the best modern - books on the subject, and I wish to acknowledge to the full my - obligation to them. Hexham's _Principles of the Art Military_ is - the best authority for the Dutch system of drill. The _Tactics of - Ælian_, translated with commentary by Captain John Bingham, 1616, - is also valuable. Last, but not least, the reader will supply for - himself the familiar name of Motley. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -It is now needful to turn to the second and perhaps more important -school of the British Army. As in the Low Countries we found -English and Scots fighting side by side, but gave to the English, -as their numerical preponderance demanded, the greater share of -attention, so now in the German battlefields of the Thirty Years' -War we shall see them again ranked together, but must devote -ourselves for the same reason to the actions of the Scots. - -The North Britons seem to have found their way very quickly to the -banners of Gustavus Adolphus, and to have fought with him in his -earlier campaigns long before he had established himself as the -champion of Protestantism. To mention but two memorable names, Sir -John Hepburn and Sir Alexander Leslie had risen to high rank in his -service many years before he crossed the Baltic for his marvellous -campaigns in Germany. But to trace the history of the famous -Scottish regiments aright, they must be briefly followed from their -first departure from Scotland to take service under King Christian -the Fourth of Denmark, who curiously enough forms the link that -connects the two schools of Maurice of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus. - -[Sidenote: 1626, August 17.] - -It was in reliance on promises of subsidy from the English King -Charles the First that Christian first levied an army and took -the field for the Protestant cause. His plan was for a defensive -campaign, but this was impossible unless his soldiers were -regularly paid, which they would be, as he hoped, with English -money. Needless to say, Charles when the moment came was unable -to fulfil his promise; Christian was driven to take the offensive -and was completely defeated by Tilly at Lutter. The unhappy king -appealed indignantly to Charles for help, but Charles could send -nothing but four English regiments which had been raised for -service in the Low Countries two years before, and were now, -through the prevailing maladministration in every department of -English affairs, weak, disorganised and useless. Their numbers were -however supplemented by the press-gang, and a body of some five -thousand men, unpaid and ill-found, ripe for disease and disorder, -were shipped off to the Elbe. - -A little earlier than the defeat at Lutter one of the many -gentlemen-adventurers in Scotland, Sir Donald Mackay, had obtained -leave from King Charles to raise and transport five thousand men -for King Christian's ally, the famous free lance, Count Ernest -Mansfeld. It does not appear that he succeeded in recruiting -even half of that number, for heavy drafts had already been made -upon the centre and south of Scotland for levies. Still some two -thousand men were collected by fair means or foul, and even if -some of them were taken from the Tolbooth at Edinburgh, it was -fitting that in a corps so famous there should be representatives -from the Heart of Midlothian. But it is certain that a goodly -proportion were taken from the northern counties and in particular -from the district of the Clan Mackay, and that these took the -field in their national costume and so were the first organised -body deserving the name of a kilted regiment. The officers, from -their names and still more from their subsequent behaviour, seem -to have been without exception gentlemen of birth and standing, -worthy to represent their nation. Some of them probably had already -experience of war; one at least, Robert Munro, the historian of -the regiment, had served in the Scottish body-guard of the King of -France, and had learned from sad experience the meaning of the word -discipline.[144] - -[Sidenote: 1627.] - -The regiment sailed in divisions from Cromarty and Aberdeen and -arrived at Glückstadt on the Elbe in October 1626. The winter was -spent in training the men, but not without riot and brawling. The -officers were constantly quarrelling, and there was so little -discipline among the men that a sergeant actually fell out of the -ranks when at drill to cudgel a foreign officer who had maltreated -one of his comrades. Meanwhile Count Mansfeld, who had originally -hired the regiment, was dead, and in March 1627 Sir Donald Mackay -offered its services to the King of Denmark. Christian accordingly -reviewed it, and having first inspected the ranks on parade, "drums -beating, colours flying, horses neighing," saw it march past and -paid it a handsome compliment. The men were then drawn, after the -fashion of the landsknechts, into a ring, where they took the oath -and listened to a rehearsal of the articles of war; and so their -services began. Half of them were despatched with the English -regiments to Bremen, and the remainder were stationed at Lauenburg -to guard the passage of the Elbe. - -[Sidenote: July.] - -After a vast deal of marching and counter-marching four companies, -under Major Dunbar, were left at Boitzenburg, at the junction -of the Boitze and the Elbe, while Mackay with the remaining -seven was moved to Ruppin. Three days after Mackay's departure, -Tilly's army, ten thousand strong, marched up to Boitzenburg and -prepared to push forward into Holstein. Dunbar knowing his own -weakness had strengthened his defences, but eight hundred men -was a small garrison against an army. On the very first night he -made a successful sortie; and on the next day the Imperialist -army assaulted his works at all points. The first attack was -repulsed with loss of over five hundred men to the assailants. -Reinforcements were brought up; the attack was renewed and -again beaten off, and finally a third and furious onslaught was -made on the little band of Scots. In the midst of the fighting -the ammunition of the garrison failed and its fire ceased. The -Imperialists, guessing the cause, made a general rush for the -walls. The Scots met them at first with showers of sand torn from -the ramparts, and presently falling in with pike and butt of -musket fought the Imperialists hand to hand, and after a desperate -struggle drove them out with the loss of another five hundred men. -Tilly then drew off and crossed the Elbe higher up, and Dunbar by -Christian's order marched proudly out of Boitzenburg. This was the -first engagement of Mackay's regiment, a fitting prelude to work -that was to come.[145] - -[Sidenote: October.] - -The headquarters of the regiment was presently moved from Ruppin -to Oldenburg to hold the pass against Tilly's advance, and here -they too came into action. They were ill supported by their foreign -comrades, for the Danes gave way, the Germans of Christian's army -took to their heels, and the brunt of the engagement fell upon half -the regiment of Scots. After two hours of heavy fighting they were -relieved by the other half, and so the two divisions, taking turn -and turn, maintained the struggle against vastly superior numbers -from seven in the morning till four in the afternoon, when the -enemy at last drew off owing to the darkness. The spirit shown by -the Scots was superb. Ensign David Ross received a bullet in the -chest; he retired for a few minutes to get the wound dressed, and -returned to the fight; nor did he afterwards miss an hour's duty -on the plea that he was wounded. Hector Munro of Coull, being shot -through the foot, refused to retire till he had fired away all -his ammunition, and before he could do so was shot in the other -foot also. Yet another, Hugh Murray, being ordered to bring away -his brother's corpse under a heavy fire, swore that he would first -empty his brother's bandoliers against the enemy, and was shot -in the eye, though not fatally, while fulfilling his oath. Yet -these were young soldiers, of so little experience that they left -their reserve of ammunition exposed, and suffered heavily from the -explosion of a barrel of powder. They lost sixteen officers and -four hundred men that day. - -That night the Danish army retreated to Heiligenhaven, but some -German Reiters that were attached to it were so unsteady that -they speedily turned the retreat into a flight; and when the -harbour was reached the cavalry crowded on to the mole to seize -all the transport-vessels for themselves. Sir Donald Mackay, who -was himself wounded, was not the man to suffer his regiment to -be sacrificed; he calmly ordered his pikemen to advance, swept -the whole of the Reiters into the sea, seized the nearest ship, -brought others out of the roadstead and proceeded to the work of -embarkation. The last boat's load shoved off surrounded by the -enemy's horse, and the last of the Scots, a gallant boy named -Murchison, though wounded in the head and shot through the arm, -swam off to the boat under a heavy fire, only to die two days later -of his injuries. The rest of the Danish army, thirty-five troops -of horse and forty companies of foot, surrendered without a blow. -Hence it is hardly surprising that, when next the Scots found -themselves in quarters alongside Danish horse, there was a furious -riot which cost the lives of seven or eight men before it could be -suppressed. But in truth Mackay's regiment was so much weakened -by its losses that both colonel and lieutenant-colonel returned -perforce to Scotland to raise recruits. - -[Sidenote: 1628.] - -I shall not follow the various small actions of the earlier part -of the campaign of 1628 in Holstein, though many of them were -brilliant enough. It must suffice that Scotch and English fought -constantly side by side not only against the enemy, but once -riotously against the Danes themselves, whom they considered to be -unduly favoured in the matter of rations. In May the Imperialists -moved up in force to occupy Stralsund; and the burghers having -appealed to Christian for assistance received from him the seven -companies, now reduced to eight hundred men, of Mackay's regiment. - -[Sidenote: June 26.] - -On arrival their commanding officer at once selected the most -dangerous post in the defences, as in honour bound, and for six -weeks the regiment was harassed to death by exhausting duty. The -men took their very meals at their posts, and Monro, who was now -a major, mentions that he never once took off his clothes. They -suffered heavily too from the enemy's fire, a single cannon shot -strewing the walls with the brains of no fewer than fourteen men; -but still they held out. At last Wallenstein came up in person, -impatient at the delay, and vowed that he would take the town in -three nights though it hung by a chain between heaven and earth. -His first assault was hurled back by the Scots with the loss of a -thousand men. But the Highlanders also had been severely punished; -three officers and two hundred men had been killed outright, and -seven more officers were wounded. On the following night the attack -was renewed and again repulsed, but the garrison was now compelled -to open a parley in order to gain time; and the negotiations were -prolonged until the arrival of a second Scottish regiment under -Lord Spynie enabled the defenders to renew their defiance. - -[Sidenote: 1630.] - -[Sidenote: February.] - -Shortly after the King of Sweden charged himself with the defence -of Stralsund. Alexander Leslie, whom we shall meet again, was -appointed to take the command, and Mackay's and Spynie's regiments -after a final sortie were withdrawn to Copenhagen. Of Mackay's, -five hundred had been killed outright in the siege, and a bare -hundred only remained unwounded; in fact the regiment required -virtually to be reconstructed. The work of recruiting and -reorganisation occupied the winter months, at the close of which -the corps, now raised to ten companies and fifteen hundred men, was -honourably discharged from the service of Denmark, and free to join -itself, as it presently did, to Gustavus Adolphus. - -Its first duty was to learn the new drill and discipline introduced -by the King of Sweden; and as his system was destined to be -accepted later by all the armies of Europe, no better place can be -found than this, when it was just brought to perfection and first -taught to British soldiers, to give some brief account of it. - -The infantry of Gustavus Adolphus, as of all other civilised -armies at that period, was made up of pikemen and musketeers, and -beyond all doubt had originally been trained and organised on the -models of the Spanish and the Dutch. Enough has already been said -of these to enable the reader to follow the reforms introduced by -the Swedish king. First as regards weapons: the old long pike was -cut down from a length of fifteen or eighteen feet to the more -modest dimension of eleven feet, and the old clumsy musket with its -heavy rest was replaced by a lighter weapon which could be fired -from the shoulder without further support. The defensive armour -of the pikeman was also reduced to back, breast, and tassets; and -thus both divisions of the infantry, carrying less weight than -heretofore, were enabled to move more rapidly and to accomplish -longer marches without fatigue. This was a first step towards -the mobility which the great soldier designed to oppose to the -old-fashioned forces of mass and weight. - -Next as to the tactics of infantry: Gustavus's first improvement -was to reduce the old formation from ten ranks to six; his second -and more important was to withdraw the musketeers from their old -station in the flanks of companies, and to mass pikes and shot into -separate bodies. It is abundantly evident that he looked upon the -development of the fire of musketry as of the first importance in -war, and to this end he sought to render the musketeers independent -of the protection of the pikes. This idea led him to a curious -revival of old methods, nothing less than a modification of the -stakes which were seen in the hands of the English at Hastings -and Agincourt, and which now took the name of hog's bristles or -Swedish feathers. This, however, was a small matter compared to -his improvement in the method of maintaining a continuous fire. -Pescayra's system was one which, on the face of it, was not suited -to young or unsteady troops. In theory it was a very simple matter -that the ranks should fire and file off to the rear in succession, -but in practice the temptation to men to get the firing done as -quickly as possible and to seek shelter behind the ranks of their -comrades was a great deal too strong. The retirement was apt to -be executed with an unseemly haste which was demoralising to the -whole company, and there was no certainty that the retiring ranks, -instead of resuming their place in rear, would not disappear from -the field altogether. Gustavus therefore made the ranks that had -fired retire through[146] instead of outside their companies, -where, through judicious posting of officers and non-commissioned -officers, any disposition to hurry could be checked by the blow -of a halberd across the shins or by such other expedients as the -reader's imagination may suggest. In an advance, again, he made the -rear ranks move up successively through the front ranks, and in a -retreat caused the front ranks to retire through the rear. - -This reform was as much moral as tactical; but the next made a -great stride towards modern practice. Not content with reducing -ten ranks to six Gustavus on occasions would double those six into -three, and by making the front rank kneel enabled the fire of all -three to be delivered simultaneously. Here is seen the advantage of -abolishing the old musket-rest, with which such a concentration of -fire would have been impossible. Still following out his leading -principle, he encouraged the use of cartridges to hasten the -process of loading; and finally to perfect his work he introduced -a new tactical unit, the _peloton_, called by Munro _plotton_ and -later naturalised among us as the platoon of musketeers, which -consisted of forty-eight men, eight in rank and six in file, all -of course carefully trained to the new tactics. Yet with all -these changes the drill was of the simplest; if men could turn -right, left, and about, and double their ranks and files, that was -sufficient. - -In the matter of pure organisation Gustavus again improved upon all -existing systems. First he made the companies of uniform strength, -one hundred and twenty-six men, distributed into twenty-one -_rots_ or files, and six corporalships. A corporalship of pikes -consisted of three files, and of musketeers of four files;[147] -and to every file was appointed a _rottmeister_[148] or leader, -who stood in the front, and an _unter-rottmeister_ or sub-leader, -who stood in the rear rank. Both of these received higher pay than -the private soldier. Two sergeants, four under-sergeants and a -quartermaster-sergeant completed the strength of non-commissioned -officers, while three pipers and as many drums made music for -all. Moreover each company carried a kind of reserve with it in -the shape of eighteen supernumerary men who bore the name of -_passe-volans_, the old slang term for fictitious soldiers since -the days of Hawkwood, and; were allowed to the captain as free -men, unmustered. The officers of course were as usual captain, -lieutenant, and ensign. - -Eight such companies constituted a regiment, which was thus one -thousand and eight men strong, with a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, -and major over all. The regimental staff included many officials -borrowed from the landsknechts' model for the trial and punishment -of offenders, and for a complete novelty, four surgeons. The -provision of medical aid had formerly been left to the captains, -and it is to Gustavus that we owe the first example of a sounder -medical organisation. - -Four companies or half of such a regiment were called either a -squadron or by the Italian name _battaglia_, to which must be -traced our modern word battalion. Two such regiments were called -a brigade, which marks the latest advance in organisation made by -Gustavus. Maurice of Nassau had been before him in the formation of -brigades but had not reduced them to uniform strength. The Swedish -brigades had a stereotyped formation for battle, and were called -after the colour of their standards, the white, the blue, the -yellow, and finally the green, better known as the Scots Brigade, -which is that wherein we are chiefly interested. - -Passing next to the cavalry, the marks of Gustavus's reforming -hand are not less evident. The force at large was divided into -cuirassiers and dragoons. Of these the latter, who were armed with -muskets and were simply mounted infantry, may be dismissed without -further observation. The cuirassiers, except outwardly, bore a -strong resemblance to the Reiters, for, though stripped of all -defensive armour except cuirass and helmet, they still carried two -pistols as well as the sword. Gustavus, however, here as with the -infantry, took a line of his own. He began by reducing the depth of -the ranks from the bottomless profundity of the Reiters to three -or at most four; and though he still opened his attack with the -pistol and so far adhered to missile tactics he to a considerable -extent combined with them the action by shock. As in the infantry, -it was Pescayra's system that he wished to supersede. The Reiters, -as we know by the testimony of many eye-witnesses, were often so -anxious to go to the rear and reload that they fired their pistols -at absurd ranges, sometimes indeed hardly waiting to fire before -they turned about. Unable to apply to cavalry the system which -he had adopted for the infantry, and failing in common with all -his contemporaries to grasp the principle that, since a horse has -four legs and a man two, the evolutions of horse and foot must be -fundamentally different, Gustavus none the less determined that his -cuirassiers should at all events come to close quarters with their -enemy. He therefore trained them not to fire till they could see -the white of their opponents' eyes, and having fired to strike in -with the sword. - -Hence he has the credit, which is not wholly undeserved, of having -restored shock-action, and is said to have made his cavalry charge -at the gallop; but the first statement is misleading, and the -second in the face of contemporary accounts incredible. In the -first place, the sword is a singularly ineffective weapon against -mailed men, and a true restorer of shock-action would almost -certainly have reverted to the lance. In the second place, mounted -men who open their attack with pistols will infallibly check -their horses at the moment of firing in order to ensure greater -accuracy of aim. Lastly, Gustavus's favourite plan for the attack -of cavalry was to intersperse his squadrons with platoons of -musketeers, which advanced with them within close range[149] and -fired a volley into the enemy's horse. This preliminary over, the -cuirassiers advanced, fired their pistols, fell in with the sword, -and retired; by which time the musketeers had reloaded and were -ready with another volley. Close range of the musket of those days -would not have allowed space for a body of horse to gather way for -a shock-attack in the modern sense, and it is therefore more than -doubtful whether the Swedish squadrons charged at higher speed than -the trot. Gustavus's system was in fact simply a revival of Edward -the First's at Falkirk, which had already been developed with -great success by Pescayra at Pavia. Nevertheless, by reducing the -depth of squadrons and insisting that his men should come to close -quarters, Gustavus unquestionably did very much for the improvement -of cavalry.[150] - -Most remarkable of all were his reforms in the matter of artillery. -Profoundly impressed by the power of field-guns he spared no -effort to make them lighter and more mobile, so as to be at once -easily manœuvred and capable of transport in larger numbers. -Here again Maurice had been before him, not without success, -but Gustavus possessed in the person of a Scotch gentleman, Sir -Alexander Hamilton, an artillerist of wider views than lay to the -hand of the great Dutch soldier. Hamilton's first experiment was -to make leathern guns,[151] strengthened by hoops of metal and -with apparently a core of tin, which could easily be carried on -a pony's back or stacked away by the dozen in a waggon. Gustavus -used them frequently in his earlier campaigns but discarded them -at latest after the battle of Breitenfeld, finding that their life -did not extend beyond ten or a dozen rounds. He then fell back on -light two-pounders and four-pounders, which required few horses -for draught, and could be loaded and fired by a skilful crew more -rapidly even than a musket. A few such guns were attached to each -regiment and called regimental pieces; and very effective they were -presently found to be. - -Further, Gustavus was a consummate engineer, as fond of the spade -as Maurice himself, and a past master of field-fortification. On -stepping ashore in Germany he first fell on his knees and prayed, -and then picking up a spade began to dig with his own hands. This, -it may here be mentioned once for all, was the one point in his -system which the Scots could not endure; they always grumbled when -called upon to use the spade, and in spite of the King's occasional -reproaches, always made less progress with field-works in a given -time than any other corps in the army. - -Lastly, to turn to broader principles, the great innovation of -Gustavus, visible in all his reforms, was to match mobility -against the old system of weight. He never massed his troops -in unwieldy bodies, but distributed them in smaller and more -flexible divisions, allowing plenty of space for facility of -manœuvre. His order of battle was that which was customary in -his time, consisting of two lines with infantry in the centre -and cavalry on the flanks; but he always allowed three hundred -yards of distance between the first and second line, and erected -the practice of keeping a reserve, which had been intermittently -observed for centuries, into an established principle. Again, he -carefully studied the effective combination of the three arms with -a thoroughness unknown since the days of Zizca, supplying artillery -to his infantry, and supporting impartially horse with foot and -foot with horse. Finally, as the backbone of all, he enforced with -a strictness that had never been seen before him the observance of -discipline. - -[Sidenote: 1631.] - -Such was the Army and such the General to which Mackay's regiment -now joined itself. In June 1630 it embarked for Germany as part of -the thirteen thousand men which formed the Swedish army, half of -the companies at Elfsknaben, the remainder under Munro at Pillau. -The latter detachment was wrecked off Rügenwalde, which was held -by the Imperialists, and lost everything; but having made shift -to obtain arms calmly attacked the Imperial garrison and captured -the town--as daring a feat of arms as ever was done by Scotsmen. -After several small engagements Monro rejoined his headquarters at -Stettin, and in January 1631 Gustavus, who boasted with justice -that his army was as effective for a winter's as for a summer's -campaign, invaded Brandenburg and marched for the Oder. The Scotch -were organised into the famous Scots Brigade, consisting of four -picked regiments--Hepburn's, Mackay's, Stargate's, and Lumsden's, -the whole under the command of Sir John Hepburn. - -[Sidenote: May.] - -We must pass over the operations in Brandenburg, where the Scots -Brigade distinguished itself repeatedly, and come forthwith to -Saxony, whither Gustavus had been called from the Oder by Tilly's -advance upon Magdeburg. Arriving too late to save the unhappy -city he entrenched himself at Werben, at the junction of the Elbe -and the Havel, and gave the world a first notable example of his -skill as an engineer. Tilly, having lost six thousand men in the -vain attempt to storm the entrenchments, invaded Saxony, whither -Gustavus at once followed him and offered him battle on the plain -of Leipsic. - -On the 7th of September Tilly took up his position facing north, -on a low line of heights running from the village of Breitenfeld -on the west to that of Seehausen on the east. His army was drawn -up in a single line. On each wing as usual was posted the cavalry, -seven regiments under Pappenheim on the left, seven more under -Furstenburg on the right, all drawn up in the dense columns beloved -of Charles the Fifth. In the centre was Tilly himself, with -eighteen regiments of infantry, his famous Walloons among them, -massed together in the old heavy Spanish formation. On the heights -above him were his guns. The whole force numbered forty thousand -men, and their General was a man who, though seventy years of age, -had never lost a battle. - -[Sidenote: Sept. 7.] - -On the other side the armies of Gustavus and of his allies the -Saxons were drawn up in two lines. On the left were the Saxons, -fourteen thousand strong, and on the right, with which alone we -need concern ourselves, the Swedes. In touch with the Saxon right, -the Swedish left under Field-Marshal Horn was made up, both in -the first and second lines, of six regiments of horse, with four -platoons of musketeers between each regiment. The right wing under -Gustavus himself was similarly composed. In the centre the first -line was made up of four half brigades of foot, supported by a -regiment of cavalry and eight platoons of Scots; and the second -line of three brigades, of which Hepburn's was one. In rear of both -lines was a reserve of cavalry, and in the extreme rear a further -reserve, the first ever seen, of artillery. - -The battle opened as usual with a duel of artillery, which was -continued from noon till half-past two, the Swedish guns, more -numerous and better served than Tilly's, firing three shots to -the enemy's one. Then Pappenheim, on Tilly's left, lost patience, -and setting his cavalry in motion without orders came down upon -the Swedish right. He was met by biting volleys from the platoons -of musketeers and charges from the cuirassiers at their side; his -men shrank from the fire, and edging leftward across the front of -Gustavus's wing swept down towards its rear. General Bauer, in -command of the reserve cavalry of the first line, at once moved out -and broke into them; and the whole Swedish right coming into action -drove back Pappenheim's horse, after a hard struggle, in disorder. -Gustavus checked the pursuit, for Tilly had pushed forward a -regiment of infantry in support of Pappenheim, and turning all his -force on this unhappy corps annihilated it. - -On the Imperialists' left Furstenburg, following Pappenheim's -example, had also charged, and had driven the entire Saxon army -before him like chaff before the wind.[152] He followed them in hot -pursuit; and had Tilly at once advanced with his centre against -Field-Marshal Horn, the situation of the Swedes would have been -critical, for their left was now completely uncovered. But owing -to the faulty disposition of his artillery Tilly could not advance -directly without putting his guns out of action, and he therefore -followed in the track of Furstenburg to turn Horn's left flank. -The delay gave Horn time to make dispositions to meet the attack. -Hepburn's brigade came quickly up with another brigade in support, -and the Scots after one volley charged the hostile infantry with -the pike and routed it completely. Gustavus meanwhile had again -advanced with his cavalry on the right, and sweeping down on the -flank of Tilly's battery captured all his guns and turned them -against himself. The battle was virtually over, but four splendid -old Walloon regiments stood firm to the last, and though reduced to -but six hundred men retreated at nightfall in good order. - -The victory was crushing; and yet of all the Swedish infantry two -brigades alone had been engaged, and of these the Scots had done -the greater share of the work. The battle marks the death-day of -the old dense formations and the triumph of mobility over weight, -and is therefore of particular interest to a nation whose strength -is to fight in line. - -[Sidenote: 1632.] - -From Leipsic Gustavus marched for the Main, where the Scots were as -usual put forward for every desperate service, and held his winter -court at Mainz. In the spring of the following year he marched -down to the line of the Danube with forty thousand men, forced the -passage of the Lech in the teeth of Tilly's army, entered Bavaria -and by May was at Munich. Then hearing that the towns on the Danube -in his rear were threatened he turned back to Donauwörth, whence -he was called away by the movements of Wallenstein in Saxony to -Nürnberg. Such marching had not been since the days of Zizca. He -now turned Nürnberg, as he had turned Werben in the previous year, -into a vast entrenched camp; for he had now but eighteen thousand -men against Wallenstein's seventy thousand, and it behoved him -to make the most of his position. Wallenstein, however, without -risking an engagement, took the simpler course of making also an -entrenched camp, cutting off Gustavus's supplies from the Rhine -and Danube, and reducing him by starvation. Reinforcements came to -the Swedes, which raised their army to five-and-thirty thousand -men; Wallenstein allowed them to pass in unmolested to consume -the provisions the quicker. The pinch of hunger began to make -itself felt in the Swedish camp, pestilence raged among the unhappy -troops, and at last Gustavus in desperation launched his army in a -vain assault upon Wallenstein's entrenchments. For twelve hours his -men swarmed up the rugged and broken hill with desperate courage, -three times obtaining a momentary footing and as often beaten -back. The cannonade was kept up all night, and it was not till -ten o'clock on the following morning that the Swedes retreated, -leaving four thousand dead behind them. The Scots Brigade suffered -terribly. Monro, out of a detachment of five hundred men, lost -two hundred killed alone, besides wounded and missing. His -lieutenant-colonel who relieved him at night brought back but -thirty men next morning. Other corps had lost hardly less heavily, -and Gustavus, foiled for once, retreated to Neustadt, leaving -one-third of his force dead around Nürnberg. - -[Sidenote: 1634, August 26.] - -Sir John Hepburn, in consequence of a quarrel with the Swedish -king, now took leave of him and entered the service of France; and -the Scots Brigade, weakened to a mere shadow, was left behind at -Dunkerswald to await reinforcements, while Gustavus marched away -to his last battlefield at Lützen. We need follow the fortunes of -the Brigade little further. The famous regiments, together with the -other Scots and English in the Swedish service, now some thirteen -thousand men, did abundance of hard and gallant work before the -close of the war. The ranks of Mackay's regiment were again swelled -to twelve companies and fifteen hundred men, but at Nördlingen it -was almost annihilated, and emerged with the strength of a single -company only. Times had changed, and discipline had decayed since -the death of Gustavus; and in 1635, on alliance of France with -Sweden, and the outbreak of war between France and Spain, the -fragments of all the Scotch regiments were merged together, and -passed into the service of France under the command of the veteran -Sir John Hepburn as the Regiment d'Hebron. - -[Sidenote: 1636.] - -There for a short period let us leave it, wrangling with Regiment -Picardie for precedence, claiming, on the ground that some officers -of the Scottish Guard had joined it, to be the oldest regiment -in the world,[153] and earning the nickname of Pontius Pilate's -guards. Hepburn commanded it for but one year, for he fell at its -head at the siege of Saverne, but it fought through many actions -and many sieges, the battle of Rocroi not the least of them, before -it returned to the British Isles. We shall meet with it again -before that day under a new name, and under yet a third name shall -grow to know it well. - - AUTHORITIES.--Munro's _Expedition_ is far the most valuable; it - has been abridged and supplemented by Mr. John Mackay in his _Old - Scots Brigade_. Harte's _Life of Gustavus_ wrestles manfully with - the military details, which are very clearly summed up in Mr. - Fletcher's _Gustavus_ in the Heroes of the Nations Series. Some - few details will be found also in Fieffé's _Histoire des troupes - Etrangères_. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -Once more we return to England and take up the thread of the army's -history within the kingdom. Of the reign of James the First there -is little to be recorded except that at its very outset the Statute -of Philip and Mary for the regulation of the Militia was repealed, -and the military organisation of the country based once more on -the Statute of Winchester. James was not fond of soldiers, and -military progress was not to be expected of such a man. Enough has -already been seen of his methods through his dealings with the Low -Countries, and there is no occasion to dwell longer on the first -British king of the House of Stuart. - -[Sidenote: 1625.] - -Charles the First was more ambitious, and sufficiently proud of the -English soldier to preserve the ancient English drum-march.[154] -Soon after the final breach with Spain he imbibed from Buckingham -the idea of a raid on the Spanish coast after the Elizabethan -model, which eventually took shape in the expedition to Cadiz. Of -all the countless mismanaged enterprises in our history this seems -on the whole to have been the very worst. There was abundance of -trained soldiers in England who had learned their duty in the Low -Countries; and Edward Cecil, he whom we saw some few years back -in command of the cavalry at Nieuport, begged that liberal offers -might be made to induce them to serve. Officers again could be -procured from the Low Countries, and therefore there should have -been no difficulty in organising an excellent body of men. In the -matter of arms, however, though English cannon was highly esteemed, -Charles was forced to purchase what he needed from Holland, which -was a sad reflection on our national enterprise. Accordingly over -a hundred officers were recalled from Holland; and two thousand -recruits were collected, to be sent in exchange for the same number -of veterans from the Dutch service. Eight thousand men were then -pressed for service in various parts of England, and the whole -of them poured, without the least preparation to receive them, -into Plymouth, where they gained for themselves the name of the -plagues of England. Sir John Ogle, a veteran who had served for -years with Francis Vere, eyed these recruits narrowly for a time, -old, lame, sick and destitute men for the most part, and reflected -how without stores, clothes, or money he could possibly convert -them into soldiers. Then taking his resolution he threw up his -command and took refuge in the Church. Very soon another difficulty -arose. The States-General firmly refused to accept two thousand -raw men in exchange for veterans, and shipped the unhappy recruits -back to England. They too were turned into Plymouth and made -confusion worse confounded. Then the arms arrived from Holland, -and there was no money to pay men to unload them. The port became -a chaos. Buckingham had already shuffled out of the chief command -and saddled it on Cecil, and the unfortunate man, good soldier -though he was, was driven to his wit's end to cope with his task. -His tried officers from Holland were displaced to make room for -Buckingham's favourites, who were absolutely useless; and yet he -was expected to clothe, arm, train, discipline, and organise ten -thousand raw, naked men, work out every detail of a difficult -and complicated expedition, and make every provision for it, all -without help, without encouragement, and without money. Cash indeed -was so scarce that the king could not afford to pay the expenses of -his own journey to Plymouth. - -Under such conditions it is hardly surprising that the enterprise -was a disastrous failure. A few butts of liquor left by the -Spaniards outside Cadiz sufficed to set the whole force fighting -with its own officers, and after weary weeks at sea, aggravated by -heavy weather and by pestilence, the result of bad stores, Cecil -and the remains of his ten regiments returned home in misery and -shame.[155] - -[Sidenote: 1626.] - -A similar enterprise under Lord Willoughby in the following -year failed in the same way for precisely the same reasons; but -Buckingham, still unshaken in his confidence, led a third and -a fourth expedition to Rochelle with equal disaster and equal -disgrace. The captains had no more control over their men than over -a herd of deer.[156] At last, at the outset of a fifth expedition, -which promised similar failure, the dagger of Lieutenant Felton, a -melancholy man embittered by deprivation of his pay, put an end to -Buckingham and to all his follies. On the whole he had not treated -the soldiers worse than Elizabeth, but a man of Elizabeth's stamp -was more than could be borne with. - -Nevertheless, amid all these failures there were still plenty of -men in England who had the welfare of the military profession at -heart. Foremost among them was the veteran Edward Cecil, now Lord -Wimbledon, who strove hard to do something for the defence of the -principal ports, for the training of the nation at large, and in -particular for the encouragement of cavalry. The mounted service -had become strangely unpopular with the English at this time, -whether because the eternal sieges of the Dutch war afforded it -less opportunity of distinction, or because missile tactics had -lowered it from its former proud station, it is difficult to say. -Certain it is that officers of infantry, and notably Monro, never -lost an opportunity of girding at horsemen as fitted only to run -away, and as preferring to be mounted only that they might run away -the faster. But Cecil, though in this respect unique, was by no -means the only man who made his voice heard. Veteran after veteran -took pen in hand and wrote of the discipline of Maurice of Nassau -and, as time went on, of the system of Gustavus Adolphus; while -on the other hand one ingenious gentleman, still jealous of the -old national weapon, invented what he called a "double-arm," which -combined the pike and the bow, the bow-staff being attached to the -shaft of the pike by a vice which could be traversed on a hinge. -Strange to say this belated weapon was not ill-received in military -circles and found commendation even among Scotsmen.[157] On one -important point, however, there was a general consensus of opinion, -namely that the condition of the English militia was disgraceful, -its system hopelessly inefficient and the corruption of its -administration a scandal. The trained bands were hardly called out -once in five years for exercise; few men knew how even to load -their muskets, and the majority were afraid to fire a shot except -in salute of the colours, not daring to fire a bullet from want of -practice.[158]. The Londoners, as usual, alone made a favourable -exception to the general rule. - -[Sidenote: 1639.] - -The real root of the evil was presently to be laid bare. The -disputes between Charles the First and his subjects were assuming -daily an acuter form, until at last they came to a head in the -Scotch rebellion of 1639. It was imperative to raise an English -force forthwith and move it up to the Border. Charles, as usual -in the last stage of impecuniosity, thought to save money by an -exercise of old feudal rights, and summoned every peer with his -retinue to attend him in person as his principal force of cavalry. -It was a piece of tactless folly whereof none but a Stuart would -have been guilty: the peers came in some numbers as they were bid, -but they did not conceal their resentment against such proceedings. -The foot were levied as usual by writ to the lord-lieutenant -with the help of the press-gang, they behaved abominably on their -march to the rendezvous, and on arrival were found to be utterly -inefficient. Their arms were of all sorts, sizes, and calibres, -and the men were so careless in the handling of them that hardly a -tent in the camp, not even the king's, escaped perforation by stray -bullets. In other respects the organisation was equally deficient; -no provision had been made for the supply of victuals and forage; -and altogether it was fortunate that the force escaped, through the -pacification of Berwick, an engagement with the veterans from the -Swedish service under old Alexander Leslie that composed a large -portion of the Scottish army. - -[Sidenote: 1640.] - -The following year saw the war renewed. This time the farce of -calling out a feudal body of horse was not repeated, but unexpected -difficulties were encountered in raising the levies of foot. -In 1639 the infantry had been drawn chiefly from the northern -counties, where the tradition of eternal feuds with the Scots made -men not altogether averse to a march to the Border. But in 1640 -the trained bands of the southern counties were called upon, and -they had no such feeling. It is possible that unusual rigour was -employed in the process of impressment, for the authorities had -been warned, after experience of the previous year, to allow no -captains to play the Falstaff with their recruits. Be that as it -may, the recalcitrance of the new levies was startling. From county -after county came complaints of riot and disorder. The Wiltshire -men seized the opportunity to live by robbery and plunder; the -Dorsetshire men murdered an officer who had corrected a drummer -for flagrant insubordination; in Suffolk the recruits threatened -to murder the deputy-lieutenant; in London, Kent, Surrey, and -half a dozen more counties the resistance to service was equally -determined; and when finally in July four thousand men reached the -rendezvous at Selby, old Sir Jacob Astley could only designate them -as the arch-knaves of the country. Money being of course very -scarce, the men were ill-clothed and ill-found, and their numbers -were soon thinned by systematic desertion. A new difficulty cropped -up in the matter of discipline. Lord Conway, who commanded the -horse, had executed a man for mutiny; he now found that his action -was illegal and that he required the royal pardon. If, he wrote, -the lawyers are right and martial law is impossible in England, it -would be best to break up the army forthwith: to hand men over to -the civil power is to deliver them to the lawyers, and experience -of the ship-money has shown what support could be expected from -them. - -There, in fact, lay the kernel of the whole matter; indiscipline -was not only rife in the ranks but widespread throughout the -nation. From long carelessness and neglect the organisation of the -country for defence by land and sea had become not only obsolete -but impossible and absurd. For centuries the old vessel had been -patched and tinkered and filed and riveted, occasionally by -statute, more often by royal authority only, but chiefly by mere -habit and custom. But now that the reaction which had established -the new monarchy was over, and men, stirred by a counter-reaction, -subjected the military system to the fierce heat of constitutional -tests, the whole fabric fell asunder in an instant, and brought the -new monarchy down headlong in its fall. The story is so instructive -to a nation which has not yet given its standing army a permanent -statutory existence, that it is worth while very briefly to trace -the progress of the catastrophe. - -According to ancient practice, the various shires were called -upon to provide their levies for the Scotch war with coat-money -and with conduct-money to pay their expenses till they had passed -the borders of the county, from which moment they passed into the -king's pay. The writs to the lord-lieutenants distinctly stated -that these charges would be refunded from the Royal Exchequer, and -though the chronic emptiness of the Royal Exchequer might diminish -the value of the pledge, the form of the writ was distinctly -consonant with custom and precedent. Many of the county gentlemen, -however, refused to pay this coat- and conduct-money; they had been -encouraged by the attacks made on military charges in the Short -Parliament; and the Crown, aware of the general opposition to all -its doings, did not venture to prosecute. Another incident raised -the general question of military obligations in an acuter form. -In August 1640, Charles, sadly hampered by the general objections -to military service on any terms, fell back on the old system of -issuing Commissions of Array to the lord-lieutenants and sheriffs. -In themselves Commissions of Array, especially when addressed -to these particular officers, were nothing extraordinary; they -had been in use to the reign of Queen Mary, and though more or -less superseded by the appointment of lord-lieutenants, were by -implication sanctioned by a statute of Henry the Fourth. - -Now, however, these Commissions at once raised a storm. The -deputy-lieutenants of Devon promptly approached the Council with an -awkward dilemma. To which service, they asked, were the gentry to -attach themselves, to the trained bands or to the feudal service -implied in the Commissions of Array; since both were equally -enjoined by proclamation? The Council answered that the service -in the trained bands must be personal, and the feudal obligation -satisfied by deputy or by pecuniary composition; in other words, -if the gentry halted between two services, they could not go wrong -in performing both. A second question from the deputy-lieutenants -was still more searching: how were the bands levied under the -Commissions to be paid? The reply of the Council pointed out that -the laws and customs of the realm required every man, in the event -of invasion, to serve for the common defence at his own charge. -Here Charles was strictly within his rights; and the plea of -invasion was sound, since the Scots had actually passed the Tweed. -Parliament, however, seized hold of the Commissions of Array, and -after innumerable arguments as to their illegality, took final -refuge under the Petition of Right. Stripped of all redundant -phrases, the position of the two parties was this: Charles asked -how he could raise an army for defence of the kingdom, if the -powers enjoyed by his predecessors were stripped from him; and -Parliament answered that it had no intention of allowing him any -power whatever to raise such an army.[159] - -[Sidenote: August 28.] - -[Sidenote: 1641, May.] - -The campaign in the north was speedily ended by the advance of -the Scots and by the rout of the small English detachment that -guarded the fords of the Tyne at Newburn. The Scots then occupied -Newcastle, and England to all intent lay at their mercy. Nothing -could have better suited the opponents of the king. A treaty was -patched up at Ripon which amounted virtually to an agreement to -subsidise the Scotch army in the interest of the Parliament. The -Scots consented to stay where they were in consideration of eight -hundred and fifty pounds a day, failing the payment of which it was -open to them to continue their march southward and impose their own -terms. Charles could not possibly raise such a sum without recourse -to Parliament, and the assembly with which he had now to do was -that which is known to history as the Long Parliament. Within seven -months it had passed an Act to prevent its dissolution without its -own consent, and having thus secured itself, it allowed the English -army to be disbanded, while the Scots, having played their part, -retired once more across the Tweed. - -[Sidenote: 1641-2.] - -[Sidenote: 1642.] - -It would be tedious to follow the widening of the breach during -the year 1641. Both parties saw that war was inevitable, and both -struggled hard to keep the militia each in its own hands. The -scramble was supremely ridiculous, since it was all for a prize -not worth the snatching. Charles has been censured for throwing -the whole military organisation out of gear because he wished to -employ it for other objects than the safety of the kingdom, but it -would be difficult, I think, for any one to explain what military -organisation existed. By the showing of the Parliamentary lawyers -themselves, there was no statute to regulate it except the Statute -of Winchester; in strictness there was no legal requirement for men -to equip themselves otherwise than as in the year 1285. It was to -the party that first made an army, not to that which preferred the -sounder claim to regulate the militia, that victory was to belong. -Strafford had perceived this long before, but three years were yet -to pass before Parliament should realise it. The few movements -worth noting in the scramble may be very briefly summarised. The -king reluctantly consented to transfer the power of impressment -to the justices of the peace with approval of Parliament, and -abandoned his right to compel men to service outside their -counties. But he refused to concede to Parliament the nomination of -lord-lieutenants or the custody of strong places, and Parliament -therefore simply arrogated to itself these privileges without -further question. In July the Commons resolved to levy an army of -ten thousand men, in August the King unfurled the Royal Standard at -Nottingham; and so the Civil War began. - -The lists of the two opposing armies of 1642 are still extant: the -King's, of fourteen regiments of foot and eighteen troops of horse, -and the Parliament's, of eighteen regiments of foot, seventy-five -troops of horse, and five troops of dragoons; but it would be -unprofitable to linger over them, for except on paper they were not -armies at all. Two names however must be noticed. The first is that -of the commander of the royal horse, Prince Rupert, a son of the -Winter-King. He had now been domiciled in England for seven years, -in the course of which he had found time to serve the Dutch, as we -have seen, at the siege of Breda in 1639, and the Swedes in the -following year, commanding with the latter a regiment of horse in -more than one dashing engagement. He was now three-and-twenty, not -an unripe age for a General in those days, as Condé was presently -to prove at Rocroi. The second name is that of the Captain of the -Sixty-Seventh troop of the Parliamentary horse, Oliver Cromwell, -a gentleman of Huntingdon, not inconspicuous as a member of -Parliament but unknown to military fame. He was already forty-three -years of age, and so far was little familiar with the profession of -arms.[160] - -On the 23rd of October these two men met at Edgehill, the first -important action of the war, on which I shall not dwell further -than to notice the part that they played therein. Rupert, knowing -the deficiency of fire-arms in the royal cavalry, before the battle -gave his horsemen orders to keep their ranks and to attack sword in -hand, not attempting to use their pistols till they had actually -broken into the enemy's squadrons. Here was an improvement on the -Swedish system, a step nearer to shock-action, which was crowned -by complete success. Oliver Cromwell having seen the havoc wrought -by the Royalist cavalry, sought and found after the battle the -cause of the inferiority of the Parliament's. "Your troops," he -said to John Hampden, "are most of them old decayed serving-men -and tapsters: their troops are gentlemen's sons and persons of -quality. Do you think the spirits of such base and mean fellows -will ever be able to encounter gentlemen who have courage, honour, -and resolution in them? You must get men of a spirit that is likely -to go as far as gentlemen will go, or you will be beaten still." -Hampden heard and shook his head; he was a wise and worthy person, -but he had probably an idea that no men except such as those which -had been swept into the ranks by the King and the King's father -could possibly be induced to become soldiers. So he said that it -was a good notion but impracticable. Captain Cromwell set to work -to show that it was not impracticable, and began to raise men who, -in his own words, made some conscience of what they did, and to -teach them discipline. - -[Sidenote: December.] - -Meanwhile the helplessness of the Parliament in the early stages -of the war was almost ludicrous; and though indeed few things are -more remarkable than the rapid growth of administrative ability -between the years 1642 and 1658, it must be admitted that at -first the civil leaders of the people were little better than -children. Nearly the whole nation, and with it the majority of -legislators, had made up their minds that the first battle would -decide the contest, and they were woefully disappointed when it did -not do so. Failing at first to realise the elementary principle -that money is the sinew of war the Houses trusted at first to -irregular contributions for its support, nor was it until pressed -to extremity that they determined to employ general taxation. -Money was the first and eternal difficulty, which however pressed -even harder on the King than on the Parliament. The next obstacle -was the utter collapse of the existing military organisation. The -county levies were ready enough to fight in defence of their own -homes, but they were unwilling to move far from them; and when the -enemy had left their own particular quarter they thanked God that -they were rid of him and returned to their usual avocations. This -again was a difficulty that beset both sides and was never overcome -by the King. The Parliament tried to meet it by the establishment -of associations of counties, which were virtually military -districts, and did something, though not much, to widen the narrow -sympathies of the militiamen. But these associations, though a step -in the right direction, depended too much on the individual energy -of the men at their head to attain uniform success; and one only, -the Eastern, wherein Cromwell was the moving spirit, did for a time -really efficient work. - -A third and most formidable danger was the superiority of the -Royalist cavalry. The long neglect of the mounted service left -the supremacy to the ablest amateurs, and the majority of these, -though there were hundreds of gentlemen on the Parliamentary -side, were undoubtedly for the King. Nor was it only the courage, -honour, and resolution of which Cromwell had spoken that favoured -them; they had from the nature of the case better horses, a -higher standard of horsemanship and equipment, a quicker natural -intelligence and a higher natural training. The thousand lessons -which the county gentlemen learned when riding with hawk and hound -were of infinite advantage in the casual and irregular warfare -of the first two or three years; and whatever may be said of -Rupert's ability on the battlefield, there can be no question -that the work of his innumerable patrols was admirably done. The -dashing character of Rupert was also an advantage in a sense to the -King's cause, for it attracted to him a group of fellow hot-heads -similar to those that had followed Thomas Felton under the Black -Prince. One fatal defect however marred what should have been a -most efficient cavalry, the blot that had been hit by Cromwell, -indiscipline. - -[Sidenote: 1643.] - -The campaign of 1643 found Parliament little wiser than before as -to the true method of conducting a war. Though it had named Lord -Essex as General it gave him no control over the operations of -any army but his own, and there was consequently no unity either -of design or of purpose. Charles, on the contrary, had a definite -plan, which had been mapped out for him by some unknown hand and -was within an ace of successful execution. He himself with one army -fixed his headquarters at Oxford; a second army under Newcastle -was to advance from the north, a third under Prince Maurice and -Sir Ralph Hopton from the extreme west, both converging on Charles -as a centre; and the united forces were then to advance on London. -Hopton, an experienced soldier and as noble a man as fought in the -war, executed his part brilliantly, advancing victoriously into -Somerset from Cornwall, and finally defeating the force specially -sent to meet him by the Parliament at Roundway Down. This action -is memorable for the appearance, and it must be added the defeat, -of what was probably the last fully mailed troop of horse ever seen -in England, Sir Arthur Hazelrigg's "Lobsters," so called from the -hardness of their shells. Hopton's advance was only stayed by the -unwillingness of his Western levies to move any further from their -homes. In the north again the Parliament had suffered disaster; the -Fairfaxes, who were the mainstay of the cause, sustained a crushing -defeat, and but one man stood in the way to bar Newcastle's march -upon London. - -That man however was Oliver Cromwell. Already he had begun to put -in practice the scheme which Hampden had pronounced impracticable. -He had chosen his recruits from the Puritan yeomen and farmers of -the Eastern Counties, men who had thrown themselves heart and soul -into the religious struggles of the time, who made some conscience -of what they did, "who knew what they were fighting for and loved -what they knew," and who thought it honourable to submit to rigid -discipline for so noble a cause. Cromwell was now a colonel, -and he had already shown the mettle of his force, while it was -still incomplete, by defeating a body of twice its numbers in a -skirmish at Grantham. This too he had done not by any novelty in -tactics, for he admits that he attacked only at a pretty round -trot, but by superiority of handling and of discipline. With the -same troops strengthened and improved he now advanced and met a -strong force of Newcastle's advanced horse at Gainsborough; and -by skilful manœuvring and full appreciation of the principle, as -yet unwritten, that in the combat of cavalry victory rests with -him that throws in the last reserves, he routed it completely. -Following up his success he came, unexpectedly as he admits, upon -the main body of Newcastle's army, both horse and foot. Horses and -men were weary after a hard day's work and a long pursuit, but they -showed a bold front; and Cromwell, drawing them off by alternate -bodies, once again a movement which was not to be found in the -text-books,[161] safely effected his retreat. In truth the man was -a born soldier, and probably a great deal fonder of the profession -of arms, late though he had entered upon it, than he would have -cared to admit. "I have a lovely company," he wrote shortly after -this action, with the genuine pride of a good regimental officer; -and in spite of the rigour of his discipline his troops increased -until they were sufficient to fill two complete regiments. - -The danger from the north was averted for the moment, but the -situation was so critical that the Parliament authorised the -impressment of men and raised Essex's army to a respectable total. -But meanwhile negotiations had been opened with the Scots for the -advance of their army against the King's forces in the north, and -by September the conditions, military, financial, and religious, -were agreed upon. This treaty brought home to the Parliament the -necessity for immediately opening up its communications with the -north and making a way whereby the Scots might penetrate further -southward. The difficult task was achieved by the united efforts of -two men who here fought their first action together, Thomas Fairfax -and Oliver Cromwell. The day of Winceby must for this reason remain -memorable in the history of the Army, not the less so because it -brought Cromwell nearer to his death than any action before or -after it. - -[Sidenote: 1644.] - -By the close of the year Parliament began to realise that if the -war were to be carried to a successful issue, some more effective -force than mere trained bands must be called into existence. It -accordingly voted that Essex's army should be fixed at a permanent -establishment of ten thousand foot and four thousand horse with -a regular rate of monthly pay. This was progress in the right -direction, but in the disorder of the financial administration it -was extremely doubtful whether the scheme would not be wrecked by -its cost. Meanwhile the Scots had crossed the Tweed and fairly -entered as partners with the Parliament in the rebellion. This -new factor led to the formation of a Committee of Both Kingdoms -for the subsequent conduct of the war, an important step towards -unity of design and administration but clogged by one fatal defect, -namely, that the military members--Essex, Manchester, Waller, and -Cromwell--were all absent in the field, and that the direction of -operations therefore fell entirely into the hands of civilians. -A Committee was better than a whole House, and that was all that -could be said, for the new directorate soon came into collision -with its officers in the field. On the invasion of the Scots, -Charles of necessity altered his plan of campaign and detached -Rupert to the north, who marked the line of his advance in deeper -than ordinary lines of desolation and bloodshed. The Parliamentary -generals in the north, Fairfax and Manchester, were at the time -engaged upon the siege of York. The Committee, scared by the -terror of Rupert's march, ordered them to raise the siege and move -southward to meet him. They flatly refused; and their persistence -in their own design led to the greatest military success hitherto -achieved by the Parliament, the victory of Marston Moor. - -[Sidenote: July 2.] - -Of no battle are contemporary accounts more difficult of -reconciliation than those of Marston Moor, but the main features -of the action are distinguishable and may be briefly set down. -Both armies consisted of about twenty-three thousand men, and were -drawn up in two lines, the infantry in the centre and the cavalry -in the flanks. On the Royalist side Rupert, as was usual for the -Commander-in-Chief, led the right wing,[162] five thousand horse in -one hundred troops; his centre, fourteen thousand foot, was under -Eythin, a veteran officer imported from Germany; his left, four -thousand cavalry, was led by Goring. On the Parliamentary side -Ferdinand, Lord Fairfax, commanded the right wing of horse, the -first line consisting of English, the second of Scots; the centre -was composed principally of Scottish infantry under old Alexander -Leslie, Earl of Leven; the left wing of horse was commanded by -Cromwell, his first line being composed of English, and the second -of Scots under the leadership of David Leslie. - -With extraordinary rashness and folly Rupert led his army down -close to the enemy and posted it within striking distance, trusting -that a ditch which covered his front would suffice to protect him -from attack. The two forces having gazed at each other during the -whole afternoon without moving, he at last dismounted between -half-past six and seven and called for his supper, an example -which was followed by several of his officers. The Parliamentary -army seized the moment to advance with its whole line to the -attack. Cromwell on the left led his cavalry across the ditch, -and, though Rupert was quickly in the saddle to meet him, routed -the leading squadrons of the Royalists. Rupert's supports however -were well in hand, and falling on Cromwell threw his troops into -disorder[163] till David Leslie, an excellent officer, brought up -the Parliamentary supports in their turn and routed the Royalists. -Then superior discipline told; Cromwell's men quickly rallied and -the whole of Rupert's horse fled away in disorder. In the centre -the Parliamentary infantry was for a time equally successful, but -the horse on the right wing came to utter disaster. The ground on -the right was unfavourable for cavalry, being broken up by patches -of gorse; and although Thomas Fairfax with a small body of four -hundred men, armed with lances, broke through the enemy and rode -in disorder right round the rear of the Royalist army, the main -body was hopelessly beaten. Goring, after the Swedish fashion, had -dotted bodies of musketeers among his horse, who did their work -admirably. Part of Goring's troopers galloped off first to pursue, -and then to plunder the baggage, while the remainder turned against -the Scotch infantry and pressed them so hard that, in spite of -Leven's efforts, almost every battalion was broken and dispersed. -Three alone behaved magnificently and stood firm, till in the -nick of time Cromwell returned from the left to rescue them. His -appearance turned the scale, and the victory of the Parliament was -made certain and complete. - -Rupert after the action gave Cromwell the name of Ironside; he -had never encountered so tough an adversary before. Marston Moor -may indeed be termed the first great day of the English cavalry. -We find, curiously enough, examples of three different schools -in the field, the old school of the lance under Thomas Fairfax, -the Swedish of mixed horse and musketeers under Goring, and the -new English of Rupert and Cromwell; but the greatest of these is -Cromwell's. He alone had his men under perfect control, and had -trained them not only to charge, but what is far more difficult, to -rally. - -Little more than a week later came the first sign of an entirely -new departure in the Parliament's conduct of the war. In spite of -Marston Moor the general position of its affairs was anything but -favourable. The inefficiency of local committees and the narrow -self-seeking of local forces, combined with the jealousy of rival -commanders and the absence of a commander-in-chief, threatened -to bring swift and sudden dissolution to the cause. Time had -aggravated rather than diminished the evil, and unless it were -remedied forthwith, it would be useless to continue the war. Sir -William Waller, an able commander, who had frequently suffered -defeat less from his own incapacity than from the impossibility -of keeping a force together, gave the authorities plainly to -understand that unless they formed a distinct permanent army of -their own, properly organised, properly disciplined, and regularly -paid they could not hope for success. - -Mutiny, desertion, and indiscipline had dogged every step of the -local levies, as the Parliament very well knew; but experience -still more bitter was needed before it could be induced to take -Waller's advice. For the present it voted the formation of an army -of ten thousand foot and three thousand horse and ordered it to -be ready to march in eight days. Ignorance and infatuation could -hardly go further than this. Shortly after came a great disaster in -the west, nothing less than the capitulation of Essex's whole army. -Then came the second battle of Newbury, which left the King in a -decidedly improved position. Finally at the close of the campaign -the Parliamentary forces sank into a condition which was nothing -short of deplorable, the dissensions among the commanders rose -to a dangerous height, and as a crowning symptom of the general -collapse the Eastern Association, the strongest of all the local -bodies, declared that its burden was heavier than it could bear and -threw itself upon the Parliament. In the face of such a crisis the -Houses could hesitate no longer, and on the 23rd of November they -made over the whole state of the forces to the Committee of Both -Kingdoms, with directions to consider a frame or model of the whole -militia. - -Thus the work that should have been done years before by Elizabeth -was at length taken in hand; and the broken-down machinery of the -Plantagenets was at last to be superseded. There was of course -jealousy as to the hands in which so powerful an engine should be -placed, and the difficulty was overcome only by the Self-denying -Ordinance, which debarred members of both Houses of Parliament -from command, and laid the ablest soldier in England aside as -impartially as inefficient peers like Manchester and Essex. But -such an evil as this could be easily remedied, for something more -than an ordinance is required at such times to exclude the ablest -man from the highest post. To bring the New Model into being was -the first and greatest task; and this was done by the Ordinance of -the 15th of February 1645. The time was come, and England had at -last a regular, and as was soon to be seen, a standing army. - - - - -BOOK III - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -[Sidenote: 1645.] - -Even before the Ordinance for the establishment of the New Model -Army had been passed, Parliament had voted, on the motion of Oliver -Cromwell, that the chief command should be given to Sir Thomas -Fairfax. There is little difficulty in discovering the reason for -this choice. If by the Self-denying Ordinance all members of both -Houses were to be excluded from command in order to rid the country -of incompetent officers, there could be no doubt that Fairfax was -the man best fitted to be captain-general. He had been the soul -of the Parliamentary cause in the north, and, though by no means -uniformly successful in the field, had shown vigour in victory, -constancy in defeat, and energy at all times. Though not comparable -to Cromwell in military ability, and perhaps hardly equal either -to Rupert on the one side or to George Monk on the other, he was -none the less a good soldier and a gallant man, though if anything -rather too fond of fighting with his own hand when he should -have been directing the hands of others. He knew the value of -discipline and was strong enough to enforce it, but he understood -also the art of leading men as well as driving them to obedience. -Heir of a noble family and born to high station, he could fill a -great position with naturalness and ease; being above all things -a gentleman, honourable, straightforward, disinterested, and -abounding in good sense, he could occupy it without provoking envy -or jealousy. No higher praise can be given to Fairfax than that -every one was not only contented but pleased to serve under him. - -Joined with him as sergeant-major-general, and therefore not -only as commander of the foot but as chief of the staff, was -the veteran Philip Skippon. His long experience of war in the -Low Countries, and the respect which such experience commanded, -doubtless prompted his selection to be Fairfax's chief adviser. -The post of lieutenant-general, which carried with it the command -of the cavalry, was left unfilled. Every one knew who was the -right man for the place, and there could be little doubt but that, -notwithstanding all self-denying ordinances, he must sooner or -later be summoned to hold it. For the present he was employed, -pending the expiration of the forty days of grace allowed him by -the Ordinance, in watching the movements of the Royalist forces -in the west. Though there had been trouble even with his famous -regiments in the general collapse at the close of 1644, yet it was -noticed that in January 1645 no troops had appeared so full in -numbers, so well armed, and so civil in their carriage as Colonel -Cromwell's horse. "Call them Independents or what you will," said -one newspaper, "you will find that they will make Sir Thomas -Fairfax a regiment of a thousand as brave and gallant horse as any -in England." - -This however was not to happen at once. Fairfax, having obtained -the Parliament's approval of his list of officers, was busily -engaged with Skippon in hewing rougher material than Cromwell's -troopers into shape. Many of the disbanded regiments of Essex lay -ready to his hand, but they had lately shown a mutinous spirit -which it required all Skippon's tact and firmness to curb. The old -man, however, as he was affectionately called, knew how to manage -soldiers, and the promise of regular pay, notwithstanding that one -quarter of the same was deferred as security against desertion, -soon brought them cheerfully into the service. Nevertheless -there were, even so, not voluntary recruits enough to supply the -twenty-two thousand men required by the Ordinance; more than -eight thousand were still wanting, and the Committee of Both -Kingdoms could think of no better means for raising them than the -press-gang. This was the system which, when enforced by Charles -the First, had been denounced as an intolerable grievance, and it -was not less violently resisted when sanctioned by Parliament. -The Government, however, carried matters with a strong hand, and -a couple of executions soon brought the recalcitrant recruits to -submission. - -The scene of the making of the New Army which was destined to -subdue the King was, by the irony of fate, royal Windsor. It is -on the broad expanse of Windsor Park and on the green meadows by -the Thames, before the wondering eyes of the Eton boys, that we -must picture the daily parade of the new regiments, the exercise -of pike and musket and the assiduous doubling of ranks and files, -old Skippon, gray and scarred with wounds, riding from company -to company and instituting mental comparisons between them and -the English soldiers of the Low Countries, and the younger -sprightlier Fairfax, still but three-and-thirty, watching with all -a Yorkshireman's love of horseflesh the arrival of troopers and -baggage-animals. Every day the scene grew brighter as corps after -corps received its new clothing, for the whole army, for the first -time in English history, was clad in the familiar scarlet. Facings -of the colonel's colours distinguished regiment from regiment; and -the senior corps of foot, being the General's own, wore his facings -of blue.[164] Thus the royal colours, as we now call them, were -first seen at the head of a rebel army. - -The senior regiment of horse was also in due time to be clothed in -the same scarlet and blue. For Cromwell's two regiments of horse -had been selected, as was their due, to be blent into one and to -take precedence, as Sir Thomas Fairfax's, of the whole of the -English cavalry. In this same month of April the regiment was in -the field, turning out quicker than any other corps on the sounding -of the alarm, while the "lovely company" of which the colonel had -boasted, now called the General's troop, was distinguishing itself -above all others. Modern regiments of cavalry that wear the royal -colours need not be ashamed to remember that they perpetuate the -dress of Oliver Cromwell's troopers. Excluded though Cromwell was -from the making of the New Model Army, he was none the less its -creator, for it was he who had shown the way to discipline and -regimental pride. - -It is now necessary briefly to sketch the organisation of the New -Model. Beginning therefore with the infantry, the foot consisted of -twelve regiments, each divided into ten companies of one hundred -and twenty men apiece. As all the field-officers, even if they held -the rank of general, had companies of their own, the full number -of officers to a regiment was thirty: colonel, lieutenant-colonel, -major, seven captains, ten lieutenants and ten ensigns. Each -company included moreover two sergeants, three corporals, and -one, if not two, drums.[165] The privates were divided as usual -into an equal number of pikemen and musketeers: the weapons of -officers being, for a captain, a pike; for a lieutenant, the -partisan; and for an ensign, the sword. Since Skippon, a veteran of -the Dutch school, was at the head of the infantry, it can hardly -be doubted that the Dutch system of drill was preferred to the -Swedish. Gustavus Adolphus, it must be remembered, was chiefly -concerned with the Scots; while the contemporary drill books of the -English prefer the teaching of Maurice of Nassau. It is therefore -reasonably safe to conclude that the normal formation of the -infantry of the New Model was not less than eight ranks in depth. - -The cavalry consisted of eleven regiments, each of which contained -six troops of one hundred men. Here again every field-officer -had a troop of his own, so that the full complement of officers -to a regiment numbered eighteen, namely, colonel, major, four -captains, six lieutenants, and six cornets. Three corporals and a -trumpeter were included among the hundred men; and the admirable -system which sorted each troop into three divisions, each under -special charge of an officer and a corporal, was in full working -order. In the matter of drill and tactics, the English cavalry was -before rather than behind the times. The modified shock-action of -Gustavus Adolphus had, under the influence of Rupert and Cromwell, -been virtually superseded. The men indeed were still armed, -according to the old fashion, with iron helmet and cuirass, and -still carried each a brace of pistols as well as a sword; but they -were instructed to trust to their swords in the charge, and to use -their fire-arms only in the pursuit. Gustavus had formed his horse -as a rule in four ranks; Rupert fixed the depth at three;[166] -the Parliamentary officers went so far as to reduce the ranks to -two, sacrificing depth to frontage, and trusting to speed, we -cannot doubt, to overcome weight. Last and most daring innovation -of all, they abolished the file as the tactical unit of the troop -and substituted the rank in its place.[167] No better testimony -to the improvement of English discipline could be found than this -reduction in the depth of the ranks of cavalry. For once it may be -said that the English horse stood in advance of all Europe. - -As regards the duties of reconnaissance, not a treatise on cavalry -omits to mention that it is the function of the horse to scour the -ways in advance of an army; but there are no precise directions -as to the manner of fulfilling it. Cromwell's constant references -to a "forlorn" of horse show that he employed advanced parties -regularly, and attention has already been called to the efficiency -of Rupert's patrols. There is no evidence, however, that the men -received any instruction in the matter of reconnaissance, and it -is only from the Royalist Vernon that we learn that vedettes were -posted then, as now, in pairs. - -The dragoons of the New Model seem, in spite of a resolution of -the Commons that they should be regimented, to have been organised -in ten companies, each one hundred strong. Their officers were a -colonel, a major, eight captains, ten lieutenants, and ten ensigns. -The dragoons were mounted infantry pure and simple, riding for the -sake of swifter mobility only, and provided with inferior horses. -They were armed with the musket and drilled like their brethren -of the foot; their junior subalterns were called ensigns and not -cornets, and they obeyed not the trumpet but the drum. Their -normal formation was in ten ranks of ten men abreast. For action, -nine out of the ten dismounted, and linking their horses by the -simple method of throwing the bridle of each over the head of his -neighbour in the ranks, left them in charge of the tenth man.[168] - -Next we must glance at the Artillery which, together with the -transport, was comprehended under the head of the Train. The only -organised force of which we hear as attached to the train is two -regiments of infantry and two companies of firelocks, which were -used for purposes of escort only. The firelocks were distinguished -from the rest of the army by wearing tawny instead of scarlet -coats, and seem therefore to have been a peculiar people, but the -immediate connection of flint-lock muskets with cannon is not -apparent. The truth seems to be that the English were behind the -times in respect of field artillery, and indeed we hear little of -guns, except siege-cannon, during the whole period of the Civil -War. English military writers of the period rarely make much of -artillery in a pitched battle. They recommend indeed that the -enemy's guns should be captured by a rush as early as possible, and -they generally agree that cannon should be posted on an eminence, -since a ball travels with greater force downhill than uphill. On -the other hand, it was objected even to this simple rule that if -guns were pointed downhill there was always the risk of the shot -rolling out of the muzzle, so that in truth the gunner seems to -have been sadly destitute of fixed principles for his guidance in -action. - -The neglect of field artillery in England is the more remarkable -inasmuch as English gun-founders enjoyed a high reputation in -Europe. The cannon of that day were necessarily heavy and cumbrous, -since the bad quality and slow combustion of the powder made great -length imperative; but there was no excuse for not imitating the -light field-pieces of Gustavus Adolphus. The probable reason for -the backwardness of the English was the peculiar organisation of -the Dutch artillery, which gave no opening for the instruction of -English gunners in the school of the Low Countries. Nevertheless -there was a distinct drill for the working of guns, with thirteen -words of command for the wielding of ladle and sponge and rammer. -A gun's crew consisted of three men--the gunner, his mate, often -called a matross, and an odd man who gave general assistance; and -the number of little refinements that are enjoined upon them show -that the artillerymen took abundant pride in themselves. Thus the -withdrawal of the least quantity of powder with the ladle after -loading was esteemed a "foul fault for a gunner to commit," while -the spilling even of a few grains on the ground was severely -reprobated, "it being a thing uncomely for a gunner to trample -powder under his feet." Lastly, every gunner was exhorted to -"set forth himself with as comely a posture and grace as he can -possibly; for the agility and comely carriage of a man in handling -his ladle and sponge is such an outward action as doth give great -content to the standers-by." Nevertheless artillerymen seem -nowhere, and least of all in England, to have been very popular. -They had an evil reputation all over Europe for profane swearing, -a failing which is attributed by one writer to their enforced -commerce with infernal substances, but which was more probably -due to the fact that, being less perfectly organised than other -branches of the army, they were less amenable to rigid discipline. - -But if the gunners were but a casual and ill-administered force, -much more so were the drivers. Over a thousand draught-horses were -collected for the general use of the New Model, but how many, if -any, of these were set apart for the artillery, it is impossible to -say. Ordinary waggoners with their teams were impressed or hired -to haul the guns, and it is recorded that the hackney-coachmen -of London performed the duty more than once. The chief use of -the escort of infantry was therefore to prevent the drivers -from running away. It is doubtful whether the guns themselves -travelled on four wheels or on two, contemporary drawings showing -instances of both; but in either case there was no approach to -what is now called the limber, the horses being harnessed simply -to the trail.[169] The ammunition again was transported in -ordinary waggons, the powder being indeed occasionally made up -into cartridges, but more often carried simply in barrels which -were unloaded behind the gun when it was posted for action. It -was the function of the odd man of the gun's crew to cover up the -powder-barrel between each discharge of the gun, to avert the -danger of a general explosion. In fact, one principal link alone -connects the artillery of the New Model with the artillery of -to-day, the gun-carriages were painted of a fair lead-colour. - -Lastly we come to the Engineers, a corps which is more obscure to -us even than the Artillery. Even in the days of the Plantagenets -the English kings had taken Cornish miners with them for their -sieges; and in the war of Dutch Independence Yorkshire colliers -were specially employed for the digging of mines. But, although -by the middle of the sixteenth century the Germans had already -organised a corps of sappers,[170] no such thing existed in -England. In truth, the British were not fond of the spade. -The English indeed handled it often enough under Vere and his -successors, while the Scots, though sorely against the grain, -were forced to do the like by Gustavus Adolphus. But considering -the schools wherein the British were trained, nothing is more -remarkable in the Civil War than the neglect of field-fortification -and the extreme inefficiency with which at any rate the earlier -sieges were conducted. It is significant that the pioneers,[171] -who are the only men that we hear of in connection with the -unorganised corps of engineers, were the very scum of the army, and -that degradation to be "an abject pioneer" was a regular punishment -for hardened offenders. It is still more significant that the -principal engineers of the New Model Army bear not English but -foreign names. - -So much for the various branches of the military service: it -remains to say a few words of the Army as a whole. Of the -organisation of what would now be called the War Department, it is -extremely difficult to speak. There was a parliamentary Committee -of the Army, which seems to have enjoyed at first an intermittent -and later a continuous existence, and which was entrusted with -the general direction of its affairs and in particular with the -business of recruiting. There were also Treasurers at War, who -were charged with the financial administration, and there was the -already venerable Office of Ordnance, which was responsible for -arms and equipment. Speaking generally, though the functions of -the Committee and of the treasurers seemed to have overlapped -each other at various points, the military administration seems to -have tended to the following allocation of responsibility: that -the Committee of the Army took charge of the men, the Office of -Ordnance of the weapons and stores, and the Treasurers at War of -the finance, while the Commander-in-Chief was answerable for the -discipline of the Army. - -Passing next to purely military organisation, which of course fell -within the province of the Lord-General, it is to be remarked -that the makers and commanders of the New Model knew of no better -distribution of command than under the three heads of Infantry, -Cavalry, and Train. There was no such thing as a division -comprehending a proportion of all three arms under the control of a -divisional commander; and though we do hear frequently of brigades, -the word signifies merely the temporary grouping of certain corps -under a single officer, rarely an essential part of the general -organisation. The subjoined list gives a tolerable idea of the -allotment of functions among the members of the staff. It is only -necessary to add that all orders of the commander-in-chief were -issued through the sergeant-major-general, distributed by him to -the sergeant-majors or, as they are now called, majors of the -different regiments, and by the sergeant-majors in their turn to -the sergeants of every company and the corporals of every troop. - - -COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF. - - His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Knight, Captain-General. - - -HEADQUARTER STAFF. - - (_Chief of the Staff_)--Major-General[172] Skippon. - - _Commissary-General of the Musters._--Comm.-Gen. Stone (with - two deputies). - - _Commissary-General of Victuals._--Comm.-Gen. Orpin. - - _Commissary-General of Horse Provisions._--Comm.-Gen. Cooke. - - (_Transport_) _Waggon-Master-General._--Master Richardson. - - (_Intelligence_) _Scout-Master-General._--Major Watson. - - (_Military Chest_) Eight Treasurers at War (civilians), - (with one deputy). - - _Judge Advocate-General._--John Mills (civilian). - - (_Medical_) _Physicians to the Army._--Doctors Payne and - Strawhill. - - " _Apothecary to the Army._--Master Web. - " _Chaplain to the Army._--Master Boles. - - (_Military Secretary_) _Secretary to the Council of War._--Mr. - John Rushworth (civilian), with two clerks. - - (_Aides-de-Camp_) _Messengers to the Army._--Mr. Richard - Chadwell, Mr. Constantine Heath. - - -FOOT.[173] - - _Major-General_ Skippon. - _Quartermaster-General_ Spencer. - _Assistant-Quartermaster-General_ Master Robert Wolsey. - _Adjutant-General_ Lieutenant-Colonel Gray. - _Marshal-General_ Captain Wykes. - -Ten regiments of foot; each regiment of ten companies; each company -of one hundred and twenty men, exclusive of the officers. - - REGIMENT. COLONEL. - 1st. { Sir Thomas Fairfax. - { Lieut.-Colonel Jackson. - 2nd. { Major-General Skippon. - { Lieut.-Colonel Frances. - 3rd. Sir Hardress Waller. - 4th. Hammond. - 5th. Harley. - 6th. Montague. - 7th. Lloyd. - 8th. Pickering. - 9th. Fortescue. - 10th. Farringdon. - - -HORSE. - - _Lieutenant-General_ Oliver Cromwell. - _Commissary-General_ Henry Ireton. - _Quartermaster-General_ Fincher. - _Adjutants-General_ Captains Fleming and Evelyn. - _Marshal-General_ Captain Laurence. - _Mark-Master General_ Mr. Francis Child. - -Eleven regiments of horse; each of six troops; each troop of one -hundred men, besides officers. - - REGIMENT. COLONEL. - - 1st. { Sir Thomas Fairfax. - { Major Disbrowe. - 2nd. Butler. - 3rd. Sheffield. - 4th. Fleetwood. - 5th. Rossiter. - 6th. Lieut.-General Cromwell. - 7th. Rich. - 8th. Sir Robert Pye. - 9th. Whalley. - 10th. Graves. - 11th. Comm.-General Ireton. - -The captain-general's bodyguard consisted of one troop, taken from -his regiment of horse, under Colonel Doyley. - - -DRAGOONS. - - Colonel Okey. - - Ten companies each of one hundred men, besides officers. - -TRAIN. - - _Lieut.-General of the Ordnance_ Lieut.-General Hammond. - _Controller of the Ordnance_ Captain Deane. - _Engineer General_ Peter Manteau van Dalem. - _Engineer Extraordinary_ Captain Hooper. - _Chief Engineer_ Eval Tercene. - _Engineers_ Master Lyon, Master Tomlinson. - _Master Gunner of the Field_ Francis Furin. - _Captain of Pioneers_ Captain Cheese. - _A Commissary of Ammunition_ - _A Commissary of the Draught Horses_ - Two Regiments of Infantry { Colonel Rainborough's. - { Colonel Weldon's. - Two companies of Firelocks. - -[Sidenote: April 30.] - -The regiments of the New Model were not yet complete when Fairfax -received orders from the Committee of Both Kingdoms to march -westward to the relief of Taunton. It is extraordinary that this -presumptuous body of civilians, even after it had provided the -General with an efficient army, still took upon itself to direct -the plan of campaign. It is still more extraordinary that Fairfax, -who had disregarded it before Marston Moor, should now have meekly -obeyed. Charles, whose chief hopes rested in a junction with the -gallant and victorious Montrose, was actually moving northward -to meet him while Fairfax was tramping away to Taunton. Nay, -even after Taunton had been relieved, the sage Committee could -think of no better employment for the New Model than to set it -down to the siege of Oxford. Fatuity could hardly go further than -this. There were in the field on both sides four armies in all, -ranged alternately, so to speak, in layers from north to south. -Northernmost of all was Montrose, below him in Yorkshire lay Leven -with the Scots, south of Leven was Charles, and south of Charles -the New Model. And yet the Committee proposed to keep Fairfax -inactive before Oxford while Charles and Montrose crushed Leven -between hammer and anvil. - -[Sidenote: May 9.] - -A brilliant victory of Montrose at Auldearn brought matters to -a crisis. Leven was compelled to retreat into Westmoreland; and -the Scots insisted that Fairfax must break up from before Oxford -and move up towards the King. Charles, meanwhile, with his usual -indecision had suspended his march northward for the sake of -capturing Leicester, and was now lying at Daventry, uncertain -whither to go next. Fairfax called a council of war, which decided -to seek out the enemy and fight him wherever he could be found, -and, more important still, requested the appointment of Cromwell to -the vacant post of lieutenant-general. The Parliament meanwhile had -come to its senses, and resolved that the General should henceforth -conduct his own campaign without the advice of a committee of -civilians. Having done so, it could hardly refuse to sanction the -return of Cromwell. He was therefore summoned to headquarters; and -Fairfax began to work in earnest. So energetic were his movements, -when once the paralysing hand of the Committee was withdrawn, that -the Royalists at once jumped to the conclusion that "Ironside" had -rejoined the army. - -He had not yet rejoined it, and yet the Royalists were right, for -it was his spirit, the spirit of discipline, that was abroad in -the army. The New Model was by no means perfect when it marched -from Windsor at the end of April 1645. The old failings of -insubordination, desertion, and plunder, natural enough among a -body of men largely recruited by impressment, showed themselves -abundantly at the outset of the march to Oxford, but they were put -down with a strong hand, not by preaching, but by hanging. Nor -was it by severity only that Fairfax brought men to their duty. -According to custom, every regiment was told off in succession to -furnish the rearguard, but when the turn of Fairfax's regiment -came, the men claimed that, being the General's own, they had a -right to a permanent place in the van. Fairfax said nothing, but -simply jumped off his horse and tramped along in the midst of them -in the rearguard; and after this there were no more quarrels over -precedence. After a month in the field the newspapers could report -that oaths, quarrelling and drunkenness were unknown in the New -Model. "Yea, but let Cromwell be called back," they added; and -before long this too was done. At six o'clock on the morning of -the 13th of June, while Fairfax was sitting at a council of war, -Cromwell marched into the camp at Kislingbury at the head of his -regiment. It was but a small reinforcement of six hundred troopers, -but as they rode in a cheer rose from the cavalry which was taken -up by the whole army, as the word ran round the camp that Noll was -come. - -[Sidenote: June 14.] - -Next day was fought the battle of Naseby. It was not a well-managed -fight. After considerable shifting of position, so much prolonged -that Rupert came to the conclusion that Fairfax wished to decline -an engagement, the New Model Army was finally drawn up on the -plateau of a ridge about a mile to the north-east of Naseby -village. It lay behind the brow of a hill which slopes down -somewhat steeply to a valley below called the Broadmoor, and was -formed according to the usual fashion of the time. Six regiments -of three thousand six hundred horse formed the right wing, seven -thousand infantry under Skippon made up the centre, two thousand -four hundred more horse under Ireton made the left. Ireton's flank -was covered by a hedge, which by Cromwell's direction was lined -with dismounted dragoons. - -The disposition of the Royalists was of the same kind, though -their force was of little more than half the strength of the New -Model. The right wing of cavalry was under Rupert, the centre of -infantry under old Sir Jacob Astley, the left wing of cavalry under -Sir Marmaduke Langdale. Each army held two or three regiments of -infantry in reserve. - -Rupert, conspicuous in a red cloak, opened the action by a rapid -advance with his horse against Fairfax's left. Ireton thereupon -drew over the brow of the hill to meet him, and Rupert, evidently -rather astonished to find so large a force in front of him, -incontinently halted. Ireton then made the fatal mistake of halting -likewise. Whether he was hampered by the ground or unequal to the -task of handling so large a body of horse, is uncertain; but, -whatever the reason, his wing was in disorder, and instead of -continuing the advance he began to correct his dispositions. Rupert -at once seized the moment to attack. A few divisions under Ireton's -immediate leadership charged gallantly enough and held their own -until driven back by Rupert's supports, but the rest hung back, and -Rupert pressing on, as was his wont, scattered them in confusion. -Ireton, losing his head, instead of trying to rally them, plunged -down with his few squadrons on the Royalist infantry, was beaten -back, wounded and taken prisoner; and in fact the left wing of the -New Model was for the time completely overthrown. Away went Rupert -in hot pursuit with his troopers at his heels for a mile beyond the -battlefield, and galloping up to the park of Parliamentary baggage, -summoned it to surrender. He was answered by a volley of musketry, -and then too late he recollected himself and rode back to the true -scene of action. - -In the centre also matters again had gone ill with the Parliament. -Skippon was wounded early in the day, and though he refused to -leave the field was unable actively to direct the engagement. -Either his dispositions were incomplete, or his colonels were -helpless without him; but the left centre, its flank exposed by -Ireton's defeat, gave way and in spite of all the efforts of the -officers could not be rallied. Fortunately Fairfax's regiment on -the right centre stood firm; and the steadiness of three regiments -in the reserve enabled the Parliamentary infantry to maintain the -struggle. - -But it was on the right that the best soldier in the field was -stationed, and his presence counted for very much. He too was -hampered by bad ground, patches of gorse and a rabbit-warren on his -extreme right preventing all possibility of a general advance of -his wing. But instead of halting like Ireton he took the initiative -in attack. The leftmost troops under Whalley, having good ground -before them, at once moved down, fired their pistols at close -range,[174] and fell in with the sword. Langdale's horse met them -gallantly enough, but were beaten back and retired in rear of the -King's reserve, where they rallied. But Whalley's supports came up -quickly to second him, and meanwhile the rest of Cromwell's wing -came up as best it could over the broken ground, and falling on -the opposing bodies of Royalist horse routed all in succession. -The Royalists retreated for a quarter of a mile and rallied; and -Cromwell, detaching part of his horse to watch them, rode down -with three regiments against the King's reserve of horse. Charles, -to do him justice, bore himself gallantly enough, but some one -gave the unlucky word, "To the right turn--march!" whereupon the -whole of his men turned tail and sweeping the King along with -them joined their beaten comrades in rear. Thither also presently -came Rupert with such a following of blown and beaten horses as -he could collect. Ireton's wing had rallied, and was pressing so -close on his rear that he dared not stop; and Rupert's foolish and -premature pursuit had squandered his squadrons as effectually as a -defeat. - -The whole of Charles's army was now beaten or dispersed except -his centre, and against this the whole force of the Parliamentary -army was now directed. Okey, who commanded the dragoons, finding -the ground clear before him, made his men mount and attacked it in -flank; Fairfax's regiment of foot engaged it in front, and Ireton's -rallied troopers in rear. All soon laid down their arms excepting -a single battalion,[175] which stood alone with incredible courage -and resolution till it was fairly overwhelmed. Even so, however, -Fairfax dared not advance further till he had reformed his whole -line of battle. But the Royalists could not face a second attack; -they turned and fled; and the Parliament's cavalry pursued the -fugitives for fourteen miles, capturing the whole of the King's -artillery, his baggage, and practically his entire army. It was a -decisive victory though not a very glorious one. But for Cromwell, -who alone after Skippon's fall seems to have kept his wits about -him and his men in hand, Naseby would probably have added one more -to the indecisive battles of the Civil War. - -[Sidenote: 1646.] - -[Sidenote: Sept. 13.] - -Nevertheless the New Model had won its first action, and Fairfax -now started on a campaign to the west, which did not end until he -had penetrated through Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and crushed -Royalism under foot even to the Land's End. It was a long march of -incessant and at first of severe fighting, which taxed the mettle -even of his best soldiers, but the army gathered strength, in -spite of constant hardships, in its swift progress from victory -to victory, and by the summer of 1646 it had finished the work -begun at Naseby and was virtually master of England. Meanwhile -the persistent folly of the King had raised it from a partisan to -a national army. Charles, who had no spark of patriotic feeling -in him, had from the first striven not only to set nationality -against nationality within the British Isles, but had appealed to -foreigners from France, Lorraine, and Holland to uphold his rights. -All these transactions had been revealed by the capture of his -baggage at Naseby; and his defiance of all the insular prejudice -of the English damaged him unspeakably even with those who were -most sincerely attached to his cause. Margaret of Anjou was not -yet forgotten; and if men coupled Charles's name with hers, it -was no more than he deserved. Now, however, he was beaten, beaten -on every side. In the first six months of 1645 Montrose, perhaps -the most brilliant natural military genius disclosed by the Civil -War, had scored success after success with a handful of Scots and -Irish. A woman in emotion and instability, a man in courage, and a -magician in leadership, he was an ideal leader for such untameable, -combative spirits, the stuff of which Dundonalds are made. Yet -Montrose's work had been undone at Philiphaugh, and Charles's last -hope was gone. A few more ineffectual struggles to divide England -against herself, and he was to be purged away as a public enemy by -the ever victorious army. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -[Sidenote: 1646.] - -On the subjugation of the west the English Parliament thought -for the present only of securing its position within England -itself. It has been seen how at the first outbreak of the war the -Parliamentary leaders had taken the Scottish army into pay, and -how even after the formation of the New Model they had tried to -saddle it with the hardest of the work. In truth, the behaviour -of the Parliament towards the Scots had been sufficiently shifty -and ungracious; it had taken at any rate some care to pay its own -troops, but it persistently neglected its allies, who had done -excellent service in the north. Indeed, had Leven yielded to the -English Parliament's wishes, had he not in fact been forced by the -victory at Auldearn to retreat, the Scots instead of the English -might have won the Naseby of the Civil War, an event which would -have led to untold complications. Now however that the English army -had done the work for itself, all parties in England became anxious -to be rid of the Scots. Matters were somewhat confused by the fact -that in 1646 Charles threw himself into the hands of Scotland; -but by the close of the year it was agreed that the Scottish army -should be paid off and withdrawn over the border, and that the -King should be surrendered to the English, who had conquered him. -The Parliament therefore gained its great object, a free hand for -the management of its own affairs. It overlooked however in its -calculations one important factor, the Army. - -[Sidenote: 1647.] - -At the opening of 1647 there was a general cry throughout -England for peace. The country was exhausted; the finance of the -Parliament was in hopeless disorder; and the people groaned under -the enormous expense of the war. Obviously the most natural item -for retrenchment was the Army; its work was done, and there was no -further reason for its existence; it should therefore be disbanded -or at any rate very greatly reduced. Moreover economy was not the -only motive that prompted such a policy. The Parliament, united -for the moment in the general desire to get quit of the Scots, -fell back, almost immediately after this was accomplished, into -faction. Presbyterians and Independents were the original names -of the two rival parties, but for our purpose it is simpler to -narrow them forthwith to Parliament and Army; for among many of the -Presbyterian members who had held commands in the first years of -the war, there existed a professional as well as a political and -religious jealousy of the successful officers who had supplanted -them. Parliament having created the Army by a vote thought that it -could extinguish it by the same simple process; having used it as a -ladder whereon to rise to undisputed supremacy it now proposed to -kick it down. But such an Army was not disposed to make itself a -plaything of Parliament. - -Petitions from various quarters for the disbandment of the New -Model turned the heads rather than strengthened the hands of the -two Houses. The only safe and honest course, if the Army must be -disbanded, was to discharge the whole of the country's obligations -to it in full. Now the pay of the foot was eighteen weeks and of -the horse forty-two weeks in arrear, and the total debt due to -the forces amounted to three hundred and thirty thousand pounds. -The Parliament was in straits for money and by no means inclined -to make the necessary effort to raise this sum. It proposed as an -alternative to turn twelve thousand of the soldiers into a new -army for the pacification of Ireland, and this without a word as -to the terms on which the men had taken service, and without the -least mention of a settlement of arrears. Further, as if it were -not enough to irritate the men, the Parliament did its best to -alienate the officers. It passed resolutions insulting to the army, -insulting to Fairfax, insulting to Cromwell. So deeply injured -indeed was Oliver by this ungrateful treatment, that he thought -seriously of carrying his sword and such troops as he could raise -to the wars in Germany. Such was the pitch of disgust to which the -Parliament had driven the ablest of its servants. - -The Army raised its first protest in the form of a respectful -petition from the men: the Parliament met it with violent and -ungracious censure. Certain officers who had supported this -petition then tendered a vindication of their conduct: the Commons -refused even to read it. Finally, as if to aggravate the Army to -extremity, the Lords proposed to grant the troops six weeks' pay in -temporary satisfaction of arrears. This was too much. Discontent -grew apace in the ranks, the men refused to have anything to do -with service in Ireland, and finally the Army, by the election -of two representatives for each regiment, organised itself for -the orderly maintenance of its just claims. These representatives -were called agitators, a name which in those days signified simply -agents. The degradation of the term in our own time into a synonym -for political busy-bodies must not mislead us, nor blind us to the -dignified patience, under extreme provocation, of this irresistible -body of disciplined men. - -[Sidenote: May 25.] - -For the moment the Parliament was awed into concessions and -promises, but its leaders did not lightly submit to humiliation, -and rather than yield to the Army looked about for a force to -countervail it. First they turned to the City of London, which -was strongly Presbyterian, and sought an armed force in the City -train-bands. Next they resorted to Scotland, which was intensely -jealous of the New Model, and formed a coalition with it in favour -of the King, thereby sowing the seeds of a quarrel between North -and South Britain. Finally, after stultifying itself by a promise -of attention to the Army's complaints, it passed an Ordinance for -its disbandment without further ado. This was past endurance. The -soldiers broke into open mutiny; and Fairfax and Cromwell, having -striven in vain to gain justice for their men, and at the same time -to keep them in subordination to the Parliament, placed themselves -at the head of a movement which they could no longer repress. It -was indeed high time, for the Presbyterian leaders had already -invited the Prince of Wales to place himself at the head of the -Scots for an invasion of England. - -[Sidenote: August 6.] - -On the 4th of June the Army assembled about four miles from -Newmarket at Kentford Heath. There in the course of the next -few days it erected a general council, composed of the general -officers who had taken the side of the men and of two officers and -two privates from each regiment, and made a written declaration -of its policy. Still the Parliament remained obstinate, and now -endeavoured to enlist the discharged soldiers of the earlier armies -in order to meet force with force. The Army advanced to Triplow -Heath, whither Parliament sent a last message to propose terms for -an agreement. The overtures were rejected, and the Army continued -its advance. In panic fear the Parliament now offered bribes to -any officers or men who would desert the Army. This contemptible -device was a total failure. It then tried to raise troops, to -reopen negotiations with the Army, to call out the London trained -bands, to forbid the Army's further advance, to gain certain -troops, which were not of the New Model, from the north; all was -in vain. Irresistible as fate, the Army marched on. At St. Albans -it halted and issued a manifesto demanding the expulsion of eleven -of its enemies from the Commons, and receiving no encouragement -advanced to Uxbridge. There again it halted and spent three weeks -in the hopeless effort to arrange a peaceful settlement with the -King; and finally it marched straight into London and occupied the -capital. - -Still the Commons persevered in opposition to the Army; and at last -Cromwell, without the orders and in spite of the unwillingness of -Fairfax, gave the Presbyterian majority a strong hint to convert -itself into a minority. His arguments consisted of one regiment of -horse, stationed in Hyde Park, and a small party of foot at the -door of the House; and they were sufficient and conclusive. The -House thus purged, Cromwell turned to the task which was to occupy -the remainder of his life and drive him worn-out to his grave, a -final settlement of the original quarrel. Wisely enough he thought -that this could be effected only by agreement with the King; and -it was to negotiation with Charles Stuart for this object that he -now devoted the whole of his energy. But negotiation with a man who -was constitutionally incapable of straightforward and honourable -dealing could have but one end. The lower ranks of the Army, -not more far-seeing but less sanguine than their leader, again -interposed. A section of extremists, known at that time by the name -of Levellers, began, as is usual at such times, to raise its head, -and condemning all further traffic with the King boldly put forward -a revolutionary scheme of its own. - -Herein, however, the Levellers mistook their man. However Cromwell -might be distracted by the difficult questions of a settlement, he -was perfectly clear on one point, that the discipline of the Army -must be maintained. Symptoms all too significant appeared that -that discipline was impaired, and he lost no time in restoring -it. One regiment refusing to obey his orders, Cromwell promptly -drew his sword and rode single-handed straight into the middle of -the malcontents. His resolution speedily convinced the men that -he would not be trifled with; the mutineers yielded, and a single -execution sufficed to re-establish order. - -[Sidenote: 1648, January.] - -Then as usual the portentous folly of the King united all parties -not only in the Army but in England against himself. He might have -made honourable terms with Cromwell; he preferred to throw himself -into the arms of the Scots. Both Houses of Parliament thereupon -broke with their North British allies, and the dispute assumed -the new phase of a quarrel between English and Scots. English -refugees inflamed national feeling at Edinburgh, and on the 11th -of April the Scottish Parliament pronounced the treaty between the -two nations to be broken. By the first week in May the army which -was to invade England began slowly to assemble, and on the 8th of -July it crossed the border, ten thousand five hundred strong, and -occupied Carlisle. - -[Sidenote: July.] - -Meanwhile the energies of the English had been distracted by -Royalist risings in Kent and in Wales which kept Fairfax and -Cromwell both busily employed; and it was not till the 11th of July -that Cromwell was able to leave Pembroke and march to the north. -Even then his force, after a trying campaign in very inclement -weather, was in no very good state. He was entirely destitute -of artillery, and his men were most of them both shoeless and -stockingless. In one principal respect, however, the force was -strong, for it was perfect in spirit and in discipline. I shall not -dwell on the details of Cromwell's dash from Wales into Yorkshire. -The Scots, embarrassed by a multitude of commanders, suffered -him to attack their far more numerous army in detail, when it -was divided on opposite banks of the Ribble; and after one sharp -engagement at Preston the campaign resolved itself into a mere -pursuit of the beaten Scots. How hotly Cromwell pressed the chase, -and with what hardships to his own little army, may be read in his -own despatches. Unfavourable weather, torrents of rain, and the -miserable state of the roads brought men and horses to the last -stage of exhaustion. "The Scots," wrote Cromwell, "are so tired -and in such confusion that if my horse could but trot after them -we could take them all, but we are so weary we can scarce be able -to do more than walk after them ... my horse are miserably beaten -out, and we have ten thousand prisoners." The memory of this swift -raid into Yorkshire, and of the unrelenting chase that followed it -should be treasured by the British cavalry that fought through the -Pindarri war and the Central Indian campaign of 1857-58. - -With the close of the pursuit after Preston, the second Civil War -came to an end. The operations of Fairfax in the south had shown -him at his very best, swift, active, and resolute, and had been -brilliantly successful. Those of Cromwell in the north, though -they were directed against Royalist Scotland only, not yet the -sterner Scotland of the Covenant, had been crushing. England was -now completely under the sway of the Parliament; but it became a -question whether Parliament was its own master. A movement arose -in the Army for the punishment of the men who had brought all -this bloodshed upon the country, and in particular of the chief -delinquent, Charles Stuart, who was guiltiest of all. By a final -overture for a settlement the Army gave the King a last chance, and -on its failure appealed to Parliament to bring him to justice. - -[Sidenote: 1649.] - -Ireton seems to have been the moving spirit in the actions that -followed, though there can be no doubt that Cromwell was in full -sympathy with them. Oliver was intensely English in spirit, and had -been greatly exasperated by the English Royalists who had called -the Scots over the border. He was vehement for justice upon them, -and upon the King as the chief of them. Parliament, on the other -hand, was engaged in nominal negotiations with Charles; and it was -therefore not to be expected that it would comply with the Army's -request that he should be brought to trial. But the Army was not to -be stopped. The King's person was seized; the Parliament was purged -of recalcitrant members; and from these actions to the High Court -of Justice the march was short. One leading soldier, Fairfax, did -indeed recoil from the final step, but the majority of the officers -pressed on; and on the 30th of January 1649, the King was brought -out into the ring of red coats to meet his death. He had done his -worst against the British Isles. He had invited foreign armies -against England, and when he failed had roused Welsh, Scots, and -Irish to a hopeless effort to subdue her. But he succeeded only in -establishing her strength; and the fall of his head was but the -first instalment of the great work done by Cromwell and the Army -towards the unity of the islands under the supremacy of England. - -We have a pleasant glimpse of Oliver in his lighter moods -before he next unsheathed his sword. On the evening of the 23rd -of February, as he and Ireton were returning from dinner with -Bulstrode Whitelocke, their coach was stopped by the soldiers who -were in charge of the streets. They explained who they were, but -the captain of the guard would not believe them and threatened to -put them into the guard-room. Ireton began to lose his temper, but -Cromwell laughed, and pulling out twenty shillings gave them to the -men as a reward for doing their duty. Less than three weeks later -he was summoned to take command of the army that was collecting for -the reconquest of Ireland; for that unlucky island had been chosen -by the Royalists as the base of operations for the invasion of -England. Rupert, now turned admiral, had already sailed to Kinsale -to enlist Irish sailors, and the faithful Ormonde had invited -Charles the Second to place himself at the head of the loyal party -in Ireland. Cromwell was not unwilling to undertake the duty. He -had no idea of yielding England either to Scots or Irish, least -of all to the Irish, whose land was regarded rather as a colony -than as an integral part of the realm, and was also a stronghold -of papistry. Still he declined to accept the command until he -had assured himself that all the wants of his troops should be -satisfied; he loved his men and would not suffer them to be enticed -by the magic of his name to thankless or unprofitable service. - -Four regiments of foot and one of horse were then chosen by lot, -and the men were informed that they need not go to Ireland unless -they wished, but that if they refused they would be discharged from -the Army. Several hundred men thereupon at once threw down their -arms and were dismissed; but by some blunder, which was none of -Cromwell's, not a word was said about the payment of the arrears -that were due to them. The idea spread through the ranks that they -must either go to Ireland or forfeit those arrears; discontent -was naturally aroused and presently burst out into formidable -mutiny. Fairfax and Cromwell, however, could depend on their own -regiments, and faced the danger with extraordinary swiftness and -energy. The mutineers were suppressed with a strong hand. One -ringleader was executed in St. Paul's Churchyard, a cornet and a -corporal were shot before the eyes of their comrades against the -walls of Burford Church, and discipline was again restored. Shortly -after, Parliament passed an Ordinance to relieve the financial -difficulties of the soldiers, and the preparations for the Irish -campaign were resumed. It is curious to note the extreme slowness -with which the civilians learned that soldiers were after all men -of flesh and blood, not puppets to be hugged or broken according to -the caprice of the hour. - -The details of the preparations for the war in Ireland may still -be read in the State Papers of the time. There are still to be -seen the orders for fifteen thousand cassocks, "Venice-red colour, -shrunk in water," the like number of pairs of breeches "of grey -or other good colour," ten thousand shirts, ten thousand hats and -bands,[176] one thousand iron griddles, fifteen hundred kettles, -giving a curious picture of the equipment of the first English -regular army for what was then esteemed to be foreign service. -But I shall not follow the red coats through the terrible Irish -campaign of 1649. It was not, like the later war with the Scots, -an honourable contest for supremacy: it was rather the stern -suppression of a rebellion, wherein the spirit of the masters was -inflamed by the insolence of long superiority, by the bitterness of -religious hatred, and by the recollection of past outrages which, -even if truly reported, would have kindled men to vengeance, and -when exaggerated by rage and fear fairly blinded them to mercy. -If any Englishman doubted whether the Irish could fight with -desperate gallantry he was undeceived at the storm of Drogheda and -at Clonmel: but they could not stand, untrained and unorganised -as they were, against the veterans of the New Model. Much has -been said about Cromwell's cruelty, and that he was ruthlessly -severe there can be no question; but when we speak of cruelty we -should take at any rate some account of the standard of humanity -in the warfare of the seventeenth century. The Irish War was a -war of races, a war of creeds, and a war of vengeance. That there -should therefore have been such slaughter as at Drogheda and at -Wexford is nothing surprising,[177] however deplorable. What is -really remarkable in such a war is that Cromwell, from the moment -of landing, should have paid his way, visited plunder with the -sharpest penalties, and upheld the sternest and most inflexible -discipline. Forty years later, when the conquest of Ireland was -undertaken by a former marshal of France and a king long schooled -in war against the first generals of the time, they were glad to -search out Cromwell's plans for his Irish campaign and follow them -at such a distance as they might. - -[Sidenote: 1650, January 8.] - -[Sidenote: June 12.] - -[Sidenote: June 26.] - -Cromwell was still in full career of victory when the alarming -news of a treaty between Charles the Second and the Scots moved -the Parliament to recall him to watch over its own safety. He -arrived in London on the 1st of June, and was joyfully welcomed -not only by Fairfax and the officers of the Army but by all ranks -and all classes. It was now almost certain that the Scots would -invade England in the King's name, and no time was lost by the -Council of State in appointing Fairfax and Cromwell to command the -English army in the north. That they would work loyally together -in the field no one could doubt; but when the Council consulted -the two generals as to plan of campaign, their opinions were found -to be diametrically opposed to each other. Cromwell was for taking -the bull by the horns and carrying the war into Scotland before -the Scots could cross the border; Fairfax, never quite at his -ease since the establishment of the Commonwealth, thought such -aggressive action unjustifiable. It is impossible to believe that -this was his true military opinion, but not all the arguments of -the Council nor the pressing entreaty of Cromwell could prevail -with him to alter it. Despite all protests he resigned his -commission on the plea of physical infirmity, and from this moment -passes out of the history of the Army. Never perhaps has that Army -possessed a more popular and deservedly popular commander-in-chief. - -Only one man could be his successor. On the self-same 26th of -June Cromwell received his commission as captain-general and -commander-in-chief; and two days later he started on his journey -to the north. Charles Fleetwood was his lieutenant-general, John -Lambert, an excellent soldier, his major-general; and joined to -his staff was another officer whom we saw fighting in the Low -Countries many years ago, Colonel George Monk. He had served in the -Civil War first with the Royalists, and had been taken prisoner -by Fairfax at Nantwich in January 1645; he had then passed some -time in confinement in the Tower, and finally had taken service -with the Parliament in Ireland, where his merit had attracted the -attention of Cromwell. Oliver was now anxious to provide him with a -regiment; but the corps which he had designed for him was unwilling -to receive a Royalist for colonel. Five companies were therefore -taken from Sir Arthur Hazelrigg's regiment at Newcastle and as many -more from Colonel Fenwick's at Berwick; and the ten companies were -united into Monk's regiment of foot. Thus was formed the oldest -of our existing national regiments, the one complete relic of the -famous New Model,[178] the one surviving corps which fought under -Oliver Cromwell, itself more famous under its later name of the -Coldstream Guards. - -On the 19th of July Cromwell halted near Berwick, where he mustered -sixteen thousand men, a third of them cavalry; and on the 22nd he -crossed the Tweed and marched up the coast upon Edinburgh. A fleet -on the east coast provided him with supplies as he advanced, which -furnishes an interesting precedent for the system that was to be -seen later under Wellington in the Peninsula. On the 28th of July -he was at Musselburgh, and on the following morning he came in -sight of the Scottish army, which was entrenched along the line -from Leith to the Canongate. - -The Scottish force comprehended a nominal total of twenty-six -thousand men, of which eighteen thousand were foot and eight -thousand horse. It was under the command, in deed if not in name, -of David Leslie, the same excellent officer who had routed the -brilliant Montrose at Philiphaugh and had handled his cavalry so -efficiently at Marston Moor. His troops however were inferior in -quality to the English. It is true that in 1647 the Scotch had -followed the example of England in remodelling their army, but the -total strength of this force was but five thousand foot and fifteen -hundred horse; and this, even supposing the whole of it to have -been efficient, was but a small leaven among twenty-six thousand -men. Leslie therefore stood carefully on the defensive and resisted -all Cromwell's temptations to a pitched battle. After a couple -of days Cromwell was compelled to fall back to Musselburgh for -supplies. He then determined to march round Edinburgh and push on -to Queensferry, where he could regain touch with his fleet on the -northern side of the town. Political reasons, however, induced him -to linger in the execution of this project; and the delay enabled -Leslie to take up a position which rendered it impossible. Unable -to force Leslie to an engagement, and not daring to attack him with -inferior numbers, Cromwell found himself completely outmanœuvred. -Dysentery broke out in the English troops; supplies began to fail; -and he was compelled to fall back by Haddington and Musselburgh -to his ships at Dunbar. There he arrived on the 1st of September -with "a poor, shattered, hungry, discouraged army." The Scots had -pressed the pursuit very closely, the rearguard had been constantly -engaged, and, most significant of all, the English discipline even -under Oliver himself had begun to fail.[179] Having driven his -enemy into the peninsula of Dunbar, Leslie sent forward a force -to bar a defile on the road to Berwick at Cockburnspath, and cut -off his retreat. The situation of the English was desperate, and -Cromwell was at his wits' end. His army was reduced by sickness to -eleven thousand men, while the Scots still numbered twenty-three -thousand; he could expect no relief from Berwick; and Leslie lay -in a strong position, from which it was hopeless to attempt to -dislodge him, between him and the Tweed. - -[Sidenote: Sept. 2.] - -Leslie on his side might well feel confident that he held his -enemy in the hollow of his hand. He had but to remain on his -hill-side and watch the English army melt away, or wait for the -most favourable moment to attack it either in the effort to embark -or while struggling through the defile in retreat. He was, however, -not his own master, but was controlled by an Aulic Council called -the Committee of Estates, which urged him to descend from his -weather-beaten position on the hill and move to the ground below, -where he would not only find greater convenience of supplies but -stand within closer striking distance of his enemy. Down therefore -he came, not altogether unwillingly, and took up a new position on -a triangle of ground enclosed between the sea, the hill which he -had just left, and a small stream called the Broxburn. This stream, -which runs at the bottom of a course from forty to fifty feet -deep, covered the whole of his front. On his extreme left it runs -close under the steep declivity of the hill and forms with it, so -to speak, the apex of the triangle; but further down it quits the -slope and takes its own course to the sea, leaving plenty of space -between it and the hill for a camping-ground. Half-way between the -open space and the sea, by the grounds of Broxmouth House, the -deep banks of the stream give place, as is usual with such waters, -to gentle inclines, not unfavourable to the action of cavalry. -This point by Broxmouth House formed Leslie's extreme right. The -whole position, as he judged, was not ill suited to a force with -great superiority in cavalry. He could post his foot on his centre -and on his left behind the deep trench dug by the Broxburn, and -mass his horse on the right where it could dash down the gradual -incline and across the shallow water without risk or difficulty. -By four o'clock in the afternoon of the 2nd of September his new -dispositions were complete. - -[Sidenote: Sept. 3.] - -Cromwell from the other side of the stream followed every movement -with intense attention. At last turning to Lambert he said that he -thought the enemy gave him an opportunity. Lambert replied that -the very same idea had occurred to him. Monk, who had probably -received higher military training than any officer in the army, was -next appealed to, and cordially agreed. If Leslie's right, at the -base of the triangle, could be turned, the whole of his force must -be pent up between the hills and the burn, his horse hurled on to -the backs of his foot, and the entire army forced up to the gorge -at the apex of the triangle in ever increasing confusion, and, in -a word, lost. The time of attack was fixed for the morrow before -dawn, and the details of the English dispositions were entrusted -to Lambert. - -Rain fell in torrents all through the night, and the Scotch -picquets laid themselves down to sleep with what comfort they could -among the corn-shocks. The English, as ever even during the worst -and most disorderly of retreats, had recovered themselves at the -prospect of battle. At four the moon rose and found Lambert already -hard at work. The bulk of the force, six out of eight regiments of -horse and three and a half regiments of foot, was moved down to -the extreme English left. Five regiments of horse under Lambert -were to cross the burn by Broxmouth House and attack the Scottish -cavalry in front; three regiments of foot and one of horse, all -picked corps, were to cross the water farther down and sweep round -upon its right flank. Cromwell himself took command of this turning -movement, and the regiment of horse which he took with him was -that which he had made six years before on the model of his own -"lovely company." The remainder of the force with the artillery was -stationed along the edge of the trench of the Broxburn to check any -movement of the enemy's centre and left. - -The light was beginning to creep over the sea before Lambert had -posted the artillery to his liking. There was some stir in the -Scotch camp; a trumpet sounded _boute-selle_; and Cromwell, fearful -lest the enemy should gain time to change position, grew impatient -for Lambert's coming. At last he came, and both columns moved -off. Lambert's regiments of horse advanced to the burn; and then -the trumpets rang out, and the troopers dashed across the water -and poured up the opposite slope to the attack. The Scots, though -unprepared, met them gallantly enough. Foreigners would have called -them ill-equipped, for they carried lances, an obsolete weapon, in -their front rank; but the lance was in place in the shock-combat -which Cromwell had taught to the English cavalry, and the first -onset of the English horse was borne back across the burn. The -supports came quickly up and the fight was renewed, though against -heavy odds, for the Scots could bring infantry and guns to the aid -of their horse, which the English could not yet. But while the -combat of cavalry was still swaying to and fro, the infantry of -Cromwell's turning column came up steady and inexorable upon the -flank of the Scots. Still Leslie's gallant men fought on for a -short time undismayed. They had been faultily disposed, as Cromwell -had noted, and could not easily change front,[180] but they met the -new attack as best they might and even checked the leading regiment -of English infantry. But Cromwell's own regiment of foot came up in -support, strode grimly forward straight to push of pike, and swept -the stoutest corps of Scottish infantry into rout. - -[Illustration: DUNBAR. - -September 3^{rd} 1650. - - _To face page 244_ -] - -Then the Scots lost heart and wavered; the English, horse and -foot, gathered themselves up for a final terrible charge; and the -Scottish cavalry, reeling back upon the foot, carried it away in -choking disorder towards the gorge. Meanwhile Cromwell was urging -his third regiment of foot to the left, always farther to the left; -and as, panting and breathless, they climbed the lower slopes of -the hill they saw the whole length of the battle spread out before -them and the Scotch all in confusion. "They run, I profess, they -run!" cried Oliver as he looked down. And while he spoke the sun -leaped up over the sea, and flashed beneath the canopy of smoke -on darting pikes and flickering blades and glancing casques and -swaying cuirasses, as the red-coats rolled the broken waves of the -Scottish army before them. "Now let God arise and let His enemies -be scattered," cried Cromwell in exultation, for the victory was -won. The Scots, wedged tighter and tighter between hills and -stream, were caught like rats in a pit, and like rats they ran -desperately and aimlessly up the steep slope, only to be caught -or turned back by the English skirmishers above them. Their horse -fled as best they could with the English cavalry spurring after -them, till Cromwell ordered a rally. While the broken ranks were -reforming he sang the hundred and seventeenth Psalm, the chorus -swelling louder and louder behind him as trooper after trooper -fell into his place. Then the psalm gave way to the sharp word of -command, and the horse trotted away once more to the pursuit past -Dunbar and Belhaven even to Haddington. Three thousand of the Scots -fell in the field; ten thousand prisoners, with the whole of the -artillery and baggage and two hundred colours, were taken. It was -the greatest action fought by an English army since Agincourt. - -Cromwell lost no time in following up his success. On the day after -the battle he sent Lambert forward with six regiments of horse to -Edinburgh, and occupied the port of Leith and the whole of the -town, except the Castle, without resistance. Leaving sufficient -men to blockade the Castle and hold the works at Leith he pushed -on against Leslie, who had entrenched himself with five thousand -men at Stirling; but finding his position unassailable he returned -to Edinburgh and busied himself with the reduction of the Castle, -while Lambert completed the subjugation of the West. In the middle -of September the Castle surrendered, and therewith all Scotland -south of the Forth and Clyde was subject to the English. - -[Sidenote: 1651.] - -At Westminster the joy over the victory of Dunbar was enthusiastic, -and found vent in the grant of a medal[181] and of a gratuity to -every man who had fought in the campaign. This, the first medal -ever issued to an English army, bore, in spite of his protests, the -effigy of Cromwell upon the obverse, no unfitting memorial of the -first founder of our Army of to-day. But the struggle even now was -not yet over. Royalist Scotland had been beaten at Preston, the -Scotland of the Covenant at Dunbar; but Charles Stuart was able, -by unscrupulous lying and shameless hypocrisy, to unite both for a -last effort in his cause, and to gather a new army around that of -David Leslie at Stirling. Accordingly on the 4th of February 1651 -Cromwell left his winter-quarters for Stirling, but was compelled -by the severity of the weather to retreat, with no further result -to himself than a dangerous attack of fever and ague, which kept -him on the sick-list until June. - -On the 25th of June the English army was concentrated on the -Pentland Hills, and from thence marched once more to Stirling. -Leslie, true to the tactics which had proved so successful in -the previous year, had occupied an impregnable position which -no temptation could induce him to quit. After a fortnight's -manœuvring, therefore, Cromwell decided, like Surrey before -Flodden, to move round Leslie's left flank and to cut off his -supplies from the north. It is plain, from the fact that Monk had -been engaged in operations for the reduction of Inchgarvie and -Burntisland on the northern shore of the Firth of Forth, that -Cromwell's plans for this movement were fully matured. - -[Sidenote: July 19-20.] - -The first step was to send Lambert across the Firth with four -thousand men to entrench himself at Queensferry. Leslie met this -move by detaching a slightly inferior force against Lambert, which -was utterly and disastrously routed, with a loss of five-sixths of -its numbers. Ten days later Inchgarvie and Burntisland fell into -Cromwell's hands, and, his new base being thus secured, he advanced -quickly into Fife. Meanwhile he sent orders to General Harrison, -whom he had left at Edinburgh with a reserve of three thousand -horse, that he was to move at once to the English border in the -event of Leslie's marching southward. By the 2nd of August he had -received the surrender of Perth, but, even before he could sign the -capitulation, intelligence reached him that the Scots had quitted -Stirling two days before and were pouring down to the border. -Leaving five or six thousand men with Monk to reduce Stirling, he -at once hurried off in pursuit. - -[Sidenote: August 4.] - -Two days sufficed to bring his army to Edinburgh, where he halted -for forty-eight hours. Harrison had already marched for the Border, -and with ready intelligence had mounted some of his infantry to -strengthen his little force. Lambert was now despatched with -three thousand horse to hang upon the enemy's rear; a letter was -despatched to the Speaker exhorting the Parliament to be of good -heart; and on the 6th of August Cromwell resumed his advance. Both -armies, English and Scots, were now fairly started on their race -to the south. Charles, in the hope of picking up recruits, stuck -to the western coast and the Welsh border, moving by Carlisle, -Lancaster, and the ill-omened town of Preston. Cromwell's course -lay farther east; he passed by Newburn, a scene of English defeat, -and by the more famous field of Towton, where the south had first -taught a lesson of respect to the north. Lambert and Harrison -united, and on the 16th of August obtained contact with the enemy -at Warrington, but not venturing to attack retired eastward to -cover the London road and to draw closer to the line of Cromwell's -march. - -[Sidenote: Sept 3.] - -The Ribble and the Aire once passed, the two armies began to -converge. On the 22nd of August Charles halted with the Scots at -Worcester and proceeded to fortify the town, and four days later -Cromwell occupied Evesham. Charles had but sixteen thousand men; -while Cromwell by a masterly concentration had collected no fewer -than twenty-eight thousand. The militia, which had been reorganised -by the Parliament in the previous year, had been called out and -had answered admirably to the call. There could be little doubt of -the issue of an action where the advantages both of numbers and -of quality were all on one side, and there is no need to dwell on -the battle fought on the anniversary of Dunbar at Worcester. It -was a victory in its way as complete as Sedan: hardly a man of -the Scottish army escaped. But it was also the crown of the great -work of the Army, the establishment of England's supremacy in the -British Isles. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -The victory had not long been reported to Parliament when the House -began to consider the question of reducing the forces. Silently -and almost imperceptibly the strength of the Standing Army had -grown since 1645 until it now amounted to thirty regiments of foot, -eighteen of horse and one of dragoons, or close on fifty thousand -men. Besides these there were independent companies in garrison -to the number of seven thousand more, and several more regiments -which were borne permanently on the Irish establishment. Five -whole regiments, thirty independent companies, and two independent -troops were ordered to be disbanded forthwith; other regiments -were reserved for service in Ireland or to replace the disbanded -companies in garrison; and the establishment for England and -Scotland was fixed at eighteen regiments of foot and sixteen of -horse. It appears too that the actual strength of companies was -reduced from one hundred and twenty to eighty, and of troops from -one hundred to sixty, thus diminishing the number of men while -retaining the name of the corps intact. The system is no novelty in -these days, but this is the first instance of its acceptance in the -history of the Army. - -[Sidenote: 1652.] - -[Sidenote: 1652-53.] - -A revolutionary Government, however, does not easily find peace. By -June 1652 the recruiting officers were abroad again, and regiments -were increasing their establishment owing to the outbreak of the -Dutch War. The quarrel with the United Provinces was curious, -inasmuch as the English commonwealth had expected sympathy from -the sister-republic which had been made by English soldiers, and -had even sought to unite the two republics into one. But there -is no such thing as national gratitude; and the discourtesy of -the Dutch soon led the English to exchange friendly negotiations -first for the Act of Navigation and very shortly after for war. -The story of that war belongs to the naval history of England, -wherein it forms one of its most glorious pages. Never perhaps -has more desperate fighting been seen than in the six furious -engagements which brought the Dutch to their knees. Yet in these -too the red-coats to the number of some two thousand[182] took -part, under the command of men who had made their mark as military -officers--Robert Blake, Richard Deane and, not least, George Monk. -The last named was so utterly ignorant of all naval matters that -he gave his orders in military language--"Wheel to the right," -"Charge"--but he made up for all shortcomings by his coolness and -determination. When Deane, his better-skilled colleague, was cut -in two by a round shot at his side he simply whipped his cloak -over the mangled body and went on fighting his ship as though -nothing had happened. Finally, in the last action of the war he -boldly met the greatest admiral of the day, and one of the finest -sailors of all time, with but ninety ships against one hundred and -forty, fought him not only with superb gallantry but with skilful -manœuvre, and wrenched from him the supremacy of the sea. - -[Sidenote: 1653, April 20.] - -And meanwhile the Army ashore had done the deed whereof the -Nemesis has never ceased to pursue it. So far, except for a few -intervals too brief to be worth noting, the Commonwealth had been -occupied with the business of war, and the principal function of -the Parliament had been to provide ways and means for the conduct -of war. Incapable of dissolution save by its own act, the House of -Commons had resolved just before the execution of the King that -it would put an end to itself in three months; but this had been -rendered impossible by the Irish and Scotch campaigns. After the -victory of Worcester Cromwell as a private member again brought -forward the question of dissolution, but the Rump, as the small -remnant that remained after several purgings was called, now showed -no disposition to part with the authority which it had so long -enjoyed. Frequent conferences were held between the officers of the -Army and the members of the House, with the only result that the -latter introduced a Bill which, while providing in some fashion or -another for the settlement of the nation, reserved to themselves -a perpetuity of power. The Army did not conceal its objections -to this Bill; and the climax came when certain members tried to -smuggle it through the House before the officers could interfere. -Then Cromwell went down to Westminster, and with twenty or thirty -musketeers quickly settled the whole matter. - -It is difficult to see how things could have ended otherwise. The -House had been sufficiently warned at the close of the first civil -war that the Army would not submit to do all the hard work in order -that a handful of civilians might reap the profits. The prestige -of that Parliament rested and still rests on the achievements of -its armed forces, and it depended for its life on the exertions of -men who had subjected themselves for its sake to the restraint of -military discipline and to the hardships and dangers of war. The -Parliament itself had shown no such devotion and self-sacrifice. -While soldiers were in distress for want of the wages due to them, -corrupt members were making money; while soldiers were flogged and -horsed for drunkenness or fornication, drunkards and lewd livers -passed unpunished in the House. Even in matters of administration, -if we judge by financial management, the Parliament had not shown -extraordinary capacity. Its difficulties were certainly enormous, -but not a few of them had been evaded rather than honestly met. The -Army, on the other hand, for once contained more than its share of -the brains of the nation, and comprehended not less administrative -talent and far more patriotic feeling than was to be found in the -Parliament. It was therefore too much to expect that it would -resign all share in the settlement of the nation to such a body as -the Rump. If the question of legality be raised, a House of Commons -indissoluble without its own consent, and working without the -checks of lords and sovereign, was as unknown to the Constitution -as a standing army, and at least as dangerous a menace to liberty. -If the Long Parliament taught a salutary lesson to kings, the Army -taught a lesson no less salutary to parliaments. It would have been -better perhaps for the future of the British Army had Cromwell -suffered the Rump to remain in power until it should be dissolved -in anarchy and confusion, instead of taking the initiative and -keeping stern order during the next five dangerous years. But it -would have been incomparably worse for England. - -[Sidenote: Dec. 16.] - -Nine months later, after the Little Parliament had been summoned -and had in despair resigned its powers, the soldier who had ousted -the Rump and taken over its authority to himself was installed -as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and -Ireland. Since 1652 he had been Commander-in-Chief, the first in -our history, of the forces in all three Islands; in virtue of -that command he now took over the general government. As was to -be expected, he chose his deputies and chief advisers from the -officers of the Army; and if thereby he placed the realm under -military rule we must not allow ourselves to be scared by the -phrase from recognition of the worthiness of the administration. -There is nothing to make a soldier blush, unless with pride, in the -military government of the Protectorate. - -[Sidenote: 1654.] - -Let us begin first with Scotland, which at the close of the Dutch -War had been placed under the charge of George Monk. The country -was as yet by no means quiet. Agents of Charles Stuart were busy -making mischief in the Highlands: and the English found themselves -confronted for the first time with the difficulties of a mountain -campaign. Monk's predecessor, Robert Lilburn, had essayed the task -with but sorry results; Monk himself accomplished it with a success -that suffices of itself to stamp him as a great soldier. - -Without going into elaborate detail it is worth while to notice -his plan for reducing the Highlands. The Royalist forces and -their Highland allies were gathered together principally in two -districts, in Lochaber under Glencairn, and in Sutherland under -Middleton. Monk's design was to cut the Highlands in twain along -the line of the present Caledonian Canal, that he might pen his -enemy at his will into either half of the country thus divided, and -deal with his forces in detail. North of this line the country was -sufficiently circumscribed by nature; south of it he was compelled -to fix his own boundaries. The east and south was already guarded -by a strong chain of posts running from Inverness through Stirling -to Ayr, while one corner to the south-west was secured by the -neutrality of the Campbells, which had been gained by diplomacy. -Monk now established three independent bases of operations, one at -Kilsyth to southward, two more at Perth and Inverness. He then left -one column at Dingwall, under Colonel Thomas Morgan, an officer -of whom we shall hear more, to hinder the junction of Middleton -and Glencairn; and arranged that another column, under Colonel -Richard Brayne, of whom also we shall hear more, should sail with -all secrecy from Ireland and seize Inverlochy, which was to be his -fourth independent base to westward. This done he advanced himself -with a third column into the hills from Kilsyth, attacked and -defeated Glencairn, and closed the one gap in the net which he had -drawn round the Highlands between Loch Lomond and the Clyde. - -Then hearing that Middleton had eluded Morgan and passed into -Lochaber, he suddenly shifted his base to Perth and advanced into -the heart of the mountains. In two days he had established an -advanced magazine at Loch Tay, where the news reached him that the -Northern clans had been summoned to assemble at Loch Ness. He at -once gave orders that the enemy should be allowed to pass to the -southward, and concerted a combined advance of himself, Brayne, and -Morgan from the south-west and east to crush him. Unfortunately -Morgan, in his eagerness to close in behind the Highlanders, -arrived before them and headed them back again to northward. Monk, -however, pursued them even thither, hunting them for a week from -glen to glen by extraordinary marches, such as the Highlanders had -not looked for from mere Englishmen. - -Retiring after this raid to Inverness Monk sent Morgan away by sea -to threaten the Royalist headquarters at Caithness. The feint was -successful. Middleton, who was again in command in the north, at -once came down towards the south. His march was seen and reported -from the English station at Blair Athol, and Monk was presently on -his track over the Grampians. The chase lay through the Drumouchter -Pass, Badenoch, Athol, and Breadalbane, thence westward to the head -of Loch Awe and back again into Perthshire and over the mountains -to Glen Rannoch; and there, as Monk had arranged, Middleton ran -straight into the jaws of Morgan's column and was utterly routed. -He fled to Caithness with Morgan hard at his heels; while Monk -dispersed the few remaining forces of Glencairn in the hills and -destroyed every Highland fastness about Loch Lomond. By August 1654 -the work was done; and the Highlands, if ever they may be said to -have been conquered, were conquered by George Monk. The English who -now wander in thousands over that rugged and enchanting land should -remember that the first of their kind that were ever seen therein -were Monk's red-coats.[183] - -Such very briefly was the first English mountain campaign, -admirably designed and admirably executed. The difficulties of -military operations in so wild and mountainous a tract were -extraordinarily great, and were increased by constant rain and -tempest; yet Monk's movements were amazingly rapid. His column -on one occasion covered sixty miles in the twenty-four hours. -Still more remarkable is his recognition of the fact that in such -a campaign success depends mainly on the efficiency of advanced -parties and outposts. He never moved without a cloud of scouts -on front and flanks; he made it a rule never to march after -mid-day; and when he halted he marked out the camp, and posted -every picquet and every sentry himself. He showed himself to be -the first English exponent of the principle of savage warfare. He -invaded the enemy's country, carrying his supplies with him, and -sat down. If he was attacked he was ready in a strong position; if -not, he made good the step that he had taken, left a magazine in a -strong post behind him, and marched on, systematically ravaging the -country and destroying the newly-sown crops. The enemy was obliged -to move or starve, and wherever they went he swiftly followed. -If they turned and fought, he asked for nothing better than the -chance of dispersing them at a blow; if they dodged, he brought -forward another column from another base to cut them off, while he -destroyed the fastnesses which they had deserted. Finally, when his -work was done he settled down quietly to govern the country in a -conciliatory spirit. He was able gradually to reduce his military -establishment, and, ruling at once with mildness, firmness, -watchfulness, and unflagging industry, showed himself to be not -less able as an administrator than as a general. Scotland has known -many worse rulers and few better than her first English military -governor. - -[Sidenote: 1655.] - -[Sidenote: 1657.] - -[Sidenote: 1654-1658.] - -In Ireland, after Cromwell's departure, the reduction of the -country to order was carried on also by a number of flying columns. -Of their leaders but two of the most successful need be named, -namely Robert Venables and John Reynolds, the latter Cromwell's -kinsman by marriage and sometime captain in his regiment of horse. -Ireton had been appointed Lord Deputy on Cromwell's departure, but -dying in November 1651 was succeeded by another soldier, Charles -Fleetwood. Though a valuable man when under the command of a strong -officer Fleetwood was soon found to be useless when invested with -supreme control, and he was soon practically superseded by Henry -Cromwell, the Protector's second surviving son. Henry had entered -the army at sixteen, had fought with his father in Ireland, and -had become a colonel at two-and-twenty. He was appointed Lord -Deputy of Ireland at the age of twenty-eight. The country was quiet -enough at his accession so far as concerned open rebellion; the -Tories had been mercilessly hunted down from bog to bog, and the -Irish fighting men had been transported in thousands by recruiting -officers to the armies of Spain and of France. What gallant service -they did under Lewis the Fourteenth, for they did not greatly -love the service of Spain, has been told with just pride by Irish -writers; and we too shall encounter some of their regiments before -long. Henry Cromwell's difficulties lay not with the native Irish -but with his own officers, the veterans of the Civil War, who -were alike jealous of his appointment and insubordinately minded -towards the Protector. Immediately on Henry's arrival some of these -malcontents held a meeting, wherein they put it to the question -whether the present government were or were not according to the -Word of God, and carried it in the negative. The very members of -the Irish Council, old field-officers who should have known better, -were disloyal to him, but being old comrades of Oliver's could not -be dismissed. Young as he was, however, Henry gave them clearly to -understand that he intended to be master, and therewith proceeded -to the difficult, nay impossible, task of executing what is known -as the Cromwellian settlement of Ireland. He showed conspicuous -ability in extremely trying circumstances, abundant firmness and -foresight, and a tolerance of spirit towards the men of other -creeds, even Catholics, which was as rare as it was politic. The -military governor of Ireland under the Commonwealth was assuredly -not a man of whom the British Army need feel ashamed.[184] - -Lastly we come to England, where Oliver Cromwell himself sat at -the head of the Provisional Government which he was honestly and -unceasingly striving to settle on a permanent basis. He defined -his own position accurately enough: he was a good constable set -to preserve the peace of the parish. But that parish was in a -terribly disturbed condition. All that the most visionary could -have dreamed of in the subversion of the old order had been -accomplished, had even been crowned by the execution of the King; -yet still the expected millenium was not yet come. All factions of -political and religious dissent, all descriptions of dreamers, of -fanatics, of quacks, and of self-seekers had been welded together -for the moment by the pressure of the struggle against Royalism -and against the rule of alien races. That pressure removed, the -whole mass fell asunder into incoherent atoms of sedition and -discontent, for which Royalism, as the one element which strove -for definite and attainable ends, formed a general rallying-point. -Good and gallant soldiers who had followed Cromwell on many a -field--Harrison, Okey, Overton--fell away into disloyalty. Sexby, -who had brought the news of Preston to Westminster, became the -most dangerous of conspirators. There is nothing more pathetic in -history than the desertions; from Cromwell after the establishment -of the Protectorate. Nevertheless the misfortune was inevitable, -for an army which meddles with politics cannot hope to escape the -diseases of politics. Yet, through all this, Cromwell on one -point was resolute; he would not allow successful rebellion to be -followed by a riot in anarchy. Come what might, he would not suffer -indiscipline. - -To preserve the peace, however, in such a hot-bed of plots and -conspiracies was no easy matter; and before he had been eighteen -months Protector, Cromwell brought military government closer -home to the people by parcelling England into at first ten and -then twelve military districts, each under the command of a -major-general. The force at the disposal of these officers for -the suppression of disorder varied in the different districts -from one hundred to fifteen hundred men, and was composed almost -exclusively of cavalry. It amounted on the whole to some six -thousand men, all drawn from the militia, who received pay to the -amount of eighty thousand pounds annually. Strictly speaking, -therefore, it was rather a force of mounted constabulary than of -regular cavalry, and there can be no doubt that, if order was to -be preserved, such a body of police was absolutely necessary. Yet -it is probable that no measure brought such hatred on the Army as -this. The magnates of the counties were of course furious at this -usurpation of their powers, and the poorer classes resented the -intrusion of a soldier and a stranger between themselves and their -old masters. After little more than a year the major-generals were -abolished, to the general relief and satisfaction. Their brief -reign has been forgotten by the Army, which can hardly believe that -it once took complete charge of the three kingdoms and administered -the government on the whole with remarkable efficiency. But the -major-generals have not been forgotten by the country. The memory -of their dictatorship burned itself deep into the heart of the -nation, and even now after two centuries and a half the vengeance -of the nation upon the soldier remains insatiate and insatiable. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -It is now time to pass to the foreign wars of the Protectorate; -for though they be little remembered they fairly launched the Army -on its long career of tropical conquest, and of victory on the -continent of Europe. - -[Sidenote: 1654.] - -It is not easy to explain the motives that prompted Cromwell to -make an enemy of Spain. He was eagerly courted by both French and -Spaniards, and it was open to him to choose whichever he pleased -for his allies. The probability is that he was still swayed by -the old religious hatred of the days of Elizabeth, and, like -her, looked to fill his empty treasury with the spoils of the -Indies. He did not perceive that the religious wars of Europe -were virtually ended, and that nations were tending already to -their old friendships and antagonisms as they existed before the -Reformation. Be that as it may, he was hardly firm in the saddle -as Protector when he began to frame a great design against the -Spanish possessions in the New World. His chief advisers were -one Colonel Thomas Modyford of Barbados, who had his own reasons -for wishing to ingratiate himself with the Protector, and Thomas -Gage, a renegade priest, who had lived long in the Antilles and -on the Spanish Main and had written a book on the subject. The -most fitting base of operations was obviously Barbados, which, -from its position to windward of the whole Caribbean Archipelago, -possessed a strategic importance which it has only lost since -the introduction of steam-vessels. It lay ready to Cromwell's -hand, having been an English possession since 1628, and was, if -Modyford were to be believed, ready to give active assistance in -the enterprise. There remained the question whether the expedition -should be directed against an Island or against the Main. Gage was -for the latter course, and named the Orinoco as the objective: -Modyford recommended Cuba or Hispaniola,[185] and Modyford's -opinion prevailed. - -Gradually the design matured itself, and presently assumed gigantic -proportions. A footing once established on one of the Spanish -Islands to leeward, there was to be a general contest with the -Spaniards for the whole of the South Atlantic. Two fleets were to -be employed, one in seconding the army's operations on the Islands -and making raids upon the Main, the other in cruising off the -Spanish coast so as to interrupt both plate-fleets from the west -and reinforcements from the east. Lastly, not England only, but New -England was to play a part in the great campaign. Supplies would -be one principal difficulty, but these could be furnished from -English America, and not only supplies but settlers, who, trained -to self-defence by Indian warfare, should be capable of holding -the territory wrested from Spain. Thus the English from both sides -of the Atlantic were to close in upon the Spanish dominions in the -New World, and turn Nova Hispania into Nova Britannia. There was no -lack of breadth and boldness in the design. - -All through the latter half of 1654 mysterious preparations went -forward with great activity in the English dockyards, and France, -Spain, and Holland each trembled lest they might be turned against -herself. But the existing organisation in England was unequal to -the effort. To equip two fleets of forty and of twenty-five ships -for a long and distant cruise was a heavy task in itself; but to -add to this the transport of six thousand men over three thousand -miles of ocean for an expedition to the tropics was to tax the -resources of the naval and military departments to excess. The -burden of the duty fell upon John Desborough, major-general and -commissioner of the Admiralty, who was not equal to thinking out -the details of such an enterprise nor disposed to give himself -much trouble about them. His difficulties were increased by -the rascality of contractors, and by the composition of the -expeditionary force. By a gigantic error, which has not yet been -unlearned, Cromwell, instead of sending complete regiments under -their own officers, made up new corps, partly of drafts selected -by various colonels and probably containing the men of whom they -were most anxious to be rid, and partly of recruits drawn from the -most restless and worthless of the nation. He returned in fact to -the old system that had so often been found wanting in the days of -Elizabeth, of James, and of Charles. - -The distribution of command was also faulty. The military -commander-in-chief was Robert Venables, who had made a reputation -as a hunter of Tories in Ireland; the Admiral joined with him was -William Penn, who is unjustly remembered rather as the father -of a not wholly admirable Quaker than as one of the ablest and -bravest naval officers of his day. But as if two commanders were -not already sufficient, there were joined with them three civil -commissioners, one Gregory Butler, an officer who had served in -the Civil War, Edward Winslow, a civilian and an official, and the -Governor of Barbados, Daniel Searle. There was of course nothing -new in the presence of civil commissioners on the staff, and a -general's instructions since the days of Henry the Eighth had -usually bound him to act by the advice of his Council of War only; -but it is abundantly evident that Winslow was employed not only as -a commissioner, but as a spy on his colleagues, or on some one of -them whose loyalty was suspected. It is strange that so sensible a -man as Cromwell should have made such a mistake as this. Monk was -the man whom he had wished to send, could he have spared him from -Scotland; but failing Monk, Penn and Venables were both of them -men who had shown ability in their previous service. - -With immense difficulty the expedition was got to sea at the end of -December 1654, just two months too late. Even so it sailed without -a portion of its stores, which Desborough promised faithfully to -send after it without delay. The fleet reached Barbados after a -good passage on the 29th of January 1655; and then the troubles -began. From too blind faith in the promises of Thomas Modyford, the -Protector had trusted to Barbados in great part to equip his army, -and to help it on its way. Barbados, from its Governor downwards, -refused to move a finger. It had no desire to denude itself of -arms or of men, and so far from assisting the English threw every -possible obstruction in their way. The planter upon whom Venables -had been instructed chiefly to depend was found to be entirely -under the thumb of his wife. She was averse to the expedition; and -the commissioners, observing her, as they said, to be very powerful -and young, abandoned all hope of co-operation from that quarter. -Every day too brought fresh evidence of the rotten composition of -the force at large, which was without order, without coherency, and -without discipline. Unfortunately Venables was not the man to set -such failings right. He showed indeed some spasmodic energy, called -the Barbadian planters a company of geese, improvised rude pikes of -branches of the cabbage-palm, organised a regiment of negroes and a -naval brigade, and after several weeks' stay sailed at last for St. -Domingo. On the way he picked up a regiment of colonial volunteers -which had been collected by Gregory Butler at St. Kitts, and on the -13th of April the expedition was in sight of St. Domingo. - -[Sidenote: 1655.] - -The naval officers were for running in at once and taking the town -by a sudden attack. Winslow, the civilian, objected: the soldiers, -he said, would plunder the town, and he wanted all spoil for the -English treasury. This order against plunder raised something -like a mutiny among the troops; but eventually a new plan was -chosen, which was probably based on the precedent of Drake in -1586. Venables with three thousand five hundred men sailed to a -landing-place thirty miles west of the town, and there disembarked; -leaving fifteen hundred more men under a Colonel Buller to land -to the eastward of it and march on it from that side. Buller, -however, finding it impracticable to obey his instructions, after -two days' delay also landed to the westward of the town, though but -ten miles from it, at a point called Drake's landing. Elated by a -trifling success against a handful of Spaniards who had opposed -his disembarkation, he laid aside all thought of co-operation with -Venables and pushed on hastily into the jungle to take St. Domingo -by himself. No sooner was he gone, past call or view, when up -came Venables to the identical spot where Buller had landed. He -had for two days pursued a terrible march of thirty miles through -jungle-paths, in the sultry steam of the tropical forest. The -men's water-bottles had been left behind in England, and they were -choked with thirst; they had torn the fruit from the trees as they -passed and had dropped down by scores with dysentery. Hundreds had -fallen out, sick and dead, and the column was not only weakened but -demoralised. - -Next day Venables effected a junction with Buller, and the force, -though heartless and spiritless, made shift to creep up to a -detached fort which covered the approach to the town. On the way -it fell into an ambuscade, and though it beat off the enemy, it -lost in the action the only guide who knew where water was to be -found, and was compelled to retire ten miles to Drake's landing. -There it remained for a week, eating bad food from some scoundrelly -contractor's stores, drinking water that was poisoned by a copper -mine, and soaked night after night by pouring tropical rain. -Dysentery raged with fearful violence, and Venables himself did not -escape the plague. Unfortunately, instead of sharing the hardship -with his men in camp, he went on board ship to be nursed by Mrs. -Venables, who had accompanied him on the voyage. Thus arose open -murmurs and scandalous tales, which cost him the confidence of the -army. - -Nevertheless after six days' rest he again advanced by the same -line to the fort from which he had been forced to retreat. To -prevent repetition of mishaps from ambuscades he gave strict orders -that the advanced guard should throw out flanking parties on each -side of the jungle-path. The injunction was disobeyed. The advanced -guard walked straight into an ambuscade, two officers fell dead, -the third, Adjutant-General Jackson, who was in command, turned and -ran; the advanced guard fled headlong back on to the support; the -support tumbled back on to the main body, and there, wedged tight -in the narrow pass, the English were mown down like grass by the -guns of the fort and the lances of the Spanish cavalry. At last an -old colonel contrived to rally a few men in the rear, and advancing -with them through the jungle fell upon the flank of the Spaniards -and beat them back. He paid for his bravery with his life, but he -assured the retreat of the rest of the force, which crept back -beaten and crest-fallen to the ships, leaving several colours and -three hundred dead men behind it. - -Venables and his men were now thoroughly cowed by failure and -disease. Penn in vain offered to take the town with his sailors, -but Venables and Winslow would not hear of it. All ranks in the -fleet now abused the army for rogues, and the worst feeling -grew up between the two services. Finally, on the 7th of May, -the expedition sailed away in shame to Jamaica. Arrived there, -Penn, openly saying that he would not trust the army, led the way -himself at the head of the boats of the fleet; and after a trifling -resistance the Island was surrendered by capitulation. Then fleet -and army began to fight in earnest, officers as well as men; and -at last, after the commissioners in command had spent six weeks in -incessant quarrelling, Venables and Penn sailed home, leaving the -troops and a part of the squadron behind them. - -[Sidenote: 1656.] - -Cromwell's disappointment and chagrin over the failure of his -great enterprise were extreme. Both the returned commanders were -forthwith sent to the Tower, and though presently released, -remained throughout the whole of the Protectorate in disgrace. -Still Jamaica had been won and must be held. The command after -Venables' departure had devolved on Richard Fortescue, a colonel -of the New Model, who, without concealing his infinite contempt -for those who had gone home, set himself cheerfully to turn the -new possession to account. To him Cromwell wrote letters of -encouragement and thanks, with promise of speedy reinforcement. But -now a new enemy appeared in Jamaica, one that has laid low many -tens of thousands of red-coats, the yellow fever. In October 1655 -the first reinforcements arrived, under command of Major Sedgwicke. -He had hardly set foot on the island before Fortescue succumbed, -and he could only report that the army was sadly thinned and that -hardly a man of the survivors was fit for duty. Then the recruits -began to fall down fast, and in a few days the men were dying at -the rate of twenty a day. Sedgwicke was completely unnerved; he -gave himself up for lost, and in nine months followed Fortescue to -the grave. Fresh reinforcements, including all the vagabondage of -Scotland, were hurried across the Atlantic to meet the same fate. -Colonel Brayne, who had served with Monk in Scotland, arrived to -succeed Sedgwicke in December 1656. He lasted ten months, surviving -even so two thirds of the men that he brought with him, and then -went the way of Sedgwicke and Fortescue. Finally a Colonel D'Oyley, -who had sailed with the original expedition, took over the command, -and being a healthy, energetic man, soon reduced things to such -order that when in May 1658 the Spaniards attempted to recapture -the island, he met and repulsed them with brilliant success. Thus -at length was firmly established the English possession of Jamaica. - -So ended the first great military expedition of the English to -the tropics, the first of many attempts, nearly all of them -disastrous, to wrest from Spain her Empire in the West. I have -dwelt upon it at some length, for it is the opening chapter of a -long and melancholy story, whereof one recitation will almost serve -for the whole. We have still to go with Wentworth to Carthagena and -with Albemarle to Havanna; we shall accompany Abercromby and Moore -to St. Vincent and St. Lucia, and other less noted officers to -Demarara and Surinam; we shall even see Wellington himself drawing -up a plan for operations on the Orinoco: but in spite of a hundred -experiences and a thousand warnings we shall find the mistakes of -Oliver Cromwell eternally repeated, and though we may never again -have to tell so disgraceful a story as that of the repulse from -St. Domingo, yet we shall seldom fail to encounter such mournful -complaints as were made by Fortescue, Sedgwicke, and Brayne, of -regiments decimated as soon as disembarked, and annihilated before -the firing of a shot. We have now well-nigh learned how to conduct -a tropical expedition, and life in the tropics is a thing familiar -to tens of thousands of Englishmen; but it is worth while to give -a thought to these poor soldiers of the Commonwealth. They were -the first Englishmen who went to the tropics, not like Drake's -crews as fellow-adventurers, but simply as hired fighting men. Yet -the traditions of Drake's golden voyages were strong upon them, -and they landed, big with expectations of endless gold told up -in bags.[186] We can picture their joy at coming ashore, bronzed -healthy Englishmen, and their open-mouthed wonder at all that -they saw; and then after a few hours the first cases of sickness, -the puzzled surgeons with busy lancets, the first death and the -first grave; the instant spread of fever on the turning of the -virgin soil, and then a hideous iteration of ghastly symptoms, -and, sundown after sundown, the row of silent forms and shrouded -faces. Englishmen had faced such terrors in the flooded leaguers of -Flanders, but it was hard to find them in a fruitful and pleasant -land, where the sun shone brighter and the forest grew greener -than in England, the loved England that lay so far away over the -glorious mocking blue of the tropic sea.[187] - -[Sidenote: 1655, Sept. 9.] - -[Sidenote: 1657, March.] - -The aggressive attack on St. Domingo at once decided the hostility -of Spain towards the Commonwealth, and drove her to take Cromwell's -most formidable enemy, Charles Stuart, to her heart. The Protector, -on his side, hastened to make treaty of peace and friendship with -France, which he presently expanded into an offensive and defensive -alliance. Mazarin, who had to encounter not only Spain but Condé, -was only too glad to welcome the English to his side. By the terms -of the treaty it was agreed that the French should provide twenty -thousand men, and the English six thousand men, as well as a fleet, -for the coming campaign against the Spaniards in Flanders. Of the -English six thousand half were to be paid by France, but the whole -were to be commanded by English officers, and reckoned to be the -Lord Protector's forces. The plan of campaign was the reduction -of the three coast-towns of Mardyck, Dunkirk, and Gravelines, of -which the two first were to be made over to England and the third -retained by France. Cromwell's great object was to secure a naval -station from which he could check any attempted invasion of England -by Charles Stuart from Spanish Flanders, and he was therefore -urgent that Dunkirk should be first attacked. Turenne disliked -this design, and even threatened to throw up his command if it -should be insisted on. To beleaguer Dunkirk without first securing -Nieuport, Furnes, and Bergues would, he said, be to be besieged -while conducting a siege. But Cromwell had made up his mind that -the thing should be done, and, as shall soon be seen, it was done. - -[Sidenote: 1657.] - -Throughout the spring of 1657 therefore preparations for the -expedition kept both military and naval departments busily -employed, for the fleet was not only to supply the army but to -second its operations. The six thousand men, though for the most -part old soldiers, were made up of drafts and of new recruits, -and were distributed into six regiments. Turenne would gladly -have preferred complete corps from the standing Army, but in the -existing menace of invasion Cromwell was indisposed to spare them. -Nevertheless the new regiments were in perfect order and discipline -when they embarked on the 1st of May from Dover for Boulogne. The -general in command was Sir John Reynolds, whom we saw lately in -Ireland; the major-general was Thomas Morgan, Monk's right-hand man -in the Highland war, an impetuous little dragoon known by the name -of the "little colonel,"[188] and justly reputed to be one of the -best officers in the British Isles. - -The arrival of the six thousand English foot, all dressed in new -red-coats, created a great sensation in France. They were cried -up for the best men that ever were seen in the French service; -they took precedence of the whole French army, even of the famous -Picardie, excepting the Swiss and Scottish body-guards; and they -were welcomed by emissaries from the King and Mazarin and inspected -by the royal family. It is significant of the difference between -the French and English even in their civil wars that the six -thousand were amazed to see all the villagers fly from their houses -at their approach. They were told that the French soldiery were -dreaded as much by their countrymen as by their enemies; and yet -Reynolds admitted that the discipline of the French troops was -good, for France. "But we," he added proudly, "can lie in a town -four days without a single complaint." One thing alone went amiss -with the English: they quarrelled with the French ammunition-bread, -and clamoured loudly for beef and beer. - -By the ill-faith of Mazarin, Reynolds' force instead of marching to -Dunkirk was moved inland, and found itself engaged at the siege -of St. Venant. Here it gave the Spaniards a taste of its quality. -It seems that the English, who were never very happy in handling -the spade, were working in some confusion at the advanced trenches -when Count Schomberg, a man whom readers should bear in mind, and -a few more foreign officers came up and began to pass criticisms. -Morgan, wincing under their remarks, impatiently called for a party -of fifty men to come to him; whereupon every English soldier in the -trenches, incontinently jumped up and without further ado assaulted -the town, captured three redoubts, and forced the Spaniards to -capitulate. Such blundering gallantry had distinguished the nation -since Cocherel, and was to be repeated on a grander scale at -Minden. But Cromwell was not the man to allow his regiments to be -wasted in such operations as these. Dismissing all of Mazarin's -excuses as "parcels of words for children," he insisted that the -true business of the campaign should be taken in hand at once. In -September, therefore, Turenne moved slowly up to the coast; and -Cromwell to give him encouragement sent him a reinforcement of two -thousand men. Mardyck was easily taken on the 29th of September; -but there Turenne stopped. Lockhart, the English ambassador, in -vain offered him five of the old regiments of the standing Army -if he would proceed at once to the siege of Dunkirk;[189] the -great General would not move; and with the capture of Mardyck the -campaign of 1657 came to an end. - -[Sidenote: 1657-1658.] - -The English undertook to garrison Mardyck and the town of Bourbourg -close to it, and while engaged in this duty incurred the strong -censure of Turenne. They kept, he complained, very bad guards, and -seemed unable to stand the work of watching; and the failing, it -seems, was no new one, for Monk expressed no surprise at hearing -of it. Nevertheless, when on one night in October the Spaniards -attempted to surprise Mardyck with five thousand men, they found -this unwatchful garrison formidable enough and were repulsed -with heavy loss. The truth was that the condition of things in -the town was what would now be thought appalling. The winter was -unusually severe and the troops very imperfectly protected against -it. Pestilence had broken out among them and men were dying at the -rate of ten or twelve a day: once indeed the death-roll within -twenty-four hours ran as high as fifty. Reynolds protested in vain, -and at last in December he sailed for England to represent matters -in person to the Protector. He was cast away on the Goodwin Sands -and never seen again. By the time when the season opened for active -operations the English had lost since their disembarkation their -General and not far from five thousand men. - -[Sidenote: 1658.] - -Lockhart, who took over the command after Reynolds' death, found -the remnant of the army in a very bad state. Discipline was -decidedly lax; and the French complained bitterly of the insolence -of their allies. This of course was no new thing. So far back as -1603, in the wars of Dutch Independence, a dispute about some -firewood had set an English and a French regiment fighting; and -the quarrel had ended in the flight of the French to their ships, -leaving their Colonel and sixteen of their comrades dead behind -them.[190] The English now, probably on some equally trivial -occasion, fell at variance with the French guards and killed -several of them; nor could all the frenzy of French indignation -avail to obtain the least redress. Lockhart attributed this -insubordinate spirit to the dearth of chaplains; but the true -explanation was that over eighty of the officers, disliking -the tedium of winter-quarters, had absented themselves, as was -customary, from their regiments. When they returned, and four -thousand fresh troops with them, Morgan seems to have had little -difficulty in restoring discipline. - -[Sidenote: March.] - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - May --. - 27 -] - -[Sidenote: - - May 23 - ------- - June 2. -] - -Morgan opened the campaign before the arrival of Lockhart by the -capture of two small redoubts that lay on the road to Dunkirk; but -it was not till the 4th of May that Turenne broke up his quarters -at Amiens, and after a very difficult march to Dunkirk, on the 27th -invested the town. A brilliant repulse of a Spanish sortie by the -English put him in good humour with his allies, and he was fain to -confess that they had done right well.[191] He was to appreciate -them still higher within a week; for on the 2nd of June the Spanish -army, fifteen thousand strong, under Don John of Austria, Condé, -the Marquis Caracena, and James, Duke of York, drew down to within -a mile of his headquarters, with the evident design of forcing the -besiegers' lines. - -We must pause for a moment over the composition of the motley -Spanish host, for there is a part of it under James, Duke of -York, with which we are nearly concerned. Five regiments in all, -amounting to some two thousand men, were entrusted to the Duke's -command. Three of these, James's own, Lord Ormonde's, and Lord -Bristol's, were Irish, the relics of the loyal party that had -been scattered by Cromwell; one, Middleton's, was Scotch, and -represented fragments of the force that had been broken up by Monk; -and one, which readers must not omit to mark, was English, made up -of refugees mostly of gentle birth. It comprehended the last shreds -of old English royalism, and was called the King's Regiment of -Guards. - -Nor must we omit to throw a passing glance at the army of Turenne. -First and foremost there were the six regiments sent out by -Cromwell. Then there was a regiment with which we parted last -after the battle of Verneuil, the Scottish body-guard of the kings -of France. Next, there was a regiment which we saw pass from the -Swedish to the French service in 1635, Regiment Douglas, some time -the Scots Brigade of King Gustavus Adolphus. It had passed through -many campaigns and absorbed other corps of British within the past -twenty years, and could now add the names of Rocroi, Lens and -Fribourg to its records; but here it was, newly recruited from -Scotland by the Protector's permission, marching side by side with -the red-coats, though quite unconscious how soon it was destined to -take its place among them, to fight the battle of Dunkirk Dunes. -Lastly, an Irish regiment, known by the name of Dillon, and made -up of men who had fled from the wrath of Cromwell, completed the -strange representation of the united Commonwealth.[192] - -It was evening of the 2nd of June before Turenne could satisfy -himself that the whole of the Spanish army was present before him, -but no sooner was he assured of it than he resolved to fight on the -morrow. The English were still at Mardyck, and the orders reached -Lockhart so late and came as such a surprise that the marshal -politely intimated his wish to give reasons for his determination. -"I take the reasons for granted," answered Lockhart, "it will be -time to hear them when the battle is over." At ten o'clock the -English marched off, Lockhart, who was suffering agonies from -stone, driving in his carriage at their head, and at daybreak -reached Turenne's headquarters. The next three hours were spent -in drawing up the line of battle, which was of the mathematical -precise type that prevailed in those days. In the first line there -were thirteen troops of cavalry on the right wing, as many on the -left, and eleven battalions of infantry in the centre; in the -second line there were ten troops on the right, nine on the left, -and seven battalions in the centre. Five troops of horse were -posted midway between the two lines of infantry, and four more were -held in reserve. The whole force was reckoned at six thousand horse -and nine thousand foot, of which latter the English contingent made -more than half. The place assigned to the red-coats was the left -centre, which, if not the post of honour, was assuredly the post of -danger. - -[Sidenote: - - May 24 - ------- - June 3. -] - -Don John's line of battle was widely different. He had taken up -a strong position among the sand hills, facing west, his right -resting on the beach, his left on the Bruges Canal; and the whole -of his infantry was drawn up in his first line. A sand hill higher -than the rest on his right was regarded as the key of the position, -and was strongly held, as the place of honour, by four Spanish -regiments. Next to them on their left stood the five regiments -under the Duke of York, with one battalion in reserve, and the line -was continued by battalions of Germans and Walloons. The Spanish -horse was massed behind the foot in columns according as the sand -hills permitted; and the whole force numbered between fourteen and -fifteen thousand men. - -[Illustration: DUNKIRK DUNES - - May 24^{th} - ----------- 1658 - June 3^{rd} - - _To face page 272_ -] - -Notwithstanding that they had marched all night, and in spite of -Turenne's orders that the line should dress by the right, the -English outstrode the French in the advance and began the action -alone. The position occupied by the Spaniards in their front was so -strong, that Lockhart by his own confession despaired of carrying -it. Lieutenant-Colonel Fenwick however, who commanded Lockhart's -regiment, undertook the task without the General's instructions. -Covered by a cloud of skirmishers he advanced steadily with his -pikes to the foot of the sand hill, and while the musketeers -wheeling right and left maintained a steady fire, he calmly halted -the pikes to let the men take breath. Then with a joyful shout they -swarmed up the treacherous sand and went straight at the Spaniards. -Fenwick fell at once, mortally wounded by a musket shot; his major, -Hinton, took his place, and was also shot down. Officer after -officer fell, but the men were not to be checked, and though the -Spaniards, backed by a company of the English guards, fought hard -and well, they were fairly swept off the sand hill, and retired -in confusion, leaving nine out of thirteen captains dead on the -ground. James, Duke of York, tried to save the rout by charging -Lockhart's victorious regiment with his single troop of horse, but -he was beaten back, and though at a second attempt he succeeded in -breaking into its flank he met with so sturdy a resistance from -every isolated man as convinced him that his effort was hopeless. -Meanwhile the rest of the English regiments advanced quickly in -support; the French horse on the left wing came up likewise, and -the rout of the Spanish right was complete. - -With the uncovering of its right flank the whole of Don John's -line wavered, and few regiments, except those under the immediate -direction of Condé, far away on the left, showed more than a -feeble resistance to the advancing French. Very soon the whole -force--Spaniards, Walloons and Germans, Scots and Irish--were in -full retreat, and a single small corps of perhaps three hundred -men stood isolated and alone in the position among the sand hills. -A French officer rode forward and summoned the little party to -surrender. "We were posted here by the Duke of York," was the -answer, "and mean to hold our ground as long as we can." The -Frenchman explained that resistance was hopeless. "We are not -accustomed to believe our enemies," was the reply. "Then look for -yourself," rejoined the Frenchman; and leading the commander to -the top of a sand hill he showed him the retreating army of Spain. -Thereupon the solitary regiment laid down its arms: it was the -English King's Royal Regiment of Guards.[193] - -The losses of the victorious English were very severe. In -Lockhart's regiment but six out of the whole number of officers -and sergeants had escaped unhurt; and the honours of the day -were admitted by all to lie with the red-coats. The action led -to the speedy fall of Dunkirk; and Lockhart, being reinforced by -two regiments from England, was able to detach four to continue -the campaign under the command of Morgan. Bergues, Dixmuyde, and -Oudenarde fell in quick succession, and little opposition was -encountered until the siege of Ypres, where the English delivered -so daring and brilliant an assault that Turenne, overcome with -admiration, embraced their leader, Morgan, and called him one of -the bravest captains of the time. The capture of Ypres was the last -exploit of the six thousand--the immortal six thousand, as they -were styled in the admiring pamphlets of the day. After an advance -almost to the walls of Brussels, the campaign came to an end; -Morgan returned to England to receive knighthood, and the English -retired to Dunkirk to spend another winter in cold and misery and -want, and worst of all in deep uncertainty for the future.[194] - -[Sidenote: 1659, April 21.] - -For even while Morgan was watching the Spanish garrison march out -of Ypres, the soldier who had made the English Army was lying -speechless and unconscious at St. James's, worn out with many -campaigns and with the work of keeping the peace in England. Before -tattoo sounded on the 3rd of September 1658, Oliver Cromwell was -dead, and no man could say who should come after him. Richard -Cromwell, his son, held two trump-cards in his hand--Henry Cromwell -and the army in Ireland, George Monk and his army in Scotland. He -was afraid to play either, and yielded up his power to a clique of -his father's old officers--Fleetwood, Desborough, and others--who -brought back the Rump of the Long Parliament to reign in his stead. -Henry Cromwell resigned his command, and the power of the Cromwells -was gone. The Rump now took over Cromwell's body-guard for its own -protection, and to make the Army thoroughly subservient decided -that all officers should be approved by itself, and all commissions -signed by the Speaker. So large was the military establishment that -this work of revising the list of officers was never completed. -George Monk, however, accepted the Speaker's commission without a -word. - -[Sidenote: October 17.] - -It was not in the nature of things that the English generals -should long submit to the junto of politicians which it had set -over England. In a very short time the leaders of the Army for the -second time cleared away the Rump, and took the supreme power into -their own hands; but herein they overlooked the existence of the -ablest soldier left in Great Britain. Monk was ready enough to take -his orders from Oliver Cromwell, but not from such small men as -Lambert and Desborough. No sooner did the news of the new departure -reach him at Dalkeith than with amazing rapidity he secured every -garrison in Scotland, seized the bridge over the Tweed at Berwick, -purged his troops of all officers disloyal to the Parliament, -and gave orders for his whole force to concentrate at Edinburgh. -Morgan, with the glories of Flanders still fresh on him, presently -came to help him in the reorganisation of his army, and by the -middle of November he began to move slowly south. Negotiations with -the English leaders had been in progress ever since Monk first -took decided action, and, though fully aware that they must come -to nothing, he was not sorry to gain a little time in order to -establish discipline thoroughly in the force under his command. By -the end of November he had fixed his headquarters at Berwick. - -There, at one o'clock on the morning of the 7th of December, -he was surprised by the news that, in spite of much peaceful -profession, the English general Lambert had besieged Chillingham -Castle and had marched within twenty miles of the Border. One hour -sufficed for Monk to write the necessary orders for the movement -of the troops, and at two o'clock he was in the saddle and away -to inspect the fords of the Tweed. The night was stormy and pitch -dark, and the roads were sheets of ice, but on he galloped, despite -the entreaties of his staff, through wind and sleet, up hill and -down, at dangerous speed. "It was God's infinite mercy that we -had not our necks broke," wrote one who was an unwilling partaker -of that ride.[195] By eleven o'clock the inspection was over and -headquarters were fixed at Coldstream. A regiment of foot had -already arrived there to guard the ford before the General came, -and had cleared away every scrap of provisions. His staff-officers -dispersed to find food where they could, but George Monk put a -quid of tobacco into his cheek and sat down contented with a good -morning's work. He had occupied every pass from Berwick to Kelso, -and had so thought out every detail that he could concentrate his -whole force at any given point in four hours. The bulk of his -troops under Morgan were stationed on the exposed flank at Kelso; -he himself was in the centre at Coldstream. Lambert might attack -his front or turn his flank if he dared. - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -For three weeks Monk's army lay in this position, four regiments -of horse and six of foot,[196] waiting for the moment to advance. -The cold was intense, and the quarters in the little village of -Coldstream were very strait. The General occupied a hovel wherein -he had hardly space to turn round, and the men suffered greatly -from privation and hard weather, but Monk's spirit kept them all in -cheerfulness, and those who had shared his hardships never ceased -to boast themselves to be Coldstreamers. At last, on the 31st of -December, came the news that the army which had deposed the Rump -was up in mutiny; and at daybreak of the 1st of January 1660 Monk's -army crossed the Tweed in two brigades and began its memorable -march to the south. All day they tramped knee-deep through the -snow, full fifteen miles to Wooler, while the advanced-guard of -horse by a marvellous march actually covered the fifty miles to -Morpeth. At York they were met by Fairfax, who had roused himself -at such a crisis for a last turn of military duty, and picking up -deserters on every side from Lambert's regiments they increased -their strength at every march. On the 31st of January Monk received -at St. Albans the Parliament's confirmation of his commission as -General, and three days later he occupied London. His own regiment -of foot was quartered for the first time in and about St. James's. - -It is unnecessary to dwell on the intricate movements in the -political world during the three following months; it must suffice -to say that Monk was finally obliged to coerce the Rump as all -other soldiers had coerced it. In spite of all engagements to -dissolve itself without delay, this pretentious little assembly -still clung, notwithstanding its unpopularity, to power; but a -letter from the General was sufficient to bring it to reason -without a file of musketeers. Such a letter arrived on the 6th of -April; and though the House resolved not to read it until it had -gratified its vanity by a little further debating, yet it decided -after opening it to make the question of dissolution its very -next business. Before evening it had ceased to exist. One last -desperate attempt of Desborough and Lambert to divide the Army was -suppressed with Monk's habitual promptitude, and on the 1st of May -the General, sitting as member for his native county in a new House -of Commons, moved that the King should be invited to England. Three -weeks later Monk's life-guard and five regiments of horse escorted -the restored monarch into London; and the work of the New Model -Army was done. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -It is strange that our historians have for the most part taken -leave of the New Model without a tinge of regret, without -estimation of its merits or enumeration of its services. Mountains -of eulogy have been heaped on the Long Parliament, but little has -been spared for this famous Army; nay, even military historians by -a strange perversity begin the history of the Army not from its -foundation but from its dissolution. Much doubtless besides the -creation of a standing Army dates from the great rebellion, though -few things more important in our history, unless indeed it be the -cant that denies its importance. The bare thought of militarism or -the military spirit is supposed to be unendurable to Englishmen. -As if a nation had ever risen to great empire that did not possess -the military spirit, and as if England herself had not won her -vast dominions by the sword. We are accustomed to speak of our -rule as an earnest for the eternal furtherance of civilisation; -but we try to conceal the fact that the first step to empire is -conquest. It is because we are a fighting people that we have risen -to greatness, and it is as a fighting people that we stand or -fall. Arms rule the world; and war, the supreme test of moral and -physical greatness, remains eternally the touchstone of nations. - -Surely therefore the revival of the military spirit, and on the -whole the grandest manifestation of the same in English history, -are not matters to be lightly overlooked. The campaigns of the -Plantagenets had shown how deep was the instinct of pugnacity that -underlay the stolid English calm, but since the accession of the -Tudors no sovereign had given it an outlet ashore in any great -national enterprise. Elizabeth never truly threw in her lot with -the revolted Netherlands; James hated a soldier, and shrank back -in terror from the idea of throwing the English sword into the -scale of the Thirty Years' War; Charles's miserable trifling with -warfare contributed not a little to the unpopularity which caused -his downfall. The English were compelled to sate their military -appetite in the service of foreign countries, and as fractions of -foreign armies. - -Then at last the door of the rebellion was opened and the nation -crowded in. It is hardly too much to say that for at any rate the -four years from 1642 to 1646 the English went mad about military -matters. Military figures and metaphors abounded in the language -and literature of the day, and were used by none more effectively -than by John Milton.[197] Divines took words of command and the -phrases of the parade ground as titles for their discourses, and -were not ashamed to publish sermons under such a head as "As -you were." If anything like a review or a sham fight were going -forward, the people thronged in crowds to witness it; and one -astute colonel took advantage of this feeling to reconcile the -people to the prohibition of the sports of May-day. He drew out -two regiments on Blackheath, and held a sham fight of Cavaliers -and Roundheads, wherein both sides played their parts with great -spirit and the Cavaliers were duly defeated; and the spectacle, -we are assured, satisfied the people as well as if they had gone -maying any other way. It is true that the sentiment did not endure, -that the eulogy of the general and his brave soldiers was turned -in time to abuse of the tyrant and his red-coats; but when a -nation after beheading a king, abolishing a House of Lords, and -welcoming freedom by the blessing of God restored, still finds -that the golden age is not yet returned, it must needs visit -its disappointment upon some one. The later unpopularity of the -strong military hand does not affect the undoubted fact of a great -preliminary outburst of military enthusiasm. Nor indeed even at the -end was there any feeling but of pride in the prowess of Morgan's -regiments in Flanders. - -The rapid advance of military reform in its deepest significance -is not less remarkable. For two years it may be said that opposing -factions of the Civil War fought at haphazard, after the obsolete -fashion of the days of the Tudors. The most brilliant soldier on -either side was a military adventurer of the type that Shakespeare -had depicted, a man who - - dreams of cutting Spanish throats, - Of trenches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades - And healths five fathoms deep. - -Against the wild, impetuous Rupert the primitive armies of the -Parliament were powerless. From the first engagement Cromwell -perceived that such high-mettled dare-devils could be beaten -only by men who took their profession seriously, who made some -conscience of what they did, who drew no distinction between moral -and military virtues, who believed that a bad man could not be a -good soldier, nor a bad soldier a good man, who saw in cowardice -a moral failing and in vice a military crime. Cromwell's system -is generally summed up in the word fanaticism; but this is less -than half of the truth. The employment of the phrase, moral force, -in relation to the operations of war, is familiar enough in our -language; but the French term _morale_ is now pressed into the -service to signify that indefinable consciousness of superiority -which is the chief element of strength in an army. Such narrowing -of old broad terms is in a high degree misleading. It should -never be forgotten that military discipline rests at bottom on -the broadest and deepest of moral foundations; its ideal is the -organised abnegation of self. Simple fanaticism is in its nature -undisciplined; it is strong because it assumes its superiority, -it is weak because it is content with the assumption; only when -bound under a yoke such as that of a Zizka or of a Cromwell is -it irresistible. Cromwell's great work was the same as Zizka's, -to subject the fanaticism that he saw around him to discipline. -He did not go out of his way to find fanatics. "Sir," he once -wrote, "the State in choosing men for its service takes no notice -of their opinions; if they be willing faithfully to serve it, -that satisfies." In forming his original regiment of horse he -undoubtedly selected men of good character, just as any colonel -would endeavour to do to-day. But Fairfax's was by no means an army -of saints. One regiment of the New Model mutinied when its colonel -opened his command with a sermon, and the Parliament with great -good sense prohibited by Ordinance the preaching of laymen in the -Army. It is time to have done with all misconceptions as to the -work that Cromwell did for the military service of England, for it -is summed up in the one word discipline. It was the work not of a -preacher but of a soldier. - -That the discipline was immensely strict and the punishments -correspondingly severe followed necessarily from the nature of -his system. The military code took cognisance not only of purely -military offences, but of many moral delinquencies, even in time -of peace, which if now visited with the like severity would make -the list of defaulters as long as the muster-roll. Swearing was -checked principally by fine, drunkenness by the wooden horse. -This barbarous engine, imitated from abroad, consisted simply of -a triangular block of wood, like a saddle-stand, raised on four -legs and finished with a rude representation of a horse's head. On -this the culprit was set astride for one hour a day for so many -days, with from one to six muskets tied to his heels; and that -degradation might be added to the penalty, drunkards rode the horse -in some public place, such as Charing Cross, with cans about their -necks. A soldier who brought discredit on his cloth by public -misconduct paid the penalty with public disgrace. Fornication was -commonly punished with the lash, the culprit being flogged so many -times up and down the ranks of his company or regiment according to -the flagrancy of the offence. It is small wonder that men forced -by such discipline to perpetual self-control should have scorned -civilians who allowed themselves greater latitude, and despised -a Parliament which, in spite of many purgings, was never wholly -purged of loose livers. - -Towards the unfortunate Royalists the feelings of the Parliamentary -Army after 1645 were of unutterable contempt. It was not only -that it felt its moral superiority over the unhappy cavaliers; it -mingled with this the keenest professional pride. No sergeant-major -of the smartest modern cavalry regiment could speak with more -withering disdain of the rudest troop of rustic yeomanry than -did the Parliamentary newspapers of the prisoners captured at -Bristol.[198] It is instructive, too, to note the patronising tone -adopted by Reynolds towards the army of Turenne, his criticism of -the discipline that was "good, for France," and his observations as -to the proverbial inefficiency of a French regiment at the end of a -campaign. Beyond all doubt the English standing Army from 1646 to -1658 was the finest force in Europe. It is the more amazing that -Cromwell should have suffered its fair fame to be tarnished by the -rabble that he sent to the West Indies. - -Such an army will never again be seen in England; but though its -peculiar distinctions are for ever lost, the legacies bequeathed by -it must not be overlooked. Enough has been said of the institution -of the new discipline, and of the virtual extinction of the old -stamp of military adventurer; it remains now briefly to summarise -the minor changes wrought by the creation of a standing Army. First -comes the incipient organisation of a War-Department as seen in -the Committee of the Army working with the Treasurers at War on -one side and the ancient Office of Ordnance on the other, and in -the appointment of a single commander-in-chief for all the forces -in England, Scotland, and Ireland. And here it must be noted in -passing that the division of the Army into an English, Scotch, -and Irish establishment, which lasted until the three kingdoms -were one by one united, becomes fully defined in the years of -the Protectorate. Next must be mentioned the organisation of -regiments with frames of a fixed strength, regiments of horse with -six troops, and of foot and dragoons with ten companies, and the -maintenance of a fixed establishment for services of artillery and -transport.[199] Further, to combine the unity of the Army with the -distinction of the various corps that composed it, there was the -adoption of the historic scarlet uniform differenced by the facings -of the several regiments. - -Clothing however, leads us to the more complicated question of -the pay of the Army. The regular payment of wages was, as has -been seen, the first essential step towards the establishment of -a standing force; and with it came concurrently the system of -clothing, mounting and equipping soldiers at the expense of the -State. It should seem, however, that the rules for regulating the -system were sufficiently elastic, for we find quite late in the -second Civil War that troopers generally still provided their -own horses, and received a higher rate of pay, and that colonels -were permitted to make independent contracts for the clothing and -equipment of their regiments. The stoppages from the soldiers' -pay at this period are also instructive. The deduction of a -fixed sum for clothing dates, as has been already told, from the -days of Elizabeth if not from still earlier times. But to this -was now added the principle of withholding a proportion of the -wages, under the name of arrears, as security against misconduct -and desertion; while it was a recognised rule that both men and -officers should forfeit an additional proportion so long as they -lived at free quarter. An allowance for billet-money, and a fixed -tariff of prices to be paid by soldiers while on the march within -the kingdom, contributed somewhat to lighten the burden of all -these stoppages, and made a precedent for the Mutiny Act of a later -day. It is worthy of remark that the garrison of Dunkirk found in -the town special buildings, constructed by the Spaniards for their -troops and called barracks,[200] and that it was duly installed -therein in the autumn of 1659. The reader, if he have patience to -follow me further, will be able to note for himself how long was -the time before English soldiers exchanged life in alehouses for -the Spanish system of life in barracks. - -But there is another and more interesting aspect of the question -of pay, when we pass from that of the men to that of the officers. -The extinction of the old military adventurer brought with it the -total abolition, for the time, of the system of purchase. In the -Royalist regiments that gathered around Charles Stuart in Flanders, -we find that companies and regiments still changed hands for money, -but in the English standing Army the practice seems utterly to have -disappeared. Promotion was regulated not necessarily by seniority -but by the recommendation of superior officers, and, as external -evidence seems to indicate, ran not in individual regiments but in -the Army at large. The arrears of officers, especially of those -who possessed means of their own, often remained, through their -patriotic forbearance, not only many months but many years overdue; -and it is interesting to mark that their inability to watch over -their own interests while they were engaged on active service led -to the appointment of regimental agents, who drew their pay and -transacted their financial business with the country on their -behalf. The Army Agent may, therefore, justly boast himself to be a -survival of the Civil War. - -Nor can I leave this subject without reference to yet another -remarkable feature in the New Model Army, which unfortunately has -not passed into a tradition. I allude to the great and sudden check -on the ancient evil of military corruption. To say that corruption -came absolutely to an end would be an excessive statement, for -the minutes of courts-martial on fraudulent auditors are still -extant, but it is probable that during the Civil War it was -reduced to the lowest level that it has touched in the whole of -our Army's history. The abolition of purchase and the higher moral -tone that pervaded the whole force doubtless contributed greatly -to so desirable an end. It is, however, melancholy to record -that the evil was evidently but scotched, not killed. Before the -Protector had been dead a year, there was seen, at the withdrawal -of part of the garrison of Dunkirk, a deliberate and disgraceful -falsification of the muster-rolls, aggravated by every circumstance -that could encourage fraud and injure good discipline. Contact with -foreign troops was probably the immediate cause of this lamentable -backsliding, but it furnishes a sad commentary on the fickleness of -Puritan morality. - -Finally, let us close with the greatest and noblest work of the New -Model Army; the establishment of England's supremacy in the British -Isles as a first step to their constitutional union. No achievement -could have stood in more direct antagonism to the policy of Charles -Stuart, who strove with might and main to set nation against -nation and kingdom against kingdom, and paid for his folly with his -life. It may be that the greatness of this service will in these -days be denied. There were not wanting in the Long Parliament men -who intrigued with Scotland against England rather than suffer -power to slip from their hands, and it is not perhaps strange that -the type of such men should be imperishable. Those, however, who -call England the predominant partner in the British Isles should -not forget who were the men that made her predominant.[201] The -Civil War was no mere rebellion against despotic authority. It -accomplished more than the destruction of the old monarchy; it was -the battle for the union of the British Isles, and it was fought -and won by the New Model Army. - - AUTHORITIES.--In so slight a sketch of the Civil War and the - Protectorate as is given in these pages any lengthy enumeration - of the authorities would be absurd. Readers will find them for - themselves in the exhaustive history of Mr. Gardiner, to whose - labours, as well as to those of Mr. C. H. Firth, I am very - greatly indebted. Such collections of documents as the _Calendars - of State Papers_, Rushworth, Thurloe, and Carlyle's _Cromwell's - Letters and Speeches_ are almost too obvious to call for mention. - The Clarke Papers are of exceptional value for purposes of - military history, and Sprigge's _Anglia Rediviva_ is of course - an indispensable authority as to the New Model. But even in - such fields as the newspapers and the King's Pamphlets Mr. - Gardiner and Mr. Firth have left little harvest ungleaned. Of the - military writers of the time Barriffe is the most instructive, - particularly in respect of certain comments added in the later - editions. A French folio volume, _Le Mareschal le Bataille_ - (1647), gives excellent plates of the drill of pikemen and - musketeers, and beautiful diagrams of the evolutions. - - - - -BOOK IV - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -[Sidenote: 1660.] - -The restoration of the Stuarts had been to all outward semblance -effected, Charles had been escorted through the streets of -London by the horse of the New Model, and yet the power which -had practically ruled England since 1647 was still unbroken. The -problem which the Long Parliament had treated with such disastrous -contempt in that year was still unsolved; and there could be no -assurance of stability for the monarchy until the Army should be -disbanded. As to the manner in which this most difficult task must -be accomplished the events of 1647 had given sufficient warning, -for an army of sixty-five thousand men was even less to be trifled -with than the comparatively small force of the second year of the -New Model. Disbandment must not be hurried, and all arrears of pay -must be faithfully discharged. Still the work could not but be both -delicate and dangerous, requiring good faith and a tact that could -only be found in a soldier who understood soldiers and a man who -understood men. Fortunately such a man and such a soldier was to -hand in the person of George Monk. - -[Sidenote: 1661.] - -His scheme was soon prepared and adopted by Parliament. The -regiments were to be broken up gradually, the order of disbandment -being determined by lot, with the reservation that Monk's own -regiments of horse and foot, together with two others that had -been taken over by the Dukes of York and Gloucester,[202] should -be kept until the last. An Act copied from an Ordinance of the -Commonwealth was passed, to enable discharged soldiers to engage in -trades without preliminary apprenticeship, and thus to facilitate -their return to civil life. By extraordinary exertions the needful -money was raised, and the work proceeded apace. It seemed as if the -close of the year 1660, according to the old reckoning which began -the new year on the 25th of March, would have seen it completed, -for by the first week in January the hand of disbandment had -reached Monk's regiment of horse. - -There however it was stayed. On the 6th of January an insurrection -of fifth-monarchy men, a fanatical sect which had felt the might of -Cromwell's repressing arm, not only saved the last relic of the New -Model, but laid the foundation stone of a new Army. The rising was -not suppressed without difficulty, not indeed until the veterans -of Monk's regiment of foot, to whom such work was child's play, -came up and swept it contemptuously away. The outbreak showed the -need of keeping a small permanent force for the security of the -King's person. The disbandment of this regiment and of the troop of -horse-guards which had been assigned to Monk on his first arrival -in London was thereupon countermanded, and the King gave orders for -the raising of a new regiment of Guards in twelve companies, to be -commanded by Colonel John Russell; of a regiment of horse in eight -troops to be commanded by the Earl of Oxford; and of a troop of -horse-guards, to be commanded by Lord Gerard. The Duke of York's -troop of horse-guards, the same which he had led to an unsuccessful -charge at Dunkirk Dunes, was also summoned home from Dunkirk. - -The first stones of the new army being thus laid, there remained -nothing but formally to abolish, in accordance with the letter of -the Act of Parliament, the last remnant of the New Model. On the -14th of February, 1661 Monk's regiment of foot was mustered on -Tower Hill, where it solemnly laid down its arms, and as solemnly -took them up again, with great rejoicing, as the Lord General's -regiment of Foot-Guards. But to England at large this corps had -but one name, that which still survives in its present title of -the Coldstream Guards. Though ranking second on the list of our -infantry, this is the senior regiment of the British Army. Other -corps may boast of earlier traditions, but this is the oldest -national regiment and the sole survivor of the famous New Model. -Well may it claim, in its proud Latin motto, that it is second to -none. - -Colonel Russell's regiment, being the King's own regiment of -Guards, and raised specially for the protection of his person, -obtained precedence not unnaturally of its earlier rival, and -presently, by absorbing the handful of gallant men who had -refused to surrender at Dunkirk Dunes, established its claim to -represent the defeated cavaliers, as the Coldstream represent the -victorious Roundheads, in the long contest of the Civil War. It is -the regiment once called the First Guards, and now the Grenadier -Guards, and it has known little of defeat since it ceased to fight -against its countrymen. - -[Sidenote: 1661-1662.] - -The two troops of Life-Guards--the first the King's, commanded by -Lord Gerard, the second the Duke of York's own--took precedence -in like manner of Monk's Life-Guard; and after long existence as -independent troops, blossomed at last into the First and Second -regiments of Life-Guards that now stand at the head of our Army -list. They were composed of men of birth and education, and -for more than a century were rightly called gentlemen of the -Life-Guards. Cromwell too had possessed such a guard, for he knew -the value of gentlemen who had courage, honour, and resolution in -them. Thus they stood apart from Lord Oxford's regiment of horse, -which is still known to us from the colour of its uniform by its -original name of the Blues. This corps was almost certainly made -up of disbanded troopers of the New Model, of which there was no -lack at that time in England;[203] while its colonel brought to it -traditions of still earlier days in the honoured name of Vere. - -But there was yet another regiment to be gathered in from the -battlefield of Dunkirk Dunes, this time not from the defeated but -from the victorious army. In view of the peril of the King from -Vernier's insurrection, Lewis the Fourteenth was requested to -restore to him the regiment of Douglas, the representative of the -Scots Brigade of Gustavus Adolphus; and this famous corps, having -duly arrived in the year 1662, became the Royal or Scots regiment, -and took the place which it still occupies at the head of the -infantry of the Line under the old title of the Royal Scots. It -returned to France in 1662 and did not return permanently to the -English service until 1670, but it retained its precedence and it -retains it still. - -[Sidenote: 1661, October.] - -So far for the King's provision for his own safety. But it was also -necessary for him to provide himself with money, and this he did in -the simplest fashion by marrying an heiress, Catherine, Princess -of Portugal, who brought him half a million of money, Bombay and -Tangier, to say nothing of promises of pecuniary aid from Lewis -the Fourteenth, who encouraged the match for his own ends. Tangier -being in constant peril of recapture by the Moors was a troublesome -possession, and required a garrison, for which duty a regiment -of foot and a strong troop of horse were raised by the Earl of -Peterborough, the recruits being furnished mainly by the garrison -of Dunkirk. These corps also survive among us as the Second or -Queen's regiment of Foot, and the First or Royal Dragoons. - -[Sidenote: 1661-1665.] - -Concurrently in this same year 1661 an Act was passed for the -re-organisation of the militia. The obligations to provide -horse-men and foot-men were distributed, following the venerable -precedent of the statute of Winchester, according to a graduated -scale of property, and the complete control of each county's force -was committed to the lord-lieutenant. To him also were entrusted -powers to organise the force into regiments and companies, to -appoint officers, and to levy rates for the supply of ammunition. -Finally, the supreme command of the militia, over which the Long -Parliament had fought so bitterly with Charles the First, was -restored to the King, together with that of all forces by sea and -land. - -[Sidenote: 1665, February.] - -So much was accomplished in the first two years of Charles the -Second. It sufficed for two years longer, when English commercial -enterprise involved the restored monarchy in its first war. -In truth it is hardly recognised how powerfully the spirit of -adventure and colonisation had manifested itself under the Stuarts. -The Empire indeed was growing fast. In 1661 England already -possessed the New England States, Maryland and Virginia, as well -as, for the time, Acadia, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland. Off the -American coast the Bermudas were hers; in the Caribbean Archipelago -Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and Jamaica were -settled; while Dominica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Tobago, -though not yet wrested from the Caribs, were reckoned subject to -the British Crown. In 1663 one Company received a charter for the -settlement of Carolina, and another, the Royal African, which -enjoyed the monopoly of the trade in negro slaves, had fixed its -headquarters at Cape Coast Castle. Nor must it be omitted that the -East India Company, originally incorporated in 1599, received in -1660 a second charter conferring ampler powers, most notably in -respect of military matters. - -England, however, had abundance of rivals in distant adventure, -whereof none was more jealous and more powerful than the Dutch -federation which her own good arm had created. Cromwell had read -the Dutch a lesson in 1653, and had imposed upon them restrictions -which, if observed, would have checked their encroachments on -English trade; but the Dutch not only evaded these obligations, -but added to this delinquency wanton aggression both on the Guinea -Coast and in the East Indies. The African Company at once commenced -reprisals on the Gold Coast, and an expedition against the New -Netherlands of America captured New Amsterdam and gave it its -now famous name of New York. Meanwhile the complaints of English -merchants were willingly heard by both King and Parliament. Charles -had received no great kindness in his exile from the oligarchical -faction which dominated the Dutch Republic; and now that the same -faction had stripped the House of Nassau of its high dignities, -to the prejudice of his nephew William, he was not sorry for the -opportunity of revenge. Parliament voted liberal supplies for the -war. A new regiment, called the Admiral's regiment, was raised -by the Duke of York for service on board ship; large drafts were -taken from the two regiments of Guards for the same purpose, and on -the 3rd of June, James, Duke of York, won with them a great naval -action off Lowestoft. - -But there were English soldiers outside England who were troubled -by this war. The descendants of the volunteers, who had followed -Morgan in 1572 and had won an imperishable name under Francis -Vere, were still in the Dutch service and were now comprised in -seven regiments, three of them English and four Scotch, numbering -in all three-and-fifty companies. As soon as war was declared the -Pensionary De Witt forced upon the United Provinces a resolution -that the British regiments must either take the oath of allegiance -to the States-General or be instantly cashiered. This was the -reward offered by the Dutch Republic to the brave foreigners who, -with their predecessors, had done her better service than she -could ever repay. Dismissal from the service meant ruin to the -unfortunate officers, and want and misery to the men. Many Dutchmen -were ashamed of the resolution, but they passed it; and it remained -only to be seen whether British loyalty would stand the test. The -English officers hesitated not a moment. They refused point blank -to swear fealty to Holland, and were ruthlessly turned adrift. By -the help of the English Ambassador, however, they made their way to -England and were presently formed into the Holland regiment, which -now ranks as the Third of the Line and is known from the facings -which it has worn for more than two centuries, by the honoured name -of the Buffs.[204] - -The Scottish regiments behaved very differently. Though Charles was -a Stuart and a Scot, only two officers had the spirit to follow the -English example. The rest, who at first had made great protestation -of loyalty, remained with their Dutch masters and, like all -shamefaced converts, professed exaggerated love for the Dutch -service and extravagant willingness to invade Great Britain if -required. A century hence these regiments will be seen begging in -vain to be received into the British service, and only accepted at -last, after enduring sad insult from the Dutch, in time to become -not the Fourth but the Ninety-Fourth of the Line. The corps finally -ceased to exist in 1815, while the Buffs are with us to this day. -It was a hard fate, but there is a nemesis even for unfaithful -regiments. - -[Sidenote: 1666.] - -In the following year Lewis the Fourteenth, seeing therein an -opportunity for furthering his darling project of extending his -frontier to the Rhine, threw in his lot with the Dutch and declared -war against England. The time is worthy of remark. For a century -England in common with all Europe had abandoned traditional -friendships and enmities, and sought out new allies by the guidance -of religious sentiment. All this was now at an end, and the old -jealousy of France was strong throughout the nation. But though the -people were in earnest, the King was not; the policy of keeping -France in check was after two years abandoned, and Charles, like -a true Stuart, sold himself to Lewis the Fourteenth. False, -wrong-headed, and unpatriotic, the dynasty was already preparing -for itself a second downfall. - -[Sidenote: 1672.] - -The next step was a declaration of war by France and England -against Holland. One hundred and fifty thousand men, under the -three great captains, Turenne, Condé and Luxemburg, with Lewis in -person at the head of all, swept down upon the United Provinces, -mastered three of them almost without resistance, and actually -crossed the Rhine. Six thousand English, grouped around a nucleus -from the Guards, served with them under the command of James, Duke -of Monmouth, and among the officers was a young captain named -John Churchill. He had been born in 1650, less than three months -before Dunbar, had been page to the Duke of York, and had received -through him an ensigncy in the King's Guards. He had seen his -first service, as became an English officer, in savage warfare -at Tangier; he now enjoyed his first experience of a scientific -campaign under the first General of the day. Soon he became known -to Turenne himself not only as the handsomest man in the camp, but -as an officer of extraordinary gallantry, coolness, and capacity. -As Morgan had won the great captain's eulogy at Ypres, so did young -Churchill at Maestricht; and it is worthy of note that on both of -the two occasions when an English contingent served under Turenne -the most brilliant little action of the war was the work of the -red-coats. - -But on the Dutch side also there was a young man, born in the same -year as Churchill, who was to show lesser qualities indeed as an -officer, though, as his opportunity permitted him, perhaps hardly -inferior qualities as a man. William of Orange, long excluded by -the jealousy of faction from the station and the duties of his -rank, with firm resolution and unshaken nerve assumed the command -of the United Provinces, and began the great work of his life, the -work which was to be finally accomplished by the handsome English -soldier in the enemy's camp, of taming the insolence of the French. - -[Sidenote: 1674.] - -It is unnecessary to dwell further on the story of this campaign. -The courage of William sufficed to tide Holland over the moment of -supreme danger; and, the crisis once passed, Austria and Spain, -alarmed at the designs of Lewis, hastened to her assistance. -Charles made peace with the Dutch in 1674, and, while declining -to withdraw the English troops in the French service, promised to -recruit them no further. Churchill came home to be colonel of the -Second Foot; and from the troops disbanded at the close of the war, -were formed three English regiments for the service of the Prince -of Orange. Among their officers was James Graham of Claverhouse. We -shall meet with him again, and we shall see two of the regiments -also return in due time, like their prototype, the Buffs, to take -their place in the English infantry of the Line. - -[Sidenote: 1680.] - -[Sidenote: 1684.] - -With the treaty of 1674 the wars of Charles the Second came to -an end. It was not that the people of England were unwilling -to fight. They were heart and soul against the French; and the -Commons cheerfully voted large sums for army and fleet while the -war lasted, asking only that the money might be expended on its -legitimate object. But the crookedness and untrustworthiness of -the King were fatal to all military enterprise, and indeed to all -honest administration. Though the military force of England was -far too small for the safety of her possessions abroad, Parliament -never ceased to denounce the evils of standing armies, and to -clamour for the disbanding of all regiments. In the days of -Cromwell the burden of the red-coats had been grievous to be borne, -but Oliver had at all events made England respected in Europe. -Charles sought to impose a like burden, but without sympathy for -England's quarrels, and without care for England's glory. He made -shift, nevertheless, to keep his existing regiments throughout his -reign, and in 1680 even to add another to them for the service -of Tangier. In 1684 that ill-fated possession, having cost many -thousands of lives and witnessed as gallant feats of arms as ever -were wrought by English soldiers, was finally abandoned; though -not before the English had learned one secret of Oriental warfare. -In March 1663, after long endurance of incessant harassing attacks -from the Moors, the Governor, who had hitherto stood on the -defensive, took the initiative and launched the Royal Dragoons -straight at them. So signal was the success of this first venture -that it was repeated a fortnight later by the same regiment, and -renewed on a grander scale after two months by a sally of the -whole garrison, which after desperate fighting ended once more in -victory. So much at least must be recorded of this first long lost -settlement in Africa.[205] The new regiment, which had arrived too -late for fighting, came home to take rank as the Fourth of the Line -and to remain with us to this day. - -In truth the little Army, which Parliament so bitterly hated, was -busy enough from the day of the King's accession to the day of -his death. In regiments or detachments it fought in Tangier, in -Flanders, and in the West Indies; it did marines' duty in four -great naval actions, one of them the fiercest ever fought by the -English, and it suppressed an insurrection in Scotland and a -rebellion in Virginia. The reign gave it a foretaste of the work -that lay before it in the next two centuries, and showed good -promise for the manner in which that work would be done. - -[Sidenote: 1685.] - -Charles died on the 6th of February 1685. His brother James, who -succeeded him, was a man of stronger military instincts than any -English king since Henry the Eighth. He had served through four -campaigns under Turenne and through two more with the Spaniards, -and his narrative of his wars shows that he had studied the -military profession with singular industry and intelligence of -observation. Nor was he less interested in naval affairs. He had -commanded an English fleet in two great actions without discredit -as an Admiral, and with signal honour as a brave man. Moreover, -he felt genuine pride in the prowess alike of the English sailor -and the English soldier. Finally he had shown uncommon ability and -diligence as an administrator. The Duke of Wellington a century -and a half later spoke with the highest admiration of the system -which James had established at the Office of Ordnance, and actually -restored it, as Marlborough had restored it before him, when he -himself became Master-General. The Admiralty again acknowledges -that his hand is still felt for good in the direction of the Navy. -In fact, whatever his failings, James was an able, painstaking, and -conscientious public servant, and as such has no little claim to -the gratitude of the nation. - -So far then the succession of a diligent and competent -administrator to the shrewd but incorrigibly idle Charles promised -advantages that were obvious enough. But there was another -side to the question. Parliament had requited James's services -to the public by excluding him as an avowed Catholic from all -public employment, whether civil or military; and James was a -narrow-minded, a vindictive, and, like all the Stuarts, essentially -a wrong-headed man. Though valuable as the head of a department, -he was totally unfit to administer a kingdom; though not devoid of -constancy and patience in adversity, he was swift and unsatiable -in revenge; though ambitious of military fame, proud of English -valour, and not without jealousy for English honour, he saw no way -to the greatness which he coveted in Europe except by the overthrow -of English liberty. He longed to interfere effectively abroad, but -with England crushed under his heel, not free and united at his -back. - -So he too sold himself to France, hoping to consolidate his -power by her help and to turn it in due time to her own hurt; -and meanwhile he sought to strengthen himself by the maintenance -of a standing Army. For this design Monmouth's insurrection of -1685 afforded sufficient excuse.[206] The opportune return of the -garrison of Tangier had already added two regiments of Foot and -one of Horse to the English establishment; and James seized the -occasion of the outbreak to summon the six British regiments, three -of them Scottish and three English, from Holland. These, though -they presently returned to William's service, secured for two of -their number on the invasion of England in 1688 the precedence of -Fifth and Sixth of the Line. Simultaneously twelve new regiments of -infantry and eight of cavalry were raised under the same pretext. -Of the foot the first was an Ordnance-regiment, designed like the -firelocks of the New Model to act as escort to the artillery, and -was called from its armament the Regiment of Fusiliers. It is still -with us as the Seventh of the Line. The remainder of the foot, some -of them formed round the nucleus of independent garrison-companies, -also abide with us, numbered the Eighth to the Fifteenth.[207] Of -the cavalry six were regiments of horse, and are now known as the -First to the Sixth Regiments of Dragoon Guards; the remaining two, -which are now numbered the Third and Fourth, after having been -successively dragoons and light dragoons, have finally become the -two senior regiments of hussars. Add to these thirty independent -companies of foot, borne for duties in garrison, and it will be -seen that King James's army was increasing with formidable speed. - -The King himself found genuine delight, not in the sinister -spirit of an oppressor but in the laudable pride of a soldier, in -reviewing his troops. In August 1685 he inspected ten battalions -and twenty squadrons which were in camp at Hounslow, and wrote to -his son-in-law, William of Orange, with significant satisfaction -of their efficiency. In November he met Parliament, and required -of it the continuance of the standing Army in lieu of the militia. -The courtiers had received their cue, and pointed to the flight -of the western militia before Monmouth's raw levies as proof -sufficient of its untrustworthiness. The fact indeed was self -evident. But Parliament was not disposed to welcome a royal speech -which submitted no further measures than the maintenance of a -standing army and the admission of popish officers to command -therein. The memories of Oliver and of his major-generals was -still vivid, and the revocation of the edict of Nantes was but -a month old. Red-coats as saints had been bad; red-coats as -papists would doubtless be worse. Edward Seymour, the head of -that historic house, put the matter as Englishmen love to put it. -The militia, he confessed, was in an unsatisfactory state, but it -might be improved, and with this and the navy the country would -be secure; but a standing army there must not be. Then as now, it -will be observed, the House of Commons never stinted the navy, nor -doubted its ability to repel invasion; and then as now it refused -to remember that the British possessions are not bounded by the -British Isles, and that a successful war is something more than a -war of defence. But unfortunately it had but too good ground for -opposing the King in this case. The debate lasted long. James had -asked for £1,400,000 for the Army; the Chancellor of the Exchequer -expressed his willingness to accept £1,200,000; the House voted -£700,000, and even then declined to appropriate the sum to any -specific purpose. - -[Sidenote: December.] - -[Sidenote: 1686, June.] - -[Sidenote: 1686-1688.] - -James was greatly annoyed. He answered the note of the Commons -with a reprimand, and prorogued Parliament; nor did he summon it -again during the remainder of his reign. He then concentrated from -thirteen to sixteen thousand men at Hounslow Heath, and kept them -encamped there for three years in the hope of overawing London. -Never did man make a more complete mistake. The Londoners, after -their first alarm had passed away, soon discovered that the camp -was a charming place of amusement. A new generation had sprung up -since a Parliamentary colonel had held a sham fight to compensate -the people for the loss of the sports of May-day, and there was -a certain novelty in military display. Hounslow camp became the -fashion, and the lines were thronged with a motley crowd of all -classes of the people; for then as now the women loved a red-coat, -and where the women led the men followed them. The troops were -doubtless well worth seeing, for James flattered himself that they -were the best paid, the best equipped, and the most sightly in -Europe. - -Still, merry as the camp might be, there were not wanting signs -of a graver spirit beneath the new red-coats. There were early -rumours of quarrels between protestant and catholic soldiers, -ominous to the catholic officers whom James had set in command -against the law. Agitators scattered tracts appealing to the -Army to stand up in defence of the liberties of England and the -protestant religion; and the Londoners perceived, what James did -not, that consciences cannot be bought for eightpence a day, nor -flesh and blood extinguished by a red coat and facings. The Buffs -had been the earliest English volunteers in the cause of liberty -and protestantism; the Royal Scots had rolled back papistry under -the Lion of the North, and, as if one presbyterian regiment were -not sufficient, there was another, just brought into England for -the first time from Scotland, and known by its present name of the -Scotch or Scots Guards. Again, monks in the habit of their Order -were among the visitors to the camp; and it was easy to ask how -long it was since such men had been seen in England, and what was -the cause of their disappearance. Cromwell's soldiers had made -short and cruel work of monks in Ireland; yet soldiers, only one -generation younger, were to be called upon to fight against their -kith and kin for a king who openly favoured them, a king, too, who -in the face of all law openly thrust papists into all places of -authority. - -[Sidenote: 1688, June.] - -It was not long before the seed sown by the agitators began to -bear fruit. When the seven bishops who had refused to read the -declaration which suspended the penal laws against catholics were -committed to the Tower, the guards drank their health; and when -the news of their acquittal reached Hounslow Heath, it was received -by the Army with boisterous delight. In alarm James broke up the -camp and scattered the regiments broadcast over the country. Having -thus isolated them he attempted to work upon them separately, and -selected as the first subject for this experiment Lord Lichfield's -Regiment, known to us as the Twelfth Foot. The men were drawn -up on Blackheath in the King's presence, and were informed that -they must either sign a pledge to carry out the royal policy of -indulgence towards catholics, or leave his service forthwith. Whole -ranks without hesitation took him at his word, and grounded their -arms, while two officers and a few privates, all of them catholics, -alone consented to sign. James stood aghast with astonishment and -disgust. Dismissal meant something more than mere exclusion from -the Army; it carried with it the forfeiture of all arrears of pay -and of the price of the officers' commissions, but neither men nor -officers took account of that. James eyed them in silence for a -time, and then bade them take up their arms. "Another time," he -said, "I shall not do you the honour to consult you." - -Foiled in England, James turned, as his father had turned before -him, to Ireland. The Irish speak of the curse of Cromwell; they -might more justly speak of the curse of the Stuarts, for no two -men have brought on them such woe as Charles and James. Already, -in 1686, the King had sent a degenerate Irishman, the Earl of -Tyrconnel, to ensure popish ascendency at any rate in Ireland; and -no better man could have been found for such mischievous work than -lying Dick Talbot. The army in Ireland consisted at the time of his -arrival of about seven thousand men: within a few months Tyrconnel, -by wholesale dismissal of all protestants, had turned it upside -down. Five hundred men were discharged from a single regiment on -the ground that they were of inferior stature, and their places -shamelessly filled by ragged, half-trained Irish, beneath them -both in size and quality. In all four thousand soldiers were -broken, stripped of the uniforms which they had bought by the -stoppage of their pay, and dismissed half-naked to go whither they -would. Three hundred protestant officers shared a like fate in -circumstances of not less hardship. Many of them had fought bravely -for the Stuarts in past days, the majority had purchased their -commissions, yet all alike were turned adrift in ruin and disgrace. -The disbanded took refuge in Holland, whence they presently -returned under the colours of William of Orange, with such feelings -against the Irish as may be guessed. - -But James did not stop here. He now conceived the notion of -surrounding himself with Irish battalions, and of moulding the -English regiments to his will by kneading into them a leaven -of Irish recruits. When we reflect that it was just such an -importation of Irish that had turned all England against his -father, we can only stand amazed at such folly. The English held -the Irish for aliens and enemies; they knew them as a people who -for centuries had risen in massacre and rebellion whenever the -English garrison had been weakened, and that had sunk again into -abject submission as soon as England's hands were free to suppress -them. They did not know them, in spite of their occasional gallant -resistance to Cromwell, as a great fighting race. They had not -read, or, reading, had not believed, the testimony of Robert Munro -to their merits as soldiers.[208] Lastly and chiefly the Irish were -catholics and the English protestants. - -The resentment against the new policy soon made itself manifest. -The Duke of Berwick, the King's natural son, who had been appointed -colonel of the Eighth Foot, gave orders that thirty Irish recruits -should be enlisted in the regiment. The men said flatly that they -would not serve with them, and the lieutenant-colonel with five -of his captains openly remonstrated with the Duke against the -insult. They had raised the regiment, they said, at their own -expense for the King's service, and could procure as many English -recruits as they wanted; rather than endure to have strangers -forced upon them they would beg leave to resign their commissions. -James was furious. He tried the six officers by a court-martial, -which sentenced them to be cashiered; but the culprits none the -less received the sympathy and applause of the whole nation. -The prevalent feeling against the Irish found vent in a doggrel -ballad, known, from the gibberish of its burden, by the name of -Lillibulero. Partly from the nature of its contents, still more -probably from the rollicking gaiety of its tune,[209] it became a -great favourite with the Army, and if we may judge from Captain -Shandy's partiality for it, was the most popular marching song of -the red-coats in Flanders. - -But meanwhile William of Orange had received his invitation to come -with an armed force for the delivery of England from the Stuarts, -and for some months had been making preparations for an invasion. -It was long before James awoke to his danger, but when at last he -perceived it he hastened to strengthen the Army. Commissions were -issued for the raising of new regiments, of which two are still -with us as the Sixteenth and Seventeenth of the Line, and of new -companies for existing regiments. Four thousand men in all were -added to the English establishment; three thousand were summoned -from Ireland, and as many more from Scotland; and James reckoned -that he could meet the invader with forty thousand men. On the 2nd -of November William, after one failure, got his expedition safely -to sea, and by a feint movement induced James to send several -regiments northward to meet a disembarkation in Yorkshire. These -regiments were hastily recalled on the intelligence that the -armament had passed the Straits of Dover steering westward, and -fresh orders were given for concentration at Salisbury. - -In a short time twenty-four thousand men were assembled at the new -rendezvous, but before James could join them, he received news that -Lord Cornbury, the heir of his kinsmen the Hydes, had deserted to -the enemy. Cornbury had attempted to take his own regiment, the -Royal Dragoons, and two regiments of horse with him; but officers -and men became suspicious, and with the exception of a few who fell -into the hands of William's horse and took service in his army, -all returned to Salisbury. Before setting out for the camp James -summoned his principal officers to him--Churchill, since 1683 Lord -Churchill, and recently promoted lieutenant-general; Henry, Duke of -Grafton, colonel of the First Guards; Kirke and Trelawny, colonels -of the Tangier Regiments. One and all swore to be faithful to him; -and the King left London for Salisbury. - -Arrived there, he learned from Lord Feversham, his -general-in-chief, that though the men were loyal the officers were -not to be trusted. It is said that Feversham proposed to dismiss -all that he suspected and promote sergeants in their stead. His -suspicions proved to be just. Within a week Churchill, Grafton, -Kirke, and Trelawny had all deserted to the Prince of Orange. Other -officers were less open in their treachery; and it is said that one -battalion of the Foot Guards was led into William's camp by its -sergeants and corporals. The desertion of his own children finally -broke the spirit of James. On the 11th of December he signed an -order for the disbandment of the Army, and took to flight; and -on the 16th he returned to London to find on the following night -that the battalions of the Prince of Orange were marching down St. -James's Park upon Whitehall. The old colonel of the Coldstream -Guards, Lord Craven, though now in his eightieth year, was for -resistance, but James forbade him. The Coldstream Guards filed off, -and a Dutch regiment mounted guard at Whitehall. Five days later -James left England for ever. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -[Sidenote: 1660-1688.] - -Before entering on the reign of William we must pause for a time to -study the interior administration of the Army. The reign of the two -last Stuarts is rightly considered as marking the end of a period -of English general history--the final fall of the old monarchy -first overthrown with King Charles the First. But in regard to -military history the case is different. It is a critical time of -uncertainty during which the Army, a relic barely saved from the -ruins of a military government, struggled through twenty-eight -years of unconstitutional existence, hardly finding permission at -their close to stand on the foundation which Charles and James, -using materials left by Cromwell, had made shift to establish for -it. Precarious as that foundation was, it received little support -for nearly a century, and little more even in the century that -followed, thanks to the blind jealousy of the House of Commons. It -will therefore be convenient at this point to examine it once for -all. - -Beginning, therefore, at the top, it must be noted that the first -commander-in-chief under the restored Monarchy was a subject, -George Monk, Duke of Albemarle. His appointment was inevitable, for -he had already held that command as the servant of the Parliament -over the undisbanded New Model, and he was the only man who could -control that Army. Charles, in fact, lay at his mercy when he -landed in 1660, and could not do less than confirm him in his old -office. The powers entrusted to Monk by his commission were very -great. He had authority to raise forces, to fix the establishment, -to issue commissions to all officers executive and administrative, -and to frame Articles of War for the preservation of discipline; he -signed all warrants for expenditure of money or stores, and, in a -word, he exerted the sovereign's powers as the sovereign's deputy -in charge of the Army. On his death in January 1670, Charles, by -the advice of his brother James, did not immediately appoint his -successor, and though in 1674 he issued a circular to all officers -of horse and foot to obey the Duke of Monmouth, yet he expressly -reserved to himself many of the powers formerly made over to Monk. -Finally, when in 1678 he appointed Monmouth to be captain-general, -he withheld from him the title of commander-in-chief. On Monmouth's -disgrace in 1679 Charles appointed no successor, but became his own -commander-in-chief, an example which was duly followed by James the -Second and William the Third. Thus the supreme control of the Army, -with powers far greater than have been entrusted to any English -commander-in-chief of modern times, continued at first practically -the same as it had been made by Oliver Cromwell. It was exclusively -in military hands. - -The special branch of military administration in the hands of -the commander-in-chief was that relating to the men. The care -of material of war was committed to the ancient and efficient -Office of Ordnance. At the Restoration the old post of Master of -the Ordnance was revived with the title of master-general; and -in 1683 the Department was admirably reorganised, as has been -seen, by the Duke of York. At the head stood, of course, the -master-general; next under him were two officers of two distinct -branches, the lieutenant-general and the surveyor-general. The -lieutenant-general was charged with the duty of estimating the -amount of stores required for the Navy and the Army, and of making -contracts for the supply of the same; he was also responsible for -the maintenance of marching trains for service in the field, and -for the general efficiency of the artillery both as regards guns -and men. His first assistant was named the master-gunner. The -surveyor-general was responsible for the custody and care of all -stores, and for all services relative to engineering; his first -assistant was called the principal engineer. Transport of ordnance -by land was the care of a waggon-master, transport by water of a -purveyor. The laboratory was committed to a fire-master, whose -duties included the preparation of fireworks for festive occasions. -The only weak point of the office was the exclusiveness of its -jurisdiction over artillery and engineers, which was carried to -such a pitch that all commissions in the two corps were signed by -the master-general, though that functionary and his staff received -their own commissions from the commander-in-chief. - -I turn next to the department of finance. Here in place of the -old treasurers at war there was created a new officer called the -paymaster-general. Parliament, I must remind the reader, never -recognised the existence of the Army under the Stuarts, nor voted a -sixpence expressly for its service. The force was paid out of the -King's privy purse, or, in the case of James, out of sums intended -for the payment of the militia. Thus the House of Commons through -sheer perversity lost its hold upon the paymaster-general, and when -it came to examine his office a whole century later, found, as -shall be told in place, a system of corruption and waste which is -almost incredible. The first paymaster-general, Sir Stephen Fox, -received a salary of four hundred pounds a year, but this he soon -supplemented by becoming practically a farmer of a part of the -revenue. Knowing that Charles was chronically deficient in cash, he -undertook to advance funds on his own private credit for the weekly -pay of the Army, in consideration of a commission of one shilling -in the pound. At the end of every four months he applied to the -Treasury for reimbursement, and if his claims were not immediately -satisfied, he received eight per cent on the debt owing to him, -thus making a very handsome profit. This system was discontinued in -1684, but the deduction, or poundage as it was called, was still -levied on the Army, for no reason whatever, for a full century and -a half. For the care of all other military expenses there was an -office called by the old title of Treasurer of the Armies. - -So much for the broad divisions of the administration, under -the three heads of men, military stores, and finance. It is now -necessary to trace the rise of a new department, which was destined -to give to civilians the excessive share that they still enjoy in -the direction of military affairs. While Charles the Second was -yet an exile in Flanders in 1657, he had appointed a civilian, Sir -Edward Nicholas, who had been Secretary of Council to Charles the -First, to be his Secretary at War. It was not uncommon for such -civilian secretaries[210] to be attached to a general's staff, and -we have already seen John Rushworth taking the field with the New -Model as secretary to the Council of War. After the Restoration, -and within six months of the date of Monk's commission, one Sir -William Clarke was appointed to be secretary to the forces. Though -a civilian, he received a commission couched in military terms, -which were preserved for fully a century unchanged, bidding him -obey such orders as he should from time to time receive from the -King, or the general of the forces for the time being, according -to the discipline of war. In effect he was a civilian wholly -subordinated to the military authorities and subject to military -discipline so far as that discipline existed; little more, indeed, -than a secretary to the commander-in-chief. His services were not -estimated at a very high rate, for he received at first but ten -shillings, and after 1669 one pound a day, as salary for himself -and clerks. The appointment was of so personal a nature that Clarke -accompanied Monk to sea in 1666, and was killed in the naval -battle of the 1st of June, the first and last secretary at war who -has fallen in action. - -Monk then applied for the services of one Matthew Lock, whom he -knew to be a good clerk, and Lock was appointed to be Clarke's -successor with the title of sergeant or secretary at war. There is -not a letter from him to be found in the State Papers until after -Monk's death, which is sufficient proof that he was a person of no -great importance; but in 1676, when there was no longer a single -commander-in-chief, he was entrusted with the removal of quarters, -the relief of the established corps, the despatch of convoys, and -even with authority to quarter troops in inns, all of which duties -had been previously fulfilled by military men. Thus early and -insidiously arose once more that civil interference with military -affairs which had with such difficulty been thrown off at the -establishment of the New Model. The system was wholly unconnected -with any question of Parliamentary control, for Parliament would -have nothing to do with the standing Army. Most probably it was due -simply to the indolence of the King, who would neither do the work -of commander-in-chief himself nor appoint any other man to do it -for him. Thus the Army was placed once and for all under the heel -of a civilian clerk. - -The staff at headquarters was based on the model of that which -had prevailed under Cromwell, though of course on a scale reduced -to the minute proportions of the Army. The duties must, at first, -have been within the scope of a very few officials, and it is -probable that Monk required little assistance. There was, however, -a commissary of the musters, to whom in 1664 a scoutmaster-general, -or head of the intelligence department, was added. The business -of foreign intelligence in all its branches, diplomatic, naval, -and military, had been conducted with admirable efficiency during -the Protectorate by the Secretary of State, John Thurloe, but -Pepys remarked a sad falling away in this department after the -Restoration, due, as he admits, to the scanty allowance of funds -allotted to the service. Charles was not the man to face the -difficulties of establishing a great administrative office on a -sound basis. James, on the other hand, began to grapple with them -very early after his accession. He strengthened the staff by the -addition of adjutants and quartermasters-general of horse and foot, -and strove hard to improve the efficiency of the office; but his -time was too short and his distractions too manifold to permit -him to do the work thoroughly. Had he reigned for ten years, his -familiarity with the system of Louvois and his own administrative -ability might have reduced our military system once for all to -order. It is not too much to say that his expulsion was in this -respect the greatest misfortune that ever befell the Army. - -Even he, however, would have found it a hard task to overcome the -obstacles raised by Parliament, namely, the difficulties of regular -payment of wages and of maintaining discipline. It was impossible -to enforce military law on the troops, since Parliament steadily -withheld its sanction to the same.[211] Nothing therefore remained -but the civil law. A soldier who struck his superior officer or -got drunk on guard could legally only be haled before the civil -magistrate for common assault or for drunkenness, while if he -slept on his post or disobeyed orders or deserted he was subject -to no legal penalty whatever. Parliament never seems to have been -the least alive to the danger of such a state of things, nor to -have weighed it against its fixed resolution not to recognise the -standing Army. As a matter of fact, however, military offences seem -to have been punished as such throughout the reign of Charles, -though without ostentation; and discipline appears to have been -maintained without serious difficulty. The number of the troops -was, after all, but small; many of the men were already inured -to obedience; the traditions of Oliver and of George Monk were -still alive; and the men probably accepted service with a tacit -understanding that they were subject to different conditions from -the civilian. But when the three regiments returned from foreign -service and savage warfare at Tangier, and Monmouth's rebellion -had brought about a multiplication of regiments, the situation -was altogether changed. James, who knew the value of discipline, -determined to arrogate the powers that Parliament denied to him, -but, like all weak men, endeavoured to effect his purpose by half -measures. To secure the punishment of certain deserters he packed -the Court of King's Bench with unscrupulous men; and though the -culprits were hanged, discipline was only preserved at the cost -of the integrity of the courts of law, a proceeding which damaged -him greatly both in the Army and the country at large. It will -presently be seen how this question of discipline was forced upon -Parliament in a fashion that allowed of no further trifling. - -The subject of pay opens a melancholy chapter in the history of -English administration. It has already been related that Charles -the Second let out the payment of the Army to a contractor for a -commission of a shilling in the pound. This commission of course -came out of the pockets of officers and men; they paid, in fact, -a tax of five per cent for the privilege of receiving their -wages, and this not to the State, to which the officers still pay -sometimes an equal amount under the name of income-tax, but for -the benefit of a private individual. If the mulcting of the Army -had ended there, the evil would not have been so serious, but as a -matter of fact it was but one drop in a vast ocean of corruption. -I have already alluded to the immense service wrought by the -Puritans towards integrity of administration, and towards raising -the moral standard of the military profession. The destruction of -the old traditions and the substitution of new principles was a -magnificent stroke, but it was unfortunately premature. The new -principles might indeed have endured had they but been cherished -and encouraged for another generation, but unfortunately no man -better fitted to starve them could have been found than the merry -monarch. His difficulties were doubtless very great, but he brought -but one principle to meet them, that come what might he must not be -bored. His indolent selfishness was masked by an exquisite charm of -manner, and being a kind-hearted man, he always heard complaints -with a sympathetic word; but to redress them cost more trouble than -he could afford. Any man who would save him trouble was welcome; -any shift that would stave off an unpleasant duty was the right -one. There was abundance of deserving suitors to be provided for, -still greater abundance of importunate favourites to be satisfied; -administration was a bore and money was sadly deficient. All -difficulties could be solved by the simple process of providing -alike the impecunious and the greedy with administrative offices, -or, in other words, with licences to plunder the public. If they -chose to purchase these offices for money, so much the better -for the royal purse. Thus the whole fabric built up during the -Commonwealth was shattered almost at a blow. - -The effect on the Army was immediate. A great many of the returned -exiles, including Charles and James themselves, had served in the -French army, where the system of purchasing commissions had never -been abandoned, and where the abuses which had been shaken off by -the New Model were still in full vigour. The old corrupt traditions -had not been killed in thirteen years, and, reviving under the -general reaction against Puritan restraint, they sprang quickly -into new life. The old military centralisation of Oliver, upheld -for a time by Monk, rapidly perished, and what might have still -been an army sank into a mere aggregate of regiments, the property -of individual colonels, and of troops and companies, the property -of individual captains. Every civilian of the military departments -hastened to make money at the expense of the officers, and every -officer to enrich himself at the cost of the men. The flood-gates -so carefully closed by the Puritans were opened, and the abuses -of three centuries streamed back into their old channel to flow -therein unchecked for two centuries more. - -At its first renewal the system of purchase was carried to such -lengths that the very privates paid premiums to the enlisting -officers; but the practice was speedily checked by Monk in 1663. In -March 1684 the system received a kind of royal sanction through the -purchase by the King himself of a commission from one officer for -presentation to another. Then nine months later Charles suddenly -declared that he would permit no further purchase and sale of -military appointments. Whether he would have abolished it if he had -lived may be doubted, but it is certain that the system continued -in full operation under James the Second, gathering strength of -course with each new year of existence. - -Let me now attempt briefly to sketch the organised system of -robbery that prevailed in the military service under the two -last of the Stuarts. The study may be unpleasant, but it is less -pathological than historic. First, then, let us treat of the -officer. On purchasing his commission he paid forthwith one fee -to the Secretary at War, and a second, apparently, to one of the -Secretaries of State. After the institution of Chelsea Hospital, -as to which a word shall presently be said, he paid further five -per cent on his purchase money towards its funds, the seller of -the commission contributing a like proportion from the same sum to -the same object. He then became entitled to the pay of his rank, -but this by no means implied that it was regularly paid to him. -In the first place, his pay was divided into two parts, termed -respectively his subsistence and his arrears, or clearings. The -former sum was a proportion of the full pay, which varied according -to the grade of the officer, it being obvious that an ensign, for -instance, could not subsist if any large fraction was deducted -from his daily pittance, whereas a major could be more heavily -mulcted and yet not starve. This subsistence was therefore paid, -or supposed to be issued, in advance from the pay-office and to be -subject to no stoppage. The balance of the full pay, or arrears, -was paid yearly after it became due, and after considerable -deductions had been made from it. First of these deductions came -the poundage, or payment of one shilling in the pound, to the -paymaster-general, and the discharge of one day's full pay to -Chelsea Hospital. These stoppages were more or less legitimate. -Then the commissary-general of the musters stepped in to claim -from the officer, as from every one else in the Army, one day's -pay, a tax which caused much discontent, and was in 1680 reduced -to one-third of a day's pay. Then came a vast number of irregular -exactions. Every commissary of the musters claimed a fee, amounting -sometimes to as much as two guineas for every troop or company -passed at each muster, which, as musters were taken six times a -year, was sufficiently exorbitant. Next the auditors demanded -thirty shillings, or eight times their legal fee, for each troop -and company on passing the accounts of the paymaster-general. -Finally, fees to the exchequer, fees to the treasury, fees for the -issue of pay-warrants, fees, in a word, to every greedy clerk who -could make himself disagreeable, brought the tale of extortion to -an end. Let the reader remember that this system of subsistence -and arrears, with the same legitimate deductions and almost equal -opportunities for irregular pilfering, was still in force when we -began the war of the French Revolution, and let him not wonder that -officers of the Army will still cherish unfriendly feelings towards -the clerks at the War Office.[212] - -Now comes the more distressing examinations of the officers' -methods of indemnifying themselves. For this purpose let us study -the pay of a private centinel, as he was called, of the infantry -of the Line. This consisted, as it had been in Queen Mary's time, -and was still to be in King George the Third's, of eightpence a -day, or £12 : 13 : 4 a year. Of this, sixpence a day, or £9 : 2 -: 6 a year, was set apart for his subsistence, and was nominally -inviolable. The balance, £3 : 0 : 10 a year, was called the "gross -off-reckonings," which were subject of course to a deduction of -five per cent, or 12s. 2d., for the paymaster-general, and of one -day's pay to Chelsea Hospital, whereby the gross off-reckonings -were reduced to £2 : 8s. This last amount, dignified by the title -of "net off-reckonings," was made over to the colonel for the -clothing of the regiment, an item which included not only the -actual garments, but also the sword and belt, and as time went on -the bayonet and cartridge box. The system, as will be remembered, -dated from the days of Queen Elizabeth, when half a crown a week -was allowed to the men for subsistence and a total of £4 : 2 : 6 -deducted for two suits a year. It is sufficiently plain that the -sum now allowed for clothing was insufficient, and that a colonel -who did his duty by his men must inevitably be a loser. Moreover, -this was not his only expense. The clerical work entailed by his -duties demanded assistance, for which he was indeed authorised -to keep a clerk, but supplied with no allowance wherewith to pay -him. This clerk presently became known as the colonel's agent, and -though a civilian and the colonel's private servant, virtually -performed the duties of a regimental paymaster. - -The results of such an arrangement may easily be guessed. It -was not in consonance with military tradition, certainly not in -accordance with human nature, that colonels should lose money by -their commands, and it is only too certain that they did not. The -contractor was called in, and the door was opened wide to robbery -at the expense of the soldier. Colonels took commissions or even -open bribes from the contractors; the agent took his fee likewise; -and in at least one recorded case a colonel actually accepted a -bribe from his own agent to give him the contract. It may easily -be imagined how the soldiers fared for clothing. But the mischief -did not end here. The subsistence-money, though in theory subject -to no deduction, was practically at the mercy of the colonel and -his agent, who, under various pretexts, appropriated a greater or -smaller share of the poor soldier's sixpence. As an additional -source of profit, it was not uncommon for colonels to abstain from -reporting the vacancy caused by an officer's death, to continue to -draw the dead man's pay and to put it into his own pocket. - -Captains of companies, with such an example before them, were not -slow to imitate it; and from them too the unfortunate soldiers -suffered not a little. But their easiest road to plunder was the -old beaten track of false musters, which was rendered all the -easier by the corruption of the commissaries. Any vacancy in the -ranks after one muster was left unfilled until the day before -the next muster, and the captain drew pay for an imaginary man -during the interval. Or again, the _passe-volant_, old as the days -of Hawkwood, made his reappearance at musters and was passed, -with or without the collusion of the commissaries, as a genuine -soldier. Finally, Charles himself gave countenance after a manner -to this fraud by reviving the practice of allowing officers so -many imaginary men or permanent vacancies in each troop or company -in order to increase their emoluments. And so the _passe-volant_ -became naturalised first as a "faggot," and later as a "warrant -man" in the infantry and a "hautbois" in the cavalry, and survived -to a period well within the memory of living men.[213] The -remoter a regiment's quarters from home the grosser were the -abuses that prevailed in it, and in Ireland they seem to have -passed all bounds. Captains calmly appropriated the entire pay of -their companies, and turned the men loose to live by the plunder -of the inhabitants. It was a reversion to the evils rampant in -Queen Elizabeth's army in the Netherlands, and, in justice to the -officers, it must be added that those evils were brought about -in both cases by the same cause. Officers were simply forced -into dishonesty by the withholding of their own pay by civilian -officials in London. - -It must not be thought that these scandals passed unnoticed at -headquarters. As early as 1663 orders were issued to put a stop -to fraudulent musters, and two years later the salaries of the -officers of the Ordnance were increased almost threefold to check -the sale of places and to diminish the temptation to accept bribes. -Similar orders were respectively promulgated from time to time, -but with little or no effect; possibly they were issued mainly -as a matter of form, to stop the mouth of criticism. The root of -the evil is to be traced to the civilian paymaster-general, who -from the peculiarity of his position was accountable to no one, -and enjoyed total irresponsibility for full forty years. The King -no doubt flattered himself that the men were regularly paid; -the abuses took some time to attain to their height, and in the -short reign of James the Second it is probable that his attention -to military business did somewhat to improve matters. But while -Charles was on the throne the paymaster-general did as he pleased. -Though wages were nominally paid after each muster, they were often -withheld for months, and even for years. Finally, when payment -was at last made, it was discharged not in cash but in tallies -or debentures which could only be sold at a discount; while the -colonels' agents seized the opportunity to deduct a percentage in -consideration of the trouble to which they had been subjected to -obtain any payment whatever. - -So the old foundations of fraud were renovated, and on them was -built during the next century and a half a gigantic superstructure -of rascality and corruption which is not yet wholly demolished. Let -it not be thought that in the seventeenth century such malpractices -were either new or confined to England. They were, as I have -often repeated, as old almost as the art of war, and they were -rampant all over Europe. The excuse of English officers for their -dishonesty was always, "It is so in France," and in France, as the -history of the French Revolution shows, the old evils endured and -throve for another full century. But the sin and shame of England -is, that though she had once put away the accursed thing from her, -she returned to it again as the sow to her wallowing in the mire. -In 1659 English soldiers were proud of their name and calling; in -1666 it had already become a scandal to be a Life Guardsman.[214] -Recruits had been found without difficulty under the Commonwealth -to make the military profession, as was the rule in those days, the -business of their whole life; but after a very few years of the -Stuarts the King was compelled to resort to the press-gang. The -status of the soldier was lowered, and has never recovered itself -to this day. - -I turn from this melancholy tale of retrogression to contemplate -the changes made in other departments of the service. Herein it -will be most convenient to begin with the regimental organisation -and equipment. First, then, let us glance at the cavalry, which at -the Restoration appears definitely to have taken precedence as the -senior service. The reader will remember that in the New Model the -fixed strength of a regiment was six troops of one hundred men, -which was reduced in time of peace to an establishment of sixty -men. Setting aside the Life Guards, which were independent troops -of two hundred gentlemen apiece, the regiment which first occupies -our attention is the Blues, which began life with eight troops, -each of sixty men. So far there was practically no change, but in -1680 the strength of the Blues was diminished to fifty men in a -troop; and in 1687 the newly raised regiments were established -at an initial strength of six or seven troops of forty men only. -Finally, as shall presently be seen in the campaigns that lie -before us in Flanders, the establishment of a troop for war sinks -to fifty men, and the establishment for peace to thirty-six. -Here, therefore, is Cromwell's excellent system overthrown. The -troop of cavalry is so far weakened as to be not worth assorting -into three divisions, one to each of the three officers, and the -seeds of enforced idleness are sown, to bear fruit an hundredfold. -Hardly less significant is the appointment, in 1661, of regimental -adjutants to help the majors in the duties which they had hitherto -discharged without assistance. - -The equipment of the Horse was likewise altered. The trooper -retained the iron head-piece[215] and cuirass, the pistols and the -sword of the New Model, but he was now further supplied with a -carbine, which was slung at his back, and with a cartridge box for -his ammunition. The new equipment was served out to the household -troops in 1663, and to other regiments of Horse in 1677. It marks a -new birth of the futile practice of firing from the saddle, which -has wasted untold ammunition with infinitesimal results. As regards -horses it was still the rule, which had been little modified during -the Civil War, that the trooper should bring with him his own -horse; if he had none the King supplied him with one, at an average -price, and the money was stopped, if necessary, from the trooper's -pay. - -The drill still bore marks of Cromwell's influence, for the men -were drawn up in three ranks only; and though the attack was opened -by the discharge of carbines and pistols, yet it was distinctly -laid down that when the fire-arms were empty, there must be -no thought of reloading, but immediate resort to the sword. -Moreover, although the front was still increased or diminished by -the doubling of ranks or files, there were already signs of the -manœuvre by small divisions that was to displace it. - -Passing next to the dragoons, the reader will have noticed that -this arm was not represented in the original Army formed by Charles -the Second. Notwithstanding the high reputation which dragoons -had enjoyed during the Civil War, it was not until 1672 that a -regiment of them was raised, and then only to be disbanded after -a brief existence of two years. The Tangier Horse, now called the -First Royal Dragoons, was converted into a regiment of dragoons -on its return from foreign service in 1684; and four years later -there was added to the establishment a Scotch regiment which bears -a famous name. It was made up in 1681 of three independent troops -that had been raised three years before, and was completed by three -additional troops, under the name of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons -of Scotland. It now ranks as the Second regiment of the Cavalry of -the Line, and is known to all the world as the Scots Greys. - -Dragoons still preserved their original character of mounted -infantry. Twelve men of each troop besides the non-commissioned -officers were armed with the halberd and a pair of pistols, while -the remainder were equipped with matchlock muskets, bandoliers, -and, after 1672, with bayonets. In 1687 this equipment was improved -by the substitution of flintlocks for matchlocks, of cartridge -boxes for bandoliers, and of buckets, in addition to the old -slings, for the carriage of muskets. The tactical unit of the -dragoons was still called the company, though at the close of the -Civil War often denominated the troop; but the tendency of dragoons -to assimilate themselves to horse is seen in the substitution -of cornet for ensign as the title of the junior subaltern. This -tendency was perhaps the stranger, since the companies of dragoons, -eighty men strong, must have presented a favourable contrast to the -weak and attenuated troops of horse. - -A new description of mounted soldier appeared in 1683,[216] in the -shape of the Horse-grenadier. I shall have more to say presently -of grenadiers, when treating of the infantry, so it is sufficient -to state here that Horse-grenadiers were practically only mounted -men of that particular arm, who as a rule linked their horses for -action and fought on foot like the dragoons. There were in all -three troops of Horse-grenadiers, which were attached to the three -troops of Life Guards. Their peculiarity was that the two junior -officers of each troop were both lieutenants, instead of lieutenant -and cornet. - -The infantry, like the cavalry, suffered an alteration in the -regimental establishments after the Restoration. The old strength -of one hundred and twenty to a company was reduced to one hundred, -and in time of peace sank to eighty, sixty, and even fifty men. -The number of companies to a battalion was also altered. The First -Guards began life with twelve companies; and though for a time the -Coldstreamers and newly raised regiments retained the original -number of ten, yet twelve gradually became the usual, and after -the accession of James the Second, the accepted, strength of a -battalion. It must be noted that after 1672 a battalion and a -regiment of foot cease to be synonymous terms, the First Guards -being in that year increased to twenty-four companies and two -battalions, a precedent which was soon extended to sundry other -regiments. - -On the accession of James there was added to the twelve companies -of every regiment an additional company of grenadiers. These -were established first in 1678, and took their name from the -grenade,[217] the new weapon with which they were armed. The -hand grenade was simply a small shell of from one to two inches -in diameter, kindled by a fuse and thrown by the hand. Hence -it was entrusted to the tallest and finest men in the regiment, -who might reasonably be expected to throw it farthest. The white -plume, supposed to be symbolic of the white smoke of the fuse, -was not apparently used at first as the distinctive mark of -grenadiers. They, and the fusiliers likewise, wore caps instead -of broad-brimmed hats, to enable them to sling their firelocks -over both shoulders with ease. These caps, which were at first -of fur, were soon made of cloth, and assumed the shape of the -mitre which Hogarth has handed down to us. Another peculiarity -of grenadiers was that they were always armed with firelocks and -with hatchets,[218] and that both of their subaltern officers were -lieutenants. - -Another new branch of the infantry was the regiment of Fusiliers, -so called from the fusil or flintlock, as opposed to the matchlock, -with which they were armed. They were, in fact, simply an expansion -of the companies of firelocks which formed part of the New Model -in the department of the Train; they were borne for duty with the -artillery specially, and therefore included one company of miners. -Miner-companies were armed with long carbines and hammer-hatchets -peculiar to themselves, and they had but one subaltern officer, a -lieutenant. Like the grenadiers, the fusiliers did not recognise -the rank of ensign, and their junior subalterns were therefore -called second lieutenants.[219] - -It is somewhat remarkable that so much should have been made of -a weapon so familiar as the firelock. Men who, like Gustavus -Adolphus, saw that the whole future of warfare turned on the fire -of musketry, had long accepted its superiority to the matchlock; -and George Monk, on marching into London in 1660, had at once -ordered the Coldstreamers to return their matchlocks into store -and to draw firelocks in their stead. Nor was this preference -confined solely to military reformers, for we find the Assemblies -of Barbados and Jamaica, remote islands in which old fashions might -have been expected to die their hardest, uncompromisingly rejecting -the matchlocks prescribed for them by the English Government -and insisting on arming themselves with "fusees."[220] At home, -however, jobbery and corruption were doubtless at work, for the -Coldstream Guards reverted to the matchlock in 1665. Finally, after -many compromises, the Guards were in 1683 armed exclusively with -firelocks, while the other regiments carried a fixed proportion, -probably not less than one-half, of the superior weapon among their -matchlocks. - -Correspondingly we find throughout these reigns a steady diminution -in the use of the pike. In companies of grenadiers and regiments -of fusiliers they were utterly abolished; in other corps the -proportion, which had once been one-half, had already sunk at the -Restoration to one-third, whence it speedily declined to one-fourth -and one-fifth.[221] We find them, however, still in use during the -wars of William the Third, and we shall see that they did not want -advocates even at the close of the Seven Years' War, to say nothing -of the part that they played in the French Revolution.[222] As a -weapon for officers it survived for many generations under the form -of the half-pike or spontoon,[223] even as the halberd prolonged -its life as the peculiar weapon of sergeants. To the officers also -was assigned by a singular coincidence the preservation of the -memory of the armour which had once been worn by all pikemen; and -the gorget survived as a badge of rank on their breasts long after -corslet and tassets had vanished from the world.[224] - -None the less the pike had received its death-blow through the -invention of the bayonet. This new and revolutionary weapon had -been invented in 1640, when it consisted of a double-edged blade, -like a pike-head, mounted on two or three inches of wooden haft, -which could be thrust into the barrel of the musket. In this form -the bayonet was issued first to the Tangier regiment[225] alone in -1663, and to all the infantry and dragoons in 1673, but only to -be withdrawn, until in 1686 it was finally reissued to the Foot -Guards. It was not until after the Revolution that bayonets were -served out to the whole of the infantry. - -In the matter of drill there was little or no change. The front -was still increased or diminished by the doubling of ranks and of -files, and the file still consisted of six men. The reduction of -the numbers of pikemen, however, greatly increased the homogeneity -of the infantry and contributed not a little to simplify its -movements. Moreover, although the file might consist of six men, -it is not likely, considering how far the musket and bayonet had -superseded the pike, that the formation for action was greater than -three ranks in depth. The platoon is not mentioned in the drill -books, the probable reason being that it was not favoured by the -French School, in which Charles and James had both of them received -their training. But for this, there is every reason to suppose -that the army encamped on Hounslow Heath would not have been found -behind the times in the matter of exercise and equipment if it -could have been transported without change to the field of Blenheim. - -Of the artillery there is still little to be said. Until 1682 -gunners seem to have enjoyed their original distribution into -small, independent bodies, in charge of the various scattered -garrisons. Even such small organisation as appeared in the New -Model seems to have been lost, and field-guns appear to have been -told off to battalions of infantry, or to have been worked by -such of the escort of fusiliers as had been trained by the few -expert gunners. The artilleryman had long looked upon himself -as a superior mortal,[226] but in 1682 he was brought under the -Ordnance, subjected to military discipline, and regularly exercised -at his duty. The time was not far distant when the organisation of -the gunners was to be improved. Of engineers I can say no more than -the few details already given when describing the Ordnance Office -and the fusiliers. - -A word remains to be said of the foundation of Chelsea Hospital. -It has been told that Queen Mary was the first of our sovereigns -who showed any care for old soldiers, and that Elizabeth was -intolerably impatient of such miserable creatures. Two generations, -however, had bred a softer heart in English sovereigns, and when -Charles the Second had been twenty years on the throne, and England -was again thronged with maimed and infirm soldiers who had served -their time in Tangier, in the West Indies, or in the Low Countries, -it was felt to be a reproach that faithful fighting-men should -be left to starve or to beg their bread. Kilmainham Hospital in -Dublin was the first-fruit of this sentiment, and was founded in -1680; Chelsea followed it in the succeeding year. Sir Stephen Fox, -the paymaster-general, was the man who was foremost in the work, -and it is to his credit that, having made so much money out of the -private soldier, he should have chosen this method of repaying -him. The scheme of the hospital was submitted to the King, who was -asked to grant a piece of land for a building. Charles, always -gracious, readily complied, and offered the site of St. James's -College, Chelsea. "But odso!" he added, "I now recollect that I -have already given that land to Mistress Nell here." Whereupon, so -runs the story, whether true or untrue, Nell gracefully forewent -her grant for so good a purpose; and Chelsea Hospital is the -British soldier's to this day. It is painful to have to add that -the officials of the pay-office seem to have begun at once to steal -part of the money contributed by the Army to its maintenance, -though the fact will astonish no reader who has followed me through -this chapter. But the friends of the Army have always been few, and -the best of them in former times, strange conjunction, were a queen -and a harlot. Had they endowed a fund for supplying African negroes -with Bibles, or even with mass-books, much would be forgiven them -in England; but they thought more of saving old soldiers from -want, so Mary Tudor is still Bloody Mary, and Eleanor Gwyn the -unspeakable Nell. - - AUTHORITIES.--The reader will find the fullest of references - for the details in this chapter in Clifford Walton's _History - of the British Standing Army_, with an index which will - enable him to trace them without difficulty. Having myself - perused the War Office books and papers in the Record Office, - and the Calendars of the Domestic and Treasury State Papers - independently, I can answer for the care and accuracy of the - author in the preparation of this vast store of information, and - gladly acknowledge my debt to it. The defect of the work is, of - course, that it begins abruptly at the year 1660. Mr. Dalton's - _Army Lists and Commission Registers_ are also of great value, - and claim the gratitude of all workers in the field of English - military history. Sir Sibbald Scott's _British Army_ is worth - consulting occasionally for a few details, but is superseded by - Hewitt's _Ancient Armour_ on one side, and by Colonel Clifford - Walton on the other. Mackinnon's _Coldstream Guards_ contains a - very valuable appendix of ancient documents. Sir F. Hamilton's - _History of the Grenadier Guards_ should be used only with - extreme caution. The drill and exercise of the period may be - studied in Venn's _Military Observations_, 1672. - - - - -BOOK V - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -Seldom has a man been confronted with such difficulties as those -that beset William of Orange when the Revolution was fairly -accomplished. So long as his success was still uncertain he stood -in his favourite position of a military commander doing his worst -against the power of France, while to the English nation he was a -champion and a deliverer. Once seated on the throne he found that -he had to do with a disorganised administration and a demoralised -people. Forty years of revolution, interrupted by twenty-five of -corrupt government, had done their work; and chaos reigned alike -in the minds of private men and in all departments of the public -service. Finally, as if this were not sufficient, there was a war -in Ireland, a war in Flanders, and the practical certainty of an -insurrection in Scotland. - -His first trouble came quickly enough. Amid the general rejoicing -over the overthrow of King James the English Army stood apart, -surly and silent. The regiments felt that they had been fooled. -They had been concentrated to resist foreign invasion, but had been -withdrawn without any attempt to strike a blow. During his advance, -and after his arrival in London, William had detailed the British -regiments in the Dutch service for all duties which, if entrusted -to foreigners, might have offended national sentiment; but his -prudence could not reconcile the Army. The troops felt their -disgrace keenly, and the burden of their dishonour was aggravated -by the taunts of the foreigners. Moreover, the discipline of the -Dutch had been so admirable that English folk had not failed to -draw invidious comparisons between the well-conducted strangers -and their own red-coats. Needless to say, they never reflected -that Parliament, by withholding powers to enforce discipline, was -chiefly responsible for the delinquencies of the English soldier. -Discontent spread fast among the troops, and before the new king -had been proclaimed a month, found vent in open mutiny. - -[Sidenote: 1689.] - -On the news of William's expedition to England, France had -declared war against the States-General; and England, pursuant to -obligations of treaty, was called upon to furnish her contingent -of troops for their defence. On the 8th of March accordingly -Lieutenant-General Lord Marlborough was ordered to ship four -battalions of Guards and six of the Line[227] for Holland. Among -these battalions was the Royal Scots, to which regiment William, -doubtless with the best intentions, had lately appointed the Duke -of Schomberg to be colonel. Schomberg was by repute one of the -first soldiers in Europe. He had held a marshal's bâton in France -and had sacrificed it to the cause of the Protestant religion. He -had even fought by the side of the Royal Scots in more than one -great action. But he was not a Scotsman, and the Scots had known no -colonel yet but a Mackay, a Hepburn, or a Douglas. Moreover, the -Parliament at Westminster, though not a Scottish Assembly, had, -without consulting the regiment, coolly transferred its allegiance -from James Stuart to William of Nassau. - -With much grumbling the Scots marched as far as Ipswich on their -way to their port of embarkation, and then, at a signal from some -Jacobite officers, they broke into mutiny, seized four cannon, and, -turning northward, advanced by forced marches towards Scotland. -The alarm in London was great. "If you let this evil spread," said -Colonel Birch, an old officer of Cromwell's day, "you will have an -army upon you in a few days." William at once detached Ginkell, one -of his best officers, with a large force in pursuit; the mutineers -were overtaken near Sleaford, and, finding resistance hopeless, -laid down their arms. William, selecting a few of the ringleaders -only for punishment, ordered the rest of the regiment to return -to its duty, and the Royal Scots sailed quietly away to the Maas. -There the men deserted by scores, and even by hundreds,[228] -but recruits were found, as good as they, to uphold the ancient -reputation of the regiment. - -Meanwhile good came out of evil, for the mutiny frightened the -House of Commons not only into paying the expenses of William's -expedition, but into passing the first Mutiny Act. It is true that -the Act was passed for six months only, and that it provided for no -more than the punishment of mutiny and desertion; but it recognised -at least that military crime cannot be adequately checked by civil -law, and it gave the Army more or less of a statutory right to -exist. But readers should be warned once for all against the common -fallacy that the existence of the Army ever depended on the passing -of the annual Mutiny Act. The statute simply empowered the King to -deal with certain military crimes for which the civil law made no -provision. It made a great parade of the statement that the raising -or keeping of a standing army in time of peace is against law, but -the standing army was in existence for nearly thirty years before -the Mutiny Act was passed, and continued to exist, as will be seen, -for two short but distinct periods between 1689 and 1701 without -the help of any Mutiny Act whatever. If, therefore, the keeping of -a standing army in time of peace be against the law, it can only be -said that during those periods Parliament deliberately voted money -for the violation of the law, as indeed it is always prepared to do -when convenient to itself. The Mutiny Act was not a protection to -liberty; Parliament for the present reserved for itself no check -on the military code that might be framed by the King; and the Act -was therefore rather a powerful weapon placed in the hands of the -sovereign. Nevertheless, the passing of the Mutiny Act remains -always an incident of the first importance in the history of the -Army, and the story of its origin is typical of the attitude of -Parliament towards that long-suffering body. Every concession, nay, -every commonest requirement, must be wrung from it by the pressure -of fear. - -It might have been thought that the news which came from Ireland a -few days before the mutiny would have stirred the House of Commons -to take some such measure in hand. Tyrconnel had already called -the Irish to arms for King James, and on the 14th of March James -himself, having obtained aid from the French king, had landed at -Cork with some hundreds of officers to organise the Irish levies. -The regular troops in the Irish establishment, already manipulated -by Tyrconnel before the Revolution, were ready to join him. Some -regiments went over to him entire; others split themselves up into -Catholics and Protestants, and ranged themselves on opposite sides. -It was evident that no less a task than the reconquest of Ireland -lay before the English Government; and considering that several -regiments had already been detached to Flanders, it was equally -evident that the Army must be increased. Estimates were therefore -prepared of the cost of six regiments of horse, two of dragoons, -and twenty-five of foot, sixteen of which last were to be newly -raised, for the coming campaign. - -Of the new regiments a few lay ready to William's hand. The first -was Lord Forbes's regiment, one of the many Irish corps brought -over to England by King James in 1688, and the only one which, -being made up entirely of Protestants, was not disbanded by William -at his accession. It is still with us as the Eighteenth Royal -Irish. The next three were corps which had been raised for the -support of the Protestant cause at the Revolution. The first of -them was a regiment of horse raised by the Earl of Devonshire among -his tenantry in Derbyshire, which, long known by the name of the -Black Horse, now bears the title of the Seventh Dragoon Guards. The -second was a regiment of foot that had been formed at Exeter to -join the Prince of Orange on his march from Torbay, and is still -known as the Twentieth East Devon; and the third also remains -with us as the Nineteenth of the Line. Three more regiments date -their birth from March 1689--one raised by the Duke of Norfolk, -one enlisted in the Welsh Marches, and a third which was recruited -in Ireland but almost immediately brought over to England. These -are now the Twenty-second, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth of the -Line. Six more regiments of infantry which were raised in the same -year, but disbanded at the close of the war, were Drogheda's, -Lisburn's, Kingston's, Ingoldsby's, Roscommon's, and Bolton's. Of -these, curiously enough, no fewer than three were dressed in blue -instead of scarlet coats, possibly in flattering imitation of King -William's famous Blue Guards. Thus, with ten thousand men to be -enlisted, drilled, trained, and equipped, there was no lack of work -for the recruiting officer, or for the Office of Ordnance, in the -spring of - -[Sidenote: May 10.] - -It was not long before William and Schomberg made the discovery -that the old regiments would require as much watching as the new. -There were significant symptoms of rottenness in the whole military -system; and discontented spirits were already spreading false and -calumnious reports as to the treatment of the English regiments in -Flanders, with the evident design of kindling a mutiny. Moreover, -there were loud complaints from citizens of oppression by the -soldiery, from soldiers of the fraudulent withholding of their pay, -and from every honest officer, not, alas! a very numerous body, -of false musters, embezzlement, fraud, and every description of -abuse. The King lost no time in appointing nine commissioners, -with Schomberg at their head, to make the tour of the quarters -in England, to inquire into the true state of the case, and if -possible to restore order and discipline.[229] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - August --. - 25 -] - -Still more disquieting news came from the Prince of Waldeck, who -commanded the confederate army in Flanders. The English regiments -were far below the strength assigned to them on paper, their -officers were ill-paid, and many of them, even the colonels, -ill-conducted; the men were sickly, listless,[230] undisciplined, -and disorderly; their shoes were bad, their clothing miserable, -their very arms defective. William, whose eyes always rested by -preference on the eastern side of the German Ocean, lost no time -in sending his best officer to Flanders; but even the Earl of -Marlborough had much ado to reduce these unruly elements to order. -Nevertheless he persevered; and in the one serious action wherein -the British were engaged during the campaign, that against Marshal -d'Humières at Walcourt, Marlborough opened the eyes of Waldeck -to the qualities of his men and to his own capacity. This was -Marlborough's first brush with a Marshal of France; and it would -seem that it was never forgotten by William. With this we may -dismiss the campaign in Flanders for 1689. - -Meanwhile another soldier of remarkable talent, and an old comrade -of William, had rushed into rebellion in Scotland. The dragoons -with which Dundee had harried the Covenanters and earned the name -of "Bloody Claver'se" were still ready to his hand, and to these, -by fanning the undying flame of tribal feud, he presently added an -array of Highland clans. The flight of Dundee from Edinburgh on his -errand of insurrection warned the city to take speedy measures for -its defence. Lord Leven caused the drums to beat, and within two -hours, it is said, had raised eight hundred men; but the work of -these two hours has lasted for two centuries, for the regiment thus -hastily enlisted is still alive as the Twenty-fifth of the Line. -Shortly after, William sent up three Scotch regiments of the Dutch -service under a veteran officer, Mackay; and the Highland war began -in earnest. Skilful, however, as Mackay might be on the familiar -battle-grounds of Flanders, he was helpless in the Highlands, where -one week with George Monk would have helped him more than all the -campaigns of Turenne. He crawled over the country conscientiously -enough in pursuit of an enemy that he could never overtake, without -further result than to exhaust the strength of both horses and men. -It was not until one stage of a desultory campaign had been ended -and a new one begun, that he at last met his enemy at Killiecrankie. - -[Sidenote: July 27.] - -There is no need for me to repeat the story told once for all by -Lord Macaulay, of that romantic action; but it is worth while to -glance at some few of its peculiarities. Mackay's force consisted -of five battalions--the three Scottish regiments already mentioned, -Hastings', now the Thirteenth Light Infantry, and the newly raised -Twenty-fifth, together with two troops of horse. Of these the -Scottish battalions, trained in the Dutch School by competent -officers, should unquestionably have been the most efficient; yet -all three of them broke before the charge of the Highlanders, -threw down their arms, and would not be rallied. The two troops of -horse took to their heels and disappeared; the Twenty-fifth broke -like the other Scottish regiments, as was pardonable in such young -soldiers, though they made some effort to rally. The only regiment -that stood firm was the Thirteenth, which kept up a murderous fire -to the end, and retired with perfect coolness and good order. -Yet this was their first action, and Hastings, their colonel, -was one of the most unscrupulous scoundrels, even in those days -of universal robbery, that ever robbed a regiment.[231] Thus the -troops which should have done best did worst, and those that might -have been expected to do worst did best; and the moral would seem -to be that inexperienced troops are sometimes safer than troops -trained in civilised warfare for the rough-and-ready fighting of a -savage campaign. - -A still more curious example of the same peculiarity was seen -before the close of the war. At the end of the first stage of -Mackay's campaign it was found necessary to raise fresh troops; -and it was hoped that the Covenanters of Western Scotland, who -of all men had most reason to detest bloody Claverhouse, might -be willing to furnish recruits. But the Covenanters had scruples -about joining the army of King William, wherein they might be set -shoulder to shoulder with the immoral and, even worse, with the -unorthodox. Even Mackay, a man of extreme piety,[232] was suspected -by them. They held a tumultuous meeting, wherein the majority, -little knowing probably how terribly true their words then were -of the British Army, declared that military service was a sinful -association. Nevertheless there was still a minority from which the -Earl of Angus formed a body of infantry, twelve hundred strong, -which, though now numbered Twenty-sixth of the Line, is still -best known by its first name of the Cameronians. Their ideas of -military organisation were peculiar. They desired that each company -should furnish an elder, who with the chaplain should constitute a -court for the suppression of immorality and heresy; and though the -elders were never appointed, and the officers bore the usual titles -of captain, lieutenant, and ensign, yet the chaplain, a noted -hill-preacher, supplied in his own person fanaticism for all. So in -spite of the ravings of the majority a true Puritan regiment once -more donned the red coat, under the youngest colonel--for Angus was -no more than eighteen--that had led such men since Henry Cromwell. - -[Sidenote: August 21.] - -Within four months they were engaged against four times their -number of Highlanders at Dunkeld. They were still imperfectly -disciplined, still somewhat of a congregation that preferred -elders to officers. They would not be satisfied that their mounted -officers would not gallop away, until the lieutenant-colonel and -major offered to shoot their horses before their eyes. Then they -braced themselves, and fought such a fight as has seldom fallen -to the lot of a regiment of recruits. The battle was fought amid -the roar of a burning town. Angus was not present--short though -his time was to be, it was not yet come--and his place was taken -by Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland. The action was hardly opened before -Cleland fell dead. The major stepped forward to his place, and a -minute after was pierced by three mortal wounds. The men too fell -fast; the musketry crackled round them, and the flames roared -behind them; but still they fought on. Ammunition failed them at -last; everything conspired to make the trial too hard for a young -regiment to endure; but nothing could break the spirit of these -men. At last, after four long hours, the Highlanders rolled back in -disorder. The Cameronians had won their first battle and ended the -Highland war. - -But that war brought something more to the British Army even -than two famous Scottish regiments. For Mackay had noticed -that at Killiecrankie his Scotsmen had not had time to fix the -clumsy plug-bayonets into the muzzles of their muskets, and had -consequently been unable to meet the Highland charge. He therefore -ordered bayonets to be made so that they could be screwed on to the -outside of the barrel, thus enabling the men to fire with bayonets -fixed. So finally was accomplished the blending of pike and musket -into a single weapon, a great era in the history of the art of -war.[233] - -But while recruiting officers were beating their drums through the -market towns of England, and Mackay was toiling in pursuit of the -Highlanders, Protestant Ireland was standing desperately at bay -against King James at Londonderry and Enniskillen. There is no need -for me to recall the triumph of the unconquerable defenders of -Derry; and it would be pleasanter, were it possible, to pass over -the somewhat discreditable behaviour of the Army in relation to -their relief. Five days, indeed, before the city was invested two -English regiments, the Ninth and Seventeenth Foot, had arrived in -the bay, but had been persuaded by the treacherous governor, Lundy, -to return and to leave Derry to its fate. Colonels Cunningham and -Richards, who commanded these corps, were both of them superseded -on their arrival in England; but no further help came until on the -15th of June General Kirke sailed into Lough Foyle with the Second, -Ninth, and Eleventh Foot. Even then he would not stir for six whole -weeks, when he received positive orders from home to relieve the -city. - -[Sidenote: July 31.] - -Meanwhile all operations of the Irish Protestants that were not -wholly defensive were directed from Enniskillen, which was filled -with refugees from Munster and Connaught. With extraordinary energy -these Protestants organised a body of horse and another of foot, -with which they kept up an incessant harassing warfare against -the insurgent Irish. On Kirke's arrival they applied to him for -reinforcements. These he refused to give; but he sent them arms and -he sent them officers, one of whom, Colonel Wolseley, equalled at -Newtown Butler Dundee's feat of Killiecrankie, of beating trained -soldiers with raw but enthusiastic levies. After this action the -force of the Enniskilleners was reorganised into two regiments -of dragoons and three of foot, which are represented among us to -this day by the Fifth Royal Irish Dragoons, now Lancers, the Sixth -Enniskillen Dragoons, and the Twenty-seventh Enniskillen regiment -of the infantry of Line. - -The time was now come when the great English expedition for -the reconquest of Ireland should set sail. The untrained Irish -Protestant had played his part gallantly, and it was the turn -of the English soldier. For months great preparations had been -going forward; the new regiments had been raised; and on paper -at any rate there were not only horse, foot, and dragoons, but a -respectable train of artillery and of transport. Moreover, the -failure of Cunningham and Richards had led Parliament to inquire -into the conduct of that expedition; and it had been discovered -that the supply of transport-ships had been so insufficient that -the men had not had space even to lie down, while the biscuit -provided for them had been mouldy and uneatable, and the beer so -foul and putrid that they preferred to drink salt water. These -shortcomings had occurred in the dispatch of a couple of battalions -only; it remained to be seen how the military departments could -cope with the transport and maintenance of an entire army. The -total force to be employed in Ireland was close on nineteen -thousand men, of which about one-fourth was already on the spot. - -[Sidenote: August 13.] - -William had chosen Marshal Schomberg to command the expedition. -Though past fourscore, the veteran was still active and fit for -duty; and in reputation there was no better officer in Europe. On -the 13th of August he landed with his army at Bangor and detached -twelve regiments to besiege Carrickfergus. The garrison held out -for a week, and was then permitted to capitulate and to march -away to Newry. But that week was sufficient to open Schomberg's -eyes. The new regiments proved to be mobs of undisciplined -boys. Their officers were ignorant, negligent, and useless. The -arms served out from the Tower were so ill-made, and the men so -careless in the handling of them, that nearly every regiment -required to be re-armed. The officers of artillery were not only -ignorant and lazy, but even cowardly,[234] while their guns were -so defective that a week of easy work had sufficed to render most -of them unserviceable.[235] Senior officers were as deficient -as junior: there was not one qualified to command a brigade; -and the commissary, in spite of reports that he had made all -needful provision, had failed to supply sufficient stores. Lastly, -in spite of the warning given by the experience of Cunningham -and Richards, the transport across St. George's Channel was so -shamefully conducted that one regiment of horse, that now known -as the Queen's Bays, lost every charger and troop-horse in the -passage.[236] The result was that all was confusion, and that every -detail in every department required the personal supervision of the -Commander-in-Chief. - -Fortunately James's Irish were so far demoralised by previous -failures that his officer at Belfast thought it prudent to evacuate -that town. Schomberg therefore threw a garrison into it, and -marched with his whole force upon Newry. The Duke of Berwick, who -was guarding the road, fell back on his approach to Drogheda, where -James had collected twenty thousand men; and Schomberg, advancing -through a wasted and deserted country, halted, and entrenched -himself at Dundalk. James struggled forward to within a league of -him to try and tempt him to an action, but Schomberg was not to be -entrapped; and by the second week in September the campaign was -over. - -The fact was that a month's service in the field had completely -broken the English Army down. By the time when it reached Dundalk -it was on the brink of starvation. The Commissary-General, one -Shales, was a man of experience, for he had been purveyor to King -James's camp at Hounslow; and he had accumulated stores--bad -stores, it is true, but nevertheless stores--at the base, Belfast. -But he had made no provision for carrying any part of them with -the Army. He had bought up large numbers of horses in Cheshire, -but, instead of transporting them to Ireland, had let them out -to the farmers of the district for the harvest, and pocketed -their hire.[237] Again, the artillery could not be moved because -the Ordnance Department looked to Shales to provide horses, -while Shales declared the artillery to be no business of his. -Moreover, had the horses been on the spot, there was not a shoe -ready for their feet.[238] No measures had been taken, in spite of -Schomberg's representations, to victual the troops by sea, though -Cromwell had shown forty years before, in Scotland, how readily -the work could be done. But indeed the expedition would have been -better managed than it was by following the guidance of so old a -master as King Edward the Third.[239] Never was there a more signal -example of English ignorance, neglect, and sloth in respect of -military administration. - -By the 18th of September victuals at Dundalk were at famine price, -and the men began to perish by scores and by hundreds. It was -hardly surprising, for they were not only unfed but unclothed; -there was not so much as a greatcoat in the whole of the English -infantry; the cavalry were without cloaks, boots, and belts, and -almost the entire force wanted shoes. Moreover, the English were -shiftless; when ordered to build themselves huts they could not -be at the pains to obey, even with the example of their Dutch -and Huguenot comrades before them. Sickness spread rapidly among -them, and there was no hospital; and had there been a hospital -there were no medicines. Finally, the behaviour of the officers -was utterly shameful. "The lions in Africa," wrote one who was -on the spot, "are not more barbarous than some of our officers -are to the sick."[240] "I never saw officers more wicked and more -interested," wrote Schomberg almost on the same day.[241] The -Commander-in-Chief did his best to interpose on behalf of the men, -but his hands were already overfull. The colonels were perhaps the -worst of all the officers; they understood pillage better than the -payment of their men, and filled their empty ranks with worthless -Irish recruits, simply because these were more easily cheated -than English.[242] It cost Schomberg a week's work to ensure that -the pay of the soldiers went into their own and not into their -captains' pockets. - -Yet on the whole it was not the military officers that were -chiefly to blame. The constant complaint of Schomberg was that he -could get no money; and for this the Treasurer of the Army was -responsible. This functionary, William Harbord, a civilian and a -member of the House of Commons, appears to have been on the whole -the most shameless of all the officials in Ireland. By some jobbery -he had contrived to obtain an independent troop of cavalry, for -which he drew pay as though it were complete, though the troop -in reality consisted of himself, two clerks whom he put down as -officers, and a standard which he kept in his bedroom.[243] This -was the only corps which was regularly paid. The other regiments -he turned equally to his own advantage by sending home false -muster-rolls[244] in order to draw the pay of the vacancies; but -whenever the question of payment of the men was raised, he evaded -it and went to England, pleading the necessity of attending to -his duties in the House of Commons. It was Harbord again who was -responsible for the failure of the hospital. He admitted, indeed, -that if he had known as much about hospitals at the beginning as -at the end of the campaign, he might have saved two-thirds of the -men; but the truth was that he would never at any time supply a -penny for it.[245] By Christmas Schomberg began to relent towards -his officers, for he discovered that they were penniless, not -having received a farthing of pay for four months.[246] Meanwhile -civilians were growing fat. Shales was buying salt at ninepence -a pound and selling it at four shillings;[247] and junior -commissaries were acting as regimental agents and advancing money -to the unhappy officers at exorbitant interest.[248] - -[Sidenote: Nov. 5.] - -In such a state of affairs Schomberg, rightly or wrongly, -considered himself powerless. William ordered him from time to time -to advance on Dublin; and Harbord, with incredible impertinence, -urged him to march against the enemy.[249] Schomberg answered -William by a plain statement of his condition, and Harbord by a -surly and contemptuous growl. In truth his Dutch and Huguenot -regiments, which alone were well clad and well looked after by -their officers, were the only troops on which he could rely. The -English continued to die like flies. Schomberg wisely endeavoured -to distract their thoughts from their own misery by keeping them -at drill. He found that not one in four had the slightest idea -how to load or fire his musket, while the muskets themselves -fell to pieces in the handling. Pestilence increased, and with -it callousness and insubordination. The men used the corpses of -their comrades to stop the draughts under their tent-walls, and -robbed any man whose appearance promised hope of gain. Nor was this -indiscipline confined to Dundalk. The Enniskilleners, who have -generally been represented as superior to the English, were quite -as fond of plunder, and robbed William Harbord himself, despite -his protestations, in broad daylight.[250] Happily for Schomberg, -James's forces were in as ill condition as his own, so that he -was able to retire into winter quarters from Dundalk without -molestation. Of fourteen thousand men in the camp, upwards of six -thousand had perished.[251] - -Gradually and painfully the winter wore away, but without -abatement in the mortality of the troops. Meanwhile the House -of Commons, awaking to the terrible state of things in Ireland, -addressed the King for the arrest of Shales. William replied -that he had already put him under arrest; and the name of Shales -was accordingly constantly before the House in the course of the -next few months, but without any result. He seems to have escaped -scot-free; and indeed there was no lack of men as corrupt as he in -the House of Commons and in all places of trust. William then took -the extraordinary step of asking the House to appoint seven members -to superintend the preparations for the next campaign; but this -it very wisely declined to do. It appointed a Committee, however, -to examine into the expenses of the war,[252] and finally passed -a Mutiny Act with new clauses against false musters and other -abuses--clauses which were as old as King Edward the Sixth, and for -all practical purposes as dead. It was not legislation that was -wanted, but enforcement of existing laws. William, however, appears -early to have abandoned in despair the hope of finding an honest -man in England. - -[Sidenote: 1690.] - -And now, with the experience of 1689 before them, the King and -Schomberg began to arrange their plans for the campaign of 1690. -In the matter of troops Schomberg was vehement against further -employment of regiments of miserable English and Irish boys;[253] -and it was therefore decided to transport twenty-seven thousand -seasoned men, seventeen thousand of them British and the remainder -Dutch and Danish, from England and Holland. Artillery and small -arms were imported from Holland, since the Office of Ordnance had -been found wanting; and as a daring experiment, which proved to be -a total failure, the King took the clothing of several regiments -out of their colonels' hands into his own.[254] Finally care was -taken for the proper organisation of the transport-service. The -plan of campaign in its broad lines was mapped out by a civilian, -Sir Robert Southwell,[255] the secretary for Ireland. The country, -he said, must be attacked simultaneously from north and south, for -while the ports of Munster were open France could always pour in -reinforcements and supplies. While, therefore, Schomberg advanced -from the north, a descent should be made on the south, and Cork -should be the objective. Finally, Southwell or some other sensible -man did what William should have done the year before, and drew out -a succinct account of the principles followed in Ireland with such -signal success by that forgotten General, Oliver Cromwell.[256] - -I shall not dwell further on the Irish campaigns of 1690 and -1691. There is little of importance to the History of the Army to -be found in them; and the reader will more readily follow Lord -Macaulay than myself over this familiar ground. The battle of -the Boyne was won without great credit to William's skill, and -paid for rather dearly by the death of gallant old Schomberg. The -troops learned something of active service, and something, though -not nearly so much as they should have learnt, of discipline. The -lesson of Cromwell was not taken to heart; and the Protestant Irish -were allowed to set an example of plunder which was but too readily -followed by the English. Ginkell's final campaign of 1691 was more -successful, more brilliant, and more satisfactory in every respect, -inasmuch as the Irish fought with distinguished gallantry. For -the rest, the English showed at Aghrim and at Athlone their usual -desperate valour; succeeding, even when experienced commanders, -like St. Ruth, confessed with admiration that they had thought -their success impossible. But in the matter of skill the quiet and -unostentatious captures of Cork and Kinsale in 1690 were far the -most brilliant achievements of the war; and these were the work of -John, Earl of Marlborough.[257] - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -[Sidenote: 1690, October.] - -I pass now to Flanders, which is about to become for the second -time the training ground of the British Army. The judicious help -sent by Lewis the Fourteenth to Ireland had practically diverted -the entire strength of William to that quarter for two whole -campaigns; and though, as has been seen, there were English in -Flanders in 1689 and 1690, the contingents which they furnished -were too small and the operations too trifling to warrant -description in detail. After the battle of the Boyne the case was -somewhat altered, for, though a large force was still required -in Ireland for Ginkell's final pacification of 1691, William was -none the less at liberty to take the field in Flanders in person. -Moreover, Parliament with great good-will had voted seventy -thousand men for the ensuing year, of which fully fifty thousand -were British,[258] so that England was about to put forth her -strength in Europe on a scale unknown since the loss of Calais. - -But first a short space must be devoted to the theatre of war, -where England was to meet and break down the overweening power -of France. Few studies are more difficult, even to the professed -student, than that of the old campaigns in Flanders, and still -fewer more hopeless of simplification to the ordinary reader. -Nevertheless, however desperate the task, an effort must be made -once for all to give a broad idea of the scene of innumerable great -actions. - -Taking his stand on the northern frontier of France and looking -northward, the reader will note three great rivers running through -the country before him in, roughly speaking, three parallel -semicircles, from south-east to north-west. These are, from east to -west, the Moselle, which is merged in the Rhine at Coblentz, the -Meuse, and the Scheldt, all three of which discharge themselves -into the great delta whereof the southern key is Antwerp. But for -the present let the reader narrow the field from the Meuse in the -east to the sea in the west, and let him devote his attention first -to the Meuse. He will see that, a little to the north of the French -frontier, it picks up a large tributary from the south-west, the -Sambre, which runs past Maubeuge and Charleroi and joins the Meuse -at Namur. Thence the united rivers flow on past the fortified towns -of Huy, Liège, and Maestricht to the sea. But let the reader's -northern boundary on the Meuse for the present be Maestricht, and -let him note another river which rises a little to the west of -Maestricht and runs almost due west past Arschot and Mechlin to the -sea at Antwerp. Let this river, the Demer, be his northern, and the -Meuse from Maestricht to Namur his eastern, boundary. - -Returning to the south, let him note a river rising immediately -to the west of Charleroi, the Haine, which joins the Scheldt at -Tournay, and let him draw a line from Tournay westward through -Lille and Ypres to the sea at Dunkirk. Let this line from Dunkirk -to Charleroi be carried eastward to Namur; and there is his -southern boundary. His western boundary, is, of course, the sea. -Within this quadrilateral, Antwerp (or more strictly speaking the -mouth of the Scheldt), Dunkirk, Namur, and Maestricht, lies the -most famous fighting-ground of Europe. - -Glancing at it on the map, the reader will see that this -quadrilateral is cut by a number of rivers running parallel to each -other from south to north, and flowing into the main streams of -the Demer and the Scheldt. The first of these, beginning from the -east, are the Great and Little Geete, which become one before they -join the main stream. It is worth while to pause for a moment over -this little slip of land between the Geete and the Meuse. We shall -see much of Namur, Huy, Liège, and Maestricht, which command the -navigation of the greater river, but we shall see still more of -the Geete, and of two smaller streams, the Jaar and the Mehaigne, -which rise almost in the same table-land with it. On the Lower -Jaar, close to Maestricht, stands the village of Lauffeld, which -shall be better known to us fifty years hence. On the Little Geete, -just above its junction with its greater namesake, are the villages -of Neerwinden and Landen. In the small space between the heads of -the Geete and the Mehaigne lies the village of Ramillies. For this -network of streams is the protection against an enemy that would -threaten the navigation of the Meuse from the north and west, and -the barrier of Spanish Flanders against invasion from the east; and -the ground is rich with the corpses and fat with the blood of men. - -The next stream to westward is the Dyle, which flows past Louvain -to the Demer, and gives its name, after the junction, to that -river. The next in order is the Senne, which flows past Park and -Hal and Brussels to the same main stream. At the head of the Senne -stands the village of Steenkirk; midway between the Dyle and Senne -are the forest of Soignies and the field of Waterloo. - -Here the tributaries of the Demer come to an end, but the row of -parallel streams is continued by the tributaries of another system, -that of the Scheldt. Easternmost of these, and next in order to -the Senne, is the Dender, which rises near Leuse and flows past -Ath and Alost to the Scheldt at Dendermond. Next comes the Scheldt -itself, with the Scarpe and the Haine, its tributaries, which it -carries past Tournay and Oudenarde to Ghent, and to the sea at -Antwerp. Westernmost of all, the Lys runs past St. Venant, where -in Cromwell's time we saw Sir Thomas Morgan and his immortal six -thousand, past Menin and Courtrai, and is merged in the Scheldt at -Ghent. - -The whole extent of the quadrilateral is about one hundred miles -long by fifty broad, with a great waterway to the west, a second to -the east, and a third, whereof the key is Ghent, roughly speaking -midway between them. The earth, fruitful by nature and enriched by -art, bears food for man and beast, the waterways provide transport -for stores and ammunition. It was a country where men could kill -each other without being starved, and hence for centuries the -cockpit of Europe. - -A glance at any old map of Flanders shows how thickly studded was -this country with walled towns of less or greater strength, and -explains why a war in Flanders should generally have been a war -of sieges. Every one of these little towns, of course, had its -garrison; and the manœuvres of contending forces were governed very -greatly by the effort on one side to release these garrisons for -active service in the field, and on the other to keep them confined -within their walls for as long as possible. Hence it is obvious -that an invading army necessarily enjoyed a great advantage, -since it menaced the fortresses of the enemy while its own were -unthreatened. Thus ten thousand men on the Upper Lys could paralyse -thrice their number in Ghent and Bruges and the adjacent towns. On -the other hand, if an invading general contemplated the siege of -an important town, he manœuvred to entice the garrison into the -field before he laid siege in form. Still, once set down to a great -siege, an army was stationary, and the bare fact was sufficient to -liberate hostile garrisons all over the country; and hence arose -the necessity of a second army to cover the besieging force. The -skill and subtlety manifested by great generals to compass these -different ends is unfortunately only to be apprehended by closer -study than can be expected of any but the military student. - -A second cause contributed not a little to increase the taste for -a war of sieges, namely the example of France, then the first -military nation in Europe.[259] The Court of Versailles was -particularly fond of a siege, since it could attend the ceremony -in state and take nominal charge of the operations with much glory -and little discomfort or danger. The French passion for rule and -formula also found a happy outlet in the conduct of a siege, -for while there is no nation more brilliant or more original, -particularly in military affairs, there is also none that is more -conceited or pedantic. The craving for sieges among the French -was so great that the King took pains, by the grant of extra pay -and rations, to render this species of warfare popular with his -soldiers.[260] - -Again, it must be remembered that the object of a campaign in -those days was not necessarily to seek out an enemy and beat him. -There were two alternatives prescribed by the best authorities, -namely, to fight at an advantage or to subsist comfortably.[261] -Comfortable subsistence meant at its best subsistence at an -enemy's expense. A campaign wherein an army lived on the enemy's -country and destroyed all that it could not consume was eminently -successful, even though not a shot was fired. To force an enemy -to consume his own supplies was much, to compel him to supply his -opponent was more, to take up winter-quarters in his territory -was very much more. Thus to enter an enemy's borders and keep him -marching backwards and forwards for weeks without giving him a -chance of striking a blow, was in itself no small success, and -success of a kind which galled inferior generals, such as William -of Orange, to desperation and so to disaster. The tendency to these -negative campaigns was heightened once more by French example. The -French ministry of war interfered with its generals to an extent -that was always dangerous, and eventually proved calamitous. -Nominally the marshal commanding-in-chief in the field was -supreme; but the intendant or head of the administrative service, -though he received his orders from the marshal, was instructed by -the King to forward those orders at once by special messenger to -Louvois, and not to execute them without the royal authority. Great -commanders such as Luxemburg had the strength from time to time to -kick themselves free from this bondage, but the rest, embarrassed -by the surveillance of an inferior officer, preferred to live as -long as possible in an enemy's country without risking a general -action. It was left to Marlborough to advance triumphant in one -magnificent campaign from the Meuse to the sea. - -Next, a glance must be thrown at the contending parties. The -defenders of the Spanish Netherlands, for they cannot be called -the assailants of France, were confederate allies from a number of -independent states--England, Holland, Spain, the Empire, sundry -states of Germany, and Denmark, all somewhat selfish, few very -efficient, and none, except the first, very punctual. From such -a heterogeneous collection swift, secret, and united action was -not to be expected. King William held the command-in-chief, and, -from his position as the soul of the alliance, was undoubtedly -the fittest for the post. But though he had carefully studied -the art of war, and though his phlegmatic temperament found its -only genuine pleasure in the excitement of the battlefield, he -was not a great general. He could form good plans, and up to a -certain point could execute them, but up to a certain point only. -It would seem that his physical weakness debarred him from steady -and sustained effort. He was strangely incapable of conducting a -campaign with equal ability throughout; he would manœuvre admirably -for weeks, and forfeit all the advantage that he had gained by the -carelessness of a single day. In a general action, of which he -was fonder than most commanders of his day, he never shone except -in virtue of conspicuous personal bravery. He lacked tactical -instinct, and above all he lacked patience; in a word, to use a -modern phrase, he was a very clever amateur. - -France, on the other hand, possessed the finest and strongest -army in Europe,--well equipped, well trained, well organised, and -inured to work by countless campaigns. She had a single man in -supreme control of affairs, King Lewis the Fourteenth; a great -war-minister, Louvois; one really great general, Luxemburg; and -one with flashes of genius, Boufflers. Moreover she possessed a -line of posts in Spanish Flanders extending from Dunkirk to the -Meuse. On the Lys she had Aire and Menin; on the Scarpe, Douay; on -the Upper Scheldt, Cambray, Bouchain, Valenciennes, and Condé; on -the Sambre, Maubeuge; between Sambre and Meuse, Philippeville and -Marienburg; and on the Meuse, Dinant. Further, in the one space -where the frontier was not covered by a friendly river, between the -sea and the Scheldt, the French had constructed fortified lines -from the sea to Menin and from thence to the Scheldt at Espierre. -Thus with their frontier covered, with a place of arms on every -river, with secrecy and with unity of purpose, the French enjoyed -the approximate certainty of being able to take the field in every -campaign before the Allies could be collected to oppose them. - -[Sidenote: 1691.] - -The campaign of 1691 happily typifies the relative positions of the -combatants in almost every respect. The French concentrated ten -thousand men on the Lys. This was sufficient to paralyse all the -garrisons of the Allies on and about the river. They posted another -corps on the Moselle, which threatened the territory of Cleves. Now -Cleves was the property of the Elector of Brandenburg, and it was -not to be expected that he should allow his contingent of troops -to join King William at the general rendezvous at Brussels, and -suffer the French to play havoc among his possessions. Thus the -Prussian contingent likewise was paralysed. So while William was -still ordering his troops to concentrate at Brussels, Boufflers, -who had been making preparations all the winter, suddenly marched -up from Maubeuge and, before William was aware that he was in -motion, had besieged Mons. The fortress presently surrendered -after a feeble resistance, and the line of the Allies' frontier -between the Scheldt and Sambre was broken. William moved down from -Brussels across the Sambre in the hope of recovering the lost town, -outmanœuvred Luxemburg, who was opposed to him, and for three days -held the recapture of Mons in the hollow of his hand. He wasted -those three days in an aimless halt; Luxemburg recovered himself -by an extraordinary march; and William, finding that there was -no alternative before him but to retire to Brussels and remain -inactive, handed over the command to an incompetent officer and -returned to England. Luxemburg then closed the campaign by a -brilliant action of cavalry, which scattered the horse of the -Allies to the four winds. As no British troops except the Life -Guards were present, and as they at any rate did not disgrace -themselves, it is unnecessary to say more of the combat of Leuse. -It, had however, one remarkable effect: it increased William's -dread of the French cavalry, already morbidly strong, to such a -pitch as to lead him subsequently to a disastrous military blunder. - -The campaign of 1691 was therefore decidedly unfavourable to the -Allies, but there was ground for hope that all might be set right -in 1692. The Treasurer, Godolphin, was nervously apprehensive that -Parliament might be unwilling to vote money for an English army in -Flanders; but the Commons cheerfully voted a total of sixty-six -thousand men, British and foreign; which, after deduction of -garrisons for the safety of the British Isles, left forty thousand -free to cross the German Ocean. - -[Sidenote: 1692.] - -Of these, twenty-three thousand were British, the most important -force that England had sent to the Continent since the days of -King Henry the Eighth. The organisation was remarkably like that -of the New Model. William was, of course, commander-in-chief, and -under him a general of horse and a general of foot, with a due -allowance of lieutenant-generals, major-generals, and brigadiers. -There is, however, no sign of an officer in command of artillery or -engineers, nor any of a commissary in charge of the transport.[262] -The one strangely conspicuous functionary is the Secretary-at-War, -who in this and the following campaigns for the last time -accompanied the Commander-in-Chief on active service. But the most -significant feature in the list of the staff is the omission of the -name of Marlborough. Originally included among the generals for -Flanders, he had been struck off the roll, and dismissed from all -public employment, in disgrace, before the opening of the campaign. -Though this dismissal did not want justification, it was perhaps of -all William's blunders the greatest. - -[Sidenote: May.] - -[Sidenote: - - 10 - May --. - 20 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 13 - May --. - 23 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - May --. - 26 -] - -As usual, the French were beforehand with the Allies in opening -the campaign. They had already broken the line of the defending -fortresses by the capture of Mons; they now designed to make the -breach still wider. All through the winter a vast siege-train was -collecting on the Scheldt and Meuse, with Vauban, first of living -engineers, in charge of it. In May all was ready. Marshal Joyeuse, -with one corps, was on the Moselle, as in the previous year, to -hold the Brandenburgers in check. Boufflers, with eighteen thousand -men, lay on the right bank of the Meuse, near Dinant; Luxemburg, -with one hundred and fifteen thousand more, stood in rear of the -river Haine. On the 20th of May, King Lewis in person reviewed -the grand army; on the 23rd it marched for Namur; and on the 26th -it had wound itself round two sides of the town, while Boufflers, -moving up from Dinant, completed the circuit on the third side. -Thus Namur was completely invested; unless William could save it, -the line of the Sambre and one of the most important fortresses on -the Meuse were lost to the Allies. - -[Sidenote: - - May 26 - ------ - June 5. -] - -William, to do him justice, had strained every nerve to spur his -indolent allies to be first in the field. The contingents, awaked -by the sudden stroke at Namur, came in fast to Brussels; but it -was too late. The French had destroyed all forage and supplies on -the direct route to Namur, and William's only way to the city lay -across the Mehaigne. Behind the Mehaigne lay Luxemburg, the ablest -of the French generals. The best of luck was essential to William's -success, and instead of the best came the worst. Heavy rain swelled -the narrow stream into a broad flood, and the building of bridges -became impossible. There was beautiful fencing, skilful feint, -and more skilful parry, between the two generals, but William -could not get under Luxemburg's guard. On the 5th of June, after a -discreditably short defence, Namur fell, almost before William's -eyes, into the hands of the French. - -[Sidenote: - - July 23 - ------- - August 2. -] - -Then Luxemburg thought it time to draw the enemy away from the -vicinity of the captured city; so recrossing the Sambre, and -keeping Boufflers always between himself and that river, he marched -for the Senne as if to threaten Brussels. William followed, as in -duty bound; and French and Allies pursued a parallel course to the -Senne, William on the north and Luxemburg on the south. The 2nd of -August found both armies across the Senne, William at Hal, facing -west with the river in his rear, and Luxemburg some five miles -south of him with his right at Steenkirk, and his centre between -Hoves and Enghien, while Boufflers lay at Manny St. Jean, seven -miles in his rear. - -The terrible state of the roads owing to heavy rain had induced -Luxemburg to leave most of his artillery at Mons, and as he -had designed merely to tempt the Allies away from Namur, the -principal object left to him was to take up a strong position -wherein his worn and harassed army could watch the enemy without -fear of attack. Such a position he thought that he had found at -Steenkirk.[263] The country at this point is more broken and -rugged than is usual in Belgium. The camp lay on high ground, -with its right resting on the river Sennette and its right front -covered by a ravine, which gradually fades away northward into a -high plateau of about a mile in extent. Beyond the ravine was a -network of wooded defiles, through which Luxemburg seems to have -hoped that no enemy could fall upon him in force unawares. It so -happened, however, that one of his most useful spies was detected, -in his true character, in William's camp at Hal; and this was an -opportunity not to be lost. A pistol was held at the spy's head, -and he was ordered to write a letter to Luxemburg, announcing that -large bodies of the enemy would be in motion next morning, but that -nothing more serious was contemplated than a foraging expedition. -This done, William laid his plans to surprise his enemy on the -morrow. - -[Sidenote: - - July 23 - -------- - August 3. -] - -An hour before daybreak the advanced guard of William's army -fell silently into its ranks, together with a strong force of -pioneers to clear the way for a march through the woods. This force -consisted of the First Guards, the Royal Scots, the Twenty-first, -Fitzpatrick's regiment of Fusiliers, and two Danish regiments -of great reputation, the whole under the command of the Duke of -Würtemberg. Presently they moved away, and as the sun rose the -whole army followed them in two columns, without sound of drum or -trumpet, towards Steenkirk. French patrols scouring the country in -the direction of Tubise saw the two long lines of scarlet and white -and blue wind away into the woods, and reported what they had seen -at headquarters; but Luxemburg, sickly of constitution, and, in -spite of his occasional energy, indolent of temperament, rejoiced -to think that, as his spy had told him, it was no more than a -foraging party. Another patrol presently sent in another message -that a large force of cavalry was advancing towards the Sennette. -Once more Luxemburg lulled himself into security with the same -comfort. - -Meanwhile the allied army was trailing through narrow defiles and -cramped close ground, till at last it emerged from the stifling -woods into an open space. Here it halted, as the straitness of the -ground demanded, in dense, heavy masses. But the advanced guard -moved on steadily till it reached the woods over against Steenkirk, -where Würtemberg disposed it for the coming attack. On his left -the Bois de Feuilly covered a spur of the same plateau as that -occupied by the French right, and there he stationed the English -Guards and the two battalions of Danes. To the right of these, but -separated from them by a ravine, he placed the three remaining -British battalions in the Bois de Zoulmont. His guns he posted, -some between the two woods, and the remainder on the right of his -division. These dispositions complete, the advanced party awaited -orders to open the attack. - -It was now eleven o'clock. Luxemburg had left his bed and had -ridden out to a commanding height on his extreme right, when a -third message was brought to him that the Allies were certainly -advancing in force. He read it, and looking to his front, saw the -red coats of the Guards moving through the wood before him, while -beyond them he caught a glimpse of the dense masses of the main -body. Instantly he saw the danger, and divined that William's -attack was designed against his right. His own camp was formed, -according to rule, with the cavalry on the wings; and there was -nothing in position to check the Allies but a single brigade of -infantry, famous under the name of Bourbonnois, which was quartered -in advance of the cavalry's camp on his extreme right. Moreover, -nothing was ready, not a horse was bridled, not a man standing to -his arms. He despatched a messenger to summon Boufflers to his -aid, and in a few minutes was flying through the camp with his -staff, energetic but perfectly self-possessed, to set his force -in order of battle. The two battalions of Bourbonnois fell in -hastily before their camp, with a battery of six guns before them. -The dragoons of the right wing dismounted and hastened to seal up -the space between Bourbonnois and the Sennette. The horse of the -right was collected, and some of it sent off in hot speed to the -left to bring the infantry up behind them on their horses' croups. -All along the line the alarm was given, drums were beating, men -snatching hastily at their arms and falling into their ranks ready -to file away to the right. Such was the haste, that there was no -time to think of regimental precedence, a very serious matter in -the French army, and each successive brigade hurried into the place -where it was most needed as it happened to come up. - -Meanwhile Würtemberg's batteries had opened fire, and a cunning -officer of the Royal Scots was laying his guns with admirable -precision. French batteries hastened into position to reply to -them with as deadly an aim, and for an hour and a half the rival -guns thundered against each other unceasingly. All this time the -French battalions kept massing themselves thicker and thicker on -Luxemburg's right, and the front line was working with desperate -haste, felling trees, making breastworks, and lining the hedges -and copses while yet they might. But still Würtemberg's division -remained unsupported, and the precious minutes flew fast. William, -or his staff for him, had made a serious blunder. Intent though he -was on fighting a battle with his infantry only, he had put all -the cavalry of one wing of his army before them on the march, so -that there was no room for the infantry to pass. Fortunately six -battalions had been intermixed with the squadrons of this wing, and -these were now with some difficulty disentangled and sent forward. -Cutts's, Mackay's, Lauder's, and the Twenty-sixth formed up on -Würtemberg's right, with the Sixth and Twenty-fifth in support; and -at last, at half-past twelve, Würtemberg gave the order to attack. - -His little force shook itself up and pressed forward with -eagerness. The Guards and Danes on the extreme left, being on the -same ridge with the enemy, were the first that came into action. -Pushing on under a terrible fire at point-blank range from the -French batteries, they fell upon Bourbonnois and the dragoons, beat -them back, captured their guns, and turned them against themselves. -On their right the Royal Scots, Twenty-first, and Fitzpatrick's -plunged down into the ravine into closer and more difficult ground, -past copses and hedges and thickets, until a single thick fence -alone divided them from the enemy. Through this they fired at each -other furiously for a time, till the Scots burst through the fence -with their Colonel at their head and swept the French before them. -Still further to the right, the remaining regiments came also into -action; muzzle met muzzle among the branches, and the slaughter was -terrible. Young Angus, still not yet of age, dropped dead at the -head of the Cameronians, and the veteran Mackay found the death -which he had missed at Killiecrankie. He had before the attack sent -word to General Count Solmes, that the contemplated assault could -lead only to waste of life, and had been answered with the order to -advance. "God's will be done," he said calmly, and he was among the -first that fell. - -Still the British, in spite of all losses, pressed furiously on; -and famous French regiments, spoiled children of victory, wavered -and gave way before them. Bourbonnois, unable to face the Guards -and Danes, doubled its left battalion in rear of its right; -Chartres, which stood next to them, also gave way and doubled -itself in rear of its neighbour Orleans. A wide gap was thus torn -in the first French line, but not a regiment of the second line -would step into it. The colonel of the brigade in rear of it -ordered, entreated, implored his men to come forward, but they -would not follow him into that terrible fire. Suddenly the wild -voice ceased, and the gesticulating figure fell in a heap to the -ground: the colonel had been shot dead, and the gap was still -unfilled. - -The first French line was broken; the second and third were -dismayed and paralysed: a little more and the British would carry -the French camp. Luxemburg perceived that this was a moment when -only his best troops could save him. In the fourth line stood the -flower of his infantry, the seven battalions of French and Swiss -Guards. These were now ordered forward to the gap; the princes -of the blood placed themselves at their head, and without firing -a shot they charged down the slope upon the British and Danes. -The English Guards, thinned to half their numbers, faced the huge -columns of the Swiss and stood up to them undaunted, till by sheer -weight they were slowly rolled back. On their right the Royal Scots -also were forced back, fighting desperately from hedge to hedge -and contesting every inch of ground. Once, the French made a dash -through a fence and carried off one of their colours. The Colonel, -Sir Robert Douglas, instantly turned back alone through the fence, -recaptured the colour, and was returning with it when he was struck -by a bullet. He flung the flag over to his men and fell to the -ground dead. - -Slowly the twelve battalions retired, still fighting furiously -at every step. So fierce had been their onslaught that five -lines of infantry backed by two more of cavalry[264] had hardly -sufficed to stop them, and with but a little support they might -have won the day. But that support was not forthcoming. Message -after message had been sent to the Dutch general, Count Solmes, -for reinforcements, but there came not a man. The main body, as -has been told, was all clubbed together a mile and a half from -the scene of action, with the infantry in the rear; and Solmes, -with almost criminal folly, instead of endeavouring to extricate -the foot, had ordered forward the horse. William rectified the -error as soon as he could, but the correction led to further delay -and to the increased confusion which is the inevitable result -of contradictory orders. The English infantry in rear, mad with -impatience to rescue their comrades, ran forward in disorder, -probably with loud curses on the Dutchman who had kept them back -so long; and some time was lost before they could be re-formed. -Discipline was evidently a little at fault. Solmes lost both his -head and his temper. "Damn the English," he growled; "if they are -so fond of fighting, let them have a bellyful"; and he sent forward -not a man. Fortunately junior officers took matters into their -own hands; and it was time, for Boufflers had now arrived on the -field to throw additional weight into the French scale. The English -Horse-grenadiers, the Fourth Dragoons, and a regiment of Dutch -dragoons rode forward and, dismounting, covered the retreat of the -Guards and Danes by a brilliant counter-attack. The Buffs and Tenth -advanced farther to the right, and holding their fire till within -point-blank range, poured in a volley which gave time for the rest -of Würtemberg's division to withdraw. A demonstration against the -French left made a further diversion, and the shattered fragments -of the attacking force, grimed with sweat and smoke, fell back to -the open ground in rear of the woods, repulsed but unbeaten, and -furious with rage. - -William, it is said, could not repress a cry of anguish when he -saw them; but there was no time for emotion. Some Dutch and Danish -infantry was sent forward to check further advance of the enemy, -and preparations were made for immediate retreat. Once again the -hardest of the work was entrusted to the British; and when the -columns were formed, the grenadiers of the British regiments -brought up the rear, halting and turning about continually, until -failing light put an end to what was at worst but a half-hearted -pursuit. The retreat was conducted with admirable order; but it -was not until the chill, dead hour that precedes the dawn that -the Allies regained their camp, worn out with the fatigue of -four-and-twenty hours. - -[Illustration: STEENKIRK - - July 23^{rd} - ------------ 1692 - Aug. 3^{rd} - - _To face page 366_ -] - -The action was set down at the time as the severest ever -fought by infantry, and the losses on both sides were very heavy. -The Allies lost about three thousand killed and the same number -wounded, besides thirteen hundred prisoners, nearly all of whom -were wounded. Ten guns were abandoned, the horses being too weary -to draw them; the English battalions lost two colours, and the -foreign three or four more. The British, having borne the brunt of -the action, suffered most heavily of all, the Guards, Cutts's, and -the Sixth being terribly punished. The total French loss was about -equal to that of the Allies, but the list of the officers that -fell tells a more significant tale. On the side of the Allies four -hundred and fifty officers were killed and wounded, no fewer than -seventy lieutenants in the ten battalions of Churchill's British -brigade being killed outright. The French on their side lost no -less than six hundred and twenty officers killed and wounded, -a noble testimony to their self-sacrifice, but sad evidence of -their difficulty in making their men stand. In truth, with proper -management William must have won a brilliant victory; but he was a -general by book and not by instinct. Würtemberg's advanced guard -could almost have done the work by itself but for the mistake of a -long preliminary cannonade; his attack could have been supported -earlier but for the pedantry that gave the horse precedence of the -foot in the march to the field; the foot could have pierced the -French position in a dozen different columns but for the pedantry -which caused it to be first deployed. Finally, William's knowledge -of the ground was imperfect, and Solmes, his general of foot, -was incompetent. The plan was admirably designed and abominably -executed. Nevertheless, British troops have never fought a finer -action than Steenkirk. Luxemburg thought himself lucky to have -escaped destruction; his troops were much shaken; and he crossed -the Scheldt and marched away to his winter-quarters as quietly as -possible. So ended the campaign of 1692. - - - - -CHAPTER III - - -[Sidenote: 1692, November.] - -In November the English Parliament met, heartened indeed by the -naval victory of La Hogue, but not a little grieved over the -failure of Steenkirk. Again, the financial aspect was extremely -discouraging; and Sir Stephen Fox announced that there was not -another day's subsistence for the Army in the treasury. The -prevailing discontent found vent in furious denunciations of Count -Solmes, and a cry that English soldiers ought to be commanded by -English officers. The debate rose high. The hardest of hard words -were used about the Dutch generals, and a vast deal of nonsense was -talked about military matters. There were, however, a great number -of officers in the House of Commons, many of whom had been present -at the action. With great modesty and good sense they refused -to join in the outcry against the Dutch, and contrived so to -compose matters that the House committed itself to no very foolish -resolution. The votes for the Army were passed; and no difficulty -was made over the preparations for the next campaign. Finally, two -new regiments of cavalry were raised--Lord Macclesfield's Horse, -which was disbanded twenty years later; and Conyngham's Irish -Dragoons, which still abides with us as the Eighth (King's Royal -Irish) Hussars. - -[Sidenote: 1693.] - -Meanwhile the French military system had suffered an irreparable -loss in the death of Louvois, the source of woes unnumbered to -France in the years that were soon to come. Nevertheless, the -traditions of his rule were strong, and the French once more were -first in the field, with, as usual, a vast siege-train massed on -the Meuse and on the Scheldt. But a late spring and incessant rain -delayed the beginning of operations till the beginning of May, -when Luxemburg assembled seventy thousand men in rear of the Haine -by Mons, and Boufflers forty-eight thousand more on the Scheldt -at Tournay. The French king was with the troops in person; and -the original design was, as usual, to carry on a war of sieges -on the Meuse, Boufflers reducing the fortresses while Luxemburg -shielded him with a covering army. Lewis, however, finding that -the towns which he had intended to invest were likely to make an -inconveniently stubborn defence, presently returned home, and after -detaching thirty thousand men to the war in Germany, left Luxemburg -to do as he would. It had been better for William if the Grand -Monarch had remained in Flanders. - -The English king, on his side, assembled sixty thousand men at -Brussels as soon as the French began to move, and led them with -desperate haste to the Senne, where he took up an impregnable -position at Park. Luxemburg marched up to a position over against -him, and then came one of those deadlocks which were so common in -those old campaigns. The two armies stood looking at each other for -a whole month, neither venturing to move, neither daring to attack, -both ill-supplied, both discontented, and as a natural consequence -both losing scores, hundreds, and even thousands of men through -desertion. - -[Sidenote: - - June 26 - ------- - July 6. -] - -[Sidenote: July.] - -At last the position became insupportable, and on the 6th of -July Luxemburg moved eastward as if to resume the original plan -of operations on the Meuse. William thereupon resolved to create -a diversion by detaching a force to attack the French lines of -the Scheldt and Lys, a project which was brilliantly executed -by Würtemberg, thanks not a little to three British regiments, -the Tenth, Argyll's, and Castleton's, which formed part of his -division. But meanwhile Luxemburg, quite ignorant of the diversion, -advanced to the Meuse and laid siege to Huy, in the hope of -forcing William to come to its relief. He judged rightly. William -left his impregnable camp at Park and hurried to the rescue. But he -came too late, and Huy fell after a trifling resistance. Luxemburg -then made great seeming preparations for the siege of Liège, and -William, trembling for the safety of that city and of Maestricht, -detached eight thousand men to reinforce those garrisons, and then -withdrew to the line of the Geete. Luxemburg watched the whole -proceeding with grim delight. Würtemberg's success was no doubt -annoying, but William had weakened his army by detaching this force -to the Lys, and had been beguiled into weakening it still further -by reinforcing the garrisons on the Meuse, which was exactly what -he wanted. If he could bring the Allies to action forthwith he -could reasonably hope for success. - -The ground occupied by William was a triangular space enclosed -between the Little Geete and a stream called the Landen Beck, -which joins it at Leuw. The position was not without features of -strength. The camp, which faced almost due south, was pitched on -a gentle ridge rising out of a vast plain.[265] This ridge runs -parallel to the Little Geete and has that river in its rear. The -left flank was protected by marshy ground and by the Landen Beck -itself, while the villages of Neerlanden and Rumsdorp, one on -either side of the beck and the latter well forward on the plain, -offered the further security of advanced posts. The right rested on -a little stream which runs at right angles to the Geete and joins -it at Elixheim, and on the villages of Laer and Neerwinden, which -stand on its banks. From Neerlanden on the left to Neerwinden on -the right the position measured close on four miles; and to guard -this front, to say nothing of strong garrisons for the villages, -William had little more than fifty thousand men. Here then was -one signal defect: the front was too long to permit troops to be -readily moved from flank to flank, or to be withdrawn, without -serious risk, from the centre. But this was not all. The depth of -the position was less than half of its frontage, and thus allowed -no space for the action of cavalry. This William ignored: he -was afraid of the French horse, and was anxious that the action -should be fought by infantry only. Finally, retreat was barred by -the Geete, which was unfordable and insufficiently bridged, and -therefore the forcing of the allied right must inevitably drive -the whole army into a pinfold, as Leslie's had been driven at the -battle of Dunbar. - -[Sidenote: - - 18 - July --. - 28 -] - -Luxemburg, who knew every inch of the ground, was now anxious only -lest William should retire before he could catch him. On the 28th -of July, by a great effort and a magnificent march, he brought -the whole of his army, eighty thousand strong, before William's -position. He was now sure of his game, but he need not have been -anxious, for William, charmed with the notion of excluding the -French cavalry from all share in the action, was resolved to stand -his ground. Many officers urged him to cross the Geete while yet -he might, but he would not listen. Fifteen hundred men were told -off to entrench the open ground between Neerwinden and Neerlanden. -The hedges, mud-walls, and natural defences of Neerwinden and Laer -were improved to the uttermost, and the ditches surrounding them -were enlarged. Till late into the night the King rode backward -and forward, ordering matters under his own eyes, and after a -few hours' rest began very early in the morning to make his -dispositions. - -The key of the position was the village of Neerwinden with the -adjoining hamlet of Laer, and here accordingly he stationed -the best of his troops. The defence of Laer was entrusted to -Brigadier Ramsey with the Scots Brigade, namely, the Twenty-first, -Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Mackay's and Lauder's regiments, -reinforced by the Buffs and the Fourth Foot. Between Laer and -Neerwinden stood six battalions of Brandenburgers, troops already -of great and deserved reputation, of whom we shall see more in -the years before us. Neerwinden itself was committed to the -Hanoverians, the Dutch Guards, a battalion of the First and a -battalion of the Scots Guards. Immediately to the north or left -of the village the entrenchment was lined by the two remaining -battalions of the First and Scots Guards, the Coldstream Guards, -a battalion of the Royal Scots, and the Seventh Fusiliers. On -the extreme left of the position Neerlanden was held by the -other battalion of the Royal Scots, the Second Queen's, and two -Danish regiments, while Rumsdorp was occupied by the Fourteenth, -Sixteenth, Nineteenth, and Collingwood's regiments. In a word, -every important post was committed to the British. The remainder -of the infantry, with one hundred guns, was ranged along the -entrenchment, and in rear of them stood the cavalry, powerless to -act outside the trench, and too much cramped for space to manœuvre -within it. - -Luxemburg also was early astir, and was amazed to find how far -the front of the position had been strengthened during the night. -His centre he formed in eight lines over against the Allies' -entrenchments between Oberwinden and Landen, every line except -the second and fourth being composed of cavalry. For the attack -on Neerlanden and Rumsdorp he detailed fifteen thousand foot and -two thousand five hundred dismounted dragoons. For the principal -assault on Neerwinden he told off eighteen thousand foot supported -by a reserve of two thousand more and by eight thousand cavalry; -while seventy guns were brought into position to answer the -artillery of the Allies. - -[Sidenote: - - 19 - July --. - 29 -] - -Shortly after sunrise William's cannon opened fire against the -heavy masses of the French centre; and at eight o'clock Luxemburg -moved the whole of his left to the attack of Neerwinden. Six -battalions, backed by dragoons and cavalry, were directed against -Laer, and three columns, counting in all seven brigades, were -launched against Neerwinden. The centre column, under the Duke -of Berwick, was the first to come into action. Withholding their -fire till they reached the village, the French carried the -outer defences with a rush, and then meeting the Hanoverians -and the First Guards, they began the fight in earnest. It was -hedge-fighting, as at Steenkirk, muzzle to muzzle and hand to -hand. Every step was contested; the combat swayed backwards and -forwards within the village; and the carnage was frightful. The -remaining French columns came up, met with the like resistance, and -made little way. Fresh regiments were poured by the French into -the fight, and at last the First Guards, completely broken by its -losses, gave way. But it was only for a moment. They rallied on -the Scots Guards; the Dutch and Hanoverians rallied behind them, -and though the French had been again reinforced, they resumed the -unequal fight, nine battalions against twenty-six, with unshaken -tenacity. At Laer, on the extreme right, the fight was equally -sharp. Ramsey for a time was driven out of the village, and the -French cavalry actually forced its way into the Allies' position. -There, however, it was charged in flank by the Elector of Bavaria, -and driven out with great slaughter. Ramsey seized the moment to -rally his brigade. The French columns, despite their success, still -remained isolated and detached, and presented no united front. The -King placed himself at the head of the Guards and Hanoverians, and -with one charge British, Dutch, and Germans fell upon the Frenchmen -and swept them out of both villages. - -The first attack on Neerwinden had failed, and a similar attack on -the allied left had been little more successful. At Neerlanden the -First and Second Foot had successfully held their own against four -French battalions until reinforcements enabled them to drive them -back. At Rumsdorp the British, being but three thousand against -thirteen thousand, were pushed out of the village, but being -reinforced, recovered a part of it and stood successfully at bay. -Luxemburg, however, was not easily discouraged. The broken troops -in the left were rallied, fresh regiments were brought forward, -and a second effort was made to carry Neerwinden. Again French -impetuosity bore all before it, and again the British and Germans, -weakened and weary though they were, rallied when all seemed lost, -and hurled the enemy back not merely repulsed but in confused and -disorderly retreat. - -On the failure of the second attack the majority of the French -officers urged Luxemburg to retire; but the marshal was not to -be turned from his purpose. The fourteen thousand men of the -Allies in Laer and Neerwinden had lost more than a third of their -numbers, while he himself had still a considerable force of -infantry interlined with the cavalry in the centre. Twelve thousand -of them, including the French and Swiss Guards, were now drawn -off to the left for a third attack. When they were clear of the -cavalry, the whole six lines of horse, which had stood heroically -for hours motionless under a heavy fire, moved forward at a trot -to the edge of the entrenchments;[266] but the demonstration, -for such it seems to have been, cost them dear, for they were -very roughly handled and compelled to retire. But now the French -reinforcements supported by the defeated battalions drew near, -and a third attack was delivered on Neerwinden. British and Dutch -still made a gallant fight, but the odds against their weakened -battalions were too great, and ammunition began to fail. They -fought on indomitably till the last cartridge was expended before -they gave way, but they were forced back, and Neerwinden was lost. -Five French brigades then assailed the central entrenchment at its -junction with Neerwinden, where stood the Coldstream Guards and -the Seventh Fusiliers. Wholly unmoved by the overwhelming numbers -in their front and the fire from Neerwinden on their flank, the -two regiments stood firm and drove their assailants back over the -breastwork. Even when the French Household Cavalry came spurring -through Neerwinden and fell upon their flank they fought on -undismayed, and the Coldstreamers not only repelled the charge but -captured a colour. - -Such fighting, however, could not continue for long. William, on -observing Luxemburg's preparations for the final assault, had -ordered nine battalions from his left to reinforce his right. -These never reached their destination. The Marquis of Feuquières, -an officer even more celebrated for his acuteness as a military -critic than for skill in the field, watched them as they moved -and suddenly led his cavalry forward to the weakest point of the -entrenchment. The battalions hesitated, halted, and then turned -about to meet this new danger, but too late to save the forcing of -the entrenchment. The battle was now virtually over. Neerwinden was -carried, Ramsey after a superb defence had been driven out of Laer, -the Brandenburgers had perforce retreated with him, the infantry -that lined the centre of the entrenchment had forsaken it, and -the French cavalry was pouring in and cutting down the fugitives -by scores. William, who had galloped away in desperation to the -left, now returned at headlong speed with six regiments of English -cavalry,[267] which delivered charge after charge with splendid -gallantry, to cover the retreat of the foot. On the left Tolmach -and Bellasys by great exertion brought off their infantry in good -order, but on the right the confusion was terrible. The rout was -complete, the few bridges were choked by a heaving mass of guns, -waggons, pack-animals, and men, and thousands of fugitives were cut -down, drowned, or trampled to death. William did all that a gallant -man could do to save the day, but in vain. His troops had done -heroic things to redeem his bad generalship; and against any living -man but Marlborough or Luxemburg they would probably have held -their own. It was the general not the soldiers that failed. - -The losses on both sides were very severe. That of the French -was about eight thousand men; that of the Allies about twelve -thousand, killed, wounded, and prisoners, and among the dead was -Count Solmes, the hated Solmes of Steenkirk. The nineteen British -battalions present lost one hundred and thirty-five officers -killed, wounded, and taken. The French captured eighty guns and a -vast quantity of colours, but the Allies, although beaten, could -also show fifty-six French flags. And, indeed, though Luxemburg -won, and deserved to win, a great victory, yet the action was not -such as to make the allied troops afraid to meet the French. They -had stood up, fifty thousand against eighty thousand, and if they -were beaten they had at any rate dismayed every Frenchman on the -field but Luxemburg. In another ten years their turn was to come, -and they were to take a part of their revenge on the very ground -over which many of them had fled. - -The campaign closed with the surrender of Charleroi, and the gain -by the French of the whole line of the Sambre. William came home -to meet the House of Commons and recommend an augmentation of the -Army by eight regiments of horse, four of dragoons, and twenty-five -of foot. The House reduced this list by the whole of the regiments -of horse, and fifteen of foot, but even so it brought the total -establishment up to eighty-three thousand men. There is, however, -but one new regiment of which note need be taken in the campaign -of 1694, namely the Seventh Dragoons, now known as the Seventh -Hussars, which, raised in 1689-90 in Scotland, now for the first -time took its place on the English establishment and its turn of -service in the war of Flanders. - -[Illustration: LANDEN - - 19^{th} - July ------- 1693 - 29^{th} - - _To face page 376_ -] - -[Sidenote: 1694.] - -I shall not dwell on the campaign of 1694, which is memorable only -for a marvellous march by which Luxemburg upset William's entire -plan of campaign. Nor shall I speak at length of the abortive -descent on Brest, which is remembered mainly for the indelible -stain which it has left on the memory of Marlborough. It is only -necessary to say that the French, by Marlborough's information, -though not on Marlborough's information only, had full warning -of an expedition which had been planned as a surprise, and that -Tolmach,[268] who was in command, unfortunately though most -pardonably lacked the moral courage to abandon an attack which, -unless executed as a surprise, was hopeless of success. He was -repulsed with heavy loss, and died of wounds received in the -action, a hard fate for a good soldier and a gallant man. But it is -unjust to lay his death at Marlborough's door. For the failure of -the expedition Marlborough was undoubtedly responsible, and that is -quite bad enough; but Tolmach alone was to blame for attempting an -enterprise which he knew to be hopeless. Marlborough cannot have -calculated that he would deliberately essay to do impossibilities -and perish in the effort, so cannot be held guilty of poor -Tolmach's blunders. - -[Sidenote: 1695.] - -[Sidenote: January.] - -Before the new campaign could be opened there had come changes -of vital importance to France. The vast expense of the war had -told heavily on the country, and the King's ministers were at -their wit's end to raise money. Moreover, the War Department had -deteriorated rapidly since the death of Louvois; and to this -misfortune was now added the death of Luxemburg, a loss which was -absolutely irreparable. Lastly, with the object of maintaining the -position which they had won on the Sambre, the French had extended -their system of fortified lines from Namur to the sea. Works so -important could not be left unguarded, so that a considerable force -was locked up behind these entrenchments, and was for all offensive -purposes useless. We shall see before long how a really great -commander could laugh at these lines, and how in consequence it -became an open question whether they were not rather an encumbrance -than an advantage. The subject is one which is still of interest; -and it is remarkable that the French still seem to cling to their -old principles in the works which they have constructed for defence -against a German invasion. - -His enemy being practically restricted to the defensive, William -did not neglect the opportunity of initiating aggressive -operations. Masking his design by a series of feints, he marched -swiftly to the Meuse and invested Namur. This fortress, more famous -through its connection with the immortal Uncle Toby even than as -the masterpiece of Cohorn carried to yet higher perfection by -Vauban, stands at the junction of the Sambre and the Meuse, the -citadel lying in the angle between the two rivers, and the town -with its defences on the left bank of the Meuse. To the northward -of the town outworks had been thrown up on the heights of Bouge by -both of these famous engineers; and it was against these outworks -that William directed his first attack. - -[Illustration: NAMUR - - June 26^{th} - ------------ 1695 - July 6^{th} - - _To face page 378_ -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 23 - ------- - July 3. -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 26 - ------- - July 6. -] - -Ground was broken on the 3rd of July, and three days later an -assault was delivered on the lines of Bouge. As usual, the hardest -of the work was given to the British, and the post of greatest -danger was made over, as their high reputation demanded, to the -Brigade of Guards. On this occasion the Guards surpassed themselves -alike by the coolness of their valour and by the fire of their -attack. They marched under a heavy fire up to the French palisades, -thrust their muskets between them, poured in one terrible volley, -the first shot that they had yet fired, and charged forthwith. -In spite of a stout resistance, they swept the French out of the -first work, pursued them to the second, swept them out of that, -and gathering impetus with success, drove them from stronghold to -stronghold, far beyond the original design of the engineers, and -actually to the gates of the town. In another quarter the Royal -Scots and the Seventh Fusiliers gained not less brilliant success; -and in fact it was the most creditable action that William had -fought during the whole war. It cost the Allies two thousand men -killed and wounded, the three battalions of Guards alone losing -thirty-two officers. The British were to fight many such bloody -combats during the next twenty years--combats forgotten since they -were merely incidents in the history of a siege, and so frequent -that they were hardly chronicled and are not to be restored to -memory now. I mention this, the first of such actions, only as a -type of many more to come. - -The outworks captured, the trenches were opened against the town -itself, and the next assault was directed against the counterguard -of St. Nicholas gate. This again was carried by the British, with -a loss of eight hundred men. Then came the famous attack on the -counterscarp before the gate itself, where Captain Shandy received -his memorable wound. This gave William the possession of the town. -Then came the siege of the citadel, wherein the British had the -honour of marching to the assault over half a mile of open ground, -a trial which proved too much even for them. Nevertheless, it was -they who eventually stormed a breach from which another of the -assaulting columns had been repulsed, and ensured the surrender of -the citadel a few days later. For their service on this occasion -the Eighteenth Foot were made the Royal Irish; and a Latin -inscription on their colours still records that this was the reward -of their valour at Namur. - -[Sidenote: 1697.] - -Thus William on his return to England could for the first time -show his Parliament a solid success due to the British red-coats; -and the House of Commons gladly voted once more a total force -of eighty-seven thousand men. But the war need be followed no -further. The campaign of 1696 was interrupted by a futile attempt -of the French to invade England, and in 1697 France, reduced to -utter exhaustion, gladly concluded the Peace of Ryswick. So ended, -not without honour, the first stage of the great conflict with -King Lewis the Fourteenth. The position of the two protagonists, -England and France, was not wholly unlike that which they occupied -a century later at the Peace of Amiens. The British, though they -had not reaped great victories, had made their presence felt, -and terribly felt, on the battlefield; and as the French in the -Peninsula remembered that the British had fought them with a -tenacity which they had not found in other nations, not only in -Egypt but even earlier at Tournay and Lincelles, so, too, after -Blenheim and Ramillies they looked back to the furious attack at -Steenkirk and the indomitable defence of Neerwinden. "Without the -concurrence of the valour and power of England," said William to -the Parliament at the close of 1695, "it were impossible to put a -stop to the ambition and greatness of France." So it was then, so -it was a century later, and so it will be again, for though none -know better the superlative qualities of the French as a fighting -people, yet the English are the one nation that has never been -afraid to meet them. With the Peace of Ryswick the 'prentice years -of the standing Army are ended, and within five years the old -spirit, which has carried it through the bitter schooling under -King William, will break forth with overwhelming power under the -guiding genius of Marlborough. - - AUTHORITIES.--The leading authority for William's campaigns - on the English side is D'Auvergne, and on the French side the - compilation, with its superb series of maps, by Beaurain. - Supplementary on one side are Tindal's History, Carleton's - Memoirs, and Sterne's _Tristram Shandy_; and on the other the - _Mémoires_ of Berwick and St. Simon, Quincy's _Histoire Militaire - de Louis XIV._, and in particular the _Mémoires_ of Feuquières. - Many details as to Steenkirk, in particular as to the casualties, - are drawn from _Present State of Europe, or Monthly Mercury_, - August 1692; and as to Landen from the official relation of the - battle, published by authority, 1693. Beautiful plans of both - actions are in Beaurain, rougher plans in Quincy and Feuquières. - All details as to the establishment voted are from the Journals - of the House of Commons. Very elaborate details of the operations - are given in Colonel Clifford Walton's _History of the British - Standing Army_. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -[Sidenote: 1697.] - -Peace having been signed, there arose the momentous question, -what should be done with the Army. To understand aright the -attitude of Parliament towards it, a brief sketch must be given -of its relations therewith apart from the mere question of voting -supplies. It has been seen that the scandals of Schomberg's first -campaign had opened the eyes of Parliament to the iniquities that -were then going forward; but, though a scape-goat had been made -of the Commissary-General, the matter had not been sifted to the -bottom. - -The primary and principal difficulty was, of course, lack of money. -In the case of the Irish war this had been overcome by grants of -the Irish estates which had been forfeited after the conquest, the -mere expectation and hope of which had sufficed to set the minds -of many creditors at rest. For the war in Flanders, however, there -was no such resource. The treasury was empty, and the funds voted -by Parliament were so remote that they could only be assigned to -creditors in security for payment at some future time. Many of -these creditors, however, were tradesmen who could not afford to -wait until tallies should be issued in course of payment, and were -therefore compelled to dispose of these securities at a ruinous -discount. The mischief naturally did not end there. Capitalists -soon discovered that to buy tallies at huge discount was a much -more profitable business than to lend money direct to the State -at the rate of seven per cent, and accordingly devoted all their -money to it. Thus the "tally-traffic," as it was called, grew -so formidable that the Lord Treasurer, Godolphin, was obliged -secretly to offer larger interest for loans than was authorised by -Parliament.[269] - -The result of this financial confusion was that the close of every -campaign found the Army in Flanders in a miserable state, owing to -the exhaustion of its money and its credit. When it is remembered -that a large proportion of the pay of officers and men was kept -on principle one year in arrear, that they had to pay discount -for anticipation of its payment at the best of times, and that to -this charge was now added the further discount on the tallies of -the State, it will be seen that their loss became very serious. -The incessant difficulties of all ranks from want of their pay and -arrears gave rise to much discontent and frequently hampered active -operations. Officers were obliged to sell the horses, which they -had bought for purposes of transport, before the campaign opened, -and were very often driven to supply not only themselves but their -men out of their own pockets. - -Of all this it is probable that the House of Commons knew little, -and as in 1691 it had appointed Commissioners to inquire into -the public accounts, it doubtless awaited their report before -taking any active step. In 1694, however, the House was rudely -surprised by certain revelations respecting a notorious crimp -of London, named Tooley, who went so far in his zeal to procure -recruits that he not only forced the King's shilling on them when -they were drunk--a practice which was common in France and has -not long been extinct in England--but resorted to kidnapping pure -and simple.[270] Here was one gross infringement of the liberty -of the subject; and this scandal was quickly followed by another. -At the end of 1694 there came a petition from the inhabitants -of Royston, complaining that the troops quartered there were -exacting subsistence from the townsfolk on a fixed scale. Inquiry -proved the truth of the allegation: the troops were unpaid, and -had taken their own measures to save themselves from starvation. -Almost simultaneously the Commissioners of Public Accounts -reported that their inquiries had been baffled by the refusal of -several regimental agents to show their books; and they gave at -the same time an unvarnished relation of the shameful extortion -practised by agents towards officers and men, and of one case of -glaring misconduct on the part of a colonel. The House brought the -recalcitrant agents to their senses by committing them to custody, -and addressed the King with an earnest prayer that he would put a -stop to these iniquities.[271] The King accordingly cashiered the -colonel[272] and promised amendment, which promise was discharged -so far as orders could fulfil it. But the case demanded not new -orders but execution of existing regulations. - -There, however, the matter rested for the time, the Commons being -occupied with the task of purging corruption from their own body, -which was very inadequately performed by the expulsion of the -Speaker. Nevertheless, to the end of the war fresh petitions -continued to come in from towns, from widows of officers, and from -private soldiers, all complaining of the dishonesty of officers -and of agents; and the House thus established itself as in some -sort a mediator between officers and men. Such a mediator, it must -be confessed, was but too sadly needed, but in the interests of -discipline it was a misfortune that the House should ever have -accepted the position. The immediate result was to overwhelm the -Commons with a vast amount of business which they were incompetent -to transact, and to suggest an easy remedy for soldiers' grievances -in the abolition of all soldiers. - -[Sidenote: Dec. 11.] - -William was not unaware of the danger, and had taken measures to -meet it. Before meeting Parliament in December 1697, he had already -disbanded ten regiments, and having thrown this sop to English -prejudice, he delivered it as his opinion in his speech from the -throne that England could not be safe without a land-force. But -agitators and pamphleteers had been before him. The old howl of -"No Standing Army" had been raised, and reams of puerile and -pedantic nonsense had been written to prove that the militia was -amply sufficient for England's needs. The arguments on the other -side were stated with consummate ability by Lord Somers; but the -old cry was far too pleasant in the ears of the House to be easily -silenced. Another reason which may well have swayed the House was -that, though his English soldiers had fought for William as no -other troops in the world, he had never succeeded in winning a -victory. Be that as it may, within eight days the House, on the -motion of Robert Harley, resolved that all forces raised since -September 1680 should be disbanded. - -[Sidenote: Dec. 13.] - -[Sidenote: 1698.] - -The resolution, in the existing condition of European affairs, -was a piece of malignant folly; but the accounts submitted two -days later by the Paymaster-General probably did much to confirm -it. The arrears of pay due to the Army since April 1692 amounted -to twelve hundred thousand pounds, and the arrears of subsistence -to a million more, while yet another hundred thousand was due -to regiments on their transfer from the Irish to the English -establishment.[273] To meet this debt there was eighty thousand -pounds in tallies which no one would discount at any price, while -to make matters worse, taxation voted by the House to produce -three millions and a half had brought no more than two millions -into the treasury. Attempts were made in January 1698 to rescind -the resolution, but in vain. The Government yielded, and after -struggling hard to obtain four hundred thousand pounds, was fain -to accept fifty thousand pounds less than that sum for the service -of the Army in the ensuing year. - -[Sidenote: May 28.] - -The effect of the vote was immediate. The enemies of the Army -were exultant, and heaped abuse and insult on the soldiers who -for five years had spent their blood and their strength for a -people that had not paid them so much as their just wages. All -William's firmness was needed to restrain the exasperated officers -from wreaking summary vengeance on the most malignant of these -slanderers. It was the old story. Men who had grown fat on the -"tally-traffic" could find nothing better than bad words for the -poor broken lieutenant who borrowed eighteenpence from a comrade -to buy a new scabbard for his sword, being ashamed to own that -he wanted a dinner.[274] The distress in the Army soon became -acute. Petitions poured in from the disbanded men for arrears, -arrears, arrears. Bad soldiers tried to wreak a grudge against good -officers, good soldiers to obtain justice from bad officers; all -military men of whatever rank complained loudly of the agents.[275] -Then came unpleasant reminders that the expenses of the Irish war -were not yet paid. Colonel Mitchelburne, the heroic defender of -Londonderry, claimed, and justly claimed, fifteen hundred pounds -which had been owing to him since 1690.[276] The House strove -vainly to stem the torrent by voting a gratuity of a fortnight's -subsistence to every man, and half-pay as a retaining fee to every -officer, until he should be paid in full. The claims of men and -officers continued to flow in, and at last the Commons addressed -the King to appoint persons unconnected with the Army to examine -and redress just grievances, and to punish men who complained -without cause. - -On the 7th of July the House was delivered from further -importunities by a dissolution; and William returned to his native -Holland. Before his departure he left certain instructions with -his ministers concerning the Army. The actual number of soldiers -to be maintained was not mentioned in the Act of Parliament, but -was assumed, from the proportion of money granted, to be ten -thousand men. William's orders were to keep sixteen thousand men, -for he still had hopes that Parliament might reconsider the hasty -votes of the previous session.[277] These expectations were not -realised. The clamour against the Army had been strengthened by -a revival of the old outcry against the Dutch, and against the -grant of crown-lands in general, and to Dutchmen in particular. -Moreover, the House had no longer the pressure of the war to unite -it in useful and patriotic work. The inevitable reaction of peace -after long hostilities was in full vigour. All the selfishness, the -prejudice, and the conceit that had been restrained in the face of -great national peril was now let loose; and the House, with a vague -idea that there were many things to be done, but with no clear -perception what these things might be, was ripe for any description -of mischief. - -[Sidenote: Dec. 12.] - -[Sidenote: Dec. 17.] - -William's speech was tactful enough. Expressing it as his opinion -that, if England was to hold her place in Europe, she must be -secure from attack, he left the House to decide what land-force -should be maintained, and only begged that, for its own honour, it -would provide for payment of the debts incurred during the war. -The speech was not ill-received; and William, despite the warnings -of his ministers, was sanguine that all was well. Five days -later a return of the troops was presented to the House, showing -thirty thousand men divided equally between the English and Irish -establishments. Then Harley, the mover of the foolish resolution -of the previous year, proposed that the English establishment -should be fixed at seven thousand men, all of them to be British -subjects. This was confirmed by the House on the following day, -together with an Irish establishment of twelve thousand men to be -maintained at the expense of the sister island. The words of the -Act that embodied this decision were peremptory; it declared that -on the 26th March 1699 all regiments, saving certain to be excepted -by proclamation, were actually disbanded. Finally, the Mutiny Act, -which had expired in April 1698, was not renewed by the House, so -that even in this pittance of an Army the officers had no powers of -enforcing discipline. - -There is no need to dilate further on this resolution, which for -three years placed England practically at the mercy of France. It -was an act of criminal imbecility, the most mischievous work of -the most mischievous Parliament that has ever sat at Westminster. -William was so deeply chagrined that he was only with difficulty -dissuaded from abdication of the throne. Apart from the madness of -such wholesale reduction of the Army, the clause restricting the -nationality of the seven thousand was directly aimed at the King's -favourite regiment, the Dutch Blue Guards. He submitted, however, -with dignity enough, merely warning the House that he disclaimed -all responsibility for any disaster that might follow. Just at that -moment came a rare opportunity for undoing in part the evil work of -the Commons. The death of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria brought -the question of the succession to the Spanish throne to an acute -stage; and the occasion was utilised to ask Parliament for the -grant of a larger force. William, however, with an unwisdom which -even his loyalty to his faithful troops cannot excuse, pleaded as a -personal favour for the retention of his Dutch Guards. The request -preferred on such grounds was refused, and a great opportunity was -lost. - -Nothing, therefore, remained but to make the most of the slender -force that was authorised by the Act of Disbandment. The ministers -with great adroitness contrived to extort from the Commons an -additional three thousand men under the name of marines, for the -collective wisdom of the nation will often give under one name -what it refuses under another; but as regards the Army proper, the -only expedient was to preserve the skeleton of a larger force. -Thus finally was established the wasteful and extravagant system -which has been followed even to the present day. The seven thousand -troops for England were distributed into nineteen, and the twelve -thousand for Ireland into twenty-six, distinct corps, with an -average proportion of one officer to ten men.[278] In addition to -these, three corps of cavalry and seven of infantry were maintained -in Scotland, while the Seventh Fusiliers were retained apparently -in the Dutch service, or at any rate in Holland. The Artillery was -specially reserved on a new footing by the name of the regimental -train, first germ of the Royal Regiment that was to come, and -contained four companies, each of thirty men, with the usual -proportion of an officer to every ten men. To these were added ten -officers of engineers.[279] Within the next two years the principle -of a skeleton army was pushed still further, and in each of the -regiments of dragoons thirty-three officers and thirty sergeants -and corporals looked minutely to the training of two hundred and -sixteen men. Large numbers of officers, who were retained for -emergencies by the allowance of half-pay, also drew heavily on the -niggardly funds granted by the Commons; and it was a current jest -of the time that the English Army was an army of officers.[280] - -[Sidenote: 1699.] - -[Sidenote: November.] - -The sins of Parliament soon found it out. Before it had sat a month -petitions from officers and men began to pour in, as during the -previous sessions, with claims for arrears and with complaints of -all kinds. As the Commons were the fountain of pay, it was natural -and right that the clamour for wages should be directed at them; -but the fashion had been set for soldiers to resort to them for -redress of all grievances, and it would seem that men used the -petition to Parliament as a means of openly threatening their -officers.[281] Moreover, by some extraordinary blunder the grant -of half-pay had been limited to such officers only as at the time -of disbandment were serving in English regiments. This regulation -naturally caused loud outcry from officers who, after long service -in English regiments, had been transferred to Scottish corps on -promotion. A prorogation at the end of April brought relief to -the Commons for a time; but no sooner was it reassembled than the -petitions streamed in with redoubled volume. The House thus found -itself converted almost into a military tribunal. Appeal was made -to it on sundry points that were purely of military discipline, -and private soldiers sought to further their complaints by alleging -that their officers had spoken disrespectfully and disdainfully of -the House itself.[282] - -[Sidenote: 1700.] - -To do them justice, the Commons were woefully embarrassed by -these multitudinous petitions. Once they interfered actively by -taking up the cause of an officer, whom they knew, or should have -known, to be a bad character,[283] and threatened his colonel -with their vengeance unless the wrongs of the supposed sufferer -were redressed. The reply of the colonel was so disconcerting -as effectually to discourage further meddling of this kind. -Nevertheless the grievances urged by the men must many of them have -been just, while some of the allegations brought forward were most -scandalous. In one of the disbanded regiments, Colonel Leigh's, -it was roundly asserted that the officers had made all the men -drunk, and then caused them to sign receipts in full for pay which -had not been delivered to them.[284] Finally, in despair, a bill -was introduced to erect a Court of Judicature to decide between -officers and men. This measure, however, was speedily dropped, and -the more prudent course was adopted of appointing Commissioners to -inquire into the debt due to the Army. - -[Sidenote: April 11.] - -But meanwhile another question had been raised, which brought -matters into still greater confusion. A parliamentary inquiry as -to the disposition of the Irish forfeited estates had revealed the -fact that William had granted large shares of the same, not only in -reward and compensation to deserving officers, which was just and -right, but also to his discarded mistress, Elizabeth Villiers, and -to his Dutch favourites, Portland and Albemarle. The King's conduct -herein was the less defensible, inasmuch as the Irish government -had counted upon these estates to defray the expenses, still -unpaid, of the Irish war, and had thrown up its hands in despair -when it found that this resource was to be withheld.[285] The House -of Commons took up the question viciously, passed a sweeping and -shameful bill resuming all property that had belonged to the Crown -at the accession of James the Second, tacked it to a money-bill, -and sent it up to the Lords. The Upper House, to save a revolution, -yielded, after much protest, and passed the bill; and then none too -soon William sent this most mischievous House of Commons about its -business. - -[Sidenote: 1701, February 14.] - -It was not until early in the following year that the King met the -Parliament, more distinctly even than the last a Tory Parliament, -which had been elected in the autumn. Once more he was obliged to -remind it that, amid the all-important questions of the English -succession and the Spanish succession, provision should be made -for paying the debts incurred through the war. There could be no -doubt about these debts, for the petitions which had formerly -dropped in by scores, now, in consequence of the interference with -the Irish grants, flowed in by hundreds. The Commons had flattered -themselves that they had disposed of this disagreeable business by -their appointment of commissioners, but they found that, owing to -their own faulty instructions, the commissioners were powerless -to deal with many of the cases presented to them. The complaints -of officers against the Government became almost as numerous as -those of men against officers, and every day came fresh evidence of -confusion of military business worse confounded by the imbecility -and mismanagement of the House.[286] - -Where the matter would have ended, and whether it might not have -led ultimately to a dangerous military riot, it is difficult to -say. All, however, was cut short by the despatch of English troops -to the Low Countries, and the evident approach of war; for the -prospect of employment for every disbanded soldier and reduced -officer sufficed in itself to quiet a movement which might easily -have become formidable. Two more sessions such as those of 1698 and -1699 might have brought about a repetition of Cromwell's famous -scene with the Long Parliament. - -It is, however, impossible to leave these few stormy years of -peace without taking notice of the apparent helplessness of the -military administration. The War Office was in truth in a state -of transition. The Secretary-at-War was still so exclusively -the secretary to the Commander-in-Chief that he accompanied him -on his campaigns; and it is difficult to say with whom, except -with the Commander-in-Chief, rested the responsibility for the -government of the Army. No ordinary standard should be used in -judging of a man who was confronted with so many difficulties as -King William the Third. His weak frame, the vast burden of his work -in the department of foreign affairs, his failure to understand -and his inability to sympathise with the English character, all -these causes conspired to make the task of governing England and -of commanding her Army too heavy for him. Still, making all -possible allowance, and accepting as true Sterne's pictures of his -popularity among the soldiers, it is difficult wholly to acquit him -of blame for the misconduct of the military administration. His -mind in truth was hardly well-suited for administrative detail. -He could handle a great diplomatic combination with consummate -skill and address, even as he could sketch the broad features of -a movement or of a campaign; but he was a statesman rather than -an administrator, a strategist rather than a general. In war his -impatience guided him to a succession of crushing defeats, in peace -his contempt for detail made his period of the command-in-chief one -of the worst in our history. That, amid the corruption which he -found in England, he should have despaired of finding an honest man -is pardonable enough, but he took no pains to cure that corruption, -preferring rather to conduct his business through his Dutch -favourites than through the English official channels. Finally, his -behaviour in the matter of the Irish forfeitures suggests that he -was not averse to jobbery himself, nor over-severe towards the same -weakness in others; and in truth the Dutch have no good reputation -in the matter of corruption. Stern, hard, and cold, he had little -feeling for England and Englishmen except as ministers to that -hostility for France which was his ruling passion. Probably he felt -more kindly towards the English soldier than towards any other -Englishman; the iron nature melted at the sight of the shattered -battalions at Steenkirk, and, if we are to believe Burnet, the cold -heart warmed sufficiently towards the red-coat to prompt him to -relieve the starving men, so shamefully neglected by Parliament, -out of his own pocket. On the whole, it may be said that no -commander was ever so well served by British troops, nor requited -that service, whatever his good intent, so unworthily and so ill. - - - - -BOOK VI - - - - -CHAPTER I - - -A European quarrel over the succession to the Spanish throne,[287] -on the death of the imbecile King Charles the Second, had long been -foreseen by William, and had been provided against, as he hoped, -by a Partition Treaty in the year 1698. The arrangement then made -had been upset by the death of the Electoral Prince of Bavaria, and -had been superseded by a second Partition Treaty in March 1700. In -November of the same year King Charles the Second died, leaving a -will wherein Philip, Duke of Anjou, and second son of the Dauphin, -was named heir to the whole Empire of Spain. At this the second -Partition Treaty went for naught. Lewis the Fourteenth, after a -becoming interval of hesitation, accepted the Spanish crown for the -Duke of Anjou under the title of King Philip the Fifth. - -[Sidenote: 1701.] - -The Emperor at once entered a protest against the will, and Lewis -prepared without delay for a campaign in Italy. William, however, -for the present merely postponed his recognition of Philip the -Fifth; and his example was followed by the United Provinces. -Lewis, ever ready and prompt, at once took measures to quicken -the States to a decision. Several towns[288] in Spanish Flanders -were garrisoned, under previous treaties, by Dutch troops. Lewis -by a swift movement surrounded the whole of them, and having thus -secured fifteen thousand of the best men in the Dutch army, could -dictate what terms he pleased. William expected that the House of -Commons would be roused to indignation by this aggressive step, -but the House was far too busy with its own factious quarrels. -When, however, the States appealed to England for the ten thousand -men, which under the treaty of 1677 she was bound to furnish, both -Houses prepared faithfully to fulfil the obligation. - -Then, as invariably happens in England, the work which Parliament -had undone required to be done again. Twelve battalions were -ordered to the Low Countries from Ireland, and directions were -issued for the levying of ten thousand recruits in England to take -their place. But, immediately after, came bad news from the West -Indies, and it was thought necessary to despatch thither four more -battalions from Ireland. Three regiments[289] were hastily brought -up to a joint strength of two thousand men, and shipped off. Thus, -within fifteen months of the disbandment of 1699, the garrison of -Ireland had been depleted by fifteen battalions out of twenty-one; -and four new battalions required to be raised immediately. Of -these, two, namely Brudenell's and Mountjoy's, were afterwards -disbanded, but two more, Lord Charlemont's and Lord Donegal's, are -still with us as the Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth of the Line. - -In June the twelve battalions[290] were shipped off to Holland, -under the command of John, Earl of Marlborough, who since 1698 -had been restored to the King's favour, and was to fill his place -as head of the European coalition and General of the confederate -armies in a fashion that no man had yet dreamed of. He was now -fifty years of age; so long had the ablest man in Europe waited -for work that was worthy of his powers; and now his time was come -at last. His first duties, however, were diplomatic; and during -the summer and autumn of 1701 he was engaged in negotiations with -Sweden, Prussia, and the Empire for the formation of a Grand -Alliance against France and Spain. Needless to say he brought all -to a successful issue by his inexhaustible charm, patience, and -tact. - -[Sidenote: September.] - -Still the attitude of the English people towards the contest -remained doubtful, until, on the death of King James the Second, -Lewis made the fatal mistake of recognising and proclaiming his son -as King of England. Then the smouldering animosity against France -leaped instantly into flame. William seized the opportunity to -dissolve Parliament, and was rewarded by the election of a House of -Commons more nearly resembling that which had carried him through -the first war to the Peace of Ryswick. He did not fail to rouse its -patriotism and self-respect by a stirring speech from the throne, -and obtained the ratification of his agreement with the Allies that -England should furnish a contingent of forty thousand men, eighteen -thousand of them to be British and the remainder foreigners. So the -country was committed to the War of the Spanish Succession. - -It was soon decided that all regiments in pay must be increased at -once to war-strength, and that six more battalions, together with -five regiments of horse and three of dragoons, should be sent to -join the troops already in Holland. Then, as usual, there was a -rush to do in a hurry what should have been done at leisure; and -it is significant of the results of the late ill-treatment of the -Army that, though the country was full of unemployed soldiers, it -was necessary to offer three pounds, or thrice the usual amount of -levy-money, to obtain recruits. The next step was to raise fifteen -new regiments--Meredith's, Cootes', Huntingdon's, Farrington's, -Gibson's, Lucas's, Mohun's, Temple's, and Stringer's of foot; -Fox's, Saunderson's, Villiers', Shannon's, Mordaunt's and Holt's of -marines. Of the foot Gibson's and Farrington's had been raised in -1694, but the officers of Farrington's, if not of both regiments, -had been retained on half-pay, and, returning in a body, continued -the life of the regiment without interruption. Both are still with -us as the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth of the Line. Huntingdon's -and Lucas's also survive as the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth, -and Meredith's and Cootes', which were raised in Ireland, as -the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-ninth, while the remainder were -disbanded at the close of the war. Of the marines, Saunderson's -had originally been raised in 1694, and eventually passed into the -Line as the Thirtieth Foot, followed by Fox's and Villiers' as the -Thirty-first and Thirty-second. Nothing now remained but to pass -the Mutiny Act, which was speedily done; and on the 5th of May, -just two months after the death of King William, the great work of -his life was continued by a formal declaration of war. - -The field of operations which will chiefly concern us is mainly the -same as that wherein we followed the campaigns of King William. The -eastern boundary of the cock-pit must for a time be extended from -the Meuse to the Rhine, the northern from the Demer to the Waal, -and the southern limit must be carried from Dunkirk beyond Namur to -Bonn. But the reader should bear in mind that, in consequence of -the Spanish alliance, Spanish Flanders was no longer hostile, but -friendly, to France, so that the French frontier, for all practical -purposes, extended to the boundary of Dutch Brabant. Moreover, the -French, besides the seizure, already related, of the barrier-towns, -had contrived to occupy every stronghold on the Meuse except -Maestricht, from Namur to Venloo, so that practically they were -masters so far of the whole line of the river. - -A few leagues below Venloo stands the fortified town of Grave, -and beyond Grave, on the parallel branch of the Rhine, stands the -fortified city of Nimeguen. A little to the east of Nimeguen, at -a point where the Rhine formerly forked into two streams, stood -Fort Schenk, a stronghold famous in the wars of Morgan and of Vere. -These three fortresses were the three eastern gates of the Dutch -Netherlands, commanding the two great waterways, doubly important -in those days of bad roads, which lead into the heart of the United -Provinces. - -[Sidenote: 1702.] - -[Sidenote: - - May 30 - ------- - June 10. -] - -It is here that we must watch the opening of the campaign of 1702. -There were detachments of the French and of the Allies opposed -to each other on the Upper Rhine, on the Lower Rhine, and on the -Lower Scheldt; but the French grand army of sixty thousand men was -designed to operate on the Meuse, and the presence of a Prince of -the blood, the Duke of Burgundy, with old Marshal Boufflers to -instruct him, sufficiently showed that this was the quarter in -which France designed to strike her grand blow. Marlborough being -still kept from the field by other business, the command of the -Allied army on the Meuse was entrusted to Lord Athlone, better -known as that Ginkell who had completed the pacification of Ireland -in 1691. His force consisted of twenty-five thousand men, with -which he lay near Cleve, in the centre of the crescent formed by -Grave, Nimeguen, and Fort Schenk, watching under shelter of these -three fortresses the army of Boufflers, which was encamped some -twenty miles to south-east of him at Uden and Xanten. On the 10th -of June Boufflers made a sudden dash to cut off Athlone from -Nimeguen and Grave, a catastrophe which Athlone barely averted -by an almost discreditably precipitate retreat. Having reached -Nimeguen Athlone withdrew to the north of the Waal, while all -Holland trembled over the danger which had thus been so narrowly -escaped. - -[Sidenote: - - June 21 - ------- - July 2. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - July --. - 26 -] - -Such was the position when Marlborough at last took the field, -after long grappling at the Hague with the difficulties which -were fated to dog him throughout the war. In England his position -was comparatively easy, for though Prince George of Denmark, -the consort of Queen Anne, was nominally generalissimo of all -forces by sea and land, yet Marlborough was Captain-General of -all the English forces at home and in Holland, and in addition -Master-General of the Ordnance. But it was only after considerable -dispute that he was appointed Commander-in-Chief of the allied -forces, and then not without provoking much dissatisfaction -among the Dutch generals, and much jealousy in the Prince of -Nassau-Saarbrück and in Athlone, both of whom aspired to the -office. These obstacles overcome, there came the question of the -plan of campaign. Here again endless obstruction was raised. The -Dutch, after their recent fright, were nervously apprehensive for -the safety of Nimeguen, the King of Prussia was much disturbed -over his territory of Cleve, and all parties who had not interests -of their own to put forward made it their business to thwart the -Commander-in-Chief. With infinite patience Marlborough soothed -them, and at last, on the 2nd of July, he left the Hague for -Nimeguen, accompanied by two Dutch deputies, civilians, whose -duty it was to see that he did nothing imprudent. Arrived there -he concentrated sixty thousand men, of which twelve thousand were -British,[291] recrossed the Waal and encamped at Ober-Hasselt over -against Grave, within two leagues of the French. Then once more the -obstruction of his colleagues caused delay, and it was not until -the 26th of July that he could cross to the left bank of the Meuse. -"Now," he said to the Dutch deputies, as he pointed to the French -camp, "I shall soon rid you of these troublesome neighbours." - -[Sidenote: - - July 22 - ------- - August 2. -] - -Five swift marches due south brought his army over the Spanish -frontier by Hamont. Boufflers thereupon in alarm broke up his camp, -summoned Marshal Tallard from the Rhine to his assistance, crossed -the Meuse with all haste at Venloo, and pushed on at nervous speed -for the Demer. On the 2nd of August he lay between Peer and Bray, -his camping-ground ill-chosen, and his army worn out by a week -of desperate marching. Within easy striking distance, a mile or -two to the northward, lay Marlborough, his army fresh, ready, -and confident. He held the game in his hand; for an immediate -attack would have dealt the French as rude a buffet as they were -to receive later at Ramillies. But the Dutch deputies interposed; -these Dogberries were content to thank God that they were rid of a -rogue. So Boufflers was allowed to cross the Demer safely at Diest, -and a first great opportunity was lost. - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - August --. - 22 -] - -Marlborough, having drawn the French away from the Meuse, was now -at liberty to add the garrison of Maestricht to his field-force, -and to besiege the fortresses on the river. Boufflers, however, -emboldened by his escape, again advanced north in the hope of -cutting off a convoy of stores that was on its way to join the -Allies. Marlborough therefore perforce moved back to Hamont and -picked up his convoy; then, before Boufflers could divine his -purpose he had moved swiftly south, and thrown himself across -the line of the French retreat to the Demer. The French marshal -hurried southward with all possible haste, and came blundering -through the defiles before Hochtel on the road to Hasselt, only to -find Marlborough waiting ready for him at Helchteren. Once again -the game was in the Englishman's hand. The French were in great -disorder, their left in particular being hopelessly entangled in -marshy and difficult ground. Marlborough instantly gave the order -to advance, and by three o'clock the artillery of the two armies -was exchanging fire. At five Marlborough directed the whole of his -right to fall on the French left; but to his surprise and dismay, -the right did not move. A surly Dutchman, General Opdam, was in -command of the troops in question and, for no greater object than -to annoy the Commander-in-Chief, refused to execute his orders. So -a second great opportunity was lost. - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - August --. - 23 -] - -Still much might yet be won by a general attack on the next day; -and for this accordingly Marlborough at once made his preparations. -But when the time came the Dutch deputies interposed, entreating -him to defer the attack till the morrow morning. "By to-morrow -morning they will be gone," answered Marlborough; but all -remonstrance was unavailing. The attack was perforce deferred, the -French slipped away in the night, and though it was still possible -to cut up their rearguard with cavalry, a third great opportunity -was lost. - -[Sidenote: - - 18 - August --. - 29 -] - -Marlborough was deeply chagrined; but although with unconquerable -patience and tact he excused Opdam's conduct in his public -despatches, he could not deceive the troops, who were loud in -their indignation against both deputies and generals. There was -now nothing left but to reduce the fortresses on the Meuse, a -part of the army being detached for the siege while the remainder -covered the operations under the command of Marlborough. Even -over their favourite pastime of a siege, however, the Dutch were -dilatory beyond measure. "England is famous for negligence," wrote -Marlborough, "but if Englishmen were half as negligent as the -people here, they would be torn to pieces by Parliament."[292] -Venloo was at length invested on the 29th of August,[293] and after -a siege of eighteen days compelled to capitulate. The English -distinguished themselves after their own peculiar fashion. In the -assault on the principal defence General Cutts, who from his love -of a hot fire was known as the Salamander, gave orders that the -attacking force, if it carried the covered way, should not stop -there but rush forward and carry as much more as it could. It was a -mad design, criminally so in the opinion of officers who took part -in it,[294] but it was madly executed, with the result that the -whole fort was captured out of hand. - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 26 - --------- - October 7. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 1 - Oct. --. - 12 -] - -The reduction of Stevenswaert, Maseyk, and Ruremond quickly -followed; and the French now became alarmed lest Marlborough -should transfer operations to the Rhine. Tallard was therefore -sent back with a large force to Cologne and Bonn, while Boufflers, -much weakened by this and by other detachments, lay helpless at -Tongres. But the season was now far advanced, and Marlborough had -no intention of leaving Boufflers for the winter in a position -from which he might at any moment move out and bombard Maestricht. -So no sooner were his troops released by the capture of Ruremond -than he prepared to oust him. The French, according to their usual -practice, had barred the eastern entrance to Brabant by fortified -lines, which followed the line of the Geete to its head-waters, and -were thence carried across to that of the Mehaigne. In his position -at Tongres Boufflers lay midway between these lines and Liège, in -the hope of covering both; but after the fall of so many fortresses -on the Meuse he became specially anxious for Liège, and resolved to -post himself under its walls. He accordingly examined the defences, -selected his camping-ground, and on the 12th of October marched -up with his army to occupy it. Quite unconscious of any danger he -arrived within cannon-shot of his chosen position, and there stood -Marlborough, calmly awaiting him with a superior force. For the -fourth time Marlborough held his enemy within his grasp, but the -Dutch deputies, as usual, interposed to forbid an attack; and -Boufflers, a fourth time delivered, hurried away in the night to -his lines at Landen. Had he thrown himself into Liège Marlborough -would have made him equally uncomfortable by marching on the lines; -as things were the French marshal perforce left the city to its -fate. - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - Oct. --. - 23 -] - -The town of Liège, which was unfortified, at once opened its -gates to the Allies; and within a week Marlborough's batteries -were playing on the citadel. On the 23rd of October the citadel -was stormed, the English being first in the breach, and a few -days later Liège, with the whole line of the Meuse, had passed -into the hands of the Allies. Thus brilliantly, in spite of four -great opportunities marred by the Dutch, ended Marlborough's first -campaign. Athlone, like an honest man, confessed that as second in -command he had opposed every one of Marlborough's projects, and -that the success was due entirely to his incomparable chief. He at -any rate had an inkling that in Turenne's handsome Englishman there -had arisen one of the great captains of all time. - -Nevertheless the French had not been without their consolations -in other quarters. Towards the end of the campaign the Elector of -Bavaria had declared himself for France against the Empire, and, -surprising the all-important position of Ulm on the Danube, had -opened communication with the French force on the Upper Rhine. -Villars, who commanded in that quarter, had seconded him by -defeating his opponent, Prince Lewis of Baden, at Friedlingen, and -had cleared the passages of the Black Forest; while Tallard had, -almost without an effort, possessed himself of Treves and Trarbach -on the Moselle. The rival competitors for the crown of Spain were -France and the Empire, and the centre of the struggle, as no one -saw more clearly than Marlborough, was for the present moving -steadily towards the territory of the Empire. - -While Marlborough was engaged in his operations on the Meuse, ten -thousand English and Dutch, under the Duke of Ormonde and Admiral -Sir George Rooke, had been despatched to make a descent upon Cadiz. -The expedition was so complete a failure that there is no object in -dwelling on it. Rooke would not support Ormonde, and Ormonde was -not strong enough to master Rooke; landsmen quarrelled with seamen, -and English with Dutch. No discipline was maintained, and after -some weeks of feeble operations and shameful scenes of indiscipline -and pillage, the commanders found that they could do no more -than return to England. They were fortunate enough, however, on -their way, to fall in with the plate-fleet at Vigo, of which they -captured twenty-five galleons containing treasure worth a million -sterling. Comforted by this good fortune Rooke and Ormonde sailed -homeward, and dropped anchor safely in Portsmouth harbour. - -Meanwhile a mishap, which Marlborough called an accident, had gone -near to neutralise all the success of the past campaign. At the -close of operations the Earl, together with the Dutch deputies, had -taken ship down the Meuse, with a guard of twenty-five men on board -and an escort of fifty horse on the bank. In the night the horse -lost their way, and the boat was surprised and overpowered by a -French partisan with a following of marauders. The Dutch deputies -produced French passes, but Marlborough had none and was therefore -a prisoner. Fortunately his servant slipped into his hand an old -pass that had been made out for his brother Charles Churchill. -With perfect serenity Marlborough presented it as genuine, and was -allowed to go on his way, the French contenting themselves with -the capture of the guard and the plunder of the vessel, and never -dreaming of the prize that they had let slip. The news of his -escape reached the Hague, where on his arrival rich and poor came -out to welcome him, men and women weeping for joy over his safety. -So deep was the fascination exerted on all of his kind by this -extraordinary man. - -A few days later he returned to England, where a new Parliament -had already congratulated Queen Anne on the retrieving of England's -honour by the success of his arms. The word retrieving was warmly -resented, but though doubtless suggested by unworthy and factious -animosity against the memory of William, it was strictly true. -The nation felt that it was not in the fitness of things that -Englishmen should be beaten by Frenchmen, and they rejoiced to see -the wrong set right. Nevertheless party spirit found a still meaner -level when Parliament extended to Rooke and Ormonde the same vote -of thanks that they tendered to Marlborough. This precious pair -owed even this honour to the wisdom and good sense of their far -greater comrade, for they would have carried their quarrel over the -expedition within the walls of Parliament, had not Marlborough told -them gently that the whole of their operations were indefensible -and that the less they called attention to themselves the better. -The Queen, with more discernment, created Marlborough a Duke and -settled on him a pension of £5000 a year. With the exaggerated -bounty of a woman she wished Parliament to attach that sum -forthwith permanently to the title, but this the Commons most -properly refused to do. Moreover, the House was engaged just then -on a work of greater utility to the Army than the granting of -pensions even to such a man as Marlborough. - -[Sidenote: Nov 11.] - -On the 11th of November, the day before the public thanksgiving -for the first campaign, the Committee of Public Accounts presented -its report on the books of Lord Ranelagh, the paymaster-general. -Ranelagh, according to their statement, had evinced great -unwillingness to produce his accounts, and had met their inquiries -with endless shuffling and evasion. In his office, too, an unusual -epidemic of sudden illness, and an unprecedented multitude -of pressing engagements, had rendered his clerks strangely -inaccessible to examination. The commissioners, however, had -persisted, and were now able to tell a long story of irregular -book-keeping, false accounts, forged vouchers, and the clumsiest -and most transparent methods of embezzlement and fraud. - -Ranelagh defended himself against their charges not without -spirit and efficiency, but the commissioners declined to -discuss the matter with him. The Commons spent two days in -examination of proofs, and then without hesitation voted that the -Paymaster-General had been guilty of misappropriation of public -money. It was thought by many at the time that Ranelagh was very -hardly used; and it is certain that factious desire to discredit -the late Government played a larger part than common honesty in -this sudden zeal against corruption. Whig writers[295] assert -without hesitation that there was no foundation whatever for the -charges; and it is indubitable that many of the conclusions of the -commissioners were strained and exaggerated. It is beyond question -too that much of the financial confusion was due to the House of -Commons, which had voted large sums without naming the sources from -whence they should be raised, and where it had named the source -had absurdly over-estimated the receipts. But it is none the less -certain that Ranelagh's accounts were in disorder, and that, though -his patrimony was small, he was reputed to have spent more money on -buildings, gardens, and furniture than any man in England. Without -attempting to calculate the measure of his guilt, it cannot be -denied that his dismissal was for the good of the Army. - -Had the House of Commons followed up this preliminary inquiry -by further investigation much good might have been done, but -its motives not being pure its actions could not be consistent. -Ranelagh, for instance, had made one statement in self-defence -which gravely inculpated the Secretary-at-War; but the House -showed no alacrity to turn against that functionary. Very soon -the question of the accounts degenerated into a wrangle with the -House of Lords; and in March 1704 the Commons were still debating -what should be done with Ranelagh, while poor Mitchelburne of -Londonderry, a prisoner in the Fleet for debt, was petitioning -piteously for the arrears due to him since 1689. - -[Sidenote: 1705, May 10.] - -[Sidenote: Commission dated April 20, 1704.] - -It will, however, be convenient to anticipate matters a little, -and to speak at once of the reforms that were brought about by -this scandal in the paymaster's office. First, on the expulsion of -Ranelagh the office was divided and two paymasters-general were -appointed, one for the troops abroad, the other for those at home. -Secondly, two new officers were established, with salaries of £1500 -a year and the title of Controllers of the Accounts of the Army, -Sir Joseph Tredenham and William Duncombe being the first holders -of the office. Lastly, the Secretary-at-War definitely ceased to -be mere secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, and became the civil -head of the War Department. In William's time he had taken the -field with the King, but from henceforth he stayed at home; while a -secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, not yet a military secretary, -accompanied the general on active service on a stipend of ten -shillings a day. William Blathwayt, who had been Secretary-at-War -since the days of Charles the Second, was got rid of, with no -disadvantage to the service, and his place was taken by the -brilliant but unprofitable Henry St. John. - - - - -CHAPTER II - - -[Sidenote: 1703.] - -The force voted by Parliament for the campaign of 1703 consisted, -as in the previous year, of eighteen thousand British and -twenty-two thousand Germans. There had been much talk of an -increase of the Army, and indeed Parliament had agreed to make -an augmentation subject to certain conditions to be yielded by -the Dutch; but when the session closed no provision had been made -for it, and the details required to be settled, as indeed such -details generally were, by Marlborough himself. Four new British -regiments formed part of the augmentation, and accordingly five -new battalions were raised, which, as they were all disbanded -subsequently, remain known to us only by the names of their -colonels, Gorges, Pearce, Evans, Elliott, and Macartney. Finally, -small contingents from a host of petty German states brought the -total of mercenaries to twenty-eight thousand, which, added to -twenty thousand British, made up a nominal total of fifty thousand -men in the pay of England. But none of these additional troops -could take the field until late in the campaign. - -Such efforts were not confined to the side of the Allies. The -French successes to the eastward of the Rhine had encouraged them -to projects for a grand campaign, so their army too was increased, -and every nerve was strained to make the preparations as complete -as possible. The grand army under Villeroy and Boufflers, numbering -fifty-four battalions and one hundred and three squadrons, was -designed to recapture the strong places on the Meuse and to -threaten the Dutch frontier. The frontiers towards Ostend and -Antwerp were guarded by flying columns under the Marquis of Bedmar, -Count de la Mothe, and the Spanish Count Tserclaes de Tilly. The -entire force of the Bourbons in the Low Countries, including -garrisons and field-army, included ninety thousand men in infantry -alone.[296] With such a force to occupy the Allies in Flanders and -with Marshal Tallard to hold Prince Lewis of Baden in check at -Stollhofen on the Upper Rhine, Marshal Villars was to push through -the Black Forest and join hands with the Elector of Bavaria. -Finally, the joint forces of France and Savoy were to advance -through the Tyrol to the valley of the Inn and combine with Villars -and the Elector for a march on Vienna. - -[Sidenote: - - 6 - March --. - 17 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - May --. - 18 -] - -The design was grand enough in conception; but Marlborough too had -formed plans for striking at the enemy in a vital part. A campaign -of sieges was not to his mind, for he conceived that to bring -his enemy to action and beat him was worth the capture of twenty -petty fortresses; and accordingly on his arrival at the Hague -he advocated immediate invasion of French Flanders and Brabant. -But the project was too bold for the Dutch, whose commanders had -changed and changed for the worse. Old Athlone was dead, and in -his stead had risen up three new generals--Overkirk, who had few -faults except mediocrity and age; Slangenberg, who combined ability -with a villainous temper; and Opdam, who was alike cantankerous -and incapable. Very reluctantly Marlborough was compelled to -undertake the siege of Bonn, he himself commanding the besiegers, -while Overkirk handled the covering army. Notwithstanding Dutch -procrastination, Marlborough's energy had succeeded in bringing -the Allies first into the field; and before Villeroy could strike -a blow to hinder it, Bonn had capitulated, and Marlborough had -rejoined Overkirk and was ready for active operations in the field. - - -The Duke now reverted to his original scheme of carrying the war -into the heart of Brabant and West Flanders, and with this view -ordered every preparation to be made for an attack on Antwerp. -Cohorn, the famous engineer, was to distract the French by the -capture of Ostend on the west side, a second force was to be -concentrated under Opdam at Bergen-op-Zoom to the north, while -Marlborough was to hold Villeroy in check in the east until all was -ready. - -The Duke's own share of the operations was conducted with his usual -skill. Pressing back Villeroy into the space between the heads of -the Jaar and the Mehaigne he kept him in continual suspense as to -whether his design lay eastward or westward, against Huy or against -Antwerp. Unfortunately, in an evil hour he imparted to Cohorn that -he thought he might manage both.[297] The covetous old engineer -had laid his own plans for filling his pockets; and no sooner did -he hear of Marlborough's idea of attacking Huy than, fearful lest -Villeroy should interrupt his private schemes for making money, he -threw the capture of Ostend to the winds, and marched into West -Flanders to levy contributions before it should be too late. - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - June --. - 26 -] - -Still Marlborough was patient. He had hoped for Ostend first -and Antwerp afterwards, but a reversal of the arrangement would -serve. Cohorn having filled his pockets returned to the east of -the Scheldt at Stabrock; Spaar, another Dutch general, took up -his position at Hulst; Opdam remained at Bergen-op-Zoom; and thus -the three armies lay in wait round the north and west of Antwerp, -ready to move forward as soon as Marlborough should come up on the -south-east. The Duke did not keep them long waiting. On the night -of the 26th of June he suddenly broke up his camp, crossed the -Jaar, and made for the bridge over the Demer at Hasselt. Villeroy, -his eyes now thoroughly opened, hastened with all speed for Diest -in order to be before him; and the two armies raced for Antwerp. -The Duke had hastened his army forward on its way by great -exertions for six days, when the news reached him that Cohorn, -unable to resist the temptation of making a little more money, had -made a second raid into West Flanders, leaving Opdam in the air -on the other side of the Scheldt. The Dutch were jubilant over -Cohorn's supposed success, but Marlborough took a very different -view. "If Opdam be not on his guard," he said, "he will be beaten -before we can reach him"; and he despatched messengers instantly -to give Opdam warning. As usual he was perfectly right. Villeroy -hit the blot at once, and detached a force under Boufflers to -take advantage of it. Opdam, in spite of Marlborough's warning, -took no precautions, and finding himself surprised took to his -heels, leaving Slangenberg to save his army. Thus the whole of -Marlborough's combinations were broken up.[298] - -The quarrels of the Dutch generals among themselves left no hope -of success in further operations. Failing to persuade the Dutch to -undertake anything but petty sieges he returned to the Meuse, and -after the capture of Huy and Limburg closed the campaign. Thus a -second year was wasted through the perversity of the Dutch. - -[Sidenote: - - 9 - Sept. --. - 20 -] - -Meanwhile things had gone ill with the Grand Alliance in other -quarters. The King of Portugal had indeed been gained for the -Austrian side and had offered troops for active operations in -Spain, an event which will presently lead us to the Peninsula. -The Duke of Savoy again had been detached from the French party, -and the intended march over the Tyrol had been defeated by the -valour of the Tyrolese; but elsewhere the French arms had been -triumphant. Early in March Villars had seized the fort and bridge -of Kehl on the Rhine, had traversed the Black Forest, joined hands -with the Elector of Bavaria, and in spite of bitter quarrels with -him had won in his company the victory of Hochstädt. Tallard too, -though he took the field but late, had captured Old Brisach on -the Upper Rhine, defeated the Prince of Hessen-Cassel at Spires, -and recaptured Landau. The communications between the Rhine and -the Danube were thus secured, and the march upon Vienna could be -counted on for the next year. With her armies defeated in her -front, and the Hungarian revolt eating at her vitals from within, -the situation of the Empire was well-nigh desperate. - -[Sidenote: [1697.]] - -Marlborough, for his part, had made up his mind to resign the -command, for he saw no prospect of success while his subordinates -systematically disobeyed his orders. "Our want of success," -he wrote, "is due to the want of discipline in the army, and -until this is remedied I see no prospect of improvement."[299] -Nevertheless a short stay in England seems to have restored him -to a more contented frame of mind, while even before the close -of the campaign he had begun to plan a great stroke for the -ensuing year, and to discuss it with the one able general in the -Imperial service, Prince Eugene of Savoy. Frail and delicate in -constitution, Eugene had originally been destined for the Church, -and for a short time had been known as the Abbé of Savoy, but he -had early shown a preference for the military profession and had -offered his sword first to Lewis the Fourteenth. It was refused. -Then Eugene turned to the Imperial Court, and after ten years of -active service against Hungarians, Turks, and French, found himself -at the age of thirty a field-marshal. At thirty-four he had won the -great victory of Zenta against the Turks, and in the War of the -Succession had made himself dreaded in Italy by the best of the -French marshals. He was now forty years of age, having spent fully -half of his life in war, and fully a quarter of it in high command. -Marlborough was fifty-three, and until two years before had never -commanded an army in chief. - -Marlborough's design was nothing less than to commit the Low -Countries to the protection of the Dutch, and, leaving the old seat -of war with all its armies and fortresses in rear, to carry the -campaign into the heart of Germany. The two great captains decided -that it could and must be done; but it would be no easy task to -persuade the timid States-General and a factious House of Commons -to a plan which was bold almost to rashness. - -Marlborough began his share of the work in England forthwith. -Without dropping a hint of his great scheme he contrived to put -some heart into the English ministers, and so into their supporters -in Parliament. The Houses met on the 9th of November, and the -Commons, after just criticism of the want of concert shown by the -Allies, cheerfully voted money and men for the augmented force -that had been proposed in the previous session. Then came a new -difficulty which had been added to Marlborough's many troubles in -the autumn. The treaty lately concluded with Portugal required -the despatch of seven thousand troops to the Peninsula; and these -it was decided to draw from the best British regiments in the -Low Countries.[300] It was therefore necessary to raise one new -regiment of dragoons and seven new battalions of foot,[301] a task -which was no light one from the increasing difficulty of obtaining -recruits. - -[Sidenote: 1704.] - -[Sidenote: January 15.] - -But while the recruiting officers were busily beating their drums, -and convicted felons were awaiting the decision which should send -them either in a cart to Tyburn or in a transport to the Low -Countries, the indefatigable Marlborough crossed the North Sea in -the bitterest weather to see how the Dutch preparations were going -forward. He found them in a state which caused him sad misgivings -for the coming campaign, but he managed to stir up the authorities -to increase supplies of men and money, and suggested operations -on the Moselle for the next campaign. The same phrase, operations -on the Moselle, was passed on to the King of Prussia and to other -allies, and was repeated to the Queen and ministers on his return -to England. Finally, early in April the Duke embarked for the Low -Countries once more in company with his brother Charles, with -general instructions in his pocket to concert measures with Holland -for the relief of the Emperor. - -[Sidenote: - - April 24 - -------- - May 5. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - May --. - 18 -] - -Three weeks were then spent in gaining the consent of the -States-General to operations on the Moselle, a consent which the -Duke only extorted by threatening to march thither with the British -troops alone, and in consultation with the solid but slow commander -of the Imperial forces, Prince Lewis of Baden. To be quit of Dutch -obstruction Marlborough asked only for the auxiliary troops in the -pay of the Dutch, and obtained for his brother Charles the rank -of General with the command of the British infantry. In the last -week of April the British regiments began to stream out of their -winter quarters to a bridge that had been thrown over the Meuse -at Ruremonde, and a fortnight later sixteen thousand of them made -rendezvous at Bedbourgh. Not a man of them knew whither he was -bound, for it was only within the last fortnight that the Duke had -so much as hinted his destination even to the Emperor or to Prince -Lewis of Baden. - -It is now time to glance at the enemy, who had entered on the -campaign with the highest hopes of success. The dispositions of -the French were little altered from those of the previous year. -Villeroy with one army lay within the lines of the Mehaigne; -Tallard with another army was in the vicinity of Strasburg, his -passage of the Rhine secured by the possession of Landau and Old -Brisach; and the Count of Coignies was stationed with ten thousand -men on the Moselle, ready to act in Flanders or in Germany as -occasion might demand. At Ulm lay the Elector of Bavaria and his -French allies under Marsin, who had replaced Villars during the -winter. The whole of this last force, forty-five thousand men in -all, stood ready to march to the head-waters of the Danube, and -there unite with the French that should be pushed through the Black -Forest to meet it. The Elector, by the operations of the past -campaign, had mastered the line of the Danube from its source to -Linz within the Austrian frontier; he held also the keys of the -country between the Iller and the Inn; and he asked only for a -French reinforcement to enable him to march straight on Vienna. - -To the passage of this reinforcement there was no obstacle but a -weak Imperial force under Prince Lewis of Baden, which made shift -to guard the country from Philipsburg southward to Lake Constance. -The principal obstruction was certain fortified lines, of which the -reader should take note, on the right bank of the Rhine, which ran -from Stollhofen south-eastward to Bühl, and, since they covered -the entrance into Baden from the north-west, were naturally most -jealously guarded by Prince Lewis. From that point southward the -most important points were held by weak detachments of regular -troops, but a vast extent of the most difficult country was -entrusted to raw militia and peasantry. To escort a reinforcement -successfully through the defiles from Fribourg to Donaueschingen -and to return with the escort in safety was no easy task, but it -was adroitly accomplished by Tallard within the space of twelve -days. The feat was lauded at the time with ridiculous extravagance, -for, apart from the fact that Prince Lewis of Baden was remarkable -neither for swiftness nor for vigilance, Tallard had hustled his -unhappy recruits forward so unmercifully, along bad roads and -in bad weather, that the greater part of them perished by the -way.[302] Nevertheless the French had scored the first point of the -game and were proportionately elated, while poor Tallard's head -was, to his great misfortune, completely turned. - -[Sidenote: - - 8 - May --. - 19 -] - -Marlborough meanwhile had begun his famous march, the direction -lying up the Rhine towards Bonn. On the very day after he started -he received urgent messages from Overkirk that Villeroy had crossed -the Meuse and was menacing Huy, and from Prince Lewis that Tallard -was threatening the lines of Stollhofen, both commanders of course -entreating him to return to their assistance. Halting for one day -to reassure them, the Duke told Overkirk that Villeroy had no -designs against any but himself, and that the sooner reinforcements -were sent to join the British the better. Prince Lewis he answered -by giving him a rendezvous where his Hessians and Danes might also -unite with his own army. This done he continued his march. - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - May --. - 23 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 18 - May --. - 29 -] - -[Sidenote: - - May 21 - ------ - June 1. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 20 - May --. - 31 -] - -[Sidenote: - - May 23 - ------ - June 3. -] - -Marlborough's information was good. Villeroy had received strict -orders to follow him to the Moselle, the French Court being -convinced that he meditated operations in that quarter. The Duke -stepped out of his way to inspect Bonn in order to encourage this -belief, and then pushed on in all haste to Coblentz with his -cavalry only, leaving his brother to follow him with the infantry, -while the artillery and baggage was carried up the Rhine to Mainz. -Once again all his movements seemed to point to operations on the -Moselle, unless indeed (for the French never knew what such a -man might do next) he designed to double back down the river for -operations near the sea. But wherever he might be going he did -not linger, but crossing the Rhine and Moselle pushed constantly -forward with his cavalry. Starting always before dawn and bringing -his men into camp by noon he granted them no halt until he reached -the suburbs of Mainz at Cassel. Here he improved his time by -requesting the Landgrave of Hesse to send the artillery, which he -had prepared for a campaign on the Moselle, to Mannheim. Again the -French were puzzled. Was Alsace, and not the Moselle, to be the -scene of the next campaign; and if not, why was the English general -bridging the Rhine at Philipsburg, and why was his artillery moving -up the river? Tallard moved up to Kehl, crossed to the left bank -of the Rhine and took up a position on the Lauter, and Villeroy -sent to Flanders for reinforcements; but meanwhile Marlborough had -crossed the Main, and still, struggling on by rapid and distressing -marches over execrable roads, was within three more days across the -Neckar at Ladenburg and out of their reach. - -[Sidenote: - - May 26 - ------ - June 6. -] - -[Sidenote: - - May 30 - ------- - June 10. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 2 - June --. - 13 -] - -His plans were now manifest enough, but it was too late to catch -him. He therefore halted two days by Ladenburg to give orders for -the concentration of the troops that were on march to join him -from the Rhine, and then striking south-eastward across the great -bend of the Neckar, traversed the river for the second time at -Lauffen, and by the 10th of June was at Mondelheim. Halting here -for three days to allow his infantry to come nearer to him, he was -joined by Prince Eugene whom he now met for the first time in the -flesh. The Prince inspected the English horse and was astonished -at the condition of the troops after their long and trying march. -"I have heard much," he said, "of the English cavalry, and find -it to be the best appointed and finest that I have ever seen. -The spirit which I see in the looks of your men is an earnest of -victory." Hither three days later came also a less welcome guest, -Prince Lewis of Baden; and the three commanders discussed their -plans for the future. Marlborough in vain tried to keep Eugene for -his colleague, but it was ultimately decided that Eugene should -take command in the lines of Stollhofen, to prevent the French if -possible from crossing the Rhine, and to follow them at all hazards -if they should succeed in crossing, while Baden should remain on -the Danube and share the command of the allied army by alternate -days with Marlborough. - -[Sidenote: - - 3 - June --. - 14 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 9 - June --. - 20 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - June --. - 22 -] - -Then the march was resumed south-eastward upon Ulm; and after one -day's halt to perfect the arrangements for the junction with Prince -Louis, the army reached the mountain-chain that bounded the valley -of the Danube. The Pass of Geislingen, through which its road -lay, could not in the most favourable circumstances be passed by -any considerable number of troops in less than a day, and was now -rendered almost impracticable by incessant heavy rain. To add to -Marlborough's troubles the States-General, learning that Villeroy -was astir, became frightened for their own safety and entreated -for the return of their auxiliary troops. The Duke, to calm them, -ordered boats to be ready to convey forces down the Rhine, and went -quietly on with his own preparations, establishing magazines to the -north of the Danube, and not forgetting to send a reinforcement of -foreign troops to Eugene. At last the news came that Baden's army -was come within reach; the British cavalry plunged into the defile, -and two days later the junction of the two forces was effected at -Ursprung. - -[Sidenote: - - 14 - June --. - 25 -] - -The joint armies presently advanced to within eight miles of Ulm, -whereupon the Elector of Bavaria withdrew to an entrenched camp -further down the Danube between Lavingen and Dillingen. The Allies -therefore turned northward to await the arrival of the British -infantry at Gingen; for Charles Churchill, with the foot and the -artillery, had found it difficult to march at great speed in the -perpetual pouring rain. His troubles had begun from the moment when -Marlborough had gone ahead with the cavalry from Coblentz. The -ascent of a single hill in that mountainous country often cost the -artillery[303] a whole day's work, and would have cost more but for -the indefatigable exertions of the officers.[304] Marlborough's -care for the comfort and discipline of these troops was incessant. -A large supply of shoes, for instance, was ready at Heidelberg to -make good defects, while constant injunctions in his letters to his -brother testify to his anxiety that nothing should be omitted to -lighten the burden of the march. Finally, anticipating Wellington -in the Peninsula, he insisted that the men should pay honestly -for everything that they took, and took care to provide money to -enable them to do so. Such a thing had never been known in all the -innumerable campaigns of Germany. - -[Sidenote: - - 18 - June --. - 29 -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 20 - ------- - July 1. -] - -The joint armies after the arrival of Churchill amounted to -ninety-six battalions, two hundred and two squadrons, and -forty-eight guns; but a large contingent of Danish cavalry was -still wanting, and not all Marlborough's entreaties could prevail -with its commander, the Duke of Würtemberg, to hasten his march. -Nevertheless it was necessary to move at once. Marlborough's -objective had from the first been Donauwörth, which would give -him at once a bridge over the Danube and a place of arms for -the invasion of Bavaria. His move northward had revealed his -intentions; and the Elector of Bavaria had detached Count d'Arco -with ten thousand foot and twenty-five hundred horse to occupy the -Schellenberg, a commanding height which covers Donauwörth on the -north bank of the Danube. Marlborough pressed Baden hard to attack -this detachment before it could be reinforced; and accordingly the -army broke up from Gingen, and advancing parallel to the Danube -encamped on the 1st of July at Amerdingen. - -[Sidenote: - - June 21 - ------- - July 2. -] - -The next day was Marlborough's turn for command. It had not yet -dawned when Quartermaster-General Cadogan was up and away with a -party of cavalry, pioneers, and pontoons. At three o'clock marched -six thousand men from the forty-five battalions of the left -wing,[305] three regiments of Imperial Grenadiers, and thirty-five -squadrons of horse. At five o'clock the rest of the army, excepting -the artillery, followed in two columns along the main road towards -a height that overhangs the river Wörnitz between Obermorgen and -Wörnitzstein. By eight o'clock Cadogan was at Obermorgen, had -driven back the enemy's picquets, and was engaged in marking out a -camp; and at nine appeared the Duke himself, who, taking Cadogan's -escort, went forward to reconnoitre the position. - -The Schellenberg, as its name implies, is a bell-shaped hill, -some two miles in circumference at the base and with a flat top -about half a mile wide, whereon was pitched the enemy's camp. -On the south side, where the hill falls down to the Danube, the -ascent is steeper than elsewhere; on the north-west the slope is -gradual and about five hundred yards in length. To the south-west -the hill joins the town of Donauwörth, from the outworks of which -an entrenchment had been carried for nearly two miles round the -summit to the river. This defence was strongest and most complete -to the north-east, where a wood gave shelter for the formation of -an attacking force; and at this point was stationed a battery of -cannon. To the north-west the works though incomplete were well -advanced, and were strengthened by an old fort wherein the enemy -had mounted guns. Marlborough, as he conned the position, could see -that the enemy before him was so disposed as if expecting an attack -on the northern and western sides. But looking to his right beyond -Donauwörth, and across the Danube, he could see preparations of -a more ominous kind, a camp with tents pitched on both wings and -a blank space in the centre, sure sign that cavalry was already -present and that infantry was expected. Closer and closer he drew -to the hill, Prince Lewis and others presently joining him; and -then puffs of white smoke began to shoot out from various points in -the enemy's works as his batteries opened fire. - -Finishing his survey undisturbed, Marlborough turned back to meet -the advanced detachment of the army; for it was plain to him -that the Schellenberg must be carried at once before more of the -enemy's troops could reach it. So bad, however, was the state of -the roads, that though the distance was but twelve miles, the -detachment did not reach the Wörnitz until noon. It was then halted -to give the men rest, for there were still three miles of bad road -before them, and to allow the main body to come up. The cavalry -was sent forward to cut fascines in the wood, pontoon bridges -were thrown across the Wörnitz, and at three o'clock the advanced -detachment passed the river. While this was going forward a letter -arrived from Eugene that Villeroy and Tallard were preparing to -send strong reinforcements to the Elector; and this intelligence -decided Marlborough to take the work in hand forthwith. Without -waiting for the rear of the main body to arrive he drew out sixteen -battalions only, five of them British,[306] and led them and the -advanced detachment straight on to the attack. The infantry of the -detachment was formed in four lines, the English[307] being on the -extreme left by the edge of the wood, and the cavalry was drawn up -in two lines behind them. Eight battalions more were detailed to -support the detachment or to deploy to its right if need should be, -and yet eight more were held in reserve. - -It was six o'clock in the evening before Marlborough gave the order -to attack. Every foot-soldier took a fascine from the cavalry, and -the columns, headed by two parties of grenadiers from the First -Guards under Lord Mordaunt and Colonel Munden, marched steadily -up the hill. The hostile batteries at once opened a cross-fire of -round shot from the intrenchment and from the walls of Donauwörth, -but the columns pressed on unheeding to within eighty yards of the -intrenchment before they fired a shot. Then the enemy continued the -fire with musketry and grape, and the slaughter became frightful. -The grenadiers of the Guards fell down right and left, and very -soon few of them were left. Still Mordaunt and Munden, the one with -his skirts torn to shreds and the other with his hat riddled by -bullets, stood up unhurt and kept cheering them on. General Goor, a -gallant foreigner who commanded the attack, was shot dead, and many -other officers fell with him under that terrible fire. The columns -staggered, wavered, recovered, and went on. But now came an unlucky -accident. In front of the intrenchment ran a hollow way worn in -the hill by rain, into which the foremost men, mistaking it for -the intrenchment, threw down their fascines, so that on reaching -the actual lines they found themselves unable to cross them. Thus -checked they suffered so heavily that they began to give way; -and the enemy rushed out rejoicing to finish the defeat with the -bayonet. But the English Guards, though they had suffered terribly, -stood immovable as rocks, the Royal Scots and the Welshmen of the -Twenty-third stood by them, and the counter-attack after desperate -fighting was beaten back. - -Meanwhile the enemy, finding the western face of the hill -unthreatened, withdrew the whole of their force from thence to -the point of assault. Their fire increased; the attacking columns -wavered once more, and General Lumley was obliged to move up -the entire first line of cavalry into the thick of the fire to -support them. So the fight swayed for another half-hour, when the -remainder of the Imperial army at last appeared on Marlborough's -right, and finding the intrenchments deserted passed over them -at once with trifling loss. Repulsing a charge of cavalry which -was launched against them, they hurried on and came full on the -flank of the French and Bavarians; yet even so this gallant enemy -would not give way, and the allied infantry still failed to carry -the intrenchment. Lumley now ordered the Scots Greys to dismount -and attack on foot; but before they could advance the infantry -by a final effort at last forced their way in. Then the Greys -remounted with all haste and galloped forward to the pursuit, -while Marlborough, halting the exhausted foot, sent the rest of -the cavalry to join the Greys. The rout was now complete. Hundreds -of men were cut off before they could reach Donauwörth, many were -driven into the Danube, many more, flying to a temporary bridge -to cross the river, broke it down by their weight and miserably -perished. Of twelve thousand men not more than one-fourth rejoined -the Elector's army. - -[Illustration: SCHELLENBERG - - June 21^{st} - ----------- 1704 - July 2^{nd} - - _To face page 426_ -] - -The whole affair had lasted little more than an hour and a half, -but the loss of the Allies in overcoming so gallant a defence cost -them no fewer than fourteen hundred killed and three thousand eight -hundred wounded. The losses of the British[308] were very heavy, -amounting to fifteen hundred of all ranks, or probably more than a -third of the numbers engaged. The First Guards, Royal Scots, and -the Twenty-third suffered most severely, every battalion of them -having lost two hundred men or more, while the Guards at the close -of the day could count but five officers unhurt out of seventeen. -Of these five, wonderful to say, were Mordaunt and Munden, the -one with three bullets through his clothes, the other with five -through his hat, but neither of them scratched; but of eighty-two -men whom they led to the assault only twenty-one returned. When it -is remembered that the main body had been on foot fourteen hours, -and the advanced detachment for sixteen hours, the exhaustion of -the troops at the end of the day may be imagined. Nevertheless -Donauwörth was taken and the enemy was not only beaten but -demoralised. - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - July --. - 22 -] - -The Elector of Bavaria on hearing the news broke down the bridge -over the Lech, and entrenched himself at Augsburg. Marlborough -on his part crossed the Danube, and set himself to cut off the -Elector's supplies. The passage of the Danube he severed at -Donauwörth, the road to the north by the capture of Rain, and that -to the north-east by an advance south-eastward to Aichach, from -which he presently moved on to Friedberg, hemming his enemy tightly -into his entrenched camp. The Elector was at first inclined to come -to terms, but hearing that the French were about to reinforce him -he thought himself bound in honour to hold out. Marlborough was -therefore compelled to put pressure on him by ravaging the country, -a work which his letters show that he detested but felt obliged in -duty to perform. The destruction was carried to the very walls of -Munich; indeed, nothing but want of artillery, for which Prince -Lewis of Baden was responsible, prevented an attack upon the city -itself.[309] The prospect of the arrival of a French army gave the -Duke little disquiet: if Bavaria were to become the seat of war, -so much the worse for Bavaria and for the cause of the Bourbons. -So after sending thirty squadrons to reinforce Eugene, he prepared -in the interim for the siege of Ingolstadt, which would give him -command of the Danube from Ulm to Passau, and free access at all -times into Bavaria. The Elector's country should feel the stress of -war at any rate, and if fortune were propitious the French might -feel it also. It is now time to return to the movements of those -French. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -[Sidenote: 1704.] - -[Sidenote: - - May 29 - ------ - June 9. -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 21 - ------- - July 2. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 5-10 - July -----. - 16-21 -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 23 - -------- - August 3. -] - -We left Villeroy with his army in the Low Countries endeavouring -not very successfully to obey the orders which he had received, to -watch Marlborough. On the 29th of May, when the Duke had already -crossed the Neckar and fixed his quarters at Mondelheim, Villeroy -was still at Landau waiting for him to repass the Rhine. On the -following day, however, he took counsel with Tallard, with the -result that, while Marlborough was marching to the attack of the -Schellenberg the French armies were streaming across the Rhine -at Kehl. Tallard then moved south towards Fribourg, close to -which he received intelligence of the Elector's defeat. Thereupon -both he and Villeroy entered the defiles of the Black Forest, -uniting at Horneberg, from which point Tallard pushed on eastward -alone. Advancing to Villingen he wasted five precious days in an -unsuccessful effort to take that town, a mistake which was not -lost on Marlborough and Eugene. Called to his senses by an urgent -message from the Elector, Tallard at last marched on by the south -bank of the Danube, encamped before Augsburg on the 23rd of July, -and three days later effected his junction with the Elector and -Marsin a few miles to the north of the city. - -[Sidenote: - - July 26 - -------- - August 6. -] - -Tallard was no sooner fairly on his way than Eugene, leaving a -small garrison to hold the lines of Stollhofen, hurried on parallel -with him along the north bank of the Danube, reaching Hochstädt on -the day of the enemy's junction at Augsburg. Marlborough meanwhile, -at the news of Tallard's arrival, had fallen back northward in the -direction of Neuburg on the Danube, and was lying at Schobenhausen -some twelve miles to the south of the river. Hither came Eugene -from Hochstädt to concert operations. The French and Bavarians -were united to the south of the Danube; the Allies were divided on -both sides of the river. If Marlborough fell back to Neuburg to -join Eugene, the enemy could pass the Lech and enter Bavaria; if -Eugene crossed the river to join Marlborough the enemy could pass -to the north of the river and cut them off from Franconia, their -only possible source of supplies. It was agreed that Prince Lewis -of Baden should be detached with fifteen thousand men for the siege -of Ingolstadt; and, as it was reported that the French were moving -towards the Danube, Marlborough advanced closer to the river, so as -to be able to cross it either at Neuburg or by the bridges which he -had thrown over it by the mouth of the Lech at Merxheim. - -[Sidenote: - - July 29 - -------- - August 9. -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 30 - --------- - August 10. -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 31 - --------- - August 11. -] - -On the 9th of August Prince Lewis marched off to Ingolstadt, to the -unspeakable relief of his colleagues, and Eugene took his leave. -Two hours later, however, Eugene hurried back to report that the -French were in full march to the bridge of Dillingen, evidently -intending to cross the river and overwhelm his army. The Prince -hastened back and withdrew his army eastward from Hochstädt to the -Kessel. Marlborough, on his side, at midnight sent three thousand -cavalry over the Danube to reinforce him, while twenty battalions -under Churchill followed them as far as the bridge of Merxheim, -with orders to halt on the south bank of the river. Next morning -the Duke brought the whole of the army up to Rain, within a league -of the Danube, where he received fresh messages from Eugene urging -him to hasten to his assistance. At midnight Churchill received his -orders to pass the river and march for the Kessel, and two hours -later the whole army moved off in two columns, one to cross the -Danube at Merxheim, the other to traverse the Lech at Rain and the -Danube at Donauwörth. At five on the same afternoon the whole of -them were filing across the Wörnitz; by ten that night the junction -was complete, and the united armies encamped on the Kessel, their -right resting on Kessel-Ostheim, their left on the village of -Munster and the Danube. Row's brigade of British was pushed forward -to occupy Munster; and then the wearied troops lay down to rest. -The main body had been on foot for twenty hours, though it had -covered no more than twenty-four miles. Both columns had passed the -Danube and the Wörnitz, and the left column the Ach and the Lech -in addition. It is easy to imagine how long and how trying such a -march must have been; it is less easy to appreciate the foresight -and arrangement which enabled it to be performed at all. - -[Sidenote: - - 1 - August --. - 12 -] - -The artillery, which had perforce been left to come up in the -rear of the army, was by great exertions brought up at dawn on -the following morning. A little later the Duke and Eugene rode -forward with a strong escort to reconnoitre the ground before -them, but perceiving the enemy's cavalry at a distance, ascended -the church-tower of Tapfheim, from whence they descried the -French quartermasters marking out a camp between Blenheim and -Lutzingen, some three or four miles away. This was the very ground -that they had designed to take up themselves, and it was with no -small satisfaction that they perceived it to be occupied by the -enemy. The French and Bavarian commanders had decided, after their -junction on the Lech, that their best policy would be to cross the -Danube, take up a strong position, and wait until want of supplies, -by which Marlborough had already been greatly embarrassed, should -compel the Allies to withdraw from the country. Tallard had no -idea of offering battle; Marlborough indeed did not expect it of -him, and had not dared to hope that the marshal would allow an -action to be forced on him. But now that he had the chance, the -Duke resolved not to let it slip. Men were not wanting to urge upon -him the dangers of an attack on a superior force. "I know the -difficulties," he answered, "but a battle is absolutely necessary, -and I rely on the discipline of my troops." - -The two camps lay some five miles apart, the ground between them -consisting of a plain of varying breadth confined between a chain -of woods and the Danube. This plain is cut by a succession of -streams running down at right angles to the Danube, no fewer than -three crossing the line of the march between the Kessel and the -French position. The first of these, the Reichen, cuts a ravine -through which the road passed close to the village of Dapfheim; -and Marlborough, seeing that at this point the enemy could greatly -embarrass his advance, sent forward pioneers to level the ravine, -and occupied the village with two brigades of British and Hessian -infantry. - -Meanwhile the enemy entered their camp, Tallard taking up his -quarters on the right, Marsin in the centre, and the Elector of -Bavaria on the left. Tallard's force consisted of thirty-six -battalions and forty-four squadrons of the best troops of France, -his colleague's of forty-six battalions and one hundred and eight -squadrons; yet notwithstanding this unequal distribution of the -cavalry, the force was encamped not as one army but as two. The -rule that infantry should be massed in the centre and the cavalry -divided on each wing was followed, not for the entire host, but -for each army independently. Thus the centre was made up of the -cavalry of both armies without unity of command; the infantry -was distributed on each flank of it; and on each flank of the -infantry was yet another body of cavalry. Yet it was an axiom in -those days that an army which ran the least risk of an engagement -should be encamped as nearly as possible according to the probable -disposition for action. This violation of rules was not unperceived -by Marlborough. - -The camp itself was situated at the top of an almost imperceptible -slope, which descends for a mile, without affording the slightest -cover, to a brook called the Nebel. Its right rested on the -village of Blenheim, little more than a furlong from the Danube; -and here were Tallard's headquarters. The village having an -extended front, and being covered by hedges and palisades, could -easily be converted into a strong position. Half a mile above it a -little boggy rivulet, called the Maulweyer, which was destined to -play an important part in the next day's work, rises and flows down -through the village to the Danube. About two miles up the Nebel -from Blenheim, but on the opposite or left bank of the stream, -stands the village of Unterglau; and a mile above this, on the -same side of the stream as Blenheim, and about a hundred yards -from the water, is another village called Oberglau. This Oberglau -was the centre of the position, and Marsin's headquarters. A mile -upward from Oberglau is another village, Lutzingen, resting on -wooded country much broken by ravines. Here were the Elector's -headquarters and the extreme left of the enemy's position. The -Nebel, though no more than four yards broad at its mouth, was a -troublesome obstacle, its borders being marshy, especially between -Oberglau and Blenheim, and in many places impassable. Below -Unterglau this swampy margin extended for a considerable breadth, -while opposite Blenheim the stream parted in twain and flowed on -each side of a small boggy islet. At the head of this islet was -a stone bridge, over which ran the great road from Donauwörth to -Dillingen. This had been broken down, or at least damaged, by -Tallard; but herewith had ended his measures for obstructing the -passage of the Nebel. - -[Sidenote: - - 2 - August --. - 13 -] - -At two o'clock on the morrow morning, amid dense white mist, -the army of the Allies broke up its camp, and passed the Kessel -in eight columns, the two outermost on each flank consisting -of cavalry, the four innermost of infantry. For this day the -stereotyped formation was to be reversed; the cavalry was to form -the centre and the infantry the wings. On reaching Tapfheim the -army halted, and the two outlying brigades, reinforced by eleven -more battalions as well as by cavalry, formed a ninth column on -the extreme left, to cover the march of the artillery along the -great road and in due time to attack Blenheim. The new column was -conspicuous from the red-coats of fourteen British battalions, with -Cutts the Salamander at its head. - -Then Marlborough, who commanded on the left, directed his generals -to occupy the ground from the Danube to Oberglau, while Eugene's -should prolong the line from Oberglau upwards to Lutzingen. The -columns resumed the advance, spreading out like the sticks of a -fan, wider and wider, as the Imperial troops streamed away to their -appointed positions on the right. Fifty-two thousand men in all -were tramping forward, and fifty-two guns groaning and creaking -after them. Far in advance of all Marlborough and Eugene pushed on -with a strong escort. At six o'clock they met and drove back the -French advanced posts, and at seven they were on high ground within -a mile of the Nebel and in full view of the enemy's camp. - -Meanwhile Marshal Tallard was taking things at his ease, and had -dispersed his cavalry to gather forage. Even while his vedettes -were falling back before Marlborough's escort, he was calmly -writing that the enemy had turned out early and was almost -certainly on the march for Nördlingen. The morning was foggy, no -uncommon thing on the banks of great and marshy rivers, and a -dangerous enemy was within striking distance; yet no precautions -had been taken against surprise. Then at seven o'clock the fog -rolled away, and there, in great streaks of blue and white and -scarlet, were the allied columns in full view, preparing to deploy -on the other side of the Nebel. Presently the village of Unterglau -and two mills farther down the stream burst into smoke and flame, -and the outlying posts of the French came hurrying back across -the stream. Then all was hurry and confusion in the French camp. -Staff-officers flew off in all directions with orders, signal-guns -brought the foragers galloping back, drums beat the assembly from -end to end of the line, and the troops fell in hastily before their -tents. - -Tallard's eyesight was very defective, but he had no difficulty in -making out the red coats of Cutts's column, and he knew by this -time that where the British were, there the heaviest fighting was -to be expected. He therefore lost no time in occupying Blenheim. -Four regiments of French dragoons trotted down to seal up the -space between the village and the Danube, and presently almost -the entire mass of the infantry faced to the right, and the white -coats began striding away towards Blenheim itself. Eight squadrons -of horse in scarlet, easily recognisable by Marlborough as the -Gendarmerie, began Tallard's first line leftward from the village, -and other squadrons presently prolonged it to Marsin's right wing. -More cavalry supported these in a second line, together with nine -battalions, which, being raw regiments, were not trusted to stand -in the first line. Then the artillery came forward into position, -ninety pieces in all, French and Bavarian. Four twenty-four -pounders were posted before Blenheim, while a chain of batteries -covered the line from end to end. - -These dispositions completed, Tallard galloped off to the left, -for Marsin had never yet commanded more than five hundred men in -the field. Marsin's cavalry was already drawn up in two lines; his -infantry and the Elector's was in rear of Oberglau and to the left -of it, and the village itself was strongly occupied. Beyond this -the left wing of cavalry stood in front of Lutzingen, and beyond -them again a few battalions doubled back _en potence_ protected the -Elector's extreme left flank. - -Marlborough on his side was equally busy. Blenheim and Oberglau -were, as he saw, too far apart to cover the whole of the -intervening ground with a cross-fire, and the French cavalry on -the slope above were too remote to bar the passage of the Nebel. -Officers were sent down to sound the stream, the stone bridge was -repaired, and five pontoon bridges were laid, one above Unterglau, -the rest below it. Cutts formed his column into six lines, the -first of Row's British brigade, the second of Hessians, the third -of Ferguson's British brigade, and the fourth of Hanoverians, -with two more lines in reserve. The four remaining columns of -Marlborough's army were deployed between Wilheim and Oberglau in -four lines, the first and fourth of infantry, with two lines of -cavalry between them. The French esteemed this a "bizarre"[310] -formation, but they understood its purport before the day was over. - -At eight o'clock Tallard's batteries opened fire, though with -little effect. Eugene thereupon took leave of Marlborough and -hurried away to the right, while the Duke occupied himself with -the posting of his artillery, every gun of which was stationed -under his own eye. The chaplains came forward to the heads of -the regiments and read prayers; and then the Duke mounted and -rode down the whole length of his line. As he passed a round shot -struck the ground under his horse and covered him with dust. For -a moment every man held his breath, but in a few seconds the calm -figure with the red coat and the broad blue ribbon reappeared, the -horse moving slowly and quietly as before, and the handsome face -unchangeably serene. - -The inspection over, the Duke dismounted and waited till Eugene -should be ready. The delay was long, and messenger after messenger -was despatched to ask the cause. The answer came that the ground on -the right was so much broken by wood and ravine that the columns -had been compelled to make a long detour, and that formation had -been hampered by the fire of the enemy's artillery as well as by -the necessity for altering preconcerted dispositions. Marlborough -waited with impatience, for, whether he hoped to carry Blenheim or -not, every hour served to place it in a better state of defence. -The French dragoons by the river had entrenched themselves -behind a leaguer of waggons, and the infantry in the village had -turned every wall and hedge and house to good account. Moreover -Marlborough had seen how strong the garrison of Blenheim was, -having probably counted every one of the twenty-seven battalions -into it, and identified them by their colours as the finest in the -French army. - -At last, at half-past twelve, an aide-de-camp galloped up from -Eugene to say that all was ready. Cutts was instantly ordered to -attack Blenheim, while the Duke moved down towards the bridges -over the Nebel. By one o'clock Cutts's two leading lines were -crossing the stream by the ruins of the burnt mills under a heavy -fire of grape. On reaching the other side they halted to reform -under shelter of a slip of rising ground. There the Hessians -remained in reserve; and the First Guards, Tenth, Twenty-first, -Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth, with Brigadier Row on foot at -their head, advanced deliberately against Blenheim. They were -received at thirty paces distance by a deadly fire from the -French, but Row's orders were, that until he struck the palisades -not a shot must be fired, and that the village must be carried -with the steel. The British pressed resolutely on, Row struck his -sword into the palisades, and the men pouring in their volley -rushed forward, striving to drag down the pales by main strength -in the vain endeavour to force an entrance. In a few minutes a -third of the brigade had fallen, Row was mortally wounded, his -lieutenant-colonel and major were killed in the attempt to bring -him off, and the first line, shattered to pieces against a superior -force in a very strong position, fell back in disorder. As they -retired, three squadrons of the Gendarmerie swept down upon their -flank and seized the colours of the Twenty-first, but pursuing -their advantage too far were brought up by the Hessians, who -repulsed them with great gallantry and recaptured the colours. - -Cutts observing more of the Gendarmerie preparing to renew the -attack asked for a reinforcement of cavalry to protect his flank, -whereupon five English squadrons were ordered by General Lumley to -cross the Nebel. Floundering with the greatest difficulty through -the swamp, these were immediately confronted by the Gendarmerie, -who, however, with astonishing feebleness opened a fire of -musketoons from the saddle. The English promptly charged them sword -in hand and put them to flight, but pursuing as usual too far were -galled by the flank fire from Blenheim and compelled to retire. - -Cutts's two remaining lines now crossed the Nebel for a fresh -attack on Blenheim. The enemy had by this time brought forward -more artillery to sweep the fords with grape-shot, but the British -made good their footing on the opposite bank and compelled the -guns to retire. Then Ferguson's brigade advanced together with -Row's against the village once more, carried the outskirts, but -could penetrate no further in spite of several desperate attacks, -and were finally obliged to fall back with very heavy loss. The -subordinate generals would have thrown away more lives[311] had -not Marlborough given orders that the regiments should take up a -sheltered position and keep up a feigned attack by constant fire of -platoons. Then, withdrawing the Hanoverian brigade to the infantry -of the centre, the Duke turned the whole of his attention to that -quarter. - -During these futile attacks on Blenheim, the four lines of -Marlborough's main army were struggling with much difficulty across -the Nebel. The first line of infantry passed first, and drew up -at intervals to cover the passage of the cavalry; while eleven -battalions, under the Prince of Holstein-Beck, were detached to -carry the village of Oberglau. Then the cavalry filed down to the -stream, using fascines and every other means that they could devise -to help them through the treacherous miry ground. The British -cavalry had the hardest of the work, being on the extreme left, -and therefore not only confronted with the worst of the ground, -but exposed to the fire of the artillery at Blenheim. With immense -difficulty the squadrons extricated themselves and, with horses -blown and heated, was forming up in front of the infantry, when the -squadrons of the French right, fresh and favoured by the ground, -came down full upon them. The first line of the British was borne -back to the very edge of the stream, but the pursuit was checked -by the fire of the infantry. Then the Prussian General Bothmar -fell upon the disordered French with the second line of cavalry, -and drove them in confusion behind the Maulweyer. Reinforced by -additional squadrons he held the line of the rivulet and kept them -penned in behind it, for the French could not cross it, and dared -not pass round the head of it for fear of being charged in flank. -It was not until two battalions had been sent from Blenheim to ply -the allied squadrons with musketry that Bothmar retired, and some, -but not all, of the French cavalry on this side was released. - -Meanwhile General Lumley had rallied his broken troops, and the -squadrons further to the right had successfully crossed the Nebel. -Still further up the water the Danish and Hanoverian cavalry had -been put to the same trial as the British, being exposed to the -fire from Oberglau and to the charges of Marsin's horse. While the -combat was still swaying at this point the Prince of Holstein-Beck -delivered his attack on Oberglau. He was instantly met by a fierce -counterattack from the Irish Brigade, which was stationed in -the village. His two foremost battalions were cut to pieces, he -himself was mortally wounded, and affairs would have gone ill had -not Marlborough hastened up with fresh infantry and artillery, -and forced the enemy back into Oberglau. Thus the passage for the -central line of the allied cavalry was secured. - -It was now three o'clock; and Marlborough sent an aide-de-camp to -Eugene to ask how things fared with him. The Prince was holding -his own and no more. His infantry had behaved admirably, but his -horse had supported them but ill; and three consecutive attacks -though brilliantly begun had ended in failure. The fact was that -the Elector, with better judgment than Tallard, had moved his -troops down towards the water, and was straining every nerve to -prevent his enemy from crossing. Meanwhile Marlborough, having -at last brought the whole of his force across the Nebel, formed -the cavalry in two grand lines for the final attack, the infantry -being ranged at intervals to the left rear as rallying-points for -any broken squadron. Tallard, on his side, brought forward the -nine battalions of his centre from the second line to the first, a -disposition which was met by Marlborough by the advance of three -Hanoverian battalions and a battery of artillery. For a time these -young French infantry stood firm against the rain of great and -small shot, closing up their ranks as fast as they were broken; but -the trial was too severe for them. Tallard strove hard to relieve -them by a charge of the squadrons on their left, but his cavalry -would not move; and Marlborough's horse crashed into the hapless -battalions, cut them down by whole ranks, and swept them out of -existence. - -Then Tallard's sins found him out. The cavalry of Marsin's right, -seeing their flank exposed, swerved back upon Marsin's centre; a -wide gap was cut in the French line; and Tallard's army was left -isolated and alone. The marshal sent urgent messages to Marsin -for reinforcements, and to Blenheim for the withdrawal of the -infantry; but Marsin could not spare a man, and the order reached -Blenheim too late. Marlborough was riding along the ranks of his -cavalry from right to left, and presently the trumpets sounded -the charge, and the two long lines swept sword in hand up the -slope. The French stood firm for a brief space, and then, after -a feeble volley from the saddle, they broke, wheeled round upon -their supports, and carried all away with them in confusion. Thirty -squadrons fled wildly in rear of Blenheim towards the river. -General Hompesch's division of horse by the Duke's order brought up -their right shoulders and galloped after them; and the fugitives -in panic madness plunged down the slope towards the Danube. The -great river was before them, another stream and a swamp to their -right; and there was no escape. Some dashed into the water and -tried to swim away, others crept along the bank and over the morass -towards Hochstädt, others again broke back over the slope towards -Morselingen; but the relentless Hompesch left them no rest. Those -that reached Hochstädt found themselves cut off, for another -division of fugitives had fled thither straight from the field with -Marlborough himself hard at their heels. Hundreds were drowned, -hundreds were cut down, and a vast number taken prisoners. A few -only preserving some semblance of order made good their retreat. - -Meanwhile Marsin and the Elector, seeing the collapse of Tallard's -army, set fire to Oberglau and Lutzingen, and began their retreat, -with Eugene in full march after them. Marlborough thereupon -recalled Hompesch and prepared to break up this army also by a -flank attack; but in the dusk Eugene's troops were mistaken for the -enemy, so Marsin was permitted to escape, though with an army much -shaken and demoralised. But there were still the French battalions -in Blenheim, which Churchill, after the defeat of Tallard's -cavalry, had made haste to envelope with his infantry and dragoons. -Tallard had been captured while on his way to them, and the finest -troops of France were locked up in the village without orders of -any kind, helpless and inactive, and too much crowded together for -effective action. At last they tried to break out to the rear of -the village, but were headed back by the Scots Greys; they made -another attempt on the other side, and were checked by the Irish -Dragoons. Churchill was just about to attack them with infantry and -artillery in overwhelming force, when the French proposed a parley. -Churchill would hear of nothing but unconditional surrender. -Regiment Navarre in shame and indignation burnt its colours rather -than yield them, but there was no help for it; and twenty-four -battalions of infantry together with four regiments of dragoons -laid down their arms, many of them not having fired a shot. The -officers were stupefied by their misfortune, and could only -ejaculate "Oh, que dira le Roi, que dira le Roi!" Seldom has harder -fate overtaken brave men. - -The day was closing when Marlborough borrowed a leaf from a -commissary's pocket-book and wrote a note in pencil to his wife, -the message and the handwriting both those of a man who is quite -tired out. - - "_13th August 1704._ - - "I have not time to say more, but to beg you will give my duty to - the queen, and let her know her army has had a glorious victory, - Monsr. Tallard and two other generals are in my coach and I am - following the rest. The bearer, my aide-de-camp, Colonel Parke, - will give her an account of what has pass'd. I shall doe it in a - day or two by another more at large. - - "MARLBOROUGH." - -So Colonel Parke galloped away with the news to England, and the -broad Danube bore the same tale to the east as it rolled the -white-coated corpses in silence towards the sea. - -[Illustration: BLENHEIM - - 2^{nd} - Aug. ------ 1704 - 13^{th} - - _To face page 442_ -] - -The total loss of the Allies amounted to four thousand five -hundred killed and seven thousand five hundred wounded, of which -the British numbered six hundred and seventy killed and over -fifteen hundred wounded. No regimental list of the casualties -seems to exist, but judging from their loss in officers the Tenth, -Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-sixth regiments -of Foot, and the Third, Sixth, and Seventh Dragoon Guards were -the corps that suffered most severely--the Twenty-sixth in -particular losing twenty officers, the Carabiniers ten officers and -seventy-four horses, and the Seventh Dragoon Guards six officers -and seventy-five horses. But most remarkable, and perhaps most -splendid of all, is the record of the regiments which had been -so terribly shattered at the Schellenberg. The Guards lost -their colonel and seven other officers; the two battalions of -the Royal Scots lost twelve, and the Twenty-third nine officers, -notwithstanding that the former had already lost thirty and the -latter sixteen little more than a month before. Troops that will -stand such punishment as this twice within a few weeks are not to -be found in every army. - -The losses of the French and their allies in killed, wounded, and -prisoners, on the day of the battle and during the subsequent -pursuit, fell little short of forty thousand men. Marlborough -and Eugene divided eleven thousand prisoners, while the trophies -included one hundred guns of various calibres, twenty-four mortars, -one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one hundred and seventy-one -standards and other less important items, together, of course, with -the whole of the French camp. - -[Sidenote: - - 3 - August --. - 14 -] - -The Allies lay on their arms on the field during the night after -the battle, moved on for a short march on the morrow, and then -halted for four days. The troops were very greatly fatigued, and -Marlborough was much embarrassed by the multitude of his prisoners, -so the pursuit, if pursuit it can be called, was left to the -hussars of the Imperial Army. The Elector, however, needed no spur. -On the night of the battle he crossed the Danube at Lavingen, and -destroying the bridge behind him hurried back toward Ulm. Then, -without pausing for a moment or attempting to obtain aid from -Villeroy, he hastened on by forced marches, rather in flight than -retreat, through the Black Forest to the Rhine. The sufferings -of his troops were terrible. He had carried with him a thousand -wounded officers and six thousand wounded men; and there was not -a village on the line of march that had not its churchyard choked -with the graves of those that had succumbed. The Imperial hussars -too hung restlessly round his skirts, cutting off every straggler -and bringing back multitudes of prisoners and deserters. Altogether -it was a disastrous retreat. - -[Sidenote: - - 8 - August --. - 19 -] - -[Sidenote: - - August 28 - --------- - Sept. 8. -] - -On the 19th of August Marlborough resumed his march up the Danube, -having first recalled Prince Lewis of Baden from Ingolstadt, and -occupied Augsburg. On arrival at Ulm a force was detached to -besiege the town, while the main army marched back in three columns -by the line of its original advance. By the 8th of September the -whole force, strengthened by a reinforcement from Stollhofen, had -crossed the Rhine and was concentrated at Philipsburg. - -[Sidenote: - - 5 - Sept. --. - 16 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - Nov. --. - 23 -] - -Villeroy, who with his own army and the remains of the Elector's -had taken post in the Queich to cover Landau, now fell back without -pausing to the Lauter, very much to the relief of Marlborough, who -found it difficult to understand such feebleness even after such -a defeat as that of Blenheim. Landau was accordingly invested by -Prince Lewis of Baden, while Marlborough and Eugene covered the -operations. The siege lasted long, and in October Marlborough, -weary of such slow work, made a sudden spring upon Treves, gave -orders for the siege of Trarbach, and so secured his winter -quarters on the Moselle. The fall of Trarbach and the capture of -Landau closed the campaign; and the occupation of Consaarbrück at -the confluence of the Moselle and Saar showed what was to be the -starting-point for the next year. A full week before the fall of -Landau the English troops, so much weakened that their fourteen -battalions had been temporarily reorganised into seven, were sent -into winter quarters for the rest that they had earned so well. - -Thus ended the famous campaign of Blenheim, a name which is -rightly grouped with Creçy, Poitiers, Agincourt, and Waterloo. -For well-nigh forty years the French arms had triumphed in every -quarter of Europe, checked indeed by an occasional reverse, such as -that of Namur, but by no failure that could be counted against the -long succession of victories. But now an English general had rudely -broken the chain of successes by a crushing defeat, with every -circumstance of humiliation. First, the French marshals had been -wholly outwitted by Marlborough's march to the Danube. Next, when -they approached him it was without an idea of offering battle, but -in full confidence that their manœuvres, added to their superior -numbers, would compel him to withdraw. Yet to their astonishment -the despised enemy had attacked them without hesitation, utterly -destroyed one complete army and driven the relics of another in -headlong flight to the Rhine. The dismay in Paris was profound; -but mighty was the exultation in England, for the nation felt that -the old traditions were right after all, and that the English were -still better men than the French.[312] "Welcome to England, Sir," -said an English butcher to Tallard, as the captured marshal was -escorted with every mark of respect into Nottingham. "Welcome to -England. I hope to see your master here next year." It was the -revival of this feeling in all its old intensity, after a pause of -nearly three centuries, that was to win for England her empire in -East and West. - -Yet amid all the noise of triumph and jubilation there were two men -who preserved their modesty and tranquillity unmoved; and these -were Marlborough and Eugene. Each quietly disclaimed credit for -himself, each eagerly welcomed praise for the other. The French -prisoners were comforted by Eugene's testimony to their gallant -resistance to his own army, while even the unfortunate officers -who had been swept into the net in the village of Blenheim found -consolation in the thoughtful and generous courtesy of the great -Duke. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - - -[Sidenote: 1704.] - -Our attention is now claimed for a time by the Peninsula, where the -War of the Spanish Succession was to be carried forward on Spanish -soil. In January 1704 the Imperial claimant to the throne, the -Archduke Charles of Austria, otherwise King Charles the Third of -Spain, arrived in England, and was sent away with an English fleet -and an English army to possess himself of his kingdom. Portugal -had offered to help him with twenty-eight thousand men, to which -the Dutch had added two thousand under General Fagel, and the -British six thousand five hundred men,[313] under Mainhard, Duke -of Schomberg, a son of the old marshal. The campaign of 1704 need -not detain us. It was speedily found that the Portuguese army was -ill-equipped and inefficient, the magazines empty, the fortresses -in ruins, the transport not in existence. To add to these -shortcomings, Schomberg and Fagel quarrelled so bitterly that they -went off, each with his own troops, in two different directions. - -The result might have been foreseen. King Philip, sometime Duke of -Anjou, and the Duke of Berwick with twelve thousand French, marched -down to the fortresses on the Portuguese frontier, and took them -one after another without difficulty. So ready and eager were the -Portuguese to surrender these strongholds that they made over not -only themselves as prisoners of war, but also to their extreme -indignation two British regiments, the Ninth and Eleventh Foot, -which had the misfortune to be in garrison with them. Marlborough, -in all the press of his work on the Danube, was called upon to -nominate a successor to the incompetent Schomberg and selected -the Huguenot Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, for the post. With this -appointment we may for the present take leave of the Peninsula. - -[Sidenote: - - July 26 - -------- - August 6. -] - -Meanwhile, however, the fleet under Sir George Rooke, and a handful -of marines under Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt, brought a new -and unexpected possession to England by the surprise of Gibraltar, -which, though captured for King Charles the Third, was kept for -Queen Anne. The intrinsic value of the Rock in those days was -small, and its value as a military position was little understood -in England; but it was at any rate a capture and very soon it -became a centre of sentiment. - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 23 - --------- - October 4. -] - -After the surrender of Gibraltar the fleet sailed away, leaving -Prince George with a good store of provisions and about two -thousand men to hold it. These troops, though now numbered the -Fourth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-second of the Line, were at that -time Marines, a corps which, despite brilliant and incessant -service by sea and land in all parts of the world, still contents -itself with the outward record of a single name, Gibraltar. Prince -George lost no time in repairing the fortifications, and with good -reason, for at the end of August a Spanish force of eight thousand -men marched down to the isthmus, while a month later four thousand -Frenchmen were disembarked at the head of the bay. These joint -forces then began the siege of Gibraltar. - -[Sidenote: December.] - -The operations were pushed forward with great vigour, and the -besieged were soon hard beset. At the end of October Admiral -Leake contrived to throw stores and a couple of hundred men on -to the Rock, together with an officer of engineers, one Captain -Joseph Bennett, whose energy and ability were of priceless value. -The siege dragged on for another month, the British repulsing -an attack from the eastern side with heavy loss; but by the -end of November the garrison had dwindled to one thousand men, -exhausted by the fatigue of incessant duty. At last, in the middle -of December a stronger reinforcement of two thousand men,[314] -having first narrowly escaped capture by a French fleet, was -successfully landed on the Rock; and then Prince George turned upon -the besiegers, and by a succession of brilliant sorties almost -paralysed further progress on their side. - -[Sidenote: 1705.] - -[Sidenote: - - Jan. 27 - ------- - Feb. 7. -] - -In the middle of January, however, a reinforcement of four thousand -men reached the enemy's camp; their batteries renewed their fire, -and a great breach was made in the Round Tower, which formed one -of the principal defences on the western side. On the morning of -the 27th an assault was delivered, and thirteen hundred men swarmed -up to the attack of the Round Tower. They were met by a brave -resistance by one-fifth of their number of British, but after a -severe struggle they overpowered them, drove them out, and pressed -on to gain possession of a gate leading into the main fortress. -There, however, they were checked by a handful of Seymour's -Marines,[315] just seventeen men, under Captain Fisher. Few though -they were, this gallant little band held its own, until the arrival -of some of the Thirteenth and of the Coldstream Guards enabled them -to force the enemy back and drive them headlong out of the Round -Tower. - -[Sidenote: - - 10 - March --. - 21 -] - -This brilliant little affair marked practically the close of -the siege. Further reinforcements arrived for the garrison, and -Marshal Tessé, who had taken command of the siege, fell back on -the bombardment of the town, which was speedily laid in ruins. -The advent of a French squadron seemed likely at one moment to -hearten the besiegers to renewed efforts, but Bennett, who ever -since his arrival had been the soul of the defence, had by that -time constructed fresh batteries and was fully prepared. Finally, -in March Admiral Leake's fleet appeared on the scene, destroyed a -third of the French squadron, and definitely relieved the fortress. -By the middle of April the last of the Frenchmen had disappeared -and Gibraltar was safe. Though the scale of the operations may seem -small the siege had cost the enemy no fewer than twelve thousand -men. - -[Sidenote: 1704.] - -[Sidenote: 1705.] - -Meanwhile Parliament had met on the 29th of the previous October, -full of congratulations to the Queen on the triumphs of the -past campaign. There were not wanting, of course, men who, in -the madness of faction, doubted whether Blenheim were really a -victory, for the very remarkable reason that Marlborough had won -it, but they were soon silenced by the retort that the King of -France at any rate had no doubts on the point.[316] The plans for -the next campaign were designed on a large scale, and were likely -to strain the resources of the Army to the uttermost. The West -Indies demanded six battalions and Gibraltar three battalions for -garrison; Portugal claimed ten thousand men, Flanders from twenty -to twenty-five thousand; while besides this a design was on foot, -as shall presently be seen, for the further relief of Portugal by -a diversion in Catalonia. Five millions were cheerfully voted for -the support of the war, and six new battalions were raised, namely, -Wynne's, Bretton's, Lepell's, Soames's, Sir Charles Hotham's, and -Lillingston's, the last of which alone has survived to our day with -the rank of the Thirty-eighth of the Line.[317] - -[Illustration: GIBRALTAR - -1705 - -_From a contemporary Plan by Col. D'Harcourt_ - - _To face page 450_ -] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - May --. - 26 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 6 - June --. - 17 -] - -Marlborough's plan of campaign had been sufficiently -foreshadowed at the close of the previous year, namely, to -advance on the line of the Moselle and carry the war into Lorraine. -The Emperor and all the German Princes promised to be in the field -early, the Dutch were with infinite difficulty persuaded to give -their consent, and after much vexatious delay Marlborough joined -his army at Treves on the 26th of May. Here he waited until the -17th of June for the arrival of the German and Imperial troops. -Not a man nor a horse appeared. In deep chagrin he broke up his -camp and returned to the Meuse, having lost, as he said, one of the -fairest opportunities in the world through the faithlessness of his -allies.[318] - -[Sidenote: May 21.] - -[Sidenote: - - 14 - June --. - 25 -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 21 - ------- - July 2. -] - -His presence was sorely needed on the Meuse. Villeroy, who -commanded the French in Flanders, finding no occasion for his -presence on the Moselle, had moved out of his lines, captured -Huy, and then marching on to Liège had invested the citadel. The -States-General in a panic of fright urged Marlborough to return -without delay, and Overkirk, who commanded the Dutch on the Meuse, -added his entreaties to theirs. Marlborough, when once he had made -up his mind to move, never moved slowly, and by the 25th of June -he was at Düren, to the eastward of Aix-la-Chapelle. Here he was -still the best part of forty miles from the Meuse, but that was too -near for Villeroy, who at once abandoned Liège and fell back on -Tongres. Marlborough, continuing his advance, crossed the Meuse at -Visé on the 2nd of July, and on the same day united his army with -Overkirk's at Haneff on the Upper Jaar. Villeroy thereupon retired -ignominiously within his fortified lines. - -These lines, which had been making during the past three years, -were now complete. They started from the Meuse a little to the -east of Namur, passed from thence to the Mehaigne and the Little -Geete, followed the Little Geete along its left bank to Leuw and -thence along the Great Geete to the Demer; from thence they ran -up the Demer as far as Arschot, from which point a new line of -entrenchments carried the barrier through Lierre to Antwerp. Near -Antwerp Marlborough had already had to do with these lines in 1703, -but hitherto he had made no attempt to force them. Villeroy and the -Elector of Bavaria now lay before him with seventy thousand men, a -force superior to his own, but necessarily spread over a wide front -for the protection of the entrenchments. The marshal's headquarters -were at Meerdorp, in the space between the Geete and the Mehaigne, -which he probably regarded as a weak point. Marlborough posted -himself over against him at Lens-les-Beguines, detaching a small -force to re-capture Huy while Overkirk with the Dutch army covered -the siege from Vignamont. Thus, as if daring the French to take -advantage of the dispersion of his army, he quietly laid his plans -for forcing the lines. - -The point that he selected was on the Little Geete between Elixheim -and Neerhespen, exactly in rear of the battlefield of Landen. The -abrupt and slippery banks of the river, which the English knew but -too well, together with the entrenchments beyond it, presented -extraordinary difficulties, but the lines were on that account -the less likely to be well guarded at that particular point. -Marlborough had already obtained the leave of the States-General -for the project, but he had now the far more difficult task of -gaining the consent of the Dutch generals at a Council of War. -Slangenberg and others opposed the scheme vehemently, but were -overruled; and the Duke was at length at liberty to fall to work. - -[Sidenote: - - June 30 - -------- - July 11. -] - -[Sidenote: July.] - -Huy fell on the 11th of July, but to the general surprise the -besieging force was not recalled. Six days later Overkirk and -the covering army crossed the Mehaigne from Vignamont and pushed -forward detachments to the very edge of the lines between Meffle -and Namur. Villeroy fell into the trap, withdrew troops from -all parts of the lines and concentrated forty thousand men at -Meerdorp. Marlborough then recalled the troops from Huy, and made -them up to a total of about eight thousand men, both cavalry and -infantry,[319] the whole being under the command of the Count of -Noyelles. The utmost secrecy was observed in every particular. The -corps composing the detachment knew nothing of each other, and -nothing of the work before them; and, lest the sight of fascines -should suggest an attack on entrenchments, these were dispensed -with, the troopers only at the last moment receiving orders to -carry each a truss of forage on the saddle before them. - -[Sidenote: - - 6 - July --. - 17 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 6-7 - July -----. - 17-18 -] - -At tattoo the detachment fell in silently before the camp of the -right wing, and at nine o'clock moved off without a sound in two -columns, the one upon Neerhespen, the other upon the Castle of -Wange before Elixheim. An hour later the rest of the army followed, -while at the same time Overkirk, under cover of the darkness, -crossed the Mehaigne at Tourines and joined his van to the rear -of Marlborough's army. The distance to be traversed was from ten -to fifteen miles; the night though dry was dark; and the guides, -frequently at fault, were fain to direct themselves by the trusses -dropped on the way by the advanced detachment. Twelve years before -to the very day a French army had toiled along the same route, -wearied out and stifled by the sun, and only kept to its task by -an ugly little hunch-backed man whom it had reverenced as Marshal -Luxemburg. Now English and Dutch were blundering on to take revenge -for Luxemburg's victory at the close of that march. The hours -fled on, the light began to break, and the army found itself on -the field of Landen, William's entrenchment grass-grown before -it, Neerwinden and Laer lying silent to the left, and before the -villages the mound that hid the corpses of the dead. Then some at -least of the soldiers knew the work that lay before them. - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - July --. - 18 -] - -At four o'clock the heads of the columns halted within a mile of -the Geete, wrapped in a thick mist and hidden from the eye of -the enemy. The advanced detachment quickly cleared the villages -by the river, seized the bridge before the Castle of Wanghe, -which had not been broken down, and drove out the garrison of -the Castle itself. Then the pontoniers came forward to lay their -bridges; but the infantry would not wait for them. They scrambled -impatiently through hedges and over bogs, down one steep bank of -the river and up the other, into the ditch beyond, and finally, -breathless and dripping, over the rampart into the lines. So -numerous were the hot-heads who thus broke in that they forced -three regiments of French dragoons to retire before them without -attempting resistance. Then the cavalry of the detachment began -to file rapidly over the pontoon-bridges; but meanwhile the alarm -had been given, and before the main army could cross, the French -came down in force from the north, some twenty battalions and forty -squadrons, in all close on fifteen thousand men, with a battery of -eight guns. - -[Illustration: LINES OF THE GEETE. - - 7 - July -- 1705. - 18 - - _To face page 454_ -] - -The enemy advanced rapidly, their cavalry leading, until checked -by a hollow way which lay between them and the Allies, where -they halted to deploy. Marlborough took in the whole situation -at a glance. Forming his thirty-eight squadrons into two lines, -with the first line composed entirely of British, he led them -across the hollow way and charged the French sword in hand. They -answered by a feeble fire from the saddle and broke in confusion, -but presently rallying fell in counter-attack upon the British -and broke them in their turn. Marlborough, who was riding on the -flank, was cut off and left isolated with his trumpeter and groom. -A Frenchman galloped up and aimed at him so furious a blow that, -failing to strike him, he fell from his horse and was captured by -the trumpeter. Then the allied squadrons rallied, and charging the -French once more broke them past all reforming and captured the -guns. The French infantry now retired very steadily in square, -and the Duke sent urgent messages for his own foot. But by some -mistake the battalions had been halted after crossing the Geete, so -that the French were able to make good their retreat. - -By this time Villeroy, who had spent the night in anxious -expectation of an attack at Meerdorp, had hurried up with his -cavalry, only to find that the Duke was master of the lines. -Hastily giving orders for his scattered troops to pass the Geete -at Judoigne he began his retreat upon Louvain. Presently up came -Marlborough's infantry at an extraordinary pace, the men as fresh -and lively after fifteen hours of fatigue as if they had just left -camp. The Duke was anxious to follow up his success forthwith, a -movement which the French had good reason to dread, but the Dutch -generals opposed him, and Marlborough was reluctantly constrained -to yield. The loss of the French seems to have been about two -thousand men, most of them prisoners, a score of standards and -colours, of which the Fifth Dragoon Guards claimed four as their -own, and eighteen guns, eight of which were triple-barrelled and -were sent across the Channel to be copied in England.[320] - -[Sidenote: - - 8 - July --. - 19 -] - -The Allies halted for the night at Tirlemont, and advancing next -day upon Louvain struck against the rear of the French columns -and captured fifteen hundred prisoners. That night they encamped -within a mile to the east of Louvain, while the French, once again -distributing their force along a wider front, lined the left bank -of the Dyle from the Demer to the Yssche, with their centre at -Louvain. Marlborough had hoped to push in at once, but he was -stopped by heavy rains that rendered the Dyle impassable; and it -was not until ten days later that, after infinite trouble with the -Dutch, he was able to pursue his design. - -[Sidenote: - - 18 - July --. - 29 -] - -The operations for the passage of the Dyle were conducted in much -the same way as in the forcing of the lines. An advanced detachment -was pushed forward from each wing of the army, that from the right -or English[321] flank being appointed to cross the river under -the Duke of Würtemberg at Corbeek Dyle, that from the left under -General Heukelom to pass it at Neeryssche. The detachments fell in -at five in the evening, reached their appointed destination at ten, -and effected their passage with perfect success. The main bodies -started at midnight, and went somewhat astray in the darkness, -though by three o'clock the Dutch army was within supporting -distance of its detachment and the British rapidly approaching -it. The river had been in fact forced, when suddenly the Dutch -generals halted their main body. Marlborough rode up to inquire -the cause, and was at once taken aside by Slangenberg. "For God's -sake, my Lord--" began the Dutchman vehemently, and continued to -protest with violent gesticulations. No sooner was Marlborough's -back turned than the Dutch generals, like a parcel of naughty -schoolboys, recalled Heukelom's detachment. Thus the passage won -with so much skill was for no cause whatever abandoned, without -loss indeed, but also not without mischievous encouragement to the -French, who boasted loudly that they had repulsed their redoubtable -adversary. - -[Sidenote: - - 5 - August --. - 16 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 6 - August --. - 17 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - August --. - 19 -] - -Deeply hurt and annoyed though he was, the Duke, with miraculous -patience, excused in his public despatches the treachery and -imbecility which had thwarted him, and prepared to effect his -purpose in another way. His movements were hastened by news that -French reinforcements, set free by the culpable inaction of Prince -Lewis of Baden, were on their way from Alsace. Unable to pass the -Dyle he turned its head-waters at Genappe, and wheeling north -towards the forest of Soignies encamped between La Hulpe and Braine -l'Alleud.[322] The French at once took the alarm and posted -themselves behind the river Yssche, with their left at Neeryssche, -and their right at Overyssche resting on the forest of Soignies. -Marlborough at once resolved to force the passage of the river. On -the evening of the 17th of August he detached his brother Churchill -with ten thousand foot and two thousand horse to advance through -the forest and turn the French right; while he himself marched -away at daybreak with the rest of the army and emerged into the -plain between the Yssche and the Lasne. The Duke quickly found two -assailable points, and choosing that of Overyssche, halted the -army pending the arrival of the artillery. The guns were long in -arriving, Slangenberg having insisted, despite the Duke's express -instructions, on forcing his own baggage into the column for the -express purpose of causing delay. At last about noon the artillery -appeared, and Marlborough asked formal permission of the Dutch -deputies to attack. To his surprise, although Overkirk had already -consented, they claimed to consult their generals. Slangenberg -with every mark of insolence condemned the project as murder and -massacre, the rest solemnly debated the matter for another two -hours, the auspicious moment passed away exactly as they intended, -and another great opportunity was lost. The French reinforcements -arrived, and having been the weaker became the stronger force. -Nothing more could be done for the rest of the campaign, but to -level the French lines from the Demer to the Mehaigne. - -Thus for the third time a brilliant campaign was spoilt by the -Dutch generals and deputies. Fortunately the public indignation -both in England and in Holland was too strong for them, and -Slangenberg, though not indeed hanged as he deserved, was deprived -of all further command. Jealousy, timidity, ignorance, treachery, -and flat imbecility seem to have been the motives that inspired -these men, whose conduct has never been reprobated according to -its demerit. It was they who were responsible for the prolongation -of the war, for the burden that it laid on England, and for -the untold misery that it wrought in France. Left to himself -Marlborough would have forced the French to peace in three -campaigns, and the war would not have been ended in shame and -disgrace by the Treaty of Utrecht.[323] - -Consolation for the disappointment in Flanders came from an -unexpected quarter. In Portugal, indeed, comparatively little was -done. An army was made up of about three thousand British[324] -under Lord Galway, two thousand Dutch under General Fagel, and -twelve thousand Portuguese under the Spanish General de Corsana; -and to avoid friction it was arranged that these three generals -should hold command alternately for a week at a time. In such -circumstances it was surprising that they should even have -accomplished the siege and capture of three weak fortresses, -Valenza, Albuquerque, and Badajoz, with which achievements the -campaign came to an end.[325] - -[Sidenote: - - 9 - June --. - 20 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - August --. - 23 -] - -But in Catalonia the operations were of a more brilliant kind. -The Catalans were known to favour the Austrian side; and it was -accordingly resolved in this year to send a fleet and an army to -back them under Admiral Leake and Lord Peterborough, the latter -to be joint admiral at sea as well as commander-in-chief ashore. -The character of Peterborough is one of the riddles of history. He -was now forty years of age, and had so far distinguished himself -chiefly by general eccentricity, not always of a harmless kind, -and, in common with most prominent men of his age, by remarkable -pliancy of principle. His experience of active service was slight -and had been gained afloat rather than ashore, and though he had -long held the colonelcy of a regiment, he had never commanded in -war nor in peace. His force consisted of six British[326] and four -Dutch battalions, or about six thousand five hundred men in all. -The expedition arrived at Lisbon early in June, when after some -delay it was decided that the fleet should proceed to Barcelona. -Galway lent his two regiments of dragoons, the Royals and the -Eighth; and with them Peterborough sailed to Gibraltar, where he -picked up the eight battalions[327] of the garrison, leaving two of -his own in their place, and proceeded to his destination. On the -way up the Spanish coast a detachment was landed to capture Denia, -and on the 23rd of August the main force was disembarked before -Barcelona and took up a position to the north-east of the town -with its left flank resting on the sea. - -[Sidenote: - - 2 - Sept. --. - 13 -] - -The reports sent to England had represented Barcelona as -ill-fortified and ill-garrisoned. Ill-fortified it may have been -if compared with a creation of Vauban or Cohorn, but it was none -the less a formidable fortress, well stocked with supplies and -garrisoned by seven thousand troops under an energetic governor, by -name Velasco. Peterborough, who grasped the situation, wished to -abandon the project of a regular siege for operations of a livelier -kind, but was prevailed upon to give it a trial for eighteen days, -at the close of which he ordered the re-embarkation of the army. He -was, however, again induced to change his mind, and then suddenly, -on the evening of the 13th of September, he produced an original -scheme of his own. - -About three-quarters of a mile to south-west of Barcelona stood the -small fort of Montjuich, crowning a hill seven hundred feet above -the fortress, strong by nature and strengthened still further by -outworks, which though incomplete were none the less formidable. -This Peterborough resolved to capture by escalade. Not a word was -said to the men of the work before them. No further orders were -issued than that twelve hundred English and two hundred Dutch -should be ready in the afternoon to march towards Tarragona, -while thirteen hundred men under Brigadier Stanhope were secretly -detailed to cover the rear of the assaulting columns from any -attack from Barcelona. At six o'clock the attacking force moved off -under Lord Charlemont towards the north-west, continuing the march -in this false direction for four hours, till Peterborough at last -gave the order to turn about to southward. The night was dark, and -much of the ground so rocky as to show no track, so that when the -columns at length came up before Montjuich one complete body of two -hundred was found to be missing, having evidently strayed away from -the path of the remainder. - -[Sidenote: - - 3 - Sept. --. - 14 -] - -Half the force however was told off for simultaneous assault on -the eastern and western extremities of the fort, Peterborough and -Prince George of Hessen-Darmstadt accompanying the eastern column, -which, since it was expected to meet with the sternest of the work, -was made the stronger. The other moiety of the troops was held in -reserve between the two columns. A little after daybreak the signal -was given; the storming parties dashed up the glacis under a heavy -and destructive fire, and plunging in among the enemy drove them -headlong from the outworks. Following the fugitives in hot pursuit -Peterborough and Prince George captured the eastern bastion of the -fort itself, threw up a barricade of loose stones in the gorge and -entrenched themselves behind it. The western attack had met with -equal success, and had likewise entrenched itself in a demi-bastion -in that flank of the fort. Both parties being thus under cover the -fire ceased, and Peterborough sent orders to Stanhope to bring up -his reserve. - -Meanwhile the Governor of Barcelona, being in communication -with Montjuich, had at the sound of the firing despatched four -hundred dragoons in all haste to reinforce the garrison. As they -entered the fort they were received with loud shouts of welcome -by the Spanish. Prince George, mistaking the sound for a cry -of surrender, at once started up and advanced with all his men -into the inner works. They were no sooner in the ditch than the -Spaniards swept round them to cut them off. Two hundred were taken -prisoners, Prince George fell mortally wounded, and the rest fell -back in confusion. This was a severe blow; but worse was to come. -Peterborough hearing that fresh reinforcements were on their way -to the enemy from Barcelona, rode out of the bastion to look for -himself, and no sooner was he gone than the troops were seized with -panic. Lord Charlemont was powerless to check it; and in a few -minutes the whole of the men, with Charlemont at their head, came -running with unseemly haste out of the captured position. - -They had not run far when up galloped Peterborough in a frenzy -of rage. What he said no writer has dared to set down; but he -snatched Charlemont's half-pike from his hand and waved the men -back to the fort with a torrent of rebuke. Rallying instantly -they regained their post without the loss of a man before the -enemy had discovered their retreat; and the appearance of Stanhope -with the reserve presently banished all further idea of panic. -Meanwhile the Spanish reinforcements from Barcelona had met the -English prisoners, and learning from them that Peterborough and -Prince George were present in person before Montjuich, assumed -that the British were attacking in overwhelming force. They -therefore returned to Barcelona, leaving the fort to its fate. -Three days of bombardment sufficed to overcome the resistance of -the weakened garrison; and thus by a singular chapter of accidents -Peterborough's design proved to be a success, and Montjuich was -taken. - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 28 - --------- - October 9. -] - -The siege of Barcelona was then pushed forward in form, aided by -the guns of the fleet; and on the 9th of October the garrison -capitulated with the honours of war. A fortnight later King Charles -the Third made his public entry into the city; Peterborough -scattered dollars with a liberal hand, and all was merriment and -rejoicing. The picture would not be complete without the figure of -a drunken English grenadier, whose vagaries afforded inexhaustible -amusement to the populace;[328] but Peterborough was a -disciplinarian, and the troops as a whole behaved remarkably well. -Stanhope was at once sent home with the good news, and England -awoke to the fact that she possessed a second officer who, though -not to be named in the same breath with Marlborough, possessed a -natural, if eccentric, genius for war. - -[Illustration: BARCELONA - -1705. - - _To face page 462_ -] - -The capture of Barcelona, and the subsequent reduction of Tarragona -by the fleet, brought practically the whole of Catalonia to the -side of King Charles. But now further operations were checked by -lack of money and supplies. Peterborough, who saw the difficulty -of supporting a large force in the field, was for dividing his -little army into flying columns, and making good the deficiency of -numbers by extreme mobility; but he could not gain acceptance for -his views. He wrote piteous letters of his state of destitution, -reviling, as his custom was, all his colleagues and subordinates -with astonishing freedom. Very soon the troops in Barcelona -became so sickly that he was compelled to distribute them in the -fortresses of Catalonia, leaving further operations to the Catalan -guerillas. By the exertions of these last the close of the year -saw not only Catalonia but Valencia gained over, though on no very -certain footing, to the side of King Charles. So ended the first -serious campaign of the first Peninsular war. - - - - -CHAPTER V - - -[Sidenote: 1706.] - -It is now time to revert to England and to the preparations for -the campaign of 1706. Marlborough, as usual, directly that the -military operations were concluded, had been deputed to visit the -courts of Vienna and of sundry German states in order to keep the -Allies up to the necessary pitch of unity and energy. These duties -detained him in Germany and at the Hague until January 1706, when -he was at last able to return to England. There he met with far -less obstruction than in former years, but none the less with an -increasing burden of work. The vast extension of operations in -the Peninsula, and the general sickliness of the troops in that -quarter, demanded the enlistment of an usually large number of -recruits. One new regiment of dragoons and eleven new battalions -of foot were formed in the course of the spring, to which it was -necessary to add yet another battalion before the close of the -year.[329] Again the epidemic sickness among the horses in Flanders -had caused an extraordinary demand for horses. The Dutch, after -their wonted manner, had actually taken pains to prevent the supply -of horses to the British,[330] though, even if they had not, the -Duke had a prejudice in favour of English horses, as of English -men, as superior to any other. Finally, the stores of the Ordnance -were unequal to the constant drain of small arms, and it was -necessary to make good the deficiency by purchases from abroad. All -these difficulties and a thousand more were of course referred for -solution to Marlborough. - -[Sidenote: - - 14 - April --. - 25 -] - -When in April he crossed once more to the Hague he found a most -discouraging state of affairs. The Dutch were backward in their -preparations; Prussia and Hanover were recalcitrant over the -furnishing of their contingents; Prince Lewis of Baden was sulking -within his lines, refusing to communicate a word of his intentions -to any one; and everybody was ready with a separate plan of -campaign. The Emperor of course desired further operations in the -Moselle for his own relief; but after the experience of the last -campaign the Duke had wisely resolved never again to move eastward -to co-operate with the forces of the Empire. The Dutch for their -part wished to keep Marlborough in Flanders, where he should be -under the control of their deputies; but the imbecile caprice -of these worthies was little more to his taste than the sullen -jealousy of Baden. Marlborough himself was anxious to lead a force -to the help of Eugene in Italy, a scheme which, if executed, would -have carried the British to a great fighting ground with which they -are unfamiliar, the plains of Lombardy. He had almost persuaded the -States-General to approve of this plan, when all was changed by -Marshal Villars, who surprised Prince Lewis of Baden in his lines -on the Motter, and captured two important magazines. The Dutch at -once took fright and, in their anxiety to keep Marlborough for -their own defence, agreed to appoint deputies who should receive -rather than issue orders. So to the Duke's great disappointment -it was settled that the main theatre of war should once again be -Flanders. - -[Sidenote: - - 8 - May --. - 19 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 9 - May --. - 20 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - May --. - 22 -] - -Villeroy meanwhile lay safely entrenched in his position of the -preceding year behind the Dyle, from which Marlborough saw little -hope of enticing him. It is said that an agent was employed to -rouse Villeroy by telling him that the Duke, knowing that the -French were afraid to leave their entrenchments, would take -advantage of their inaction to capture Namur.[331] Be that as it -may, Villeroy resolved to quit the Dyle. He knew that the Prussian -and Hanoverian contingents had not yet joined Marlborough, and that -the Danish cavalry had refused to march to him until their wages -were paid; so that interest as well as injured pride prompted the -hazard of a general action. On the 19th of May, therefore, he left -his lines for Tirlemont on the Great Geete. Marlborough, who was -at Maestricht, saw with delight that the end, for which he had -not dared to hope, was accomplished. Hastily making arrangements -for the payment of the Danish troops, he concentrated the Dutch -and British at Bilsen on the Upper Demer, and moved southward to -Borchloen. Here the arrival of the Danes raised his total force to -sixty thousand men, a number but little inferior to that of the -enemy. On the very same day came the intelligence that Villeroy -had crossed the Great Geete and was moving on Judoigne. The Duke -resolved to advance forthwith and attack him there. - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - May --. - 23 -] - -At one o'clock in the morning, of Whitsunday the 23rd of May, -Quartermaster-General Cadogan rode forward from the headquarters -at Corswarem with six hundred horse and the camp-colours towards -the head of the Great Geete, to mark out a camp by the village of -Ramillies. The morning was wet and foggy, and it was not until -eight o'clock that, on ascending the heights of Merdorp, they dimly -descried troops in motion on the rolling ground before them. The -allied army had not marched until two hours later than Cadogan, but -Marlborough, who had ridden on in advance of it, presently came -up and pushed the cavalry forward through the mist. Then at ten -o'clock the clouds rolled away, revealing the whole of the French -army in full march towards them. - -Villeroy's eyes were rudely opened, for he had not expected -Marlborough before the following day; but he knew the ground well, -for he had been over it before with Luxemburg, and he proceeded to -take up a position which he had seen Luxemburg deliberately reject. -The table-land whereon he stood is the highest point in the plains -of Brabant. To his right flowed the Mehaigne; in his rear ran the -Great Geete; across his centre and left the Little Geete rose and -crept away sluggishly in marsh and swamp.[332] In his front lay -four villages: Taviers on the Mehaigne to his right, Ramillies, -less advanced than Taviers, on the source of the Little Geete to -his right centre, Offus parallel to Ramillies but lower down the -stream to his left centre, Autréglise or Anderkirch between two -branches of the Little Geete and parallel to Taviers to his left. -Along the concave line formed by these villages Villeroy drew up -his army in two lines facing due east. - -The Mehaigne, on which his right rested, is at ordinary times -a rapid stream little more than twelve feet wide, with a muddy -bottom, but is bordered by swampy meadows on both sides, which -are flooded after heavy rain. From this stream the ground rises -northward in a steady wave for about half a mile, sinks gradually -and rises into a higher wave at Ramillies, sinks once more -to northward of that village and rolls downward in a gentler -undulation to Autréglise. Between the Mehaigne and Ramillies, a -distance of about a mile and a half, the ground east and west -is broken by sundry hollows of sufficient inclination to offer -decided advantage or disadvantage in a combat of cavalry. A single -high knoll rises in the midst of these hollows, offering a place -of vantage from which Marlborough must almost certainly have -reconnoitred the disposition of the French right. The access to -Ramillies itself is steep and broken both to north and south, but -on the eastern front the ground rises to it for half a mile in a -gentle, unbroken slope, which modern rifles would make impassable -by the bravest troops. In rear, or to westward of the French -position, the table-land is clear and unbroken, and to the right -rear or south-west stands a mound or barrow called the tomb of -Ottomond, still conspicuous and still valuable as a key to the -actions of the day.[333] The full extent of the French front from -Taviers to Autréglise covered something over four miles. - -Having chosen his position, Villeroy lost no time in setting -his troops in order. His left, consisting of infantry backed by -cavalry,[334] extended from Autréglise to Offus, both of which -villages were strongly occupied. His centre from Offus to Ramillies -was likewise composed of infantry. On his right, in the expanse -of sound ground which stretches for a mile and a half from the -marshes of the Geete at Ramillies to those of the Mehaigne, were -massed more than one hundred and twenty squadrons of cavalry with -some battalions of infantry interlined with them, the famous French -Household Cavalry (Maison du Roi), being in the first line. The -left flank of this expanse was covered by the village of Ramillies, -which was surrounded by a ditch and defended by twenty battalions -and twenty-four guns. On the right flank not only Taviers but -Franquinay, a village still further in advance, were occupied by -detachments of infantry, while Taviers was further defended by -cannon. - -Marlborough quickly perceived the defects of Villeroy's -dispositions, which were not unlike those of Tallard at Blenheim. -Taviers was too remote from Ramillies for the maintenance of a -cross-fire of artillery. Again, the cavalry of the French left was -doubtless secure against attack behind the marshes of the Geete, -but for this very reason it was incapable of aggressive action. The -French right could therefore be turned, provided that it were not -further reinforced; and accordingly the Duke opened his manœuvres -by a demonstration against the French left. - -Presently the infantry of the allied right moved forward in two -lines towards Offus and Autréglise, marching in all the pomp and -circumstance of war, Dutch, Germans, and British, with the red -coats conspicuous on the extreme right flank. Striding forward to -the river they halted and seemed to be very busy in laying their -pontoons. Villeroy marked the mass of scarlet, and remembering its -usual place in the battlefield, instantly began to withdraw several -battalions from his right and centre to his left. Marlborough -watched the white coats streaming away to their new positions, and -after a time ordered the infantry of his right to fall back to -some heights in their rear. The two lines faced about and retired -accordingly over the height until the first line was out of sight. -Then the second line halted and faced about once more, crowning the -ascent with the well-known scarlet, while the first marched away -with all speed, under cover of the hill and unseen by the French, -to the opposite flank. Many British battalions[335] stood on that -height all day without moving a step or firing a shot, but none the -less paralysing the French left wing. - -About half-past one the guns of both armies opened fire, and -shortly afterwards four Dutch battalions were ordered forward -to carry Franquinay and Taviers, and twelve more to attack -Ramillies, while Overkirk advanced slowly on the left with the -cavalry. Franquinay was soon cleared; Taviers resisted stoutly -for a time but was carried, and a strong reinforcement on its way -to the village was intercepted and cut to pieces. Then Overkirk, -his left flank being now cleared, pushed forward his horse and -charged. The Dutch routed the first French line, but were driven -back in confusion by the second; and the victorious French were -only checked by the advance of fresh squadrons under Marlborough -himself. Even so the Allies were at a decided disadvantage; and -Marlborough, after despatching messengers to bring up every -squadron, except the British, to the left, plunged into the thick -of the melée to rally the broken horse. He was recognised by some -French dragoons, who left their ranks to surround him, and in -the general confusion he was borne to the ground and in imminent -danger of capture. His aide-de-camp, Captain Molesworth, dismounted -at once, and giving him his own horse enabled him to escape. The -cavalry, however, encouraged by the Duke's example, recovered -themselves, and Marlborough took the opportunity to shift from -Molesworth's horse to his own. Colonel Bringfield, his equerry, -held the stirrup while he mounted, but Marlborough was hardly in -the saddle before the hand that held the stirrup relaxed its hold, -and the equerry fell to the ground, his head carried away by a -round shot.[336] - -Meanwhile the attack of the infantry on Ramillies was fully -developed, and relieved the horse from the fire of the village. -Twenty fresh squadrons came galloping up at the top of their speed -and ranged themselves in rear of the reforming lines. But before -they could come into action the Duke of Würtemberg pushed his -Danish horse along the Mehaigne upon the right flank of the French, -and the Dutch guards advancing still further fell upon their rear. -These now emerged upon the table-land by the tomb of Ottomond, and -the rest of the Allied horse dashed themselves once against the -French front. The famous Maison du Roi after a hard fight was cut -to pieces, and the whole of the French horse, despite Villeroy's -efforts to stay them, were driven in headlong flight across the -rear of their line of battle, leaving the battalions of infantry -helpless and alone to be ridden over and trampled out of existence. - -Villeroy made frantic efforts to bring forward the cavalry of his -left to cover their retreat, but the ground was encumbered by his -baggage, which he had carelessly posted too close in his rear. The -French troops in Ramillies now gave way, and Marlborough ordered -the whole of the infantry that was massed before the village to -advance across the morass upon Offus, with the Third and Sixth -Dragoon Guards in support. The French broke and fled at their -approach; and meanwhile the Buffs and Twenty-first, which had so -far remained inactive on the right, forced their way through the -swamps before them, and taking Autréglise in rear swept away the -last vestige of the French line on the left. Five British squadrons -followed them up and captured the entire King's Regiment (Regiment -du Roi). The Third and Sixth Dragoon Guards also pressed on, -and coming upon the Spanish and Bavarian horse-guards, who were -striving to cover the retreat of the French artillery, charged -them and swept them away, only narrowly missing the capture of the -Elector himself, who was at their head.[337] On this the whole -French army, which so far had struggled to effect an orderly -retreat, broke up in panic and fled in all directions. - -The mass of the fugitives made for Judoigne, but the ways were -blocked by broken-down baggage-waggons and abandoned guns, and the -crush and confusion was appalling. The British cavalry, being quite -fresh, quickly took up the pursuit over the table-land. The guns -and baggage fell an easy prey, but these were left to others, while -the red-coated troopers, not without memories of Landen, pressed -on, like hounds running for blood, after the beaten enemy. The -chase lay northwards to Judoigne and beyond it towards the refuge -of Louvain. Not until two o'clock in the morning did the cavalry -pause, having by that time reached Meldert, fifteen miles from the -battlefield; nay, even then Lord Orkney with some few squadrons -spurred on to Louvain itself, rekindled the panic and set the -unhappy French once more in flight across the Dyle. - -[Sidenote: - - 13 - May --. - 24 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 14 - May --. - 25 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - May --. - 26 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - May --. - 27 -] - -Nor was the main army far behind the horse. Marching far into the -night, the men slept under arms for two or three hours, started -again at three o'clock, and before the next noon had also reached -Meldert and were preparing to force the passage of the Dyle. -Marlborough, who had been in the saddle with little intermission -for nearly twenty-eight hours, here wrote to the Queen that he -intended to march again that same night, but, through the desertion -of the lines of the Dyle by the French, the army gained some -respite. The next day he crossed the Dyle at Louvain and encamped -at Betlehem, the next he advanced to Dieghem, a few miles north of -Brussels, the next he passed the Senne at Vilvorde and encamped -at Grimberghen, and here at last, after six days of incessant -marching, the Duke granted his weary troops a halt, while the -French, hopelessly beaten and demoralised, retired with all haste -to Ghent. - -[Illustration: RAMILLIES - - May 12^{th} - ----------- 1706. - " 23^{rd} - - _To face page 472_ -] - -So ended the fight and pursuit of Ramillies, which effectually -disposed of the taunt levelled at Marlborough after Blenheim, -that he did not know how to improve a victory. The loss of the -French in killed, wounded, and prisoners was thirteen thousand men, -swelled by desertion during the pursuit to full two thousand more. -The trophies of the victors were eighty standards and colours, -fifty guns, and a vast quantity of baggage. The loss of the Allies -was from four to five thousand killed and wounded, which fell -almost entirely on the Dutch and Danes, the British, owing to their -position on the extreme right, being but little engaged until the -close of the day. The chief service of the British, therefore, was -rendered in the pursuit, which they carried forward with relentless -thoroughness and vigour. The Dutch were delighted that their troops -should have done the heaviest of the work in such an action, and -the British could console themselves with the performance of their -cavalry, and above all, with the reflection that the whole of the -success was due to their incomparable chief. - -[Sidenote: May-June.] - -The effect of the victory and of the rapid advance that followed -it was instantaneous. Louvain and the whole line of Dyle fell into -Marlborough's hands on the day after the battle; Brussels, Malines, -and Lierre surrendered before the first halt, and gave him the line -of the Senne and the key of the French entrenchments about Antwerp; -and one day later, the surrender of Alost delivered to him one of -the strongholds on the Dender. Never pausing for a moment, he sent -forward a party to lay bridges on the Scheldt below Oudenarde in -order to cut off the French retreat into France, a movement which -obliged Villeroy forthwith to abandon the lines about Ghent and to -retire up the Lys to Courtrai. Ghent, Bruges, and Damme thereupon -surrendered on the spot; Oudenarde followed them, and after a few -days Antwerp itself. Thus within a fortnight after the victory the -whole of Flanders and Brabant, with the exception of Dendermond and -one or two places of minor importance, had succumbed to the Allies, -and the French had fallen back to their own frontier. - -[Sidenote: June.] - -Nor was even this all. A contribution of two million livres levied -in French Flanders brought home to the Grand Monarch that the war -was now knocking at his own gates. Villars, with the greater part -of his army, was recalled from the Rhine to the Lys, and a number -of French troops were withdrawn to the same quarter from Italy. -Baden had thus the game in his own hand on the Rhine, and though he -was too sulky and incapable to turn the advantage to account, yet -his inaction was no fault of Marlborough's. We are hardly surprised -to find that in the middle of this fortnight the Duke made urgent -request for fresh stores of champagne; he may well have needed the -stimulant amid such pressure of work and fatigue.[338] - -[Sidenote: - - 6 - June --. - 17 -] - -He now detached Overkirk to besiege Ostend and another party to -blockade Dendermond, at the same time sending off five British -battalions, which we shall presently meet again, for a descent on -the Charente which was then contemplated in England. This done he -took post with the rest of the Army at Rouslers, to westward of the -Lys, whence he could at once cover the siege of Ostend and menace -Menin and Ypres. The operations at Ostend were delayed for some -time through want of artillery and the necessity of waiting for the -co-operation of the Fleet; but the trenches were finally opened on -the 17th of June, and a few weeks later the town surrendered. - -[Sidenote: - - June 27 - ------- - July 8. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - Aug. --. - 22 -] - -Three days after this the army was reassembled for the siege of -Menin. This fortress was of peculiar strength, being esteemed one -of Vauban's masterpieces, and was garrisoned by five thousand men. -Moreover, the French, being in command of the upper sluices of the -Lys, were able greatly to impede the operations by cutting off the -water from the lower stream, and thus rendering it less useful for -purposes of transport. But all this availed it little; for three -weeks after the opening of the trenches Menin surrendered. The -British battalions[339] which had been kept inactive at Ramillies -took a leading share in the work, and some of them suffered very -heavily, but had the satisfaction of recapturing four of the -British guns that had been taken at Landen. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 25 - ------- - Sept. 5. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 12 - Sept. --. - 23 -] - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 21 - -------- - Oct. 2. -] - -A few days later Dendermond was attacked in earnest and was -likewise taken, after which Marlborough fell back across the -Scheldt to secure the whole line of the Dender by the capture of -Ath. Ten days sufficed for the work, after which Ath also fell -into the hands of the Allies. The apathy of the French throughout -these operations sufficiently show their discouragement. Owing to -the supineness of Prince Lewis of Baden Villars had been able to -bring up thirty-five thousand men to the assistance of Marshal -Vendôme, who had now superseded Villeroy, but even with this -reinforcement the two commanders only looked on helplessly while -Marlborough reduced fortress after fortress before their eyes. -They were, indeed, more anxious to strengthen the defences of Mons -and Charleroi, lest the Duke should break into France by that -line, than to approach him in the field. Nor were they not wholly -unreasonable in their anxiety, for Marlborough's next move was upon -the Sambre; but incessant rain and tempestuous weather forbade any -further operations, so that Ath proved to be the last conquest of -the year. Thus ended the campaign of Ramillies, one of the most -brilliant in the annals of war, wherein Marlborough in a single -month carried his arms triumphant from the Meuse to the sea. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - - -[Sidenote: 1706.] - -From Flanders it is necessary to return to the Peninsula, where -we left Peterborough bewailing his enforced inaction. Nothing is -more remarkable in the story of these Peninsular campaigns than the -utter want of unity in design between the forces of the Allies in -Catalonia and in Portugal. Even in England the British troops in -these two quarters were treated, for purposes of administration, -as two distinct establishments, which might have been divided -by the whole breadth of the Atlantic instead of by twice the -breadth of England. Yet the fault could hardly be attributed to -any English functionary, civil or military. Galway was as anxious -as Peterborough to advance to Madrid; but the Portuguese were -terrified at the prospect of moving far from their frontier, while -the eyes of King Charles ever rested anxiously on the passes by -which French reinforcements might advance into Catalonia. In such -circumstances it was not easy to accomplish an effective campaign. - -[Sidenote: - - Dec. 26, 1705. - -------------- - Jan. 6, 1706. -] - -The Spaniards of the Austrian party, as has been told, had by the -winter of 1705 gained a precarious hold on the whole province of -Valencia. Just before the close of the year came intelligence -that the Spanish General de las Torres had crossed the northern -frontier from Arragon into Valencia and had laid siege to San -Mateo. The town was important, inasmuch as it commanded the -communications between Catalonia and Valencia, but it was held -by no stronger garrison than thirty of the Royal Dragoons and a -thousand Spanish irregular infantry under Colonel Jones. This -officer defended himself as well as he could, but at once begged -urgently for reinforcements. King Charles thereupon appealed for -help to Peterborough, who forthwith ordered General Killigrew to -march with his garrison from Tortosa and cross the Ebro, while he -himself, riding night and day from Barcelona, caught up the column -at the close of the first day's march. King Charles had represented -the force of Las Torres as but two thousand strong, and had added -that thousands of peasants were up in arms against it. Peterborough -now discovered that the Spaniards numbered four thousand foot and -three thousand horse, while the thousands of armed peasantry were -wholly imaginary. His own force consisted of three weak British -battalions, the Thirteenth, Thirty-fifth, and Mountjoy's Foot, -together with one hundred and seventy of the Royal Dragoons, in all -thirteen hundred men. With such a handful his only hope of success -must lie in stratagem. - -[Sidenote: - - Dec. 28, 1705. - -------------- - Jan. 8, 1706. -] - -Advancing southward with all speed he split up his minute army -into a number of small detachments, and pushing them forward -by different routes arrived early in the morning, unseen and -unsuspected, at Traguera, within six miles of the enemy's camp. -That same day a spy was captured by the enemy and brought before -Las Torres. On him was found a letter from Peterborough to -Colonel Jones, written in the frankest and easiest style. "I am -at Traguera," so it ran in effect, "with six thousand men and -artillery. You may wonder how I collected them; but for transport -and secrecy nothing equals the sea. Now, be ready to pursue Las -Torres over the plain. It is his only line of retreat, for I have -occupied all the passes over the hills. You will see us on the -hill-tops between nine and ten. Prove yourself a true dragoon, and -have your miquelets (irregulars) ready for their favourite plunder -and chase." The spy, being threatened with death, offered to betray -another messenger of Peterborough's who was lying concealed in -the hills. This second spy was captured, and a duplicate of the -same letter was found on him. The pair of them were questioned, -when the first protested that he knew nothing of the strength of -Peterborough's force, while the other declared that the despatch -spoke truth. Suddenly came intelligence from the Spanish outposts -that the enemy was advancing in force in several columns, and -presently the red-coats appeared at different points on the -hill-tops, making a brave show against the sky. Las Torres became -uneasy. His depression was increased by the accidental explosion -of one of his own mines before San Mateo; and he hastily ordered -an immediate retreat. Whereupon out came Jones with his garrison, -and turned the retreat into something greatly resembling a flight; -while Peterborough with his thirteen hundred men walked quietly -into San Mateo and took possession of the whole of the enemy's -camp and material of war. The trick, for the whole incident of -the captured spies had been carefully preconcerted, had proved a -brilliant success. - -Las Torres, though disagreeably shaken, was recovering his -equanimity when, on the second day of the retreat, a friendly spy -came to warn him that an English force was marching parallel to his -left flank, was already in advance of him, and was likely to cut -off his retreat by seizing the passes into the plain of Valencia. -The warning was scouted as ridiculous, but the spy offered, if two -or three officers would accompany him, to prove that he was right. -Two officers, disguised as peasants, were accordingly guided to -a point already indicated by the spy, where they were promptly -captured by a picquet of ten of the Royal Dragoons. The spy, -however, undertook to produce liquor, the dragoons succumbed or -seemed to succumb to their national failing, and the three captives -slipped out, took three of the dragoons' horses and galloped back -with all speed to Las Torres to confirm the spy's story. Their -escape did not prompt them to make the least of their adventure; -the housings of the horses testified incontestably to the actual -presence of English dragoons; and Las Torres broke up his camp on -the spot and hurried away once more. Once again the tricks of the -eccentric Englishman had been successful; for the friendly spy was -in reality a Spanish officer in his own army; and though there were -undoubtedly ten English dragoons, who had been specially sent for -the purpose, in advance of Las Torres at that particular moment, -yet there were no more English within twenty miles of them. - -[Sidenote: - - 1 - Jan. --. - 12 -] - -Las Torres was still retreating southward by the coast-road, and -Peterborough was making a show of pursuit by marching wide on his -right flank, when a pressing message reached him from King Charles. -A French force of eight thousand men was advancing into Catalonia -from Roussillon; a second force of four or five thousand men under -Count Tserclaes de Tilly was threatening Lerida, and a third -under Marshal Tessé was marching through Arragon upon Tortosa. -Seeing that the King was urgent for help in Catalonia, but intent -on pursuing his own design in Valencia, Peterborough resolved -to send his infantry to the coast at Vinaroz, to be transported -if necessary by sea. The men, though ragged, shoeless, and much -distressed by long marches through the wintry days, left him very -unwillingly. Then summoning the garrison of Lerida[340] and a -reinforcement of Spaniards to follow him to Valencia, Peterborough -resumed the pursuit of Las Torres with one hundred and fifty -dragoons. - -[Sidenote: January.] - -He was too late to save Villa Real, which Las Torres took by -treachery, and having taken massacred the entire male population; -but while always concealing his own weakness he contrived by -incessant harassing of the enemy's rear to inflict considerable -loss and annoyance. Thus in due time he reached Nules, three -days' march from the city of Valencia, a town of considerable -strength, where Las Torres had left arms sufficient to equip a -thousand of the townsmen. Peterborough marched straight up to -the gate with his handful of dragoons. The townspeople manned the -walls and opened fire, but were speedily checked by a message -from Peterborough, bidding them send out a priest or a magistrate -instantly on pain of having their walls battered down and every -soul put to the sword, in revenge for Villa Real. Some priests who -knew him at once came out to him. "I give you six minutes," said -Peterborough to the trembling cassocks. "Open your gates or I spare -not a soul of you." The gates were quickly opened, and the General, -riding in at the head of his tattered dragoons, demanded immediate -provision of rations and forage for several thousand men. - -The news soon reached Las Torres, who was little more than an hour -ahead, and for the third time his unfortunate army was hurried -out of camp and condemned to a weary retreat from an imaginary -enemy. Peterborough, however, after taking two hundred horses -from Nules, left the town to ponder over its fright and retired -to Castallon de la Plana. Having there raised yet another hundred -horses he ordered the Thirteenth Foot to march from Vinaroz to -Oropesa and went thither himself to inspect them. The men marched -in but four hundred strong, with red coats ragged and rusty, -yellow facings in tatters, yellow breeches faded and torn, shoes -and stockings in holes or more often altogether wanting. "I wish," -said Peterborough when the inspection was over, "that I had horses -and accoutrements for you, to try if you would keep up your good -reputation as dragoons." The men doubtless glanced at their sore -and unshod feet, and silently agreed. Presently they were marched -up to the brow of a neighbouring hill, where to their amazement -they found four hundred horses awaiting them, all fully equipped. -The officers received commissions according to their rank in the -mounted service, two or three only being detached to raise a new -battalion in England; and thus within an hour Barrymore's Foot -became Pearce's Dragoons. - -[Sidenote: January.] - -[Sidenote: - - January 24 - ---------- - February 4. -] - -Peterborough now called in such additional weak battalions of -British as he could, and having collected a total force of three -thousand men, one-third of it mounted, prepared to outwit a new -general, the Duke of Los Arcos, who had superseded Las Torres. The -relief of Valencia was Peterborough's first object, but to effect -this he had first to gain possession of Murviedro, which lay on his -road and was occupied by the enemy, and that, too, in such a way -that Los Arcos should not move out against him in the open plain -and crush him by superior numbers. It was a difficult problem, -and it was only solved by a trick too elaborate and lengthy to be -detailed here. The plan was very clever, so clever as almost to -transcend the bounds of what is fair in war, but it was completely -successful; and on the 4th of February Peterborough marched into -Valencia without firing a shot. - -[Sidenote: - - March 23 - -------- - April 3. -] - -[Sidenote: April.] - -[Sidenote: - - April 30 - -------- - May 11. -] - -He now cultivated the friendship of the priests and something more -than the friendship of the ladies of Valencia, thereby combining -pleasure with business and obtaining the best of information. -Las Torres, who had once more superseded Los Arcos, presently -appeared on the scene again, bringing four thousand men by land -and a powerful siege-train by sea for the reduction of the city. -Peterborough pounced upon the train directly after it had been -landed and captured the whole of it; then sending twelve hundred -men against the four thousand he surprised them, routed them, and -took six hundred prisoners. But the pleasant and exciting life at -Valencia was interrupted by an urgent summons to assist in the -defence of Barcelona. King Lewis, at the entreaty of his grandson -Philip, had resolved to make a great effort to recover it; and -thus it was that at the beginning of April Marshal Tessé appeared -before the city with twenty-five thousand men, and three days later -began the siege in form. The garrison consisted of less than four -thousand regular troops, the backbone of which were eleven hundred -British of the Guards and the Thirty-fourth Foot. Weak as it was -this little force made a gallant resistance, but the odds were -too great against it, and but for the arrival of Peterborough it -could not have held out for more than a fortnight. Even after his -coming it was well-nigh overpowered; for of the three thousand -troops that he brought with him the most part were employed chiefly -in harassing Tessé's communications from the rear. The siege was -finally raised on the advent of a relieving squadron under Admiral -Leake, which so much discouraged Tessé that he abandoned the whole -of his siege-train and retired once more over the French frontier. - -Nothing now remained but to take advantage of this piece of good -fortune. Peterborough had always favoured a dash on Madrid, and had -twice urged this course upon King Charles in vain. He now pressed -it for a third time with success, and presently sailed for Valencia -with eleven thousand men. With immense trouble he procured horses -and accoutrements to convert some of his infantry into dragoons, -and then pushing forward a detached force of English he succeeded -by the beginning of July in capturing Requena and Cuença and -opening the road for King Charles to Madrid. - -[Sidenote: - - 20 - March --. - 31 -] - -[Sidenote: - - May 27 - ------- - June 7. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - June --. - 27 -] - -Meanwhile, after enormous delay, the English and Portuguese had -actually begun operations from the side of Portugal against Marshal -Berwick. On the 31st of March Lord Galway and General das Minas -left Elvas with nineteen thousand men[341] and advanced slowly -northward, forcing back Berwick, whose army was much inferior in -number, continually before them. Alcantara, Plasencia, and Ciudad -Rodrigo yielded to them after slight resistance; and by the 7th -of June the Allied army had reached Salamanca, a country which -two regiments, the Second and the Ninth, were to know better a -century later. Then turning east it marched straight upon Madrid -and entered the city on the 27th of June. So far all was well. The -advance from Portugal had been singularly slow, but the capital -had been reached. King Philip had retired to Burgos, and King -Charles had been proclaimed in Madrid. The object of the War of the -Succession seemed to have been fulfilled in Spain. - -[Sidenote: - - 4 - July --. - 15 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - July --. - 18 -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 26 - --------- - August 6. -] - -At this juncture, however, the operations for no particular -reason came to an end. Galway, without a thought apparently of -following up Berwick, halted for a fortnight in Madrid, where the -Portuguese troops behaved disgracefully, and then moving a short -distance north-eastward took up a strong position at Guadalaxara. -King Charles after immense delay suddenly altered the route which -Peterborough had marked out for him and insisted on marching to -Madrid through Arragon, even so not reaching Saragossa till the -18th of July. Meanwhile the whole of the country through which -Galway had marched rose in revolt against the House of Austria. -Berwick, reinforced from France to twice the strength of Galway, -cut him off from Madrid, and reproclaimed King Philip; and when -Charles and Peterborough with three thousand men at last joined -Galway on the 6th of August, the Archduke found that he must -prepare not for triumphant entry into Madrid, but for what promised -to be a difficult and perilous retreat. - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - Sept. --. - 28 -] - -Peterborough was for a sudden spring at Alcala and so on Madrid, -but being over-ruled retired to Italy to raise a loan for the army. -Galway, whose army had been so much reduced by sickness as to -number, with Peterborough's reinforcement, but fourteen thousand -men, still lingered close to Madrid for nearly a month in the vain -hope of seeing the tide turn in his favour. Finally, being cut -off from his base in Portugal, he marched for Valencia and the -British fleet, Berwick troubling him no further than by occasional -harassing of his rearguard. On crossing the Valencian frontier he -distributed his force into winter quarters; an example which, after -the reduction of Carthagena and of sundry small strongholds, was -imitated by Berwick at the end of November. - -So closed the year 1706, memorable for two of the most brilliant, -even if in some respects disappointing, campaigns ever fought -simultaneously by two British generals. - -[Sidenote: 1707.] - -Unexpected reinforcements from Britain came opportunely to revive -the hopes of the Archduke Charles at the opening of the new -year. It will be remembered that in the summer of 1706 a project -for a descent on the Charente had been matured in England, for -which Marlborough had detached certain of his battalions after -Ramillies. The plan being considered doubtful of success, the -destination of the expedition was altered to Cadiz. A storm in -the Bay of Biscay, however, dispersed the fleet, which was only -reassembled at Lisbon after very great delay, and after waiting in -that port for two months was directed to place its force at the -disposal of Galway.[342] In December 1706 Peterborough returned -from Italy to Valencia to attend the councils of war respecting -the next campaign. The general outlook in the Peninsula was not -promising. Marlborough indeed opined that nothing could save Spain -but an offensive movement against France from the side of Italy, -and Peterborough, adopting the same view, strongly advocated -a defensive campaign. He was overruled, and since his endless -squabbles with his colleagues and his military conduct in general -had been called in question in England, he was shortly after -relieved of his command and returned to England. - -[Sidenote: March.] - -[Sidenote: - - March 30 - -------- - April 10. -] - -[Sidenote: April.] - -After his departure the Archduke Charles and the English commanders -fell at variance over their alternative plans, with the result -that Charles withdrew with the whole of the Spanish troops to -Catalonia. Galway and Das Minas then decided first to destroy -Berwick's magazines in Murcia, and this done to march up the -Guadalaviar, turn the head-waters of the Tagus, and so move on to -Madrid. Though the reinforcements had reached the Valencian coast -in January it was not until the 10th of April that Galway crossed -the Murcian frontier and after destroying one or two magazines laid -siege to Villena. While thus engaged he heard that Berwick having -collected his army was advancing towards Almanza, some five and -twenty miles to the north-east, and that the Duke of Orleans was -on his way to join him with reinforcements. Thereupon Galway and -Das Minas resolved to advance and fight him at once, apparently -without taking pains to ascertain what the numbers of his army -might actually be. Berwick had with him twenty-five thousand men, -half French, half Spanish, besides a good train of artillery. -Galway, owing to the frightful mortality on board the newly-arrived -transports, had but fifteen thousand, of which a bare third were -British, half were Portuguese, and the remainder Dutch, German, -and Huguenot. Considering how poorly the Portuguese had behaved on -every occasion so far, the result of an open attack against such -odds could hardly be doubtful. - -[Sidenote: - - 14 - April --. - 25 -] - -Berwick on his side drew up his army in the usual two lines on a -plain to the south of Almanza, his right resting on rising ground -towards Montalegre, his left on a height overlooking the road to -Valencia, while his right centre was covered by a ravine which -gradually lost itself on level ground towards his extreme right -flank. The force was formed according to rule with infantry in the -centre and cavalry on each flank, the Spaniards taking the right -and the French the left. At midday, after a march of eight miles, -Galway approached to within a mile of the position, and formed his -line of battle according to the prescribed methods. The Portuguese, -with poor justice, claimed the post of honour on the right wing, -so that the British and Dutch took the left, though with several -Portuguese squadrons among them in the second line. But finding -himself weak in cavalry Galway made good the deficiency, after the -manner of Gustavus Adolphus, by interpolating battalions of foot -among his horse.[343] - -At three o'clock in the afternoon Galway opened the attack without -preliminary fire of artillery by leading an advance of the horse -on his left wing. He was driven back at first by sheer weight of -numbers; but the Sixth and Thirty-third Foot, which were among -the interpolated battalions, came up, and by opening fire on the -left flank of the Spanish horse gave the English squadrons time -to rally and by an effective charge to drive the Spaniards back -in confusion. Meanwhile, the rest of the English foot on the -left centre fell, heedless of numbers, straight upon the hostile -infantry and drove them back in confusion upon their second line. -The Guards and the Second Foot following up their success broke -through the second line also and pursued the scattered fugitives to -the very walls of Almanza. So far as the Allied left was concerned -the battle was going well. - -But meanwhile the Portuguese on the right remained motionless; -and Berwick lost no time in launching his left wing of horse upon -them. Then the first line of Portuguese horse turned and ran, the -second line also turned and ran, and the first line of infantry -was left to bear the brunt alone. For a time the battalions stood -up gallantly enough, but the odds were too great, and they were -presently overwhelmed and utterly dispersed. Then Berwick brought -up his French, both horse and foot, against the victorious British -on his right. The British cavalry had suffered heavily in the first -attack, all four regiments having lost their commanding officers, -and in spite of all their efforts they were borne back and swept -away by the numbers of the French squadrons. The infantry, -surrounded on all sides, fought desperately and repeatedly repulsed -the enemy's onset, but being overpowered by numbers, were nearly -all of them, English, Dutch, and Germans, cut down or captured. -By great exertions Galway, who was himself wounded, brought off -some remnant of them in good order and retreated unpursued to -Ontiniente, some twenty miles distant. The guns also were saved; -but a party of two thousand infantry which had been brought off the -field by General Shrimpton was surrounded on the following day and -compelled to lay down its arms. - -In this action, which lasted about two hours, Galway lost about -four thousand killed and wounded and three thousand prisoners. The -British alone lost eighty-eight officers killed, and two hundred -and eighty-six captured, of whom ninety-two were wounded. The -Sixth regiment had but two officers unhurt out of twenty-three, -the Ninth but one out of twenty-six, and other regiments[344] -suffered hardly less severely. The simple fact was that, as the -bulk of the Portuguese would not fight, the action resolved itself -into an attack of eight thousand British, Dutch, and Germans upon -thrice their number of French and Spaniards, in an open plain; and -the defeat, though decisive, was in no sense disgraceful except -to the Portuguese. The most singular circumstance in this fatal -day was that the French were commanded by an Englishman, Berwick, -and the English by a Frenchman, the gallant but luckless Ruvigny. -The battle of course put an end to further operations on the side -of the Allies. Galway, with such troops as he could collect, -retired to the Catalonian frontier, and set himself to reorganise -a force to defend the lines of the Segre and Ebro, while Berwick -methodically pursued the reduction of Valencia and in December -retired, according to rule, into winter quarters. So swiftly did -disaster follow on the first brilliant successes in the Peninsula. - -Since we shall not again see Peterborough in the field this chapter -should not be closed without a few sentences as to his peculiar -methods. These were outwardly simple enough. Good information to -discover his enemy's weak points, deception to put him off his -guard, the deepest secrecy lest that enemy should grow suspicious, -most careful thinking out of details so that every unit of an -insignificant force should know its duty precisely and do it, -exact divination of the probable results of each successive step, -and extreme suddenness and rapidity in execution; such were, so -far as they can be set down, the secrets of his success. In a -word, his was the principle of making war by moral rather than by -physical force, by scaring men into the delusion that they were -beaten rather than by actually beating them. It is a difficult -art, of which the highest exponent was produced by the Navy a -century later in the person of Lord Dundonald; and it is curious -to note that both men were troubled by exactly the same defects. -Peterborough was difficult, cantankerous, quarrelsome and eaten -up by exaggerated appreciation of self. His letters were so -interminably long and tedious, containing indeed little besides -abuse of his colleagues, that they exhausted the patience even of -Marlborough. In fact, it seems to be impossible for this type of -man to work harmoniously with his equals, however he may be adored -by his subordinates. The Duke of Wellington summed up Peterborough -as a brilliant partisan, but his contemporaries thought more -highly of him. Eugene declared that he thought like a general, -and Marlborough himself acknowledged that he had predicted the -ill consequences of the operations which, contrary to his advice, -were undertaken in Spain. But whatever his merit as a general -and a leader, he, like all of his kind, is a man of whom we take -leave without regret, turning gladly from the fitful, if dazzling -flashes of his eccentric genius, to the steady glowing light which -illuminates every action of the great Duke of Marlborough. - - AUTHORITIES.--It is well known that the exploits of Peterborough - rest principally on Carleton's _Memoirs_, and that the authority - of these _Memoirs_ is disputed. Colonel Frank Russell in his - _Life of Peterborough_ of course makes him a hero, Colonel - Arthur Parnell in his _War of the Succession in Spain_ refuses - to allow him any merit. Mr. Stebbing in his _Peterborough_ (Men - of Action Series) treats the controversy with strong good sense, - and I have not hesitated to follow his view. I must none the - less acknowledge my obligations to all three of these writers, - and particularly to Colonel Parnell, who has gone deeply into - the history of the war, taken immense pains to ascertain which - British regiments were engaged at every action, and has furnished - a most copious list of authorities. The _Mémoires de Berwick_ are - most trustworthy on the French side, and the _Richards Papers_ - (Stowe Coll. B.M.), as Colonel Parnell says, most important. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - - -[Sidenote: 1707.] - -Almanza was a bad opening for the new year, but worse was to -follow. Throughout the winter Marlborough had, as usual, been -employed in diplomatic negotiations, which nothing but his skill -and fascination could have carried to a successful issue. But on -one most important point the Duke was foiled by the treachery of -the Emperor, who, to further his own selfish designs on Naples, -secretly concluded a treaty with France for the neutrality of -Italy, and thus enabled the whole of the French garrisons in Italy -to be withdrawn unmolested. The forces thus liberated were at once -brought up to the scene of action on the Rhine and in Flanders, -and the French were enabled to bring a superior force in the field -against Marlborough. Again the Duke had hoped to save Spain by an -invasion of France from the side of Savoy, but this project again -had been deferred until too late, owing to the Emperor's cupidity -for the possession of Naples. Finally, though Prince Lewis of Baden -had died during the winter, he had been replaced on the Rhine by -a still more incompetent prince, the Margrave of Bayreuth, who, -far from making any diversion in the Duke's favour, never ceased -pestering him to come to his assistance. So flagrant was this -deplorable person's incapacity that he too was superseded before -the close of the campaign, though too late for any effective -purpose. His successor, however, deserves particular notice, being -none other than the Elector of Hanover, afterwards our own King -George the First, no genius in the field, but, as shall be seen in -due time, an extremely sensible and clear-headed soldier. - -The result of these complications was that Marlborough spent the -greater part of the summer encamped, in the face of a superior -French force, at Meldert, on a branch of the Great Geete, to cover -his conquests in Flanders and Brabant. At last the Emperor, having -accomplished his desires in Naples, made a diversion towards -Provence which drew away a part of the French force to that quarter -and enabled the Duke to move. But then bad weather intervened to -prevent any successful operations. Twice Marlborough was within an -ace of surprising Vendôme, who had superseded Villeroy in Flanders, -and twice the marshal decamped in haste and confusion only just -in time to save his army. Even so the Duke would have struck one -heavy blow but for the intervention of the Dutch deputies. But -fortune favoured the French; the rain came down in torrents, and -the country was poached into such a quagmire by the cavalry that -many of the infantry were fairly swallowed up and lost.[345] Thus -tamely ended the campaign which should have continued the work of -Ramillies.[346] - -Returning home in November Marlborough found difficulties almost -as great as he had left behind him in Flanders. There were quarrels -in the Cabinet, already foreboding the time when the Queen and the -people should turn against him. The Court of France was reverting -to its old methods and endeavouring to divide England by providing -the Pretender with a force for invasion. Again the hardships of -the campaign in Flanders and the defeat of Almanza had not only -created discontent, but had enormously increased the demand for -recruits. The evil work of the Dutch deputies and the incorrigible -selfishness and jealousy of the Empire had already prolonged the -war beyond the limit assigned by the short patience of the English -people. - -Happily Parliament was for the present still loyal to the war, -and voted not only the usual supplies but money for an additional -ten thousand men. Five new battalions[347] were raised, and -three more of the old establishment were detailed for service in -Flanders.[348] But far more satisfactory was the fact that in 1708 -all regiments took the field with new colours, bearing the cross of -St. Andrew blended with that of St. George, pursuant to the first -article of the Treaty of Union, passed in the previous year between -England and Scotland. - -[Sidenote: 1708.] - -[Sidenote: - - March 29 - -------- - April 9. -] - -The early spring of 1708 was wasted by the French in a futile -endeavour to set the Pretender afoot in Scotland with a French -force at his back; nor was it until the 9th of April that -Marlborough sailed for the Hague, where Eugene was already awaiting -him. There the two agreed that the Duke should as usual command -in Flanders, while Eugene should take charge of an army on the -Moselle, nominally for operations on that river, but in reality to -unite with Marlborough by a rapid march and give battle to the -French before they could call in their remoter detachments. There -was a considerable difficulty with the Elector of Hanover, who was -to command on the Rhine, owing to his jealousy of Eugene, but this -trouble was satisfactorily settled, as were all troubles of the -time, by the intervention of Marlborough. Thereupon the Electoral -Prince, true to the quarrelsome traditions of his family, at once -insisted on taking service with Eugene, simply for the sake of -annoying his father; thus adding one more to the many causes of -friction which, but for Marlborough, would soon have brought the -Grand Alliance to a standstill. This Electoral Prince will become -better known to us as King George the Second. - -The French on their part had made extraordinary exertions in the -hope of a successful campaign. Since Ramillies they had drawn -troops from all quarters to Flanders; and from thenceforth the -tendency in every succeeding year grew stronger for all operations -to centre in that familiar battle-ground. On the Rhine the Elector -of Bavaria held command, with Berwick, much exalted since Almanza, -to help him. The French main army in Flanders numbered little less -than a hundred thousand men, and was under the orders of Vendôme, -with the Duke of Burgundy in supreme command. The presence of the -heir to the throne, of his brother the Duke of Berry, and of the -Chevalier de St. George, as the Pretender called himself, all -portended an unusual effort. - -[Sidenote: May.] - -[Sidenote: - - May 24 - ------ - June 4 - to - June 24 - ------- - July 5. -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 23 - ------- - July 4. -] - -Marching up at the end of May from their rendezvous on the south -of the Haine, the French army moved north to the forest of -Soignies. Marlborough thereupon at once concentrated at Hal and -summoned Eugene to him with all haste. His own army numbered but -eighty thousand men, and though as usual he showed a bold front he -knew that such disparity of numbers was serious. The French then -manœuvred towards Waterloo as if to threaten Louvain, a movement -which the Duke met by a forced march to Park on the Dyle. Here he -remained perforce inactive for a whole month, waiting for Eugene, -who was delayed by some petty formalities which were judged by the -Imperial Court to be far more important than military operations. -Suddenly, on the night of the 4th of July, the French broke up -their camp, marched westward to cross the Senne at Hal and detached -small corps against Bruges and Ghent. Unable to meet the Allies -with the sword, the French had substituted gold for steel and had -for some time been tampering with the new authorities in these -towns. The gold had done its work. Within twenty-four hours Ghent -and Bruges had opened their gates, and the keys to the navigation -of the Scheldt and Lys were lost. - -[Sidenote: - - June 24 - ------- - July 5. -] - -[Sidenote: - - June 25 - ------- - July 6. -] - -Marlborough, who was quite ready for a march, was up and after the -French army immediately. At two o'clock in the morning his army -was in motion, streaming off to pass the Senne at Anderlecht. The -march was long and severe, the roads being in so bad a state that -the right wing did not reach its halting-ground until six o'clock -in the evening, nor the left wing till two o'clock on the following -morning; but this great effort brought the Allies almost within -reach of the French army. In the night intelligence was brought to -Marlborough that the enemy was turning back to fight him. He was in -the saddle at once, to form his line of battle; but the news was -false. The French in reality were making off as fast as they could; -and before the truth could reach Marlborough they were across the -Dender. Marlborough's cavalry was instantly on their track, but -could do no more than capture a few hundred prisoners together with -most of the French baggage. That same day came definite information -of the loss of Ghent and Bruges, and of the investment of the -citadel of Ghent. Brussels took the alarm at once. The French, as -they feared, had for once got the better of the Duke. The French -army was encamped at Alost, where, like a king between two pieces -at draughts, it threatened both the citadel of Ghent and Brussels; -and all was panic in the capital. The Duke was fain to move on -to Assche, midway between Alost and Brussels, to restore the -confidence of the fearful city. - -[Sidenote: - - June 28 - ------- - July 9. -] - -Here Eugene joined him. Finding it hopeless to arrive in time -with his army, he had pushed on alone; nor could he have arrived -more opportunely, for the Duke was so much weakened by an attack -of fever that he was hardly fit for duty. It was indeed a trying -moment. The next design of the French was evidently aimed at -Oudenarde for the recovery of the line of the Scheldt. They were -already across the Dender and ahead of Marlborough on the road -to it, and moreover had broken down the bridges behind them; yet -Marlborough dared not move lest he should expose Brussels. He sent -orders to the Governor of Ath to collect as many troops as he could -and throw himself into Oudenarde, which that officer punctually -did; and then there was nothing to be done but to wait. Two days -sufficed to place the citadel of Ghent in the hands of the French, -and to set their army free for further operations. Accordingly -on the 9th of July Vendôme sent forward detachments to invest -Oudenarde, and moved with the main army up the Dender to Lessines, -from which point he intended to cover the siege. Great was his -astonishment on approaching the town on the following day to find -that Marlborough had arrived there before him, and was not only -within reach of Oudenarde but interposed between him and his own -frontier. - -[Sidenote: - - June 29 - ------- - July 10. -] - -For at two o'clock on the morning of the 9th of July the Allied -army had marched off in beautiful order in five columns, and by -noon had covered fifteen miles to Herfelingen on the road to the -Dender. Four hours later Cadogan was sent forward with eight -battalions and as many squadrons to occupy Lessines and throw -bridges over the Dender; and when tattoo beat that night the army -silently entered on a march of thirteen further miles to the same -point. Before dawn came the welcome intelligence that Cadogan -had reached his destination at midnight, laid his bridges, and -made his disposition to cover the passage of the troops. The army -tramped on, always in perfect order, crossed the river and was -taking up its camping-ground, when the heads of the enemy's columns -appeared on the distant heights and were seen first to halt and -then to retire. Marlborough on the curve of the arc had outmarched -Vendôme on the chord. - -[Sidenote: - - June 30 - ------- - July 11. -] - -The French, finding the whole of their plans disconcerted, now -wheeled about north-westward towards Gavre on the Scheldt, to -shelter themselves behind the river and bar the advance of the -allies on Bruges. But the Duke had no intention to let them off -so easily. Burgundy and Vendôme were not on good terms; their -differences had already caused considerable confusion in the -army; and Marlborough was fully aware of the fact. At dawn on the -morning of the 11th the unwearied Cadogan started off with some -eleven thousand men[349] and twenty-four guns to prepare the roads, -construct bridges, and make dispositions to cover the passage of -the Scheldt below Oudenarde. By half-past ten he had reached the -river, just above the village of Eyne, and on ascending the low -heights above the stream and looking westward he saw before him a -kind of shallow basin or amphitheatre, seamed by little ditches and -rivulets, and broken by hedges and enclosures. To the south the -rising ground on which he stood swept round almost to the glacis of -Oudenarde, thence curved westward from the village of Bevere into -another broad hill called the Boser Couter to the village of Oycke -and beyond, thence round northward across the valley of the river -Norken to Huysse, whence trending still to northward it died away -in the marshes of the Scheldt. Near Oycke two small streams rise -which, after pursuing for some way a parallel course, unite to run -down into the Scheldt at Eyne; beyond them the Norken runs beneath -the heights of Huysse in a line parallel to the Scheldt. - -Presently parties of French horse appeared on the ground to the -north. Vendôme's advanced-guard, under the Marquis of Biron, had -crossed the Scheldt leisurely at Gavre, six miles farther down -the river, and was now moving across his front with foragers out, -in happy unconsciousness of the presence of an enemy. A dash of -Cadogan's squadrons upon the foragers quickly brought Biron to Eyne -and beyond it, where he caught sight of Cadogan's detachment of -scarlet and blue battalions guarding the bridge, and presently of -a body of cavalry in the act of crossing; for Marlborough, uneasy -while his advanced-guard was still in the air, had caught up a -column of Prussian horse and galloped forward with it in all haste. -Biron at once reported what he had seen to Vendôme, who, perceiving -that the mass of the Allied army was still on the wrong side of the -Scheldt, gave orders to take up a position parallel to the river; -the line to rest its left on the village of Heurne and extend by -Eyne and Beveren to Mooregem on the right. In pursuance of his -design he directed seven battalions to occupy Heurne forthwith; -but at this point the Duke of Burgundy interposed. The heights -of Huysse in rear of the Norken from Asper to Wannegem formed in -his judgment a preferable position; and there, two miles from the -Scheldt, he should form his line of battle, facing south-east. So -the army was guided to the left bank of the Norken, while the seven -battalions, obeying what they conceived to be their orders, marched -down to the village not of Heurne but of Eyne, and backed by a few -squadrons, took up the position assigned to them by Vendôme. - -Meanwhile, responding to urgent messages from Marlborough, the main -body of the Allies was hurrying forward, and by two o'clock the -head of the infantry had reached the Scheldt. Part of the cavalry -passed through Oudenarde to take advantage of the town bridge; -the foot began to cross by the pontoons, and Cadogan, whose eye -had marked the march of the French into Eyne, at once summoned -the whole of his advanced-guard across to the left bank. Sabine's -brigade supported by the other two crossed the rivulet against -Eyne, while the Hanoverian cavalry moved up to the rear of the -village and cut off all hope of retreat. Presently Sabine's British -were hotly engaged; but the French made but a poor resistance. -It is the weakness of the French soldier that he apprehends too -quickly when his officers have not given him a fair chance. Three -battalions out of the seven were captured entire, the remaining -four were killed or taken piecemeal in their flight. The cavalry, -flushed by their success, then advanced under Prince George against -the few French squadrons in rear of the village, charged them, -routed them, and drove them across the Norken. The Prince had his -horse shot under him in this encounter, for his family has never -wanted for courage, and he remembered the day of Oudenarde to the -end of his life. - -The Duke of Burgundy now made up his mind to a general action, -and made every preparation for defence of the position behind the -Norken. But when four o'clock came and the Allied army was not -yet in order of battle, he changed his plan, pushed a body of -cavalry from his right across the stream, and set the whole of -his centre and right in motion to advance likewise. Marlborough, -perceiving the movement, judged that the attack would be directed -against his left, in the hope that Cadogan's battalions about Eyne -would be left isolated and open to be crushed by an advance of -the French left. Two of Cadogan's regiments, Prussians, which had -been pushed forward half a mile beyond Eyne to Groenewald were at -once reinforced by twelve more of the advanced guard; the British -cavalry was formed up on the heights at Bevere, and the Prussian -horse further to the Allied right near Heurne. No more could be -done until the rest of the army should gradually cross the river -which divided it from the battlefield. - -At length about five o'clock thirty French battalions debouched -upon Groenewald, which was as yet held only by Cadogan's two -advanced regiments, and began the attack. The Prussians stuck -to their post gallantly and held their own among the hedges, -until presently Cadogan's reinforcement, and later on twenty -more battalions under the Duke of Argyll,[350] came up to their -assistance. Forming in succession on the left of the Prussians as -they reached the fighting line, these regiments extended the field -of action as far south as Schaerken; and the combat was carried on -with great spirit. The ground was so strongly enclosed that the -fight resolved itself into duels of battalions, the cream of the -infantry on both sides being engaged. At one moment the French -outflanked the left of the Allies and drove them back, but fresh -battalions of Marlborough's army kept constantly streaming into -action, which recovered the lost ground and prolonged the line of -fire always further to the south. - -Marlborough and Eugene, who had hitherto remained together, now -parted, and the Duke handing over eighteen battalions to the Prince -entrusted him with the command of the right. This accession of -strength enabled Eugene to relieve Cadogan's corps, which had been -forced to give way before Groenewald, and even to pierce through -the first line of the enemy's infantry. General Natzmar thereupon -seized the moment to throw the Prussian cavalry against the second -line. His squadrons were received with a biting fire from the -hedges as they advanced; and the French Household Cavalry watching -the favourable moment for a charge drove back the Prussians with -very heavy loss. - -Meanwhile Marlborough with the Hanoverian and Dutch infantry was -pressing forward slowly on his left, the French fighting with -great stubbornness and gallantry, and contesting every inch of -ground from hedge to hedge. At last the enemy being forced back to -Diepenbeck, a few hundred yards in rear of Schaerken, stood fast, -and refused despite all the Duke's efforts to give way for another -foot. But Marlborough had still twenty battalions of Dutch and -Danes with almost the entire cavalry of the left at his disposal, -and he had noticed that the French right flank rested on the air. -He now directed Marshal Overkirk to lead these troops under cover -of the Boser Couter round the French right and to fall with them -upon their rear. The gallant old Dutchman, though infirm and sick -unto death, joyfully obeyed. Two brigades were thrown at once on -the flank of the troops that were so stoutly opposing Marlborough; -while the cavalry advanced quickly on the reverse slope of the -Boser Couter,[351] and then wheeling to the right fell on the rear -of the unsuspecting French. A part of the Household Cavalry and -some squadrons of dragoons tried bravely to stand their ground, -but they were borne back and swept away. Overkirk's troops pressed -rapidly on; and the French right was fairly surrounded on all sides. - -[Illustration: OUDENARDE - - June 30^{th} - ------------ 1708. - July 11^{th} - - _To face page 500_ -] - -Now at last an effort was made to bring forward the French left, -which through Burgundy's perversity or for some inscrutable reason, -had been left motionless on the other side of the Norken; but -it was too late. The infantry, though led by Vendôme himself, -failed to make the slightest impression, and the cavalry dared not -advance. The ground before them was intricate and swampy, and the -whole of the British cavalry, withdrawn from their first position -by Eugene, stood waiting to plunge down upon them directly they -should move. The daylight faded and the night came on, but the -musketry flashed out incessantly in an ever narrowing girdle of -fire, as the Allies wound themselves closer and closer round the -enveloped French right. At length at nine o'clock Marlborough and -Eugene, fearful lest their own troops should engage each other in -the darkness, with some difficulty enforced the order to halt and -cease firing. Vast numbers of the French seized the moment to -escape, but presently all the drums of the Allies began with one -accord to beat the French retreat, while the Huguenot officers -shouted "A moi, Picardie! A moi, Roussillon!" to gather the relics -of the scattered regiments of the enemy around them. In this way -some thousands of prisoners were gleaned, but the harvest which -would have been reaped in another hour of daylight was lost. In the -French army all was confusion. Vendôme tried in vain to keep the -troops together till the morning, but Burgundy gave the word for -retreat; and the whole ran off in disorder towards Ghent. - -[Sidenote: - - 1 - July --. - 12 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 2-3 - July -----. - 13-14 -] - -So ended the battle of Oudenarde, presenting on one side a feature -rare in these days, namely, a general engagement without an order -of battle.[352] It was undoubtedly the most hazardous action that -Marlborough ever fought. His troops were much harassed by forced -marches. They had started at two o'clock on Monday morning and had -covered fifty miles, including the passage of two rivers, when they -came into action at two o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. It would be -reckoned no small feat in these days to move eighty thousand men -over fifty miles in sixty hours, but in those days of bad roads and -heavy packs the effort must have been enormous. Finally, the army -had to pass the Scheldt in the face of the enemy, and ran no small -risk of being destroyed in detail. Yet the hazard was probably -less than it now seems to us, and generals in our own day have not -hesitated to risk similar peril with success. The French commanders -were at variance; the less competent of them, being heir-apparent, -was likely to be toadied by officers and supported by them against -their better judgment; and finally the whole French army was very -much afraid of Marlborough. Notwithstanding their slight success in -Ghent and Bruges, their elation had evaporated speedily when they -found Marlborough before them at Lessines. All this Marlborough -knew well, and knew also that if an impromptu action, if one may -use the term, must be fought, there was not a man on the other -side who had an eye for a battlefield comparable to Eugene's and -his own. The event justified his calculations; for the victory was -one of men who knew their own minds over men who did not. Another -hour of daylight, so Marlborough declared, would have enabled him -to finish the war. The total loss of the Allies in the battle was -about three thousand killed and wounded, the British infantry -though early engaged suffering but little, while the cavalry, -being employed to watch the inactive French left, hardly suffered -at all.[353] The French lost six thousand killed and wounded and -nine thousand prisoners only, but they were thoroughly shaken and -demoralised for the remainder of the campaign. The wearied army of -the Allies lay on its arms in the battlefield, while Marlborough -and Eugene waited impatiently for the dawn. As soon as it was light -forty squadrons, for the most part British, were sent forward in -pursuit, while Eugene returned to his own army to hasten its march -and to collect material for a siege. The main army halted to rest -for two days where it lay, during which time the intelligence came -that Berwick had been summoned with his army from the Moselle, and -was marching with all haste to occupy certain lines constructed -by the French to cover their frontier from Ypres to the Lys. At -midnight fifty squadrons and thirty battalions under Count Lottum, -a distinguished Prussian officer, started for these lines; the -whole army followed at daybreak, and while on the march the Duke -received the satisfactory news that Lottum had captured the lines -without difficulty. Next day the whole of Marlborough's army was -encamped along the Lys between Menin and Commines, within the -actual territory of France. - -[Sidenote: July.] - -Detached columns were at once sent out to forage and levy -contributions. The suburbs of Arras were burnt, and no effort -was spared to bring home to the French that war was hammering at -their own gates. But the Allies were still doubtful as to the -operations that they should next undertake. So long as the French -held Bruges and Ghent they held also the navigation of the Scheldt -and Lys, so that it was of vital importance to tempt Vendôme, if -possible, to evacuate them. The British Government was preparing a -force[354] under General Erie for a descent upon Normandy by sea, -and Marlborough was for co-operating with this expedition, masking -the fortress of Lille, and penetrating straight into France--a -plan which the reader should, if possible, bear in mind. But the -proposal was too adventurous to meet with the approval of the -Dutch, and was judged impracticable even by Eugene unless Lille -were first captured as a place of arms. Ultimately it was decided, -notwithstanding the closing of the Scheldt and Lys, to undertake -the siege of Lille; and all the energies of the Allies were -turned to the collection of sixteen thousand horses to haul the -siege-train overland from Brussels. - -During the enforced inaction of the army for the next few weeks, -the monotony was broken only by the arrival of a distinguished -visitor, Augustus the Strong, Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, -together with one of his three hundred and sixty-four bastards, a -little boy of twelve named Maurice, who had run away from school to -join the army. We shall meet with this boy again as a man of fifty, -under the name of Marshal Saxe, at a village some twenty miles -distant called Fontenoy. - -[Sidenote: - - 1 - Aug. --. - 12 -] - -At length the preparations for the siege were complete, and the -huge convoy set out from Brussels for its long march. Now, if ever, -was the time for the French to strike a blow. Vendôme in the north -at Ghent and Berwick in the south at Douay had, between them, one -hundred and ten thousand men: the distance to be traversed by the -convoy was seventy-five miles, and the way was barred by the Dender -and the Scheldt. Such, however, was the skill with which the march -was conducted that the French never succeeded even in threatening -the vast, unwieldy columns, which duly reached their destination -without the loss even of a single waggon. Of all the achievements -of Marlborough and Eugene, this seems to have been judged by -contemporary military men to be the greatest.[355] - -Lille, the capital of French Flanders, was one of the early -conquests of Lewis the Fourteenth, and, if the expression may be -allowed, the darling town of the Court of Versailles. Situated in a -swampy plain and watered by two rivers, the Deule and Marque, its -natural position presented difficulties of no ordinary kind to a -besieging force, and, in addition, it had been fortified by Vauban -with his utmost skill. The garrison, which had been strengthened -by Berwick, amounted to fifteen thousand men, under the command -of brave old Marshal Boufflers, who had solicited the honour of -defending the fortress. To the north, as we have seen, lay Vendôme, -and to the south Berwick, with a joint force now amounting to about -ninety-four thousand men.[356] It was for Marlborough and Eugene -with an inferior strength of eighty-four thousand men[357] to hold -them at bay and to take one of the strongest fortresses in the -world before their eyes. - -[Sidenote: - - 2 - Aug. --. - 13 -] - -A detailed account even of so famous a siege would be wearisome, -the more so since the proportion of British troops detailed for -regular work in the trenches was but five battalions,[358] but -there are a few salient features which cannot be omitted. The -point selected for attack was the north side, the first advance -to which was opened by a single English soldier, Sergeant Littler -of the First Guards,[359] who swam across the Marquette to a -French post which commanded the passage of the stream and let down -the drawbridge. Two days later the town was fully invested, and -Marlborough took post with the covering army at Helchin on the -Scheldt. - -The investment had not been accomplished for more than a fortnight -when the Duke was informed that Berwick and Vendôme were advancing -towards the Dender to unite their forces at Lessines. After -manœuvring at first to hinder the junction Marlborough finally -decided to let it come to pass, being satisfied that, if the -French designed to relieve Lille, they could not break through -in the face of his army on the east side, but must go round and -approach it from the south. In this case, as both armies would -move in concentric circles around Lille as a centre, Marlborough -being nearer to that centre could be certain of reaching any given -point on the way to it before the French. Moreover, the removal of -the enemy from the east to the south would free the convoys from -Brussels from all annoyance on their march to the siege. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 22 - ------- - Sept. 2. -] - -As he had expected, the French moved south to Tournay, and then -wheeling northward entered the plain of Lille, where they found -Marlborough and Eugene drawn up ready to receive them.[360] Vendôme -and Berwick had positive orders to risk a battle; and there had -been much big talk of annihilating the Allies. Yet face to face -with their redoubtable enemies they hesitated. Finally, after a -week's delay, which enabled Marlborough greatly to strengthen his -position by entrenchment, they advanced as if to attack in earnest, -but withdrew ignominiously after a useless cannonade without -accepting battle. Had not Marlborough and Eugene been restrained by -the Dutch deputies, the marshals would have had a battle forced on -them whether they liked it or not, but, as things were, they were -permitted to retire. To such depth of humiliation had Marlborough -reduced the proud and gallant French army. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 27-28 - ---------- - Sept. 7-8. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 9-10 - Sept. -----. - 20-21 -] - -The retreat left Eugene free to press the siege with vigour; but -a great assault, which cost him three thousand men,[361] failed -to give him the advantage for which he had hoped, and a week -later Marlborough was called in from the covering army to give -assistance. For the next assault, on the counterscarp, the Duke -lent the Prince five thousand English, and it is said that English -and French never fought more worthily of their reputation than on -that day; but the assault was thrice repelled, and it was only -through the exertions of Eugene himself that a portion of the works -was at last captured after a desperate effort and at frightful cost -of life. Altogether the siege was not going well. The engineers -had made blunders; a vast number of men had been thrown away to no -purpose; and ammunition and stores were beginning to run short. -Lastly, Boufflers maintained always a very grand and extremely able -defence. - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - Sept. --. - 27 -] - -Vendôme and Berwick could now think of no better expedient than -to throw themselves into strong positions along the Scarpe and -Scheldt, from Douay to Ghent, in order to cut off all convoys from -Brussels. But Marlborough was prepared for this, and had not -captured Ostend after Ramillies for nothing. England held command -of the sea; and Erle's expedition, which had effected little or -nothing on the coast of Normandy, was at hand to help in the -transport of supplies from the new base. Erle, who had considerable -talent for organisation, soon set Ostend in order, seized two -passages over the Newport Canal at Leffinghe and Oudenburg and -prepared to send off his first convoy. As its arrival was of -vital importance to the maintenance of the siege, the French were -as anxious to intercept as the English to forward it. Vendôme -accordingly sent off Count de la Mothe with twenty-two thousand -men to attack it on its way, while Marlborough despatched twelve -battalions and fifteen hundred horse to Ostend itself, twelve -battalions more under General Webb to Thourout, and eighteen -squadrons under Cadogan to Roulers, at two different points on the -road, to help it to its destination. - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - Sept. --. - 28 -] - -The convoy started at night, and in the morning Cadogan sent -forward Count Lottum with a hundred and fifty horse to meet it. At -noon Lottum returned to Thourout with the intelligence that he had -struck against the advanced-guard of a French force at Ichtegem, -two miles beyond Wynendale and some four miles from Thourout on -the road to Ostend. Webb at once collected every battalion within -his reach, twenty-two in all, and marched with all speed for -Ichtegem, with Lottum's squadron in advance. The horse, however, on -emerging from the defile of Wynendale, found the enemy advancing -towards them into the plains that lay beyond it. Lottum retired -slowly, skirmishing, while Webb pushed on and posted his men in -two lines at the entrance to the defile. The strait was bounded on -either hand by a wood, and in each of these woods Webb stationed a -battalion of Germans to take the French in flank. The dispositions -were hardly complete when the enemy came up and opened fire from -nineteen pieces of artillery. Lottum and his handful of horse then -retired, while just in the nick of time three more battalions -reach Webb from the rear and formed his third line. - -The French cannonade was prolonged for nearly two hours, but -with little effect, for Webb had ordered his men to lie down. -At length at five o'clock the French advanced in four lines of -infantry backed by as many of horse and dragoons. They came on -with great steadiness and entered the space between the two woods, -their flank almost brushing the covert as they passed, serenely -unconscious of the peril that awaited them. Then from right and -left a staggering volley crashed into them from the battalions -concealed in the woods. Both flanks shrank back from the fire, and -huddled themselves in confusion upon their centre. De la Mothe -sent forward some dragoons in support; and the foot, recovering -themselves, pressed on against the lines before them. So vigorous -was their attack that they broke through two battalions of the -first line, but the gap being instantly filled from the second, -they were forced back. Again they struggled forward, trusting by -the sheer weight of eight lines against two to sweep their enemy -away. But the eternal fire on front and flank became unendurable, -and notwithstanding the blows and entreaties of their officers the -whole eight lines broke up in confusion, while Webb's battalions, -coolly advancing by platoons "as if they were at exercise," poured -volley after volley into them as they retired. Cadogan, who had -hastened up with a few squadrons to the sound of the firing, was -anxious to charge the broken troops, but his force was considered -too weak; and thus after two hours of hot conflict ended the -combat of Wynendale. The French engaged therein numbered almost -double of the Allies, and lost close on three thousand men, while -the Allies lost rather less than a thousand of all ranks. The -signal incapacity displayed by the French commander did not lessen -the credit of Webb, and Wynendale was reckoned one of the most -brilliant little affairs of the whole war.[362] - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - Oct. --. - 22 -] - -The safe arrival of the convoy before Lille raised the hopes of -the besiegers; and Vendôme, now fully alive to the importance -of cutting off communication with Ostend, marched towards that -side with a considerable force, and opening the dykes laid the -whole country under water. Marlborough went quickly after him, -but the marshal would not await his coming; and the Duke by means -of high-wheeled vehicles and punts contrived to overcome the -difficulties caused by the inundation. At last, after a siege of -sixty days the town capitulated; and the garrison retired into the -citadel, where Eugene proceeded to beleaguer it anew. - -[Sidenote: - - 13 - Nov. --. - 24 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - Nov. --. - 26 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - Nov. --. - 28 -] - -While the new siege was going forward the Elector of Bavaria -arrived on the scene from the Rhine, from whence the apathy of the -Elector of Hanover had most unpardonably allowed him to withdraw, -and laid siege to Brussels with fifteen thousand men. This was an -entirely new complication; and since the French held the line of -the Scheldt in force, it was difficult to see how Marlborough could -parry the blow. Fortunately the garrison defended itself with great -spirit, the English regiments[363] setting a fine example, and the -Duke, in no wise dismayed, laid his plans with his usual secrecy -and decision. Spreading reports, which he strengthened by feint -movements, that he was about to place his troops in cantonments, he -marched suddenly and silently eastward on the night of the 26th of -November, crossed the Scheldt at two different points before the -enemy knew that he was near them, took a thousand prisoners, and -then remitting the bulk of his force to the siege of Lille, pushed -on with a detachment of cavalry and two battalions of English -Guards to Alost. On his arrival he learned that the Elector had -raised the siege of Brussels and marched off with precipitation. -The bare name of Marlborough had been sufficient to scare him away. - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 28 - ------- - Dec. 9. -] - -Meanwhile Eugene's preparations before the citadel of Lille were -in rapid progress, and Marlborough was already maturing plans -for a further design before the close of the campaign. It had -been the earnest desire of both commanders to reduce Boufflers to -unconditional surrender; but time was an object, so on the 9th of -December the gallant old marshal and his heroic garrison marched -out with the honours of war. So ended the memorable siege of Lille. -It had cost the garrison eight thousand men, or more than half of -its numbers, and the Allies no fewer than fourteen thousand men. -The honours of the siege rested decidedly with Boufflers, and -were paid to him by none more ungrudgingly than Marlborough and -Eugene. Yet as an operation of war, conducted under extraordinary -difficulties in respect of transport, under the eyes of a superior -force and subject to diversions, such as that of the Elector of -Bavaria, it remains one of the highest examples of consummate -military skill. - -The fall of Lille was a heavy blow for France, but it was not the -last of the campaign. Within eight days Marlborough and Eugene had -invested Ghent, which after a brief resistance surrendered with the -honours of war. The capitulation of Bruges quickly followed, and -the navigation of the Scheldt and Lys having been regained, the two -commanders at last sent their troops into winter quarters. - -[Sidenote: - - 13 - Sept. --. - 24 -] - -But even this did not close the sum of English successes for 1708, -for from the Mediterranean had come news of another conquest, due -to the far-seeing eye and far-reaching hand of Marlborough. Early -in the year Galway had withdrawn from Catalonia to Lisbon, and -the command in Catalonia had been given at Marlborough's instance -to Field-Marshal von Staremberg, an Imperial officer of much -experience and deservedly high reputation. Staremberg, however, -could do little with but ten thousand men against the Bourbon's -army of twice his strength, so by Marlborough's advice the troops -were used to second the operations of the Mediterranean squadron. -Sardinia, the first point aimed at, was captured almost without -resistance, and the fleet then sailed for Minorca. Here somewhat -more opposition was encountered; but after less than a fortnight's -work, creditably managed by Major-General Stanhope, the Island was -taken at a trifling cost of life.[364] Thus the English gained -their first port in the Mediterranean; and the news of the capture -of Minorca reached London on the same day as that of the fall of -Lille. - - NOTE.--I have been unable to discover any Order of Battle for the - campaign of 1708. The regiments that bear the name of Oudenarde - on their appointments are the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th - Dragoon Guards, the 2nd Dragoons, 5th Lancers, Grenadier Guards, - Coldstream Guards, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 21st, - 23rd, 24th, 26th, 37th Foot. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - - -[Sidenote: 1708.] - -The successes of the past campaign were sufficient to set the -British Parliament in good humour, and to prompt it to vote a -further increase of ten thousand German mercenaries for the -following year. Nevertheless political troubles were increasing, -and there were already signs that the rule of Godolphin and -Marlborough was in danger. The death of the Prince Consort had been -a heavy blow to the Duke. Prince George may have deserved Lord -Macaulay's character for impenetrable stupidity, but there can be -little doubt that his heavy phlegmatic character was of infinite -service to steady the weak and unstable Queen Anne. - -[Sidenote: 1709.] - -In the spring of 1709, however, it seemed reasonable to hope that -peace, which would have set all matters right, was well-nigh -assured. France, already at the last gasp through the exhaustion -caused by the war, was weakened still further by a severe winter -which had added famine to all her other troubles; and Lewis -sought anxiously, even at the price of humiliation, for peace. He -approached Marlborough, reputed the most avaricious and corruptible -of men, with a gigantic bribe to obtain good terms, but was -unhesitatingly rebuffed. The Duke stated the conditions which might -be acceptable to England; and had the negotiations been trusted to -him, there can be little doubt but that he would have obtained the -honourable peace which he above all men most earnestly desired. He -was, however, overruled by instructions from home imposing terms -which Lewis could not be expected to grant; the war was continued; -and Marlborough, who had striven his hardest to bring it to an end, -was of course accused of prolonging it deliberately for his own -selfish ends. - -[Sidenote: June.] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - June --. - 26 -] - -The French, now menaced with an invasion and a march of the Allies -to Paris, had strengthened their army enormously by withdrawing -troops from all quarters to Flanders, and had set in command their -only fortunate general, that very able soldier and incomparable -liar, Marshal Villars. To cover Arras, the northwestern gate of -France, Villars had thrown up a strong line of entrenchments from -the Scarpe at Douay to the Lys, which were generally known, after -the name of his headquarters, as the lines of La Bassée. There he -lay, entrenched to the teeth, while Marlborough and Eugene, after -long delay owing to the lateness of the spring, encamped with -one hundred and ten thousand men to the south of Lille, between -two villages, with which the reader will in due time make closer -acquaintance, called Lincelles and Fontenoy. Thence they moved -south straight upon Villars' lines with every apparent preparation -for a direct attack upon them and for forcing their way into France -at that point. The heavy artillery was sent to Menin on the Lys; -report was everywhere rife of the coming assault, and Villars lost -no time in summoning the garrison of Tournay to his assistance. On -the 26th of June, at seven in the evening, Marlborough issued his -orders to strike tents and march; and the whole army made up its -mind for a bloody action before the lines at dawn. To the general -surprise, after advancing some time in the direction of the French, -the columns received orders to change direction to the left. After -some hours' march eastward they crossed a river, but the men did -not know that the bridge lay over the Marque and that it led them -over the battlefield of Bouvines; nor was it until dawn that they -saw the gray walls and the four spires of Tournay before them and -discovered that they had invested the city. - -[Sidenote: - - June 26 - ------- - July 7. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 19 - July --. - 30 -] - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 23 - ------- - Sept. 3. -] - -Tournay had been fortified by Vauban and was one of the strongest -fortresses in France,[365] but its garrison had been weakened by -the unsuspecting Villars, and there was little hope for it. The -heavy artillery of the Allies, which had been sent to Menin, went -down the Lys to Ghent and up the Scheldt to the besieged city, the -trenches were opened on the 7th of July, and after three weeks, -despite the demonstrations of Villars and of incessant heavy rain, -Tournay was reduced to surrender.[366] Then followed the siege -of the citadel, the most desperate enterprise yet undertaken by -the Allied troops, inasmuch as the subterraneous works were more -numerous and formidable than those above ground. The operations -were, therefore, conducted by mine and countermine, with -destructive explosions and confused combats in the darkness, which -tried the nerves of the soldiers almost beyond endurance. The men -did not object to be shot, but they dreaded to be buried alive by -the hundred together through the springing of a single mine.[367] -Four English regiments[368] bore their share in this work and -suffered heavily in the course of it, until on the 3rd of September -the citadel capitulated. - -[Sidenote: - - 20 - Aug. --. - 31 -] - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 23 - -------- - Sept. 3. -] - -Before the close of the siege Marlborough and Eugene, leaving a -sufficient force before Tournay, had moved back with the main army -before the lines at Douay. They had long decided that the lines -were far too formidable to be forced, but they saw no reason for -communicating this opinion to Villars. On the 31st of August Lord -Orkney, with twenty squadrons and the whole of the grenadiers of -the army, marched away silently and swiftly eastward towards St. -Ghislain on the Haine. Three days later, immediately after the -capitulation of the citadel of Tournay, the Prince of Hessen-Cassel -started at four o'clock in the afternoon in the same direction; at -nine o'clock Cadogan followed him with forty squadrons more, and at -midnight the whole army broke up its camp and marched after them. -Twenty-six battalions alone were left before Tournay to superintend -the evacuation and to level the siege works, with orders to watch -Villars carefully and not to move until he did. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 26 - ------- - Sept. 6. -] - -The Prince of Hessen-Cassel soon overtook Orkney, from whom he -learned that St. Ghislain was too strongly held to be carried by -his small force. The Prince therefore at once pushed on. Rain -was falling in torrents, and the roads were like rivers, but he -continued his advance eastward behind the woods that line the Haine -almost without a halt, till at length at two o'clock on the morning -of the 6th of September he wheeled to the right and crossed the -river at Obourg three miles to the north-east of Mons. Before him -lay the river Trouille running down from the south through Mons, -and in rear of it a line of entrenchments, thrown up from Mons to -the Sambre during the last war to cover the province of Hainault. -A short survey showed him that the lines were weakly guarded; and -before noon he had passed them without opposition. His force, -despite the weather and the state of the roads, had covered the -fifty miles to Obourg in fifty-six hours. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 27 - -------- - Sept. 7. -] - -Too late Villars discovered that for the second time he had been -duped, and that Marlborough had no intention of forcing his way -into France through the lines of La Bassée and the wet swampy -country beyond them, when he could pass the lines of the Trouille -without loss of a man. He was in a difficult position, for Mons -was but slenderly garrisoned and difficult of access, while, if -captured, it would be a valuable acquisition to the Allies. The -approach to it from the westward was practically shut off by a kind -of natural barrier of forest, running, roughly speaking, from St. -Ghislain on the Haine on the north to Maubeuge on the Sambre to -the south. In this barrier there were but two openings, the Trouée -de Boussut between the village of that name and the Haine, and -the Trouées d'Aulnois and de Louvière, which are practically the -same, some miles further to the south. These will be more readily -remembered, the northern entrance by the name of Jemappes, the -southern by the name of Malplaquet. Villars no sooner knew what -was going forward than he pushed forward a detachment with all -speed upon the northern entrance, which was the nearer to him. The -detachment came too late. The Prince of Hessen-Cassel was already -astride of it, his right at Jemappes, his left at Ciply. The French -thereupon fell back to await the approach of the main army of the -Allies. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 26 - -------- - Sept. 6. -] - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 27 - -------- - Sept. 7. -] - -Meanwhile that army had toiled through the sea of mud on the -northern bank of the Haine, and crossing the river had by evening -invested Mons on the eastern side. On the following day Villars and -his whole army also arrived on the scene and encamped a couple of -miles to westward of the forest-barrier from Montreuil to Athis. -Here he was joined by old Marshal Boufflers, who had volunteered -his services at a time of such peril to France. The arrival of the -gallant veteran caused such a tumult of rejoicing in the French -camp that Marlborough and Eugene, not knowing what the clamour -might portend, withdrew all but a fraction of the investing force -from the town, and advancing westward into the plain of Mons caused -the army to bivouac between Ciply and Quévy in order of battle. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 28 - -------- - Sept. 8. -] - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 29 - -------- - Sept. 9. -] - -Villars meanwhile had not moved, being adroit enough to threaten -both passages and keep the Allies in doubt as to which he should -select. While therefore the mass of the Allied army was moved -towards the Trouée d'Aulnois, a strong detachment was sent up to -watch the Trouée de Boussut. That night Villars sent detachments -forward to occupy the southern passage, and by midday of the morrow -his whole army was taking up its position across the opening. -Marlborough at once moved his army forward, approaching so close -that his left wing exchanged cannon shot with Villars's right. -Everything pointed to an immediate attack on the French before they -should have time to entrench themselves. Whether the Dutch deputies -intervened to stay further movements is uncertain. All that is -known is that a council of war was held, wherein, after much -debate, it was resolved to await the arrival of the detachment from -the Trouée de Boussut and of the troops that had been left behind -at Tournay, and that in the meanwhile eighteen battalions should -be sent north to the capture of St. Ghislain and the investment of -Mons turned into a blockade. Evidently in some quarter there was -reluctance to hazard a general action. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 30 - -------- - Sept. 10. -] - -Villars now set himself with immense energy to strengthen his -position; and, when Marlborough and Eugene surveyed the defences -at daybreak of the following morning, they were astonished at the -formidable appearance of the entrenchments. Marlborough was once -more for attacking without further delay, but he was opposed by the -Dutch deputies and even by Eugene. The attack was therefore fixed -for the morrow; and another day was lost which Villars did not fail -to turn to excellent account. - -The entrance from the westward to the Trouée d'Aulnois or southern -entrance to the plain of Mons is marked by the two villages of -Campe du Hamlet on the north and Malplaquet on the south. About a -mile in advance of these villages the ground rises to its highest -elevation, the opening being about three thousand paces wide, and -the ground broken and hollowed to right and left by small rivulets. -This was the point selected by Villars for his position. It was -bounded on his right by the forest of Laignières, the greatest -length of which ran parallel to the Trouée, and on the left by a -forest, known at different points by the names of Taisnières, Sart -and Blaugies, the greatest length of which ran at right angles to -the Trouée. Villars occupied the forest of Laignières with his -extreme right, his battalions strengthening the natural obstacles -of a thick and tangled covert by means of abattis. From the edge of -the wood he constructed a triple line of entrenchments, which ran -across the opening for full a third of its width, when they gave -way to a line of nine redans. These redans in turn yielded place to -a swamp backed by more entrenchments, which carried the defences -across to the wood of Taisnières. Several cannon were mounted on -the entrenchments and a battery of twenty guns before the redans. -On Villars's left the forests of Taisnières and Sart projected -before the general front, forming a salient and re-entering angle. -Entrenchments and abattis were constructed in accordance with this -configuration, and two more batteries were erected on this side, -in addition to several guns at various points along the line, to -enfilade an advancing enemy. Feeling even thus insecure Villars -threw up more entrenchments at the villages of Malplaquet and -Chaussée du Bois in rear of the wood of Sart, and was still hard at -work on them to the last possible moment before the action. Finally -in rear of all stood his cavalry, drawn up in several lines. The -whole of his force amounted to ninety-five thousand men. - -The position was most formidable, but it had its defects. In the -first place the open space before the entrenchments was broken at -about half a mile's distance by a small coppice, called the wood of -Tiry, which could serve to mask the movements of the Allied centre. -In the second place the forest of Sart ran out beyond the fortified -angle in a long tongue, which would effectually conceal any troops -that might be directed against the extreme left flank. Finally the -French cavalry, being massed in rear of the entrenchments, could -take no part in the action until the defences were forced, and was -therefore incapable of delivering any counterstroke. Marlborough -and Eugene accordingly decided to make a feint attack on the French -right and a true attack on their left front and flank. Villars -would then be obliged to reinforce his left from his centre, which -would enable the defences across the open to be carried, and the -whole of the allied cavalry to charge forward and cut the French -line in twain. - -[Sidenote: - - Aug. 31 - -------- - Sept. 11. -] - -The dawn of the 11th of September broke in dense heavy mist which -completely veiled the combatants from each other. At three o'clock -prayers were said in the Allied camp, and then the artillery was -moved in position. Forty pieces were massed in a single battery in -the open ground against the French left, and were covered with an -epaulment for defence against enfilading fire; twenty-eight more -were stationed against the French right, and the lighter pieces -were distributed, as usual, among the different brigades. Then -the columns of attack were formed. Twenty-eight battalions under -Count Lottum were directed against the eastern face of the salient -angle of the forest of Taisnières, and forty battalions of Eugene's -army under General Schulemberg against the northern face, while a -little to the right of Schulemberg two thousand men under General -Gauvain were to press on the French left flank in rear of their -entrenchments. In rear of Schulemberg fifteen British battalions -under Lord Orkney were drawn up in a single line on the open -ground, ready to advance against the centre as soon as Schulemberg -and Lottum should have done their work. Far away beyond Gauvain -to the French left General Withers with five British and fourteen -foreign battalions and six squadrons was to turn the extreme French -left at the village of La Folie. - -For the feint against the French right thirty-one battalions, -chiefly Dutch, were massed together under the Prince of Orange. -The cavalry was detailed in different divisions to support the -infantry. The Prince of Orange was backed by twenty-one Dutch -squadrons under the Prince of Hesse, Orkney by thirty more under -Auvergne, Lottum by the British and Hanoverian cavalry, and -Schulemberg by Eugene's horse. The orders given to the cavalry were -to sustain the foot as closely as possible without advancing into -range of grape-shot, and as soon as the central entrenchments were -forced to press forward, form before the entrenchments and drive -the French army from the field. The whole force of the Allies was -as near as may be equal to that of the French. - -At half-past seven the fog lifted and the guns of both armies -opened fire. Eugene and Marlborough thereupon parted, the former -taking charge of the right, the latter of the left of the army. -Then the divisions of Orange and of Lottum advanced in two dense -columns up the glade. Presently the Dutch halted, just beyond range -of grape-shot, while Lottum's column pushed on under a terrific -fire to the rear of the forty-gun battery and deployed to the right -in three lines. Then the fire of the cannon slackened for a time, -till about nine o'clock a salvo of the forty guns gave the signal -for attack. Lottum's and Schulemberg's divisions thereupon advanced -perpendicularly to each other, each in three lines, Gauvain's men -crept into the wood unperceived, and Orkney extended his scarlet -battalions across the glade. - -Entering the wood Schulemberg's Austrians made the best of their -way through marshes and streams and fallen trees, nearer and -nearer to the French entrenchments. The enemy suffered them to -approach within pistol-shot and delivered a volley which sent them -staggering back; and though the Austrians extended their line -till it joined Gauvain's detachment, yet they could make little -way against the French fire. Lottum's attack was little more -successful. Heedless of the tempest of shot in their front and -flank the Germans pressed steadily on, passed a swamp and a stream -under a galling fire, and fell fiercely upon the breastwork beyond; -but being disordered by the ground and thinned by heavy losses they -were forced to fall back. Schulemberg then resumed the attack with -his second line, but with all his exertions could not carry the -face of the angle opposed to him. Picardie, the senior regiment -of the French Line, held this post and would not yield it to the -fiercest assault. The utmost that Schulemberg could accomplish was -to sweep away the regiments in the wood, and so uncover its flank. - -Lottum, too, extended his front and attacked once more, Orkney -detaching three British battalions, the Buffs, Sixteenth, and -Temple's, to his assistance, while Marlborough took personal -command of Auvergne's cavalry in support. The Buffs on Lottum's -extreme left found a swamp between them and the entrenchments, so -deep as to be almost impassable. In they plunged, notwithstanding, -and were struggling through it when a French officer drew out -twelve battalions and moved them down straight upon their left -flank. The British brigade would have been in a sorry plight had -not Villars caught sight of Marlborough at the head of Auvergne's -horse and instantly recalled his troops. So the red-coats scrambled -on, and turning the flank of the entrenchment while Lottum's men -attacked the front, at length with desperate fighting and heavy -loss forced the French back into the wood. Thus exposed to the -double attack of Lottum and Schulemberg Picardie at last fell back, -but joined itself to Champagne, the next regiment in seniority; and -the two gallant corps finding a rallying-point behind an abattis -turned and stood once more. Their comrades gave way in disorder, -but the wood was so dense that the troops on both sides became -disjointed, and the opposing lines broke up into a succession -of small parties fighting desperately from tree to tree with no -further guidance than their own fury. - -The entrenchments on the French left had been forced; and Villars -sent urgent messages to his right for reinforcements. But Boufflers -could spare him none. After Schulemberg and Lottum had been engaged -for half an hour, the Prince of Orange lost patience and, without -waiting for orders, opened not a false but a real attack against -the French right. On the extreme left of Orange's division were -two Highland regiments of the Dutch service, Tullibardine's and -Hepburn's, and next to them King William's favourite Blue Guards. -These were to attack the defences in the forest of Laignières, -while the rest fell upon the entrenchments in the open; and it was -at the head of the Highlanders and of the Blue Guards that Orange -took his place. A tremendous fire of grape and musketry saluted -them as they advanced, and within the first few yards most of the -Prince's staff were struck dead by his side. His own horse fell -dead beneath him, but he disentangled himself and continued to lead -the advance on foot. A few minutes more brought his battalions -under the fire of a French battery on their left flank. Whole ranks -were swept away, but still the Prince was to be seen waving his -hat in front of his troops; and Highlanders and Dutchmen pressing -steadily on carried the first entrenchment with a rush. They then -halted to deploy, but before they could advance further Boufflers -had rallied his men, and charging down upon his assailants drove -them back headlong. On Orange's right, success as short-lived -was bought at as dear a price. The Prince still exerted himself -with the utmost gallantry, but his attack was beaten back at all -points. The loss of the Dutch amounted to six thousand killed and -wounded; the Blue Guards had been annihilated, and the Hanoverian -battalions, which had supported them, had suffered little less -severely. In fact, the Prince's precipitation had brought about -little less than a disaster. - -The confusion in this part of the field called both Marlborough -and Eugene to the Allied left to restore order. Further useless -sacrifice of life was checked, for enough and more than enough had -been done to prevent Boufflers from detaching troops to Villars. -But soon came an urgent message requiring their presence once more -on the right. Schulemberg and Lottum had continued to push their -attack as best they could; and red-coated English, blue-coated -Prussians, and white-coated Austrians were struggling forward -from tree to tree, tripping over felled trunks, bursting through -tangled foliage, panting through quagmires, loading and firing -and cursing, guided only by the flashes before them in the cloud -of foul blinding smoke. But now on the extreme right Withers was -steadily advancing; and his turning movement, though the Duke -and Eugene knew it not, was gradually forcing the French out of -the wood. Villars seeing the danger called the Irish Brigade and -other regiments from the centre, and launched them full upon the -British and Prussians. Such was the impetuosity of the Irish that -they forced them back some way, until their own formation was -broken by the density of the forest. Eugene hastened to the spot -to rally the retreating battalions and though struck by a musket -ball in the head refused to leave the field. Then up came Withers, -just when he was wanted. The Eighteenth Royal Irish met the -French Royal Regiment of Ireland, crushed it with two volleys by -sheer superiority of fire, drove it back in disorder, and pressed -on.[369] Eugene also advanced and was met by Villars, who at this -critical moment was bringing forward his reinforcements in person. -A musket shot struck the Marshal above the knee. Totally unmoved -the gallant man called for a chair from which to continue to direct -his troops, but presently fainting from pain was carried insensible -from the field. The French, notwithstanding his fall, still barred -the advance of the Allies, but they had been driven from their -entrenchments and from the wood on the left, and only held their -own by the help of the troops that had been withdrawn from the -centre. The moment for which Marlborough had waited was now come. - -The forty-gun battery was moved forward, and Orkney leading his -British battalions against the redans captured them, though not -without considerable loss, at the first rush. Two Hanoverian -battalions on their left turned the flank of the adjoining -entrenchments, and Orange renewing his attack cleared the whole -of the defences in the glade. The Allied cavalry followed close -at their heels. Auvergne's Dutch were the first to pass the -entrenchments, and though charged by the French while in the act -of deploying succeeded in repelling the first attack. But now -Boufflers came up at the head of the French Gendarmerie, and -drove them back irresistibly to the edge of the entrenchments. -Here, however, the French were checked, for Orkney had lined the -parapet with his British, and though the Gendarmerie thrice strove -gallantly to make an end of the Dutch, they were every time driven -back by the fire of the infantry. Meanwhile the central battery, -which had been parted right and left into two divisions, advanced -and supported the infantry by a cross-fire, and Marlborough coming -up with the British and Prussian horse fell upon the Gendarmerie -in their turn. Boufflers, however, was again ready with fresh -troops, and coming down upon Marlborough with the French Household -Cavalry crashed through his two leading lines and threw even the -third into disorder. Then Eugene coming up with the Imperial horse -threw the last reserves into the melée and drove the French back. -Simultaneously the Prince of Hesse hurled his squadrons against -the infantry of the French right, and with the help of the Dutch -foot isolated it still further from the centre. Then Boufflers saw -that the day was lost and ordered a general retreat to Bavay, while -he could yet keep his troops together. The movement was conducted -in admirable order, for the French though beaten were not routed, -while the Allies were too much exhausted to pursue. So Boufflers -retired unmolested, though it was not yet three o'clock, -honoured alike by friend and foe for his bravery and his skill. - -[Illustration: MALPLAQUET - - Aug. 31^{st} - ------------ 1709. - Sep. 11^{th} - - _To face page 524_ -] - -Thus ended the battle of Malplaquet, one of the bloodiest ever -fought by mortal men. Little is known of the details of the -fighting, these being swallowed up in the shade of the forest of -Taisnières, where no man could see what was going forward. All that -is certain is that neither side gave quarter, and that the combat -was not only fierce but savage. The loss of the French was about -twelve thousand men, and the trophies taken from them, against -which they could show trophies of their own, were five hundred -prisoners, fifty standards and colours and sixteen guns. The loss -of the Allies was not less than twenty thousand men killed and -wounded, due chiefly to the mad onset of the Prince of Orange. -The Dutch infantry out of thirty battalions lost eight thousand -men, or more than half of their number; the British out of twenty -battalions lost nineteen hundred men,[370] the heaviest sufferers -being the Coldstream Guards, Buffs, Orrery's and Temple's.[371] - -The more closely the battle is studied the more the conviction -grows that no action of Marlborough's was fought less in accordance -with his own plans. We have seen that he would have preferred -to fight it on either of the two preceding days, and that he -deferred to Eugene against his own judgment in suffering it to be -postponed. Then again there was the almost criminal folly of the -Prince of Orange, which upset all preconcerted arrangements, threw -away thousands of lives to no purpose, and not only permitted the -French to retreat unharmed at the close of the day but seriously -imperilled the success of the action at its beginning. Nevertheless -there are still not wanting men to believe the slanders of the -contemptible faction then rising to power in England, that -Marlborough fought the battle from pure lust of slaughter. - -Still, in spite of all blunders, which were none of Marlborough's, -Malplaquet was a very grand action. The French were equal in -number to the Allies and occupied a position which was described -at the time as a fortified citadel. They were commanded by an able -general, whom they liked and trusted, they were in good heart, and -they looked forward confidently to victory. Yet they were driven -back and obliged to leave Mons to its fate; and though Villars -with his usual bluster described the victory as more disastrous -than defeat, yet French officers could not help asking themselves -whether resistance to Marlborough and Eugene were not hopeless. -Luxemburg with seventy-five thousand men against fifty thousand had -only with difficulty succeeded in forcing the faulty position of -Landen; yet the French had failed to hold the far more formidable -lines of Malplaquet against an army no stronger than their own. Say -Villars what he might, and beyond all doubt he fought a fine fight, -the inference could not be encouraging to France. - -[Sidenote: - - Sept. 28 - -------- - Oct. 9. -] - -It was not until the third day after the fight that the Allies -returned to the investment of Mons. Eugene was wounded, and -Marlborough not only worn out by fatigue but deeply distressed -over the enormous sacrifice of life. The siege was retarded by -the marshy nature of the ground and by heavy rain; but on the 9th -of October the garrison capitulated, and therewith the campaign -came to an end. Tournay had given the Allies firm foothold on the -Upper Scheldt, and Mons was of great value as covering the captured -towns in Flanders and Brabant. The season's operations had not been -without good fruit, despite the heavy losses at Malplaquet. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - - -[Sidenote: 1708.] - -Once more I return to Spain, where the armies of the Bourbons -had recommenced operations in the winter of 1708. At the end of -October General d'Asfeld having first captured Denia after a -short siege had advanced against Alicante, which was garrisoned -by eight hundred British[372] and Huguenots, under Major-General -John Richards. The siege of Alicante is memorable chiefly for the -manner of Richards's death. The castle was built on the solid -rock, and the only possible method of destroying its defences was -by means of mining. After three months of incessant work d'Asfeld -hewed a gallery through the rock beneath the castle, charged it -with seventy-five tons of powder, and then summoned Richards to -surrender, inviting him at the same time to send two officers to -inspect the mine. Two officers accordingly were sent, who returned -with the report that the explosion of the mine would doubtless be -destructive, but not, in their judgment, fatal to further defence. -Richards therefore rejected the summons, nor, though d'Asfeld -thrice repeated it, would he return any other answer. - -[Sidenote: 1709.] - -[Sidenote: - - Feb. 20 - ------- - March 3. -] - -Immediately over the gallery were two guards, each of thirty men, -which could not be withdrawn without peril to the safety of the -castle. Early in the morning fixed for the springing of the mine, -the sentries were posted as usual, pacing up and down in the keen -morning air, when General Richards and all the senior officers of -the garrison who were off duty came and joined them. They were -come to stand by their men in the hour of trial. A little before -six a thin column of blue smoke came curling up the rock, and a -corporal of the guard reported that the match had been fired. -Richards and his officers remained immovable, the guard stood -under arms, and the sentries stuck to their posts. Presently the -whole rock trembled again; the ground beneath their feet was rent -into vast clefts which yawned for a moment with a hideous hollow -roar and instantly closed. When the rumbling had ceased there were -still eighteen men left on the rock, but Richards with eleven other -officers and forty-two of their comrades had been swallowed up like -the company of Korah. Yet Richards was right, for when Admiral Byng -and General Stanhope arrived six weeks later the garrison still -remained unconquered in the castle. But it was thought best to -evacuate it, so the little force was carried away to Mahon, leaving -Richards and his brave companions asleep in the womb of the rock. -Among the forgotten graves of British soldiers that are sown so -thickly over the world, one at least is safe from the ravages of -time, the living tomb over which John Richards and his comrades -stood, waiting undismayed till it should open to engulf them at -Alicante. - -[Sidenote: - - April 26 - -------- - May 7. -] - -Shortly after the removal of the garrison from the castle Lord -Galway and the Portuguese opened the campaign on the side of -Portugal near Campo Mayor. Their total force consisted of about -fifteen thousand men, including barely three thousand British -infantry[373] and artillery; but its weakest point was that it -was commanded by a Portuguese officer, the Marquis de Fronteria. -Opposed to it were five thousand Spanish horse and ten thousand -Spanish foot under the Marquis de Bay, who advanced with his -cavalry only to the plain of Gudina on the left bank of the Caya, -in order to entice Fronteria across the river. Galway entreated -Fronteria not to think of attacking Bay, but the Portuguese -commander, disregarding his advice, sent the whole of his horse -together with the Fifth, Twentieth, Thirty-ninth and Paston's -regiments of British Foot across the Caya, and drew them up, rather -less than five thousand men in all, on the plain beyond. - -Bay at once sent for his infantry, but without waiting for them -boldly attacked the Portuguese horse on Fronteria's right wing. -Before the Spanish cavalry could reach them the Portuguese turned -and fled, leaving the flank of the British infantry uncovered. The -four regiments, however, stood firm, and having repulsed three -charges formed a hollow square and made a steady and orderly -retreat. Meanwhile Galway had sent forward Brigadier Sankey with -the Thirteenth, Stanwix's and a Catalan regiment in support, but -before they could reach their comrades Bay charged the other wing -of Portuguese horse, which fled as precipitately as the former, and -turning the whole of his force against Sankey's brigade isolated it -completely and compelled it to surrender. The whole of the loss, as -usual, fell on the British; and Galway, none too soon, vowed that -they would never fight in company with the Portuguese again. - -[Sidenote: 1710.] - -The action on the Caya practically ended the campaign in Portugal -for 1709. The operations in Catalonia during the same year call for -little notice; nor was it until July of the following year that -Staremberg, reinforced by British[374] and Germans to a strength of -twenty thousand foot and five thousand horse, was able to take the -field with activity. He lay at the time at Agramont on the Segre, -the Spanish army under Villadarias, the unsuccessful besieger of -Gibraltar, being a couple of marches to south of him at Lerida. -Staremberg resolved to take the offensive forthwith and to carry -the war into Aragon. - -[Sidenote: - - 16 - July --. - 27 -] - -Crossing the Segre he sent forward General Stanhope with a small -force of dragoons and grenadiers to seize the pass of Alfaraz, -before the Spaniards could reach it. Stanhope executed his task -with his usual diligence; and the arrival of the Spanish army a -few hours after him led to a brilliant little combat of cavalry -at Almenara. The odds against the Allies were heavy, for they had -but twenty-six squadrons against forty-two of the enemy. Both -sides, each drawn up in two lines, observed each other inactive -for some time, Staremberg hesitating to permit Stanhope to charge. -At length, however, he let him go. The first line, wherein all -the British were posted, sprang forward with Generals Stanhope -and Carpenter at their head against the Spanish horse, and after -a sharp engagement drove them back. The second line followed and -forced them back still further upon their infantry. Panic set in -among the Spaniards, and presently the whole of the Spanish army -was in full retreat to Lerida. The loss of the enemy was thirteen -hundred killed and wounded; that of the Allies did not exceed four -hundred, half of whom were British.[375] - -[Sidenote: - - 7 - Aug. --. - 18 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - Sept. --. - 28 -] - -After more than a fortnight's stay at Lerida King Philip summoned -Bay to supersede Villadarias, but finding it impossible to advance -in face of Staremberg retreated in the direction of Saragossa. -Staremberg at once started in pursuit, overtook Bay under the walls -of Saragossa and totally defeated him.[376] Contrary to his own -better judgment he then marched for Madrid, and led the Archduke -Charles for the second time into his capital. The bulk of the army -was quartered in the suburbs, but a strong detachment was sent away -under Stanhope to occupy Toledo, and, this done, to follow the -Tagus to the bridge of Almaraz, where it should join hands with a -force that was to advance from Portugal. - -[Sidenote: Sept.] - -The plan was hardly formed before it was broken to pieces. On -receiving the news of the defeat at Saragossa Lewis the Fourteenth -at once formed an army of his garrisons on the frontier and sent -it southward under the command of Vendôme. By the end of September -he had united his force with Bay's at Aranda on the Douro and was -drawing in fresh troops from all sides. The whole population being -in his favour kept him well supplied with intelligence. Before -either Stanhope or the Portuguese could reach Almaraz, Vendôme had -pounced upon it and destroyed the bridge. Stanhope perforce retired -to Toledo, and Vendôme, having by this time collected a force -superior to that of the Allies, moved up the Tagus and encamped on -the historic field of Talavera. - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 22 - ------- - Dec. 3. -] - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 25 - ------- - Dec. 6. -] - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 27 - ------- - Dec. 8. -] - -Staremberg now found it necessary to evacuate Madrid. The Archduke -Charles had been coldly received, supplies were failing, and the -army was much weakened by sickness. Recalling Stanhope, therefore, -from Toledo, he retired up the left bank of the Tajuña; the army, -for convenience of forage and supplies, marching in five columns -of different nations--Germans, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, and -British. The third day's march brought the first four columns to -Cifuentes, the British who formed the rearguard diverging across -the river to Brihuega some fourteen miles from the rest. Stanhope -had observed a large body of horse following close at his heels -during the march, and had reported the fact to Staremberg, but none -the less received orders to halt for another day and to collect -provisions. Next morning the enemy's horse appeared on the hill in -force, and was joined after a few hours, to the great astonishment -of Stanhope, by its infantry. His efforts to obtain intelligence -had been foiled by the hostility of the peasants, and neither he -nor Staremberg had the faintest idea that there was any infantry -within fifty miles of them. In truth this body of foot had, under -Vendôme's direction, covered one hundred and seventy miles in seven -days, a march of incredible speed, which, in Stanhope's own words, -was his undoing. By five o'clock in the evening Brihuega was fully -invested by nine thousand men, and the escape of the British was -impossible. - -Stanhope's position was desperate. He had but eight battalions and -eight squadrons, all so much weakened as to number together but -two thousand five hundred men. The town, which was of considerable -extent, had no defences but an old Moorish wall, too narrow in most -places to afford a banquette for musketeers. Further, the streets -were narrow and commanded on all sides by hills within range of -artillery and even of musketry. Nevertheless he might hold out -till Staremberg came to his relief; so rejecting the summons to -surrender, he barricaded the gates, threw up entrenchments as well -as he could, and at nightfall sent away his aide-de-camp, who at -great risk passed through the enemy's lines, to Staremberg's camp. - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 28 - ------- - Dec. 9. -] - -At midnight King Philip and Vendôme arrived with the rest of the -army, horse, foot, and artillery, increasing the investing force to -over twenty thousand men. Before morning two batteries had already -been erected, which opened fire at nine o'clock. Two breaches were -speedily made in the wall, which the British could not repair -except under fire, and a mine was dug to make a third. At three -o'clock in the afternoon an assault was delivered at both breaches, -and was met by a vigorous resistance. While the combat was raging -around them, the mine was fired and a third breach was formed, -through which large bodies of the enemy effected an entrance before -they were perceived. The British however turned upon them and beat -them out again. Finally, the first attack was totally repulsed; -and the French entrenched themselves in the breaches to await -reinforcements. Again the assault was renewed and again it was -driven back with heavy loss by the deadly English fire. Ammunition -now began to fail, but the little garrison held its own with -the bayonet, contesting every inch of ground, horse and dragoons -fighting dismounted by the side of the foot, and every man doing -his utmost. Forced back at length from their entrenchments the -British set fire to the houses which had been gained by the enemy, -and after four hours of hard fighting still held the best part of -the town. But their ammunition by this time was almost exhausted, -and there was no sign of Staremberg's appearance; so at seven -o'clock Stanhope, unwilling uselessly to sacrifice the lives of -his men, capitulated, and he and his gallant little force became -prisoners of war. Never did British troops fight better than at -Brihuega; but even where all were so much distinguished Stanhope -could not refrain from giving special praise to the Scots Guards. -The total loss of the British was six hundred killed and wounded. -That of the enemy was nearly three times as great. - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 29 - ------- - Dec. 10. -] - -[Sidenote: - - Nov. 30 - ------- - Dec. 9. -] - -It was not until the morning of the next day that Staremberg -approached Brihuega, and meeting the advanced squadrons of -Vendôme's, drew up his army for battle in the plains of Villa -Viciosa. He had but thirteen thousand men against twenty thousand, -but he made skilful dispositions, posting his left behind a deep -ravine and strengthening his right, which lay on the open plain, by -interlacing the battalions with his few feeble squadrons of horse. -The British troops present, Lepell's dragoons, Dubourgay's and -Richard's foot, were stationed on the left. The action opened with -a long cannonade, after which Vendôme's horse of the right crossed -the ravine, and coming down with great spirit and in overwhelming -numbers on Staremberg's left swept it after a short resistance -completely away. The English dragoons were very heavily punished -and the two battalions were cut to pieces. The centre also was -broken; and the victorious Spaniards at once fell on the baggage -beyond it and began to plunder. But the right of the Allies had -held its own, and Staremberg, taking advantage of the disorder -among the Spaniards, contrived with great coolness and skill to -convert the action into a drawn battle. The whole engagement, -indeed, reproduces curiously the features of the early battles -of our own Civil War. On the next day, however, Staremberg was -compelled to retreat, leaving his artillery to the enemy; and -though Barcelona, Tarragona, and Balaguer were still kept for the -Austrian side, the campaign closed with the loss to the Allies of -the whole of Spain. - -I shall not trouble the reader with the petty operations of the -following year, for the war in the Peninsula was practically closed -by the battles of Brihuega and Villa Viciosa. The spasmodic nature -of the operations has made them difficult and, I fear, wearisome -to the reader to follow, quite apart from the dissatisfaction that -necessarily attends a long tale of failure. Disunion of purpose -and the extreme inefficiency of the Portuguese were the principal -infirmities of the Allies throughout the war; the long distance -from their true bases at Portsmouth and at Brill their principal -disadvantage. Again and again the French were able to retrieve a -defeat by sending their garrisons from the frontier-towns across -the Pyrenees. Too late, on the appointment of Staremberg, the -Allies decided that it would be better to fight the war in the -Peninsula with Germans, who could march over Italy and cross the -Mediterranean to Catalonia, instead of with English and Dutch, who -must make the long and dangerous passage across the Bay of Biscay -and through the Straits. But the true secret of the success of the -Bourbons, as Lord Macaulay long ago pointed out, lay in the fact -that the general sentiment of Spain was on their side, a force -which, after another century, shall be seen working to make the -fame of a great English commander in another and greater Peninsular -war. - -Unfortunately the disasters of the year 1710 were not confined to -Spain. Up to the autumn of 1709 it seemed that England was still -bent on prosecuting the war till the ends of the Grand Alliance -should have been attained. Seven new regiments[377] at any rate -had been formed during the year, which might be taken as an earnest -of serious intentions. But ever since 1707 Robert Harley, who -will be remembered as the proposer of the imbecile motion for -disbandment which nearly drove King William from England, had been -working with all the resources of a weak, crafty, and dishonest -nature to undermine the Government that had so far carried the -country triumphantly through the struggle. It was the misfortune -of Great Britain at this time to lie at the mercy principally of -three women, Queen Anne, the Duchess of Marlborough, and Mrs. -Masham. Of these the Duchess alone had any ability, which ability, -however, was greatly discounted by her meddlesome and imperious -disposition. So long as she retained her ascendency over Anne, -things went unpleasantly for the Queen but on the whole well for -the country; when her ungovernable temper drove Anne into the arms -of Mrs. Masham, the Queen led a quieter life, but the country -suffered. Marlborough, who was aware of his wife's waning influence -and foresaw the consequences, tried hard on his return from the -campaign of 1709 to assure himself a permanent station of power -by asking to be made commander-in-chief for life. The request was -tactless as well as unprecedented. Anne, greatly offended, replied -by a positive refusal, which Marlborough, for once forgetting his -usual serenity, received with culpably ill grace. - -So far the Queen was undoubtedly right and Marlborough undoubtedly -wrong; but at the beginning of the new year the situation was -reversed. The colonelcy of a regiment fell vacant and was filled up -by the Queen on the nomination not of the commander-in-chief but -of Mrs. Masham by the appointment of her brother, Colonel Hill. -Marlborough naturally resolved to resign at once, while the wise -and sagacious Somers remonstrated most strongly with the Queen -against this foolish step, as subversive of all discipline and -injurious to the army. Unfortunately the Duke, instead of insisting -that either he or Mrs. Masham must go, was persuaded to consent to -a compromise, which the Queen regarded as a victory for herself and -rejoiced over with all the fervour of a weak nature. In the intense -personal bitterness of the struggle no one but Somers, outside -the military profession, paused for a moment to reflect on its -consequences to the Army. - -[Sidenote: - - 11 - April --. - 22 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - June --. - 26 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - Aug. --. - 28 -] - -The next object of the opposing faction was to get Marlborough -out of England to the Low Countries as soon as possible, which -was duly effected, at Harley's instance, by ordering him to take -a part in the negotiations for a peace. These negotiations coming -to naught, he opened the campaign in April by a rapid movement, -which brought him safely over the lines of La Bassée, and laid -siege to Douay. The town made a firm defence for two months, -but fell on the 26th of June; and Marlborough now proposed to -himself either to invest Arras or to advance further into France -and cross the Somme. Villars, however, though he had failed to -relieve Douay, had made excellent dispositions for the defence of -the frontier, and was lying unassailable behind a new series of -lines, which he had drawn, as he said later, to be the _ne plus -ultra_ of Marlborough. The Duke therefore turned to the siege of -Bethune, which surrendered on the 28th of August, and thereafter -to the sieges of Aire and St. Venant on the Upper Lys, which -closed the campaign. Each one of these fortresses was strong and -made a spirited resistance, costing the Allies altogether some -fifteen thousand men killed and wounded. The operations, though -less brilliant than those of other campaigns, completed the -communication with Lille, opened the whole line of the Lys, and -increased the facilities for joint action with an expedition by -sea, landing at Calais or Abbeville. Another such blow as Ramillies -would have gone near to bring the Allies before the walls of Paris. -Throughout the campaign, however, Marlborough acted always with -extreme caution, abandoning the plans which he had once favoured -for concerted operations with the fleet. He knew that the slightest -failure would lay him open to overwhelming attack from his enemies -at home, whose triumph would mean not only his own fall but, what -he dreaded much more, the ascendency of unscrupulous politicians -who would sacrifice the whole fruits of the war to factious ends, -and bring disgrace, perhaps ruin, upon England. - -Meanwhile the Queen, with all the pettiness of a weak nature, kept -parading her power by foolish interference with matters which she -did not understand. Marlborough had submitted a list of colonels -for promotion to general's rank, but as the name of Colonel Hill -was not among them she insisted on promoting every colonel of this -year, regardless of expense, propriety, justice, or discipline, -merely for the sake of including him. In August came a heavier blow -in the dismissal of Godolphin and the appointment of Harley as -Lord Keeper in his place, which accomplished the long-threatened -downfall of the Government. By a refinement of insult the Duke's -Secretary-at-War, Adam Cardonnel, was also removed and replaced, -without the slightest reference to Marlborough, by Mr. Granville. -Finally, shortly after his return from the campaign the Queen, -despite his entreaties, definitely dismissed the Duchess from all -her posts, and even went the length of ordering the Duke to forbid -the moving of any vote of thanks for his services by Parliament. - -The example thus set in high places was quickly followed. A few -even of the Duke's own officers, such as the Duke of Argyll, to -the huge disgust and contempt of the Army, turned against him. The -mouth of every libeller and slanderer was opened. Swift and St. -John, the only two Englishmen whose intellect entitled them to be -named in the same breath with Marlborough, vied with each other in -blackening his character. Nothing was too vile nor too extravagant -to be insinuated against the greatest soldier, statesman, and -diplomatist in Europe. He was prolonging the war for his own ends; -he could make peace if he would, but he would not; he delighted -in the wanton sacrifice of life; finally, he had neither personal -courage nor military talent. "I suppose," wrote Marlborough -bitterly, "that I must every summer venture my life in battle, and -be found fault with in the winter for not bringing home peace, -though I wish for it with all my heart and soul." - -He would fain have resigned but for the remonstrances of Godolphin -and Eugene, who entreated him to hold the Grand Alliance together -for yet a little while, and gain for Europe a permanent peace. -They might have spared their prayers had they known the secrets -of the Cabinet, for Harley and his gang were already opening the -secret negotiations with Lewis which were to dissolve the Alliance -and grant to France all that Europe had fought for ten years to -withhold from her. For these men, who accused Marlborough of wilful -squandering of life, thought nothing of sending brave soldiers -forth to lose their lives for a cause which they had made up their -minds to betray. But it is idle to waste comment on such creatures, -long dead albeit unhanged; though the fact must not be forgotten in -the history of the relations of the House of Commons towards the -Army. It will be more profitable to accompany the great Duke to his -last campaign. - - - - -CHAPTER X - - -[Sidenote: 1711.] - -The French, fully aware of the political changes in England, had -during the winter made extraordinary exertions to prolong the war -for yet one more campaign, and to that end had covered the northern -frontier with a fortified barrier on a gigantic scale. Starting -from the coast of Picardy the lines followed the course of the -river Canche almost to its source. From thence across to the Gy -or southern fork of the Upper Scarpe ran a line of earthworks, -extending from Oppy to Montenancourt. From the latter point the -Gy and the Scarpe were dammed so as to form inundations as far as -Biache, at which place a canal led the line of defence from the -Scarpe to the Sensée. Here more inundations between the two rivers -carried the barrier to Bouchain, whence it followed the Scheldt to -Valenciennes. From thence more earthworks prolonged the lines to -the Sambre, which carried them at last to their end at Namur. - -This was a formidable obstacle to the advance of the Allies, but -no lines had sufficed to stop Marlborough yet, and with Eugene by -his side the Duke did not despair. Before he could start for the -campaign, however, the news came that the Emperor Joseph was dead -of smallpox, an event which signified the almost certain accession -of the Archduke Charles to the Imperial crown and the consequent -withdrawal of his candidature for the throne of Spain. Eugene -was consequently detained at home; and worse than this, a fine -opportunity was afforded for making a breach in the Grand Alliance. -To render the Duke's difficulties still greater, though his force -was already weakened by the necessity of finding garrisons for the -towns captured in the previous year, the English Government had -withdrawn from him five battalions[378] for an useless expedition -to Newfoundland under the command of Mrs. Masham's brother, General -Hill; an expedition which may be dismissed for the present without -further mention than that it was dogged by misfortune from first -to last, suffered heavy loss through shipwreck, and accomplished -literally nothing. - -[Sidenote: - - April 20 - -------- - May 1. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 3 - June --. - 14 -] - -Nevertheless the Imperial army was present, though without Eugene. -The whole of the forces were assembled a little to the south of -Lille at Orchies, and on the 1st of May Marlborough moved forward -to a position parallel to that of Villars, who lay in rear of the -river Sensée with his left at Oisy and his right at Bouchain. -There both armies remained stationary and inactive for six weeks. -Eugene came, but presently received orders to return and to bring -his army with him. On the 14th of June Marlborough moved away -one march westward to the plain of Lens in order to conceal this -enforced diminution of his army. The position invited a battle, but -Villars only moved down within his lines parallel to the Duke; and -once more both armies remained inactive for five weeks. After the -departure of Eugene the French commander detached a portion of his -force to the Rhine, but even so he had one hundred and thirty-one -battalions against ninety-four, and one hundred and eighty-seven -squadrons against one hundred and forty-five of the Allies. - -[Sidenote: - - June 25 - ------- - July 6. -] - -We now approach what is perhaps the most remarkable and certainly -the most entertaining feat of the Duke during the whole war. -Villars, bound by his instructions, would not come out and fight; -his lines could not be forced by an army of inferior strength, and -they could therefore be passed only by stratagem. The inundation on -the Sensée between Arras and Bouchain could be traversed only by -two causeways, the larger of which was defended by a strong fort at -Arleux, the other being covered by a redoubt at Aubigny half a mile -below it. Marlborough knew that he could take the fort at Arleux -at any time and demolish it, but he knew also that Villars would -certainly retake it and rebuild as soon as his back was turned. He -therefore set himself to induce Villars to demolish it himself. -With this view he detached a strong force under General Rantzau to -capture the fort, which was done without difficulty. The Duke then -gave orders that the captured works should be greatly strengthened, -and for their further protection posted a large force under the -Prussian General Hompesch on the glacis of Douay, some three miles -distant from the fort. - -[Sidenote: - - June 28 - ------- - July 9. -] - -[Sidenote: - - 10 - July --. - 21 -] - -As fate ordained it Hompesch, thinking himself secure under the -guns of Douay, neglected his outposts and even his sentries, and -was surprised two days later by a sudden attack from Villars, which -was only repulsed with considerable difficulty and not a little -shame. Villars was in ecstasies over his success, and Marlborough -displayed considerable annoyance. However, the Duke reinforced -Hompesch, as if to show the value which he attached to Arleux, and -pushed forward the new works with the greatest vigour. Finally, -when all was completed, he threw a weak garrison into the fort -and led the rest of the army away two marches westward, encamping -opposite the lines between the Canche and the Scarpe. Villars -likewise moved westward parallel to him; but before he started he -detached a force to attack Arleux. The commander of the fort sent -a message to Marlborough that he could not possibly hold it, and -the Duke at once despatched Cadogan with a strong force to relieve -it. It was noticed, however, that Cadogan made no such haste as the -urgency of the occasion would have seemed to require; and indeed -before he had gone half way he returned with the intelligence that -Arleux had surrendered. - -[Sidenote: - - 15 - July --. - 26 -] - -[Sidenote: - - 17 - July --. - 28 -] - -Villars was elated beyond measure; and Marlborough for the first -time in his life seemed to be greatly distressed and cast down. -Throwing off his usual serenity he declared in public with much -passion that he would be even with Villars yet, and would attack -him, come what might of it, where he lay. Then came the news that -Villars had razed the whole works of Arleux, over which he had -spent such pains, entirely to the ground. This increased the Duke's -ill-temper. He vowed that he would avenge this insult to his army, -and renewed his menace of a direct attack on the entrenchments. -Villars now detached a force to make a diversion in Brabant; and -this step seemed to drive Marlborough distracted. Vowing that he -would check its march he sent off ten thousand men under Lord -Albemarle to Bethune, and the whole of his baggage and heavy -artillery to Douay. Having thus weakened an army already inferior -to that of the French, he repaired the roads that led towards the -enemy's entrenchments, and with much display of vindictiveness, -sulkiness, and general vexation advanced one march nearer to the -lines. His army watched his proceedings with amazement, for it had -never expected such proceedings from Corporal John. - -[Sidenote: - - July 22 - ------- - August 2. -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 23 - ------- - August 3. -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 24 - ------- - August 4. -] - -Villars meanwhile was in a transport of delight. He drew every man -not only from all parts of the lines but also from the neighbouring -garrisons towards the threatened point, and asked nothing better -than that Marlborough should attack. In the height of exultation -he actually wrote to Versailles that he had brought the Duke to -his _ne plus ultra_. Marlborough's strange manner still remained -the same. On the 2nd of August he advanced to within a league -of the lines, and during that day and the next set the whole of -his cavalry to work to collect fascines. At nightfall of the -3rd he sent away all his light artillery, together with every -wheeled vehicle, under escort of a strong detachment, and next -morning rode forward with most of his generals to reconnoitre -the lines. Captain Parker of the Eighteenth Royal Irish, who had -obtained permission to ride with the Staff, was amazed at the -Duke's behaviour. He had now thrown off all his ill-temper and -was calm and cool as usual, indicating this point and that to his -officers. "Your brigade, General, will attack here, such and such -brigades will be on your right and left, such another in support, -and you will be careful of this, that, and other." The generals -listened and stared; they understood the instructions clearly -enough, but they could not help regarding them as madness. So the -reconnaissance proceeded, drearily enough, and was just concluding -when General Cadogan turned his horse, unnoticed, out of the crowd, -struck in his spurs and galloped back to camp at the top of his -speed. Presently the Duke also turned, and riding back very slowly -issued orders to prepare for a general attack on the morrow. - -At this all ranks of the army, from the general to the drummer, -fell into the deepest depression. Not a man could fail to see that -direct attack on the lines was a hopeless enterprise at the best of -times, and doubly hopeless now that half of the army and the whole -of the artillery had been detached for other service. Again the -violent and unprecedented outburst of surliness and ill-temper was -difficult to explain; and the only possible explanation was that -the Duke, rendered desperate by failure and misfortunes, had thrown -prudence to the winds and did not care what he did. A few only -clung faintly to the hope that the chief who had led them so often -to victory might still have some surprise in store for them; but -the most part gave themselves up for lost, and lamented loudly that -they should ever have lived to see such a change come over the Old -Corporal. - -So passed the afternoon among the tents of the Allies; but -meanwhile Cadogan with forty hussars at his heels had long started -from the camp and was galloping hard across the plain of Lens to -Douay, five leagues away. There he found Hompesch ready with -his garrison, now strengthened by detachments from Bethune and -elsewhere to twelve thousand foot and two thousand horse, and told -him that the time was come. Hompesch thereupon issued his orders -for the troops to be ready to march that night. Still the main -army under Marlborough knew nothing of this, and passed the day -in dismal apprehension till the sun went down, and the drummers -came forward to beat tattoo. Then a column of cavalry trotted -out towards the Allied right, attracting every French eye and -stirring every French brain with curiosity as to the purport of the -movement. Then the drums began to roll; and the order ran quietly -down the line to strike tents and make ready to march immediately. - -Never was command more welcome. Within an hour all was ready and -the army was formed into four columns. The cavalry having done -their work of distracting French vigilance to the wrong quarter -returned unseen by the enemy; and at nine o'clock the whole army -faced to its left and marched off eastward in utter silence, with -Marlborough himself at the head of the vanguard. - -[Sidenote: - - July 24-25 - ---------- - August 4-5. -] - -[Sidenote: - - July 25 - -------- - August 5. -] - -The night was fine, and under the radiant moonlight the men swung -forward bravely hour after hour over the plain of Lens. The moon -paled; the dawn crept up into the east throwing its ghastly light -on the host of weary, sleepless faces; and presently the columns -reached the Scarpe. So far the march had lasted eight hours, and -fifteen miles had been passed. Pontoon-bridges were already laid -across the river, and on the further bank, punctual to appointment, -stood Brigadier Sutton with the field-artillery. The river was -passed, and presently a messenger came spurring from the east with -a despatch for the Duke of Marlborough. He read it; and words were -passed down the columns of march which filled them with new life. -"Generals Cadogan and Hompesch" (such was their purport) "crossed -the causeway at Arleux unopposed at three o'clock this morning, -and are in possession of the enemy's lines. The Duke desires that -the infantry will step out." The right wing of horse halted to form -the rearguard and bring up stragglers, while a cloud of dust in the -van told that the Duke and fifty squadrons with him were pushing -forward at the trot. Then the infantry shook themselves up and -stepped out with a will. - -Villars had received intelligence of Marlborough's march only two -hours after he had started, but he was so thoroughly bewildered -by the Duke's intricate manœuvres that he did not awake to the -true position until three hours later. Then, quite distracted, he -put himself at the head of the Household Cavalry and galloped off -at full speed. So furiously rode he that he wore down all but a -hundred of his troopers and pushed on with these alone. But even -so Marlborough was before him. At eight o'clock he crossed the -lower causeway at Aubanchoeuil-au-bac and passing his cavalry over -the Scarpe barred the road from the west by the village of Oisy. -Presently Villars, advancing reckless of all precautions, blundered -into the middle of the outposts. Before he could retire his whole -escort was captured, and he himself only by miracle escaped the -same fate. - -The Marshal now looked anxiously for the arrival of his main body -of horse; but the Allied infantry had caught sight of them on the -other side of the Sensée, and weary though they were had braced -themselves to race them for the goal. But now the severity of the -march and the burden of their packs began to tell heavily on the -foot. Hundreds dropped down unconscious and many died there and -then, but they were left where they lay to await the arrival of the -rearguard; for no halt was called, and each regiment pushed on as -cheerfully as possible with such men as still survived. Thus they -were still ahead of the French when they turned off to the causeway -at Arleux, and, Marlborough having thrown additional bridges over -the Scarpe, they came quickly into their positions. The right wing -of infantry crossed the river about four o'clock in the afternoon, -having covered close on forty miles in eighteen hours; and by five -o'clock the whole force was drawn up between Oisy and the Scheldt -within striking distance of Arras, Cambrai, and Bouchain. So -vanished the _ne plus ultra_ of Villars, a warning to all generals -who put their sole trust in fortified lines. - -[Sidenote: - - July 27 - -------- - August 7. -] - -Marlborough halted for the next day to give his troops rest and to -allow the stragglers to come in. Fully half the men of the infantry -had fallen out, and there were many who did not rejoin the army -until the third day. Villars on his side moved forward and offered -Marlborough battle under the walls of Cambrai; but the Duke would -not accept it, though the Dutch deputies, perverse and treacherous -to the last, tried hard to persuade him. Had the deputies marched -in the ranks of the infantry with muskets on their shoulders and a -kit of fifty pounds' weight on their backs, they would have been -less eager for the fray. Marlborough's own design, long matured -in his own mind, was the capture of Bouchain, and his only fear -was lest Villars should cross the Scheldt before him and prevent -it. Then the deputies, who had been so anxious to hurry the army -into an engagement under every possible disadvantage, shrank from -the peril of a siege carried on by an inferior under the eyes -of a superior force. But Marlborough, even if he had not been -able to adduce Lille as a precedent, was determined to have his -own way, and carried his point. At noon on the 7th of August he -marched down almost within cannon-shot of Cambrai, ready to fall on -Villars should he attempt to cross the Scheldt, halted until his -pontoon-bridges had been laid a few miles further down the stream, -and then gradually withdrawing his troops passed the whole of them -across the river unmolested. - -It is hardly credible that a vast number of foolish civilians, -Dutch, Austrian, and even English, blamed Marlborough for declining -battle before Cambrai, and that he was actually obliged to explain -why he refused to sacrifice the fruit of his manœuvres by attacking -a superior force in a strong position with an army not only smaller -in numbers at its best, but much thinned by a forced march and -exhausted by fatigue. "I despair of being ever able to please all -men," he wrote. "Those who are capable of judging will be satisfied -with my endeavours: others I leave to their own reflections, and go -on with the discharge of my duty." - -[Sidenote: - - 2 - Sept. --. - 13 -] - -It is possible that Villars only refrained from hindering -Marlborough's passage of the Scheldt in deference to orders from -Versailles, of which the Duke was as well aware as himself; but -it is more than doubtful whether he ever intended him to capture -Bouchain. Though inferior in numbers, however, Marlborough covered -himself so skilfully with entrenchments that Villars could not -hinder him, and met all attempts at diversion so readily that -not one of them succeeded. Finally, the garrison surrendered as -prisoners of war under the very eyes of Villars. The Duke would -have followed up his success by the siege of Quesnoi, the town -before which English troops first came under the fire of cannon in -the year of Creçy; but by this time Lewis, with the help of the -contemptible Harley, had succeeded in detaching England from the -Grand Alliance. Though, therefore, the English ministers continued -to encourage Marlborough in his operations in order to conceal -their own infamous conduct from the Allies, yet they took good -care that those operations should proceed no further. So with -the capture of Bouchain the last and not the least remarkable of -Marlborough's campaigns came, always victoriously, to an end. - -[Illustration: THE CAMPAIGN OF 1711. - - _To face page 548_ -] - -The most brilliant manifestation of military skill was, however, -powerless to help him against the virulence of faction in England. -The passage of the lines was described as the crossing of the -kennel, and the siege of Bouchain as a waste of lives. In May the -House of Commons had addressed the Queen for inquiry into abuses -in the public expenditure, and when the Duke arrived at the Hague -in November he found himself charged with fraud, extortion, and -embezzlement. The ground of the accusation was that he had received -in regular payment from the bread-contractors during his command -sums amounting to £63,000. Marlborough proved conclusively that -this was a perquisite regularly allowed to the commander-in-chief -in Flanders as a fund for secret service, and he added of his own -accord that he had also received a deduction of two and a half per -cent from the pay of the foreign troops, which had been applied -to the same object. But this defence, though absolutely valid and -sound, could avail him little. His reasons were disregarded, and on -the 31st of December he was dismissed from all public employment. - -[Sidenote: 1712.] - -Three weeks later the House of Commons voted that his acceptance of -these two perquisites was unwarrantable and illegal, and directed -that he should be prosecuted by the Attorney-General. This done, -the Ministry appointed the Duke of Ormonde to be commander-in-chief -in Marlborough's place, and confirmed to him the very perquisites -which the House had just declared to be unwarrantable and -illegal. Effrontery and folly such as this are nothing new in -representative assemblies, but it is significant of the general -attitude of English civilians towards English soldiers, that not -one of Harley's gang seems to have realised that this vindictive -persecution of Marlborough was an insult to a brave army as well as -a shameful injustice to a great man, nor to have foreseen that the -insult might be resented by the means that always lie ready to the -hand of armed and disciplined men. - -It is not necessary to dwell on the operations, if such they may -be called, of the Duke of Ormonde. He did indeed take the field -with Eugene, but under instructions to engage neither in a battle -nor a siege, but virtually to open communications with Villars. -By July the subservience of the British Ministry to Lewis the -Fourteenth had been so far matured that Ormonde was directed to -suspend hostilities for two months, and to withdraw his forces from -Eugene. Then the troubles began. The auxiliary troops in the pay -of England flatly refused to obey the order to leave Eugene, and -Ormonde was compelled to march away with the British troops only. -Even so the feelings of anger ran so high that a dangerous riot was -only with difficulty averted. The British and the auxiliaries were -not permitted to speak to each other, lest recrimination should -lead either to a refusal of the British to leave their old comrades -or to a free fight on both sides. The parting was one of the most -remarkable scenes ever witnessed. The British fell in, silent, -shamefaced, and miserable; the auxiliaries gathered in knots -opposite to them, and both parties gazed at each other mournfully -without saying a word. Then the drums beat the march and regiment -after regiment tramped away with full hearts and downcast eyes, -till at length the whole column was under way, and the mass of -scarlet grew slowly less and less till it vanished out of sight. - -At the end of the first day's march Ormonde announced the -suspension of hostilities with France at the head of each regiment. -He had expected the news to be received with cheers: to his -infinite disgust it was greeted with one continuous storm of hisses -and groans. Finally, when the men were dismissed they lost all -self-control. They tore their hair and rent their clothes with -impotent rage, cursing Ormonde with an energy only possible in an -army that had learned to swear in the heat of fifty actions. The -officers retired to their tents, ashamed to show themselves to -their men. Many transferred themselves to foreign regiments, many -more resigned their commissions; and it is said, doubtless with -truth, that they fairly cried when they thought of Corporal John. - -More serious consequences followed. The march was troublesome, -for the Dutch would not permit the retiring British to pass -through their towns, and the troops were consequently obliged to -cross every river that barred their way on their own pontoons. -Again, all the old contracts for bread had been upset by Harley -and his followers through their prosecution of Marlborough: it -was nothing to them that an army should be ill-fed, so long as -they gained power and place. St. John, it must be noted, was a -principal accomplice in this rascality--St. John, who alone of -living Englishmen had intellect sufficient to measure the gigantic -genius of Marlborough; who, moreover, as Secretary-at-War during -the greatest of the Duke's campaigns, had gained some insight into -those prosaic details of supplies and transport which are all in -all to the organisation of victory. Ormonde, a thoroughly mediocre -officer, was not a man to grapple with such difficulties. Bad bread -heightened the ill-feeling of the soldiers towards him. Agitators -insinuated to the worst characters in the army that they would lose -all the arrears of pay that were due to them; and the story found -ready and reasonable credence from recollection of the scandals -that had followed the Peace of Ryswick. The good soldiers, then -as always a great majority, refused to have anything to do with -a movement so discreditable, and reported what was going forward -to their officers; but either their tale was disbelieved or, as -is more likely, apathy and general disorganisation prevented the -nipping of the evil in the bud. Finally, three thousand malcontents -slipped away from the camp, barricaded themselves in a defensive -position, and sent a threatening message to the commander-in-chief -demanding good bread and payment of arrears. Then discipline -speedily reasserted itself. The mutineers were surrounded and -compelled to surrender. A court-martial was held; ten of the -ringleaders were executed on the spot and the mutiny was quelled -once for all. Fortunate it was that the outbreak took place while -the troops were still abroad, or the House of Commons might have -learned by a second bitter experience that the patience of the -British soldier, though very great, is not inexhaustible.[379] - -[Sidenote: 1713.] - -[Sidenote: - - March 31 - -------- - April 11. -] - -The negotiations so infamously begun with King Lewis shortly -after found as infamous an end in the Peace of Utrecht, which not -only sacrificed every object for which the war had been fought, -but branded England with indelible disgrace. Five months earlier -Marlborough had left England, to all intent a banished man. Before -his departure he had endured incredible insults in the House of -Lords, the worst and falsest of them from one of his own officers, -the Duke of Argyll. The defection and ingratitude of Argyll, -however, only brought out the more strongly the general loyalty -of the Army towards its great chief. Marlborough's most prominent -officers were of course subjected to the same degradation as -himself. Cadogan, for instance, was removed from the Lieutenancy -of the Tower to make room for Brigadier Hill; and even the Duke's -humble secretary, Adam Cardonnel, was not too small an object -for the malignant spite of the House of Commons. But honourable -men, such as Lord Stair, the colonel of the Scots Greys, threw up -their commissions in disgust; and plain, honest officers, such as -Kane and Parker, have left on record the immense contempt wherein -Argyll, brave soldier though he was, was held in the Army. The -Dutch also rose, though too late, to the occasion. When Marlborough -sailed into Ostend at the end of November, 1712, the whole garrison -was under arms to receive him, and when he left it, it was under -a salute of artillery. At Antwerp, in spite of his protests, -his reception was the same; the cannon thundered in his honour, -and all ranks of the people turned out to meet him with joyful -acclamations. He took the most secluded road to Maestricht, but go -whither he would, fresh parties of horse always appeared to escort -him. Above all, he was comforted by the unchanging confidence and -sympathy of Eugene. - -There for the present we must leave him till the time, not far -distant, shall come to tell of his restoration. That the welcome -given to him by the Dutch may have been a consolation to him we -can hardly doubt, and yet he cannot but have felt that these same -Dutch had been his undoing. For, despite the shameful perfidy of -the English politicians who drove Marlborough from England and -concluded the Treaty of Utrecht, the main responsibility for the -catastrophe rests not with them but with those unspeakable Dutch -deputies who, by wrecking the Duke's earlier campaigns, prolonged -beyond the limits of the patience of the House of Commons the War -of the Spanish Succession. - - AUTHORITIES.--The literature of the War of the Spanish Succession - is, as may be guessed, not slender. On the English side there - are the lives of Marlborough by Lediard and Coxe, as well as the - French life, in three volumes, which was written by Napoleon's - order. There are also the journals of Archdeacon Hare for the - campaign of Blenheim, and a valuable letter from him respecting - Oudenarde; the narratives of General Stearne, of Kane, Parker, - and Sergeant Millner, all unfortunately of one regiment, the 18th - Royal Irish; and, for the campaign of 1708 only, the journal of - Private John Deane of the 1st Guards (privately printed 1846). - Dumont's _Histoire Militaire_ gives admirable maps and plans. - Many curious items are also to be found in Lamberti. I have not - failed to study the archives of the War Office preserved at - the Record Office, with results that will be seen in the next - chapter, and I have been carefully through the contemporary - newspapers. Minor authorities, such as Tindal's _History_ and - the like, are hardly worth mention. Marlborough's _Despatches_, - though decried by Lord Mahon (Preface to _History of England_), I - have found most valuable. On the French side Quincy remains the - chief authority, together with the _Archives Militaires_ in the - printed collection. The _Mémoires_ of St. Simon, Villars, Millot, - and others have also been consulted, and good and pertinent - comment is always to be found in Feuquières. - - For the war in Spain see at the close of Chapter VI. - - - - -CHAPTER XI - - -[Sidenote: 1702-1713] - -Although the narrative of the War of the Spanish Succession has -not infrequently been interrupted in order to give the reader an -occasional glimpse of the progress and difficulties of the military -administration at home, yet much has been of necessity omitted, -lest the strand, enwoven of too many and too distinct threads, -should snap with the burden of its own weight and unravel itself -into an inextricable tangle. I propose therefore at this point -to summarise the orders, regulations, and enactments of the War -Office and of the House of Commons during the reign of Queen Anne -to the Peace of Utrecht, so as, if possible, to convey some notion -of the legacies, other than those of glory and prestige, that were -bequeathed to the Army by this long and exhausting war. - -The reader will, I think, have gathered at least that the extension -of operations and the consequent increase of the British forces -during the war was almost portentously rapid. A few figures will -make this more apparent. In 1702 and 1703 Flanders was practically -the only scene of active operations, the raid on Cadiz being of -too short duration and too little account to be worthy of serious -mention. In both of these years the British troops with Marlborough -were set down at eighteen thousand men. In 1704 to 1706 they -rose to twenty-two thousand, and in 1708 to 1709 to twenty-five -thousand men, reverting once again to twenty-two thousand from 1711 -to 1712. Concurrently with the first increase of 1704 came the -first despatch of eight thousand troops to the Peninsula, rising -to nine thousand in 1705, ten thousand in 1706, and twenty-six -thousand[380] from 1707 to 1709, relapsing between 1710 and 1712 -to rather over twenty thousand. The total number of forces borne -on the list of the British Army at its greatest was six troops of -Household Cavalry, eleven regiments of horse, sixteen of dragoons, -and seventy-five of foot, comprehending in all seventy-nine -battalions.[381] The nominal war strength of a battalion in -Flanders was, as a rule, in round numbers nine hundred and forty -of all ranks, in the Peninsula from seven hundred and fifty to -eight hundred and eighty, a diversity of establishments which gave -rise to much trouble and confusion. It would not be safe to reckon -the British infantry at any period during the war as exceeding -fifty thousand men. The regiments of dragoons again varied from a -normal strength of four hundred to four hundred and fifty, rising -in occasional instances to six hundred; but they cannot reasonably -be calculated at a higher figure than six thousand men. The -regiments of horse were subject to similar variations, but their -total strength, even including the six strong troops of Household -Cavalry, cannot be counted as more than seven thousand men. There -then remains the artillery, of which, from want of data as well -as from vagueness of organisation, it is impossible to make any -accurate calculation. Speaking generally, the highest strength -actually attained by British troops at home and abroad during the -war may be set down at seventy thousand men.[382] - -The defect that will seem most flagrant, according to modern -ideas, in the scheme above sketched is the multiplicity of distinct -units that go to make up so small a force. The French had long -abandoned the system of single battalions, and indeed given to -their regiments the name of brigades. In the British Army the -Guards and the Royal Scots alone had two battalions; and though -we know by actual information that, in the case of the former, -the battalions at home were used to feed those abroad, yet it is -indubitable that both battalions of the Royal Scots took the field -and kept it from beginning to end of the war. For this, however, -the principles that then governed the conduct of a war and the -maintenance of an army sufficiently account. The year was divided -for military purposes into two parts--the campaigning season, -which lasted roughly from the 1st of April to the 1st of October, -and the recruiting season, which covered the months that remained -over. Directly the campaign was ended and the troops distributed -into winter quarters, a sufficient number of officers returned -home to raise for each regiment the recruits that were needed. In -strictness no officer enlisted a man except for his own corps; and -it was only occasionally that a regiment, having enlisted more -recruits than were required for its own wants, transferred its -superabundance to another. - -But apart from this, we find throughout the reign of Queen Anne -a resolute and healthy opposition to the principle of completing -one regiment by drafts from another. At the beginning of the war -the ranks of the Army were, thanks to the wanton imbecility of -the House of Commons, so empty that it was impossible to send any -appreciable number of regiments abroad without depletion of those -that were left at home. As an exceptional favour therefore the -first troops sent to Spain and to the West Indies were completed -by drafts; but at that point the practice was checked.[383] -Marlborough had early set his face against so vicious a system, and -although once, under pressure of orders from the Queen herself, he -directed it to be enforced, yet it is sufficiently clear from his -language and from his ready deference to the protest of the officer -concerned, that he fully recognised the magnitude of its evil.[384] -After the disaster of Almanza the War Office appears to have been -urged in many quarters to resort to drafting, but St. John told the -House of Commons outright that the practice had been found ruinous -to the service, prejudicial alike to the corps that furnished and -that received the draft. As Marlborough's influence declined, the -mischievous system seems to have been revived, and although in -more than one case colonels flatly declined to part with their -men,[385] yet at the close of the war we find garrisons denuded by -drafts to an extent that was positively dangerous.[386] The same -objectionable practice, as is well known, is still rampant among -us; would that the authority of Marlborough could help to break it -down. - -There remains the question why, instead of raising new regiments, -the authorities did not raise additional battalions to existing -regiments? The reply is that they doubtless knew their own -business, and adopted the best plan that lay open to them. -Englishmen have a passion for independent command. To this day, as -the history of the volunteers shows, there are many men who, though -unwilling to serve in any existing corps, would cheerfully expend -ten times the care, trouble, and expense on a regiment, or even on -a troop or company, of their own. It must be remembered, too, that -a regiment in those days was not only a command but a property, -that it afforded to officers opportunities for good and for evil -such as are now undreamed of, that, lastly, it was in the vast -majority of cases called by its colonel's name. - -Let us now, before examining the measures taken for the supply -of recruits, glance briefly at the principal centres and causes -of consumption and of demand. The inquiry must not be considered -superfluous, for the primary force in the maintenance of a -voluntary army is attraction, and it is only after full knowledge -of the elements of repulsion which work counter to it that the -failure of the attractive force, and the necessity for substituting -coercion in its place, can be rightly understood. The theatres -of war claim first attention, and of these Flanders claims the -precedence. It is well known that sickness or fatigue are more -destructive in war than bullet and sword, and Marlborough's -campaigns can have been no exception to the rule. Yet it is -remarkable that the British were never so much thinned as after the -campaign of Blenheim, wherein they bore the brunt of two severe -actions. The march to the Danube was of course severe, but the men -stood it well; nor do we hear of extraordinary sickness on the -return march. All that we know is that when the British regiments -reached the Rhine they were too weak to be fit for further work. -We never hear the like in subsequent campaigns, in spite of severe -marching and sieges. Yet the capture of one of Vauban's fortresses -was always a long and murderous piece of work, while, if the -trenches were flooded by heavy rain or the natural oozing of marshy -ground, an epidemic of dysentery was sure to follow. We have no -returns of the losses from sickness in Flanders, but it is certain -that the operations in that field were by no means the most deadly -to the troops, nor the most exhausting to England. This must be -ascribed almost entirely to the care and forethought of the great -Duke. Marlborough knew the peculiar weaknesses as well as the -peculiar value of his own countrymen, and was careful to keep them -always well fed. In the second place, and this was most important, -the theatre of war was but a few hours distant from England, so -that a force once fairly set on foot could be maintained with -comparative ease. Recruits, too, did not feel that they were -going to another part of the world, and would never return home. -Moreover, a bounty had been granted for Blenheim, there was some -prospect of plunder,[387] and there was the glory of marching to -certain victory with Corporal John. - -It was far otherwise in the Peninsula. There a campaign was broken -not only by winter-quarters, but also by summer-quarters in the -hot months of July and August. Again, the voyage to Lisbon, and -still more to Catalonia, to say nothing of the risk of storm and -shipwreck, occupied days and weeks, whereas the passage to Flanders -was reckoned by hours. The transport-service, too, had a bad name. -Although after 1702 the official complaints of bad and insufficient -food ceased, yet the mortality on board the troop-ships sent to -the Peninsula shows that the sickness and misery must have been -appalling. The reinforcements despatched to Lisbon in the summer -of 1706 with a total strength of eight thousand men were reduced -to little more than half of their numbers when they landed in -Valencia in February 1707. They had suffered from bad weather -and long confinement, it is true, but theirs was no exceptional -case.[388] In 1710, of a detachment of three hundred men that -were landed, only a hundred ever reached their regiments.[389] -In 1711 five weak regiments lost sixty men dead, and two hundred -disabled from sickness in a voyage of ten days.[390] A private of -the First Guards summed up his experience of a month in a transport -as "continual destruction in the foretop, the pox above board, the -plague between decks, hell in the forecastle, and the devil at the -helm."[391] - -This was one great discouragement to recruits; and others became -quickly known to them. The Peninsula was ill-supplied, transport -was difficult, the quarters of the troops were very unhealthy, -and the Portuguese unfriendly even to brutality.[392] Altogether, -though steel and lead played their part in the destruction of the -British in the Peninsula, the havoc that they wrought was trifling -compared with that of privation and disease. Prisoners of course -were never lost for long, as Marlborough had always abundance -of French to give in exchange for them; but in spite of this, -the waste in Portugal and Spain was terrible, and the service -proportionately unpopular. - -So much for the two theatres of war; but the sphere of foreign -service was not bounded by these. New York, Bermuda, and -Newfoundland each possessed a small garrison; and the West Indies, -as we have seen, claimed from four to six battalions. This colonial -service was undoubtedly the most unpopular of all. When the -single company that defended Newfoundland left England in 1701, -their destination was carefully concealed from the men lest they -should desert. The most hardened criminal could hope for pardon -if he enlisted for Jamaica. Once shipped off to the West Indies, -the men seem to have been totally forgotten. No proper provision -was made for paying them; colonels who cared for their men were -compelled to borrow money to save them from starvation; colonels -who did not, came home, together with many of their officers, and -left the men to shift for themselves.[393] Clothing, again, was -entirely overlooked. The troops in Jamaica were reduced almost -to nakedness; and when finally their clothing, already two years -overdue, was ready for them, it was delayed by a piece of bungling -such as could only have been perpetrated by the War Office.[394] -Another great difficulty was that, there being no regular system of -reliefs, colonels never knew whether to clothe their men for a hot -or a temperate climate. Recruits were consequently most difficult -to obtain, although owing to the unhealthiness of the climate -they were in great request. The result was that old men and boys -were sent across the Atlantic only to be at once discharged, at -great pecuniary loss, by the officers, who were ashamed to admit -creatures of such miserable appearance into their companies.[395] - -Again, during the course of the war, two new acquisitions demanded -garrisons of three or four battalions apiece. Minorca appears to -have given no very serious trouble; but Gibraltar having been -reduced virtually to ruins by the siege was, owing to the lack of -proper habitations, a hot-bed of sickness. The authorities seem -in particular to have neglected the garrison of Gibraltar, though -they took considerable pains for the fortification of the Rock. In -1706 more than half of the garrison was disabled through disease -brought on by exposure,[396] yet it was not until four years later -that orders were given for the construction of barracks,[397] -while even in 1711 the men were obliged to burn their own miserable -quarters from want of fuel.[398] - -These lapses in countries beyond sea might possibly find some -excuse in the plea of inexperience, though this should not -be admitted in a country which for nearly four centuries had -continually sent expeditions across the Channel, and for more than -two centuries across the Atlantic also. Yet there were similar -faults at home which show almost incredible thoughtlessness and -neglect. Thus in 1709 many soldiers at Portsmouth perished from -want of fire and candle,[399] while the garrison of Upnor Castle -was required to supply a detachment of guards in the marshes three -miles from any house or shelter, where the men on duty stood up to -their knees in water.[400] No one had thought that they might want -a guard-room or at least tents. Again, it was not until a ship's -load of men invalided from Portugal had been turned adrift in the -streets of Penrhyn, penniless and reduced to beg for charity, that -any provision was made for the sick and wounded. Then at last, in -the fourth campaign of the war, commissioners were appointed to -make them their special care. So far no one had been responsible -for them, the duty having been thrust provisionally upon the -commissioners of transport.[401] In a word, no forethought nor -care was to be found beyond the reach of Marlborough's own hand; -all administration on the side of the War Office, even under the -secretaryship of so able a man as Henry St. John, was marked by -blindness and incompetence. - -The ground being now cleared, and the principal obstacles in the -way of recruiting being indicated, it is time to examine the means -employed by Parliament to overcome them. We may properly confine -ourselves to England, since she with her population of five and a -quarter millions was necessarily the main source for the supply -of men. Ireland was not yet the recruiting-ground that she became -at a later day, for the simple reason that none but Protestants -could be enlisted. She had, however, her five distinctly national -regiments,[402] a small proportion which enabled her to provide a -dozen or fifteen more in the course of the war. Protestant Ireland, -in fact, still under the spell of William of Orange, played her -part very fully and generously during these years. Scotland, as -became a country of great military traditions, maintained a larger -number of national regiments than her sister,[403] but being thinly -populated, inaccessible in many districts and already engaged to -furnish troops to the Dutch service, was unable to provide more -than three additional battalions. The greatest stress therefore -fell, and fell rightly, upon England. - -Transporting ourselves therefore for a moment to the opening of the -war, when the Army was still smarting under its shameful treatment -by Parliament after the Peace of Ryswick, we find without surprise -that the strain of providing recruits made itself felt very early. -The Mutiny Act of 1703 shows this by a clause empowering the Queen -to order the delivery from gaol of capital offenders who had -been pardoned on condition of enlistment. This enactment was of -course something like a reversion to the methods of Elizabeth; but -although this class of recruit does not sound desirable, yet the -competition for it was so keen that a regular roster was kept to -ensure that every regiment should profit by the windfall in its -turn.[404] It must be remembered that many a man was then condemned -to death who would now be released under the First Offenders' -Act; but apart from this, criminals were welcome to the recruiting -officer, first, because they cost nothing, and secondly, because -they were often men of fine physique.[405] In the later years of -the war the sweepings of the gaols were in particular request, and -the multiplication of petitions from the condemned shows that the -fact was appreciated within the walls of Newgate. - -In the session of 1703-4 an Act, for which there was a precedent in -the days of King William, was passed to provide for the discharge -of all insolvent debtors from prison, who should serve or procure -another to serve in the fleet or Army. This probably brought some -useful young recruits who enlisted to procure the release of their -fathers; and there is evidence that the bankrupt was as much sought -after by recruiting officers as the sheep-stealer. Another most -important Act of the same session was the first of a long series of -annual Recruiting Acts. Under this, a bounty of one pound[406] was -offered for volunteers; and justices of the peace were empowered to -levy as recruits all able-bodied men who had no visible employment -or means of subsistence, and to employ the officers of borough -and parish for the purpose. For each such recruit a bounty of -ten shillings[407] was allowed for himself as well as a fee of -ten shillings to the parish officer. To remove any temptation -to malpractice, no officer of the regular Army was permitted to -sit as a justice under the Act; and all voters were specially -exempted from its operation, the possession of the franchise being -apparently considered, as it probably was, a sufficiently visible -means of subsistence. - -This latter measure brought with it a considerable crop of -abuses. In the very next session it was found necessary to give -special protection to harvest-labourers, many having been already -impressed, while many more had hidden themselves from fear of -impressment. But this was by no means all. Voters occasionally -shared the fate of their unenfranchised brethren, and required -hasty deliverance with many apologies to the member for their -borough.[408] The high bounty again gave a stimulus to wrongful -impressment, fraudulent enlistment, and desertion. It was found -necessary after a few months to restrain the zeal of parish -officers, who enlisted men that were already soldiers. Again, there -were recruiting-officers who would discharge the recruits brought -to them for a pecuniary consideration, an occurrence which though -not common was not unknown. Finally, recruits would occasionally -try to break away in a body, which led to desperate fighting and to -awkward complications. In one instance a large number of recruits -made so determined an attempt to overpower the guard and escape -that they were not quelled until two of them had been actually -slain. The guard, who thought with justice that they had done no -more than their duty, then found themselves threatened with an -indictment for murder; and the War Office was obliged to call in -the Attorney-General to advise how they should be protected.[409] -Turbulent scenes with the rural population over the arrest of -deserters and the impressment of idle fellows were by no means -infrequent. We have, for instance, accounts of the whole town of -Exminster turning out with flails and pitchforks against an officer -who claimed a deserter, and of the mob of Abergavenny, mad for the -rescue of an impressed recruit, driving the officers from house to -house, and compelling them to fire in self-defence.[410] - -After the campaign of Blenheim, the heavy losses in the field, -and the resolution to send a large force to the Peninsula drove -the military authorities to desperate straits. Suggestions of -course came in from various quarters; among them a proposal from a -gentleman of Amsterdam that every one who had two or more lacqueys -should send one into the Army, the writer having observed that -members of Parliament "abounded in that sort of person."[411] -But the stress of the situation is shown by the fact that a Bill -was actually introduced to compel every parish and corporation -to furnish a certain number of recruits, though it was presently -dropped as being an imitation from the French and unfit for a free -country.[412] The authorities therefore contented themselves by -ordering stricter enforcement of the Recruiting Act, and apparently -with success.[413] During the next two years there was no change -in the Act, excepting the addition, in 1706, of a penalty of five -pounds against parochial officers who should neglect to execute -it. But in 1707 the measure showed signs of failing, and was -hastily patched up by increasing the bounty to two pounds[414] -for volunteers enlisting during the recruiting season, and to one -pound for such as enlisted after the campaign had been opened. Some -effort was also made to systematize the power granted by the Act by -convening regular meetings of justices at stated times and places. - -The close of the year, however, found the Commons face to face with -the disaster of Almanza, and with urgent need for close upon twenty -thousand recruits. The Recruiting Act now assumed a new and drastic -form. The authority to impress men of no employment was transferred -from the justices to the commissioners of the land-tax, with full -powers to employ the parochial officers. The penalty on these -officers for neglect of duty was increased to ten pounds, while for -diligent execution of the same a reward of one pound was promised -them for every recruit, as well as sixpence a day for the expense -of keeping him until he should be made over to his regiment. -The parish likewise received three pounds for every man thus -recruited, in order to quicken its zeal against the idle. Finally, -as an entire novelty, borrowed be it noted from the French,[415] -volunteers were enlisted at the same high rate of bounty for a -term of three years, at the close of which they were entitled to -claim their discharge. Great results were evidently expected from -these provisions, for the standard of height for recruits was still -maintained at five feet five inches,[416] men below that stature -being accepted only for marines. So from this year until the close -of the war it is possible to study the first trial of short service -in England. - -Unfortunately abuses seemed only to multiply under the new Act. The -campaign of Oudenarde, prolonged as it was into December, drained -Marlborough's army heavily, and the spring of 1709 found the forces -in want of yet another fifteen thousand recruits. Moreover, from -the moment when Marlborough's power began to decline the tone of -the Army at home began to sink. The justices again were jealous -of the commissioners of land-tax, and in some instances openly -abused and reproached them.[417] In at least one case they were -found conniving with officers to accept money for the discharge -of impressed men.[418] Officers on their side also began to -misbehave, withholding the bounty from recruits and subjecting -them to the gantlope if they complained, and in some instances not -only withholding the bounty but demanding large bribes for their -discharge.[419] As the war continued, matters grew worse and worse. -Sham press-gangs established themselves with the object of levying -blackmail;[420] and as a climax Army and Navy began to fight for -the possession of impressed men. - -At the opening of 1711 the first batch of men enlisted for three -years completed their term, but found to their surprise that -their discharge did not come to them automatically, as they had -expected. The officers had no instructions. They were unwilling -too to part with the sixty best soldiers in each regiment, for -such these men of short service had proved to be, and could only -promise to let them go as soon as orders should arrive from home. -Harley's Secretary-at-War, with the characteristic ill faith -of the politician towards the soldier, boldly proposed to pass -an Act compelling them to serve for two years longer; but the -Attorney-General, to whom the matter was referred, decided that -the men were beyond all question entitled to their discharge.[421] -Thereupon, rather late in the day, the Secretary-at-War hurriedly -ordered the instant discharge of a man whose term had expired, in -order to encourage others to enlist.[422] Finally, in 1711 abuses -increased so rapidly under the new administration that the whole -system of recruiting broke down.[423] The evils of Harley's short -tenure of office were by no means bounded by the Peace of Utrecht. - -There remains a further question still to be dealt with, that -namely of desertion, which directly and indirectly sapped the -strength of the Army as much as any campaign. Let it not be thought -that this evil was confined to England, for it was rampant in every -army in Europe, and nowhere a greater scourge than in France. Nor -let the deserter from the army in the field be too severely judged, -for his anxiety was not to serve against his own countrymen but -simply to get back to his own home. Some of the English deserters -in Flanders were even cunning enough to pass homeward as exchanged -prisoners belonging to the fleet.[424] But it was before starting -for the seat of war that deserters gave most trouble, particularly -if, as was often unavoidably the case, the regiments were kept -waiting long for their transports.[425] No punishment seemed to -deter others from abetting them.[426] If we may judge by the -records of the next reign a thousand to fifteen hundred lashes was -no uncommon sentence on a deserter, while not a few were actually -shot in Hyde Park.[427] The only resource, therefore, was to check -the evil as far as possible by prevention. Thus we constantly find -large bodies of troops under orders for foreign service quartered -in the Isle of Wight, from which they could not easily escape. -This remedy was at least in one case found worse than the disease, -for the numbers of the men being too great to be accommodated in -the public houses, very many of them perished from exposure to the -weather. Thereupon the Secretary-at-War made inquiry as to barns -and empty houses for them, according to the traditions of his -office, fatally too late.[428] - -Another practice, which from ignorance of its origin has been -blindly followed till within the last few years, also took its -rise from the prevalence of desertion at this period, namely -that of shifting troops from quarter to quarter of England by -sea. On the same principle men were frequently cooped up in the -transport-vessels for weeks and even months before they sailed on -foreign service, occasionally with frightful consequences. Thus in -1705 certain troops bound for Jamaica were embarked on transports -on the 18th of May. They remained there for two months with fever -and small-pox on board, until at last, the medical supplies being -exhausted, the case was represented to the Secretary-at-War. The -reply was that they were to receive such relief as was possible; -but they remained in the same transports until October, when at -last they were drafted off in parties of sixty on the West Indian -packets to their destination. Forty-eight of them were lost -through a storm in port long before October, but the number that -perished from sickness is unknown, and was probably most sedulously -concealed.[429] - -Let us now turn to the pleasanter theme of the changes that -were wrought for the benefit of the soldier. The first of these -appears in the Mutiny Act of 1703, and was doubtless due in part -to the scandals revealed in the office of the Paymaster-General. -The rates of pay to all ranks below the status of commissioned -officers are actually given in the Act, with express directions, -under sufficient penalties, that the subsistence money shall be -paid regularly every week, and the balance over and above it every -two months. Further, all stoppages by the Paymaster-General, -Secretary-at-War, commissaries, and muster-masters are definitely -forbidden, and the legitimate deductions strictly limited to the -clothing-money, one day's pay to Chelsea Hospital, and one shilling -in the pound to the Queen. The continuance of this last tax was -of course a crying injustice, but the abolition of the other -irregular claims was distinctly a gain to the British soldier, due, -as it is satisfactory to know, to the newly appointed Controllers -of Accounts. Altogether the condition of the soldier as regards -his pay seems decidedly to have improved, Marlborough's attention -to this most important matter having evidently borne good fruit. -It is true that in Spain and the colonies, to which he had not -leisure nor opportunity to give personal attention, the neglect of -the Secretary-at-War caused great grievances and much suffering; -it is true also that even in England, when his influence was gone, -there was a recurrence of the old scandals under the miserable -administration of Harley;[430] yet on the whole the improvements in -this province were at once distinct and permanent. - -Another valuable reform in respect of clothing was due to the -direct interposition of Marlborough himself. In 1706 the abuses in -this department were, at his instance, made the subject of inquiry -by Secretary St. John and General Charles Churchill, with the -ultimate result that the pattern and allowance of clothing and the -deduction of off-reckonings were laid down by strict rule, while -the whole business of clothing, though still left to the colonels, -was subjected to the control of a board of six General officers, -whose sanction was essential to the validity of all contracts -and to the acceptance of all garments. Thus was established the -Board of General Officers,[431] whose minutes are still the great -authority for the uniforms of the eighteenth century. - -Unfortunately these benefits could weigh but little against the -disadvantages already described. It is certain that despite the -standard laid down by Act of Parliament, vast numbers of boys were -enlisted as well as men of fifty and sixty years of age, who no -sooner entered the field than they were sent back into hospital. -Good regiments, however, then as now obtained good recruits, -sometimes through the offer of extra bounty from the officers,[432] -more often through the character of the officers themselves. The -presence of thieves, pirates, and other criminals in the ranks -must necessarily have introduced a certain leaven of ruffianism, -yet neither in Flanders nor in the Peninsula do we find anything -approaching to the outrageous bursts of indiscipline which were -witnessed a century later at Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajoz. There was, -it is true, the mutiny under the Duke of Ormonde, but it was of -short duration and easily suppressed; and altogether, for reasons -that shall presently be given, Marlborough's army seems to have -been better conducted than Wellington's. Unfortunately, although -two men who served in the ranks left us journals of a whole or -part of the war, we remain still without a picture of the typical -soldier of Marlborough. The one figure that emerges with any -distinctness from the ranks is that of Christian Ross, a woman who -served as a dragoon in several actions, was twice wounded before -her sex was discovered, and ended her career as virago, sutleress, -and out-pensioner of Chelsea Hospital.[433] The rest, with the -exception of Sergeant Littler, Sergeant John Hall,[434] and Private -Deane remain buried in dark oblivion, leaving a lamentable gap that -can never be filled in our military history. - -From the men I pass to the officers. Our information in regard to -them is curiously mixed. Certain of the abuses that dishonoured -them have already been revealed, nor can these be said to exhaust -the list. There were grave scandals in the Guards, which had the -misfortune to possess one colonel, of a distinguished Scottish -family, who revived the worst traditions of Elizabeth and Charles -the Second. Not only did he systematically enlist thieves and other -bad characters as "faggots,"[435] but he did not scruple to accept -recruits who offered themselves for the sake of defrauding their -creditors, to receive money from them for doing so, and to extort -more money by threatening to withhold his protection or to ship -them off to fight in Spain. These men did no duty,[436] wore no -uniform and drew no pay, to the great profit of the colonel and the -great disgrace of the regiment; and the evil grew to such a height -that when the House of Commons finally took the matter in hand, the -"faggots" were found to number one-fourth of the nominal strength -of the regiment.[437] Such cases, however, as this of the infamous -Colonel Chartres were rare; and the decrease of this particular -vice of officers in Queen Anne's time presents a pleasing contrast -to its prevalence in the time of King William. - -Another habit, which sounds particularly objectionable in modern -ears, was the occasional unwillingness of officers to accompany -their regiments, and their readiness to leave them, when employed -on distasteful service. This was especially true of regiments -on colonial stations, particularly in the West Indies,[438] and -was by no means unknown of those actually on active service in -Flanders and the Peninsula. Sometimes the offenders had received -leave of absence, which the Secretary-at-War would willingly grant -as a matter of jobbery in the case of a friend,[439] but more -often they took leave without asking for it, occasionally for -as much as five years together,[440] without objection from the -colonel or rebuke from the War Office. One colonel took it as a -great grievance when Marlborough insisted that he should sell his -commission since he was unwilling to do duty;[441] and altogether -the general connivance at shirking of this kind rendered the -offence so little discreditable that it must not be judged by the -standard of to-day. Speaking generally, however, the officers had -far more grievances that command our pity than faults which provoke -our indignation. - -One hardship that bore on officers with peculiar severity was the -expense of obtaining recruits. They received, of course, levy-money -for the purpose, but this was frequently insufficient, while no -allowance was made for recruits lost through desertion, sickness, -or other misfortunes over which they had no control. Marlborough -was most strict in discouraging, except in extreme cases, any -attempts of officers to transfer their burdens from themselves to -the State, though he freely admitted, not without compassion, that -officers had been ruined by sheer bad luck with their recruits. We -find bitter complaints from officers in the Peninsula that owing to -the heavy mortality in the transports, their recruits, by the time -that they reached them, cost them eight or nine pounds a head.[442] -Indeed, if one may judge from contemporary newspapers, which are -quite borne out by scattered evidence, the sufferings of officers -on account of recruiting were almost unendurable.[443] - -Remounts again were a heavy tax upon the officer. An allowance of -levy-money at the rate of twelve pounds a horse[444] was granted to -officers for the purpose, but was complained of as quite inadequate -to the charge,[445] in consequence of heavy losses through the -epidemic of horse-sickness in Flanders. Carelessness in the hiring -and fitting of transports also caused much waste of life among the -horses,[446] until Marlborough, as his letters repeatedly show, -took the matter into his own hands. It is interesting to learn -that Irish horses, being obtainable for five pounds apiece,[447] -were much used in Spain, though less in Flanders, Marlborough -having a prejudice in favour of English horses as of English -men, as superior to all others. This cheapness, however, was of -little service to the officers. They were expected to pay for the -transport of their horses at a fixed rate, and though at length in -reply to their complaints free transport was granted for twenty-six -horses to a battalion, yet this privilege was again withdrawn as -soon as it was discovered that Irish animals were to be purchased -at a low price.[448] - -Again, the officers were always subject to extortion from -civilians. Parish constables, to whom the law allowed sixpence -a day for the subsistence of recruits, declined to deliver them -unless they were paid eightpence a day.[449] But as usual the chief -delinquents were the regimental agents. The Controllers of Accounts -early made an attack on these gentry, but with little success, the -fellows pleading that they were not public officials but private -servants of the colonel, and therefore not bound to produce their -accounts. The complaints of the officers against them were endless, -and with good reason. Perhaps the most heartless instance of an -agent's rascality was that of one who stole the small allowance -made by a lieutenant on active service to his wife, and refused to -pay it until ordered by the Queen.[450] Officers clamoured that -the agents should be tried by court-martial, but this was not -permitted, and perhaps wisely, for a court-martial would probably -have sentenced a scoundrel to the gantlope, in which case the men -would not have let him escape alive. - -Yet another tax fell upon officers in the shape of contribution -to pensions and regimental debts. In every regiment except those -serving in Flanders a fictitious man was allowed in the roll of -each troop or company, whose pay was taken to form a fund for -the support of officers' widows;[451] but in Marlborough's army -these widows were supported by a voluntary subscription from the -officers, without expense to the State. By some contrivance, which -seems utterly outrageous and was presumably the work of the War -Office or of the Treasury, this voluntary fund was saddled with the -maintenance of widows who had lost their husbands in the previous -war, so that in 1709 Marlborough was obliged to protest and to ask -for the extension of "widows' men" to some at least of his own -troops.[452] Again, some regiments appear to have been charged -with pensions to particular individuals, though by what right -or for what service it is impossible to say.[453] Yet again, by -misfortune, carelessness, or roguery of a colonel, or more commonly -of an agent, regiments found themselves burdened with debts -amounting to several thousand pounds, as, for instance, through -the loss of regimental funds by shipwreck or through mismanagement -of the clothing. In such cases the only possible relief was the -sale, by royal permission, of the next company or ensigncy for the -liquidation of the debt.[454] - -Another form of pension which, though sometimes used for worthy -objects, was at least as often perverted to purposes of jobbery, -was the appointment of infant officers. In many instances children -received commissions in a regiment wherein their fathers had -commanded and done good service, either for the relief of the -widows, if those fathers had fallen in action, or for a reward if -they were still living. Sometimes these children actually took -the field, for there is record of one who went to active service -in Flanders at the age of twelve, "behaving with more courage and -conduct than could have been expected from one of his years," and -ruined his career at sixteen by killing his man in a duel.[455] -But beyond all doubt in many instances the favour was granted -without sufficient cause, while even at its best it was an abuse -of public money and a wrong done to the regiment. This abuse was -of course no new thing, and did not amount to an actual grievance; -but it had fostered a feeling, that was already too strong, of the -privileges conferred on colonels by their proprietary rights in -their regiments. - -The grant of commissions to children was forbidden by the Royal -Regulations of 1st May 1711, a collection of orders which had at -any rate for their ostensible object a considerable measure of -reform, and therefore demands some notice here. Hereby the grant -of brevets, which had given considerable trouble to Marlborough, -and had already been forbidden in 1708, was again prohibited; -and finally an attempt was made to limit the sale and purchase -of commissions. To this end no sale of commissions whatever was -permitted except by royal approbation under the sign manual, and -then only to officers who had served for twenty years or had been -disabled by active service. The announcement appears to have -been treated as a joke;[456] and within six months the rule, in -consequence of representations from Marlborough, was considerably -modified.[457] If (so the Duke pointed out) subalterns who have -been unlucky with their recruits may not sell their commissions, -the debt will fall on the regiment: if, again, the successors to -officers who die on service do not contribute something towards -the dead man's wife and family, many widows and children must -starve; lastly, colonels often wish to promote officers from -other regiments to their own when they have no officer of their -own fit for advancement, which is for the good of the service -but must become impracticable unless the superseded officer -receive something in compensation.[458] His arguments were seen -to be irresistible unless the State were prepared to incur large -additional military expenditure, and the rules were shortly -afterwards amended in the spirit of his recommendations and for the -reasons that he had adduced.[459] - -Thus almost the final administrative act of Marlborough as -Captain-General was to uphold the system of purchase then existing -against the hasty reforms of civilian counsellors. Enough has been -said to show that contemporary military policy in England, with -which he was chiefly identified, tended always to make the regiment -more and more self-contained and less dependent on the support -of the State: it will be seen before long how regiments met the -charge imposed on them by the institution of regimental funds in -the nature of insurance. The drawback of such a system is obvious. -Excess of independence in the members can hardly but entail -weakening of central control, with incoherence and consequent waste -of energy in the action of the entire body. Regimental traditions, -regimental pride, are priceless possessions well worthy the -sacrifice of ideal unity of design and perfect assimilation to a -single pattern. But regimental isolation, fostered and encouraged -on principle to the utmost, must inevitably bring with it a certain -division of command, a want of subordination to the supreme -authority, in a word that measure of indiscipline in high places -which distinguishes an aggregation of regiments from an army. - -Yet who can doubt but that Marlborough acted with his usual strong -good sense as a soldier and his usual sagacity as a statesman? -He had risked his popularity in the Army by his avowed severity -towards officers in the matter of recruits,[460] because he knew -that the slightest attempt to shift this burden upon the State -would mean the refusal of Parliament to carry on the war, and -a wholesale disbandment of the Army. He favoured the sale of -commissions on precisely the same principle; for, as his letter -clearly shows, he foresaw the growth of what is now called a -non-effective vote, and doubted the willingness of Parliament to -endure it. That which he dreaded has now come to pass, for better -or worse; the country is saddled with a vast load of pensions, -and the Commons grow annually more impatient over increase of -military expenditure without corresponding increase of efficiency. -Marlborough's choice lay between an aggregation of regiments and no -army, and of two evils he chose the less. It still remains to be -proved that he was wrong. - -From the regimental I pass to the general administration. Herein -the first noticeable feature is the amalgamation by the Act of -Union of the English and Scotch establishments into a single -establishment for Great Britain. Ireland of course still remained -with a separate establishment of her own, and all the paraphernalia -of Commander-in-Chief, Secretary-at-War, and Master-General of -Ordnance. There continued always in Ireland as heretofore a -different rate of pay for all ranks, which, owing to constant -transfer of regiments from Ireland to England or abroad gave -rise to great confusion in the accounts. The chief matter of -interest in Ireland is the very reasonable jealousy of the Irish -Commons for the retention within the kingdom of all regiments -on the Irish establishment, or at least for the substitution of -other regiments in their place if they should be withdrawn. Their -intention was that Irish revenue should be spent in Ireland, and it -is satisfactory to note that it was rigidly and conscientiously -respected by the authorities in England.[461] - -Another important matter was a first attempt to settle the position -of the marines, who up to the middle of the reign were subject to -a curious and embarrassing division of control. St. John early -disclaimed all authority over them,[462] but they were evidently -subject to the regulations of the army and suffered not a little in -consequence. The rigid rule that regiments must be mustered before -they were paid inflicted great hardship on marines, for it could -not be carried out when a regiment was split up on half a dozen -different ships, and the result was that the men were not paid at -all. Even when ashore they were exposed to the same inconvenience -owing to the inefficiency of the commissaries,[463] so that some -regiments actually received no wages for eight years.[464] The -inevitable consequence was hatred of the service and mutiny, which -at one moment threatened to be serious.[465] Finally, on the 17th -of December 1708, the marines were definitely placed under the -jurisdiction of the Lord High Admiral.[466] - -I come now to the most fateful of all changes in the -administration, namely the rise to supreme importance of the -Secretary-at-War. Attention has already been drawn to the duties -and powers which silently accumulated in the hands of this -civilian official after the death of Monk, owing to the lack of -efficient control by the Sovereign. The reigns of King William -and Queen Anne, in consequence of the constant absence of the -Captain-General on active service, did nothing to restore this -lost control, and the almost unperceived change which released the -Secretary-at-War from personal attendance on the Commander-in-Chief -in the field virtually abolished it altogether. The terms of the -Secretary-at-War's commission remained the same, "to obey such -orders as he should from time to time receive from the Sovereign -or from the General of the forces for the time being, according -to the discipline of war;"[467] but the situation was in reality -reversed. Even in King William's time the Secretary-at-War had -countersigned the military estimates submitted to Parliament; -from the advent of St. John he assumes charge of all military -matters in the Commons, often taking the chair of the committee -while they are under discussion. Thus he becomes the mouthpiece -of the military administration in the House, and, since the -Commander-in-Chief is generally absent on service he ceases to take -his orders from him, but becomes, except in the vital matter of -responsibility, a Secretary-of-State, writing in the name of the -Queen or of her consort, or finally in his own name and by his own -authority without reference to a higher power. Lastly, his office, -thus exalted to importance, becomes the spoil of political party; -Secretaries-at-War follow each other in rapid succession,--St. -John, Walpole, Granville, Lord Lansdowne, Windham, Gwynne; and the -Army is definitely stamped as a counter in the eternal game of -faction. - -The power of the Secretary-at-War in Queen Anne's time is -sufficiently shown by his letter-books. In the Queen's name he -gives orders for recruiting, for drafting, for armament, for -musters, for change of quarters, relief of garrisons, hire of -transports, embarkation of troops, patrolling of the coast, escort -of treasure, and in a word for all matters of routine. In the Duke -of Marlborough's name also he directs men to be embarked, money to -be advanced, and recruits to be furnished, and even criticises the -execution of the orders issued by him on behalf of the Queen.[468] -On his own authority he bids colonels to send him muster-rolls -and lists of recruiting staff and to provide their regiments with -quarters, regrets that he cannot strengthen weak garrisons, and -lays down the route for all marches within the kingdom.[469] He -corresponds direct with every rank of officer without the slightest -regard for discipline or dignity. We find Walpole threatening a -lieutenant with forfeiture of his commission for absence without -leave, bidding a captain be thankful that owing to his own clemency -he is not cashiered for fraud,[470] regretting that he cannot in -conscience excuse one subaltern from attending his regiment on -foreign service,[471] ordering another to pay for his quarters -immediately,[472] summoning a third person to the War Office to -account to him for wrongful detention of a recruit. Granville -promises an officer leave of absence from foreign service, but must -first, in common decency, apply to the General in command.[473] -Lord Lansdowne begs the Governor of Portsmouth not to be too -hard on a young regiment in the matter of guard-duties, orders -the discharge of a soldier when three years of his service have -expired, and writes to the Irish Secretary-at-War for leave of -absence for a friend.[474] Finally, all ask favours of colonels -on behalf of officers and men. One thing only they left for a time -untouched, namely the sentences of court-martial, which St. John -expressly abjured in favour of the Judge Advocate-General; but for -the rest they issued orders, approbations, and reprimands with all -the freedom of a Commander-in-Chief. - -The Office of Ordnance remained as before independent of the War -Office, though of course liable to fulfil its requisitions for arms -and stores. It is remarkable that Marlborough, like Wellington -a century later, no sooner became Master-General[475] than he -restored the organisation of King James the Second. But the strain -imposed upon the Department by the multitude of forces in the -field was too severe for it. Two months before Blenheim was fought -the supply of firelocks and socket-bayonets was exhausted; and in -succeeding years, as disasters grew and multiplied in Spain, the -Office was obliged frequently, and to the great indignation of -English manufacturers, to purchase arms abroad.[476] - -The subject of weapons leads us directly to the progress of the -Army in the matter of armament, equipment, and training. The first -point worthy of notice is the disappearance of the time-honoured -pike. Pikes were issued to a battalion in the proportion of one to -every five muskets as late as 1703, but were delivered back into -store in the following year;[477] and in 1706 a letter from St. -John announces that pikes are considered useless and that musket -and bayonet must be furnished to every man.[478] The bayonet was, -of course, the socket-bayonet; and the musket, being of a new -and improved model, was a weapon much superior to that issued in -the days of King William.[479] Partly, no doubt, owing to the -efficiency of this musket, which carried bullets of sixteen to the -pound, as against the French weapon, which was designed for bullets -of twenty-four to the pound, and still more owing to superiority of -discipline and tactics, the fire of the British was incomparably -more deadly than that of the French.[480] The secret, so far as -concerned tactics, lay in the fact that the British fired by -platoons according to the system of Gustavus Adolphus, whereas the -French fired by ranks; and the perfection of drill and discipline -was superbly manifested at Wynendale. For this, as well as for the -better weapon, the Army had their great chief to thank, for the -Duke knew better than any the value of fire-discipline, as it is -called, and would put the whole army through its platoon-exercise -by signal of flag and drum before his own eye.[481] Nevertheless, -the cool head and accurate aim for which the British have always -been famous played their part, and a leading part, in the victories -of Marlborough. - -Of the drill proper there is little to be said, though some few -changes are significant of coming reforms. The number of ranks -was left unfixed, being increased or reduced according to the -frontage required, but probably seldom exceeded three and was -occasionally reduced to two. The old method of doubling ranks was -still preserved; but the men no longer fell in by files, and the -file may be said definitely to have lost its old position as a -tactical unit. A company now fell in in single rank, was sorted off -into three or more divisions and formed into ranks, by the wheel of -the divisions from line into column, which was a complete novelty. -The manual and firing exercise remained as minute and elaborate -as ever; and a single word of command shows that the old exercise -of the pike was soon to be adopted for the bayonet.[482] With -these exceptions there was little deviation from the old drill of -Gustavus Adolphus; but the real improvement, which made that drill -doubly efficient, was in the matter of discipline. That the lash -and the gantlope were unsparingly used in Marlborough's army there -can be no doubt, and that they were employed even more savagely -at home can be shown by direct evidence;[483] but the Duke, as -shall presently be shown, understood how to make the best of his -countrymen by other means besides cutting their backs to pieces. - -For the cavalry, of which he was evidently very fond, Marlborough -did very signal service by committing it definitely to action -by shock. Again and again in the course of the war the French -squadrons are found firing from the saddle with little or no -effect, and the British crashing boldly into them and sweeping -them away. There are few actions, too, in which the Duke himself -is not found in personal command of the horse at one period or -another of the battle--at Blenheim in the great charge which won -the day, at Ramillies at the most critical moment, at Malplaquet -in support of the British infantry, and most brilliantly of all at -the passage of the lines at Landen. Yet he was too sensible not to -imitate an enemy where he could do so with advantage. The French -gendarmerie had received pistol-proof armour in 1703;[484] the -British horse in Flanders, at Marlborough's suggestion, received a -cuirass in 1707, a reform which was copied by the Dutch and urged -upon all the rest of the Allies.[485] It is characteristic of the -Duke's never-failing good sense that the cuirasses consisted of -breast-pieces only, so that men should find no protection unless -their faces were turned towards the enemy. - -As to the artillery there is little to be said except that the -organisation by companies appears to have been thoroughly accepted, -and the efficiency of the arm thereby greatly increased. The Duke -was never greater than as an artillerist. Every gun at Blenheim -was laid under his own eye; and the concentration of the great -central battery at Malplaquet and its subsequent advance shows -his mastership in the handling of cannon. For the rest, the -artillery came out of the war with not less, perhaps with even -more, brilliancy than the other corps of the army; and, though no -mention is made of the fact by the historian of the regiment, it is -likely that no artillery officers ever worked more strenuously and -skilfully in the face of enormous difficulties than the devoted men -who brought their guns first down to the south side of the Danube -and then back across the river to the battlefield of Blenheim.[486] - -It is impossible to quit this subject without a few words on the -great man who revived for England the ancient glory of Creçy, -Poictiers, and Agincourt, the greatest, in the Duke of Wellington's -words, who ever appeared at the head of a British Army. There are -certain passages in his life which make it difficult sometimes to -withhold from him hard names; but allowance should be made for one -who was born in revolution, nurtured in a court of corruption, -and matured in fresh revolution. Wellington himself admitted that -he never understood the characters of that period, nor exercised -due charity towards them, till he had observed the effects of -the French Revolution on the minds and consciences of French -statesmen and marshals. Marlborough's fall was brought about by a -faction, and his fame has remained ever since a prey to the tender -mercies of a faction. But the prejudices of a partisan are but a -sorry standard for the measure of one whose transcendent ability -as a general, a statesman, a diplomatist, and an administrator, -guided not only England but Europe through the War of the Spanish -Succession, and delivered them safe for a whole generation from the -craft and the ambition of France. - -Regarding him as a general, his fame is assured as one of the great -captains of all time; and it would not become a civilian to add -a word to the eulogy of great soldiers who alone can comprehend -the full measure of his greatness. Yet one or two small points -are worthy of attention over and above the reforms, already -enumerated, which were introduced by him in all three arms of the -service. First, and perhaps most important, is the blow struck -by Marlborough against the whole system, so much favoured by the -French, of passive campaigns. It was not, thanks to Dutch deputies -and German princelets, as effective as it should have been, but it -still marked a step forward in the art of war. It must never be -forgotten that we possess only the wreck of many of Marlborough's -finest combinations, shattered, just as they were entering port, -against the rocks of Dutch stupidity and German conceit. Next, -there is a great deal said and written in these days about night -marches and the future that lies before them. It will be well -to glance also at the past that they have behind them, and to -mark with what frequency, with what consummate skill, and what -unvarying success they were employed under far greater than modern -difficulties by Marlborough. - -Next let it be observed how thoroughly he understood the British -soldier. He took care to feed him well, to pay him regularly, -to give him plenty of work, and to keep him under the strictest -discipline; and with all this he cherished a genial feeling for -the men, which showed itself not only in strict injunctions to -watch over their comfort but in acts of personal kindness kindly -bestowed. The magic of his personality made itself felt among his -men far beyond the scope of mere military duty. His soldiers, as -the Recruiting Acts can testify, were for the most part the scum of -the nation. Yet they not only marched and fought with a steadiness -beyond all praise, but actually became reformed characters and -left the army sober, self-respecting men.[487] Marlborough, -despite his lapses into treachery as a politician, was a man of -peculiar sensitiveness and delicacy. He had a profound distaste for -licentiousness either in language or in action, and he contrived -to instil a like distaste into his army. His force did not swear -terribly in Flanders, as King William's had before it, and although -the annual supply of recruits brought with it necessarily an annual -infusion of crime, yet the moral tone of the army was singularly -high. Marlborough's nature was not of the hard, unbending temper of -Wellington's. The Iron Duke had a heart so steeled by strong sense, -duty, and discipline that it but rarely sought relief in a burst of -passionate emotion. Marlborough was cast in a very different mould. -He too, like Wellington, was endowed with a strong common sense -that in itself amounted to genius, and possessed in the most trying -moments a serenity and calm that was almost miraculous. But there -was no coldness in his serenity, nothing impassive in his calm. -He was sensitive to a fault; and though his temper might remain -unchangeably sweet and his speech unalterably placid and courteous, -his face would betray the anxiety and worry which his tongue had -power to conceal.[488] With such a temperament there was a bond of -humanity between him and his men that was lacking in Wellington. -Great as Wellington was, the Iron Duke's army could never have -nicknamed him the Old Corporal. - -The epithet Corporal suggests comparison with the Little Corporal, -who performed such marvels with the French Army. Undoubtedly the -name was in both cases a mark of the boundless confidence and -devotion which the two men could evoke from their troops, and which -they could turn to such splendid account in their operations. -Marlborough could make believe that he was meant to throw away his -entire army and yet be sure of its loyalty; Napoleon could throw -away whole hosts, desert them, and command the unaltered trust of -a new army. In both the personal fascination was an extraordinary -power; but here the resemblance ends. Napoleon, for all his -theatrical tricks, had no heart nor tenderness in him, and could -not bear the intoxication of success. Marlborough never suffered -triumph to turn his head, to diminish his generosity towards -enemies, to tempt him from the path of sound military practice, or -to obscure his unerring insight into the heart of things. Twice -his plans were opposed as too adventurous by Eugene, first when -he wished to hasten the battle of Malplaquet, and secondly when -he would have masked Lille and advanced straight into France; but -even assuming, as is by no means certain, that in both instances -Eugene was right, there is no parallel here to the gambling spirit -which pervaded the latter enterprises of Napoleon. "Marlborough," -said Wellington, "was remarkable for his clear, cool, steady -understanding," and this quality was one which never deserted him. -Nevertheless, if there be one attribute which should be chosen -as supremely characteristic of the man, it is that which William -Pitt selected as the first requisite of a statesman--patience; -"patience," as the Duke himself once wrote to Godolphin, "which -can overcome all things";[489] patience which, as may be seen in -a hundred passages during the war, was possessed by him in such -measure that it appears almost godlike. These are the qualities -which mark the sanity of perfect genius, that distinguish a Milton -from a Shelley, a Nelson from a Dundonald, and a Marlborough from a -Peterborough; and it is in virtue of these, indicating as they do -the perfect balance of transcendent ability, that Marlborough takes -rank with the mightiest of England's sons, with Shakespeare, with -Bacon, and with Newton, as "the greatest statesman and the greatest -general that this country or any other country has produced."[490] - - -END OF VOL. I - - -_Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_. - - -[Illustration: THE BRITISH ISLES - -AND - -NORTHERN FRANCE. - -MAP I. - - _End of Vol. I._ -] - - -[Illustration: THE NETHERLANDS - -In the 18^{th} Century - -MAP II. - - _End of Vol. I._ -] - - -[Illustration: SPAIN AND PORTUGAL - -MAP III. - - _End of Vol. I._ -] - - -[Illustration: GERMANY - -1600-1765 - -MAP IV. - - _End of Vol. I._ -] - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] I must mention here that where reference is made to Mr. Oman's -_Art of War_, the volume alluded to is the short essay, published -in 1885, not the larger and far more important work of the same -author, which, to my great misfortune, appeared too late for me to -avail myself of it. - -[2] An alien captain of the garrison of Hereford tried in 1055 to -break through this custom. "Anglos _contra morem_ in equis pugnare -jussit" (see Hewitt, vol. i. p. 17). - -[3] This seems to be the simplest and likeliest solution of the -problem of the palisade, which has provoked such acrimonious -controversy (see Köhler, vol. i. p. 8). - -[4] Oman. - -[5] A single line of course must not be understood as a single -rank. It was a line of wedges or, as we should now say, a line of -columns. - -[6] The coat of mail was made of rings or scales of iron sewn on to -leather. - -[7] The habergeon was a similar but smaller coat without sleeves. - -[8] The chaplet was an iron scull-cap without vizor. - -[9] The wambais was a doublet padded with cotton, wool or hair, and -generally covered with leather. - -[10] The mortality among horses and the difficulty of obtaining -remounts frequently forced the crusading knights to fight afoot. - -[11] The hauberk was a complete suit of mail, a hood joined to a -jacket with sleeves, breeches, stockings, shoes and gauntlets of -double chain-mail. - -[12] A bill was a broad curved blade mounted at the end of a -seven-foot shaft, sometimes with a point and a hook added. - -[13] Mr. Oman (_Art of War in the Middle Ages_, p. 104) holds the -opinion that to force a line of long-bowmen by a mere front attack -was a task almost as hopeless for cavalry as the breaking of a -modern square, and would have it that archers needed support on -their flanks only. With all respect I must reject this view, as -opposed alike to history and common sense. - -[14] Barnes. - -[15] William of Ypres, who came to England in the pay of Stephen in -1138, is reckoned the first of the _condottièri_. - -[16] Whence the French word _destrier_. - -[17] From the German _panzer_, a coat of mail. - -[18] A sleeveless coat of chain-mail. - -[19] The earliest instance of uniform in modern Europe is found in -the militia of the Flemish towns at the battle of Courtrai, 1302 -(Köhler). - -[20] The contract price of a bow in 1341 was, unpainted 1s., -painted 1s. 6d.; of a sheaf of twenty-four arrows 1s. 2d. An -archer's pay was 3d. a day. - -[21] See 1 Samuel xx. 40. - -[22] As the historian of the Royal Artillery has ignored this -gentleman we may give his name, Thomas de Roldeston (see Hewitt, -vol. ii. p. 289). - -[23] What since the Zulu war we have called a _laager_, forgetting -the English word that lay ready to our hand. - -[24] The only authority for this is the rhymed chronicle of the -Chandos herald, but, as Köhler observes, the proceeding was -so natural, and, I may add, the invention of such a story so -improbable, that it is difficult not to accept it. - -[25] The sword is gone, but the scabbard remains. - -[26] See for the whole scene Dean Stanley's _Memorials of -Canterbury_. - -[27] Sir Arthur Wellesley occupied the Spanish position on his -march to Roliça (_Conversations of the Duke of Wellington_, p. 3). - -[28] These had been recognised by a statute of 5 Henry IV., the -enactment relied on later by Charles I. - -[29] More correctly Azincourt. - -[30] Monstrelet. - -[31] See Philippe de Commines, bk. i. chap. iii. "[At the battle of -Montlhéry, 1464] the most honourable persons fought on foot among -the archers ... which order they learned of the English, who are -the best shot in the world." - -[32] The reader will observe how early cavalry fell into the fault -which caused the loss of Naseby. - -[33] "The same difficulty of a Lenten campaign cropped up at -the siege of Orleans a century later. It was surmounted by the -general's insisting that the papal legate, who was in the camp, -should grant a dispensation, which he very unwillingly did; -whereupon every man in the army 'pria Dieu fort pour M. le legat'" -(Brantôme, ed. Elzev. vol. i. p. 225). - -[34] He remains gibbeted, however, in the pages of Shakespeare, -which is perhaps the worst fate that could have befallen him. - -[35] 18 Henry VI. cap. 18. - -[36] Robert Patillock. - -[37] Oman's _Warwick_. - -[38] Yet they were not all ruffians. In the _Paston Letters_ some -professional soldiers hired for private defence are described as -gentlemanly comfortable fellows, and their employer is warned that -they must not be put to sleep more than two in a bed (vol. ii. p. -327). - -[39] The same thing has been seen at our autumn manœuvres. - -[40] Allusion has already been made to the supplanting of the -sheriff's authority by the barons in raising troops, and the -consequent fashion of issuing liveries to the corps so formed. It -is perhaps worth while to note and dismiss the minute point that -the garrison of Calais, the only truly national force belonging at -that moment to England, was clothed in scarlet jackets, and were -the first English soldiers thus distinguished. - -[41] Readers of _Kenilworth_ will remember the ballad quoted by -Giles Gosling-- - - "He was the flower of Stoke's red field - Where Martin Swart on ground lay slain." - - -[42] He has left us two words, howitzer and pistol, both of which -are derived from the Czech. - -[43] John of Winterthur. If the reader has ever plied a long -bill-hook to cut down overhanging branches he will appreciate the -power of the halberd. - -[44] "The earliest mention of the long pike occurs in an order -addressed to the burghers of Turin by Count Philip of Savoy in -1327; but whether Swiss borrowed it from Savoyards or Savoyards -from Swiss is uncertain" (Köhler). - -[45] Compare the French equivalent, _enfans perdus_. _Hauf_ was -the regular German word for any mass of soldiers, from a company -to a battalion. The English word _hope_ therefore is a corruption, -_hauf_ having more to do with heap than hope. - -[46] _Feld obrist_, now _oberst_. - -[47] _Hauptmann._ The Germans wisely cling to these old titles, and -preserve them. - -[48] _Laufgeld._ - -[49] This seems to have been a reminiscence of the Roman _jugum_. - -[50] _Fähnlein_, flag or ensign. - -[51] Muster is a corruption of the French _monstre_, Latin -_monstrare_. So to pass muster is to pass inspection. - -[52] _Fähnlein._ - -[53] _Stellvertreter._ The Germans have since abandoned the word -for "_leutnant_." - -[54] _Feldwebel._ We may call him the colour-sergeant. - -[55] _Gemeinwebel._ - -[56] _Fourier._ - -[57] _Rot._ - -[58] _Rottmeister._ Sir Walter Scott in the _Legend of Montrose_ -has inexplicably confounded the word with _Rittmeister_, which is a -very different thing; a rare mistake with him. - -[59] It is a curious sign of the combination of his functions, -that in every standing camp the Provost erected a gallows, which -served to mark both the extent of his authority and the site of the -market-place, or as we should call it, canteen. - -[60] _Vergleicher._ - -[61] _Recht der langen Spiesse._ - -[62] A roll on the two first beats of the bar, a single note on the -third, and silence on the fourth. - -[63] See the account in Paul Jove. - -[64] We need not enter into the controversy whether the word was -derived from _columna_ or _corona_ or from neither. For a century -or more it was written indifferently colonel or coronel, to which -last the modern English pronunciation is doubtless to be traced. -Brantôme writes always _couronnel_; Milton in his famous sonnet -gives the word the dignity of the three syllables. Some say that it -was borrowed from the landsknechts, but this is a palpable error. -(See a paper by Mr. Julian Corbett, _American Hist. Review_, Oct. -1896, "The Colonel and his Command"). - -[65] _French_ enseigne; _Lat._ insigne, signum. - -[66] But not until after the Seven Years' War, when Lord George -Sackville applied for a "furrier." - -[67] We even find the word incarnated by French writers as the -strumpet Madame Picorée. - -[68] As a matter of fact these abuses do seem to have been -more flagrant in France than elsewhere, owing no doubt to the -demoralisation caused by the religious wars. See for instance -Brantôme, and the Memoirs of Sully. - -[69] See the remarkable conversation in Brantôme, ed. Elzev. vol. -i. pp. 376-382. - -[70] The Marquis del Vasto, of the same family as Pescayra. - -[71] For instance Roger Williams and Tavannes. - -[72] In Spanish called _alferez_. - -[73] Brantôme. - -[74] Tercio, like colonel, is a riddle which defies solution. It -means a third, but a third of what is unknown (see Mr. Julian -Corbett's paper, quoted above, p. 94). - -[75] In a MS. treatise in the Record Office, of date 1570, the bore -recommended is 28 ballets to the pound. This remained the standard -bore in the French army all through the wars of Louis XIV. - -[76] Musket is simply the word mosquito. Larger weapons were called -drakes, falcons, and the like, and the smaller therefore after the -lesser flying creatures. - -[77] Mem. de Vieilleville. - -[78] This again is a word which defies the skill of the etymologist. - -[79] _Poitrinal_, so called because it was held against the chest. - -[80] Mem. de La Noue. - -[81] Tavannes, ed. Petitot, vol. i. p. 304. - -[82] Tavannes, La Noue. - -[83] It is curious to compare the parallel contest of armoured -ships and artillery at the present time. - -[84] _Rittmeister._ - -[85] _Fähnrich._ - -[86] _Fourier._ - -[87] _Wachtmeister._ - -[88] The particulars of the reiters' organisation are taken from -the Kriegsbuch of Leonard Fronsberger, 1566. - -[89] It is just possible that Xenophon's example may have favoured -the abandonment of shock for missile tactics in cavalry. - -[90] There were two kinds of soldiers, the gentleman soldier and -the yeoman soldier. Hence the name points to the enlistment of men -below the status of gentleman. The Navy still has "Yeomen of the -Signals." - -[91] I must confess that this should be put forward rather -as a conjecture than an assertion; but it is remarkable that -Henry VIII. should have permitted the use of any colours to the -Artillery Company except purple and scarlet. Green and white were -the favourite Tudor colours, being used even in ribbons for the -attachment of the Great Seal. - -[92] _Cal. S. P._ 20th November 1509. - -[93] _Ibid._ 5th July 1511. - -[94] _Ibid._ 3rd November 1509, 20th June, 1st July 1511, 8th April -1512. Rymer, vol. xiii. p. 329. - -[95] _Cal. S. P._ 5th August 1512. - -[96] Stow. - -[97] Such at least is my impression. The commander-in-chief of a -force not commanded by the King in person is styled the lieutenant -or King's lieutenant. So also the commander of the body-guard is -styled lieutenant, the King himself being captain. Compare the -title, which we shall presently see introduced, of lord-lieutenant. -But we meet also with the phrase lieutenant (_i.e._ commanding -officer) of the rearguard or other of the three divisions in the -army. The word is always used of a high office. - -[98] In 1542, however, Wallop constantly speaks of ensigns (see -_State Papers_, Henry VIII. (ed. 1830, 1849), vol. ix. _anno_ 1542). - -[99] _Cal. S. P._ 1513. 4460. - -[100] _Ibid._ 4441. - -[101] _Cal. S. P._ vol ii. part i., 6 Henry VIII. caps. 2, 11, 13. - -[102] _Ibid._ vol. iii. part i. p. 402. - -[103] At the meeting with Francis and Charles V. Henry took for his -device an English archer in a green coat drawing an arrow to the -head (Camden). - -[104] _Cal. S. P._, Henry VIII., vol. iii. part i. 869. - -[105] _Ibid._ vol. iii. part ii. 2012, 2013. - -[106] _Ibid._ 2995. - -[107] In the original _lontes_. Lunt was the Scotch name for a -musket-match to the end (_Cal. S. P._, Henry VIII., vol. iii. part -i. 3494). - -[108] See the armed strength of England in 1524. _Ibid._ vol. iv. -part i. 972. - -[109] _Ibid._ 2086. - -[110] Six feet. A horse's length was reckoned at the same figure a -hundred years later. - -[111] _State Papers_ (ed. 1830-1849), vol. ix. pp. 523, 524. - -[112] Henry in 1519 tried to procure horses from Italy, but was -informed by Alfonso of Ferrara that there, too, the breed was -decayed (_Cal. S. P._ vol. iii. part i. 171). Henry gave as much as -£35, a great sum, for his own horses. - -[113] _Cal. S. P._ 1514. 4902. - -[114] _Ibid._ 1513. 4375. - -[115] _Stow._ Mortar is the German _meerthier_, sea-beast. -So other pieces were called after reptiles and monsters and -birds,--serpentines, dragons, basilisks, falcons, culverins -(couleuvrines), etc. - -[116] See _Cal. S. P._, Dom., Addenda (1561-1579), pp. 78-84. - -[117] _Cal. S. P._, Dom., Addenda (1566-1579), pp. 111-113, -115-116, 121-123, 126-127, 129. - -[118] One sentence gives a clue to Henry VIII.'s long -discouragement of firearms. "Is not the safety of the country worth -more than the saving of a few wild-fowl?" - -[119] Stow. - -[120] The word was borrowed from the French _casaque_, the regular -term for a livery-coat. Facings were soon added. _Cal. S. P._, Dom. -(1595), p. 22. - -[121] _Cal. S, P._, Dom. (1581-1590), p. 16. - -[122] _Cal. S. P._, Dom. (1581-1590), p. 255. - -[123] One bitter critic avers that the expression was due to the -number of low-born captains, who, having no arms to bear on their -ensigns, were obliged to trust to distinctions of colour only. - -[124] Collins. - -[125] _Tercio Viejo._ - -[126] The press-gangs were not very scrupulous. On one occasion -they took advantage of Easter Sunday to close all the church -doors in London and take a thousand men from the various -congregations.--Stow. - -[127] The grandson of the victor of Pavia. - -[128] Stow says that they fired two volleys only, which I hope is -incorrect. The passage, however, shows that the reason for the -three volleys was already unknown to many. - -[129] That is to say a fort or intrenchment. German _schanze_. It -seems a pity that we should have allowed so useful a term to become -obsolete. - -[130] Stow. - -[131] _Cal. S. P._, Dom. (1588), p. 513. - -[132] Born 14th November 1567. - -[133] See the English translation of the _Tactics_, by Captain John -Bingham, 1619. - -[134] Hear, for instance, Tavannes, whom his writings prove to have -been in many respects an excellent soldier: "Cette grande invention -d'exercice pratiquée en Flandre avec leurs demi-tours à gauche -et à droit--les anciens qui n'en usaient pas (!) ne laissaient -de combattre aussi bien ou mieux que maintenant" (_Mémoires_). -Tavannes began to write in 1599-1600, and died in 1629. - -[135] Perhaps the following explanation will make this -clearer:--Where an English officer would now give the word "Form -fours" (to convert two ranks into four), the Dutch officer would -have given, "To the right hand double your files." Where the -Englishman would give the word "Front" (to reconvert four ranks -into two), the Dutchman would have said, "To the left hand double -your ranks." - -[136] 1599. - -[137] Its bore was of thirty bullets to the pound. - -[138] These stoppages were known even then by the name of -"off-reckonings." - -[139] Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overyssel, Frieland, -Groningen. - -[140] I have followed the narrative of Sir Clements Markham (_The -Fighting Veres_) in preference to that of Motley in the description -of the battle, being satisfied after careful consultation of the -authorities that his account is the more accurate. - -[141] Hexham. This is the first instance that I have encountered of -the word parade, which is evidently of Spanish origin. - -[142] Hexham. - -[143] The capture of Wesel was the occasion of rejoicing; and the -details of the description leads me to infer that the _feu de joie_ -was a novelty. - -[144] "I was once made to stand at the Louvre Gate in Paris, being -then in the King's regiment of guards passing my prenticeship, for -sleeping in the morning when I ought to have been at my exercise. -For punishment I was made to stand from eleven before noon to eight -o'clock of the night sentry, with corselet, headpiece, braselets, -being iron to the teeth, in a hot summer's day, till I was weary of -my life."--Munro's _Expedition_, p. 45. - -[145] But poor Dunbar and his four companies were to have little -part in it. Shortly after he again defied the whole of Tilly's -army, and after a desperate resistance the eight hundred men were -annihilated, seven or eight alone escaping to tell the tale. - -[146] There were only two "orders" in the Swedish army: _Open -order_ for parade, which meant six feet from man to man, -outstretched hand to outstretched hand; and _Battle order_, three -feet from man to man, elbow to elbow. - -[147] A file in those days consisted, of course, of six men, not as -now of two. So a corporalship of pikes would be eighteen, and of -musketeers twenty-four men. - -[148] The _rottmeisters_ were fifteen in number, the six corporals -bringing up the total to the necessary twenty-one. - -[149] See Monro, vol. ii. p. 65. - -[150] Stress has been laid upon the fact that Gustavus always led -the cavalry in person. Doubtless he was fond of his Horse, but -since at that period cavalry was always stationed in the wings, and -the right wing was the post of honour, this does not count for very -much. - -[151] They were called after their inventor by the name of "Sandy's -stoups," and were used by the Scots at the battle of Newburn in -1640. - -[152] Tallard fatally repeated this independent formation of two -armies at Blenheim. - -[153] As I believe that this pretension is still advanced -by patriotic North Britons, it is as well to say that it is -preposterous. The true Scottish Guard enjoyed an independent -existence till the Revolution, and to claim its privileges for -Hepburn's regiment is as absurd as though a corps raised to-morrow, -and officered by half a dozen gentlemen of the Grenadier Guards, -should claim precedence of all British infantry. - -[154] Dalton, vol. i. p. 234. - -[155] Mr. Dalton has told the story very fully in his _Life of -Cecil_. - -[156] Ward, _Animadversions of Warre_. - -[157] See _Pallas Armata_, by Sir T. Kellie, 1627. This writer -deserves mention as the first who introduced the system of drilling -by numbers. He talks as glibly of odd and even numbers as a modern -drill sergeant. - -[158] Barriffe and Ward. - -[159] The whole of the controversy may be read at large in -Rushworth. - -[160] His name indeed appears as an ensign in the list of a company -of foot raised for service in Ireland (printed in June 1642), but -this does not count for much. - -[161] I have however found an early instance of it in the French -religious wars, but have unfortunately mislaid the reference. - -[162] He is said to have posted himself opposite Cromwell, but he -only took his usual place at the right of the line; he occupied the -same position at Naseby and took no pains to meet Cromwell there. - -[163] All kinds of reasons have been advanced to account for the -(supposed) extraordinary fact that Cromwell's troopers at one -moment were at a disadvantage. The explanation is quite simple, -being no more than the usual swing of the pendulum in a combat of -cavalry. - -[164] _Perfect Passages_, 30th April 1645. - -[165] The drum-calls were six in all: 1, Call; 2, March; 3, -Troop; 4, Preparative; 5, Battle; 6, Retreat. The trumpet-calls -were also six: 1, Butte sella, corrupted since into "Boot and -Saddle"; 2, Monte cavallo (mount); 3, Tucket (warning for march); -4, Carga (charge); 5, Alla Standarda (to the Standard); 6, Auquet -(watch-setting).--Ward, _Animadversions of Warre_. - -[166] _The Young Horseman and Honest Plain-dealing Cavalier_, by -John Vernon, 1644. A short drill-book in pamphlet form, prepared by -a cavalier-officer in small compass for officers "to weare in their -pocket." This is the first soldier's pocket-book for field service -in our language. It is among the King's Pamphlets in the British -Museum. - -[167] Barriffe. - -[168] Sometimes however the dragoons seem to have taken with them -ten extra men per company simply to hold the horses. There are -fugitive references to light dragoons even at this early period, -but no clear account of them. After a few years it was as usual to -speak of troops as of companies of dragoons. - -[169] Which was then called the limber. - -[170] Schanzbauern. _Fronsperger._ - -[171] They stood on much the same level in France. - -[172] So in Sprigge, more properly Sergeant-Major-General. - -[173] In Sprigge's list the foot take precedence of the horse; and -this was the rule in the English, though not in the French, army. - -[174] This incident shows that shock-action was not yet wholly the -rule. - -[175] Called by the name of a _tercio_ in the contemporary plans, -being formed probably in the old Spanish formation which Tilly had -used at Leipsic. - -[176] This item furnishes indirect evidence that either few pikemen -were employed, or that if employed they were stripped of defensive -armour. The pike was already falling obsolete. - -[177] See the very pertinent extract from Wellington's despatches, -quoted by Mr. Gardiner--_Commonwealth_, vol. 1, pp. 132, 147. - -[178] The pedigree of Monk's regiment is as follows: Weldon's -Regiment of the New Model became first Robert Lilburn's, and in -1649-50 Sir A. Hazelrigg's. Lloyd's of the New Model passed in -succession to Herbert, Overton, and in 1649 to Fenwick. I am -indebted for this information to the kindness of Mr. C. H. Firth. - -[179] Hodgson. - -[180] Hodgson. - -[181] This again seems to be borrowed from the French. Vieilleville -issued medals bearing the King's effigy to his troops in 1558, with -a ribbon of his own colours (see _Memoires de Vieilleville_). - -[182] The men were drawn from three Dunbar regiments: Cromwell's -own, Goff's and Ingoldsby's, not, alas! from Monk's. - -[183] I am indebted for the elucidation of this campaign to Mr. -Julian Corbett's _Monk_ (Men of Action Series), an admirable sketch -of a remarkable man. Monk's letters may be read in Thurloe. - -[184] The best contemporary account of Henry Cromwell's -administration will be found in his own letters in Thurloe's _State -Papers_. - -[185] St. Domingo. - -[186] Fortescue's own expression. See his letters in Thurloe. - -[187] The story of the West Indian expedition is very fully told -in Thurloe's _State Papers_. There are a few supplementary papers -in _Cal. S. P., Col._, and two accounts in Ogilvy's _History of -America_ and in the _Harleian Miscellany_. - -[188] See the pamphlet, _The Bloudie Field_, in King's Pamphlets, -British Museum. - -[189] Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 18. - -[190] Collins, _State Papers_ (July 1603), p. 277. - -[191] "Les Anglais y firent fort bien." See his letter in Thurloe. - -[192] It must be remembered that this was no figure of speech. -Cromwell was the first who gathered in representatives of Scotland -and Ireland to Westminster. - -[193] Clarke's _James II._ - -[194] The best English source for the account of the campaign in -Flanders is Thurloe's _State Papers_; there are also some curious -details in a tract in the _Harleian Miscellany_, which, however, I -have accepted only when confirmed by newspapers. Bussy Rabutin's -_Memoires_, and Clarke's _James II._ are among other authorities. - -[195] Gumble, the chaplain, from whose _Life of Monk_ this account -is taken. - -[196] According to the usual establishment, 9600 men besides -officers. - -[197] It is not I think irrelevant in this connection to remind the -reader of the military manœuvres of the rebel angels in _Paradise -Lost_. - -[198] "First came half-a-dozen of carbines in their leathern coats -and starved weather-beaten jades, just like so many brewers in -their jerkins made of old boots, riding to fetch in old casks; -and after them as many light horsemen with great saddles and old -broken pistols, and scarce a sword among them, just like so many -fiddlers with their fiddles in cases by their horses' sides.... In -the works at Bristol was a company of footmen with knapsacks and -half pikes, like so many tinkers with budgets at their backs, and -some musketeers with bandoliers about their necks like a company of -sow-gelders."--_Newspaper._ (Reference unfortunately lost.) - -[199] This is evident from the mention of the "train" in the list -in the _Commons Journals_, September 1651. The field-train was then -transferred to Scotland bodily, where we find it still in December -1652 and again in 1659 (April). See _Commons Journals_. - -[200] Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 714. This is the first passage in -which I have encountered the word thus spelt: "certain buildings -... called the barracks or Spanish quarters." But there is mention -of a _baraque_ in the besiegers' lines before Ostend in 1604. -_Grimeston._ - -[201] It is curious to note that a vote for a statue of Oliver -Cromwell was in 1895 moved by the party that proposes to undo his -work, and was defeated by the party that wishes to continue it. The -supporters of the Union deliberately refused this tardy honour to -the man who did more than any other to accomplish the Union, and -who actually was the first to summon representatives from Scotland -and Ireland to Westminster. Whether either party was sincere may -well be considered doubtful. - -[202] The Duke of Gloucester died in the same year. - -[203] I find no sufficient ground for assuming that the regiment -was Unton Crook's of the New Model, which had been disbanded two -months before. - -[204] For the return of the Buffs to England see the _Holland -Papers_ (Record Office), Bundles 233-235. - -[205] The historian of the Second regiment of Foot has printed a -great deal of matter respecting Tangier. Details will also be found -in Clifford Walton's _History of the British Standing Army_, p. 22. - -[206] No reader, I am confident, will blame me for leaving him -alone with his Macaulay for the account of this insurrection. - -[207] It is worthy of note that but two of these regiments were -raised in the districts indicated by their present titles, viz., -the 11th (North Devon) and 12th (East Suffolk). - -[208] _Expedition_, vol. ii. pp. 37, 73. - -[209] The tune, which is in the key of G major and in 6/4 time, may -be found in modern editions of _Tristram Shandy_, at the end of -chap. iii. of the second book. It is admirably suited for fifes and -drums. - -[210] It is possible that there was difficulty in finding ready -writers among the military, and still more difficulty in persuading -them to unite sword and pen. - -[211] But indeed I have failed to discover by what legal authority -martial law was enforced on the Parliamentary troops in the Civil -War. There seems to have been no effort to give so much as a -semblance of legality to the power of the generals. - -[212] It should not be forgotten meanwhile, in justice to the -clerks, that their salaries were very irregularly paid and that -they depended chiefly on their perquisites. We do not realise, in -fact, how recently salaries have supplanted fees in the payment of -officials. - -[213] The warrant men and hautbois can generally be found in old -muster-rolls under the names of John Doe, Richard Roe, and Peter -Squib. - -[214] _Cal. S. P., Dom._ (30th June 1666), p. 478. - -[215] Which, however, was soon discarded for the hat, with or -without an iron skull-piece beneath it. - -[216] Some say in 1678, but no sign of them appears in the Army -Lists or Commission Registers till 1683. - -[217] Spanish _granada_, a pomegranate. Grenadiers were established -in France in 1667. - -[218] The hatchet was issued for the hewing down of the palisades -at the attack of a fortified place. This is one reason why the -grenadiers were nearly always told off for the assault of a -fortress. - -[219] But this rank was not confined to them. The Royal Scots at -this period possessed second lieutenants in addition to ensigns. - -[220] _Cal. S. P., Col._ (1677-1680), Nos. 397, 1141. - -[221] The allowance in 1692 is fourteen per company. - -[222] For the reluctance of the French to part with pikes see -Belhomme, _L'Armée Française en 1690_, pp. 24, 25. The word -_piquet_ descends from the time when the pikemen were but a small -body in the centre of the battalion, _ibid._, p. 42. - -[223] Thus General Cadogan, when virtually commander-in-chief, -carried a half-pike at a review of the Guards in June 1722. _Flying -Post_, 14th June 1722 (Marlborough died 16th June 1722). - -[224] The pikemen of the Gardes Suisses in France, however, clung -to the defensive armour for years after it had been discarded by -others, a curious survival of the old glory of the Swiss. - -[225] 2nd Queen's. - -[226] No better instance of this can be found than in Georg von -Frundsberg, the famous landsknecht-leader, who once, being in -supreme command of an army, took the linstock from a gunner and -aimed and fired a gun himself. The "officer commanding artillery" -at once came up, cashiered the gunner, and bade Georg look after -his men and not meddle with other people's guns. - -[227] 1st Battalion Royal Scots, Buffs, 7th, 21st, Collier's, -Fitzpatrick's. - -[228] _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 23rd May 1689. - -[229] _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 10th May 1689. - -[230] "Nonchalants" is Waldeck's expression. See _Cal. S. P., -Dom._, 1st June, 28th June, 18th Sept., 23rd Sept. - -[231] He was cashiered for dressing his regiment in the cast -clothes of another regiment. - -[232] "The piousest man I ever knew." _Burnet._ - -[233] The French had introduced this improvement some time before. - -[234] _Cal S. P., Dom._, Schomberg to the King, 27th August 1689. - -[235] But this was nothing uncommon in all the armies of Europe. -French ordnance would break down in the same way, and many of the -guns at Carrickfergus were Dutch. See Belhomme, _L'Armée Française -en 1690_, p. 131; and _Commons Journals_, 19th March 1706-7. - -[236] _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 12th September 1689. - -[237] Authorities in Macaulay. - -[238] _Cal. S. P., Dom._, Schomberg to the King, 3rd October 1689. - -[239] See Rymer's _Fœdera, anno_ 1346. - -[240] Harbord's letter, _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 18th September 1689. - -[241] Schomberg's letter, _ibid._ 20th September 1689. - -[242] Schomberg's letters, _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 12th Oct., 26th -December. - -[243] Schomberg, 26th December 1689, _ibid._ - -[244] Do., 30th December 1689, _ibid._ - -[245] Harbord, 23rd October 1689, 9th January 1690, _ibid._ - -[246] Schomberg, 24th December 1689, _Cal. S. P., Dom._ - -[247] Do. 16th October 1689, _ibid._ - -[248] Do. 26th December 1689, _ibid._ - -[249] Harbord, 23rd October 1689, _ibid._ - -[250] Schomberg, 30th December 1689, _ibid._ - -[251] Further details as to this Irish campaign will be found, with -all authorities, in Clifford Walton's _History of the Standing -Army_, pp. 70 _sqq._ Some details are also in Macaulay. Several of -Schomberg's letters are printed complete in Dalrymple's _Memoirs_. - -[252] _Commons Journals_, 8th November 1689. - -[253] Schomberg, 10th February 1690, _Cal. S. P., Dom._ - -[254] Carmarthen to the King, February 1691, _Cal. S. P., Dom._ - -[255] Southwell, January 1690, _ibid._ - -[256] See the very remarkable memorandum in _Cal. S. P., Dom._ -(1691), pp. 398-400. - -[257] The Irish campaigns are treated with great fulness by Colonel -Clifford Walton, and Marlborough's part in them in particular in -Lord Wolseley's _Life of Marlborough_. - -[258] Four troops of life guards, ten regiments of horse, five of -dragoons, forty-seven battalions of foot. - -[259] I had almost written that France was then, as always, the -first military nation; and though Prussia wrested the position from -her under Frederick the Great and again in 1870, the lesson of -history seems to teach that she is as truly the first military, as -England is the first naval, nation. - -[260] Belhomme, p. 153. - -[261] Feuquières. - -[262] That is to say, of land-transport. After the sad experience -of the Irish war the marine transport was entrusted to an officer -specially established for the purpose.--_Commons Journals._ - -[263] I spell the village according to the popular fashion in -England, and according to the Flemish pronunciation. So many names -in Flanders seem to halt between the Flemish and the French that it -is difficult to know how to set them down. - -[264] Fifty-three battalions of infantry and seven regiments of -dragoons.--_Beaurain._ - -[265] No battlefield can be taken in more readily at a glance than -that of Landen. On the path alongside the railway from Landen -Station is a mound formed of earth thrown out of a cutting, from -the top of which the whole position can be seen. - -[266] St. Simon. With the exception of one hollow, which might hold -three or four squadrons in double rank in line, there is not the -slightest shelter in the plain wherein the French horse could find -protection. - -[267] Life Guards, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th Dragoon Guards, Galway's -Horse. - -[268] This is, of course, the Talmash of _Tristram Shandy_ and of -Macaulay's History. He signed his name, however, as I spell it -here, and I use his own spelling the more readily since it is more -easily identified with the Tollemache of to-day. - -[269] Godolphin to the King, 2nd February 1691, _S. P., Dom._ - -[270] _Commons Journals_, 24th February, 5th March, 1693-1694. A -full account will be found in Colonel Clifford Walton, p. 483. - -[271] _Commons Journals_, 26th February 1693-1694. - -[272] Hastings of the Thirteenth. - -[273] That is to say, to meet the difference between English and -Irish pay, the rate being lower in Ireland than in England owing to -the greater cheapness of provisions. - -[274] See Farquhar's _Trip to the Jubilee_. - -[275] See _C. J._ 19th, 25th March, 16th December 1696; 5th, 7th, -15th, 23rd January 1697; 3rd, 7th, 10th, 12th, 17th, 24th, 27th -January; 7th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th February 1698. - -[276] _C. J._ 8th June 1698. - -[277] Burnet. - -[278] The following was the strength and distribution of the -corps:-- - -_England._--Three troops of Life Guards, and one of Horse-Grenadier -Guards, each 180 of all ranks. Two regiments of Horse (Blues, 1st -D.G.), each of nine troops, 37 officers, 353 non-commissioned -officers and men. Five regiments of Horse (3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th -D.G., Macclesfield's), each of six troops, 24 officers, 244 -non-commissioned officers and men. Three regiments of Dragoons -(Royals, 3rd and 4th Hussars), each of six troops, 24 officers, -259 non-commissioned officers and men. First Guards and -Coldstream Guards, each of fourteen companies, 139 officers, 1826 -non-commissioned officers and men. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Foot, each of -ten companies, 34 officers, 411 men. - -_Ireland._--Two regiments of Horse (2nd D.G. and 4th D.G.). -Three regiments of Dragoons (5th and 6th D., 8th H.). Twenty-one -battalions of Foot, 1st Royals (2 battalions), 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, -10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, -22nd, 23rd, 24th, 27th. The establishments were on much the same -scale as in England. - -_Scotland._--One troop of Horse Guards. Two regiments of Dragoons -(Greys and 7th H.). Scots Guards, Collier's, 21st, 25th, 26th, -George Hamilton's, Strathnaver's. - -I may add that I have found the greatest difficulty in the -compilation of this note. The proclamation regarding England is to -be found in the British Museum; that for Ireland is neither in the -Museum nor the Record Office, but the list was after much searching -disinterred from an Entry Book (_H. O. Mil. Entry Book_, vol. iii. -pp. 374-386). The Scotch establishment I have made up as best I -could from various sources, but I cannot vouch for its accuracy. - -[279] _H.O. Mil. Entry Book_, vol. iii. p. 327, May 1698. - -[280] Burnet. Even prior to the disbandment one Irish regiment of -horse numbered 103 commissioned officers in a total of 490 of all -ranks. - -[281] See the petition of men disbanded from Macclesfield's Horse. -_Commons Journals_, 18th April, 3rd May 1699. - -[282] Petition of Richard Nichols and others of the First Guards. -_Commons Journals_, 6th December 1699. - -[283] Petition of John Dorrell, _ibid._ 9th December 1699. The case -had been investigated and dismissed in the previous Parliament. - -[284] _Commons Journals_, 9th January 1699-1700. - -[285] _Cal. S. P., Dom._, 1691, pp. 241, 393. - -[286] Here is one instance. It was the rule that clothing should -be provided for a regiment according to its establishment on -paper, whether the muster-rolls were full or not; the allowance in -payment for the same (which was deducted from the pay of the men) -being granted to the colonels on the same basis at the close of -the financial year. The colonels provided the clothing accordingly -early in 1697. In December many regiments were disbanded, and all -were much reduced by the Act of Disbandment, when, by the King's -just order, all disbanded men were allowed to take away their -clothing with them. In April 1698 the colonels applied for the -allowance, but were told that the rule had been altered, and that -no money would be issued to them except for men actually on the -rolls at the time of reduction or disbandment. The colonels, thus -defrauded of a large portion of their allowance, were unable to pay -for the clothing, and were, of course, sued by the clothiers. It is -added that the clothiers would accept in ready-money just half the -price which they demanded in treasury-tallies. See the petition of -the colonels to the House of Commons in _Journals_, 28th May and -4th June 1701. - -[287] - - Philip III., d. 1621. - | - +----------------+ - | - Philip IV., d. 1665. - | - +----------------+-------------------------+ - | | | - Charles II., Maria Theresa, Margaret, - d. 1700. m. Louis XIV. m. Leopold I. - | | - Louis, Dauphin, Electress of Bavaria. - d. 1711. | - | | - Philip, Duke of Anjou Joseph, Electoral Prince, - (Philip V.). d. 1699. - - -[288] Namur, Luxemburg, Mons, Charleroi, Ath, Oudenarde, Nieuport, -Ostend. - -[289] 12th, 22nd, 27th. - -[290] 1st batt. First Guards, 1st Royals (2 batts.), 8th, 9th, -10th, 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th. The Guards had been -substituted (after careful explanation to Parliament) by William's -own direction in lieu of the 9th Foot. - -[291] Seven regiments of horse and dragoons, fourteen battalions of -foot, fifty-six guns. - -[292] Coxe, vol. i. p. 182. - -[293] So Quincy. Coxe gives August 25-September 5 as the date, but -the difference depends merely on the interpretation of the word -investment. - -[294] See the description in Kane. - -[295] Burnet, Somerville, Tindall. - -[296] 180 battalions. At this period a battalion is generally taken -at 500, and a squadron at 120 men. - -[297] Marlborough's _Despatches_, vol. i. p. 105. - -[298] - -ORDER OF BATTLE. CAMPAIGN OF 1703. - -RIGHT WING ONLY. - - Left. Right. - 1st Line. - - Hamilton's Withers's Wood's Ross's - Brigade. Brigade. Brigade. Brigade. - - 8th Foot. 1 Batt. 1st 1st Dragoon 1st Royal - Foreign 17th " Guards. Guards. Dragoons. - Regiments. 33rd " 1 Batt. Royal 5th Dragoon 5th Dragoons. - 20th " Scots. Guards. Scots Greys. - 13th " 15th Foot. 7th Dragoon A Foreign - 24th " Guards. Regiment. - 23rd Royal 6th Dragoon - Welsh. Guards. - 9th Foot. 3rd Dragoon - Guards. - - 2nd Line. - 2nd Batt. - Royal Scots. - 16th Foot. - Foreign Regiments. 26th Cameronians. Foreign Cavalry. - 21st Royal - Scots Fusiliers. - 10th Foot. - - _Daily Courant_, June 2, 1703. - - -[299] _Despatches_, vol. i. p. 198. - -[300] Royal Dragoons; 2nd, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, 33rd Foot. - -[301] Erle's Dragoons. Rooke's, Paston's, Deloraine's, Inchiquin's, -Ikerryn's, Dungannon's, and Orrery's Foot. All the foot, except the -two first, were raised in Ireland. - -[302] Quincy, vol. iv. p. 245. It is said that of seventeen -battalions only 1500 men reached the Elector of Bavaria at -Donaueschingen. - -[303] Thirty-four English field-pieces and four howitzers took part -in the famous march to the Danube. There were 2500 horses in all in -the train.--_Postman_, 18th May. - -[304] Hare's Journal. - -[305] The British cavalry (seven regiments) formed the extreme left -of the left wing in the line of battle, with ten British battalions -immediately to their right. Four more British battalions formed the -extreme left of the infantry of the second line. See p. 445. - -[306] These would appear to have been the 1st Guards, 1st Royals (2 -batts.), 23rd, and perhaps the 37th. - -[307] Their strength would be 1820 men; 130 men from each of -fourteen battalions. - -[308] 29 officers, 407 men killed; 86 officers, 1031 men wounded. -Several details, with a full list of the casualties, will be found -in the _Postman_ of July 13, 1704. It is from this source that I -draw the account of Mordaunt and Munden. - -[309] _Despatches_, vol. i. p. 381. - -[310] Feuquières. - -[311] Kane. - -[312] - - ORDER OF BATTLE. CAMPAIGN OF 1704. - - Left. LEFT WING ONLY. - 1st Line. - - Four Foreign Squadrons. Thirty-two Foreign - Squadrons in - three Brigades. - 5th Royal Irish Dragoons. 3rd Dragoon Guards, - 2 squadrons. - Scots Grey's, 1 squadron. 6th Dragoon Guards, - 2 squadrons. - 7th Dragoon Guards, - 2 squadrons. - 5th Dragoon Guards, - 1 squadron. - 1st Dragoon Guards, - 3 squadrons. - - Right. - - Hamilton's Row's - Brigade. Brigade. - - 8th Foot. 10th Foot. Foreign - 20th " 23 Royal Welsh. Battalions. - 16th " 24th Foot. - 1 Batt. Royal Scots. 21st Royal Scots - 1 Batt. 1st Guards. Fusiliers. - 3rd Buffs. - - - 2nd Line - Ferguson's - Brigade. - - Foreign Squadrons. 15th Foot. Foreign - 37th " Battalions. - 26th Cameronians. - 2nd Batt. Royal - Scots. - - From Dumont's _Histoire Militaire_. - - -[313] 2nd Dragoon Guards, Royal Dragoons, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 13th, -17th, 33rd Foot. - -[314] Detachments of the 1st and Coldstream Guards, 13th and 35th -of the Line. - -[315] The 4th Foot. It had taken its marineship in exchange from -another corps. - -[316] St. Simon gives a curious account of Lewis's difficulty in -arriving at the truth, owing to the general unwillingness to tell -him bad news. - -[317] It is stated in _Records and Badges of the Army_ that -Lillingston's was formed in 1702. But Narcissus Luttrell, Millar, -and the Military Entry Books all give the date as 25th March (New -Year's Day) 1705. - -[318] Quincy's account of this portion of the campaign is, so far -as concerns Marlborough, full of falsehoods. - -[319] Four British regiments were of this detachment. Two -battalions of the 1st Royals, the 3rd Buffs, and the 10th Foot. - -[320] Narcissus Luttrell. - -[321] It is worth noting that this was the first campaign in which -Marlborough and the British took the post of honour at the extreme -right of the Allied order of battle. - -[322] His camp thus lay across the whole of Wellington's position -at Waterloo, from east to west and considerably beyond it to -westward, but fronted in the reverse direction. - -[323] ORDER OF BATTLE. CAMPAIGN OF 1705. - - Left. RIGHT WING ONLY. Right. - 1st Line. - - Foreign 3rd Buffs. 1 Batt. 1st 1st Dragoon Scots Greys - Troops. 21st Royal Guards. Guards, 3 Squadrons - Scots 1 Batt, 3 squadrons. 5th Dragoons - Fusiliers. Royal 5th Dragoon 3 Squadrons - 37th Foot. Scots Guards - Macartney's 18th Royal 2 Squadrons - Foot Irish 7th Dragoon - Evan's Foot 23rd Royal Welsh Guards - 15th " 28th Foot 2 Squadrons - 15th " Stringer's 6th Dragoon - Foot. Guards - 26th Cameronians. 2 Squadrons - 16th Foot. 3rd Dragoon - Guards - 2 Squadrons - - - 2nd Line. - Extreme Right of Centre. - - 2nd Batt. Royal Scots. - 10th Foot. - Temple's Foot. Foreign troops. - 29th Foot. - 8th " - - _Newspaper._ - - -[324] 2nd Dragoon Guards, 2nd, 9th (exchanged against the prisoners -of Blenheim), 17th, 33rd, and Brudenell's Foot. - -[325] It is somewhat singular that the first regiment which -signally distinguished itself in this first Peninsular War was the -33rd (Duke of Wellington's), which covered itself with honour at -the storm of Valenza. - -[326] 6th, 34th, 36th, Elliott's, J. Caulfield's (late Pearce's), -Gorges's. - -[327] Guards (mixed battalion of the 1st and Coldstream), 13th, -35th, Mountjoy's, and four of Marines. - -[328] Carleton. - -[329] Peterborough's Dragoons; Mark Kerr's, Stanwix's, Lovelace's, -Townsend's, Tunbridge's, Bradshaw's, Sybourg's, Price's Foot. -Sybourg's was made up of Huguenots. - -[330] Marlborough's _Despatches_, vol. ii. p. 262. - -[331] This is the story told in Lamberti. - -[332] The ground, though now drained, is still very wet. - -[333] I have described the field at some length, since the map -given by Coxe is most misleading. - -[334] Coxe, by a singular error, makes the left consist exclusively -of infantry, in face of Quincy, Feuquières, the _London Gazette_ -and other authorities, thereby missing almost unaccountably an -important feature in the action. - -[335] Apparently the whole of Meredith's brigade, viz.: 1st, 18th, -29th, 37th, 24th, and 10th regiments. The place is still easily -identifiable. - -[336] Molesworth escaped and was rewarded four years later, at the -age of twenty-two, with a regiment of foot. - -[337] ORDER OF BATTLE. RAMILLIES, 12TH-23RD MAY 1706. - - Left. RIGHT WING ONLY. - 1st Line. - - Foreign 3rd Buffs. 1 Batt. 1st Guards. - Infantry. 21st Royal Scots 1 Batt. Royal Scots. - Fusiliers. - Evans's Foot. 16th Foot. - Macartney's Foot. 26th Cameronians. - Stringer's Foot. 28th Foot. - 15th Foot. 23rd Royal Welsh. - 8th Foot. - - Right. - - 1st Dragoon Guards. Scots Greys. - 5th " " 5th Royal Irish - 7th " " Dragoons. - 6th " " - 3rd " " - Eighteen Dutch Squadrons. - - 2nd Line. - - Foreign 2nd Batt. Royal Scots. Foreign - Infantry. 18th Royal Irish. Cavalry. - 29th Foot. - 37th " - 24th " - 10th " - - From Kane's _Campaigns_. - - -[338] _Despatches_, vol. ii. p. 554. - -[339] The British regiments regularly employed in the besieging -army were the 8th, 10th, and 18th, and Evans's Foot; the Scots -Greys, 3rd and 6th Dragoon Guards. The total loss of the Allies was -32 officers and 551 men killed, 83 officers and 1941 men wounded. -The 18th Royal Irish lost 15 officers alone, and in one attack over -100 men in half an hour. - -[340] 8th Dragoons (now Hussars), 30th and 34th Foot; two Dutch and -two Neapolitan battalions. - -[341] 2200 of them British, 2nd Dragoon Guards, 2nd, 9th, 17th, -33rd, and Brudenell's Foot. - -[342] The total force comprehended 6900 men. Two squadrons each -of the 3rd and 4th Dragoons (now Hussars) and seven squadrons -of foreigners; the 28th, 29th, Hill's, Watkins's, Mark Kerr's, -Macartney's Foot, two battalions of Marines, one of Germans and six -of Huguenots. - -[343] Colonel Parnell calls this a novelty and approves it; Colonel -Frank Russell condemns it. The practice was not proscribed, but it -was recognised as extremely hazardous (see Kane's _Campaigns_, ed. -1757, pp. 69-70), and received its final condemnation at the hands -of Napoleon. _Campagnes de Turenne._ - -[344] The British regiments present were the Queen's Bays, 3rd, -4th, and 8th Dragoons (now Hussars), Peterborough's and Pearce's -Dragoons, Guards (mixed battalion); 2nd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 17th, -28th, 33rd, 35th, 36th, Mountjoy's, Macartney's, Breton's, -Bowles's, Mark Kerr's Foot. List of casualties of officers will be -found in the _Postboy_, 26th June 1707. See order of battle on next -page. - - ORDER OF BATTLE. ALMANZA. - - Left. LEFT WING ONLY. Right. - 1st Line. - - Wade's Macartney's - Brigade. Brigade. - - Guiscard's Mountjoy's Four Dutch Mordaunt's Two Dutch - Dragoons. Foot. regiments Foot. Brigades. - Essex's Dragoons 17th Foot. of horse. Macartney's - (4th Hussars). Peterborough's Queen's Foot. - 7th Dragoons Dragoons. Bays. 35th Foot. - (Hussars). 8th Dragoons Two regiments 1 Batt. - 1st Royal (Hussars). of Dutch English - Dragoons. 33rd Foot. horse. Guards. - 6th " - - 2nd Line. - Hill's - Brigade. - - Four Squadrons. 11th Foot. Four Bowles's. - Portuguese Mark Kerr's Portuguese Nassau's. - Dragoons. Foot. Squadrons. Bretton's. - Three 2nd Foot. - Portuguese - Squadrons. - 36th Foot. - 9th " - - _Postboy_, 5th-7th June 1707. - - -[345] Parker. - -[346] ORDER OF BATTLE. CAMPAIGN OF 1707. - - Left. RIGHT WING ONLY. - 1st Line. - - Lord North and Temple's Meredith's - Grey's Brigade. Brigade. Brigade. - - 3rd Buffs. 2nd Batt. 1 Batt. Orrery's - 21st Royal Scots Royal Scots. 1st Guards. Foot. - Fusiliers. 18th Royal Irish. 1 Batt. Evans's - 37th Foot. Temple's Foot. Royal Scots. Foot. - 26th Cameronians. 24th Foot. 16th Foot. - 15th Foot. 10th " 23rd Royal Welsh. Foreign - Gore's " 8th Foot. horse. - - Right. - - Palmer's Stair's - Brigade. Brigade. - - 1st Dragoon Guards. Scots Greys. - 5th " " 5th Royal Irish - 7th " " Dragoons. - 6th " " - 3rd " " - - - No British in the Second Line. - -_Postboy_, 26th June 1707. - - -[347] Slane's, Brazier's, Delaune's, Jones's, Carles's, all raised -in September. - -[348] Mixed battalion of Guards, 19th Foot, Prendergast's (late -Orrery's). - -[349] 16 battalions and 30 squadrons. In these were included the -brigades of Sabine, viz., 8th, 18th, 23rd, 37th; of Evans, viz., -Orrery's, Evans's and two foreign battalions; and of Plattenberg, -which included the Scotch regiments of the Dutch service. - -[350] Among them the Royal Scots and Buffs. - -[351] That is to say, on the western side of the road from -Oudenarde to Deynze. - -[352] The ground, though drained and built over about Bevere, seems -to have lost little of its original character, and is worth a visit. - -[353] British losses: 4 officers and 49 men killed, 17 officers and -160 men wounded. - -[354] The force consisted of detachments of the 3rd and 4th -Dragoons (now Hussars), 12th, 29th, Hamilton's, Dormer's, -Johnson's, Moore's, Caulfield's, Townsend's, Wynne's Foot. - -[355] See, for instance, the commendations of Feuquières. - -[356] 135 battalions, 260 squadrons. - -[357] 122 battalions, 230 squadrons. - -[358] These were, according to a contemporary plan (Fricx), the -16th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 24th Foot. - -[359] He is claimed as a Guardsman by General Hamilton (_Hist. -Grenadier Guards_), though Millner assigns him to the 16th Foot. -This is the only name of a man below the rank of a commissioned -officer that I have encountered in any of the books on the wars -of Marlborough, not excluding the works of Sergeants Deane and -Millner. Littler was deservedly rewarded with a commission. - -[360] The Allied order of battle was peculiar. The artillery was -all drawn up in front, in rear of it came a first line of 100 -squadrons, then a second line of 80 squadrons, then a third line of -104 battalions, with wings of 14 squadrons more thrown out to the -right and left rear. _Daily Courant_, 6th September 1708. - -[361] The five English regiments lost about 350 killed and wounded -in this assault. This would mean probably from a fifth to a sixth -of their numbers. _Daily Courant_, 6th September 1708. - -[362] I have failed, in spite of much search, to identify the -British regiments present, excepting one battalion of the 1st -Royals. Marlborough, as Thackeray has reminded us by a famous scene -in _Esmond_, attributed the credit of the action in his first -despatch to Cadogan. Another letter, however, which appeared in -the _Gazette_ three days later (23rd September), does full justice -to Webb, as does also a letter from the Duke to Lord Sunderland of -18th-29th September (_Despatches_, vol. iv. p. 243). Webb's own -version of the affair appeared in the _Gazette_ of 9th October, but -does not mention the regiments engaged. Webb became a celebrated -bore with his stories of Wynendale, but the story of his grievance -against Marlborough would have been forgotten but for Thackeray, -who either ignored or was unaware of the second despatch. - -[363] Notably Prendergast's. _Gazette_, 25th November. - -[364] The British troops employed were the 6th Foot, 600 marines, -and a battalion of seamen. - -[365] There are still some remains of the old walls of Tournay on -the south side of the town, and the ruins of Vauban's citadel close -by, from which the extent of the works may be judged. - -[366] The British regiments employed in the siege were the 1st -Royals (2 battalions), 3rd Buffs, 37th, Temple's, Evans's and -Prendergast's Foot. - -[367] The following description written from the trenches gives -some idea of the work: "Now as to our fighting underground, blowing -up like kites in the air, not being sure of a foot of ground we -stand on while in the trenches. Our miners and the enemy very often -meet each other, when they have sharp combats till one side gives -way. We have got into three or four of the enemy's great galleries, -which are thirty or forty feet underground and lead to several of -their chambers; and in these we fight in armour by lanthorn and -candle, they disputing every inch of the gallery with us to hinder -our finding out their great mines. Yesternight we found one which -was placed just under our bomb batteries, in which were eighteen -hundredweight of powder besides many bombs: and if we had not been -so lucky as to find it, in a very few hours our batteries and some -hundreds of men had taken a flight into the air." _Daily Courant_, -20th August. - -[368] 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th. - -[369] Parker. - -[370] A nominal list in the _Postboy_ of 1st October gives 36 -officers killed and 46 wounded. An earlier list of 17th September -gives 40 officers and 511 men killed, 66 officers and 1020 men -wounded; but this is admittedly imperfect. - -[371] ORDER OF BATTLE. CAMPAIGN OF 1709. - - Left. RIGHT WING ONLY. - 1st Line. - - 8th Foot. 3rd Buffs. 2nd Batt. 1 Batt. - 24th Foot. Temple's Foot. Royal Scots. 1st Guards. - 21st Royal Scots Evans's Foot. 23rd Royal 1 Batt. - Fusiliers. 16th Foot. Welsh. Coldstream - 18th Royal Irish. Orrery's Foot. Guards. - 1 Batt. - Royal Scots. - 37th Foot. - 10th Foot. - - Right. - - Two Foreign Orrery's Kelburn's Sybourg's - Brigadiers. Brigade. Brigade. Brigade. - - Twenty-seven 26th Cameronians. 1st Dragoon Scots Greys, - squadrons Two foreign Guards, 3 Squadrons. - of foreign battalions. 2 squadrons. 5th Royal Irish - dragoons. Prendergast's 5th Dragoon Dragoons, - Foot. Guards, 2 squadrons. - 2 squadrons. - 7th Dragoon - Guards, - 2 squadrons. - 6th Dragoon - Guards, - 1 squadron. - 3rd Dragoon - Guards, - 2 squadrons. - - No British troops in the second line; but the 15th and 19th Foot were - also present at the action of Malplaquet. - - -[372] Hotham's regiment and artillery. - -[373] 5th, 13th, 20th, 39th, Paston's, Stanwix's. - -[374] 2nd Dragoon Guards, Royal Dragoons, 8th Hussars, Nassau's and -Rochford's Dragoons. Scots Guards, 6th, 33rd, Bowles's, Dormer's, -Munden's, Dalzell's, Gore's. Together 4200 men, under General -Stanhope. - -[375] 2 brigadiers, 5 other officers and 73 men killed. 2 -lieutenant-generals, 12 other officers and 113 men wounded. - -[376] Having failed to ascertain the share of the British in this -action, I omit it altogether. All that is sure is that they did -their duty and that the cavalry suffered severely. - -[377] Desbordes's, Gually's, Sarlandes's, Magny's, Assa's dragoons, -all composed of Huguenots but borne on the English establishment; -Dalzell's and Wittewrong's foot. - -[378] 11th, 37th, Kane's, Clayton's, and one foreign battalion of -foot. The losses of the expedition were 29 officers and 676 men -drowned. - -[379] Strangely enough it was in these very weeks (13th July) -that Richard Cromwell, the ex-protector, died, at the age of -eighty-seven; one of the very few men who had seen the rise of the -New Model, the culmination of Oliver Cromwell's military work in -the hands of Marlborough, and the fall of Marlborough himself. - -[380] Nominally 30,000, but 4000 are deducted for Huguenot -regiments. - -[381] Including Huguenot regiments the numbers would be 22 -regiments of dragoons and 81 of foot. The three regiments of -Guards, though varying greatly in strength, may be reckoned -practically at two battalions apiece; the Royal Scots had also two -battalions, both on active service. - -[382] These figures are based principally on the estimates -submitted to the House of Commons, which are printed in the -journals, but can only be approximately accurate. The confusion -in the statement is worthy of the War Office. First, there is -the establishment for England (after 1707 for Great Britain), -including colonial garrisons. Next, establishment for Flanders -and augmentation for Flanders; establishment for Portugal and -augmentation for Portugal; establishment for Catalonia and -augmentation for Catalonia, making, with Ireland, eight different -establishments, involving transfers and changes and explanations -without end. The House of Commons (see Journals, January 1708) was -puzzled and dissatisfied, but obtained small satisfaction. Probably -the Treasury was partly to blame as well as the War Office. - -The estimates for 1709 provide for 69,000 men, exclusive of the -Irish establishment and of Artillery. _Commons Journals._ - -[383] _Commons Journals_, 3rd and 18th February 1708. - -[384] _Despatches_, vol. ii. p. 460. - -[385] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 26th May 1709. _S. P., -Dom._, vol. xvii. p. 85. - -[386] Thus in August 1710 the garrison of Portsmouth was reduced by -drafts to 360 men. _S. P., Dom._, vol. xvii. p. 19. - -[387] The men, as is plain from the pages of Parker, Kane, and -Millner, looked forward to a wealth of spoil as soon as they should -penetrate into the heart of France. - -[388] _Commons Journals_, 18th February 1708. - -[389] _Cal. Treas. Papers_, 18th November 1710. - -[390] _S. P., Dom._, vol. xviii. p. 116. - -[391] Deane. - -[392] There is nothing more remarkable than the mortality among the -British troops, in what town soever quartered, in the Peninsula. -The complaints against the Portuguese will be found very bitter -in the letters of Colonel Albert Borgard of the Artillery. _S. P. -Spain._ - -[393] _Cal. Treas. Papers_, 18th June and 18th November 1706. - -[394] The regiment being in the Irish establishment the clothing -was ordered in Ireland. When, after long delay, the clothing -arrived at Bristol, it was discovered that, being of Irish -manufacture, it could not be discharged without the Treasurer's -warrant; which, of course, entailed the delay, appreciable enough -in those days, of a journey to London and back. - -[395] _Cal. Treas. Papers_, 18th November 1707. - -[396] _S. P., Dom._, vol. viii. 81. - -[397] _S. P., Dom._, vol. xvi. 92. - -[398] _Cal. Treas. Papers_, 15th August 1711. - -[399] _Ibid._, 12th October 1709. - -[400] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 20th September and December -1705. - -[401] _S. P., Dom._ (12th March 1711), vol. xix. 21. - -[402] 5th, 6th, 8th Dragoons; 18th, 27th Foot. - -[403] Two troops Household Cavalry, Scots Greys and 7th Dragoons, -Scots Guards, and 1st Royals (each two battalions), 21st, 25th, -26th Foot. - -[404] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 22nd May 1704. - -[405] Not always, however, for among the capital offenders pardoned -I find a boy of ten. - -[406] Levy money of £2, of which one moiety for the recruit. - -[407] Levy money of £1. - -[408] Abundant instances in the _Secretary's Common Letter Book_. - -[409] _Ibid._, 13th March 1704. - -[410] _S. P., Dom._, vol. v. 135; vol. ix. 75. - -[411] _S. P., Dom._, vol. v. 128. - -[412] Tindal. - -[413] A curious and, I imagine, illegal stretch of the Royal -prerogative appears in the shape of a Royal warrant for the -impressment of fifes, drums, and hautbois. _H. O. M. E. B._, 1st -Jan. 1705. - -[414] The levy-money was £4 per man, of which it seems that half -was bounty, and half for expenses of the recruiting officer. - -[415] The system was introduced by Lewis XIV. in the autumn of -1703. The still earlier suggestion of a short-service system in the -sixteenth century has already been related. - -[416] The number of volunteers enlisted in March 1708 for the -regiments in the Peninsula was something over 800, of which London -and Middlesex supplied just twenty-three. - -[417] Newspapers, 13th March 1709. - -[418] _S. P., Dom._ (15th September 1708), vol. xiv. - -[419] _E.g., Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 21st September and -23rd December 1708. - -[420] _S. P., Dom._, (undated), vol. x. - -[421] _Ibid._ (20th February 1711), vol. xviii.; (14th April 1712), -vol. xxii. - -[422] Lord Lansdowne. _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 12th March -1712. The question had originally been brought up a year before. - -[423] _Ibid._, 23rd April 1711. - -[424] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 6th July 1707. - -[425] Four regiments destined for the Peninsula in 1711 were kept -waiting three months for their ships at Cork. In that time they -lost 500 men by desertion, probably not much less than a fourth of -their numbers. - -[426] A clause against concealment of deserters was inserted in the -Mutiny Act of 1708-9. - -[427] Abundant instances in _Secretary's Common Letter Book_. - -[428] _Ibid._, 18th October 1707. - -[429] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 25th, 27th July; 17th -August; October 1705. - -[430] See, for instance, the complaint of a regiment which had been -paid in unsaleable tallies. Several officers had been arrested for -debts contracted by their men for want of their pay. _Secretary's -Common Letter Book_, 18th April 1711. - -[431] Such a Board, or rather intermittent meeting of Generals, had -been established in January 1706. For the report of St. John and -Churchill and the new regulations, see _Miscellaneous Orders_, 4th -February 1706; 14th January 1708. - -[432] I can adduce only one instance in proof, that of the Duke -of Schomberg, who offered £2 a man to old soldiers to join his -regiment of dragoons (Newspaper Advertisement, 27th July 1705), but -the fact is indubitable. - -[433] There are two or three memoirs of her, attributed to Defoe -and others. - -[434] See Steele's _Tatler_ (No. 87), 29th Oct. 1709. - -[435] _S. P., Dom._ (11th September 1705), vol. vi. - -[436] They went on guard once and were put in the guard-room once, -that their names might appear on the list of prisoners. - -[437] _Commons Journals_, 5th, 13th, 22nd February; 8th, 26th May -1711. - -[438] See the case of Lillingston's regiment in Antigua, _Cal. -Treas. Papers_, 18th November 1707: for the Mediterranean garrisons -and Peninsula, _S. P., Dom._ (December 1705), vol. vii.; (19th June -1709), vol. xiv. - -[439] _E.g. Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 22nd December 1710. - -[440] _Ibid._, 22nd December 1708. - -[441] _Despatches_, vol. v. pp. 21, 241. This colonel, Bennett by -name, was an admirable officer at his work, and had done excellent -service at Gibraltar. - -[442] _Cal. Treas. Papers_, 18th November 1710, 6th January 1711. -Recruits were practically bought and sold at from £2 to £3 a head -at ordinary times, colonels receiving so much a man when they -furnished drafts. In strictness one officer took a recruit from -another, and paid to him the expenses of raising a substitute. See -_Commons Journals_, 8th May 1711. - -[443] See _Humours of a Coffee House_ (a dialogue), 26th December -1707. _Guzzle._--How go on your recruits this winter? _Levy_ (an -officer).--Very poorly. I am almost broke; they cost us so much -to raise them, and run away so fast afterwards that, without the -Government will consider us, we shall be undone, and the service -will suffer into the bargain.... Some of us were forced to live -on five shillings weekly; the rest was stopped by the Colonel -for the charge we had been at in raising recruits; and after all -they deserted from us and the service wanted what the nation paid -for.... What recruits stayed with us, we were no better, for being -most of them boys, they fell sick as soon as we got into the -field.... If our regiments were only complete as they ought to be, -you would hear something to surprise you in a campaign. - -See also _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 23rd April 1711, wherein -the Generals report that under the present system of mustering, -recruiting is impossible, and recommend that if any men die, -desert, or are discharged, their names may be kept on the rolls for -the next two musters; and see Coxe's _Marlborough_, vol. vi. pp. -232, 233. - -[444] _Miscellaneous Orders_ (_Guards and Garrisons_), 17th May -1707. - -[445] _Ibid._ (_Forces Abroad_), 5th March 1706. - -[446] Conyngham's regiment (8th Hussars) lost on passage to -Portugal 27 chargers out of 70, and 141 troop horses out of 216, -owing to the use of two such transports. The animals were beaten to -pieces and stifled for want of room. - -[447] "Good squat dragoon horses," _S. P., Dom._, 27th February, -10th August 1705. - -[448] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 27th February, 10th August -1705. - -[449] _Ibid._, 19th February 1709. - -[450] _Ibid._, 15th February 1712. - -[451] Hence the expression, once very common, of a widow's man. -Readers of Marrayat will remember that when Peter Simple was -searching the ship for Cheeks the marine, he was informed that -Cheeks was a widow's man. - -[452] _Despatches_, vol. v. pp. 356, 412. A scale of widows' -pensions from £50 a year for a colonel's to £16 for a cornet's or -ensign's was fixed by regulation, 23rd August 1708. _Miscellaneous -Orders_ (_Guards and Garrisons_), under date. - -[453] E.g., Cadogan's regiment (5th Dragoon Guards). Marlborough -tried to obtain relief for it. _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, -5th April 1705. - -[454] W. O. _Miscellaneous Orders_. 17th April 1712. - -[455] See account of Captain Richard Hill. _S. P., Dom._, Anne, -vol. x. (undated). - -[456] _Miscellaneous Orders_ (_Guards and Garrisons_), 19th October -1711. - -[457] _Ibid._ (_Forces Abroad_), 1st May 1711. - -[458] _Despatches_, vol. v. p. 412. Amended regulations, -_Miscellaneous Orders_ (_Forces Abroad_), 7th September 1712. In -the same letter Marlborough pleaded for the abolition of the 5 per -cent purchase money paid to Chelsea Hospital, which was done by -Order of 1st April 1712. _H. O. M. E. B._, under date. - -[459] Even as things were, officers were occasionally obliged to -accept a Chelsea pension; a captain of horse being admitted on the -footing of a corporal of horse. _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, -10th January 1712. - -[460] Coxe's _Marlborough_, vol vi. p. 232, 233. - -[461] Journals of Irish House of Commons. Speeches from the throne, -1703, 1707, 1710, 1713. - -[462] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 21st August 1704. "The -marines are entirely under the Prince's (George of Denmark's) -direction. You must apply to his secretary." - -[463] The Commissary of the Musters at Portsmouth was "a -superannuated old man who was rolled about in a wheel-barrow." -_Cal. Treas. Papers_, 15th November 1703. - -[464] _E.g._, Caermarthen's and Shovell's, _ibid._, 7th November -1706. - -[465] _S. P., Dom._ (29th March 1709), vol. xiv. Thirty-eight -mutineers marched on London from Portsmouth in order to lay down -their arms publicly at Whitehall. They were stopped at Putney. See -also _Cal. Treas. Papers_ of same date. - -[466] _H. O. M. E. B._, under date. - -[467] _H. O. M. E. B._, St. John's Commission, 20th April 1704, 8th -June 1707; Walpole's, 23rd February 1708; Granville's, 17th October -1710; Windham's, 28th June 1712; Francis Gwynne's, 31st August 1713. - -[468] Compare the Duke of Wellington's evidence in 1837: "The -Commander-in-Chief cannot at this moment move a corporal's -guard (four men) from hence to Windsor without going to a civil -department for authority." - -[469] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 22nd December 1708. - -[470] _Ibid._, 29th January 1709. - -[471] _Ibid._, 7th March 1709. - -[472] _Ibid._, 14th May 1709. - -[473] _Ibid._, 22nd December 1710. - -[474] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 1st and 3rd March, 24th May -1712. - -[475] _H. O. M. E. B._, 30th June 1702. Marlborough was appointed -Master-General on 26th March. - -[476] _Commons Journals_, 29th March 1707. The cost of Dutch -muskets was £8000, and of English £11,000 per 10,000; but great -superiority was claimed for the English. - -[477] _H. O. M. E. B._, 16th April 1703. April 1704 (arms of -Evans's regiment). - -[478] _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 12th June 1706. - -[479] _H. O. M. E. B._, 14th October 1704. _Commons Journals_, 19th -March 1707. - -[480] Parker. See the account of the meeting between the Royal -Irish of England and of France at Malplaquet. - -[481] Millner. 30th May, 1707. - -[482] The Duke of Marlborough's new exercise of firelocks and -bayonets, by an officer in the Foot Guards. London, N.D. - -[483] The most appalling sentence was that given to a guardsman -at home who had slaughtered his colonel's horse for lucre of -the hide--seven distinct floggings of eighteen hundred lashes -apiece, or twelve thousand six hundred lashes in all. His life was -despaired of after the first flogging, and the Queen remitted the -remaining six. _Secretary's Common Letter Book_, 12th Jan. 1712. - -[484] Newspapers, 3rd March 1703. - -[485] _Despatches_, vol. iii. pp. 309, 335, 461; _S. P., Dom._, -vol. xix. 23. - -[486] The testimony to these exertions is to be found only in -Hare's Journal, but it is emphatic. - -[487] Lediard. - -[488] "The Duke does not say much, but no one's countenance speaks -more." Hare's Journal. - -[489] Mahon, _Hist. of England_, vol. iii. p. 368. - -[490] St. John. - - - - - TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE - - Seven Footnotes (298, 312, 323, 337, 344, 346, 371) with Tables - describing the 'ORDER OF BATTLE' had many elements printed sideways - in the original text. These have been made horizontal in the etext, - with the regiments listed in each column deployed from right to left. - - The original text had two dots under the date superscripts 'th', - 'st', 'nd' and 'rd'; these dots have been removed in the etext. - - A frequent abbreviation in the Footnotes is 'Cal. S. P. Dom.'; this - stands for 'Calendar of State Papers, Domestic'. Also 'H. O. M. E. B.' - stands for 'Home Office Military Entry Book'. - - Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been - corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within - the text and consultation of external sources. - - Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, - and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, - firearms, fire-arms; bodyguard, body-guard; footmen, foot-men; - renascence; intestine; blent; mulcted; jobbery; doggrel. - - Pg xxi, 'Action at Edghill' replaced by 'Action at Edgehill'. - Pg xxvi, page number '251' replaced by '351'. - Pg 107, 'Lickenau's memorial' replaced by 'Liebenau's memorial'. - Pg 125, 'for an arequebus' replaced by 'for an arquebus'. - Pg 248, 'sixteeen of horse' replaced by 'sixteen of horse'. - Pg 263, 'Neverthless after six' replaced by 'Nevertheless after six'. - Pg 306, 'Churchhill, Grafton' replaced by 'Churchill, Grafton'. - Pg 347, 'Of fourteeen' replaced by 'Of fourteen'. - Pg 445, 'wholly ontwitted' replaced by 'wholly outwitted'. - Pg 506, sidenote date range '19-20' replaced by '9-10'. - Pg 513, sidenote date range '19/23' replaced by '19/30'. - Pg 518, 'Sart and Blangies' replaced by 'Sart and Blaugies'. - Pg 536, 'made commanner-in-chief' replaced by 'made commander-in-chief'. - Pg 538, 'did not undestand' replaced by 'did not understand'. - Pg 574, 'was unwiliing to' replaced by 'was unwilling to'. - Pg 577, 'through mismangement' replaced by 'through mismanagement'. - Footnote [224], 'Guardes Suisses' replaced by 'Gardes Suisses'. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A History of the British Army, Vol. 1, by -J. 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-} - -.transnote p {text-indent: 0em;} - - </style> - </head> - -<body> - - -<pre> - -Project Gutenberg's A History of the British Army, Vol. 1, by J. W. Fortescue - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: A History of the British Army, Vol. 1 - First Part—to The Close of The Seven Years' War - -Author: J. W. Fortescue - -Release Date: November 14, 2017 [EBook #55968] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, John Campbell and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - -</pre> - - - -<div class="transnote"> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Footnote anchors are denoted by <span class="fnanchor">[number]</span>, and the footnotes -themselves have been placed at the end of the book.</p> - -<p>This volume covers the period up to 1713 when the Julian calendar -was still in use in England. The change to the Gregorian calendar -took place in Europe beginning in 1582, though much later in -Protestant regions, and not in Britain until 1752. This produced a -difference of eleven days in contemporary documents and books using -the Julian Old Style (OS) and those using the modern Gregorian New -Style (NS) dates.</p> - -<p>The author follows the convention of using the dates as recorded -at the time of the event, so that events in England, Scotland and -Ireland are noted in the text and Sidenotes in Julian OS, and -events in (Catholic) Europe after 1582 are noted in NS. When a -specific day is noted for an event in Europe the corresponding -Sidenote will with few exceptions give both dates in the format -<sup>OS</sup>/<sub>NS</sub>.</p> - -<p>Some minor changes are noted at the <a href="#TN">end of the book.</a></p> -</div> - - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" width="600" alt="Original cover" /> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="p6" /> - -<h1> -<span class="fs90">A</span><br /> -HISTORY OF THE BRITISH ARMY -</h1> -<p class="p6" /> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="p6" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/fm-icon.jpg" width="250" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p class="p6" /> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="p6" /> - - -<div class="tpage"> - -<p> -<span class="fs220">A History of</span><br /> -<br /> -<span class="fs260">The British Army</span><br /> -<br /><br /> -<span class="fs70">BY</span><br /> - -<span class="fs100 smcap">The Hon. J. W. FORTESCUE</span><br /> -<br /><br /> -<span class="fs70"><em>FIRST PART—TO THE CLOSE OF THE SEVEN YEARS' WAR</em></span><br /> -<br /><br /> -<span class="fs90">VOL. I</span><br /> -<br /><br /> -<span class="fs80"><i lang="la" xml:lang="la">Quæ caret ora cruore nostro</i></span><br /> -<br /><br /> -<span class="fs120 lsp antiqua">London</span><br /> -<span class="fs100 lsp">MACMILLAN AND CO., <span class="smcap">Limited</span></span><br /> -<span class="fs60">NEW YORK: THE MACMILLAN COMPANY</span><br /> -<span class="fs100">1899</span><br /> -<br /> -<span class="fs80"><em>All rights reserved</em></span><br /> -</p> -</div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span></p> - -<h2>PREFACE</h2> - -<p class="noindent">The civilian who attempts to write a military history -is of necessity guilty of an act of presumption; and I -am not blind to my own temerity in venturing to -grapple with such a task as the History of the British -Army. But England has waited long for a soldier to -do the work; and so far no sign has been given of the -willingness of any officer to undertake it beyond the -publication, a few years since, of Colonel Walton's -<cite>History of the British Standing Army from 1660 to -1700</cite>. Nor is this altogether surprising, for the leisure -of officers is limited, the subject is a large one, and -the number of those who have already toiled in the -field and left the fruit of their labour to others is sadly -small. A civilian may therefore, I hope, be pardoned -for trying at any rate to make some beginning, however -conscious of his own shortcomings and of the inevitable -disadvantage from which he suffers through inexperience -of military life in peace and, still more fatally, in -war. His efforts may at least stimulate some one -better qualified than himself to treat the subject in a -manner better befitting its dignity and its worth.</p> - -<p>My design is to write the history of the Army -down to the year 1870, the two present volumes carrying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[vi]</a></span> -the story down to the Peace of Paris in 1763, and -two future volumes bringing it forward to the great -reforms which virtually closed the life of our old Army -and opened that of a new. It would have been easy to -have filled a score of volumes with matters germane to -the subject and of genuine interest to at least some -groups of military students; nor would such treatment -have been foreign to the methods of one school of -British historians. There is indeed much to be said -for it from the writer's standpoint, for it simplifies -his task beyond belief. To me, however, rightly or -wrongly, it seemed better to gather the story if possible -into a smaller compass, even at the cost of omitting -many instructive statistics and picturesque details. -Accordingly I have compressed the six hundred years -of our military history from Hastings to Naseby into -one-third that number of pages, endeavouring only to -set down such points and incidents as were essential to -a coherent sketch of the growth of our military system. -Even after Naseby and up to the reign of Queen Anne -I have dealt with the history in a like arbitrary spirit, -thus passing over, not I confess without regret, the -Irish campaigns of Cromwell and King William, -though entering with some detail into that of Schomberg. -All could not be written down, as any one can -bear me witness who has attempted to go below the -surface of the Great Civil War alone. The reader -must decide whether I have judged well or ill in that -which I have left unwritten.</p> - -<p>I must plead guilty also to deliberate omission of -sundry small details which are rather of antiquarian<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[vii]</a></span> -than of true military interest, minute particulars of -dress, armament and equipment and the like, the real -place for which is rather in a military dictionary than in -a military history. These I have sacrificed, not because -I felt them to be trivial, but because I thought that the -space which they demanded would be more profitably -occupied by a sketch of the political relations between -the Army and the country. I cannot, however, claim -completeness for this sketch: and I am conscious that -many questions of great constitutional importance are -left unresolved, as I must frankly acknowledge, through -my inability to cope with them. I have sought our -acknowledged authorities on constitutional questions in -vain; not one is of help. I confess that I have been -amazed when reading our innumerable political histories -to see how unconcernedly Army, Navy, and the whole -question of National Defence are left out of account.</p> - -<p>It is this, the political not less than the military -aspect of the Army's history that I have endeavoured, -however slightly and however unsuccessfully, to elucidate, -at the sacrifice sometimes of purely military matters; -and it is this which makes the subject so vast as to -be almost unmanageable. The difficulties of tracing -military operations are frequently trying enough, but -they are insignificant compared to those presented by -the civil administration of the Army, and by the intolerable -complication of the finance. Here again the -reader must judge whether or not I have chosen -aright; and I would ask him only not to attribute to -neglect omissions which have been made after mature -deliberation.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[viii]</a></span></p> - -<p>My authorities from the reign of Queen Anne -onward, and occasionally before, are quoted at the foot -of the page; but in the earlier portion of the first -volume I have been content to group them in a brief -note at the close of each chapter or section;<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and I -have followed the same plan with some modification -throughout. I must, however, mention that these -notes rarely comprise the whole of the authorities that -I have consulted, much less all that lie open to consultation. -It would be a simple matter, for instance, -to cover a page with works consulted on the subject of -the Civil War alone; but while I have, as I trust, -taken pains to make my work thorough, I have -been content frequently to refer the reader to such -authorities as will guide him to further sources of -information, should he desire to pursue them. I -have spared no pains to glean all that may be gleaned -from the original papers preserved at the Record Office -in reference to the military administration and to the -various campaigns, and I have waded through many -thousands of old newspapers, with and without profit. -What unknown treasures I may have overlooked -among the archives preserved by individual regiments, -I know not, since with an army so widely dispersed -as our own it seemed to me hopeless to attempt to -search for them; but such regimental histories as -exist in print I have been careful to study, sometimes<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[ix]</a></span> -with advantage but not always with profound respect -for their accuracy.</p> - -<p>Maps and plans have been a matter of extreme -difficulty, owing to the inaccuracy of the old surveys -and the disappearance of such fugitive features as -marsh and forest. I have followed contemporary plans -wherever I could in fixing the dispositions of troops, -but in many cases I should have preferred to have -presented the reader with a map of the ground only, -and left him to fill in the troops for himself from the -description in the text. Blocks of red and blue are -pleasing indeed to the eye, but it is always a question -whether their facility for misleading does not exceed -their utility for guidance. Actual visits to many of -the battlefields of the Low Countries, with the maps -of so recent a writer as Coxe in my hand, did not -encourage me in my belief in the system, although, in -deference to the vast majority of my advisers I have -pursued it.</p> - -<p>It remains to say a few words on some minor -matters, and first as to the question of choosing between -Old Style and New Style in the matter of dates. -Herein Lord Stanhope's rule seemed to be a good one, -namely to use the Old Style in recording events that -occurred in England, and the New for events abroad. -But I have supplemented it by giving both styles in -the margin against the dates of events abroad; lest the -reader, with some other account in his mind, should -(like the editor of Marlborough's Despatches) be -bewildered by the arrival in England of news of an -action some days before it appears to have been fought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[x]</a></span> -in the Low Countries. One difficulty I have found -insuperable, which is to discover when the New Style -was accepted in India; but finding that the dates given -by French writers differ by eleven days from those of -Orme I have been driven to the conclusion that the -Old Style endured at any rate until 1753, and have -written down the dates accordingly.</p> - -<p>Another difficulty, more formidable than might be -imagined, has been the choice of orthography for names -of places abroad. Before the war of 1870 the French -form might have been selected without hesitation; but -with the rise of the German Empire, the decay of -French influence in Europe and the ever increasing -importance of German writings in every branch of -literature, science and art, this rule no longer holds -good. Finding consistency absolutely impossible, I -have endeavoured to choose the form most familiar to -English readers, and least likely to call down upon me -the charge of pedantry. Even so, however, the choice -has not been easy. Take for instance the three ecclesiastical -electorates of the Empire. Shall they be Mainz, -Köln and Trier, or Mayence, Cologne and Trèves? -The form Cologne is decided for us by the influence -of Jean Maria Farina; Trèves is, I think, for the -present better known than Trier; but Mainz, a large -station familiar to thousands of British travellers, -seemed to me preferable to the French corruption -Mayence, as reminding the reader of its situation on -the Main. For German names of minor importance -I have taken the German form, since, their French -dress being equally unfamiliar to English readers,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[xi]</a></span> -there seemed to be no reason why they should not be -written down correctly; but the French form is adopted -so exclusively in contemporary histories that possibly -not a few instances of it may have escaped my vigilance. -In Flanders again it is frequently necessary to choose -between the French and the Flemish spelling of a name; -and, where it has been possible without pedantry, I -have preferred the Flemish as nearer akin to the -English. Thus I have always written Overkirk rather -than Auverquerque, Dunkirk rather than Dunquerque, -Steenkirk rather than Estinquerque (the form preferred -for some reason by Colonel Clifford Walton), since the -French forms are obviously only corruptions of honest -Flemish which is very nearly honest English. Actual -English corruptions I have employed without scruple, -though here again consistency is impossible. It is -justifiable to write Leghorn for Livorno; but The -Groyne, a familiar form at the beginning of this -century, is no longer legitimate for Corunna, any more -than The Buss for Bois-le-duc (Hertogenbosch) or -Hollock for Hohenlohe. Then there is the eternal -stumbling-block of spelling Indian names. Here I -have not hesitated to follow the old orthography which -is still preserved in the colours of our regiments. Ugly -and base though the corruptions may be they are at -any rate familiar, and that is sufficient; while they -probably convey at least as good an idea of the actual -pronunciation as the new forms introduced by Sir -William Hunter. Here once more it would be confusing -to write Ally for Ali or Caubool for Cabul, -though possibly less so than to confront the reader<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[xii]</a></span> -with Machhlípatan or Machlípatan (two forms used -indifferently by Colonel Malleson) for Masulipatam, -and Maisur for Mysore. We are an arbitrary nation -in such matters and very far from consistent. Even -in such simple things as the names of West Indian -Islands we have dropped the old form Martinico in -favour of Martinique, though we still affect Dominica -in lieu of Dominique. All that a writer can do is to -study the prejudices of his readers without attempt -either to justify or to offend them.</p> - -<p>Lastly, I must give the reader warning that I have -spoken of our regiments throughout by the old numbers -instead of by their territorial titles. As I do not -propose to carry the history beyond 1870 I may plead -so much technically in justification; but apart from -that I would advance with all humility that life is short, -and that it is too much to ask a man to set down such -a legend as "The First Battalion of the York and -Lancaster Regiment" (in itself probably only an -ephemeral title), when he can convey the same idea -at least as intelligibly by writing the words Sixty-fifth. -I have also called regiments by their modern appellations -(so far as the numbers may be reckoned modern) -throughout, ignoring the anachronism of denominating -what were really regiments of Horse by the term -Dragoon Guards, for the sake of brevity and convenience. -An Appendix gives the present designation -of each regiment against its old number, so that the -reader may find no difficulty in identifying it. I may -add that I have written the numbers of regiments at -full length in the text in all cases where such regiments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[xiii]</a></span> -have survived up to the present day, so that the reader -need be in no doubt as to their identity; and I have -carefully avoided the designation of disbanded regiments -by the numbers which they once bore, in order to avoid -confusion.</p> - -<p>In conclusion, I have to express my deepest thanks -to Mr. G. K. Fortescue at the British Museum and to -Mr. Hubert Hall at the Record Office for their unwearied -and inexhaustible courtesy in disinterring every -book or document which could be of service to me.</p> - -<p class="right">J. W. F.</p> - -<p><em>June, 1899.</em></p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[xiv]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[xv]</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS" id="CONTENTS">CONTENTS</a></h2> - -<div class="fs90 center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK I</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BICI" id="BICI"></a><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"></td><td class="tdr fs70">PAGE</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The true Starting-Point for a History of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Primitive Army of the English</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Its Distinctive Peculiarity</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Hastings</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_6">6</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The English at Durazzo</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_7">7</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Introduction and Insufficiency of Knight-Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Persistence of the old English Tactics; Battle of Tenchbrai</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battles of Brenville, Beaumont and the Standard</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Blending of Offensive and Defensive Arms of Infantry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rise of the Cavalry; the Tournament</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Henry II.'s Military Policy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_11">11</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Assize of Arms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_12">12</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Richard I. and the Crusades</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Introduction of the Cross and of the Military Band</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Decay of the Feudal Force and its Causes</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_14">14</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Great Charter and its Results</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_15">15</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reforms of Edward I.; Commissions of Array; Statute of Winchester</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Falkirk</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Bannockburn</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_18">18</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Revival of old English Tactics at Halidon Hill</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_19">19</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[xvi]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BICII" id="BICII"></a><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The System of Hiring Troops by Indent</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_22">22</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Chivalry; the Men-at-Arms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_23">23</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Horses</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_25">25</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Retinue of the Knight</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Administrative Organisation and Tactical Formation of Men-at-Arms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Pauncenars and Hobelars</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_27">27</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Welsh Spearmen; English Archers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">General Organisation of the Army; Pay; Corrupt Practices</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_30">30</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BICIII" id="BICIII"></a><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Invasion of France by Edward III.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Edward's Retreat to Creçy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_33">33</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Creçy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_35">35</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Renewal of the War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Black Prince's Advance to the Loire and Retreat to Poitiers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_38">38</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Poitiers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_39">39</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peace of Brétigny</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_41">41</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Free Companies; Battle of Cocherel</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_42">42</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Auray</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_43">43</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The White Company</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_44">44</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Black Prince's Invasion of Spain; Sir Thomas Felton</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_45">45</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Navarete</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Revolt of Gascony and Aquitaine</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_47">47</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of the Black Prince</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_48">48</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BICIV" id="BICIV"></a><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Spread of English Tactics; Battle of Sempach</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_50">50</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Free Companies; Rise of the Purchase System</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Sir John Hawkwood</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_51">51</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[xvii]</a></span> - Battle of Aljubarotta</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Improvement of Firearms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Henry V.'s Invasion of France</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Siege of Harfleur; the March for Calais</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Agincourt</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_58">58</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Scots enter the French Service; Battle of Beaugé</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of Henry V.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_63">63</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BICV" id="BICV"></a><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Continuation of the War under the Duke of Bedford</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Crevant</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_64">64</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Verneuil</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Siege of Orleans; Battle of the Herrings</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_67">67</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Joan of Arc</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_68">68</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Decline of the English Efficiency; Defeat of Patay</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Artillery used against the Archers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_69">69</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Foundation of the French Standing Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Continued Decline of the English</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_70">70</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Final Defeat at Chatillon</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Discontent and Disorder in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_72">72</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Wars of the Roses; Edward IV.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Towton</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_74">74</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Barnet</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_76">76</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Introduction of Firearms; Decay of Old English Tactics</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Martin Schwartz at the Battle of Stoke</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_77">77</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Close of the First Period of English Military History</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_78">78</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK II</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICI" id="BIICI"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Renascence of the Art of War in Europe; John Zizka</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_81">81</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rise of Swiss Military Power</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_82">82</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Swiss Tactics</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_83">83</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[xviii]</a></span> - Decline of the Swiss; Marignano, Bicocca, Pavia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rise of the Landsknechts</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Organisation</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_86">86</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their System of Discipline</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_90">90</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Tactics</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_91">91</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">French Invasion of Italy in 1496</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Artillery of the French Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">French Military Terms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Corruption in the French Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_95">95</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rise of the Spanish Military Power</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_96">96</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Gonsalvo of Cordova</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Pescayra's Firing System</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_97">97</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Spanish Arquebusiers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_98">98</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Spanish Discipline</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_99">99</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Spanish System of Training</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_100">100</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Improvements in Firearms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rise of Dragoons</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Change in Tactics of Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Old Surgery and Gunshot Wounds</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_103">103</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Missile Tactics of the Reiters</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_104">104</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Military Renascence founded on Classical Models</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_106">106</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICII" id="BIICII"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Accession of the Tudors</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Results of the Loss of France; Calais</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_108">108</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dislocation of the old Military Organisation</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_109">109</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Coat- and Conduct-Money; Yeomen of the Guard</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_110">110</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Tudor Colours</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Office of Ordnance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_111">111</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Military Efforts of Henry VIII.</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">War with France; Defects of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_112">112</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Slow Improvement in Organisation</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_113">113</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Foreign Mercenaries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Northern Horsemen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Flodden</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_115">115</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[xix]</a></span> - Continued Discouragement of Firearms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_117">117</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Scheme for Rearmament of Infantry Abandoned</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Artillery Company</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Great Review of 1539</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_119">119</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Breed of English Horses</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_121">121</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Henry as an Artillerist</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_122">122</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Three Divisions of the English Forces</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Lords-Lieutenant</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_124">124</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">New Statute of Defence under Philip and Mary</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_125">125</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Loss of Calais</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_126">126</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICIII" id="BIICIII"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Disorder in the Military System on Elizabeth's Accession</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_127">127</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Great Efforts to Restore Efficiency</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Report of the Magistrates on Existing Means of National Defence</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_128">128</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The New School of Soldier</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_129">129</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Opportunity lost for Erecting a Standing Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_130">130</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">English and Scots Volunteers aid French Protestants</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">War with France; Unreadiness of England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_131">131</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">A Corps of Arquebusiers formed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_132">132</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Insurrection in the North; Bad Equipment of English Troops</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Gradual Displacement of Bows and Bills by Pikes and Firearms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_133">133</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">First English Volunteers sail for the Low Countries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">London leads the Way in Military Reform</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Gradual Introduction of Foreign Methods and Terms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_135">135</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Outburst of Military Literature at the close of Elizabeth's Reign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_136">136</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICIV" id="BIICIV"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Revolt of the Netherlands; Morgan's English Volunteers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_141">141</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The English School of War in the Netherlands; Sir Humphrey Gilbert</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Thomas Morgan</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[xx]</a></span> - John Norris; Battle of Rymenant</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_143">143</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Elizabeth's Double-dealing with the Dutch Insurgents</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Despatch of Leicester to the Low Countries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_146">146</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Zutphen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_147">147</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Edward Stanley</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_150">150</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Camp at Tilbury</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_151">151</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Maurice of Nassau</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reorganisation of the Dutch Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_152">152</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Infantry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Francis Vere</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_155">155</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Corruption in the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_156">156</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British taken into Dutch Pay</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_157">157</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICV" id="BIICV"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1600</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_159">159</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Nieuport</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_160">160</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Defence of Ostend</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_165">165</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of Francis Vere</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_167">167</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Twelve Years' Truce</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Renewal of the War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_168">168</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British Officers in the Dutch Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_169">169</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Some peculiar Types</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_170">170</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Improvement of the British Soldier</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICVI" id="BIICVI"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British School of War in Germany</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Early Entry of Scots into the Swedish Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_173">173</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Mackay's Highlanders</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their early Exploits in the Service of Denmark</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_175">175</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Defence of Stralsund</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_178">178</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Their Entry into the Service of Gustavus Adolphus</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reforms of King Gustavus; the Infantry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_179">179</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_182">182</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[xxi]</a></span> - The Artillery</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_184">184</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Matching of Mobility against Weight</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_185">185</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Leipsic</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_186">186</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Action with Wallenstein before Nürnberg</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_189">189</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Scots Regiments enter the French Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_190">190</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIICVII" id="BIICVII"></a><a href="#BII_CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">King James I.; Repeal of the Statute of Philip and Mary</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">King Charles I.; Buckingham's Military Mismanagement</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_191">191</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Lord Wimbledon's efforts to Restore Military Efficiency</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Military Writers; Hopeless Condition of the English Militia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Collapse of the Military System at the Scotch Rebellion of 1639</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Collapse repeated in 1640</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_195">195</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Resistance to enforcement of the Military Requirements of the King</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_196">196</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rout of the English at Newburn</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Scots Army subsidised by the Parliament</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Widening of the Breach between King and Parliament</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Futile Struggle of both Parties for the Militia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Outbreak of the Civil War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Rival Armies; Prince Rupert</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_199">199</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Oliver Cromwell; Rupert's Shock <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Action at Edghill'">Action at Edgehill</ins></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell sees the Remedy for ensuring Victory over the Royalists</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Helplessness of the Parliament in the Early Stages of the War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Superiority of the Royalist Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The King's Success in the Campaign of 1643</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_202">202</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">It is checked by Cromwell</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fairfax and Cromwell at Winceby Fight</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Parliament votes a Regular Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_204">204</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Scots cross the Tweed; the Committee of both Kingdoms</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marston Moor</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_205">205</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Sir William Waller urges the Formation of a Permanent Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_207">207</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Collapse of the Existing System of the Parliamentary Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The New Model Army voted</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_208">208</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[xxii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK III</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIIICI" id="BIIICI"></a><a href="#BIII_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fairfax appointed to Command the New Model</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_211">211</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Philip Skippon his Chief Officer</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Making of the Army; Red Coats</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_213">213</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Organisation of the Army; Infantry and Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_214">214</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Shock Action</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_215">215</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Dragoons; the Artillery</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_217">217</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Engineers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Organisation of the War Department</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_219">219</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">List of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_220">220</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Ruling Committee's Plan of Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_222">222</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">It is upset by Montrose's Victory at Auldearn</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell appointed Lieutenant-General</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_223">223</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Naseby</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The New Model's victorious Campaign in the West</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_227">227</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Charles's Last Hope destroyed at Philiphaugh</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_228">228</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIIICII" id="BIIICII"></a><a href="#BIII_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The English and Scots</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_229">229</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Parliament and the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_230">230</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fatuous Behaviour of Parliament</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Army advances on London</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_232">232</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The House purged</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_233">233</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Charles throws himself into the arms of the Scots</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell's Dash into Yorkshire; Preston</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Army appeals for Justice upon Charles</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_235">235</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell accepts the Command in Ireland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_236">236</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Mutiny at Burford</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Irish Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_237">237</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Threatened Invasion of Scots; Fairfax resigns</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell succeeds Him; George Monk</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_239">239</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[xxiii]</a></span> - The Coldstream Guards</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign in Scotland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_240">240</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell Outmanœuvred; Retreat to Dunbar</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_241">241</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Leslie's False Movement</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Dunbar</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_243">243</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reduction of the Lowlands</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Scots unite again under Charles Stuart</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_245">245</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Cromwell's Plan of Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_246">246</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Worcester</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIIICIII" id="BIIICIII"></a><a href="#BIII_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Gradual increase of the Army during the Civil Wars</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Measures for reducing it</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_248">248</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Dutch War; George Monk</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Expulsion of the Rump by Cromwell</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_250">250</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The United Kingdom under Military Government</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">George Monk in Scotland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_251">251</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Highland Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_252">252</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Henry Cromwell in Ireland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_254">254</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Oliver Cromwell in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_256">256</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Military Districts and Mounted Constabulary</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_257">257</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIIICIV" id="BIIICIV"></a><a href="#BIII_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The West Indian Expedition</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Plan of Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_259">259</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Faults in the Composition and Direction of the Force</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_260">260</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Refusal of Barbados to assist</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_261">261</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Failure of the Attack on St. Domingo</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_262">262</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Capture of Jamaica; the bulk of the Expedition returns to England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Frightful Mortality among the Troops in Jamaica</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_263">263</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">War with Spain; Six Thousand men sent to Turenne in Flanders</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Excellence of their Discipline</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_267">267</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[xxiv]</a></span> - Their Mad Exploit at St. Venant</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Sufferings of the Troops in Winter Quarters</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_268">268</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Sir William Lockhart appointed to Command</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British Regiments in the two contending Armies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_270">270</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Dunkirk Dunes</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_271">271</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The King's English Guards</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Further Exploits of the Six Thousand</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_273">273</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of Oliver Cromwell</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_274">274</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Richard Cromwell resigns; the Officers restore the Rump</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_274">274</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Monk concentrates at Edinburgh and moves South</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_275">275</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Camp at Coldstream</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Monk's March to London</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_276">276</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Rump dissolves itself under Monk's pressure</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Restoration</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_277">277</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIIICV" id="BIIICV"></a><a href="#BIII_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Revival of the Military Spirit in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_279">279</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The new type of Soldier introduced by Cromwell</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Discipline of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_281">281</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Incipient Organisation of a War Department</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_283">283</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Stoppages of Pay; Barracks</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Abolition of Purchase</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_284">284</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Suppression and Revival of Fraudulent Practices</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_285">285</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK IV</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIVCI" id="BIVCI"></a><a href="#BIV_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Disbandment of the New Model</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_289">289</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The First Guards and Blues raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Coldstream Guards reserved from the New Model</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_290">290</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Life Guards</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_291">291</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The First Foot brought to England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Second Foot and Royal Dragoons raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxv" id="Page_xxv">[xxv]</a></span> - Reorganisation of the Militia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_292">292</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Growth of the Empire</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">War with the Dutch</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_293">293</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The English Regiment in Holland returns, to become the Buffs</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_294">294</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">France and England declare War against Holland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_295">295</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">James, Duke of Monmouth; John Churchill; William of Orange</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_296">296</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Tangier</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_297">297</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Fourth Foot formed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Accession of James II.; his Powers of Administration</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_298">298</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Monmouth's Rebellion</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_299">299</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fifth to Eighteenth Foot, First to Sixth Dragoon Guards, and Third and Fourth Hussars established</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Camp at Hounslow</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_300">300</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Twelfth Foot refuses to accept the Declaration of Indulgence</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Tyrconnel and the Army in Ireland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_303">303</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Invasion of William; Sixteenth and Seventeenth Foot raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_305">305</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Desertion of Officers and Flight of James</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_306">306</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BIVCII" id="BIVCII"></a><a href="#BIV_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Administration of the Army; the Commander-in-Chief</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Office of Ordnance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_309">309</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Finance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Secretary-at-War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_311">311</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Staff at Headquarters</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_312">312</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">No Means of Enforcing Discipline</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_313">313</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Pay of the Army; General Corruption</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_314">314</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Regimental Organisation and Equipment; the Cavalry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_321">321</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dragoons; the Scots Greys</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Infantry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Artillery</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_328">328</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Chelsea Hospital and Kilmainham</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_328">328</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvi" id="Page_xxvi">[xxvi]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK V</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVCI" id="BVCI"></a><a href="#BV_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Accession of William; Discontent in the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_333">333</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Mutiny of the First Foot</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_334">334</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The First Mutiny Act passed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_335">335</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_336">336</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Seventh Dragoon Guards and Nineteenth to Twenty-fourth Foot raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_337">337</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rottenness in the Military System</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_337">337</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's First Fight with a Marshal of France</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Rebellion in Scotland; Twenty-fifth Foot raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_338">338</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Killiecrankie</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_339">339</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Twenty-sixth Foot formed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_340">340</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dunkeld</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Socket Bayonet introduced by Mackay</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_341">341</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Londonderry and Enniskillen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_342">342</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Fifth Lancers, Inniskilling Dragoons and Twenty-seventh Foot formed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_342">342</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Schomberg sails for Ireland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_343">343</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign breaks down</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_344">344</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Disgraceful State of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_345">345</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Preparations for a New Irish Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_348">348</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVCII" id="BVCII"></a><a href="#BV_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Theatre of War in the Low Countries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_351"><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: '251'">351</ins></a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The French passion for a Siege</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_354">354</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The old-fashioned Campaign as then understood</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_355">355</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Allies and French compared</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_356">356</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Campaign of 1691</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_357">357</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Campaign of 1692</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_358">358</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Namur captured by the French</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_359">359-360</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Steenkirk</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_360">360</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">End of the Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_367">367</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxvii" id="Page_xxvii">[xxvii]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVCIII" id="BVCIII"></a><a href="#BV_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Additions to the Army; Eighth Hussars raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_368">368</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1693</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_369">369</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Landen</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_370">370</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army for next Campaign; the Seventh Hussars</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_376">376</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Tolmach's failure at Brest</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_377">377</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Campaign of 1695</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_377">377</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Siege of Namur</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_378">378</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peace of Ryswick</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_379">379</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVCIV" id="BVCIV"></a><a href="#BV_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Financial Exhaustion of England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_381">381</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Kidnapping of Recruits</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_382">382</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Troops unpaid</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_383">383</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The cry of No Standing Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Harley's Motion for Reduction of the Army carried</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_384">384</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Abuse heaped on the Army in consequence</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_385">385</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Distress of the Army through withholding of its Arrears</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_385">385</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">William tries to keep a larger Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_386">386</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The English Establishment reduced to Seven Thousand Men</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_386">386</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Distribution of the Army so reduced</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_388">388</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Renewed outcry of Soldiers for their Arrears</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_389">389</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Helplessness of the Commons</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_390">390</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The outcry increased owing to the Resumption of Crown Grants</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_391">391</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Renewal of the War; King William</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_392">392</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="2">BOOK VI</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICI" id="BVICI"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Spanish Succession</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_397">397</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army; Thirty-fifth and Thirty-sixth Foot</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_398">398</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxviii" id="Page_xxviii">[xxviii]</a></span> - Marlborough sails for the Low Countries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_399">399</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Twenty-eighth to Thirty-second Foot, Thirty-seventh and Thirty-ninth Foot raised</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_400">400</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Opening of the Campaign of 1702</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_401">401</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough takes the Field</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_402">402</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Campaign ruined by the Dutch Deputies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_403">403</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Centre of Operations tends towards the Danube</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_406">406</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Descent on Cadiz</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_407">407</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Escape from Capture in Flanders</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_407">407</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">He is raised to a Dukedom</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Scandals in the Paymaster's Office</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_408">408</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Office reconstituted</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_410">410</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICII" id="BVICII"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_411">411</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The French Plan of Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_412">412</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Plan</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_413">413</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">A Second Campaign ruined by the Dutch</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_414">414</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">French Successes on the Rhine and Danube</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_415">415</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Eugene of Savoy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_416">416</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Plan for a March to the Danube</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_416">416</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Disposition of the French</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_418">418</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The March to the Danube</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_419">419</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Action of the Schellenberg</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_423">423</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Pursuit of the defeated Bavarians to Friedberg</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_427">427</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICIII" id="BVICIII"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Tallard marches for the Danube</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Eugene follows parallel with him</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_429">429</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Junction of Marlborough and Eugene</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_431">431</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Blenheim</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_432">432</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The close of the Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_444">444</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Effect of the Victory in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_445">445</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxix" id="Page_xxix">[xxix]</a></span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICIV" id="BVICIV"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">A British Army sent to the Peninsula</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_447">447</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Siege of Gibraltar</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_448">448</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Fortress relieved by Admiral Leake</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_450">450</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army; the Thirty-eighth Foot</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_450">450</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's design to carry the War into Lorraine</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">It is foiled by the supineness of the Allies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">He returns to Flanders</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Lines of the Geete</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_451">451</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign again ruined by the Dutch</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_456">456</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peterborough in Catalonia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_459">459</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Capture of Barcelona</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_460">460</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Catalonia and Valencia gained</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_463">463</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICV" id="BVICV"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Increase of the Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_464">464</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Plan for a Campaign in Italy</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">He reluctantly abandons it for Flanders</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_465">465</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The French move from the Dyle to meet him</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_466">466</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Ramillies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_466">466</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The pursuit after the Action</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_472">472</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fruits of the Victory</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_473">473</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Ostend and Menin taken</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_474">474</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Close of the Campaign</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_475">475</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICVI" id="BVICVI"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The War in the Peninsula</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_476">476</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peterborough in San Mateo</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_477">477</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Capture of Nules</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_479">479</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Relief of Valencia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_481">481</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Galway's Advance from Portugal to Madrid</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_482">482</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">He is cut off from his base and marches for Valencia</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_483">483</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxx" id="Page_xxx">[xxx]</a></span> - Peninsula Campaign of 1707</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_484">484</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Galway defeated at Almanza</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_485">485</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peterborough leaves the Peninsula</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_488">488</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICVII" id="BVICVII"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Campaign of 1707</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_490">490</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His only chance ruined by Dutch Deputies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_491">491</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Difficulties in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_492">492</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His Campaign of 1708</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_493">493</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Ghent and Bruges betrayed to the French</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_494">494</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">His march to Oudenarde</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_495">495</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Oudenarde</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_496">496</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Siege of Lille</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_503">503</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough shifts his base to Ostend</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_507">507</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Action of Wynendale</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_507">507</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Elector of Bavaria invests Brussels</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_509">509</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's march to relieve it</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_509">509</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fall of Lille; recovery of Ghent and Bruges</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_510">510</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Capture of Minorca</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_511">511</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICVIII" id="BVICVIII"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Unsuccessful Negotiations for Peace</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_512">512</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Campaign of 1709; Villars in command of the French</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Siege of Tournay</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_513">513</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The march upon Mons</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_515">515</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Indecisive Action of the Allies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_517">517</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Battle of Malplaquet</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_517">517</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fall of Mons</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_526">526</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICIX" id="BVICIX"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Peninsular Campaign of 1709; Siege of Alicante</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_528">528</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of General Richards</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_529">529</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Campaign in Portugal; Action of the Caya</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_529">529</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxi" id="Page_xxxi">[xxxi]</a></span> - Catalonian Campaign of 1710</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_530">530</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Combat of Almenara</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_531">531</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Action at Saragossa</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_531">531</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reinforcement of the French; Evacuation of Madrid</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_532">532</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Defence of Brihuega</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_532">532</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">British forced to Capitulate</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_534">534</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Action of Villa Viciosa</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_534">534</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Virtual close of the War in the Peninsula</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_535">535</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Political Changes in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_536">536</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Campaign of 1710</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_537">537</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Fall of the Government in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_538">538</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Insults offered to Marlborough</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_538">538</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICX" id="BVICX"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ne plus ultra</i> of Villars</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_540">540</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Death of the Emperor Joseph</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_541">541</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Opening of the Campaign of 1711</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_541">541</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Eugene's Army withdrawn</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_541">541</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Stratagem for passing the French Lines</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_542">542</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Despair in his Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_544">544</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The French Lines passed</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_545">545</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Perversity of the Dutch Deputies</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_547">547</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Capture of Bouchain</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_548">548</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough dismissed from all Public Employment</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_549">549</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Command for 1712 given to the Duke of Ormonde</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_549">549</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Rage of the British Troops at their withdrawal from the Allied Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_550">550</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Mutiny</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_551">551</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Peace of Utrecht; Virtual Banishment of Marlborough</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_552">552</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Honour paid to him in the Low Countries</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_553">553</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdcx" colspan="2"><a name="BVICXI" id="BVICXI"></a><a href="#BVI_CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Growth of the British Army during the War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_554">554</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Apparent defects in its Organisation</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_556">556</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxii" id="Page_xxxii">[xxxii]</a></span> - Opposition of Marlborough to the System of Drafting</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_557">557</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The chief Causes of Waste in Men</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_558">558</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Unpopularity of Colonial Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_560">560</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Neglect of Soldiers' Welfare in England</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_562">562</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The sources of Recruiting</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_563">563</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Recruiting Acts</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_564">564</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Introduction of Short Service</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_566">566</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Abuses under the Recruiting Acts</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_567">567</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Desertion</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_569">569</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Reforms for the Soldiers' Benefit</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_570">570</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Board of General Officers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_571">571</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Good Discipline of Marlborough's Army</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_572">572</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Officers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_572">572</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Colonel Chartres</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_573">573</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Hardships of Officers; Recruits</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_574">574</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Remounts</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_575">575</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dishonesty of Agents</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_576">576</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Contributions to Pensions</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_577">577</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Infant Officers</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_577">577</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Order for Abolition of Purchase</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_578">578</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marlborough's Intervention</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_578">578</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">General Administration; Effects of the Union with Scotland</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_580">580</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Marines made Subject to the Admiralty</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_581">581</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Enhanced Powers and Change of Status of the Secretary-at-War</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_581">581</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Office of Ordnance</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_582">582</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Armament; Disappearance of the Pike</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_584">584</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British Musket; Marlborough's Fire-discipline</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_585">585</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Drill and Discipline of the Infantry</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_585">585</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Cavalry; Shock Action; Defensive Armour</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_586">586</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Artillery</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_587">587</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Duke of Marlborough</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_587">587</a></td></tr> -</table></div> -<p class="p2" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_xxxiii" id="Page_xxxiii">[xxxiii]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center fs90 pg-brk"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc fs135" colspan="3">MAPS AND PLANS</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl wd70">The Campaign of 1346</td><td class="tdc"><em>To face page</em></td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_36">36</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1356</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_40">40</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1367</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_46">46</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1415</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_62">62</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dunbar, 1650</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Dunkirk Dunes, 1658</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_272">272</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Steenkirk, 1692</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_366">366</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Landen, 1693</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_376">376</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Namur, 1695</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_378">378</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Schellenberg, 1704</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_426">426</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Blenheim, 1704</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_442">442</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Gibraltar, 1705</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_450">450</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Lines of the Geete</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_454">454</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Barcelona, 1705</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_462">462</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Ramillies, 1706</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_472">472</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Oudenarde, 1708</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_500">500</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Malplaquet, 1709</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_524">524</a></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Campaign of 1711</td><td class="tdc">"</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_548">548</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdl">The British Islands and Northern France:</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#MAP_1"> Map 1</a></td><td class="tdr"><em>End of volume</em></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Netherlands in the 18th Century</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#MAP_2">Map 2</a></td><td class="tdc">"</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Spain and Portugal</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#MAP_3">Map 3</a></td><td class="tdc">"</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Germany, 1600-1763</td><td class="tdr"><a href="#MAP_4">Map 4</a></td><td class="tdc">"</td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[1]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[2]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_I" id="BOOK_I">BOOK I</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[3]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BICI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">The history of the British Army is commonly supposed -to begin with the year 1661, and from the day, the 14th -of February, whereon King Charles the Second took over -Monk's Regiment of Foot from the Commonwealth's -service to his own, and named it the Coldstream Guards. -The assumption is unfortunately more convenient than -accurate. The British standing army dates not from -1661 but from 1645, not from Monk's regiment but -from the famous New Model, which was established by -Act of the Long Parliament and maintained, in -substance, until the Restoration. The continuity of -the Coldstream regiment's existence was practically -unbroken by the ceremony of Saint Valentine's day, -and this famous corps therefore forms the link that -binds the New Model to the Army of Queen Victoria.</p> - -<p>But we are not therefore justified in opening the -history of the army with the birth of the New Model. -The very name indicates the existence of an earlier model, -and throws us back to the outbreak of the Civil War. -There then confronts us the difficulty of conceiving -how an organised body of trained fighting men could -have been formed without the superintendence of -experienced officers. We are forced to ask whence -came those officers, and where did they learn their -profession. The answer leads us to the Thirty Years' -War and the long struggle for Dutch Independence, -to the English and Scots, numbered by tens, nay, -hundreds of thousands, who fought under Gustavus -Adolphus and Maurice of Nassau. Two noble regiments<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[4]</a></span> -still abide with us as representatives of these two schools, -a standing record of our army's 'prentice years.</p> - -<p>But though we go back two generations before the -Civil War to find the foundation of the New Model -Army, it is impossible to pause there. In the early -years of Queen Elizabeth's reign we are brought face -to face with an important period in our military history, -with a break in old traditions, an unwilling conformity -with foreign standards, in a word, with the renascence -in England of the art of war. For there were -memories to which the English clung with pathetic -tenacity, not in Elizabeth's day only but even to the -midst of the Civil War, the memories of King Harry -the Fifth, of the Black Prince, of Edward the Third, -and of the unconquerable infantry that had won the -day at Agincourt, Poitiers, and Creçy. The passion -of English sentiment over the change is mirrored to -us for all time in the pages of Shakespeare; for no -nation loves military reform so little as our own, and -we shrink from the thought that if military glory is -not to pass from a possession into a legend, it must -be eternally renewed with strange weapons and by -unfamiliar methods. This was the trouble which -afflicted England under the Tudors, and she comforted -herself with the immortal prejudice that is still her -mainstay in all times of doubt,</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"> -<p class="verse12">"I tell thee herald,</p> -<p class="verse">I thought upon one pair of English legs</p> -<p class="verse">Did march three Frenchmen."</p> -</div></div> - -<p>The origin of the new departures in warfare must -therefore be briefly traced through the Spaniards, the -Landsknechts, and the Swiss, and the old English -practice must be followed to its source. Creçy gives -us no resting-place, for Edward the Third's also was -a time of military reform; the next steps are to the -Battle of Falkirk, the Statute of Winchester, and the -Assize of Arms; and still the English traditions recede -before us, till at last at the Conquest we can seize a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[5]</a></span> -great English principle which forced itself upon the -conquering Normans, and ultimately upon all Europe.</p> - -<p>This then is the task that is first attempted in this -book: to follow, however briefly and imperfectly, the -growth of the English as a military power to the -time of its first manifestation at Creçy, and onward to -the supreme day of Agincourt; then through the decay -under the blight of the Wars of the Roses to the -revival under the Tudors, and to the training in -foreign schools which prepared the way for the New -Model and the Standing Army. The period is long, -and the conditions of warfare vary constantly from -stage to stage, but we shall find the Englishman, -through all the changes of the art of war unchangeable, -a splendid fighting man.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>The primitive national army of the English, as of -other Teutonic nations, consisted of the mass of free -landowners between the ages of sixteen and sixty; it -was called in the Karolingian legislation by the still -existing name of <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">landwehr</i>, and known in England as -the fyrd. Its term of service was fixed by custom at -two months in the year. The force was reorganised -by King Alfred or by his son through the division of -the country into military districts, every five hides of -land being required to provide an armed man at the -king's summons, and to provide him with victuals and -with pay. Further, all owners of five hides of land -and upwards were required to do thane's service, that -is to say, to appear in the field as heavily-armed -men at their own charge, and to serve for the entire -campaign. The organisation of the thanes was by -shires. With the conquest of England by Canute a -new military element was introduced by the establishment -of the royal body-guard, a picked force of from -three to six thousand Danish troops, which were retained -by him after the rest of the army had been sent back to -Denmark, and were known as the house-carles.</p> - -<p>It was with an army framed on this model—the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[6]</a></span> -raw levies of the fyrd and the better trained men of -the body-guard—that King Harold, flushed with the -victory of Stamford Bridge, marched down to meet the -invasion of William of Normandy. The heavily-armed -troops wore a shirt of ringed or chain-mail, and -a conical helmet with a bar protecting the nose; their -legs were swathed in bandages not wholly unlike the -"putties" of the present day, and their arms were left -free to swing the Danish axe. They carried also a -sword, five missile darts, and a shield, but the axe was -the weapon that they loved, for the Teutonic races, -unlike the Latin, have ever preferred to cut rather than -to thrust. The light-armed men, who could not afford -defensive armour, came into the field with spear and -shield only. Yet the force was homogeneous in virtue -of a single custom, wherein lies the secret of the rise of -England's prowess as a military nation. Though the -wealthy thanes might ride horses on the march, they -dismounted one and all for action, and fought, even to -the king himself, on their own feet.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>The force was divided into large bands or battalions, -of which the normal formation for battle was a wedge -broadening out from a front of two men to a base -of uncertain number; the officers and the better -armed men forming the point, backed by a dense -column of inferior troops. It was with a single -line of such wedges, apparently from five-and-twenty -to thirty of them, that Harold took up his -position to bar the advance of the Norman army. -Having no cavalry, he had resolved to stand on -the defensive, and had chosen his ground with no -little skill. His line occupied the crest of a hill, his -flanks were protected by ravines, and he had dug -across the plain on his front a trench which was -sufficient to check a rapid advance of cavalry. Moreover, -he had caused each battalion to ring itself about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[7]</a></span> -with sharp stakes, planted into the ground at intervals -with the points slanting outwards, as a further protection -against the attack of horse.<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> The reader should take -note of these stakes, for he will find them constantly -reappearing up to the seventeenth century. There then -the English waited in close compact masses, a wall of -shields within a hedge of stakes, the men of nine-and-twenty -shires under a victorious leader. There is no -need to enter into details of the battle. The English, -as has been well said,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> were subjected to the same trial -as the famous squares at Waterloo, alternate rain of -missiles and charges of cavalry, and as yet they were -unequal to it. Harold's orders had been that not a -man should move, but when the Normans, after many -fruitless attacks, at last under William's direction -simulated flight, the order was forgotten and one -wing broke its ranks in headlong pursuit of the -fugitives. Possibly, if Harold had been equal to the -occasion, a general advance might have saved the day, -but he made no such effort, and he was in the presence -of a man who overlooked no blunder. The pursuing -wing was enveloped by the Normans and annihilated; and -then William turned the whole of his force against -the fragment of the line that remained upon the hill. -The English stood rooted to the ground enduring -attack after attack, until at last, worn out with fatigue -and choked with dead and wounded, they were broken -and cut down, fighting desperately to the end. Indiscipline -had brought ruin to the nation; and England -now passed, to her great good fortune, under the -sway of a race that could teach her to obey.</p> - -<p>But the English had still one more lesson to learn. -Many of the nobles, chafing against the rule of a -foreigner, forsook their country and, taking service with -the Byzantine emperors, joined the famous Varangian -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[8]</a></span>Guard of the Emperor Alexius Comnenus. At Durazzo -they for the second time met the Normans, under the -command of Robert Guiscard. True to their custom, -they dismounted and fought on foot, a magnificent -corps, the choicest of the whole army. As at Hastings, -the Normans attacked and were repulsed, and as at -Hastings, the undisciplined English broke their ranks -in pursuit. Robert Guiscard saw his opportunity, -hurled his cavalry on to their flank, and then surrounding -them on all sides cut them down, in spite of a -furious resistance, to the very last man. So perished -these untameable, unteachable spirits, the last of the -unconquered English.</p> - -<p>The Conquest was immediately followed by the -institution of knight-service. But this system, as -introduced into England, differed in many material -respects from that which reigned on the continent of -Europe. It was less distinctly military in character, -and far less perfect as an organisation for national -defence. The distribution of England into knight's -fees, however clearly it might be mapped out on paper, -was a work of time and not to be accomplished in a -day. Moreover, there was disloyalty to be reckoned -with; for the English were a stiff-necked people, and -were not readily reconciled to the yoke of their new -masters. We find, therefore, that in very early days -the practice of accepting money in lieu of personal -service crept in, and enabled the Norman kings to -fight their battles with hired mercenaries. For this -reason England has been called the cradle of the soldier; -the soldier being the man who fights for pay, <em>solde</em>, -<em>solidus</em>, or, as we may say by literal translation of the -Latin, the man who fights for a shilling.</p> - -<p>The sole military interest therefore of the reigns of -the Norman kings is to follow the breakdown of the -feudal system for military purposes, and the rapid -reversion to the Saxon methods and organisation. -William Rufus was the first to appeal to the English to -arm in his cause, and he did so twice with success. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[9]</a></span> -in the seventh year of his reign he played them a trick -which lost him their confidence for ever. The fyrd had -furnished twenty thousand men for service against the -Norman rebels in France, and had provided every man, -at the cost of his shire, with ten shillings for the expenses -of his journey or, to use a later expression, for his -conduct-money. William met them at the rendezvous, -took their two hundred thousand shillings from them to -hire mercenaries withal, and dismissed them to their -homes. This Rufus has been selected by an historian -of repute as the earliest example of an officer and a -gentleman; he should also be remembered as the first -officer who set the fashion, soon to become sadly prevalent, -of misappropriating the pay of his men. The -reader should note in passing this early instance of -conduct-money, for we shall find in it the germ of the -Queen's shilling.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1106.<br />1116.<br />1125, -25th March.</div> - -<p>The reign of Henry the First is interesting in that it -shows us English knights serving in the field against -Robert of Normandy under the walls of Tenchbrai. -We find that the old order of battle, the single line of -Hastings,<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> has disappeared and has given place to the -three lines of the Byzantine school, but that, strange to -say, the Saxons have forced their peculiar principle upon -the Normans. Henry caused his English and Norman -knights to dismount, formed them into a solid battalion -and placed himself at their head, keeping but one small -body still on their horses. The enemy's cavalry attacked -Henry's mounted men and dispersed them; but the -phalanx of the dismounted remained unbroken, pressed -on against the rabble of hostile infantry, broke it down -and almost annihilated it. The victory was hailed by -the English as atonement for the defeat at Hastings, so -bitter even then was the rivalry between ourselves and -our gallant neighbours across the channel. Ten years -later the English were again in France, fighting not only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[10]</a></span> -against rebellious Norman barons but against their ally, -the French King Louis the Sixth. A long and desultory -war was closed by the action of Brenville. Again Henry -dismounted four hundred out of five hundred of his -knights and following the tactics of Tenchbrai won, -though not without hard fighting, a second victory. A -third engagement, known as the battle of Beaumont, saw -the old English practice repeated for the third time with -signal success; but here must be noticed the entry of a -new force, a company of archers, which contributed not -a little to the fortunate issue of the day. For as the -Norman cavalry came thundering down on the English -battalion, the archers moved off to their left flank and -poured in such a shower of arrows that the horsemen -were utterly overthrown. These archers must not be -confounded with the famous English bowmen of a later -time, for most probably they were merely copied, like -the order of battle, from the Byzantine model; but they -taught the English the second of two useful lessons. -Henry had already discovered that dismounted knights -could hold their own against the impetuous cavalry of -France; he now learned that the attack of horse could -be weakened almost to annihilation by the volley of -archers. This, at a time when cavalry held absolute -supremacy in war, was a secret of vital importance, a -secret indeed which laid the foundation of our military -power. Henry, evidently alive to it, encouraged the -practice of archery by ordaining that, if any man should -by accident slay another at the butts, the misadventure -should not be reckoned to him as a crime.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1141.</div> - -<p>The miserable reign of Stephen, so unsatisfactory to -the general historian, possesses through the continued -development of English tactical methods a distinct -military interest. The year 1138 is memorable for the -Battle of the Standard, the first of many actions fought -against the Scots, and typical of many a victory to -come. The English knights as usual fought on foot, -and aided by archers made havoc of the enemy. Here -is already the germ of the later infantry; we shall find<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[11]</a></span> -lances and bows give way to pikes and muskets, but for -five whole centuries we shall see the foot compounded -of two elements, offensive and defensive, until the invention -of the bayonet slowly welds them into one. At -the battle of Lincoln, on the other hand, we find the -defensive element acting alone and suffering defeat, -though not disgrace; for the dismounted knights who -stood round Stephen fought with all the old obstinacy -and yielded only to overwhelming numbers. Thus, -though two generations had passed since the Conquest, -the English methods of fighting were still in full vigour, -and the future of English infantry bade fair to be -assured.</p> - -<p>Nor was the cavalry neglected; for amid all the -earnest of this turbulent reign there was introduced the -mimic warfare known as the tournament. This was an -invention of the hot-blooded, combative French, and -had been originally so close an imitation of genuine -battle, that the Popes had intervened to prohibit the -employment therein of any but blunt weapons. The -tournament being not a duel of man against man, but -a contest of troop against troop, was a training not only -for individual gallantry, but for tactics, drill, discipline, -and leadership; victory turning mainly on skilful handling -and on the preservation of compact order. Thus -by the blending of English foot and Norman horse was -laid, earlier than in any other country of Europe, the -foundation of an army wherein both branches took an -equal share of work in the day of action.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1181.</div> - -<p>The next in succession of our kings was a great -soldier and a great administrator, yet the work that he -did for the army was curiously mixed. Engaged as he -was incessantly in war, he felt more than others the -imperfection of the feudal as a military system. The -number of knights that could be summoned to his -standard was very small, and was diminished still further -by constant evasion of obligations. He therefore regulated -the commutation of personal military service for -payment in money, and formed it, under the old name<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[12]</a></span> -of scutage, into a permanent institution. Advantage was -generally taken of the system, and with the money thus -obtained he took Brabançon mercenaries, the prototypes -of the landsknechts of a later time, permanently into -his pay. When he needed the feudal force to supplement -these mercenaries, he fell back on the device of -ordering every three knights to furnish and equip one -of their number for service; and finally, driven to -extremity, he re-established the old English fyrd as a -National Militia by the Assize of Arms. This, the -earliest of enactments for the organisation of our -national forces, and the basis of all that followed down -to the reign of Philip and Mary, contained the following -provisions:—</p> - -<p>Every holder of one knight's fee shall have a coat -of mail,<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> a helmet, a shield, and a lance; and every -knight as many coats of mail, helmets, shields, and lances -as there are fees in his domain.</p> - -<p>Every free layman having in chattels or rent to the -value of sixteen marks shall keep the same equipment.</p> - -<p>Every free layman having in chattels or rent ten -marks, shall keep an habergeon,<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> a chaplet<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> of iron, and -a lance.</p> - -<p>All burgesses and the whole community of freemen -shall have a wambais,<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> a chaplet of iron, and a lance.</p> - -<p>It is noteworthy that neither the bow nor the axe -appear in this list of the national weapons, an omission -for which it is difficult to account, since the bow was -evidently in full use at the time. Possibly the temptation -to employ it for purposes of poaching may have -been so strong as to make the authorities hesitate to -enjoin the keeping of a bow in every poor freeman's -house. The influence of the poacher will be found -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[13]</a></span>equally potent when the time comes for the introduction -of firearms.</p> - -<p>Richard the Lion-Heart, like his predecessors, preferred -to employ mercenaries for his wars, while even -the knights who accompanied him to the Crusade were -in receipt of pay. Were it not that his achievements -in the Holy Land had left little mark on English military -history they would be well worthy of a detailed -narrative, for Richard was beyond dispute a really great -soldier, a good engineer, and a remarkably able commander. -The story of his march from Joppa to -Jerusalem and of his victory at Arsouf is known to few, -but it remains to all time an example of consummate -military skill. A mixed force compounded of many -nations is never very easy to control, and it was doubly -difficult when the best of it was composed of knights -who hated the very name of subordination. Yet it was -with such material, joined to a huge body of half-disciplined -infantry, that Richard executed a flank march in -the presence of the most formidable of living generals, -and repulsed him brilliantly when he ventured, at an -extremely trying moment, to attack. The plan of the -campaign, the arrangements and orders for the march, -the drill and discipline imposed on the knights, and the -handling of the troops in the action are all alike admirable. -Yet, as has been already stated, the lessons of the -Crusades wrought little influence in England, mainly -because she had already learned from her own experience -the value of a heavily armed infantry, and of the tactical -combination of missile and striking weapons. In the -rest of Europe they were for a time remembered but -very soon forgotten;<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> and England was then once more -left alone with her secret.</p> - -<p>Two small relics of the Crusades must however find -mention in this place. The first is the employment of -the cross as a mark for distinguishing the warriors of -different nations, which became in due time the recognised<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[14]</a></span> -substitute for uniform among European soldiers. -Each nation took a different colour for its cross, that of -the English being at first white, which, curiously enough, -is now the regular facing for English regiments of -infantry. The second relic is the military band which, -there seems to be little doubt, was copied from the -Saracens. In their armies trumpets and drums, the -latter decidedly an Oriental instrument, were used to -indicate a rallying-point; for though at ordinary times -the standards sufficed to show men the places of their -leaders, yet in the dust of battle these were often hidden -from sight; and it was therefore the rule to gather the -minstrels (such was the English term) around the -standards, and bid them blow and beat strenuously and -unceasingly during the action. The silence of the band -was taken as a proof that a battalion had been broken -and that the colours were in danger; and the fashion -lasted so long that even in the seventeenth century the -bandsmen in all pictures of battles are depicted, drawn -up at a safe distance and energetically playing.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1214.</div> - -<p>The reign of King John accentuated still further -the weak points of the English feudal system as a -military organisation. The principle introduced by -the Conqueror had been to claim for the sovereign -direct feudal authority over every landholder in the -country, suffering no intermediate class of virtually -independent vassals, such as existed in France, to -intercept the service of those who owed duty to him. -Of the advantages of this innovation mention shall -presently be made elsewhere, but at this point it is -necessary to dwell only on its military defects. The -whole efficiency of the feudal system turned on the -creation of a caste of warriors; and such a caste can -obviously be built up only by the grant of certain -exclusive privileges. The English knights possessed -no such privileges. There were no special advantages -bound up with the tenure of a fief. Far from enjoying -immunity from taxation, as in France and Germany, -the knights were obliged to pay not only the imposts<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[15]</a></span> -required of all classes, but scutage into the bargain. -Again the winning of a knight's fee lay open to all -ranks of freemen, so that it could not be regarded as -the hereditary possession of a proud nobility. Yet -again, the grant of the honour of knighthood was the -exclusive right of the sovereign, who converted it -simply into an instrument of extortion. Briefly, there -was no inducement to English knights faithfully to -perform their service; the sovereign took everything -and gave nothing; and at last they would endure -such oppression no longer. When John required a -feudal force, in the year 1205, he was obliged to -arrange that every ten knights should equip one of -their number for service. Moreover, the knights who -did serve him showed no merit; the English contingent -at Bouvines having covered itself with anything but -glory. Finally, came mutiny and rebellion and the -Great Charter, wherein the express stipulation that -fiefs should be both alienable and divisible crushed all -hopes of an hereditary caste of warriors for ever.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1252.</div> - -<p>After the Charter the national force was composed -nominally of three elements, the tenants in chief with -their armed vassals, the minor tenants in chief, and -the freemen subject to the Assize of Arms, the last -two being both under the orders of the sheriffs. It -made an imposing show on paper, but was difficult to -bring efficient into the field. No man was more -shameless than Henry the Third in forcing knighthood, -for the sake of the fees, upon all free landholders -whom he thought rich enough to support the dignity; -yet, when the question became one not of money but -of armed men, he was forced to fall back on the same -resource as his greater namesake. He simply issued -a writ for the enforcement of the Assize of Arms, and -ordered the sheriffs to furnish a fixed contingent of -men-at-arms, to be provided by the men of the county -who were subject thereto.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1282.</div> - -<p>The defects of feudal influence in military matters -were now so manifest, that Edward the First tried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[16]</a></span> -hard to do away with them altogether. Strictly -speaking the feudal force was summoned by a special -writ addressed to the barons, ordering them to appear -with their due proportion of men and horses, and by -similar directions to the sheriffs to warn the tenants -in chief within their bailiwicks. The system was -however, so cumbrous and ineffective that Edward -superseded it by issuing commissions to one or two -leading men of the county to muster and array the -military forces. These Commissions of Array, as they -were called, will come before us again so late as in -the reign of Charles the First.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1285.</div> - -<p>But, like all his predecessors, Edward was careful -to cherish the national militia which had grown out -of the fyrd. The Statute of Winchester re-enacted -the Assize of Arms and redistributed the force into -new divisions armed with new weapons. The wealthiest -class of freemen was now required to keep a hauberk<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a> -of iron, a sword and a knife, and a horse. The two -lower classes were now subdivided into four, whereof -the first was to keep the same arms as the wealthiest, -the horse excepted; the second a sword, bow and -arrows, and a knife; the third battle-axes, knives, and -"other less weapons," in which last are included bills;<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> -and the rest bows and arrows, or if they lived in the -forest, bows and bolts, the latter being probably less -deadly to the king's deer than arrows. Here then was -the axe of Harold's day revived, and the archers -established by statute. It is evident, from the fact -that they wore no defensive armour, that the archers -were designed to be light infantry, swift and mobile -in their limbs, skilful and deadly with their weapons. -The name of Edward the First must be ever memorable -in our history for the encouragement that he gave to -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[17]</a></span>the long-bow; but we seek in vain for the man, if -such there was, who founded the tradition, still happily -strong among us, that the English whatever their -missile weapon shall always be good shots. Even at -the siege of Messina by Richard the First the archers -drove the Sicilians from the walls; "for no man could -look out of doors but he would have an arrow in -his eye before he could shut it."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1297.<br />1298.</div> - -<p>The bowmen had not long been a statutory force -before they were called upon for active service. The -defeat of the English by William Wallace at Cambuskenneth -had summoned Edward from France to take -the field in person against the Scots; and he met them -on the field of Falkirk. The Scottish army consisted -for the most part of infantry armed with pikes, not -yet the long pikes of eighteen feet which they were to -wield so gallantly under Gustavus Adolphus, but still -a good and formidable weapon. Wallace drew them -up behind a marsh in four circular battalions ringed -in with stakes, posting his light troops, which were -armed principally with the short-bow, in the intervals -between them, and his one weak body of horse in -rear. The English knights were formed as usual in -column of three divisions, vanguard, battle and rearguard, -and with them was a strong force of archers. -Untrue to its old traditions, the English cavalry did -not dismount, but galloped straight to the attack. -The first division plunged headlong into the swamp -(for the mediæval knight, in spite of a hundred warnings, -rarely took the trouble to examine the ground before -him), did no execution, and suffered heavy loss. The -second division, under the Bishop of Durham, then -skirted the swamp and came in sight of the Scottish -horse. The Bishop hesitated and called a halt. "Back -to your mass, Bishop," answered one contemptuous -knight. His comrades charged, dispersed the Scottish -cavalry, and drove away the archers between the -pikemen; but the four battalions stood firm and -unbroken, and the knights surged round them in vain.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[18]</a></span> -Then the king brought up the archers and the third -division of horse. Pushing the archers forward, he -held the cavalry back in support until an incessant -rain of arrows had riddled the Scottish battalions through -and through, and then hurling the knights forward -into the broken ranks, he fairly swept them from the -field. It was the old story, heavy fire of artillery -followed by charges of cavalry, the training of the -Scots as Hastings had been of the English, for the -trial of Waterloo.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1314.</div> - -<p>It is interesting to note that Edward made an -effort even then for the constitutional union of the -two countries which had so honourably lost and won -the day at Falkirk, but he was four centuries before -his time. The war continued with varying fortune -during the ensuing years. The maker of the English -archers died, and under his feeble son the English -army learned at Bannockburn an ignominious lesson -in tactics. The Scotch army, forty thousand strong, -was composed principally of pikemen, who were drawn -up, as at Falkirk, in four battalions, with the burn -in their front and broken ground on either flank. -Their cavalry, numbering a thousand, a mere handful -compared to the host of the English men-at-arms, -was kept carefully in hand. Edward opened the action -by advancing his archers to play on the Scottish -infantry, but omitted to support them; and Bruce, -seeing his opportunity, let loose his thousand horse -on their flank and rolled them up in confusion. The -English cavalry then dashed in disorder against the -serried pikes, failed, partly from want of space and -partly from bad management, to make the slightest -impression on them, and were driven off in shameful -and humiliating defeat. So the English learned that -their famous archers could not hold their own against -cavalry without support,<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> and they took the lesson to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[19]</a></span> -heart. The old system of dismounting the men-at-arms -had been for the moment abandoned with -disastrous results; the man who was to revive it had -been born at Windsor Castle just two years before -the fight.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1327.<br />1333.</div> - -<p>Thirteen years later this boy ascended the throne -of England as King Edward the Third, and almost -immediately marched with a great host against the -Scots. The campaign came to an end without any -decisive engagement, but on the one occasion when -an action seemed imminent, the English men-at-arms -dismounted and put off their spurs after the old -English fashion. Peace was made, but only to be -broken by the Scots, and then Edward took his revenge -for Bannockburn at Halidon Hill. The English men-at-arms -alighted from their horses, and were formed -into four battalions, each of them flanked by wings of -archers, the identical formation adopted two centuries -later for the pikemen and musketeers. The Scots, -whose numbers were far superior, were also formed on -foot in four battalions, but without the strength of -archers. "And then," says the old historian,<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> "the -English minstrels blew aloud their trumpets and -sounded their pipes and other instruments of martial -music, and marched furiously to meet the Scots." The -archers shot so thick and fast that the enemy, unable -to endure it, broke their ranks, and then the English -men-at-arms leaped on to their horses for the pursuit. -The Scotch strove gallantly to rally in small bodies, -but they were borne down or swept away; they are -said to have lost ten thousand slain out of sixty thousand -that entered the battle.</p> - -<p>The mounting of the men-at-arms for the pursuit -gave the finishing touch to the English tactical methods, -and the nation was now ready for war on a grander<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[20]</a></span> -scale. Moreover, there was playing round the knees -of good Queen Philippa a little boy of three years -old who was destined to be the victor of Poitiers. It -is therefore time, while the quarrel which led to the -Hundred Years' War is maturing, to observe the point -to which two centuries and a half of progress had -brought English military organisation.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—By far the best, so far as I know the only, account -of the rise of English tactics and of English military power is to be -found in <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die Entwickelung des Kriegswesens in der Ritterzeit</cite>, by Major-General -Köhler, vol. ii. pp. 356 sq., and vol. v. pp. 97 sq., a work -to which my obligations must be most gratefully acknowledged. -The authorities are faithfully and abundantly quoted. Freeman's -<cite>Norman Conquest</cite>, Mr. J. H. Round's <cite>Feudal England</cite>, Hewitt's -<cite>Ancient Armour</cite>, Oman's <cite>Art of War in the Middle Ages</cite>, Grose's -<cite>Military Antiquities</cite>, and Rymer's <cite>Fœdera</cite> are authorities which -will occur to every one, as also the Constitutional Histories of -Hallam, Stubbs, and Gneist.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[21]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BICII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">Attention has already been called to the defects of the -feudal system for military purposes, and to the shifts -whereby successive sovereigns sought to make them -good. With Edward the Second resort was made to a -new device. Contracts, or as they were called indents, -were concluded by the King with men of position, -whereby the latter, as though they had been apprentices -to a trade, bound themselves to serve him with a force -of fixed strength during a fixed term at a fixed rate of -wages. In some respects this was simply a reversion to -the old practice of hiring mercenaries; but as Edward -the Third placed his contracts for the most part within -his kingdom, the force assumed a national character. -The current ideas of organisation were still so imperfect -that the contractors generally engaged themselves to -provide a mixed force of all arms; but as they naturally -raised men where they could most easily get hold of -them, that is to say in their own neighbourhoods, there -was almost certainly some local or personal feeling to -help to keep them together. For the rest the contractor -of course made his own arrangements for the interior -economy of his own particular troops, and enjoyed in -consequence considerable powers, which descended to the -colonels of a later day and have only been stripped from -them within the last two generations. It is not difficult -to imagine that men thus enlisted should presently, -when released from national employment, have sold -their services to the highest bidder and become, as they -presently did become, <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">condottièri</i>. It is characteristic<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[22]</a></span> -of the commercial genius of our race that England -should be the cradle not only of the soldier but of the -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">condottière</i>;<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a> in other words, that she should have set -the example in making warfare first a question of wages, -and next a question of profit. But her work did not -end here; for these reforms created the race of professional -soldiers and through them the renascence of the -Art of War. In short, with the opening of the -Hundred Years' War the British army quickens in the -womb of time, and the feudal force sinks into ever -swifter decay.</p> - -<p>But there is another side to this picture of feudal -inefficiency. Moral not less than physical force is a -mighty factor in war; and it was precisely the military -defects of the English feudal system that first made her -a military power. Though the growth of a caste of -warriors was checked, it was to make room for that -which was worthy to overshadow it, a fighting nation. -For in England there was not, as in other countries, -any denial of civil rights to the commons of the realm. -Below the ranks of the peerage all freemen enjoyed -equality before the law; nay, the peerage itself conferred -no privilege except on those who actually possessed it, -the sons of peers being commoners, not as elsewhere -noble through the mere fact of their birth. In England -there were and are nobility and gentry: in other countries -nobility and gentry were merged in a single -haughty exclusive caste, and between them and other -freemen was fixed a great and impassable gulf. Thus -the highest and the lowest of the freemen were in touch -with each other in England as nowhere else in Europe. -More than two centuries later than Creçy, so great and -gallant a gentleman as Bayard could refuse with disdain -to fight by the side of infantry. In England, whatever -the pride of race, the son of the noblest peer in the -land stood shoulder to shoulder with his equal when the -archer fell in by his side, and where the son stood the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[23]</a></span> -father could feel it no shame to stand. No other nation -as yet could imitate this; no other could recall a Hastings -where all classes had stood afoot in one battalion. -Other nations could indeed, when taught by experience, -dismount their knights and align cross-bowmen with -them, just as at this day they can erect an upper and -lower chamber and speak of a constitution on the -English model; but then as now it was the form only, -not the substance, that was English.</p> - -<p>So far for the commercial and political influence that -helped to mould our military system; there remains -yet another great moral force to be reckoned with. -Chivalry, which had been growing slowly in England -since the Third Crusade, burst in the fourteenth century -into late but magnificent blossom. The nation woke -to the beauty of a service which gave dignity to man's -fighting instincts, which taught that it was not enough -for him to be without fear if he were not also without -reproach, and that though the government of the world -must always rest upon force, yet mercy and justice may -go hand in hand with it. The girding on of the sword -was no longer a social but a religious act; it marked -not merely the young man's entrance into public life, -but his ordination to a great and noble function. Concurrently -there had arisen a sense of the charm of glory -and adventure. Hitherto the English knights had gained -no repute in Europe. Hatred and jealousy had held -the Saxon aloof from his Norman master; now there -was no more Saxon and Norman, but the English, -united and strong, a fighting people that thirsted for -military fame.</p> - -<p>Let us now briefly consider the composition and -organisation of the armies that were to work such havoc -in France. The cavalry was drawn for the most part -from the wealthier classes, though, as has been seen, -there was one division of the freemen under the statute -of Winchester which was called upon to do mounted -service. The more important branch, the men-at-arms, -was composed of two elements, knights and squires.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[24]</a></span> -From the first institution of the feudal system, the -number of men required from the greater vassals had -forced them to equip their sons and serving-men, who -after many changes were finally in the thirteenth century -merged together under the generic name of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">servientes</i>, -a term which was soon corrupted into its present form -of sergeants. In the year 1294 these <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">servientes</i> were -dignified by the higher title of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">servientes equites</i>, -mounted sergeants, which was six years later abandoned -for the familiar name of squires. These squires must -not, however, be confounded with a different class of the -same appellation, namely, the apprentices who were the -personal attendants of the knights. The squire of which -I now speak was rather a knight of inferior order corresponding -to the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bachelier</i> (<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">bas chevalier</i>) of France. -The word knight itself gives us a hint of this inferiority, -being the same as the German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">knecht</i>, whereas <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">ritter</i> is -the German term that expresses what is generally -understood as a knight in English. The inner history -of chivalry is the story of the struggle of the sergeants -to rise to an equality with the knights of the first order, -and in the fourteenth century they were not far from -their goal. Even now they were considered the backbone -of the English army, and were equipped in all -points like the class above them.</p> - -<p>Men-at-arms, an expression derived from the French, -were so called because they were covered with defensive -armour from top to toe; but as the middle of the -fourteenth century is a period of transition in the -development of armour, it is difficult to describe their -equipment with any certainty. Their offensive arms -were the lance, sword, dagger, and shield. Trained from -very early youth in the handling of weapons they were -doubtless proficient enough with them; but they do -not seem to have been great horsemen, and indeed it is -recorded that they were sometimes tied to the saddle. -Monstrelet, writing in the year 1416, tells us of the -astonishment which certain Italians created among the -French because they could actually turn their horses at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[25]</a></span> -the gallop. It is probable that the bits employed were -too weak, and that the cumbrousness of the saddle and -the weight carried by each man were sad obstacles to -good horsemanship; but it is worth remembering in -any case that, as this passage plainly shows, men-at-arms -in the saddle were reduced to one of two alternatives, to -move slowly and retain control of their horses, or to -gallop for an indefinite period wherever the animals -might choose to carry them.</p> - -<p>The favourite horses, alike for speed, endurance, and -courage, were the Spanish, which, as they could only -reach England by the journey overland through France, -were not always very easily obtained. Philip the Bold -in 1282 refused to allow one batch of eighty such horses -to be transhipped to England; but from a contract still -extant, of the year 1333, it appears that Edward the -Third still counted on Spain to provide him with -remounts. These horses, however, were only bestridden -for action, being committed on the march to the care of -the shield-bearers or squires, who led them, as was -natural, on their right-hand side, and thus procured for -them the curious name of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">dextrarii</i>.<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> The usual -allowance of horses for a knight was three, besides a -packhorse for his baggage, the smallest of which, named -the palfrey, was that which he rode on ordinary occasions; -in fact, to put the matter into modern language, -a knight started on a campaign with a first charger, a -second charger, and a pony. The first charger was -always a stallion; the rest might be geldings or mares. -From the year 1298 the practice of covering horses with -defensive armour was introduced into England, an equipment -which soon came to be regarded as so essential -that one branch of the cavalry, and that the most important, -was reckoned by the number of barded horses.</p> - -<p>The personal retinue of the knights was made up of -apprentices or aspirants to the rank which they held. -The squire or shield-bearer took charge of the knight's -armour on the march, and was responsible for maintaining<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[26]</a></span> -it in proper order; and it is worth remarking that the -English squire took a pride in burnishing the metal to -the highest pitch of brilliancy, thus early establishing -those traditions of smartness which are still so strong in -our cavalry. It was also the squire's duty, among many -others, to help his master to don his harness when the -time for action came, beginning with his iron shoes or -sollerets, and working upwards till the fabric was crowned -by the iron headpiece, and the finishing touch added by -the assumption of the shield. The reader will readily -understand that a really efficient squire must have been -invaluable, for if an engagement came in any way as a -surprise there was an immediate rush for the baggage, -and a scene of confusion that must have beggared -description. Fortunately, the fact that both sides were -generally alike unready, and the punctiliousness of -chivalric courtesy, permitted as a rule ample time not -only for the equipment of all ranks, but for the marshalling -of the host.</p> - -<p>In the matter of administrative organisation the men-at-arms -were distributed into constabularies, being commanded -by officers called constables. The strength of a -constabulary seems to have varied from five-and-twenty -to eighty; and this variety, together with the absence -of any tactical unit of fixed strength, makes it impossible -to state how many constabularies were included in -the next tactical division. This was called the banner, -and was commanded by a banneret, a rank originally -conferred only upon such as could bring a certain number -of followers into the field. Promotion to the degree of -banneret was marked by cutting off the forked tail of -the pennon which was carried by the ordinary knight, -and leaving the remnant square. So at the present day, -the pennons of lances are forked, the square being -reserved for the standards of squadrons and regiments.</p> - -<p>The independent employment of small bodies in -action was almost unknown, the rule being to pack an -indefinite number of men-at-arms, hundreds or even -thousands, into a close and solid mass, its depth almost<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[27]</a></span> -if not quite as great as its frontage. The <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">haye</i>, or thin -line, is of much later date. Ordinarily some modification -of the wedge was the formation preferred; that is -to say, that the frontage of the front rank was somewhat -less than that of the rear; the mass of that particular -shape being judged to be less liable to disorder and -better adapted for breaking into a hostile phalanx. The -relative strength of the front and rear ranks depended -entirely on the numbers that were packed in between -them, and it may readily be supposed that the evolutions -which so unwieldly a body could execute were very few. -Probably, until the moment of action came, sufficient -space was maintained to permit every horse to turn on -his own ground, after the Roman fashion, to right, left, -or about; but for the attack ranks and files were closed -up as tightly as possible, and all other considerations -were sacrificed to the maintenance of a compact array. It -was said of the French knights who marched with -Richard the Lion-Heart that an apple thrown into the -midst of them would not have fallen to the ground. -We must therefore rid ourselves of the popular notion -of the knight as a headlong galloping cavalier. The -attack of men-at-arms could not be very rapid unless it -were made in disorder; and though it comes strictly -under the head of shock-action, the shock was rather -that of a ponderous column moving at a moderate pace -than of a light line charging at high speed. By bearing -these facts in mind it will be easier to understand the -failure of mounted men-at-arms to break a passive -square of infantry.</p> - -<p>Next after the men-at-arms came a species of -cavalry called by the name of pauncenars,<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> which was -less fully equipped with defensive armour, but wore the -habergeon<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> and was armed with the lance.</p> - -<p>Lastly came the light cavalry of the fyrd, originally -established to patrol the English coast. These were -called hobelars, from the hobbies or ponies which they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[28]</a></span>rode, and were equipped with an iron helmet, a heavily -padded doublet (<em>aketon</em>), iron gloves, and a sword.</p> - -<p>Turning next to the infantry, there were Welsh -spearmen, carrying the weapon which gave them their -name, but without defensive armour. Indeed it should -seem that they were not overburdened with clothes of -any kind, for they were every one provided at the -King's expense with a tunic and a mantle, which were -by express direction made of the same material and -colour for all. These Welsh spearmen therefore were -the first troops in the English service who were dressed -in uniform, and they received it first in the year 1337.<a name="FNanchor_19_19" id="FNanchor_19_19"></a><a href="#Footnote_19_19" class="fnanchor">[19]</a> -The colour of their clothing unfortunately remains -unknown to us.</p> - -<p>Next we come to the peculiar strength of England, -the archers. Though a certain number of them seem -generally to have been mounted, yet, like the dragoons -of a later day, these rode for the sake of swifter mobility -only, and may rightly be reckoned as infantry. As -has been already stated, the archers wore no defensive -armour except an iron cap, relying on their bows alone. -These bows were six feet four inches long; the arrows, -of varying length but generally described as cloth-yard -shafts, were fitted with barb and point of iron and -fledged with the feathers of goose or peacock. But -the weapon itself would have gone for little without the -special training in its use wherein the English excelled. -"My father," says Bishop Latimer (and we may reasonably -assume that in such matters there had been little -change in a hundred and fifty years), "My father was -diligent in teaching me to shoot with the bow; he -taught me to draw, to lay my body to the bow, not to -draw with strength of arm as other nations do, but -with the strength of the body. I had my bows bought<a name="FNanchor_20_20" id="FNanchor_20_20"></a><a href="#Footnote_20_20" class="fnanchor">[20]</a> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[29]</a></span>me according to my age and strength; as I increased -in these my bows were made bigger and bigger." The -principle was in fact analogous to that which is taught -to young oarsmen at the present day. The results of -this training were astonishing. The range of the long-bow -in the hands of the old archers is said to have been -fully two hundred and forty yards, and the force of the -arrow to have been such as to pierce at a fair distance -an inch of stout timber. Moreover, the shooting was -both rapid and accurate. Indeed the long-bow was in -the fourteenth century a more formidable weapon than -the cross-bow, which had been condemned by Pope -Innocent the Second as too deadly for Christian warfare -so far back as 1139. It was at no disadvantage in the -matter of range, while it could be discharged far more -quickly; and further, since it was held not horizontally -but perpendicularly to the ground, the archers could -stand closer together, and their volleys could be better -concentrated. Thus the long-bow, though the cross-bow -was not unknown to the English, was not only the -national but the better weapon. In action the archers -were ranked as deep as was consistent with the delivery -of effective volleys, the rear ranks being able to do -good execution by aiming over the heads of the men -before them. It may be imagined from the muscular -training undergone by the archers that they were -physically a magnificent body of men.</p> - -<p>Strictly speaking the archers were the artillery of -the army, according to the terminology of the time,<a name="FNanchor_21_21" id="FNanchor_21_21"></a><a href="#Footnote_21_21" class="fnanchor">[21]</a> -the word <em>artillator</em> being used in the time of Edward -the Second to signify the officer in charge of what we -now call the ordnance-stores. But to avoid confusion -we must use the word in its modern sense, the more so -since we find among the stores of the custodian<a name="FNanchor_22_22" id="FNanchor_22_22"></a><a href="#Footnote_22_22" class="fnanchor">[22]</a> of the -King's artillery in 1344 the items of saltpetre and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[30]</a></span>sulphur for the manufacture of powder, and among his -men six "gonners." Gun, it should be added, was the -English, cannon the French name for these weapons -from the beginning. It will presently be necessary to -notice their first appearance in the field.</p> - -<p>As to the general organisation of the army, the -whole was divided into thousands under an officer -called a millenar, subdivided into hundreds, each under -a centenar, and further subdivided into twenties, each -under a vintenar. The commander-in-chief was usually -the King in person, aided by two principal officers, the -High Constable and the Marshal, whose duties were, -roughly speaking, those of Adjutant and Quartermaster-General. -For tactical purposes the army was distributed -into three divisions, called the vanguard, -battle and rearguard, which kept those names whatever -their position in the field or on the march, whether the -host was drawn up, as most commonly, in three lines, -or in one. Trumpets were used for purposes of -signalling, though so far as can be gathered they -sounded no distinct calls, and were dependent for their -significance on orders previously issued. The failing in -this respect is the more remarkable, inasmuch as the -signals of the chase with the horn were already very -numerous and very clearly and accurately defined.</p> - -<p>The pay of all ranks can fortunately be supplied -from the muster-roll of Calais in 1346, and although I -shall not again encumber these pages with a pay-list I -shall for once print it entire:</p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="90%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Prince of Wales</td><td class="tdr">20s.</td><td class="tdl"></td><td class="tdc"> a day.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">The Bishop of Durham</td><td class="tdr">6s.</td><td class="tdl">8d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Earls</td><td class="tdr">6s.</td><td class="tdl">8d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Barons and Bannerets</td><td class="tdr">4s.</td><td class="tdl"></td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Knights</td><td class="tdr">2s.</td><td class="tdl"></td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Esquires, Constables, Captains, and Leaders</td><td class="tdry">1s.</td><td class="tdl"></td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Vintenars</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">6d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Mounted Archers</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">6d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Pauncenars</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">6d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl"><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[31]</a></span> - Hobelars</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">6d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Foot-Archers</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">3d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl">Welsh Spearmen</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">2d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl pad4">" Vintenars</td><td class="tdr"></td><td class="tdl">4d.</td><td class="tdc">" "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdl" colspan="4">Masons, Carpenters, Smiths, Engineers, Miners, Gunners, 10d., 6d., and 3d.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>It is melancholy to have to record that even so -early as in 1342 corruption and fraudulent dealing had -begun in the army. The marshals were ordered to -muster the men-at-arms once a month, and to refuse -pay for men who were absent or inadequately armed or -indifferently mounted. We shall see the practice of -drawing pay for imaginary men and the tricks played -on muster-masters increase and multiply, till they -demand a special vocabulary and a certain measure of -official recognition. A favourite abuse among men-at-arms -was the claim of extortionate compensation for -horses lost on active service, leading to an order in this -same year that all horses should be valued on admission -to the corps, and marked to prevent deception. Thus -early was the road opened that leads to the broad arrow. -The taint of corruption, indeed, clings strongly to -every army, with the possible exception of the Prussian, -in Europe. War is a time of urgency and stress, which -does not admit of strict audits or careful inspections, -and poor human nature is too weak not to turn such an -opportunity to its profit. It is an unpleasant thought -that dishonesty and peculation should be inseparably -associated with so much that is noble and heroic in -human history, but the fact is indisputable, and must not -be lightly passed over. Moreover the days when English -cavalry shall go to war on their own horses may not -yet be numbered; and it may be useful to remember -that the mediæval man-at-arms would mount himself on -his worst animal in order to break him down the -quicker, and claim for him the price of his best. It is -only by constant wariness against such evils that there -can be built up a sound system of military administration.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—As for previous chapter.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[32]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#BICIII">CHAPTER III</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1339.<br />1340,<br /> -June 24.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Having now sketched the composition of the English -forces, let us move forthwith to the scene of action. -We must omit the early incidents of the war, and the -assumption by Edward of the famous motto wherein he -consecrated his claim to the crown of France, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Dieu et -mon droit</i>. We must pass by the famous naval action -of Sluys, where the English commanders in their zeal to -follow the precepts of Vegetius, thought it more important -to have the sun in the enemy's eyes than the -wind in their own favour, and where the archers, acting -as marine sharp-shooters, were the true authors of the -English victory. We must overlook likewise the innumerable -sieges, even that of Quesnoy, where the -English first came under the fire of cannon, merely -remarking that owing to their ignorance of that -particular branch of warfare, the English were uniformly -unsuccessful; and we must come straight to the year -1345, when Henry of Lancaster, Earl of Derby, landed -at Bayonne with a force of three thousand men for a -campaign in Gascony and Guienne. The name of our -first artillery-officer has been given; attention must now -be called to our first engineer, this same Earl of Derby, -who had lately been recalled from service with the -Spaniards against the Moors at the siege of Algesiras, -and was the first man who taught the English how to -take a fortified town.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1346, -June.</div> - -<p>Derby then with his little army harried Gascony -and Guienne for a time, until the arrival of a superior -French force compelled him to retire and gave him<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[33]</a></span> -much ado to defend himself. Accordingly, in June -1346 Edward the Third impressed a fleet of innumerable -small vessels, none of them exceeding sixty tons -burden, embarked thereon four thousand men-at-arms, -ten thousand archers and five or six thousand Welsh -spearmen, and sailed for the coast of France. On the -12th of July he put into St. Vaast de la Hogue, a little -to the east of Cherbourg, dispersed a French force that -was stationed to oppose him, and successfully effected -his landing. Six days were allowed to recruit men and -horses after the voyage, and the army then moved eastward -to the Seine, leaving a broad line of ruin and -desolation in its wake, and advanced up the left bank -of the river. King Philip of France had meanwhile -collected an army at Rouen, whence he marched parallel -to the English along the right bank of the Seine, crossed -it at Paris, and stood ready to fall upon Edward if he -should strike southward to Guienne. But Edward's -plans were of the vaguest; his diversion had already -relieved Derby, and he now crossed the Seine at Poissy -and struck northward as if for Flanders. Philip no -sooner divined his purpose than he too hastened northward, -outmarched the English, crossed the Somme at -Amiens, gave orders for the occupation of every bridge -and ford by which the English could pass the river, and -then recrossing marched straight upon Edward's right -flank.</p> - -<p>The position of the English was now most critical, -for they could not cross the Somme and were fairly -hemmed in between the river and the sea. At his wits' -end Edward examined his prisoners, and from them -learned of the ford of Blanche Tache in the tidal water -about eight miles below Abbeville. Thither accordingly -he marched, and after waiting part of a night for the -ebb-tide, forced the passage in the teeth of a French -detachment that had been stationed to guard it, and -sending six officers to select for him a suitable position -pursued his way northward through the forest of Creçy. -On the morning of the 26th of August he crossed the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[34]</a></span> -river Maie, and there swinging his front round from -north to south-east he turned and stood at bay.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 26.</div> - -<p>The position was well chosen. The army occupied -a low line of heights lying between the villages of Creçy -and Wadicourt, the left flank resting on a forest, the -right on the river Maie. Edward ordered every man to -dismount, and parked the horses and baggage waggons -in an entrenched leaguer<a name="FNanchor_23_23" id="FNanchor_23_23"></a><a href="#Footnote_23_23" class="fnanchor">[23]</a> in rear. The army was too -weak to cover the whole line of the position, so the -archers were pushed forward and extended in a multitude -of battalions along the front, and backed with Welsh -spearmen. Echeloned in rear of them stood the three -main divisions of the army; foremost and to the right -the vanguard of twelve hundred men-at-arms under the -Black Prince, next to it the battle of as many more -under the Earl of Arundel, and behind it, covering the -extreme left, the rearguard, consisting of fifteen hundred -men-at-arms and six thousand mixed archers and infantry -under the King. The country being rich in -provisions Edward ordered every man to eat a hearty -meal before falling into his place, for he knew that the -Englishman fights best when he is full. When the host -was arrayed in order he rode round the whole army to -cheer it; and then the men lay down, the archers with -their helmets and bows on the ground before them, and -waited till the French should come.</p> - -<p>Philip meanwhile had crossed the Somme at Abbeville -on the morning of the 26th, and turned eastward -in the hope of cutting off the English. Finding that -he was too late, he countermarched and turned north, -at the same time sending forward officers to reconnoitre. -The afternoon was far advanced, and the French -were wearied with a long, disorderly march when these -officers returned with intelligence of the English. Philip -ordered a halt, but the indiscipline and confusion were -such that the order could not be obeyed. The noblest -blood in France was riding on in all its pride to make<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[35]</a></span> -an end of the despised English, and a mass of rude -infantry was waiting to share the slaughter and the spoil. -So they blundered on till they caught sight of the -English lying quietly down in order of battle; and -therewith all good resolutions vanished and Philip gave -the order to attack.</p> - -<p>It was now nearly five o'clock, and the heaven was -black with clouds, which presently burst in a terrific -thunderstorm. The English archers slipped off their -bowstrings to keep them dry, and waited; while six -thousand Genoese cross-bowmen, jaded by the long -march, drenched and draggled with the rain that beat -into their faces, conscious that they were almost disarmed -by the wetness of their bowstrings, shuffled -wearily into their stations along the French front. -Their leaders complained that they were unfairly treated. -"Who cares for your rabble?" answered the Count of -Alençon. "They are nothing but useless mouths, more -trouble than help." So the cross-bowmen sulkily took -their position, and the rest of the French army, from -twelve to twenty thousand men-at-arms and some fifteen -thousand infantry, ranged themselves in three massive -lines behind them. A vast flight of ravens flew over -the opposing arrays, croaking loudly over the promised -feast of dead men.</p> - -<p>Then the storm passed away inland into France, and -the sun low down in the west flashed out in all his glory -full in the faces of the French. The Genoese advanced -and raised a loud cry, thrice repeated, to strike terror -into the English: the archers over against them stood -massive and silent. The loud report of two or three -cannon, little more harmful than the shouts of the -Genoese, was the only answer; and then the archers -stepped forward and drew bow. In vain the Genoese -attempted to reply; they were overwhelmed by the -torrent of shafts; they shrank back, cut their bowstrings -and would have fled, but for a line of French mounted -men-at-arms which was drawn up in their rear to check -them. The proud chivalry of France was chafing impatiently<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[36]</a></span> -behind them, and Philip would wait no longer. -"Slay me these rascals," he said brutally; and the first -line of men-at-arms thundered forward, trod the hapless -Genoese under foot, and pressed on within range of -the arrows. And then ensued a terrible scene. The -great stallions, maddened by the pain of the keen barbed -shafts, broke from all control. They jibbed, they reared, -they swerved, they plunged, striking and lashing out -hideously, while the rear of the dense column, carried -forward by its own momentum, surged on to the top of -the foremost and wedged the whole into a helpless choking -mass. And still the shower of pitiless arrows fell -swift as snow upon the thickest of the press; and the -whole of the French fighting line became a confused -welter of struggling animals, maimed cross-bowmen, and -fallen cavaliers, crippled by the weight of their armour, -an easy prey to the long, keen knives of the Welsh.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_036fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 36</em></p> -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1346. -</div></div> - -<p>Nevertheless some few of the French men-at-arms -had managed to pierce through the archers. The blind -king of Bohemia had been guided by two faithful -knights through the centre, Alençon had skirted them -on one flank, the Count of Flanders on the other, and -all had fallen upon the Black Prince's battalion. The -danger was greatest on the left flank; but the Earl of -Arundel moved up the second line of the echelon to his -support, and the English held their own. Then the -second line of the French advanced, broke through the -archers, not without heavy loss, and fell likewise upon -the English men-at-arms. The Prince of Wales was -overthrown, and was only saved by the devotion of his -standard-bearer, but the battalion fought on. It was -probably at this time that Arundel sent a messenger to -the King for reinforcements. "Is my son dead or -hurt?" he asked. "No, sire, but he is hard beset." -"Then return to those who sent you and bid them send -me no more such messages while my son is alive; tell -them to let the boy win his spurs." The message was -carried back to the battalion, and the men-at-arms -fought on stoutly as ever. The archers seem also to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[37]</a></span> -have rallied and closed on the flank and rear of the -attacking French. Alençon's banner could still be seen -swaying behind a hedge of archers, and Philip, anxious -to pour his third and last line into the fight, had actually -advanced within range of the arrows. But the power -of the bowmen was still unweakened, the ground was -choked with dead men and horses, and the light was -failing fast. He yielded to the entreaties of his followers -and rode from the field; and the first great battle of the -English was won.</p> - -<p>When morning dawned the country was full of -straggling Frenchmen, who from the sudden change -in the direction of the advance had lost all knowledge -of their line of retreat; the few that retained some -semblance of organised bodies were attacked and broken -up. Never was victory more complete. The French -left eleven great lords, eighty-three bannerets, over -twelve hundred knights and some thousands of common -soldiers dead on the field. It was a fortunate issue to -a reckless and ill-planned campaign. It is customary -to give all credit for the victory to the archers, but -this is unjust. Superbly as they fought they would -have been broken without the men-at-arms, even as the -men-at-arms would have been overwhelmed without the -archers. Both did their duty without envy or jealousy, -and therein lay the secret of their success.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1355.<br />1356.<br />July.<br />August 28.</div> - -<p>The siege and capture of Calais followed, and then -by the mediation of the Pope peace was made, and for -a time preserved. Petty hostilities however never -ceased in Brittany, and finally in 1355 the war broke -out anew. Three armies were fitted out,—one of a -thousand men-at-arms under the Black Prince for -operations in Guienne, a second under the Earl of -Derby for Brittany, and a third under the personal -command of the King. Little, however, was effected in -the campaign of 1355. The King was recalled to -England by an invasion of the Scots, and the operations -of 1356 in Brittany were checked by the appearance of -the French King in superior force. But at the close<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[38]</a></span> -of July the Black Prince suddenly started on a wild -raid from the Dordogne in the south to the Loire. -His object seems to have been to effect a junction with -Derby's forces at Orleans; but it is difficult to see how -he could have hoped for success. He had reached -Vierzon on the Cher when he heard that the King of -France was on his way to meet him in overwhelming -strength. Unable to retreat through the country which -he had laid waste on his advance, he turned sharp to -the west down the Cher and struck the Loire at Tours. -There for four days he halted, for what reason it -is difficult to explain, since the delay enabled the -French to cross the Loire and seriously to threaten his -retreat.</p> - -<p>There was now nothing for the Prince but to retire -southward with all haste. The French were hard on -his track, and followed him so closely that he was -much straitened by want of supplies. On the 14th of -September the English were at Chatelheraut and the -French at La Haye, little more than ten miles apart, -and on the 15th the French made a forced march -which brought them fairly to southward of the Prince, -and between him and his base at Bordeaux. All contact -however had been lost; and the French King, -making sure that the Prince had designs on Poitiers, -swung round to the westward and moved straight upon -the town. On the 17th, while in full march, his rearguard -was suddenly surprised by the advanced parties -of the Prince. As in the movements after the Alma, -each army was executing a flank march, quite unconsciously, -in the presence of the other. The French -rearguard pursued the reconnoitring party to the main -body of the English, and after a sharp engagement was -repulsed with heavy loss. The French army had -actually marched across the line of the Black Prince's -retreat, and left it open to him once more.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept. 18.</div> - -<p>Edward lost no time in looking for a suitable -position, and presently found it at Maupertuis some -fifteen miles south-west of Poitiers. There to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[39]</a></span> -north of the river Miosson is a plain seamed with deep -ravines running down to that stream; and behind one -of these he took his stand, facing north-east. The -sides of the ravine were planted with vineyards and -blocked by thick hedges, so that it was impossible for -cavalry to cross it except by a track which was broad -enough for but four horsemen abreast; and these -natural advantages the Prince improved by repairing -all weak places in the fences and by digging entrenchments. -One exposed spot on his left flank he -strengthened by a leaguer of waggons as well as with -the spade. He then told off his archers to line the -hedges which commanded the passage across the ravine, -and drew up his men-at-arms, all of them dismounted, -in three lines behind it. The first line he committed -to the Earls of Warwick and Suffolk, the rearmost to -the Earl of Salisbury, and the centre he reserved for -himself. His whole force, augmented as it was by a -contingent of Gascons, did not exceed six or seven -thousand men, half of whom were archers.</p> - -<p>So passed the day of the 18th of September on the -English side. The French on their part, instead of -blocking up their retreat to the south and reducing -them by starvation, simply moved down from Poitiers -to within a league of the English position and halted -for the night. Their force amounted to sixty thousand -men, and they might well feel confident as to the issue -of an action. Indeed, when the Black Prince, fully -alive to the desperate peril of his situation, negotiated -for an evacuation of the country, they imposed such -terms that he could not in honour accept them. They -therefore reconnoitred the English position, and laid their -plans for the morrow. Three hundred chosen men-at-arms, -backed by a column of German, Italian, and -Spanish knights, were to charge down the ravine upon -the archers, disperse them, and attack the English men-at-arms -on the other side. Three lines, each of three -massive battalions containing from three to four -thousand men-at-arms, with lances shortened to a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[40]</a></span> -length of five feet, were to follow them afoot, and the -English were to be crushed by their own tactics.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept. 19.</div> - -<p>It is hardly surprising that in the night the Black -Prince's heart failed him. He resolved while he could -to place the Miosson between him and the French, and -at dawn began his retreat, leaving the rearguard, however, -still in the position at Maupertuis in case withdrawal -should be impossible.<a name="FNanchor_24_24" id="FNanchor_24_24"></a><a href="#Footnote_24_24" class="fnanchor">[24]</a> He also sent two knights -to watch the French army, who however approached -too closely to it and were captured. His first line had -already crossed the Miosson when intelligence reached -him that the French had advanced, and that the rearguard -was engaged. He at once ordered the vanguard -to return, and himself hastening back with his own -division, despatched three hundred mounted men-at-arms -and as many mounted archers without delay to -strengthen his right wing. The French meanwhile had -moved forward, gaily singing the song of Roland, to -find the way blocked by the hedges and vineyards of -the ravine. Undismayed they plunged down into the -narrow track; and then the English archers behind the -hedges opened at close range a succession of frightfully -destructive volleys. The foremost of the horsemen -fell headlong down, the rear plunged confusedly on the -top of them, and the pass was blocked with a heaving, -helpless crowd, on which the arrows hissed down in an -eternal merciless shower. The supporting column of -foreign cavalry was unable to act in the confusion; it -was already under the fire of the archers, and before it -could move the English mounted men on the right -wing came down full upon its left flank, and killed or -captured every man.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_040fp.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 40</em></p> -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1356. -</div></div> - -<p>And now the wounded French horses, mad with -pain and terror, many of them riderless and all beyond -control, dashed back on to the first line of the dismounted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[41]</a></span> -French men-at-arms. It was a charge of mad -animals, the most terrible of all charges, and the huge -battalion fell into confusion before it. Edward was -watching the battle keenly from his position; he had -already ordered his men-at-arms to mount, and now Sir -John Chandos, whose name must always be linked to -Edward's as that of Collingwood to Nelson, broke out -aloud with, "Forward, sire, forward, and the day is -yours!" "Aye, John," answered the Prince, with a -thought perhaps of the morning's retreat, "No going -backward to-day. Forward banner, in the name of -God and St. George!" The preliminary attack of the -mounted men on the right had already cleared the way -for them. The English cavalry scrambled in haste -down into the ravine on the right, and fell upon the -French men-at-arms. The front and centre divisions, -already much shaken, were easily broken and dispersed; -the third and strongest still remained, and against this, -which resisted desperately, the whole force of the -English was turned. The lesson of Falkirk was remembered. -The mounted archers made the gaps and -the men-at-arms rode into them. The division was -broken, the King was captured, and the mass of the -fugitives making for Poitiers found the gates closed -against them and were cut down by hundreds. The -action began at six in the morning, and lasted till late -into the afternoon. The French losses were enormous. -Over and above the King and many great lords two -thousand men-at-arms were captured, and two thousand -five hundred more were left dead on the field; the -number of the unhappy foot-men that were slain it is -impossible to state. The English loss is variously set -down, the reports ranging from half the force to sixty-four -men. The battle, from the disparity between the -strength of the two sides, must remain ever memorable -in the annals of war. To the English, who had but -lately risen above the horizon as a military power, it -gave a prestige that has never been lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1360.<br />1364,<br /> -May 16.</div> - -<p>The peace of Brétigny closed the war, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[42]</a></span> -English army was disbanded. But the soldiers, like -the ten thousand Greeks who returned from Cunaxa, -were too deeply bitten with their profession to abandon -it for the tedium of peace. They therefore formed -themselves into independent bodies, or Free Companies, -and for years were the scourge of France, their chamber -as they called it, which they plundered and ravaged at -their pleasure. The greatest of their leaders was -John Hawkwood, of whom something more must -presently be said, but these bands, in less or greater -numbers, were constantly to be found fighting for hire -against the French. Thus three hundred of them -fought for the King of Navarre against the King of -France at Cocherel. The numbers engaged were little -more than fifteen hundred on each side, but the action -is interesting as showing the efforts of the French to -meet the peculiar tactics of the English. In order to -have no more trouble with unruly horses the French -men-at-arms dismounted and fought on foot, and now -for the first time the archers found themselves outdone. -The armour of the French was so good that it turned -the cloth-yard shafts; and being slightly superior in -numbers the French men-at-arms forced their enemy -off the field. It was but a slight success, but a defeat -even of a small body of English was such a rarity in -those days that it gave the French great hopes for the -future, hopes which were soon to be dashed to the -ground.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1365.<br />Sept. 29.</div> - -<p>In the following year a quarrel as to the succession -to the Duchy of Brittany between Charles of Blois and -John of Montfort brought the English again into the -field. The French King Charles the Fifth sent assistance -to support the former, whereupon John of -Montfort at once appealed to the English. John -Chandos and several more of the garrison in France, -eager for fresh battle against their old enemies, asked -permission to join Montfort as volunteers. "You may -go full well," answered the Black Prince. "Since the -French are going for Charles of Blois, I give you good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[43]</a></span> -leave." The English, both volunteers and mercenaries, -accordingly hurried to the scene of war; and at Auray -they fought the action which decided the campaign. -The numbers engaged did not exceed four thousand in -either army. Both sides dismounted, and the French -men-at-arms discarding the lance as unfit for fighting -afoot equipped themselves with battle-axes, so that -there promised to be a stubborn fight. The English -archers as usual opened the engagement, but as at -Cocherel their shafts could not penetrate the armour of -the French; whereupon with great deliberation they -threw down their bows, and boldly advancing to the -French men-at-arms plucked their axes from their -hands and plied the weapons against their astonished -owners with terrible effect. The whole proceeding -furnishes so good an example of the thoughtless, thick-headed -gallantry of the English soldier, that one can -only marvel that the battle of Auray should be practically -unknown to Englishmen. The intensely ludicrous -picture that can be conjured up of a series of detached -struggles between the brawny active Englishmen in -their doublets and hose, and the unhappy Frenchmen -cased stiffly in their mail, the panting, the staggering, -and the rattling, the agonised curses from behind the -vizor, and the great broad laugh on the honest English -face—this alone should have saved it from oblivion. -The English men-at-arms came quickly to the support -of the bowmen, and after a long and desperate engagement, -for the noble and gallant Bertrand du Guesclin -was in command of the French, the English drove their -enemy from the field and as usual finished the pursuit -on horseback. There was no question in the action of -superior archery or advantage of position, though -Chandos indeed handled his reserve in a masterly -fashion, but it was simply a matter of what the Duke of -Wellington called bludgeon-work; and at this too the -English proved themselves the better men.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1366.</div> - -<p>By this time the oppression of the Free Companies -had become so insufferable that, in order to rid the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[44]</a></span> -country of them, Charles the Fifth ordered Bertrand -du Guesclin to take a certain number of them into -service and march with them to fight for the bastard -Henry of Trastamare against Pedro the Cruel of -Castile. It would be a mistake, we must note in -passing, to look upon these companies as composed -simply of low ruffians; they seem on the contrary to -have been made up largely of the class of esquires, -while there were poor noblemen serving even among -the archers. On entering Spain they took to themselves -a white cross, the old English colour of the -Crusades, as their distinctive mark, and were apparently -the first English troops that introduced this substitute -for uniform. Further, they called themselves the White -Company, and were in this respect the forerunners of -the Buffs and Blues. They did little profitable work -under du Guesclin, and were presently dismissed, just -in time to be re-enlisted to the number of twelve -thousand by the Black Prince, who, dreading an alliance -of France with Spain, was preparing an expedition for -the rescue of Peter the Cruel. The vassals of -Aquitaine and Gascony were also summoned to the -Prince's standard, a reinforcement under the Duke of -Lancaster was sent from England to Brittany, whence -it marched overland to the south, and by December -1366 thirty thousand mounted troops were concentrated -on the frontier of Navarre. It was by general consent -admitted to be the finest army that had ever been seen -in Europe; so rapid had been the growth of military -efficiency in England under the two great Edwards. -It was organised in the usual three divisions, the vanguard -being under command of the Duke of Lancaster, -with Sir John Chandos at his side. The battle was -under the command of the Prince himself, and the rearguard -under a Gascon noble and famous soldier, the -Captal de Buch. Every man wore the red cross of St. -George on a white surcoat and on his shield, a badge -which henceforth became distinctive of the English -soldier for two centuries. The Spaniards, it is worth<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[45]</a></span> -noting, wore a scarf, a fashion which, already two -generations old, was destined to last through our great -Civil War, and to survive, in the form of a sash, to the -present day.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1367.</div> - -<p>On Monday the 22nd of February 1367 the first -division crossed the Pyrenees by the Pass of Roncesvalles. -The next two followed it on the two succeeding -days, and the whole force was reunited at Pampeluna. -The Prince had now two lines of operations open to -him, both leading to his objective, Burgos; the one by -Vittoria and Miranda on the Ebro, the other by Puente la -Reyna and Logrono. He chose the former, the identical -line followed in the contrary direction by Wellington in -chase of the beaten French, and sent only a small -detachment of volunteers under Sir Thomas Felton -along the latter route. This party of Felton's deserves -mention as the first body of English irregular cavalry -under a reckless and daring officer. No exploit was too -hare-brained for them and they did excellent service, for -they were the first to find contact with the Spanish army, -at Navarete, and having obtained it they preserved it, -keeping the Prince admirably informed of the enemy's -movements. Henry of Trastamare, on learning the -advance of the English, crossed the Ebro and marched -on Vittoria, but finding that the Black Prince had been -beforehand with him fell back on Miranda. Felton's -volunteers stuck to him so persistently and impudently -during this retreat that the Spaniards at last lost patience -and attacked them in overwhelming force. The English, -a mere hundred men, were too proud to retire but stood -firm on the hill of Arinez, the very spot where Picton -broke the French centre in the battle of the 21st of -June 1813, and were killed to a man. Henry then -recrossed the Ebro to his first position at Navarete; -the Black Prince crossed the same river at Logrono, -and on the 3rd of April the two hosts stood face to -face on the plain between Navarete and Najera.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">April 3.</div> - -<p>It is not easy to ascertain the force engaged on each -side, but it is certain that the Black Prince, with about<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[46]</a></span> -ten thousand men-at-arms and as many archers, was -superior in numbers and very decidedly superior in the -quality of his troops. Nevertheless the force had -suffered much hardship, and the men were individually -enfeebled by want of food. The Spanish army was distributed -into four divisions. The first of these, consisting -of dismounted knights, was placed under the -command of Bertrand du Guesclin and formed the first -line. The remaining three formed the second line; the -largest of them, composed of mounted men-at-arms and -a rabble of rude infantry, being drawn up in rear of -the vanguard, while the other two, made up chiefly -of light cavalry copied from the Moorish model, were -drawn up on either flank slightly in advance of the -second and in rear of the first line. The arrangement -of the Black Prince's army was similar but more -massive; first came the vanguard under John Chandos, -then a second line with two flanking divisions pushed -slightly forward, as in the Spanish army, and lastly the -third line in reserve. Every man in the English host -was dismounted. The battlefield was a level plain; and -the sight of the two armies advancing against each -other, armour and pennons glancing under the morning -sun was, in Froissart's words, great beauty to behold.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_046fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 46</em></p> -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1367. -</div></div> - -<p>The English archers as usual opened the engagement, -and then the divisions of Chandos and du Guesclin, -the two most gallant and chivalrous soldiers of their day, -met in full shock. In spite of a furious resistance the -English, weakened by privation, were for a moment -borne back. Chandos was overthrown and went near -to lose his life. But meanwhile the English archers in -the flanking divisions had driven off the light horse that -stood before them, and now wheeling inward enveloped -du Guesclin's devoted band on both flanks. The bastard -Henry strove gallantly to save the day with the second -line, but the Black Prince brought up not only a second -line but a third, and the battle was soon over. Then -the English men-at-arms flew, as at Poitiers, to their -horses, and the defeat was turned into a rout. A rapid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[47]</a></span> -torrent, spanned by but a single bridge, barred the -retreat of the fugitives; the narrow passage was choked -by the press of the flying, and thousands were taken or -slain.</p> - -<p>This battle marks the zenith of early English military -power. But the campaign was after all a failure. -The ill faith of Pedro the Cruel forced the Black Prince -to tax Gascony heavily for the expenses of the war; the -province appealed to the King of France, and the Prince -was summoned to be judged before his peers at Paris as -a rebellious vassal. He shook his head ominously when -he received the message. "We will go," he said, "but -with helmet on head and sixty thousand men at our -back." The war with France broke out anew, and -petty operations were soon afoot all over the country; -but now noble after noble in Aquitaine and Gascony -forsook his allegiance and revolted to the French. Disaster -came thick upon disaster. The Earl of Pembroke, -a new commander, disdaining the help of the veteran -Chandos, was defeated, and Chandos himself, while -advancing to his relief, was slain in a skirmish, to the -grief alike of friend and of foe. The Prince, already -sickening of a mortal disease, turned in fury upon the -insurgent town of Limoges, besieged it, took it, and -ordered every soul in it to be put to the sword. Three -thousand men, women, and children were cut down, -crying "Mercy, mercy!" but the stern man, too ill -to ride, looked on unmoved from his litter, till at the -sight of three French knights fighting gallantly against -overwhelming odds his heart softened, and he gave the -word for the slaughter to cease.</p> - -<p>A few weeks later his little son, but six years old, -the boy upon whom the great soldier had lavished all -that was tender in his nature, died suddenly at Bordeaux. -The blow aggravated the Prince's sickness, and the -physicians ordered him to England, in the faint hope -that he might get better at home. He returned, hid -himself in strict seclusion in his house at Berkhampstead, -and waited for the end. Meanwhile things in France<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[48]</a></span> -went from bad to worse. A great naval defeat before -Rochelle cost England the command of the sea, and -with the loss of the sea Guienne and Gascony were lost -likewise. An expedition under John of Gaunt landed -at Calais and marched indeed to Bordeaux, but lost four-fifths -of its numbers through sickness on the way. -By 1374 the English possessions in France were reduced -to Calais, Bordeaux, and Bayonne; so swiftly had victory -passed away with the withdrawal of the master's hand.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1376.</div> - -<p>At length, in 1376, the Prince came up to Westminster -to attend, even in his sick-bed, the deliberations -of Parliament. This was his last effort. Two -months later, on the 8th of June, he summoned his -faithful comrades to his chamber to bid them farewell, -and as they filed past he thanked them for their good -service and asked their pardon for that he could not -reward them as he wished. Then he entreated them to -be faithful to his son as they had been to himself: and -they swore it, weeping like women, with all their hearts. -The end came with a flash of the imperious soldier's -spirit. Observing that a knight who had offended him -had come in with the rest, the Prince instantly bade him -begone and see his face no more; and then the noble -heart cracked, and with a last ejaculation that he forgave -all men as he hoped to be forgiven, the Black Prince, -the hope and pride and treasure of England, sank back -and died. Two months later he was buried with military -pomp in the cathedral at Canterbury; and over his -tomb were hung, and still hang, his helmet, his surcoat, -his gauntlets, his crest, his shield, and his sword,<a name="FNanchor_25_25" id="FNanchor_25_25"></a><a href="#Footnote_25_25" class="fnanchor">[25]</a> the -veritable arms worn by the first great English soldier.<a name="FNanchor_26_26" id="FNanchor_26_26"></a><a href="#Footnote_26_26" class="fnanchor">[26]</a> -For a great soldier he was and a great commander. He -could be stern and he could be merciless, but those were -stern and merciless times, and the man whose last -thoughts were for his comrades-in-arms was a chief who -could hold men to him and a leader whom they would -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[49]</a></span>follow to the death. Men no longer pray for his soul -in the chapel which he founded in the crypt of the -cathedral; but morning and evening the voice of the -trumpet, calling English soldiers to their work and dismissing -them to their rest, peals forth from the barracks -without and pierces faintly into the silence of the -sanctuary, no unfitting requiem for the great warrior -who, waiting for the sound of a louder trumpet, sleeps -peacefully beneath the shadow of his shield.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The principal authority for the period is of course -Froissart, whose narrative has been elucidated, by the help of minor -authorities, by Köhler with his usual care and pains. See his vol ii. -pp. 385-523, and in particular the list of authorities on pp. 385 and -417.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[50]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#BICIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1382.</div> - -<p class="noindent">The works of the Black Prince lived after him. Not -that we must look for them immediately in England, -where we now enter on forty years of intestine division -and civil strife. We do indeed find that Richard the -Second, on his invasion of Scotland in 1385, adopted for -his army the organisation that had been taught by his -father at Navarete; but we discover no trace of military -progress. Far more instructive is it to look to the -continent of Europe and watch the spread of English -military ideas there. It has already been seen that the -French, not daring to meet the English archers on -horseback, adopted the English system of dismounting -for action; and it is interesting to note that the same -fashion spread to Germany and Italy, steadily tending -to overthrow the supremacy of cavalry wrought by the -feudal system, and to make a revolution in the art of -war. Not one of the nations, however, seems to have -grasped the pith of the English tactics, the combination -of the offensive and defensive elements in the infantry. -The French indeed, under King Charles the Sixth, strove -to raise up archers, and with all too good success, for -they became so efficient that they were esteemed a -menace to the nobility, and were soon effectively discouraged -out of existence. Perhaps the most striking -example of the misapplication of the English system is -the conduct of the Austrian commander at Sempach, -who by dismounting his knights deliberately gave away -every advantage to the Swiss, and thus helped forward -that nation on the way to make its infantry the model<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[51]</a></span> -of Europe; a very significant matter in the history of -the art of war.</p> - -<p>But the truest disciples of the Black Prince were the -English Free Companies, from whom there descended to -England, and indeed to Europe, a legacy of a remarkable -kind. These companies were military societies -framed very much on the model of the ancient trade-guilds, -and had as good a right to the name as they. -A certain number of adventurers invested so much -money in the creation of a trained body of fighting -men, and took a higher or lower station of command -therein, together with a larger or smaller share of the -profits, according to the proportion of their venture. -If any man wished to realise his capital he could sell -out, provided that he could find a buyer; if any one -partner seemed to the rest to be undesirable they would -buy him out and take in another. Thus grew up what -was known as the purchase-system. The abuse of their -monopoly by these companies drove the sovereigns of -Europe after a time to issue commissions to their -subjects to raise companies for their own service only; -but even so the commercial basis of the company remained -unchanged, being only widened when the time -came for the amalgamation of companies into regiments. -These military adventurers taught the nations -the new art of war, and the nations could not but -follow their model.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1387.<br />1391.</div> - -<p>The greatest leader of free companies was an -Englishman, a pupil of the Black Prince but greater -even than his master, John Hawkwood. It is true -that he did his work for foreign nations and in a -foreign land, but even so his name must not be omitted -from a history of the British Army. The company -which he commanded, English almost to a man, was -the terror of Italy, and not only the most formidable -in the field but the smartest to the eye, for its arms -were burnished till they shone like silver. Hawkwood, -though a mercenary, was celebrated as the only one who -never broke faith, and as a general his reputation was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[52]</a></span> -European. The action which he fought at Castagnaro, -when, in spite of great inferiority in numbers, he -deliberately laid his plans for a sudden counterstroke, -after the manner of Poitiers, extorts the admiration -even of modern generals. Still more remarkable is his -once famous retreat in the face of an overwhelming -force from the Adda to the Adige, and perhaps greatest -of all was the closing scene of that retreat. For, as he -lay encamped in the plains by the Adige, the enemy -broke the dykes of the river and turned the whole -flood of its waters upon his army. It was night, and -the men were encamping, weary after a hard day's -march, when the deluge came upon them. Everything -conspired to create a panic, but Hawkwood's coolness -and confidence were equal to the danger. He bade -every horseman take up one of the foot-men behind -his saddle, and then placing himself at their head he -led them through ten miles of the trackless waste of -water, never less than girth-deep, and brought them -out by sheer sagacity, not indeed without loss but without -heavy loss, to the dry bed of the river. This was -in his last campaign, when he was past seventy years of -age; and Florence, the state which he had long faithfully -served, voted him a pension for life and a monument -even during his lifetime. He was making -arrangements to return to England when he died; and -King Richard the Second begged the city of Florence -that the bones of so famous a warrior might be returned -to his native land. The request was gracefully granted -by the citizens, but the last resting-place of Hawkwood -is now unknown. His monument in the Cathedral at -Florence records that he was the most skilful general -of his age, a height of military fame that has been -reached by one other Englishman only, John, Duke -of Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1385,<br /> -August 14.</div> - -<p>Yet another action must be briefly noticed to show -the value set on English military skill. During the -invasion of Portugal by the King of Castile, in 1385, -the Portuguese were joined by a party of about five<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[53]</a></span> -hundred English adventurers, whose leaders appear to -have directed most of the operations. It was under -their guidance that the decisive battle of Aljubarotta, -of which the Portuguese are still proud, was finally -fought; and it is worthy of remark that, finding no -advantageous position to hand, they deliberately constructed -by means of abattis an imitation of the position -of Poitiers, making it unassailable from the front except -through a narrow strait, which was purposely left open -and lined with archers. Marvellous to relate, the -Spaniards and the French, who were fighting with them, -rushed straight into the trap, and were of course utterly -overthrown; whereupon, in due accordance with precedent, -the Portuguese made their counter-attack and -won a complete victory.<a name="FNanchor_27_27" id="FNanchor_27_27"></a><a href="#Footnote_27_27" class="fnanchor">[27]</a> All this was due, as Froissart -says, to the counsel of the English; and indeed, little -though we may be conscious of it, it is doubtful whether -even after Waterloo the prestige of English soldiers -was greater than at the end of the fourteenth century.</p> - -<p>But while the English military doctrines were thus -spreading themselves over Europe, fresh innovations, -which were destined to render them obsolete, were -already making rapid progress. Artillery in the hands -of the Germans was tending more and more to lose its -cumbrous character and to take new form in mobile and -practicable weapons. The heavy bombards, which could -be neither elevated nor traversed, had before the close -of the fourteenth century given place to lighter guns -of smaller bore fixed on to the end of a shaft of wood -and supported on a fork or hook, whence they derived -their name of <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hakenbüchse</i>, a word soon corrupted by -the English into hackbut, hagbush, and finally harquebus. -A later improvement had fitted guns with a stock -like that of the cross-bow, which could be brought up to -the shoulder, thus more readily aligning the barrel to the -eye. The step from this to the hand-gun, which could -be served out as the individual weapon of a single man,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[54]</a></span> -was but a short one and was soon to be taken. But as -the traditions of Wellington and the Peninsula were to -be tried once more at Alma and Inkerman before they -finally perished, so the system of the two great Edwards -was to be revived forty years after Navarrete at Agincourt.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1415.</div> - -<p>It is unnecessary to dwell on the pretensions which -were put forward to excuse the wanton aggression of -Henry the Fifth against France. Ambitious, like -Frederick the Great, of military glory he made his will -the true ground for his action, counting on the spirit of -a people that was never strongly averse from a French -war. The military devices introduced by the Edwards, -the commissions of array,<a name="FNanchor_28_28" id="FNanchor_28_28"></a><a href="#Footnote_28_28" class="fnanchor">[28]</a> and the system of indentures, -were still in good working order, while the -discipline of the Black Prince, like his order of battle, -was stereotyped in a written code of Ordinances of -War. All the old machinery was therefore to hand; -and perhaps the most noteworthy change that had come -over the English military world was the doubling of the -archers' wages from threepence to sixpence a day. -Parliament voted the King a large sum of money, which -however proved to be insufficient, for, significantly -enough, not a contractor would furnish his contingent -of men without security for the repayment of his -expenses. The crown jewels were pledged in all -directions, ships were hired in Holland and in England, -seamen were impressed, artisans of every trade, from the -miner to the farrier, were engaged, and on the 7th of -August 1415 the army embarked at Southampton and -the adjacent ports, and sailed for the Seine. The whole -fleet numbered some fourteen hundred vessels, and the -army is reckoned at thirty thousand men, men-at-arms -with their attendants, and archers both mounted and -afoot, all distinguished by the red cross of St. George. -Further, there was a great train of the newest and best -artillery, great guns called by pet names such as the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[55]</a></span> -London and the King's Daughter, the whole under the -charge of four German gunmasters.</p> - -<p>On the second day out the fleet anchored before -Harfleur. A day was taken up by the disembarkation, -which was unhindered by the French; and by the 19th -of August the town was fully invested. Then came a -month of siege, wherein the art that was dying blended -strangely with that which was just coming to birth; -wooden towers and quaint engines that might have -been employed by the Romans plying side by side with -sap and mine and countermine and the latest patterns of -German artillery. The French made a most gallant -defence, and dysentery breaking out in the English -camp swept off thousands of the besiegers; but at -length the heavy guns prevailed. The garrison begged -for terms, praying that the King would make his -gunners to cease, "for the fire was to them intolerable." -On the 22nd of September the capitulation was agreed -on, and Harfleur received an English garrison. It -was the first town that the English had reduced by the -fire of cannon.</p> - -<p>But Henry was not yet satisfied. Two-thirds of -his force had melted away, dead or invalided, but he -had no intention of re-embarking at Harfleur. He -devoted a fortnight to the repair of the defences of the -captured town, and then collecting provisions for eight -days he marched northward for Calais with an army, or, -as we should now call it, a flying column, of nine -thousand men.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the French, disorganised though they -were by the insanity of their king, Charles the Sixth, -began to bestir themselves, and collecting an army of -sixty thousand men, fourteen thousand of them men-at-arms -and several thousand archers and cross-bowmen, -determined to hold the line of the Somme and bar -Henry's passage of the river. Henry's idea, dictated -like the whole of his campaign by the precedent of -Edward the Third, had been to cross the Somme by -the ford of Blanche Tache. He now learned that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[56]</a></span> -passage was defended by the French in force. He -wheeled at once to the right, and following the left bank -of the river upward, tried in vain to find a crossing-place. -Every bridge was broken down and every ford -beset. It was plain that he was more effectually entrapped -even than his predecessor Edward.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">October.</div> - -<p>The eight days' supply of provisions was now consumed, -and the position of the English became most -critical. Retreat Henry would not, force the passage -of the Somme he could not. He decided to follow the -river upward to its head-waters, and on reaching Nesle -learned from a countryman of a ford, the access to -which lay across a morass. Two causeways that provided -a footing over it had been broken down by the -French, but these were quickly repaired with wood and -faggots and straw till they were broad enough to admit -three horsemen abreast. Henry himself was indefatigable -in the work. He took personal charge of one -end of the passages, and appointed special officers to -attend to the other. The baggage was carried over -along one causeway, and the men by the second. Thus -the passage both of morass and river was accomplished -between eight in the morning and an hour before dusk -of an October day. The French, who were lying in -force at Peronne, now for some unexplained reason -retreated towards the north-west, but sent, according to -custom, a challenge to Henry to fix time and place for -battle. "I am marching straight to Calais through -open country," he replied. "You will have no -difficulty in finding me." And he continued his -advance.</p> - -<p>At Peronne the English struck the line of the -French march and looked for an immediate engagement. -The force moved in order of battle, every man armed -and ready for action, while the archers by Henry's order -carried a stake, eleven feet long and pointed at both ends, -to make them defence against cavalry. To their surprise -no enemy appeared; and Henry was presently able to -disperse his force along a wider front, with the advantage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[57]</a></span> -alike of obtaining easier supply of victuals and surer -information of the enemy. The English were much -distressed by want of bread: other provisions were -abundant, but grain was absolutely undiscoverable. -Nevertheless discipline was most strictly enforced, and -the order of the columns, as the speed of the march can -avouch, was quite admirable. Robbery of churches or -peasants, the slightest irregularity on the march or in -the camp, the presence of women in the camp, all -offences alike were visited with the severest punishment. -One man, whom Shakespeare has immortalised as -Bardolph, was detected in the theft of a pyx: he was -paraded through the army as a criminal and hanged. -Even French writers admit that the English dealt more -mercifully with them than their own countrymen. The -King himself avoided anything that might seem to indicate -the slightest discouragement. One night he -missed the camping-ground assigned to his division and -took up that of the vanguard. "God forbid that in -full armour I should turn back," he said; and pushing -the vanguard further forward, he halted for the night -where he stood.</p> - -<p>On the 24th of October, Henry, who was lying at -Frevent on the river Canopes, was informed by his -scouts that the French were moving forward from St. -Pol and must inevitably get ahead of him. He pushed -on to Blangy, crossed the river Ternoise there, and -advancing to Maisoncelle drew up his army in battle -order before it. The whole French army was before -him at Ruisseauville, but as dusk fell without an attack -he withdrew for the night to Maisoncelle, and conscious -of his desperate situation opened negotiations with the -French, offering to restore Harfleur and make good -all injuries if he might be permitted to evacuate France -in peace. His overtures were rejected and he was -warned to fight on the morrow. On the same evening -the French moved down to a narrow plateau between -the villages of Tramecourt and Agincourt, and there, -cramped into a space far too narrow for sixty thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[58]</a></span> -men, they halted till the morrow within less than a mile -of the English position.</p> - -<p>The night was spent in very different fashion in the -two camps. The French, doubtless much inconvenienced -by the straitness of their quarters, were shouting everywhere -for comrades and servants as noisily as a mob of -sheep; while some, forgetting the lesson of Poitiers, -gambled for the ransom of the prisoners that they were -to take in the morrow's battle. Huge fires were kept -burning round their banners, for the rain was incessant, -and the English could see everything that passed among -them. They too began shouting like the French till -sternly checked by the King; and then the English -camp fell silent, and the men, forbidden to forget their -situation in the din of their own voices, sat down to face -it in all its stern reality. They could be excused if they -felt some misgiving. They had covered over three -hundred miles in a continuous march of seventeen days, -often in hourly expectation of a fight; for four days -they had not tasted bread; and now, after a few short -hours more of waiting in the ceaseless pattering rain, -they were to meet a host outnumbering them by five to -one. Arms and bowstrings were overhauled and repaired; -and the priests had little rest from the numbers -that came to them for shrift. But in the discipline of -that silence lay the promise of success.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">October 25.</div> - -<p>At dawn of the next morning Henry was astir, fully -armed but bare-headed, riding a gray pony. Presently -he led the army out of Maisoncelle to a newly-sown field, -which was the position of his choice, and drew it up for -battle. Every man was dismounted, and horses and -baggage were parked in the rear under the protection of -a small guard. But the numbers of his army were so -weak that the favourite formation of the Black Prince -could not be followed. The vanguard under the Duke -of York became the right, the battle under the King the -centre, and the rearguard under Lord Camoys the left -of a single line, which even then was ranked but four -men deep. It was a first example of English line<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[59]</a></span> -against French column. Henry made the men a short -speech, recalling to them the deeds of their fathers, and -then the whole host kneeled down, thrice kissed the -ground, and rose upright again into its ranks.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile not a sign of attack came from the -French. Their order of battle had been determined -many days before, but it was ill adapted to so narrow a -position. It was evident that only the vanguard could -possibly come into action, and such was the indiscipline -that every man of rank wished to command it. Finally -the whole of the magnates were placed in the vanguard, -and its strength was made up to about seven thousand -men-at-arms, every one of them dismounted. On each -flank was a wing of twelve hundred more dismounted -men, and on their flanks again two small bodies of -cavalry, three hundred on the right, and eight hundred -on the left, which were designed to gallop down upon -the archers. This was the first French line. The -second was also made up of about eight thousand dismounted -men-at-arms; while the remainder, who were -ordered to dismount but would not, composed the third -line. The whole stood on ploughed ground, soaked by -the rain of the previous night and poached deep by the -trampling of innumerable feet.</p> - -<p>The French took advantage of the delay to give -their men breakfast, an example which Henry immediately -followed. Then seeing that the enemy remained -motionless he prepared to attack. A gray old warrior, -Sir Walter Erpingham, galloped forward with two aides-de-camp -to make the necessary changes of formation. -The archers were deployed in front and flanks, and -when all was ready old Sir Walter tossed his baton into -the air and sang out "Now strike." Then galloping -back to the King's battalion he dismounted and took his -place in the ranks. The King, already dismounted, gave -the word "Forward banner," and the English answered -with a mighty cry, the forerunner of that "stern and -appalling shout" which four centuries later was to -strike hesitation into so fine a soldier even as Soult. Then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[60]</a></span> -the whole line advanced in close array, with frequent -halts, for the ground was deep, and the archers in their -leathern jackets and hose, ragged, hatless, and shoeless -after two months of hard work, could easily wear down -the men-at-arms in their heavy mail. Artillery in such -a sea of mud could not be brought into position on -either side, and the German gunners took no part in the -fight. The French on their side stood firm and closed -up their ranks. They were so heavily weighted with -their armour, always heavier than that of the English, -that they could hardly move, and their front was so -much crowded that they could not use their archers; so -they broke off their lances as at Poitiers to the length -of five feet, and stood in dense array, thirty-one ranks -against the English four.</p> - -<p>Arrived within range the archers struck their stakes -slantwise into the ground, and drew bow. The French -vanguard then shook itself up and advanced slowly, -while the cavalry on their flanks moved forward against -the archers. The division of three hundred lances on -the right made but a poor attack; little more than -half of them really came on, and even these their horses, -maddened as at Creçy by the pain of the arrows, soon -carried in headlong confusion to the rear. The stronger -division on the left charged home, and the leader and -one or two others actually reached the line of stakes; -but the stakes had no firm hold in the mud; the horses -tripped over them and fell, and not one rider ever rose -again. The remainder had as usual been carried back -by their wounded horses upon their comrades in rear, -and thence with them upon the wings of dismounted -men-at-arms in which they tore terrible gaps. The -centre of the French vanguard fared little better. -Dazzled by the eastern sun that shone full in their -eyes, and bending their heads before the sleet of arrows, -they lost all idea of their direction, and became so -clubbed together that they could not use their weapons. -By sheer weight they forced back the English men-at-arms -a lance's length, and for a time they fought hard.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[61]</a></span> -King Henry was twice struck heavily on the helmet, one -blow lopping a branch from the crown that encircled it. -But meanwhile the archers had noted the gaps torn -by the horses in the wings of the French fighting line. -They dropped their bows, and with whatever weapon—axe, -hammer, or sword—that hung at their girdle, -they fell, light and active, upon the helpless, hampered -men-at-arms and made fearful havoc of them. The -French centre, exposed by the defeat of the wings to -attack on both flanks, gave way before the King's -battalion, and their first line was utterly defeated. -There was no question of flight among the French men-at-arms, -for the unhappy men could not move. The -English simply took off the helmets of their prisoners, -and, leaving them thus exposed, pressed on against the -second line. This, however, was already shaken by the -defeat of the vanguard; and though one leader who -had arrived late in the field, the Duke of Brabant, set a -gallant example, he was quickly cut down, and the -defeat of the second line followed quickly on his fall. -The third line still remained, but being mounted, contrary -to orders, had no mind to stay and fight, but -turned and fled, leaving some few of their leaders alone -to redeem French honour by a hopeless struggle and a -noble death.</p> - -<p>This battle was hardly won when word was brought -to Henry that his baggage, with all his treasure as well -as all the horses, was in the hands of plunderers. The -guard in fact had been unable to resist the temptation to -join in the fight, and had left the baggage to take care -of itself. The momentary confusion hereby caused -gave some of the French time to rally, and Henry, not -knowing how great the danger might be, ordered every -man to kill his prisoners. The English hesitated, less -possibly from humanity than from reluctance to lose -good ransom, whereupon Henry told off two hundred -archers for the duty, which was promptly carried out. -He can hardly be blamed, for the fight had been won -less by the slaughter than by the capture of the men-at-arms;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[62]</a></span> -and the risk of undertaking a new attack in -front with some thousands of unwounded prisoners in -rear, was serious. Be that as it may, the deed was -done. Henry then advanced against the rallied French -and quickly broke them up; and at four o'clock, -the victory being at last complete, he left the field. -The French loss in nobles alone numbered from five to -eight thousand men killed, exclusive of common men. -A thousand prisoners and a hundred and twenty -banners were taken. The losses of the English are uncertain, -but probably did not exceed a few hundreds, -the most distinguished of the fallen being the Duke of -York.</p> - -<p>So ended the great fight which King Harry himself -decreed to be called by the name of Agincourt.<a name="FNanchor_29_29" id="FNanchor_29_29"></a><a href="#Footnote_29_29" class="fnanchor">[29]</a> It -sums up in itself the leading features of Creçy, Poitiers, -and Cocherel, in a word of all the finest actions of the -Edwards. But it was, as fate ordained, but the afterglow -of the glory of the Plantagenets, not the light of -a sun new risen like a giant to run his course.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_062fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 62</em></p> -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1415. -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote">1420.</div> - -<p>To attempt to follow the later campaigns of Henry -the Fifth in France would be alike tedious and unprofitable. -To the last he stuck to the principles of the -Black Prince, but his military talents ripened year after -year, and while he lived France trembled under his -sword. Finally, torn to pieces by the strife of Burgundian -and Armagnac, France by the Treaty of Troyes -surrendered her kingship into his hand. The contempt -of the English for their enemy was such that the men -once assaulted and captured a town without orders. -But in the very next year came a reverse that boded -ominously for the future. The Duke of Clarence was -defeated at Beaugé, less by the French than by a body -of Scottish auxiliaries, who had been sent to their assistance -under the Earl of Buchan. Henry had hoped -that the Scots would not fight against him, and ordered -them henceforth to be treated as rebels, but it was to -no purpose. The reader should take note of this fateful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[63]</a></span> -year 1421, for it marks the permanent entrance of the -Scots into the service of France, a fact full of import -for both countries. Moreover, he will in due time see -a regiment, still called the Royal Scots, withdrawn from -the French army to become the first of the English -Line.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1422.</div> - -<p>The return of King Henry to France after Beaugé -soon re-established the ascendency of the English arms; -and then, while still in the prime of life, he sickened -even in the midst of his operations and died. He was -but thirty-four years of age, a great administrator, a -great captain, and above all a grand disciplinarian. -Yet he was no brutal martinet; nay, when once he had -cast his wild days behind him he never even swore. -"Impossible," or "It must be done," was the most that -he said. But "he was so feared by his princes and -captains that none dared to disobey his orders, however -nearly related to him, and the principal cause was that -if any one transgressed his orders he punished him at -once without favour or mercy."<a name="FNanchor_30_30" id="FNanchor_30_30"></a><a href="#Footnote_30_30" class="fnanchor">[30]</a> He and the army -that fought with him at Agincourt are the true precursors -of Craufurd and the Light Division. His -body, borne with mournful pomp from the castle of -Vincennes, still rests among us in Westminster Abbey, -and above it still hang his saddle, his shield blazoned -with the lilies of France, and the helmet, deeply dinted -by two sword-cuts, which he wore at Agincourt. Not -for three centuries was another soldier to rise up in -England of equal fame with the Black Prince, John -Hawkwood, and King Harry the Fifth.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—For the life of Hawkwood see Temple Leader's -<cite>Sir John Hawkwood</cite>. For the campaign of Agincourt, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gesta -Henrici Quinti</cite> and Monstrelet's Chronicles are the chief authorities, -while Sir Harris Nicholas's <cite>Agincourt</cite> furnishes a quantity of -supplementary information. Other authorities will be found -enumerated in Köhler, who is always the best guide in respect of -military operations.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[64]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#BICV">CHAPTER V</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">It is now our sad duty to watch the military glory of -the Plantagenets wane fainter and fainter, until it disappears, -to be followed by a period of darkness until -the light is slowly rekindled at the flame of foreign -fires. The decline of our supremacy in arms was not -at first rapid. John, Duke of Bedford, possessed a combination -of military and administrative talent little less -remarkable than that of his brother the late King, and as -Regent of France he took up the reins of government and -command with no unskilful hand. Everything turned -upon the maintenance of existing factions in France. -England working with Burgundy, the red cross of St. -Andrew with the red cross of St. George, could preserve -the English dominion; otherwise that dominion must -inevitably fall. The French, after the lull created by -Henry's death, gathered an army together of which the -kernel was three thousand Scots, and marched into -Burgundy to besiege Crevant. A body of four -thousand picked English and Burgundians at once -hastened after them, and although outnumbered, and -compelled, by the advance of a second French army in -their rear, to fight their battle and win it at whatever -cost, they defeated the enemy completely and cut the -Scots to pieces almost to a man. All was still done as -King Harry had done it. English tactics were forced, on -pain of death, upon English and Burgundians<a name="FNanchor_31_31" id="FNanchor_31_31"></a><a href="#Footnote_31_31" class="fnanchor">[31]</a> alike, -and discipline was most strictly preserved. It was not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[65]</a></span> -a promising beginning for the French, but Scotland was -ready to furnish more men, and France not less ready -to receive them; and so the extraordinary struggle of -French against French, and English against Scots was -renewed once more.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1424.</div> - -<p>Early in 1424 ten thousand Scottish men-at-arms, -under Archibald, Earl of Douglas, arrived at Rochelle, -and were welcomed with eagerness by the French. -Douglas was created Duke of Touraine, and all went -merrily until on the 17th of August French and English, -with their allies, met under the walls of Verneuil. The -French and Scots numbered close on twenty thousand -men, the English twelve thousand, of whom eight -thousand were archers. Contrary to the hitherto -accepted practice, the French formed their army into a -single huge central battalion of dismounted men, with -cavalry on each wing, the mounted men being designed -to fall upon the English flanks and rear. Bedford, who -commanded the English, imitated the enemy in forming -only a single battalion, but dismounted the whole of his -force, covering his front and flanks with archers, who -as at Agincourt carried stakes as a defence against the -attack of horse. His baggage he parked in rear, the -horses being tied collar to tail that they might be the -less easily driven off; and he appointed as baggage-guard -no fewer than ten thousand archers.</p> - -<p>For the whole morning the two armies stood -opposite to each other in order of battle, each waiting -for the other to attack; but at last, at three in the afternoon, -the French advanced and were received by the -English with a mighty shout. The French cavalry on -the wings charged, broke through the archers, and -sweeping round the English rear fell upon the baggage. -They were greeted by the guard with a shower of -arrows, but contrived none the less to carry off some -quantity of spoil, with which they galloped away, feeling -sure that the day was won.<a name="FNanchor_32_32" id="FNanchor_32_32"></a><a href="#Footnote_32_32" class="fnanchor">[32]</a> But meanwhile the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[66]</a></span> -two battalions of dismounted men-at-arms, those on the -French side being exclusively Scots, had closed and were -fighting desperately. For a moment the English were -beaten back by superior numbers; but Salisbury, John -Talbot, and other tried leaders were with them, and -they soon recovered themselves. The archers on the -wings rallied to their aid, while those of the baggage-guard, -freed from all further alarm of cavalry, hurried -up with loud shouts in support. The Scots wavered, -and the English pressing forward with one supreme -effort broke through their ranks, split up the battalion, -and threw the whole into helpless confusion. And -then began a terrible carnage, for the Scots had told -Bedford that they would neither give nor receive -quarter, and they certainly received none. Five -thousand men, mostly Scots, were killed on the French -side, John Stewart, Earl of Buchan, the Earl of -Douglas and James his son being among the slain, and -two hundred more were taken prisoners. Of the -English some sixteen hundred only went down.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1428.</div> - -<p>To France Verneuil was a disaster little less crushing -than Agincourt, and indeed it seemed as though she had -passed irrevocably under English dominion. All was -however spoiled by Bedford's brother Humphrey, Duke -of Gloucester, who, having made a match with a rich -heiress, Jacqueline of Holland, carried away English -troops to take possession of her dower-lands, and, -worst of all, gave the deepest offence to Burgundy. -At home Humphrey was equally troublesome, so much -so that in 1425 Bedford was compelled to return to -England to set matters right. It was not until three -years later that he took the field again, well reinforced -with men and with a powerful train of artillery. So far -we have rarely found artillery employed except for -sieges, but henceforth we see gunners regularly employed -at the high wage of a man-at-arms, one shilling a day, -and "hand-cannons" and "little cannons with stone -shot of two pounds weight," playing ever a more -prominent part in the field.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[67]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1429.</div> - -<p>Against his better judgment Bedford now resolved -to carry the war across the Loire, and detached the -Earl of Salisbury with ten thousand men to the siege of -Orleans. The operations opened unfortunately with -the death of Salisbury, who was mortally wounded by a -cannon-shot while examining the enemy's works; but -the investment was carried on with spirit by the Earl of -Suffolk, and a little action at the opening of 1429 -showed that the English superiority still held good. -This, the battle of Roveray, better known as the action -of the Herrings, has a peculiar interest, though the -occasion was simple enough. Lent was approaching; -and as, among the many complications of mediæval -warfare, the observance of the fast was by no means -forgiven to fighting men,<a name="FNanchor_33_33" id="FNanchor_33_33"></a><a href="#Footnote_33_33" class="fnanchor">[33]</a> it was necessary to send provisions -of "Lenten stuff," principally herrings, to the -besieging force round Orleans. The convoy being -large was provided with an escort of sixteen hundred -men under command of Sir John Falstolfe. The -French and Scots decided to attack it on the march, -but unfortunately could not agree as to their plan; the -Scots insisting that it was best to dismount, the French -preferring to remain in the saddle. Meanwhile Falstolfe -with great dexterity drew his waggons into a leaguer, -leaving but two narrow entrances defended by archers. -It was the trap of Poitiers once more. The French -and Scots after long discussion agreed to differ, and -attacked each in their own fashion. The English -archers shot with admirable precision; the Scots lost -very heavily, the French after a short experience of the -arrows rode out of range, and Falstolfe led his herrings -triumphantly into Orleans, having killed close on six -hundred of the enemy with trifling loss to himself. -This was the last signal employment of the tactics of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[68]</a></span> -Poitiers, the last brilliant success of the English in the -Hundred Years' War, the first glimpse of a lesson learnt -by England from the military genius of a foreign -power. For the tactics of the waggon were those of -John Zizka, the greatest soldier of Europe in the -fifteenth century.</p> - -<p>From this point the story is one of almost unbroken -failure for the English in France. They were now -about to pass through the experience which later befell -the Spaniards in the Low Countries, and the French -themselves in the Peninsula. The turning-point is of -course the appearance in the field of Joan of Arc, a -phenomenon so extraordinary that it has become the -exclusive property of the votaries of poetry and sentiment, -and is, perhaps rightly, not to be rescued from -their hands. It is certain that her military talents were -of the slightest; but, on the other hand, she possessed -the magic of leadership and the amazing power of -restoring the moral strength of her countrymen, which -had been impaired as never before by an endless succession -of defeats. The English not unnaturally attributed -this power to witchcraft: for by what other agency -could a peasant girl have checked the ever-victorious -army? and the punishment of witchcraft being the -fire they burnt her to death. Any other nation would -have done the same in their place then, and there are -still a few folks both in France and the United Kingdom -who would do so now. But the fire in the market-place -of Rouen availed the English little. "The French," as -Monstrelet says, believed that "God was against the -English"; and the English began to believe it themselves.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1430.</div> - -<p>For the woman's quick instinct and the pure insight -of a saintly soul had guided the maid aright. The -moral quality of the English force was corrupted, and -needed only to meet some loftier spirit to fall into -decay. The chivalrous character of the war was gone. -Hostile commanders no longer laid each other friendly -wagers on the success of their next operations. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[69]</a></span> -army too was ceasing to be national; the English -element was growing smaller and smaller in number, -and fast sinking to the level of the lawless adventurers -who furnished the majority in the ranks. Long contempt -of the enemy had bred insolence and carelessness, -and the old discipline was almost gone. The sight of a -deer or a hare sufficed to set a whole division hallooing, -sometimes, as at Patay, with disastrous results. On -that day the French scouts, who were feeling for the -enemy, roused a stag, which ran towards the English -array, and was greeted with such a storm of yells as told -the French all that they wanted to know. The English -force blundered on, without advanced parties of any -kind, till it suddenly found itself on the verge of an -engagement. Then the leaders wrangled as to the -question of fighting in enclosed or open country, and, -having finally in overweening confidence selected the -open, were surprised and routed before the archers -could plant their stakes in the ground. Worst of all, an -officer in high command, Sir John Falstolfe, seeing that -defeat was certain, disobeyed the order to dismount and -galloped away. He was disgraced by Bedford, but was -afterwards for some reason reinstated, though had Harry -been king he would assuredly have lost his head.<a name="FNanchor_34_34" id="FNanchor_34_34"></a><a href="#Footnote_34_34" class="fnanchor">[34]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sandacourt,<br /> -1431.</div> - -<p>Among the French the revival of the military spirit -soon showed itself in a remarkable development of new -ideas. They had long copied, though with a bad grace, -the English practice of dismounting men-at-arms and -furnishing archers with a palisade of stakes, but in 1434 -at Gerberoy they used the three arms, cavalry, infantry, -and artillery, in combination, with signal success. Artillery -was still so far a novelty in the field that only three -years before a whole army collected by the Duke of Bar -had flung itself howling to the ground at the first discharge; -but the English archers, though they knew -better than to behave thus, were sadly dismayed when -the round stone shot came bounding within their trusted<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[70]</a></span> -palisade. It was just after this, too, that two fatal blows -were struck at the English by the shifting of Burgundy -to the French side, and by the death of their ablest -leader, John, Duke of Bedford.</p> - -<p>Still the war, wantonly and foolishly continued by an -inefficient Government, dragged on and on, and, though -not unbroken by occasional brilliant exploits, turned -steadily against the English. The behaviour of the -soldiers was sullied more and more by shameful barbarity; -and gradually but surely their hold on Normandy -and Guienne slipped from them. Truce was made at -last in 1444, and Charles the Seventh seized the opportunity -to execute a series of long-meditated reforms in -the French army. He established a national militia of -fifteen companies of men-at-arms and archers, each six -hundred strong, organised garrisons of trained men for -the towns, took the greatest pains for the equipment, -discipline, and regular payment of the troops, and formed -the finest park of artillery thitherto seen. In a word, -he laid the foundation of the French standing army, -with the Scottish archers and Scottish men-at-arms at -its head, two famous corps that remained in their old -place on the army-list until the French Revolution. -Thus French military organisation, spurred by a century -of misfortune, made one gigantic bound ahead of English, -and may be said to have kept the lead ever since.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1440.<br />1449.<br />1450,<br /> -April 18.</div> - -<p>In England there had been no such improvement. -A feeble effort had been made to check by statute fraudulent -enlistment and the still graver abuse of embezzlement -of the soldiers' pay by the captains, but this was -of little help when the enforcement of the Act<a name="FNanchor_35_35" id="FNanchor_35_35"></a><a href="#Footnote_35_35" class="fnanchor">[35]</a> was -entrusted to so corrupt and avaricious a commander as -the Duke of Somerset. Throughout the truce the -soldiers on the English side behaved abominably; but, -since they were robbed of their wages by their officers, -it is hardly surprising that they should have repaid -themselves by the plunder of the country. When -finally the truce was broken, and the French invaded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[71]</a></span> -Normandy, the English dominion fell before them like -a house of cards. Town after town, their garrisons -depleted to fill Somerset's pocket, surrendered to superior -force, and the English as they marched forth had the -mortification to see the Normans gleefully doff the red -cross of St. George for the white cross of France. An -attempt to save the province was foiled by the rout of -the English reinforcements at Fourmigny, and Normandy -was lost. Anjou and Maine had been already made -over to the father of Henry the Sixth's Queen, and -Guienne and Gascony, which had been English since the -reign of Henry the Second, alone remained. Next year -they too went the way of Normandy and were lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1453,<br /> -July 20.</div> - -<p>Gascony, however, notwithstanding her hot southern -blood, was in no such anxiety as Normandy to be quit -of the English, and sent messages to England that, if an -army were sent to help her, she would revolt against -the French to rejoin her old mistress. England lent -a willing ear, and John Talbot, the veteran Earl of -Shrewsbury, was sent out to this, his last campaign. -The decisive battle was fought under the walls of -Chatillon. The French were strongly entrenched, with -three hundred pieces of artillery in position, a striking -testimony to their military progress. The English -fought with the weapon which for a century had won -them their victories, and for the last as for the first battle -of the Hundred Years' War, every man alighted from -his horse. John Talbot alone, in virtue of his fourscore -years, remained mounted on his hackney; and with the -indomitable old man at their head the English hurled -themselves upon the entrenchment. It was a mad, -desperate, hopeless venture, but they stormed forward -with such impetuosity that they went near to carry the -position. For a full hour they persisted, until at last, -riddled through and through by the fire of the artillery, -they fell back. Then the French sallied forth and -turned the defeat into a rout. Old John Talbot's pony -was shot under him, and being pinned to the ground -under the dead animal he was killed where he lay.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[72]</a></span> -Young John Talbot, Lord Lisle, refused to leave his -father, and fell by his side. The army was dispersed -over Aquitaine, and the ancestral domains of seven -generations of English kings passed from them for ever. -By the irony of fate a Scottish soldier<a name="FNanchor_36_36" id="FNanchor_36_36"></a><a href="#Footnote_36_36" class="fnanchor">[36]</a> was appointed to -hold for the crown of France the French provinces that -had clung with such attachment to England. Of all the -great possessions of the English in France Calais now -alone was left, to break in due time the heart of an -English Queen.</p> - -<p>At home the discontent over the national disgrace -was profound. The people of course cast about to -find a scapegoat, and after one or two changes finally -fixed upon the blameless and unfortunate Henry the -Sixth. Want of a strong central government was undoubtedly -the disease from which England had suffered -ever since the death of King Henry the Fifth, but for -this the nation itself was principally responsible. It -had chosen for its rulers the House of Lancaster because -Henry of Bolingbroke had agreed to accept constitutional -checks on the royal power before the country -was ripe for self-government. It had thrown off the yoke -of discipline which alone could enable it to tug the heavy -load of English weal and English honour, and it paid the -inevitable penalty. Numbers of republics have made the -same mistake during the present century and have suffered -or are suffering the same punishment. There is no -surer sign of an undisciplined nation than civil war.</p> - -<p>In the England of the fifteenth century the disease -had been deeply aggravated by the interminable -campaigns in France. All classes at home, from the -highest to the lowest, were equally selfish and apathetic -in respect of the national good: internal order was at -an end, and riots and outrages which amounted to -private war continued unceasingly and remained unrepressed. -The system of indentures between king and -subject for the supply of troops had been extended -from subject to retainer and, as has been well said, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[73]</a></span> -clause "for the King's service" could easily be dropped -out of the contract.<a name="FNanchor_37_37" id="FNanchor_37_37"></a><a href="#Footnote_37_37" class="fnanchor">[37]</a> The red cross of St. George -never appears in the English battlefields; red rose and -white were indeed the emblems of contending factions, -but we hear far more of the badges of great families, -the ragged staff, the cresset and the like, and of the -liveries, which, though forbidden by statute to any -but the king, were conspicuous all through the Civil -War. The loss of France furnished but too much -material to the hands of violence and strife. England -was full of unemployed soldiers, who had been trained -in the undisciplined school of French faction to -treachery and plunder and all that is lowest and most -inhuman in war. Hundreds of men who had held -comfortable posts in French garrisons, and had turned -them to purposes of brigandage, were cast adrift upon -England, barbarised, brutalised, demoralised, to recoup -themselves in their own country. After the peace of -Brétigny the disbanded soldiery had made France their -chamber and swept down thence upon Italy; the like -men<a name="FNanchor_38_38" id="FNanchor_38_38"></a><a href="#Footnote_38_38" class="fnanchor">[38]</a> were now to be let loose upon England, and -France was to be well avenged of her old enemy. -Worst of all, the leaders of factions, in the madness of -their animosity, were not ashamed to import foreign -troops and set them at each other's throats.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1460.<br />1461.</div> - -<p>I shall not dwell upon this miserable and disastrous -period, marking as it does the wreck of our ancient -military greatness. Such few military points as present -themselves in the scanty chronicles of this time must be -noted, and no more. Of the principal figures one only -is to be remarked. Warwick the "King-maker" must -be passed over as rather a statesman than a soldier; -Margaret of Anjou—the pestilent, indomitable woman—must -be remembered only for her importation of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[74]</a></span>mercenaries; Edward the Fourth, full of the military -genius of the Plantagenets, alone is deserving of -lengthier mention. There was not an action at which -he was present wherein he did not make that presence -felt. It was he who at Northampton turned his -treacherous admission to the left of the Lancastrian -position to instant and decisive account. It was he -who in the following year, still only a boy of twenty, -crushed Owen Tudor at Mortimer's Cross; it was he -who held supreme command at that more terrible -Marston Moor of the fifteenth century, the battle of -Towton.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">March 28.</div> - -<p>This action has a peculiar interest as an example of -English tactics and tenacity turned upon themselves. -The Lancastrians, sixty thousand strong, were formed -up on a plateau eight miles to the north of Ferrybridge, -facing south-their right resting on a brook, called the -Cock, their left on the Great North Road. It was a -strong position, but too much cramped for their -numbers, having a front of less than a mile in extent. -They were probably drawn up according to the old -fashion in three lines of great depth. The Yorkists -numbered but five-and-thirty thousand, but they were -expecting an additional thirteen thousand under the -Duke of Norfolk, which, advancing from Ferrybridge, -would come up on their own right and against the left -flank of the enemy. Edward appears to have remedied -his numerical inferiority after the pattern of his great -ancestor at Creçy by forming his army in echelon of -three lines, refusing his right. The foremost or left -line of the echelon was commanded by Lord Falconbridge, -the second by Warwick, and the third by -Edward in person. The Yorkists advancing northward -to the attack had just caught sight of the enemy -on a height beyond a slight dip in the ground called -Towton Dale, when there came on a blinding snowstorm, -which so effectually veiled both armies that it -was only by their shouts that they could know each -other's position. Falconbridge with great readiness<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[75]</a></span> -seized the moment to push forward his archers to the -edge of the plateau, whence he bade them shoot flight-arrows, -specially adapted to fly over a long range, -into the Lancastrian columns. This done he quickly -withdrew his men. The Lancastrians thereupon poured -in a tremendous shower of fighting arrows, all of which -fell short of their supposed mark, and maintained it till -their sheaves were well-nigh exhausted. Then Falconbridge -again advanced and began to shoot in earnest; -his men had not only their own stock of shafts but also -those discharged by the enemy. The rain of missiles -was too much for the Lancastrians: they broke from -their position on the height and poured down across -the dip to drive the Yorkists from the slope above it. -Then the action became general and the whole line was -soon hotly engaged.</p> - -<p>What followed for the next few hours in the driving -snow no one has told us, or, it is probable, could ever -have told us. All that is certain is that the Lancastrians, -though occasionally they could force the Yorkists back -for a space, could never gain any permanent advantage, -a fact that points to extremely judicious handling of the -refused division by Edward. From five in the morning -until noon the combat raged with unabated fury, and the -pile of the dead rose so high that the living could hardly -come to close quarters. At length at noon the Duke of -Norfolk's column, timely as Blücher's, appeared in the -Great North Road on the left flank of the Lancastrians, -and began to roll them back from their position and from -the line of their retreat. Slowly and sullenly the Lancastrians -gave way; there was probably little attempt to -alter their disposition to meet the attack in their flank; -but for three long hours more they fought, disputing -every inch of ground, till at last they were forced back -from it upon the swollen waters of the Cock. Then -the rout and the slaughter became general; thousands -were drowned in the brook; and the pursuit, wherein -we again see the hand of Edward, was carried to the very -gates of York. Thirty-five thousand Lancastrians and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[76]</a></span> -eight thousand Yorkists perished in the fight, an appalling -slaughter for so miserable a cause. But this was -a contest not merely of faction against faction, but of -North against South; and the North never spoke disrespectfully -of the South again. This perhaps was the -principal result of what must be reckoned the most -terrible battle ever fought by the English.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1471,<br /> -April 14.</div> - -<p>The decisive battle of Barnet furnishes a still more -brilliant instance of Edward's skill, and of his quickness -to seize the vital point in a campaign. All turned upon -his forcing his enemies to action before they could -gather their full strength about them. Edward marched -his men up to Warwick's position actually after dusk -had fallen, a rare accomplishment in those days, and -drew up his men as best he could in the dark. When -day broke with dense fog he discovered that his army far -out-flanked Warwick's left, and was as far out-flanked -by Warwick's on his own left. The result seems to have -been that the two armies edged continually round each -other until their respective positions were reversed,<a name="FNanchor_39_39" id="FNanchor_39_39"></a><a href="#Footnote_39_39" class="fnanchor">[39]</a> -for some of Warwick's cavalry, coming back from the -pursuit of Edward's left, found itself on its return not, -as it supposed, in rear of Edward's army, but of its -own. The cry of treason, always common in the -Wars of the Roses, was quickly raised, and in the general -confusion the battle was lost to Warwick. None the -less the victory was due to Edward's promptness; and -indeed the rapidity alike of his decisions and of his -marches stamp him as a soldier of no ordinary talent, and -as in many respects far in advance of his time.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1487.</div> - -<p>For the rest the Wars of the Roses show unmistakable -signs of the changes that were coming over the art -of war.<a name="FNanchor_40_40" id="FNanchor_40_40"></a><a href="#Footnote_40_40" class="fnanchor">[40]</a> A most important point is the ever increasing -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[77]</a></span>employment of artillery in the field and the greater -value attached to it. Richard, Duke of York, is said to -have had a great train of ordnance and so many as three -thousand gunners with him at Dartmouth in 1452. -Artillerymen were becoming far more common, and as a -natural consequence bade fair to command a smaller -price in the wage-market. From this time also it may -be said that the duel of artillery tends to become the -regular preliminary to a general action. Still more -significant is the augmented prominence of the common -foot-soldier, known from his peculiar weapon as the -bill-man, who now begins to supplant the dismounted -man-at-arms in the work of infantry, and as a natural -consequence restores the latter to his proper station -among the cavalry. New weapons again make their -appearance in the hands of the foot-soldier. Both -Edward and Warwick introduced hired bands of Burgundian -hand-gun men, whereby the English became -acquainted with the new arm that was to drive out the -famous bow. Again, on the field of Stoke there were -seen two thousand tall Germans armed with halberd and -pike, under the command of one Martin Schwartz, who -fought on the losing side, but stood in their ranks till -they were cut down to a man.<a name="FNanchor_41_41" id="FNanchor_41_41"></a><a href="#Footnote_41_41" class="fnanchor">[41]</a> Lastly, the old order of -battle in three lines was becoming rapidly obsolete. At -Bosworth both armies were drawn up in a single line, -with the cavalry on the wings; and the cavalry itself -was beginning at the same time to forsake the formation -in column for that in line, or as it was called, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en haye</i>.</p> - -<p>All these changes were symptoms of a great movement -that was passing over all Europe. The art of war, like -all the other arts, was undergoing a transformation so -fundamental that it has received the name of a renascence. -England, cut off by her expulsion out of France from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[78]</a></span> -her former contact with continental nations, exhausted -by her civil wars, reduced to her true position as a naval -power, and above all wedded to the peculiar system -which had brought her such success, lagged behind other -nations in the path of military reform. The century of -the Tudors' reign is for the English army a century of -learning, and to understand it aright we must first look -abroad to the countries that were before her in the school, -and glance at the innovations that were introduced by -each of them in the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth -centuries. Not without such study can we trace to their -source innumerable points, great and small, that are -observable in our army of to-day, nor grasp to the full -the greatness of the English soldiers who, long before -the renascence of the art of war, had divined its leading -principles, had established for their country noble -military traditions, and above all had made it a national -principle that the English must always beat the French.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—Monstrelet as before is the most important -authority for the wars in France. The <cite>Wars of the English in France</cite> -(Rolls Series) are valuable in elucidation. For the rise of the Scots -in France M. Francisque Michel's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les Ecossais en France</cite>, and -Forbes Leith's <cite>Scots Men-at-Arms in France</cite>. For the Wars of the -Roses the sources of information are proverbially meagre, but the -material has been worked up with admirable skill by Mr. Oman in -his <cite>Warwick</cite>, to which I am greatly indebted. For the reorganisation -of the French Army Daniel's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ancien milice Française</cite> may be -consulted.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[79]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[80]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_II" id="BOOK_II">BOOK II</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[81]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_I" id="BII_CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BIICI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1420.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Five years after the battle of Agincourt the religious -wars in Bohemia had given birth to one of the great -soldiers of the world's history, John Zizka, the blind -general of the Hussites. His military genius, quickened -by fanaticism and spurred by the stern necessity of encountering -an enemy always superior in numbers and -equipment, had led him to ideas which were far in -advance of his age. A master in organisation and -discipline, he had evolved literally out of nothing -the most famous army of its day in Europe, and by -inexhaustible activity and resource had rendered it -invincible. Beginning with such rude material of war as -waggons and flails, and with no more skilful men than -poor Bohemian peasants, he matured a system of tactics -which defeated not only the chivalry of Europe but -even the light irregular cavalry, soon to become famous -as hussars, of Hungary. As victory supplied him with -the means of procuring better arms, he rose rapidly to -the occasion. Throwing all military pedantry to the -winds he fought as his own genius dictated, and in the -rapidity of his movements and unrelenting swiftness -with which he followed up a victory he bears comparison -with Napoleon. He was the first man to make -artillery a manœuvrable arm, the first to execute complicated -evolutions in the face of an enemy, and the -first to handle cavalry, infantry, and artillery in efficient -tactical combination. The employment of waggons -for defence we have already seen copied by the English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[82]</a></span> -at the battle of the Herrings, but Zizka's influence<a name="FNanchor_42_42" id="FNanchor_42_42"></a><a href="#Footnote_42_42" class="fnanchor">[42]</a> -spread far wider than this by breaking down the -strength of European chivalry, and showing that drill, -discipline, and mobility could make the poorest peasant -more than a match for the armoured knight.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1382.</div> - -<p>Zizka, however, had not been the first to deal a blow -at the supremacy of feudal cavalry. The English -archers and dismounted men-at-arms had been before -him, and another power, which was destined to abolish -that supremacy for ever, had been in some respects the -predecessor even of the English. Allusion has already -been made to the victory of the Swiss over the Austrian -chivalry at Sempach; from that day it may be said -that they began their advance to the highest military -reputation of Europe. Appointed from the ruggedness -of their country as well as by their own poverty to fight -rather on their own feet than on horseback, cut off in -great measure by the same causes from the feudalism -that had overrun the rest of Europe, they were by -nature destined to be infantry, and as infantry they -developed their fighting system. Beginning like all -primitive foot-men in all countries with the simple -weapons of shield, spear, and axe, they improved upon -them to meet their own peculiar wants. The problem -before them was, how to defeat mounted men mailed -from head to foot in the open field, how to keep the -horses at a distance and cut through the iron shells -that protected the men. The instinct of a Teutonic -nation led them to give first attention to the cutting -weapon. The English had turned their axes into -broad-bladed bills; the Flemings had gone further and -produced the <em>godendag</em>, a weapon good alike for cut -and thrust; the Swiss, improving upon the <em>godendag</em>, -invented the halberd, which combined a hook for -pulling men out of the saddle, a point to thrust between -the joints of their armour, and a broad heavy blade, the -whole being set on the head of an eight-foot shaft.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[83]</a></span> -The weight of the halberd made it, as an old chronicler<a name="FNanchor_43_43" id="FNanchor_43_43"></a><a href="#Footnote_43_43" class="fnanchor">[43]</a> -says, a terrific weapon, "cleaving men asunder like a -wedge and cutting them into small pieces." Altogether -it was calculated to surprise galloping gentlemen who -thought themselves invulnerable in their armour.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1422.<br />1444.<br />1476.<br />1477.<br />1515.<br />1522, 1525.</div> - -<p>But the halberd did not solve the problem of keeping -horses at a distance. For this purpose the primitive -spear was lengthened more and more till it finally issued -in the long pike, the pike of the eighteen-foot shaft, -which for nearly two centuries ruled the battlefields of -Europe. The birthplace of the long pike is obscure,<a name="FNanchor_44_44" id="FNanchor_44_44"></a><a href="#Footnote_44_44" class="fnanchor">[44]</a> -but it was undoubtedly first brought into prominence -by the Swiss, and that by a series of brilliant actions. -Arbedo attested the firmness of the new infantry in the -field; St. Jacob-en-Birs, where the Swiss detached -sixteen hundred men to fight against fifty thousand, its -boundless confidence; and finally the three crushing -defeats of Charles the Bold at Granson, Morat, and -Nancy, established its reputation as invincible. For -action the Swiss were generally formed in three bodies, -van, battle, and rear—the van and rear being each of -half the strength of the battle or main body. These -bodies were always of a very deep formation, and if not -actually square were very solidly oblong. Occasionally -the whole were massed into one gigantic battalion in -order that the proportion of pikes to halberds, which -was about one to three, might go further in securing -immunity from the attack of cavalry. The van, from -the desperate nature of its work, was called the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Verlorener -Hauf</i>, from which is derived our own term, not yet -wholly extinct, forlorn hope.<a name="FNanchor_45_45" id="FNanchor_45_45"></a><a href="#Footnote_45_45" class="fnanchor">[45]</a> As regards discipline -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[84]</a></span>the Swiss appear to have been orderly and sober men -until spoiled by the multitude of their successes, but at -the last they became intolerably insubordinate. The -cantons indeed were so deeply bitten with the military -mania, that all great occasions, feasts, fairs, and even -weddings, were made the occasion of some form of -military display, while the very children turned out with -drums, flags, and pikes, and marched with all the order -and regularity of full-grown soldiers. In fact fighting -became the regular trade of Switzerland, and as her -people enjoyed for a time a practical monopoly of that -trade they soon became grasping and avaricious, and -would dictate to generals under threat of mutiny when and -where they should fight, select their own position in the -order of battle, and open the action at such time as they -thought proper. Their officers lost control of them, -and would plaintively say that if they could but enforce -obedience in their men they would march through -France from end to end. This insubordination was -their ruin. The French, who were their chief employers, -at last lost all patience with them, and gave -them at Marignano a lesson which they did not speedily -forget. The suppression of this mutiny, which was in -fact a two days' battle of the most desperate description, -cost the Swiss twelve thousand men; and it speaks -volumes for the fine qualities that were in them that -the defeat attached them more closely than ever to the -cause of France. But the spell of their invincibility -was broken, and two more severe defeats at the hands -of a rival infantry at Bicocca and Pavia destroyed their -prestige for ever. Nevertheless they were superb -soldiers, and as their good fortune delivered them from -a meeting with the English archers, who would certainly -have riddled their huge bristling battalion through and -through, they became as they deserved the fathers of -modern infantry. Let it be noted that they marched -in step to the music of fife and drum, that they carried<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[85]</a></span> -a colour in each company, and that several of the -cantons carried a huge horn, whose sound was the -signal for all to rally around it.</p> - -<p>It was not to be expected that the Swiss should -long enjoy their monopoly as the infantry of Europe -without exciting competition. In the last quarter of -the fifteenth century arose the rivals who were to wrest -their supremacy from them, namely, the landsknechts -of Swabia, or as the contemporary English called them, -the lance-knights of Almain, who were the direct -forerunners of the modern German infantry. The -records that survive of them are very full, and as it -was through them that the teaching of the Swiss -was carried into England, with results that are -visible to this day, a brief study of their history is -essential to the right understanding of the history of -our own army.</p> - -<p>The Swabian infantry was called into existence by -the imperative necessity for preventing any potentate -who might be so fortunate as to enlist the Swiss, from -dictating his will to Europe. Swabia being the province -next adjoining Switzerland was not unnaturally the -first to learn the methods of her neighbour; and though -at first all fighting men who imitated the tactics and -equipment of the mountaineers were known by the -generic name of Swiss, yet the Swabians, as if from the -first to point the distinction between them and their -rivals, took the name of landsknechts, men of the plain, -as opposed to men of the mountains. Maximilian the -First, seeing how valuable such a force would be in -the eternal contest of the House of Hapsburg against -the House of Valois, more particularly since the Swiss -were the firm allies of the French, gave them all possible -countenance and encouragement; and very soon the -landsknechts grew into one of the weightiest factors -on the battlefields of Europe. Though mercenaries -like the Swiss and the still earlier bands of Brabançons, -and as such engaged on all sides and in all countries, -they yet cherished not a little national sentiment; and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[86]</a></span> -the greatest of all their work was done in the service -of the Empire.</p> - -<p>When therefore the emperor needed infantry he -issued a commission to some leader of repute to enlist -for him a corps of landsknechts. The colonel<a name="FNanchor_46_46" id="FNanchor_46_46"></a><a href="#Footnote_46_46" class="fnanchor">[46]</a> thus -chosen thereupon selected a deputy or lieutenant-colonel -and captains<a name="FNanchor_47_47" id="FNanchor_47_47"></a><a href="#Footnote_47_47" class="fnanchor">[47]</a> according to the number of men -required, and bade them help him to raise his regiment. -Then the fifes and drums were sent into the district, -with a copy of the Emperor's commission, to gather -recruits. The recruits came, gave in their names and -birthplaces to the muster-master, were informed of the -time and place of assembly, and received a piece of -money,<a name="FNanchor_48_48" id="FNanchor_48_48"></a><a href="#Footnote_48_48" class="fnanchor">[48]</a> conduct-money as the English called it, to -pay the expense of his journey thither and to bind the -bargain. Here we draw a step closer to the Queen's -shilling. At the assembly the men were formed in -two ranks, facing inwards. An arch<a name="FNanchor_49_49" id="FNanchor_49_49"></a><a href="#Footnote_49_49" class="fnanchor">[49]</a> was built by -planting two halberds into the ground and laying a -pike across them, and then every man passed singly -beneath it under the eye of the muster-master and of -his assistants, who watched every one sharply, rejecting -all who were physically deficient or imperfectly armed, -and above all taking care that no man should pass -through twice, nor the same arms be shown by two -different men. For captains were still unscrupulous, -and were ever striving to show more men on their -roll than they could produce in the flesh, and put the -pay that they drew for them into their own pockets. -So old was the trick and so deep-rooted the habit, -that even in Hawkwood's bands the legitimate method -of increasing a captain's pay was to allow him a certain -number of fictitious men, called <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">mortes payes</i> (dead -heads), and permit him to draw wages for them. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[87]</a></span>This practice in a legitimised form continued in our -own army within the memory of living men.</p> - -<p>Four hundred men was the usual number assigned -to a company<a name="FNanchor_50_50" id="FNanchor_50_50"></a><a href="#Footnote_50_50" class="fnanchor">[50]</a> of landsknechts, but there was as yet -no certainty either in the strength of companies themselves -or in the number of them that were comprised -within a regiment. The muster<a name="FNanchor_51_51" id="FNanchor_51_51"></a><a href="#Footnote_51_51" class="fnanchor">[51]</a> over, the men formed -a ring round the colonel, who read aloud to them the -conditions of service and the rate of pay, including -under the former all the ordinary points of discipline. -The men thereupon raised their hands, and with three -fingers uplifted, swore by the Trinity that they would -obey. The colonel then called into the ring the officers -whom he had selected to be ensigns,<a name="FNanchor_52_52" id="FNanchor_52_52"></a><a href="#Footnote_52_52" class="fnanchor">[52]</a> and delivered to -each the colour of his company, exhorting him to -defend it to the death. Nor must it be supposed that -the ensign was then the beardless boy with which our -own later experience has accustomed us to identify the -title. He was rather a hardened, grizzled old warrior, -who could be trusted at all critical times to rally the -men around him. Pursuant to Oriental tradition, the -fife and drum of each company were under the ensign's -immediate orders, so that the position of the colour -might always be known by sound if not by sight. The -flag itself, which gave the officer his title, bore some -colour or device chosen by the colonel, and among the -landsknechts was always very large and voluminous, -probably to contrast with the flags of the Swiss, which -were the smallest in Europe. The landsknechts prided -themselves on the grace and skill with which they -handled these huge banners, and indeed all the dandyism -(if the term may be allowed) observable in later years -in the manipulation of the colour may be traced to -them.</p> - -<p>This ceremony over, the various companies separated -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[88]</a></span>and formed each a distinct ring round its captain and -ensign. The captain then selected his lieutenant,<a name="FNanchor_53_53" id="FNanchor_53_53"></a><a href="#Footnote_53_53" class="fnanchor">[53]</a> and -calling him under the colours bade the men obey him. -He then chose also his chaplain and quartermaster, and -having added to these a surgeon his patronage was -exhausted. The men were then handed over to the -senior non-commissioned officer,<a name="FNanchor_54_54" id="FNanchor_54_54"></a><a href="#Footnote_54_54" class="fnanchor">[54]</a> a very important -person, who was responsible for all drill and for the -posting of all guards, and received his appointment -directly from the colonel. Under his guidance the -company elected a sergeant, who then in turn selected -himself an assistant;<a name="FNanchor_55_55" id="FNanchor_55_55"></a><a href="#Footnote_55_55" class="fnanchor">[55]</a> the assistant then chose a reconnoitrer,<a name="FNanchor_56_56" id="FNanchor_56_56"></a><a href="#Footnote_56_56" class="fnanchor">[56]</a> -and the reconnoitrer a quartermaster-sergeant. -Finally, the company was distributed into files<a name="FNanchor_57_57" id="FNanchor_57_57"></a><a href="#Footnote_57_57" class="fnanchor">[57]</a> of ten -men apiece, which selected each of them a file-leader,<a name="FNanchor_58_58" id="FNanchor_58_58"></a><a href="#Footnote_58_58" class="fnanchor">[58]</a> -who, though he received no extra pay, enjoyed certain -privileges within his file, such as the right to a bed -to himself in quarters and the like. With his election, -the file being the unit of the company, the hierarchy -was complete.</p> - -<p>It is unnecessary to trouble the reader with a list -of the regimental staff, but a word must be said of the -provost. His principal function was the maintenance -of discipline, for which purpose he was provided with -a staff of gaolers and an executioner, and his title is -still attached to the same duties in the English army -of to-day. But apart from this, it was his office to fix -the tariff of prices of goods sold by the sutlers who -accompanied the regiment. It was a most difficult -and dangerous duty, for if he fixed the price too high -the men became discontented and mutinous, and if too -low the sutlers deserted the camp and left it to -provide for itself, which was an alternative little less -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[89]</a></span>formidable than the other. In consideration of the -perils of his office the provost received certain perquisites -in addition to his salary, such as the tongue -of every beast slaughtered and an allowance for every -cask broached, and even so was none too well paid.<a name="FNanchor_59_59" id="FNanchor_59_59"></a><a href="#Footnote_59_59" class="fnanchor">[59]</a> -It is hardly necessary to point out that in this -commercial side of the provost's duties there lies the -germ of our modern canteen, wherein the practice of -taking perquisites, though strictly forbidden, still -prevails among canteen-stewards.</p> - -<p>The duties of another officer, whose name must be -written down in the original, the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hurenweibel</i>, show the -early methods of coping with a difficulty which particularly -besets our Indian army. Every regiment of -landsknechts was accompanied by a number of followers -on the march; and although by strict rule no woman -was allowed to accompany a man except his lawful wife, -yet we hear without surprise that there were many -women following the colours whose status was not -recognised by the rule above referred to. The poor -creatures led a hard life. The washing, cooking, scavenging, -and all manner of unpleasant duties, as well as the -more congenial task of nursing the sick and wounded, was -entrusted to them, and in case of a siege they were -required to make the fascines and gabions. Their -masters treated them very brutally, and as every colonel -naturally wished to cut down their numbers as low as -possible, no pains were spared to make their lives a -burden to them. Over all this rabble the <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hurenweibel</i> -was king, the sceptre of his office being a thick stick -called a "straightener,"<a name="FNanchor_60_60" id="FNanchor_60_60"></a><a href="#Footnote_60_60" class="fnanchor">[60]</a> which he used unmercifully. -Yet these followers loved the life and tramped after their -lords all over Europe, increasing their numbers as they -went; the boys as they grew up being employed to carry -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[90]</a></span>the men's weapons or harness on the march. Such boys, -or rather fags, were called in French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">goujats</i>, and are a -curious feature in the armies of the time. The greatest -of all <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">goujats</i>, if legend may be trusted, was Thomas -Cromwell, the Hammer of the Monks.</p> - -<p>For the trial of military offences a board of justices -accompanied each distinct body, but there were some -corps of landsknechts that enjoyed the privilege of the -trial of the long pikes,<a name="FNanchor_61_61" id="FNanchor_61_61"></a><a href="#Footnote_61_61" class="fnanchor">[61]</a> which gave the rank and file sole -jurisdiction in respect of crimes that brought disgrace -on the regiment. In such cases the provost laid his -complaint; and the ensigns, thrusting their flags point -downward into the ground, vowed that they would never -fly them again until the blot on the fair name of the -regiment was removed. The culprit was then tried -according to a certain fixed procedure by his comrades -alone, without the intervention of any officer. If he -were found guilty, the men drew themselves up in two -ranks, north and south, facing inwards; the ensigns, with -colours flying, posted themselves at the east end of the -lane thus formed, and the prisoner was brought to the -west. The ensigns then exhorted him to play the man -and make bravely for the colours, and the provost, -clapping him thrice on the shoulder in the name of the -Trinity, bade him run. Then the doomed man plunged -into the lane, and every comrade plied pike and halberd -and sword on him as he passed. The swifter he ran the -sooner came the end, and as he lay hewn, mangled, and -bleeding, gasping out his life, his comrades kneeled down -together and prayed God to rest his soul. Then all -rose and filed in silence three times round the corpse, -and at the last the musketeers fired over it three volleys -in the name of the Trinity.</p> - -<p>The strength of a regiment of landsknechts varied -very greatly. There might be thirty companies or there -might be ten; the total force sometimes reached ten or -twelve thousand men, and in such a case was frequently -strengthened by a contingent of artillery. The weapons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[91]</a></span> -were the pike, the halberd, and a proportion of firearms, -which last tended constantly to increase. Every man -found his own arms, and the dress of the landsknechts, -being that which it pleased each man best to wear, was -generally both fantastic and extravagant, for they had -all the soldier's ambition to let their light shine before -women. Maximilian's courtiers were so jealous of their -gorgeous apparel that they begged him to forbid it, but -the emperor was far too sensible to do anything so foolish. -"Bah!" he said, "this is the cheese with which we -bait our trap to catch such mice," a sentiment which -English officers will still endorse. Not all the prejudices -of dying feudalism could induce Maximilian to discourage -his new infantry; on the contrary, meeting a -regiment once on the march he dismounted, shouldered -a pike, and marched with them for the rest of the day. -It is worth noting that the drum-beat of the landsknechts, -whereof they were extremely proud, probably the selfsame -beat as that to which Maximilian strode along -that day, still preludes the marches of our own military -bands.<a name="FNanchor_62_62" id="FNanchor_62_62"></a><a href="#Footnote_62_62" class="fnanchor">[62]</a></p> - -<p>The drill of the landsknechts was probably crude -enough. There was no exercise for pike or halberd, -and there is no sign of the complicated manœuvres that -were so common at the opening of the seventeenth century; -but as they always fought, like the Swiss, in huge -masses, there was probably little occasion for these. -The men fell in by files, probably at sufficient distance -and interval to allow every man to turn right or left -about on his own ground; but for action they were -closed up tight in vast battalions far too unwieldly for -any evolution. Moreover, few of the officers knew -anything of drill. They were selected for bravery and -experience, no doubt, in some cases, but not for military -knowledge; and it is the more probable that the -colonels, according to custom, sold the position of -officer to the highest bidder, since Maximilian could<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[92]</a></span> -rarely furnish them with money for their preliminary -expenses. The one duty expected without fail of -officers was that they should be foremost in the fight, -and as a rule they one and all took their place in the -front rank with the colonel for centre, and, armed like -their men, showed the way into the enemy's battalion. -Not one remained on a horse in action, though he -might ride regularly on the march; and indeed the -landsknechts disliked to see an officer mounted on anything -larger than a pony at any time, admitting no -reason for an infantry-man to ride a good horse except -that he might run away the faster. The duties of -officers being thus defined, it is easy to see why the -colonel reserved to himself the appointment of the -colour-sergeants, for they were practically the only men -who knew anything of drill or manœuvre. The colonel -might prescribe the formation of his battalion for action, -but only the colour-sergeants could execute it; and -hence arose the rule that sergeants should be armed -with no weapon but a halberd, since any heavier weapon -would impede them in the eternal running up and down -the ranks which was imposed on them by their peculiar -duty. The influence of these traditions was still visible -in our army until quite recently. But a few years have -passed since sergeants shouldered their rifles as though -they carried a different weapon from the men, and -officers have only lately ceased to depend on them -greatly in matters of drill.</p> - -<p>Such was the new infantry of Europe at the close of -the fifteenth and the opening of the sixteenth centuries, -not yet perfected, but advancing rapidly to an efficiency -and importance such as had for many centuries been unknown -in Europe. And now the nations poured down -into the fair land of Italy to teach each other in that -second birthplace of all arts the new-born art of war. -France was the first that came; and few armies have -caused greater wonder in Europe than that which -marched with Charles the Eighth through Florence in -1496. The work begun for the expulsion of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[93]</a></span> -English from France had been steadily continued. -Louis the Eleventh had hired Swiss sergeants to drill his -infantry, and Picardie, the senior regiment of the old -French line, was already in potential existence. But it -was not these, but other men who set the Florentines at -gaze. For there were to be seen the Scottish archers, -the finest body-guard alike for valour and for stature in -the world, the Swiss, marching by with stately step and -incredible good order, the chivalrous gentlemen of -France, mailed from top to toe and gorgeous in silken -tabards, riding in all the pride of Agincourt avenged, -mounted archers less heavy but more workmanlike as -befitted light cavalry, and lastly a great train of brass -artillery, cannons and culverins, and falcons, the largest -weighing six thousand pounds and mounted on four -wheels, the smallest made for shot no bigger than a -doctor's pills and travelling on two wheels only. Already -the quick-witted French had thought out the -principle of the limber, and had made two wheels of -their heavy guns removable. Already too they had -trained the drivers of the lighter ordnance to move as -swiftly as light cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_63_63" id="FNanchor_63_63"></a><a href="#Footnote_63_63" class="fnanchor">[63]</a></p> - -<p>We cannot follow this army through the triumphs -and the disasters of the next half century, but we must -needs glance briefly at the rapid progress of French -military organisation. Louis the Twelfth took the improvement -of his foot-soldiers seriously in hand and -increased the number of the companies, or bands as they -were called, that had been begun by the bands of Picardy. -The number of these bands, permanent and temporary, -demanded the appointment of an officer who should be -intermediary between the general and the captains of -independent companies. About the year 1524 such an -officer was established with the new title of colonel,<a name="FNanchor_64_64" id="FNanchor_64_64"></a><a href="#Footnote_64_64" class="fnanchor">[64]</a> and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[94]</a></span>the companies placed under his command were said, in -French, to be under his regiment. The word soon -grew to be used in a collective sense, and such and such -companies under Colonel A.'s regiment became known -simply as Colonel A.'s regiment. The colonel had a -company of his own, but having no leisure to attend to -it made it over to a captain, who was called the colonel's -lieutenant or lieutenant-colonel. Another company was -commanded by the sergeant-major, the word sergeant, -which we met with first at the very beginning, having -come into use in France with a new meaning in the year -1485. As already mentioned in speaking of the landsknechts, -the name of sergeant became for some reason -bound up with the functions of drill, and the sergeant-major -was to the regiment what the sergeant was to the -company. He was therefore the only officer who remained -on his horse in action, his duties compelling him -continually to gallop from company to company for the -correction of bad formation, and for the ordering of -ranks and files. It will be seen that the sergeant-major, -or as we now call him major, originally did the work -which is now performed in England by the adjutant.</p> - -<p>Captain was of course an old title, and had been -used for the chief of a band in France ever since 1355, -having been borrowed possibly from the free companies. -The captain's <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">locum tenens</i> or lieutenant had been instituted -by the reforms of Charles the Seventh in 1444, -and together with him his standard-bearer or ensign,<a name="FNanchor_65_65" id="FNanchor_65_65"></a><a href="#Footnote_65_65" class="fnanchor">[65]</a> -but there were other junior officers who came later even -than the colonels to supplement the new military vocabulary. -In 1534 we encounter for the first time <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fouriers</i>, -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">caps d'escouade</i>, and <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">lancepessades</i>. The first of these, -which existed for a time in the corrupted form <em>furrier</em>,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[95]</a></span> -has passed from the English language.<a name="FNanchor_66_66" id="FNanchor_66_66"></a><a href="#Footnote_66_66" class="fnanchor">[66]</a> The second is -the French form of the Italian <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">capo de squadra</i>, head of -the square, a reminiscence of the days when men were -formed into square blocks, squads or squadrons, which -passed into <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">caporal</i> and so into our English corporal. -The third, again a French form of the Italian <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">lanz -pesato</i>, signified originally a man-at-arms whose horse -had been killed and who was therefore compelled to -march with the foot. Being a superior person, he was -not included among the common infantry-men but held -this distinctive and superior rank, whence in due time -was derived the prefix of lance to the titles of sergeant -and corporal. Finally, in the year 1550 foot-soldiers in -France began to be called by the collective name of -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">fanterie</i> or <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">infanterie</i>. This word, too, was a corruption -from the Italian, for Italian commanders used to speak -of their troops as their boys, <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">fanti</i>, and collectively as -<i lang="it" xml:lang="it">fanteria</i>; and from them the term passed into all the -languages of Europe. Nothing could better commemorate -the situation of Italy in the sixteenth century -as at once the cockpit of the nations and the school of -the new art of war.</p> - -<p>But before leaving France there is another aspect of -her military institutions to be touched on. After the -death of Francis the First, and particularly during the -period of the religious wars, the discipline and tone of -the French army underwent woeful deterioration. -Captains from the first had been proprietors of their -companies, which indeed were sometimes sold at -auction by the colonel to the highest bidder; and, as they -received a bounty in proportion to the numbers that -they could show on their rolls, the rascality and corruption -were appalling. The enforcement of strict discipline -was bound to cause desertion, and every deserter -meant a man the less on the captain's roll and a sum -the less in the captain's pocket. No effort therefore -was made to restrain the misbehaviour of soldiers when<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[96]</a></span> -off duty; they were allowed to rob and plunder at their -own sweet will, and they had the more excuse since they -were encouraged thus to indemnify themselves for the -pay stolen from them by their officers. This recognised -system of pillage was known as <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">picorée</i>,<a name="FNanchor_67_67" id="FNanchor_67_67"></a><a href="#Footnote_67_67" class="fnanchor">[67]</a> a word which -has passed through the English language in the form of -pickeer. Yet another method there was among many -of falsifying the muster-rolls, namely on the day of inspection -to collect any yokels or men that could be -found, thrust a pike into their hands, and present them -as soldiers. They were duly passed by the muster-master, -and as soon as his back was turned were dismissed, -having served their purpose of securing their -pay for the illicit gain of the captain till next muster. -Such men were called <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passe-volans</i>, a word which also -was received into the military terminology of Europe, -and like <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">mortes-payes</i> received at last official recognition. -It must not be thought that such abuses were confined -to France, but it is significant that she was the country -to find names for them.<a name="FNanchor_68_68" id="FNanchor_68_68"></a><a href="#Footnote_68_68" class="fnanchor">[68]</a> Nor must the reader be unduly -impatient over the mention of these details in the -military history of foreign nations. The English soldier -for the next century and more is going to school, where -like all pupils he will learn both good and evil; and it -is impossible to follow his progress unless we know -something of his schoolfellows as well as of his tutors.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1495.<br />Atella, -1496.<br />1503.<br />1512.</div> - -<p>Last of the nations let us glance at Spain, at the -close of the fifteenth century just emerging triumphant -from eight centuries of warfare against the Moors and -girding herself for a great and magnificent career. -Her training in war had been against an Oriental foe, -swift, active, and cunning, and it is not surprising that -when first she entered the field of Italy and met the -massive columns of the Swiss at Seminara she should -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[97]</a></span>have given way before them. But at the head of the -Spanish troops was a man of genius, Gonsalvo of -Cordova, who was quick to learn from his enemies. -Confining himself for a time to the guerilla warfare -which he understood the best, he mingled pikes among -the short swords and bucklers which were the distinctive -weapons of the Spanish infantry, and within a year had -gained his first victory over the Swiss. His next -campaign found him with a body of landsknechts in -his pay, when he quickly perceived the possibilities that -lay not only in the pikes but still more in the fire-arms -which they brought with them. Before the year was -past he had routed Swiss infantry and French cavalry in -two brilliant actions at Cerignola and on the Garigliano, -and fairly driven them out of Naples. He then set -himself to remodel the Spanish foot by the experience -which he had gathered in his later campaigns, and -this with full appreciation of the moral and physical -peculiarities of his countrymen. Thus though it was -in the Spanish tongue that the pike was first named the -queen of weapons, yet the value of the sword in the -hand of a supple active people was never overlooked, -and at Ravenna no less than Cerignola the rush of -nimble stabbing Spaniards under the hedge of pikes -had proved fatal to the lumbering unwieldy Teuton.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1522.<br />1525.</div> - -<p>Still more remarkable was the rapid development -of the power of musketry in Spanish hands. At Bicocca -the Marquis Pescayra met the attack of a gigantic -Swiss battalion by drawing up a number of small -squares or squadrons of Spanish arquebusiers in front -of his own battalion of pikes. His instructions were -that not a shot should be fired without orders, a fact -that points to early excellence in what is now called -fire-discipline, but that each front rank should fire a -volley by word of command and having done so should -file away to the rear to reload, leaving the remaining -ranks to do the like in succession. The results of this -manœuvre were disastrous to the Swiss; and this -ingenious method of maintaining a continuous fire of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[98]</a></span> -musketry was the law in Europe for the next century -and a half. In fact, if it were necessary to fix an -arbitrary date for the first really effective use of small -fire-arms in the battlefield the day of Bicocca might -well be selected. But we must not fail to note concurrently -the drill and discipline which made Pescayra's -evolution possible. Three years later, at the famous -battle of Pavia, this same skilful soldier attempted a -still bolder innovation with his arquebusiers, and with -astonishing success. Being threatened with a charge -of French heavy cavalry (men-at-arms) he deployed -fifteen hundred of his marksmen in skirmishing order -before his front, who, taking advantage of every shelter -and moving always with great nimbleness and activity, -maintained a galling fire as the cavalry advanced, and -finally, taking refuge under the pikes of the battalions -which were drawn up in their support, smashed the unfortunate -French as effectively as the English archers -at Creçy. In truth, the effect of this daring experiment -on military minds in Europe was hardly less than -that of Creçy itself. Henry, Duke of Guise,<a name="FNanchor_69_69" id="FNanchor_69_69"></a><a href="#Footnote_69_69" class="fnanchor">[69]</a> an -excellent soldier, was so much struck by its success that -he showed how the principle might be indefinitely extended -and find ultimate shape, as many years later it -did, in the formation of distinct corps of light-infantry. -His own attempt to organise such a body in France -was however a failure, and the Spanish arquebusiers -long held their own as the first in Europe, a proud -position which they had most worthily gained.</p> - -<p>The remarkable prowess of the Spanish infantry -soon made it popular with the nation. The cavalry, -in the palmy days of chivalry the most gorgeous in -Europe, lost its attraction for the young nobles, who -enrolled themselves as private soldiers in the ranks of -the foot, and carried pike and arquebus with the -meanest of the people. Charles the Fifth himself once -shouldered a piece, and marched, like Maximilian, in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[99]</a></span> -the ranks, until ordered by the commander-in-chief<a name="FNanchor_70_70" id="FNanchor_70_70"></a><a href="#Footnote_70_70" class="fnanchor">[70]</a> of -his own appointment not to expose himself to unnecessary -danger, when like a good soldier he at once -obeyed orders. And this leads us to another eminent -feature of the Spaniards, the excellence of their discipline. -English and French contemporary writers<a name="FNanchor_71_71" id="FNanchor_71_71"></a><a href="#Footnote_71_71" class="fnanchor">[71]</a> -agreed that they owed their victories to nothing else -but obedience and good order, for that they were not in -themselves remarkable as a fighting people. "I am -persuaded," says Roger Williams, "that ten thousand -of our nation would beat thirty thousand of theirs out of -the field, excepting some three thousand [the choicest of -the army] that are in the Low Countries." Gonsalvo -was the man who had laid the foundation of this discipline, -and it was worthily maintained by his successors. -Charles the Fifth went so far in his respect for it as -always to salute the gallows whenever he happened to -pass them. And yet there are no signs of extraordinary -brutality in the Spanish army, but on the contrary most -remarkable tokens of good fellowship between officers -and men, and of healthy <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">esprit de corps</i>. There was a -system of comradeship which was the envy of all -Europe. The two officers of each company, the -captain and ensign,<a name="FNanchor_72_72" id="FNanchor_72_72"></a><a href="#Footnote_72_72" class="fnanchor">[72]</a> would each take to themselves -and entertain from three to six comrades from the -young nobles who served in the ranks; sergeants would -also take one or two such comrades, and the privates -formed little messes among themselves in like manner, -with the result, unique in those days, that fighting and -brawling were unknown in a Spanish camp. Quite as -striking was the pride which the old soldiers took in -themselves and their profession. It is recorded that a -party of Spanish recruits, who had arrived at Naples, -ragged, slovenly, and unkempt, and were staring about -them in a clownish and unsoldierly fashion, were at -once taken in hand by the old soldiers, who lent them -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[100]</a></span>good clothes, made them tidy, and taught them proper -manners.<a name="FNanchor_73_73" id="FNanchor_73_73"></a><a href="#Footnote_73_73" class="fnanchor">[73]</a></p> - -<p>For the rest the Spaniards originated a system -which, though it now seems obvious enough, was in -those days a new thing. It consisted simply in the -maintenance of a nucleus, or as we should now call it a -depôt, of trained men sufficiently numerous to teach -recruits their duty. All recruits were trained in the -garrisons at home, and from thence passed into the ranks -of the regiment wherein they were needed; and every -draft so disposed of was immediately replaced by an -equal number of new recruits. When it is remembered -that, according to the ideas of the time, seven thousand -trained infantry and three thousand cavalry were judged -sufficient to leaven an army of fifty thousand men, the -strength which her system of recruiting gave to Spain -is not easily exaggerated. The trained regiments of -Spanish infantry were but four, and their united -strength did not exceed seven thousand men, but their -ranks were always full. The number of companies into -which they were distributed was uncertain, and the -strength of the companies themselves varied from one -hundred and fifty to three hundred men, a curious defect -in the most perfect organisation of the time. Lastly, -the Spanish regiments were known by the name of -tercios,<a name="FNanchor_74_74" id="FNanchor_74_74"></a><a href="#Footnote_74_74" class="fnanchor">[74]</a> a term with which the reader must not quarrel, -as he will encounter it on the battlefield of Naseby.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1475.<br />1567.</div> - -<p>Not less remarkable than their forwardness in organisation -and discipline was the ready quickness of the -Spaniard in the improvement of fire-arms. The primitive -hand-gun, as I have already said, differed little -except in size from the smaller cannon of the time. It -consisted simply of a barrel with a vent at the top, and -though indeed attached to a wooden stock had no lock -of any description. Hand-guns were often made so -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[101]</a></span>short that they could be held even by a mounted man -with one hand and fired with the other. Match-cord or -tinder for purposes of firing the charge by the vent was -already in full use. The next step was to increase the -length of the barrel and support it on a forked rest, a -plan introduced by the Spaniards at Charles the Fifth's -invasion of the Milanese in 1521. Ten years later -a vast stride was made by the substitution of a pan at -the side of the barrel for a vent at the top, and by the -addition of a grip to the stock to hold the match-cord, -which was brought in contact with the pan by pressing -a trigger. In a word, the barrel was fitted with a lock. -An extremely ingenious Italian in the French service, -Filippo Strozzi, then took the improvement of fire-arms -in hand, copying however, as always, from the Spanish -model. The bore of the harquebus (for the primitive -German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">hakenbuchse</i> had by this time found its permanent -corrupted form) was by him enlarged to bear a -heavier charge and carry a larger bullet; and so perfect -was the workmanship of the Milanese gunsmiths whom -he employed that he succeeded in killing a man at four -hundred and a horse at five hundred paces. The stock -being long and the recoil very severe, men suffered not -a little from bruises and contusions with this weapon; -but its efficiency was proved. Strozzi also introduced -another Spanish improvement, namely the practice of -making all his arquebuses of one bore, which, though it -now sounds obvious enough, waited for some years to -find general acceptance in Europe. Hence the weapons -were known as arquebuses of calibre, which phrase in -England was soon shortened simply to calivers. These -however were arms of small bore:<a name="FNanchor_75_75" id="FNanchor_75_75"></a><a href="#Footnote_75_75" class="fnanchor">[75]</a> it was, as usual, the -Spaniards who were the first to arm their infantry with -muskets<a name="FNanchor_76_76" id="FNanchor_76_76"></a><a href="#Footnote_76_76" class="fnanchor">[76]</a> of large calibre. Alva was the man who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[102]</a></span>introduced them, and the rebels of the Low Countries -the first who felt their power. It needed but the substitution -of a flint-lock for a match, and the abolition of -the rest, to turn this weapon into Brown Bess, never so -famous in English hands as in the battlefields of Alva's -home. Bandoliers and cartridges had long been known -to the Spaniards, and even to the French<a name="FNanchor_77_77" id="FNanchor_77_77"></a><a href="#Footnote_77_77" class="fnanchor">[77]</a> before the -middle of the sixteenth century, so that the general -progress in arms and equipment was rapid.</p> - -<p>But the weapons had hardly been improved for -infantry before cavalry also began to crave for them. -The simplest method of course was to place pike and -arquebus in the hands of mounted men and turn them -into mounted infantry, which was duly done in the -French army by Piero Strozzi in 1543, and has earned -him the title of the father of dragoons.<a name="FNanchor_78_78" id="FNanchor_78_78"></a><a href="#Footnote_78_78" class="fnanchor">[78]</a> But still -earlier in the century there had grown up in Germany a -new kind of cavalry, called by the simple name of -Reiters, which had perfected the smaller fire-arms, the -petronel<a name="FNanchor_79_79" id="FNanchor_79_79"></a><a href="#Footnote_79_79" class="fnanchor">[79]</a> and the pistol, and had finally adopted the -latter for its principal weapon. The result was an -important revolution in the whole tactics of cavalry.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1554.</div> - -<p>Mention has already been made of the abandonment, -at the close of the fifteenth century, of the dense column -of mounted men-at-arms in favour of the less cumbrous -formation in line, or as it was called <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en haye</i>. The -lance being still the principal arm of the cavalry, the -freedom of movement gained by the change brought the -attack of horse much nearer to the shock-action which is -the rule at the present day. The new formation had, -however, its disadvantages, for in the imperfect state of -military discipline there was no certainty that the whole -line would charge home. Retirement was so easy that -cowards would drop back, feigning to bleed at the nose, -to have lost a stirrup or cast a shoe,<a name="FNanchor_80_80" id="FNanchor_80_80"></a><a href="#Footnote_80_80" class="fnanchor">[80]</a> while men of spirit, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[103]</a></span>and this was especially true of the impetuous French, -would race to be the first into the enemy's squadron, -and from premature increase of speed would arrive at -the shock in loose order, and with horses blown and exhausted. -So well was this defect realised that a shrewd -French officer, Gaspard de Tavannes, at the battle of -Renty deliberately reverted to the old dense column and -overthrew every line that he met.</p> - -<p>Yet another cause was contributing to restore the -column as the favourite formation for the attack of -cavalry. With the steady improvement in fire-arms, the -bullet became more and more potent in velocity and -penetration, and increasingly difficult to fend off by -means of armour. It must never be forgotten that a -bullet-wound, for a century and more after the introduction -of fire-arms, generally meant death. The primitive -surgery of the time, misled by the livid appearance -of the edges of the wound, pronounced bullets to be in -their nature venomous, and treated the hurt somewhat -as a snake's bite, with such tortures of boiling oil and -other descriptions of cautery as are sickening even to -read of. Wise men took refuge in the virtues of cold -water, and kept the surgeons at a safe distance. "Trust -a doctor and he will kill you; mistrust him and he will -insult you," wrote a Frenchman<a name="FNanchor_81_81" id="FNanchor_81_81"></a><a href="#Footnote_81_81" class="fnanchor">[81]</a> who had suffered -much from the profession. But above all, men relied on -prevention rather than cure; so to keep bullets out of -their bodies they made their armour heavier and heavier, -covering themselves with stithies, to use the words of -contemptuous critics,<a name="FNanchor_82_82" id="FNanchor_82_82"></a><a href="#Footnote_82_82" class="fnanchor">[82]</a> till they could neither endure -swift movements themselves nor find horses that could -maintain any pace under the burden.<a name="FNanchor_83_83" id="FNanchor_83_83"></a><a href="#Footnote_83_83" class="fnanchor">[83]</a> It was obvious -therefore that if cavalry was to act by shock, the shock -must be, as in former days, that of ponderous weight -rather than of high speed.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[104]</a></span></p> - -<p>Moreover, quite apart from all questions of -formation there was much in the prevailing tactics of -infantry to encourage cavalry to change the lance for -the pistol. Huge square battalions, bristling with -eighteen-foot pikes and garnished with musketeers, were -not easily to be broken by a charge, but presented a -large mark at a fairly safe range to the mounted -pistolier. Thus all circumstances conspired to favour -a great and radical reform in the tactics of cavalry, -the change not only from line to column, but from -shock to missile action. When once the pistol was -recognised as the principal weapon of the horsemen, -it was obvious that all other tactical considerations -must give way to the maintenance of a continuous -fire. To this end there was but one system known, -namely the old method of Pescayra, that the front -rank should fire first and file away to the rear to -reload, leaving successive ranks to come up in its -place, and go through the same performance in turn. -Plainly, therefore, a reversion to the old dense column, -as great in depth as in breadth of front, was imperative. -It was accordingly re-introduced, and from its quadrate -outline was called by the name of a squadron, which -from this period tends to become a term applied -exclusively to cavalry. Massed together in such -squadrons men could move slowly and steadily, willingly -sacrificing speed that they might take the better -and surer aim.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1557.</div> - -<p>Such was the new principle brought forward early -in the sixteenth century by the mounted mercenary -bands of Germany, and with ever-increasing success. -Very soon the reiters become recognised as a valuable -force, and received from Charles the Fifth something -of the encouragement that the landsknechts had gained -from Maximilian. The military aspirants of the -Empire, forsaking the ranks of the once honoured -infantry, hastened to enrol themselves among the new -horse, and the landsknechts decayed that the reiters -might flourish. That the new service was as honourable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[105]</a></span> -as the old may be doubted, for the reiters were -proverbial for brutality, and their practice of blackening -their faces betokens something of a ruffianly -spirit; but, be that as it might, they forced their -system, in spite of bitter opposition, upon the cavalry -of Europe, and from the day of the battle of St. -Quentin may be said to have assured their evil -supremacy.</p> - -<p>It is therefore necessary to glance briefly at their -organisation. The tactical unit was the squadron, which -was of uncertain strength, varying from one hundred -to three or even five hundred men. The officers were -a captain,<a name="FNanchor_84_84" id="FNanchor_84_84"></a><a href="#Footnote_84_84" class="fnanchor">[84]</a> lieutenant, ensign,<a name="FNanchor_85_85" id="FNanchor_85_85"></a><a href="#Footnote_85_85" class="fnanchor">[85]</a> and quartermaster,<a name="FNanchor_86_86" id="FNanchor_86_86"></a><a href="#Footnote_86_86" class="fnanchor">[86]</a> -and the staff was completed by a chaplain, a sergeant<a name="FNanchor_87_87" id="FNanchor_87_87"></a><a href="#Footnote_87_87" class="fnanchor">[87]</a> -and a trumpeter. As every man brought his own -equipment there was no precise uniformity, but it -may be assumed as certain that all wore complete -defensive armour to the waist, and some even to mid-thigh. -For offensive purposes a pistol, or rather a -brace of pistols, was indispensable. As in the case of -the landsknechts, all matters of drill were the business -of the sergeant, but it does not appear that the reiters -ever attained great proficiency in manœuvre. Thus -in action the successive ranks of the squadron seem -to have been unable to file to the rear except to their -left, so that it was impossible to post them on the right -wing without bringing them into collision with the -centre of their own line of battle. The trumpeters, it -is worth noting, were required to be masters of but six -calls,—Saddle, Mount, Mess, March, Alarm, Charge,—of -which the French employed the first two and last -two only. We shall presently make further acquaintance -with these six calls, but it is sufficient meanwhile -to call attention to their existence in the middle of -the sixteenth century. The reiters however, should -not be forgotten, for though not comparable to the -landsknechts for quality as troops, they furnished -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[106]</a></span>the model for the first famous regiment of English -cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_88_88" id="FNanchor_88_88"></a><a href="#Footnote_88_88" class="fnanchor">[88]</a></p> - -<p>Lastly, let me close this necessarily brief and -imperfect account of the renascence of the art of war -by a remark which should perhaps have come first -rather than last. Amid all the innovations which went -forward during the sixteenth century in the province -of armament, classical models reigned supreme in -organisation and manœuvre. The whole story of the -renascence resembles, if I may be allowed to use the -metaphor, a long musical passage in pedal point, on -the deep bass note of classical tradition. For this the -revival of classical learning was doubtless responsible. -When generals celebrated a triumph, as more than one -general did, in the Roman manner after a victory, the -pageant could hardly be complete without the presence -of legions; and when Machiavelli declared that the -Swiss tactics were those of the Macedonian phalanx, -military students could be in no doubt where to seek -out models for their own imitation. Francis the First -adopted in 1534 both the name and organisation of -the Roman legions for a time, while no military writer -omitted to recommend the Roman ideal to aspirants -of his profession. Every soldier steeped himself in -ancient military lore, and quoted the Hipparchicus of -Xenophon<a name="FNanchor_89_89" id="FNanchor_89_89"></a><a href="#Footnote_89_89" class="fnanchor">[89]</a> and the Tactics of Ælian, the Commentaries -of Cæsar and the expeditions of Alexander, -Epaminondas' heavy infantry and Pompey's discipline. -A Frenchman could not even praise the merits of the -Englishman as a marine without calling him <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">epibates</i>. -In a word Europe for two centuries, went forth to war -with the newest pattern of musket in hand, and a brain -stocked with maxims from Frontinus and Vegetius and -Æneas Poliorceticus, and with examples from Plutarch -and Livy and Arrian. She might well have found -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[107]</a></span>worse instructors; but their lessons were for the most -part imperfectly understood, and their broad principles -seldom correctly deduced or intelligently applied. An -opportunity was thus afforded for the demon of pedantry, -which was eagerly and joyfully seized. Nevertheless, -the present armies of Europe still double their ranks -and files, by whatever name they may designate the -evolution, after the manner prescribed by Ælian, and by -him borrowed, it is likely, from the stern martinets of -ancient Lacedæmon.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The chief authorities for Zizka's campaigns and -organisation are Æneas Sylvius, Balbinus, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Miscellanea Rerum -Bohem.</cite> 1679; Dubravius, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Hist. Bohem.</cite> 1602; Palacky, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Gesch. -v. Böhmen.</cite> His articles of war will be found in <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Neuere Abhandlungen -der königl. Böhm. Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft</cite>, Band I. p. 375. -For the Swiss, Simler, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">de Repub. Helvet</cite>; John of Winterthur, -Pirckheimer, and the <cite>Chronicle of Berne</cite>. All the authorities -for the battle of Sempach have been collected in <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Lickenau's memorial'">Liebenau's -memorial</ins> volume. A fantastic work, but not without useful information, -is Karl Bürkli's <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Der wahre Winkelried</cite>, 1886. Köhler has -handled both Bohemians and Swiss with his wonted thoroughness. -For the landsknechts there are Adam Reissner's <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Georg von Frundsberg</cite> -(1st ed. 1568, 3rd ed. 1620); Fronsperger's <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Kriegsbuch</cite>; Hortleder's -<cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Der römischen Kaiser</cite>, etc.; <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Adelspiegel</cite>, von Cyriack Spangenberg, -1594; the whole of which are more or less summarised -in Barthold's <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Georg von Frundsberg</cite>, 1833, and in a still more -compact form by Dr. Friedrich Blau, <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Die deutschen Landsknechte</cite>, -1882. The Spanish military reforms are more difficult to ascertain. -I have relied principally on Roger Williams's brief account, sundry -notices in Brantôme's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Vie des hommes illustres</cite>; Paul Jove's <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Vita -Gonsalvi Magni</cite>, and, perhaps most valuable of all, Reissner. For -the French there are Daniel's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Ancien milice</cite>; Susanne's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Hist. de -l'ancienne infanterie française</cite>; Paul Jove, and the <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Memoires</cite> of -Vieilleville, Du Bellay, Villars, de Mergey, de la Noue, Tavannes, -Onosandre, Brantôme, Monluc, and others. I have also consulted, -among Italian writers, Julius Ferrettus, <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">De re militari</cite>, 1575; -Domenico Mora, <cite lang="it" xml:lang="it">Il soldato</cite>, 1570; Savorgnano's <cite lang="it" xml:lang="it">Arte militare</cite>; and -of course Machiavelli. Lastly, I have not failed to study the -classical authorities quoted in the text.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[108]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_II" id="BII_CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BIICII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">The accession of the Tudors to the throne of England -marks an important period in our military history. -The nation, after thirty years of furious internal war, -during which it had lost all sense of national honour, -began to settle down once more to a life of peace, and -awoke to the fact that England was now no more than -an insular power. France was lost to her except Calais, -but Calais was something more than a mere sentimental -possession. It was the bridge-head that secured to the -English their passage of the Channel; and while it remained -in the hands of an English garrison there was -always the temptation to engage in Continental wars -and to employ the army for purposes of aggression as -well as of defence. Still the prospects of regaining the -ancestral possessions of the Plantagenets in France -seemed so hopeless that the English sovereigns might -well doubt whether it were not now time to give the -Navy the first and the Army the second place; and -this question, already half decided by the keen good -sense of King Henry the Eighth, was finally determined -by the loss of Calais itself. There was, of course, -always a frontier to be guarded on the Tweed, but with -the cessation of expeditions to France, which had invariably -called the Scotch armies across the border, -there was no longer the same danger of Scottish invasion; -and moreover, England and Scotland were now beginning -to draw closer together. Thus it would seem that -after the death of Queen Mary there should have been -little reason for the existence of an English army, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[109]</a></span> -indeed it will be seen that the national force became in -many respects lamentably deficient. But meanwhile -the wars of Europe changed from a contest between -nation and nation to a death struggle between Catholic -and Protestant. It was religion that drew the Scotch -from their old alliance with the French to their former -enemies the English; and it was religion which led the -English to the battlefields of the Low Countries, where -they learned the new art of war. The reign of the -Tudor dynasty therefore falls for the purpose of this -history into three periods, which are conveniently separated -by the fall of Calais or the more familiar landmark -of the accession of Elizabeth, and by the first -departure of English volunteers to the Low Countries -in 1572.</p> - -<p>It is extremely difficult to discover the exact condition -of England's military organisation when Henry -the Seventh was fairly seated on the throne. The old -feudal system, which had been turned by the nobles to -such disastrous account for their own ends in the Civil -War, seems to have been but half alive. Compositions, -indents, and commissions of array had already weakened -it in the past, and indents in themselves had been shown -to be unsafe. The difficulties wherein Henry found -himself are shown by two statutes imposing the obligation -of military service on two new classes, namely holders -of office, fees or annuities under the crown, or of -honours and lands under the King's letters patent. It -was stipulated that they should receive wages from the -day of leaving their homes until the day of their return -to them; but they were strictly forbidden to depart -without leave, and their service was declared to be due -both within the kingdom and without. But in fact the -sovereign seems to have been driven back on the force -which represented the old Saxon fyrd, and had its legal -existence under the Statute of Winchester. Noblemen -and gentlemen could of course still show a body of retainers, -but many, indeed most, of the ancient magnates -had perished, and recent experience had shown the danger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[110]</a></span> -of permitting their retinue to become too powerful. A -curious complication, to which I shall presently return, -in the collapse of the old feudal service was the extreme -dearth of good horses. Altogether everything tended -to compel resort to the national militia as the principal -military force of England. Two allowances to the -levies of the shire seem to have been finally established -in this reign, namely coat-money and conduct-money. -The first, as its name denotes, helped the soldier -to provide himself with clothing and was a step further -towards uniform; and indeed it is possible that it was -deliberately designed to exclude the liveries of the -nobility, already condemned by statute, in favour of the -national white with the red cross of St. George. The -conduct-money was simply the old allowance which was -seen in the days of William Rufus, but which from -henceforth apparently was refunded to the shire from -the Exchequer. Both, however, though paid in advance -to the soldier, were ultimately deducted from his -pay, and are therefore of interest in the history of the -British soldier's stoppages. Finally, we find indications -of a stricter discipline in a statute that makes desertion -while on service outside the kingdom into felony, and -subjects captains who defraud men of their pay to forfeiture -of goods and to imprisonment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1485.</div> - -<p>A few points remain to be mentioned before we -pass to the reign of Henry the Eighth. The first was -the establishment of that royal body-guard, which with -its picturesque old dress and original title of Yeomen<a name="FNanchor_90_90" id="FNanchor_90_90"></a><a href="#Footnote_90_90" class="fnanchor">[90]</a> -of the Guard still survives among us. Though doubtless -imitated from the Scottish Guard of the French -kings, it is of greater interest as being composed not of -aliens but of Englishmen, and as the first permanent -corps of trained English soldiers in our history. Another -smaller matter cannot be ignored without disrespect<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[111]</a></span> -to military sentiment. After the victory of Bosworth -Field Henry offered at the altar of St. Paul's Cathedral -a banner charged with "a red fiery dragon" upon a field -of white and green, the ensign of Cadwallader, the last -of the British kings, from whom he was fond of tracing -his descent. The scarlet of this red fiery dragon became -from this time the royal livery, and was for the -present reserved, together with purple, to the King's use -alone.<a name="FNanchor_91_91" id="FNanchor_91_91"></a><a href="#Footnote_91_91" class="fnanchor">[91]</a> But the green and white was more liberally -distributed both to soldiers and mariners. A white -jacket with the red cross of St. George had long been -a common distinction of the English soldier, and the -white as a colour of the Tudors now became so general -that for a time "white coat" was used as a synonym -for soldier.</p> - -<p>Lastly must be noticed the definite establishment of -the Office of Ordnance for the custody of military stores. -The early history of the office is exceedingly obscure, -and the existence of King Edward the Second's -<em>artillator</em> hardly warrants us in assuming the permanent -foundation of the department in the fourteenth -century. The record of a Clerk of the Ordnance in -1418 sets the office on surer ground, and in 1483 the -appointment of a Master-General advances it to a stage -at which it becomes recognisable by us even at the -present day; for the title of Master-General was held -by John, Duke of Marlborough, and by Arthur, Duke -of Wellington.</p> - -<p>With Henry the Eighth we reach a new example in -our history of an English soldier-king. Young, able, -accomplished, and ambitious, he was strongly imbued -with the military spirit, and possessed many qualities -that must have made him a popular and might have -made him a distinguished commander. He excelled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[112]</a></span> -in every exercise of arms; he was the finest archer in -his kingdom; he had studied the art of war in the best -authorities; he understood the conduct both of a siege -and of a campaign; and lastly, he was no mean artillerist. -This last attribute, however, he shared with several -sovereigns of his time. Artillery was a favourite hobby -with the crowned heads of Europe, possibly as a symbol -of their military strength, for being unable to give -themselves the pleasure of a great review owing to the -inevitable confusion and expense, they were fain to -console themselves with the several pieces, each one of -them called by its pet name, that composed their park -of ordnance. Altogether Henry was a prince who -bade fair to restore the military prestige of England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1509.<br />1511.</div> - -<p>His first step was to increase his standing force by -the creation of a second body-guard of men-at-arms,<a name="FNanchor_92_92" id="FNanchor_92_92"></a><a href="#Footnote_92_92" class="fnanchor">[92]</a> -composed of young men of noble blood; the reason -given being that there were far too many such young -men in the kingdom who were untrained in arms. The -corps, as might have been expected with the best dressed -sovereign in Europe, was so gorgeously arrayed that -it perished after a few years under the weight of its -own cost. His next act was more practical, a writ to -the sheriffs for the better enforcement of the Statute of -Winchester, which is interesting for its attempt to -restore the command of the forces of the shore to their -original holders.<a name="FNanchor_93_93" id="FNanchor_93_93"></a><a href="#Footnote_93_93" class="fnanchor">[93]</a> Concurrently, however, we encounter -a large number of the old-fashioned indents and commissions -of array, all issued in prospect of English -intervention in the eternal strife of the Hapsburgs and -the Valois.<a name="FNanchor_94_94" id="FNanchor_94_94"></a><a href="#Footnote_94_94" class="fnanchor">[94]</a> In 1512 an expedition was sent to the -south of France, and there the defects of the army were -lamentably seen. Although the importation of hand-guns -and arquebuses shows that England was not -blind to the progress of fire-arms in Europe, this force -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[113]</a></span>was armed principally if not exclusively with the old-fashioned -bows and bills, and worse than all, these bows, -which had been issued from the stores in the Tower, -were found nearly all of them to be useless. Moreover, -the victuals were "untruly served" to the men, their -pay was withheld from them, and, acutest of all -grievances, they could get no beer. The Council of -War, in which the command was vested, could never -agree as to a plan of operations, and though it kept -the men thus inactive made no attempt to drill or -exercise them. The natural result was a mutiny. One -large band struck work for eightpence a day in lieu of -the regular sixpence, several others swore that nothing -should keep them from going home, and the disturbance -was only quelled by the hanging of a ringleader.<a name="FNanchor_95_95" id="FNanchor_95_95"></a><a href="#Footnote_95_95" class="fnanchor">[95]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1513.</div> - -<p>Henry seems to have had suspicions of the state of -affairs, for in the same year Acts were passed to renew -the existing statutes against desertion and fraud; though -from the incessant re-enactment of these particular provisions -it is clear that they were either easily evaded or -negligently enforced. In the following year, however, -Henry took the field in person in Normandy, where -his presence appears materially to have altered the complexion -of affairs. His force was designed to have -consisted of thirty thousand men, but was reduced by -impending trouble with Scotland to less than half that -number. The details of its organisation are still -extant, and it is curious to find that, after but two -generations of severance from France, the French terms -vanguard, battle, and rearguard have given place to -fore-ward, mid-ward, and rear-ward. Another novelty is -the addition of wings, which had formerly been attached -to the vanguard only, to the midward also; which was -clearly a new departure.<a name="FNanchor_96_96" id="FNanchor_96_96"></a><a href="#Footnote_96_96" class="fnanchor">[96]</a> There is again a strong -tendency, which after a year becomes a rule, to make -the tactical units of uniform strength, one hundred -men being the common establishment for a company. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[114]</a></span>Every captain too has an officer under him called his -petty captain, a name which appears in the statutes of -the previous reign, and was not yet displaced by the -title, as yet reserved to the King's deputies only,<a name="FNanchor_97_97" id="FNanchor_97_97"></a><a href="#Footnote_97_97" class="fnanchor">[97]</a> of -lieutenant. The ensign<a name="FNanchor_98_98" id="FNanchor_98_98"></a><a href="#Footnote_98_98" class="fnanchor">[98]</a> does not yet make his appearance, -for the grouping of companies is strictly territorial, -and one standard apparently alone is allowed to each -shire. Every company, however, has the distinctive -badge of its captain, and the archers of the King's -Guard are dressed in uniform of white gaberdines. -Lastly, there are in the army fifteen hundred Almains, -the landsknechts of whom account was given in a -previous section, eight hundred of whom, "all in a -plump," marched immediately before the King. -Possibly this place of honour was granted to them to -kindle the emulation of the English, but more probably -because Henry, following the evil example of the -French, trusted more to trained mercenaries than to his -own subjects. We shall constantly meet with such -contingents of aliens among the English during the -next forty years, until at last England awakes, like every -other nation in Europe, to the truth that her own -children, as carefully trained, are worth just double of -the foreigners.</p> - -<p>The most remarkable of the mounted men in this -army were the Northern Horsemen, who, called into -being at some uncertain period by the eternal forays on -the Scottish border, now appear regularly on the -strength of every expedition as perfectly indispensable. -They were light cavalry, the first deserving the name -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[115]</a></span>ever seen in our army, and probably the very best in -Europe. They wore defensive armour of back and -breast and iron cap, carried lance and buckler or sometimes -a bow, and were mounted on "nags" which were -probably nearer thirteen than fourteen hands high. -For duties of reconnaissance they were perfect, and they -must be reckoned the first regular English horse that -were the eyes and ears of the army. We shall see -them at a later stage merged in a mounted body much -resembling them, namely the demi-lances, which were -destined, during the period of transition that is before -us, to fill the place already almost vacated by the men-at-arms.</p> - -<p>There is no need to dwell on the incidents of a not -very eventful campaign. The panic flight of the French -at the Battle of the Spurs upheld the old belief that -they could not stand before the English; and the siege -and capture of Terouenne under the personal direction -of Henry helped to confirm it. A fruitless attack on -an English convoy, curiously resembling the Battle of -the Herrings in its main features, also helped to -maintain the ancient reputation of the English archers. -Lastly, the siege of Tournay gave Henry an opportunity -of showing off some of his new artillery. There were -twelve huge pieces, called the twelve apostles, of which -he was particularly proud; but as St. John stuck in the -mud and was unfortunately captured, it is well not to -say too much of them. But the French were by no -means impressed with the appearance of their old -enemies in the field. "The English," wrote Fleuranges -in a patronising way, "are good men and fight well -when parked in a strong position, but otherwise -I make no great account of them."</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1513,<br /> -September.<br />September 9.</div> - -<p>But while Henry was plying his apostles against -Tournay, some still older enemies of the nation had -formed a very different opinion of the English. For -in September, Thomas, Earl of Surrey, met the Scots -at Flodden Field, and dealt them a blow from which -they never wholly recovered. The odds against the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[116]</a></span> -English were heavy, for they could bring but twenty-six -thousand men against forty thousand or, as some -say, eighty thousand Scots, and the position taken up -by James the Fourth was so strong that Surrey could -not venture to attack it. With ready intelligence he -made a detour from south to north of the Scottish host, -and James, who had not attempted to molest him -during the movement, hurried down, fearful of being -cut off from his base, to meet him in the open field. -The sequel is an example of the helplessness of -pedantry, even of the newest pattern, in the face of -genuine military instinct. The Scotch had studied -the methods of the landsknechts; they were armed -principally with pikes; they were drawn up in five -huge battalions, after the Swiss model, and they -advanced to the attack in silence "after the Almain -manner." Lastly, they had with them some of the -finest artillery hitherto seen.<a name="FNanchor_99_99" id="FNanchor_99_99"></a><a href="#Footnote_99_99" class="fnanchor">[99]</a> Yet all this availed -them nothing. The English too were formed, after -a method which had lately come into fashion, in two -divisions, fore-ward and rear-ward, each with two -wings; but Surrey boldly wheeled both into one grand -line,<a name="FNanchor_100_100" id="FNanchor_100_100"></a><a href="#Footnote_100_100" class="fnanchor">[100]</a> holding but one small body of horse in reserve, -and appears to have overlapped the cumbrous masses -of the enemy. There is no need to give details of the -battle; it began between four and five in the evening -and was over in an hour. The English leaders seem -to have shown not only bravery but skill. The -English archers as usual wrought havoc against -unarmoured men; the English bills got the better of -the Scottish pikes, and the English light cavalry, -admirably handled, twice saved the infantry from -defeat. Ten thousand Scots were slain, and James -himself, with the head and heir of almost every noble -house in Scotland around him, lay covered with ghastly -wounds among the dead. He had, from some whimsical -return to an obsolete practice, dismounted his men-at-arms, -who, in obedience to the new fashion which counselled -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[117]</a></span>protection against the new-fangled bullets, were -clad in the heaviest armour. Arrows fell harmlessly -from them, and even bills could not cut them down -with less than half a dozen strokes; but they could not -fly, and the bill-men did not weary of killing. And so -on Flodden Field was shown a forecast of what was to -be seen later in Italy, when infantry, finding men-at-arms -prostrate on the ground, hammered them to death -like lobsters within their shells before they could break -through their armour.</p> - -<p>Still the lesson of Flodden to the English was -mainly that bows and bills were still irresistible; and -to a conservative people none could have been more -welcome. Henry, who was an enthusiastic archer, had -already renewed a statute of his father's prohibiting the -use of the cross-bow without a licence, and he now -withdrew all licences and extended the prohibition to -hand-guns.<a name="FNanchor_101_101" id="FNanchor_101_101"></a><a href="#Footnote_101_101" class="fnanchor">[101]</a> The long-bow, on the other hand, received -all the encouragement that enactments and sentiment -could afford it. Henry dressed himself and his body-guard -in green, which was the archer's peculiar colour; -and the Venetian ambassador Giustiniani writing in -1519 described, with but slight exaggeration, the English -military forces as consisting of one hundred and -fifty thousand men, whose peculiar though not exclusive -weapon was the long-bow. Men-at-arms were extinct, -light cavalry insignificant in number. Giustiniani, -however, did not add that the archers were now more -efficiently equipped than at any previous period, -being provided with two stakes instead of one, and -further protected by a breastplate.<a name="FNanchor_102_102" id="FNanchor_102_102"></a><a href="#Footnote_102_102" class="fnanchor">[102]</a> Nor did he notice -a new weapon, the Moorish or Morris pike, which -had lately come into use among the English, and had -brought them a little closer to the famous infantry of -the Continent.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1520.</div> - -<p>It is, however, almost with a smile that we see -Henry with undiminished satisfaction flaunting his -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[118]</a></span>archers in the face of Francis at the Field of Cloth of -Gold. Francis on his side produced his Swiss, and -gave the English an opportunity of studying the first -infantry in Europe. Fleuranges was at their head, -and as his eye wandered from the scarlet and gold of -the body-guard to the white and green of the other -English troops, he probably felt justified in his opinion -that they could not meet his own men in the open -field. Henry, however, was unchangeable,<a name="FNanchor_103_103" id="FNanchor_103_103"></a><a href="#Footnote_103_103" class="fnanchor">[103]</a> and the -only sign of novelty that we see at this famous pageant -is a horn-shaped flag borne in the retinue of Cardinal -Wolsey, the <em>cornette</em>, which was in due time to give -its name to the standard-bearers of the English cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_104_104" id="FNanchor_104_104"></a><a href="#Footnote_104_104" class="fnanchor">[104]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1522.<br />1523.<br />1525.</div> - -<p>Peace never endured long in those days, and in -1522 Henry was again at war with Francis, in alliance -with Charles the Fifth. Again the English deficiencies -became patent. In his expedition to France, which -led to little result, Henry was forced to rely principally -on Charles for cavalry;<a name="FNanchor_105_105" id="FNanchor_105_105"></a><a href="#Footnote_105_105" class="fnanchor">[105]</a> and when it was evident that -France would require to be fought on the Scottish -border also, the Earl of Surrey, who held command in -the north, begged for a reinforcement of four thousand -landsknechts. The French, he said, would certainly -bring pikes with them, and the English were not -accustomed to pikes, though they would soon learn -from the Almains.<a name="FNanchor_106_106" id="FNanchor_106_106"></a><a href="#Footnote_106_106" class="fnanchor">[106]</a> In plain words, the English -soldiers with their existing equipment were unfit to -meet the French in the field. Fortunately the Duke -of Albany, who was opposed to Surrey, was a coward, -and little came of the alarm in the north. But the -danger seems for the moment to have aroused Henry -to a sense of his backwardness, for we find in 1523 -a scheme for the purchase of ten thousand eighteen-foot -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[119]</a></span>pikes and corselets, five thousand halberds, and -ten thousand hand-culverins with matches,<a name="FNanchor_107_107" id="FNanchor_107_107"></a><a href="#Footnote_107_107" class="fnanchor">[107]</a> bullet-moulds -and powder-flasks complete. This is the first -indication of a design to equip the army according -to the best rules of the age, and, if it had been -adopted, little change would have been needed for a -century and a half. It is difficult to say why it was -not, for at this time there are signs of an intention to -take the improvement of the army seriously in hand.<a name="FNanchor_108_108" id="FNanchor_108_108"></a><a href="#Footnote_108_108" class="fnanchor">[108]</a> -But Henry changed his policy. Peace was made, and -was immediately followed by a proclamation to enforce -the statute for the encouragement of the long-bow and -the discountenance of cross-bows and hand-guns.<a name="FNanchor_109_109" id="FNanchor_109_109"></a><a href="#Footnote_109_109" class="fnanchor">[109]</a> We -must come down to the prolonged rejection of breech-loading -artillery by the country in our own day before -we can find a parallel to such perversity.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1539.</div> - -<p>Nevertheless, in spite of all Henry's efforts fire-arms -seem to have taken some hold on England, and -particularly on London. In the general alarm that -followed the insurrection known as the Pilgrimage of -Grace, the King relied principally on London; and in -1537 he granted a Charter of Incorporation to the -Artillery Company of the city, an association formed -for the improved training of the citizens in weapons of -volley, which term included hand-guns and cross-bows -as well as the long-bow. This association survives as the -Honourable Artillery Company. Again, at the great -review of the London trained-bands two years later -we find like symptoms of a change. The old account -of this pageant is of singular interest for the sight -which it gives us of the most efficient soldiers in -England. The force consisted of fifteen thousand picked -men, all able-bodied and properly equipped, and all, -except the officers, clothed in white even to their shoes. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[120]</a></span>White was at once the old colour of England, the -colour of the city, and the colour of the Tudors. -The men paraded at Mile End, the famous drill-ground -which was later to pass into a proverb, at six o'clock -in the morning, and at eight moved off on their -march to Westminster, in the three orthodox divisions -of fore-ward, mid-ward, and rear-ward. First came -the artillery, thirteen field-pieces, with their ammunition -and "gun-stones," for shot was not yet always -made of metal, in carts behind them. Then came -the banners of the city, and then the musketeers, five -in rank, with five feet of distance between ranks; after -them came the bowmen in open order, every man a -bow's length<a name="FNanchor_110_110" id="FNanchor_110_110"></a><a href="#Footnote_110_110" class="fnanchor">[110]</a> from his neighbour; then followed the -pikemen with their morris-pikes, "after the Almain -manner," and lastly came the bills. Every one of the -five divisions in each ward had its own band, its own -colours, and its officers riding at its head; and it is -worthy of note that the hand-guns and pikes took -precedence of the bows and bills. So they marched -on in their spotless white to Westminster, where the -King awaited them on a platform. As the musketeers -passed him they fired volleys, for a volley was of old -the salute to the living as well as to the dead, the great -guns were manœuvred and "shot off very terribly," -doubtless to an accompaniment of female screams, and -the force marched back through St. James' Park to -the city. The review was intended as a demonstration -against the menaces of foreign powers, and it had its -due effect.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1544.</div> - -<p>The danger passed away; but within four years -Henry was again in the field fighting with Charles -the Fifth against the French. There is little that is -worth remarking in the campaigns that followed. The -English as usual took with them their bows and bills, -and the archers still came off with credit. A contingent -of landsknechts was with them, who behaved so ill<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[121]</a></span> -as to draw upon themselves more than ordinary dislike; -and indeed the palmy days of the landsknechts were -over. One portion of the English army alone provoked -the warm admiration of Charles, namely, the Northern -Horsemen. Wallop, the English commander, took -justifiable pride in them, and detached them to clear -the country before the Emperor on his departure. -Away started the sturdy border-men on their tough -little ponies, while Charles watched with all his eyes; -and when he saw them breast an ascent before them and -"hurl" up the hill, he cried out with honest delight.<a name="FNanchor_111_111" id="FNanchor_111_111"></a><a href="#Footnote_111_111" class="fnanchor">[111]</a></p> - -<p>Nevertheless it must be confessed that Henry, -though the eight and thirty years of his reign were -perhaps the most eventful in the history of the modern -art of war, did singularly little for the army. The -passion for the bow, which evinced itself in repeated -enactments and proclamations to the very close of his -reign, and the false system of hiring mercenaries, led to -a neglect of the infantry which might easily have proved -disastrous. For the cavalry, though here again he was -inclined to use mercenaries, he showed more care. He -was much exercised by the decay of the English breed -of horses, and passed three several Acts for its remedy. -The wording of these throws a flood of light on our -ancient troop-horse. To improve the breed it was enacted -that every owner of a park should keep from two -to four brood-mares not less than thirteen hands high, -and that no stallions under fourteen hands should be -employed for breeding; the hand to be reckoned as four -inches and the measurement to be made to the withers. -From the operation of this Act the counties of -Northumberland, Cumberland, and Westmoreland, the -home of the Northern Horsemen, were excluded. By a -subsequent Act it was ordained that all chases, forests, -and commons should be driven once a year, the unlikely -mares and foals slaughtered, and no stallions -allowed to run free that were under fifteen hands in -height. What effect these measures may have wrought<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[122]</a></span> -I am unable to say; but the knowledge of the small -stature of brood-mares can help us to a better understanding -of the difficulties which beset the maintenance -of an efficient cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_112_112" id="FNanchor_112_112"></a><a href="#Footnote_112_112" class="fnanchor">[112]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1513.</div> - -<p>But the arm wherein Henry worked most improvement -was undoubtedly the artillery. We find him at -first purchasing all his guns abroad, for the most part -in Flanders, and procuring his gunners also from -foreign parts; but it is clear, from the number of -Englishmen whose appointment to the post of gunner -remains on record, that the English were rapidly learning -their business from their instructors, while as early as -1514 we find Lord Darcy pleading for the employment -of native gunners.<a name="FNanchor_113_113" id="FNanchor_113_113"></a><a href="#Footnote_113_113" class="fnanchor">[113]</a> There is evidence too that the -artilleryman's art was by no means so rare as it had -been, gunners receiving no more than the ordinary -soldier's pay of sixpence a day.<a name="FNanchor_114_114" id="FNanchor_114_114"></a><a href="#Footnote_114_114" class="fnanchor">[114]</a> The casting of -ordnance in England was less common, though there -are scattered notices of English gun-founders from the -beginning of the reign. Finally, in the year 1535 -John Owen began to make even the largest guns, and -obviated the necessity of depending on foreign makers -for artillery. In 1543, moreover, Henry induced two -foreigners to settle in England, Peter Bawd and Peter -van Collen, who among other improvements devised -mortar-pieces<a name="FNanchor_115_115" id="FNanchor_115_115"></a><a href="#Footnote_115_115" class="fnanchor">[115]</a> of large calibre and shells to fire from -them. Shell, indeed, was frequently used in the -campaign of 1544, and Henry was early in appreciating -its advantages. There was, however, still the -difficulty of finding horses to draw the field-guns, -which he seems to have attempted to overcome as early -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[123]</a></span>as in the third year of his reign by some kind of registration -of waggoners and teams. The drivers were to -wear the white coat and red cross, and to be mustered -and paid every month; and for their protection it was -ordered that their paymaster should take no bribes -from them beyond one penny a month from each man, -a curious commentary on the financial morality of the -army. Be that as it may, however, there exists no -doubt that Henry the Eighth created the British -gunner who, as his proud motto tells, has since worked -his guns all over the world.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1542.<br />1544.</div> - -<p>His zeal as an artillerist led Henry also, perhaps -almost insensibly, towards the peculiar organisation for -defence which was copied at a later period by the -colonies, and for a short time was expanded even into -an imperial system. The mounting of valuable guns -entailed the necessity of maintaining a small body of -trained men to keep them in order; and thus grew up -the practice of stationing small independent garrisons -in all the principal fortresses, which garrisons were -immovably attached to their particular posts and constituted -what was really a permanent force. Thus -almost at a stroke the military resources of England -fell into three divisions—the standing garrisons just -mentioned, the militia which could be called out in -case of invasion, and the levies, nominally feudal but in -reality mercenary, which were brought together for -foreign service and disbanded as soon as the war was over. -The attention devoted by Henry to the defence of the -coast identifies his name peculiarly with certain modern -strongholds, which stand on the same site and bear the -same appellation as he gave them three centuries ago. -Nor must it be forgotten that, though he did comparatively -little for the army, Henry did very much for -the navy, and perceived that the true defence of England -was the maintenance of her power on the sea.</p> - -<p>Two small points remain to be mentioned before -we dismiss the most popular of English kings. A dear -lover of music he took an interest in his military bands,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[124]</a></span> -and we find him sending all the way to Vienna to procure -kettle-drums that could be played on horseback -"after the Hungarian (that is to say the Hussars') -manner," together with men that could make and play -them skilfully. Ten good drums and as many fifers -were ordered at the same time, with advantage, as may -be hoped, to the English minstrels. Lastly, Henry was -the first man of whom we may authentically say that he -brought the English red-coats into the field for active -service. Red garded with yellow was the uniform -worn by his body-guard at the siege of Boulogne; and -perhaps it was right that the scarlet should have made -its first appearance in the presence of such old and -gallant enemies as the French.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1547.<br />1549.</div> - -<p>Under the rule of his boy successor we find little -change in the old order of things. There was the -usual fight with the Scotch on the border, and yet -another crushing defeat, at Pinkie, of the old inveterate -enemy. But hired Italian musketeers contributed not -a little to the victory; and the state of the forces of the -shires was most unsatisfactory. Fraudulent enlistment -and desertion, doubly expensive since the payment of -coat- and conduct-money had been instituted, were as -common as ever, and the dishonesty of officers was -never more flagrant. A stringent Act was passed to -check these irregularities, with apparently the usual -infinitesimal measure of success. Foreign troops were -never so much employed in England, though even -they complained of unjust dealing. The insurrection -in the west was suppressed principally by landsknechts -and Italian harquebusiers, not however before they had -suffered one repulse from the men of Devon, beyond -doubt to the secret joy of all true Englishmen. -Nevertheless the reign saw the rise of the Gentlemen -Pensioners and, more important still, the appointment -of a lord-lieutenant in every county, to be responsible -for the forces of the shire. The latter was no doubt -a stroke in the right direction, but it did not touch the -heart of the matter. The worn-out machinery which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[125]</a></span> -had been patched and tinkered for five centuries was -not so easily to be repaired; and a new fly-wheel, -though it might turn magnificently on its own axis, -could not keep the other broken-down wheels in -motion.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1553.</div> - -<p>The reign of Queen Mary brought the most -important change in the military system of the -country that had occurred for two centuries. The -Statute of Winchester was superseded and a new Act -enacted in its place. The reform, however, was in -reality quite inadequate to the occasion. It provided -for the supply of more modern weapons and for a new -distribution, according to a new assessment, of the -burdens entailed by the maintenance of a national force; -but in substance the new statute was drafted on the -lines of the old, and the variations were very superficial. -The extinction of men-at-arms hinted at by Guistiniani -is sufficiently proved by the mention of two different -kinds of cavalry, "demi-lances" or "medium" horse -and the light horse with which we are already -acquainted; and progress in the equipment of the -infantry is shown by the mention of long pikes and -corselets and of harquebuses. But alongside of these -improved weapons are the familiar bows and bills; and -a clause which, considering that Mary had married the -heir of Spain is truly marvellous, provides that a bow -shall in all cases be accepted as an efficient substitute <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'for an arequebus'">for -an arquebus</ins>. These details, however, are comparatively -unimportant. The difficulty was one, not of arms, but -of men; and Mary knew it. She would have formed -a standing army if she had dared, but as she designed -it principally for the coercion of her own subjects she -ventured neither to ask for the money to establish it nor -to brave the indignation that would have followed on its -establishment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1557.<br />1558.</div> - -<p>Her unpopularity at the close of her reign, so -strikingly in contrast with the devoted loyalty which -she had enjoyed on first mounting the throne, told -heavily against the efficiency, always largely dependent<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[126]</a></span> -on sentiment, of the forces of the shire. Never children -crept more unwillingly to school than the English -contingent which joined the Spaniards after the battle -of St. Quentin. Never half-witted woman looked on -with more helpless, impotent distraction at the robbery -of her jewels than the once iron-willed Mary, when -Guise marched up to Calais. The English garrison -made all the resistance that could be expected of brave -men, but they were outnumbered, and the commanders -asked in vain for reinforcements. The Government -awoke to the danger too late; and, yet more sadly -significant, the forces of the shires came unwillingly to -the musters and came unarmed. Yet Mary's name is -bound up with two material benefits conferred on the -British soldier. The men who went to St. Quentin -received eightpence a day, the sum for which her -father's men had mutinied forty years before; and -from this time, for two full centuries, eightpence replaces -sixpence as the soldier's daily stipend. More thoughtful -too than any of the kings that came before her, she -left directions in her will for the provision of a house -in London, with a clear endowment of four hundred -marks a year, "for the relief and help of poor, impotent -and aged soldiers" who had suffered loss or wounds in the -service of their country. For all her man's voice and -masculine will, she had a woman's heart which warmed -to the deserving old soldier, and whatever her demerits -in the eyes of those who wear the gown, her memory -may at least be cherished by those who wear the -red coat.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[127]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_III" id="BII_CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#BIICIII">CHAPTER III</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1558.</div> - -<p class="noindent">We enter now on the fateful reign of Queen Elizabeth. -The condition of England at its opening after the previous -years of misgovernment was most unpromising. -Wrenched from its moorings by the Reformation, -the country had been tossed about by a hurricane -of religious fanaticism, which, working round through -all points of the compass, had left her helpless and -bewildered, uncertain by which course to steer or for -what port to make head. Elizabeth was by political -exigency rather than religious conviction a Protestant, -but her great object in life was to sail, if she could, -clear of the circular storm and lie outside it. The -design was an impossible one, and her obstinate persistence -therein went near to bring England to utter -ruin, but in the extremely difficult position wherein -she found herself on her accession to the throne she -had much excuse for a tortuous policy. The finance -was in hopeless disorder, and the realm through long -neglect virtually defenceless. There was no discipline -in such forces as the country could raise; and the -military stores, which her father had taken such pains -to collect, appear to have perished. The French were -in Scotland in considerable force, and, as the Council -pointed out, France was a state military, while England -was established for peace. There in reality lay the -kernel of the whole matter. England was behind all -Europe in military efficiency, and all Europe was keenly -alive to the fact.</p> - -<p>The situation was so desperate that heroic measures,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[128]</a></span> -however distasteful to the Queen from their expense, -were inevitable. Arms were purchased hastily in vast -quantities in Flanders, the forces of the shire were called -out, and Elizabeth exercised in St. James' Park with -fourteen hundred men of the trained-bands, who had -been equipped by the city with caliver, pike, and -halberd. But up in the north, the loyalty of the -troops was doubtful, and their discipline more doubtful -still. Fraud again was rife among the officers. The -landsknechts during their stay had set the fashion of -extravagance in clothing, and some captains, as it was -quaintly said, carried twenty to forty soldiers in their -hose. Thus, though the muster-rolls of the army in -Scotland showed eight thousand men for whom the -Queen paid wages, but five thousand were actually with -the colours, and the pay of the remaining three thousand -went of course into the captains' pockets. This state -of things was put down with a strong hand by special -Commissioners, and the little army round Leith became -orderly and efficient; but corruption had sunk so deep -that it had eaten its way even among the officials of -the ordnance at the Tower of London.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1560.</div> - -<p>The French, however, were in due time compelled -to evacuate Scotland, and the danger in the north ceased -to be pressing. There was, however, constant trouble -in Ireland; and to provide the necessary troops to -keep it in order, resort was made to an instrument of -which we shall hear much in the years that follow, -namely, the press-gang. None the less the revelations -discovered by the war in Scotland prompted Cecil to -require a report from the magistrates all over England -as to the condition of the population and the working -of the statutes enacted for national defence. The -answer was by no means complimentary to the influence -of the Reformation, nor encouraging in respect of military -efficiency. The people, reported the magistrates, -were no longer trained to the use of arms, because the -gentlemen no longer set them the example. In plain -words the old system of the fyrd, a people in arms,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[129]</a></span> -was obsolete. Not one but many causes had conspired -to make it so. The country was passing through a -social as well as a religious revolution; old landmarks -were vanishing, old customs dying out; and the loss -of the old faith had become to many an excuse for -disburdening themselves of every irksome duty. Again, -Calais was lost, and though there were still vague hopes -that it might yet be regained, England was now strictly -insular and France was closed as a field of national -adventure. The people had awaked to the fact that -their heritage was the sea; and the life of the corsair, -free, stirring, lucrative, and dangerous, appealed powerfully -to a race at once adventurous and grasping, -energetic and casual, bold and born gamblers.</p> - -<p>Moreover, the national weapon, the long-bow, and -the tactics that went with it, were things of the past, -while the new arms were at once distasteful and costly, -and in the unsettled state of the country not to be -trusted in every man's hand. The whole business of -war, too, was becoming difficult and elaborate, and was -passing through transitions too rapid to permit it to -be learned once for all. Military training no longer -consisted in friendly matches at the archery butts, but -in precise movements of drill and manœuvre, unwelcome -alike because their advantages were unrecognised, and -because they could no longer be learned from the old -masters. The acknowledged leaders in hundred and -parish and shire gave place to experts trained in foreign -schools, men who swaggered about in plumed hats and -velvet doublets and extravagant hose, swearing strange -oaths of mingled blasphemy taught by Spanish Catholics -and Lutheran landsknechts, and prating of besonios -and alferez, of camp-masters and rote-masters, of -furriers and huren-weibels, of false brays, mines and -countermines, in one long insolent crow of military -superiority. Such instructors were not likely to soften -the painful lesson that war had become a profession, -and could no longer be tacked on as a mere appendage -to the everyday life of the citizen.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[130]</a></span></p> - -<p>Now, therefore, if ever, was the time for the -establishment of a standing army in England. She -was menaced by foreign enemies on all sides, and in -perpetual peril of intestine insurrection. There was -unceasing trouble in Ireland, and eternal anxiety on -the Scottish border. The forces of the shires had -been proved to be worthless, and the service was -not only inefficient but unpopular; the people came -unwillingly to the muster, and would gladly have -paid to be relieved of the burden. Great results -would have followed from the institution of a standing -force; order would have been maintained at -home; interposition in foreign affairs would have had -redoubled weight; untold expense through unreadiness, -knavery, and inefficiency would have been spared; -and finally, the British Army would have grown up -to be honoured as a great national possession, called -into existence to stave off a great national peril, -instead of to be abused as an instrument of tyranny, -and to be condemned to a blighting heritage of jealousy -and suspicion.</p> - -<p>But Elizabeth would have none of such things. -She refused, to her credit, to employ foreign mercenaries, -and by breaking off that evil tradition did lasting good. -But she was incapable of living except from hand to -mouth. She hated straight dealing for its simplicity; -she hated conviction for its certainty; above all she -hated war for its expense. She loved her money as -herself, and to these twain she would sacrifice alike the -most faithful servant and the most friendly State. She -was so mean and dishonest in defrauding even such -troops as she employed of their due, that no one seems -to have dared even to hint to her the expediency of -keeping a standing army. It may be urged that this -was well for the liberties of England, but, on the other -hand, it went near to destroy them altogether; and, -after all, a standing army did not save either James the -Second of England or Louis the Sixteenth of France. -The people of England, however, saw more clearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[131]</a></span> -than their tricky inconstant Queen, and made good her -delinquencies in their own way.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1562.</div> - -<p>The French had not long evacuated Scotland when -the desperate condition of the Protestants in France -forced the Prince of Condé to offer Elizabeth Havre -and Dieppe as pledges for the restoration of the lost -Calais, if she would send him money and men. -Elizabeth consented; and seven or eight thousand -men were despatched to garrison these two ports. Five -hundred of them, English and Scots, at once volunteered -to cut their way into Rouen, which was closely besieged -by Guise, and fell at the capture of the town, fighting -desperately till they were cut down almost to a man. -These volunteers should be remembered, for they -cleared the ground for the foundation-stone of the -British Army, English and Scots fighting side by side for -the Protestant cause in a foreign land. The remaining -troops were, as was inevitable under the parsimonious -rule of Elizabeth, ill-equipped and ill-provided, -a miserable contrast to the armies of the Plantagenets, -and a shameful example which has been followed only -too faithfully since. War between France and England -at once broke out in earnest, and the garrison of -Havre required reinforcement. No troops of course -were ready, and it was necessary to raise recruits in a -hurry. The prison doors were opened; the gaols -were swept clean; robbers, highwaymen, and cut-purses, -the sweepings of the nation, were driven into -the ranks; and a second evil precedent, companion to -the press-gang, was set for the misleading of England -the Unready. None the less these poor men fought -gallantly enough against the besieging French, until the -plague suddenly broke out among them; and then -they went down like flies. Between the 7th and 30th -of June the effective strength of the garrison of Havre -sank from seven thousand to three thousand men. -More men were hurried across the channel to perish -with them, but the waste was greater than the repair, -and in another fortnight but fifteen hundred of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[132]</a></span> -whole force were left. Further requests for men and -arms were met by the despatch of raw boys and of all -the worn-out ordnance in the Tower—"The worst of -everything is thought good enough for this place," -wrote the General, Lord Warwick, in the bitterness of -his soul—and finally after a grand defence Havre was -surrendered.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, little or nothing was done to make -good defects in the years that followed. The dishonesty -of the officers and the indiscipline of the men in Ireland -was past all belief; but it was only with extreme -difficulty that Elizabeth was induced to remedy the evil, -which brought untold misery and oppression upon the -forlorn Irish, by the simple process of paying her soldiers -their wages. It was not until 1567, when the movements -of Philip the Second gave the alarm of invasion, -that a corps of arquebusiers, four thousand strong, was -formed for the defence of the coast towns from Newcastle -to Plymouth, and prizes were given for the encouragement -of marksmanship with the new weapon. -Even so, practice with the bow was still enjoined upon -the villagers, as though no better arm could be discovered -for them.<a name="FNanchor_116_116" id="FNanchor_116_116"></a><a href="#Footnote_116_116" class="fnanchor">[116]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1569.</div> - -<p>Then came the rebellion, which but narrowly -missed a most serious character, of the Catholic -nobility in the North. Disloyalty was widespread in -Yorkshire, and it was proverbial that the Yorkshire -levies would not move without pay; but Elizabeth -was too economical to send the train-bands from -London to nip the insurrection in the bud, and only -at the last moment consented to provide money for the -payment of the troops on the spot. The difficulties -of the commanders were frightful. The numbers that -came to muster were far short of the true complement; -horsemen were hardly to be obtained by any shift, and the -footmen that presented themselves came with bows and -bills only, there being but sixty firearms, and not a single -pike, among two thousand five hundred infantry. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[133]</a></span> -rebels, on the other hand, were very well equipped, and -had a force of cavalry armed after the newest pattern -of the Reiters. "If we had but a thousand horse -with pistols and lances, five hundred pikes and as -many arquebuses," wrote Elizabeth's commanders, "we -should soon despatch the matter"; but even so -trifling a contingent as this could not be produced -except after infinite difficulty and delay.<a name="FNanchor_117_117" id="FNanchor_117_117"></a><a href="#Footnote_117_117" class="fnanchor">[117]</a></p> - -<p>For all this Elizabeth was responsible; but the -peril was so great that it stirred even her avaricious soul. -From this year bows and bills began slowly to make -way for pikes and firearms; and a manuscript treatise -in the State Papers shows that the reform was brought -under the immediate notice of the Royal Council.<a name="FNanchor_118_118" id="FNanchor_118_118"></a><a href="#Footnote_118_118" class="fnanchor">[118]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1570.</div> - -<p>An alarm of invasion by the French in the following -year led also to a general stirring of the sluggish -forces of the shire. The French ambassador reported -that one hundred and twenty thousand men could take -the field in different parts of the country; and the -muster-rolls showed the incredible total of close on six -hundred thousand men. Yet when we look into these -muster-rolls we find simply a list of able-bodied men -and of serviceable arms in each shire without attempt -at organisation. In truth, throughout the long reign -of Elizabeth we feel that in military matters one -effort and one only is at work, namely, in Carlyle's -words, to stretch the old formula to cover the new -fact, to botch and patch and strain the antiquated -web woven by the Statute of Winchester and newly -dyed by the Statute of Philip and Mary to some -semblance of the pattern given by the armies of -France and Spain.</p> - -<p>But when we turn from the Queen to the people -we perceive the energy of a very different force. The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[134]</a></span>English army indeed was not created by a sovereign -or a minister; it created itself in despite of them. The -superior equipment of the northern rebels over that of -the forces of the Queen was typical of the whole course -of English military progress in the sixteenth and -seventeenth centuries. The army was conceived in -rebellion, born in rebellion, nurtured in rebellion. -Protestantism all over Europe went hand in hand -with rebellion; and Elizabeth, always irresolute and -incapable of conviction, was distracted between a -political preference for Protestantism and a natural -abhorrence of disloyalty. For years she struggled by -the most contemptible trickery to be true to both these -opposing principles, and for a time, by the help of -extraordinary good fortune, she attained the success -which only a false woman could compass. But long -before she could make up her mind, the people had -taken matters into their own hands, and thereby begun -the creation of our present army. It was on May Day -1572, four years later than the first rising of the Low -Countries against Spain, that the army took its birth -from a review of Londoners before the Queen at -Greenwich. In the ranks that day were many captains -and soldiers who had served in Scotland, Ireland, and -France, and were now adrift without employment on -the world. Subscriptions were raised by sympathetic -Protestants in the city, and three hundred of them were -organised into a company and sent to fight for the -Dutch under Captain Thomas Morgan. From this -beginning we must presently trace the history of the -English regiments in the Low Countries to the eve of -the Civil War; and for the next seventy years therefore -our story must flow in two distinct streams—the slender -thread that runs through England itself, and the -broader flood which glides on with ever-increasing -volume in the Low Countries, on the Neckar, and even -in distant Pomerania. And since at every great national -crisis the two streams for a time unite, the lesser tributary -may be dismissed forthwith by a brief review of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[135]</a></span> -progress of the military art in England to the close of -the sixteenth century.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1573.</div> - -<p>London as usual led the van of military improvement. -In the year following the departure of Morgan's -company, three thousand men of the train-bands were -formed into a special corps, which was mustered three -times a week for exercise, and having been armed with -weapons of the newest pattern was regularly drilled by -experienced officers on the once famous ground at Mile -End. William Shakespeare, it is evident, was one of the -spectators that went from time to time to see them, and -no doubt laughed his fill at the failings of the recruits. -These were sometimes not a little serious. Thus one -caliverman left his scouring-stick in the barrel, and -accidentally shot it into the side of a comrade, whereof -the comrade died; so that the whole body of calivermen -gained the enjoyment of a military funeral in St. Paul's -Churchyard, whither they followed the corpse with -trailing pikes and solemn countenances, and at the close -of the ceremony fired their pieces over the grave.<a name="FNanchor_119_119" id="FNanchor_119_119"></a><a href="#Footnote_119_119" class="fnanchor">[119]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1587.</div> - -<p>Something therefore had at least been learned from -the landsknechts, and other changes were coming fast. -The old white coat and red cross seems to have disappeared -abruptly at the beginning of the reign, and -coats, or, as they were called, cassocks,<a name="FNanchor_120_120" id="FNanchor_120_120"></a><a href="#Footnote_120_120" class="fnanchor">[120]</a> generally red or -blue, were provided by shires and boroughs in their stead. -Once, indeed, these bright hues are found condemned -as too conspicuous for active service in Ireland, and -some dark or sad colour, such as russet, is recommended -in its stead,—a curious anticipation of our modern <em>khaki</em>.<a name="FNanchor_121_121" id="FNanchor_121_121"></a><a href="#Footnote_121_121" class="fnanchor">[121]</a> -Again, to turn to smaller changes, the word petty captain -had dropped out of use since 1563, to yield place to the -title of lieutenant, and the word ensign seems to have -been accepted generally at about the same time. Sergeant -had been the title of the expert at drill since 1528, but -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[136]</a></span>in 1585 there is a distinct order that the men appointed -to instruct the bands of the shires shall be called corporals.<a name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></a><a href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</a> -Two years later we find officers of higher rank -asking for a new denomination, and proposing that they -may bear the title of colonel and the officers next below -them that of sergeant-major, or, as we now call it, major. -It was indeed time, for the word regiment came likewise -into use at the same period, and a regiment without a -colonel is naught. Before the end of the century the -term infantry had also passed into the language, while -the flags of the infantry, from their diversity of hues, -had gained the name of colours.<a name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></a><a href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</a></p> - -<p>But far more striking than these superficial changes -is the sudden deluge of military pamphlets which burst -over England from the year 1587 onwards. The earliest -military treatise, so far as I have been able to discover, -that was delivered to the English in the vulgar tongue -is <cite>The Ordering of Souldiours in battelray</cite>, by Peter -Whitehorn, which was published in 1560. This book -produced, no doubt, some effect in its time, but it is of -small import compared with those that follow. The -earliest written by an Englishman, though not published -until four years after his death, was the work of one -William Garrard, gentleman, who had served with the -King of Spain for fourteen years and died in 1587. It -is a remorseless criticism of the existing English military -system. The author sweeps away bows and bills in a -single contemptuous sentence, and lays it down for a -dogma that there are but two weapons, for the tall man -the pike and for the little nimble man the arquebus. -But in the matter of equipment, he notes that the -English are lamentably deficient. As good an arquebus -could be made in England as in any country, but the -armourers had already learned to make cheap and nasty -weapons for common sale to the poor men of the shire. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[137]</a></span>Again, other nations carried their powder in flasks or -metal cartridges, but the English actually carried theirs -loose in their pockets, ready to be kindled by the first -spark or spoiled by the first shower, and in any case -certain to suffer from waste. Such slovenliness, says -the indignant Garrard, is fit only "for wanton skirmish -before ladies"; it is impossible for such arquebusiers to -attain to the desirable consummation of "a violent, -speedy, and thundering discharge." The pikemen, -again, instead of a light poniard carried "monstrous -daggers like a cutler's shop," fitter for ornament than -use. Moreover, the dress of both was open to objection. -Colour was a matter of indifference, though some fine -hue such as scarlet was preferable for the honour of the -military profession, but all military garments should be -profitable and commodious, whereas nothing could -hamper the limbs more than the great bolstered and -bombasted hose that were then in fashion. I cannot -resist the temptation of transcribing Garrard's picture -of the march of the ideal soldier, and the delicate appeal -to the soldier's vanity.</p> - -<p>"Let the pikeman march with a good grace, holding -up his head gallantly, his face full of gravity and state -and such as is fit for his person; and let his body be -straight and as much upright as possible; and that -which most important is that they have their eyes always -upon their companions which are in rank with them and -before them, going just one with another, and keeping -perfect distance without committing the least error in -pace or step. And every pace and motion with one -accord and consent they ought to make at one instant -of time. And in this sort all the ranks ought to go -sometimes softly, sometimes fast, according to the stroke -of the drum.... So shall they go just and even with -a gallant and sumptuous pace; for by doing so they -shall be esteemed, honoured and commended of the -lookers on, who shall take wonderful delight to behold -them."</p> - -<p>Earlier in appearance though not earlier composed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[138]</a></span> -than Garrard's was a shorter work by one Barnaby Rich, -which appeared in 1587, and wherein the writer had the -courage to condemn the practice of emptying the gaols -into the ranks; but the great military book of the year -was a translation from the French of La Noue, one of -the noblest and ablest of the Huguenot commanders. -Though written of course for Frenchmen, the soundness -of doctrine in respect of discipline and equipment and -the commendations of the Spanish system were of value -to all; while of still greater import to England was the -impassioned advocacy of the missile tactics of the Reiters -for cavalry. But perhaps most striking of all in the -light of later events is the deep note of Puritanism to -which every page of the treatise is attuned. In La -Noue's Huguenot regiments there were no cards, no -dice, no swearing, no women, no leaving the colours for -plunder or even for forage, but stern discipline at all -times and public prayers morning and evening. It is -difficult to suppress the conjecture that this book had -been read and digested by Oliver Cromwell.</p> - -<p>The strong opinions expressed in these books of -course provoked controversy. Sir John Smyth, knight, -an officer of some repute, boldly took up the cudgels -on the other side, and undertook to prove even in 1591 -that the archer was more formidable than the arquebusier -and the arrow than the bullet, which was an argument -only too welcome to old-fashioned insular Englishmen. -On the other hand, he enters minutely and intelligently -into points of drill and manœuvre, condemns the bombasted -hose as vehemently as Garrard himself, and prescribes -a more serviceable dress for the soldier. From -him we learn our first knowledge of the manual exercise -of the pike, how it should be advanced and how -shouldered with comely and soldierlike grace, and how -men should always step off with the right foot. From -him also we obtain sound instruction for the shock -attack of cavalry, and some mention of the Hungarian -light horsemen, called "ussarons"; and from him -finally we gather information of the extraordinary inefficiency<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[139]</a></span> -even at the close of the reign of the shire-levies -of England, of the neglect of the arms and the -corruption of the muster-masters.</p> - -<p>Roger Williams, whom I have already quoted, also -entered the lists at this time with an account of the -Spanish organisation, and combated warmly for the -superiority of the lance over the pistol as the weapon of -cavalry; and a translation by Sir Edward Hoby from -the Spanish of Mendoza (1597) also upheld the cause -of shock-action. Hard upon these followed a version -of the striking work of Martin du Bellay, with its -complete scheme for what we now call the short-service -system; and in the same year (1598) appeared a -dialogue by one Barret, which sought to close the whole -controversy. A conservative gentleman who upholds -bows and bills is utterly demolished by a captain who -pleads for pike and musket, would abolish the shire-levies -bodily as useless, and would substitute a reorganised force -on the favourite model, already once adopted in France, -of the Roman legion. But Barret knew his countrymen -and expected little. "Such as have followed the wars," -he says, "are despised of every man until a very pinch -of need doth come"; and military reform then as now -could not be pushed forward except under pressure of a -scare of war.</p> - -<p>So matters drifted on to the close of the sixteenth -century and beyond it. The military spirit was abroad, -and the military pen busy beyond precedent. The -character of the old soldier became a favourite with -beggars and vagabonds, and was rewarded so freely at -the hands of the charitable that it was necessary to -suppress the imposture by special statute. Yet in spite -of all this simmering and seething nothing was done in -England for the English army. Soldiers who wished to -learn their profession sought service elsewhere than with -the Queen; even in Ireland the value of a company -sank to fifty pounds;<a name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></a><a href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</a> and the most conspicuous type -of warrior that was to be found at home was the worst.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[140]</a></span> -Shakespeare, who saw everything and into the heart of -everything, marked these impostors and reproduced them -with such genial satire, such incomparable humour, that -in our delight in the dramatist we overlook the military -historian. Yet he is as truly the painter of the English -army in his own day as was Marryat of the navy in -later years. Falstaff the fraudulent captain, Pistol the -swaggering ensign, Bardolph the rascally corporal, Nym -the impostor who affects military brevity, Parolles, "the -damnable both sides rogue," nay, even Fluellen, a brave -and honest man but a pedant, soaked in classical affectations -and seeking his model for everything in Pompey's -camp—all these had their counterparts in every shire of -England and were probably to be seen daily on the drill -ground at the Mile End. Not in these poor pages but -in Shakespeare's must the military student read the -history of the Elizabethan soldier.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[141]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_IV" id="BII_CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#BIICIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">The arrival of the first English volunteers, under -Thomas Morgan, in the Low Countries was, as fate -willed it, most happily timed to synchronise with the -movement that laid the foundation of Dutch Independence. -In April 1572 an audacious enterprise of the -fleet of Dutch privateers under the Count de la Marek -had led to the surprise and capture of the town of Brill, -a success which at once fired the train of revolt in the -seven provinces north of the Waal and shook the hand -of Spain from town after town first in Holland and -Zealand, and later in Friesland, Gelderland, Utrecht, -and Overyssel. The incident, which time was to prove -so far reaching in its results, was a curious commentary -on the latest phase of Elizabeth's policy. She had just -reconciled herself with Alva and forbidden De la Marck's -privateers to enter English ports: the sea-rover's reply -was to beard Alva in his own stronghold and deal -Elizabeth's friend a blow from which he never recovered. -The whole island of Walcheren, excepting Middelburg, -fell into the hands of the insurgents, and Alva, who was -a splendid soldier, whatever his other failings, lost no -time in attempting to recover the port of Flushing. -By the irony of fate Morgan's volunteers arrived in the -very nick of time to save it, and in the sally which -brought them first face to face with the dreaded troops -of Spain they made a brilliant beginning for the new -British Army. Of the three hundred, fifty were killed -outright in this action, the first of fifty thousand or -twice fifty thousand who were to lay their bones in -Holland during the next seventy years.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[142]</a></span></p> - -<p>Morgan, having rescued Flushing, at once wrote -letters to England to point out the importance of the -town which he held and to beg for reinforcements. In -the autumn accordingly appeared Colonel Sir Humphrey -Gilbert, with a regiment, the first of many English -regiments that were to enter the Dutch service, of ten -companies and fourteen hundred men, raw troops under -a raw leader. Morgan would have been the better -commander, but he was a modest unambitious man; -Gilbert, on the other hand, suffered from fatal ignorance -of his own incapacity. Sir Humphrey at once launched -out boldly into complicated operations which he was -utterly incompetent to direct, was outwitted and outmanœuvred, -fell back on swearing when things went -wrong, and not only lost his own head but completely -broke the spirit of his men. The new regiment in fact -behaved very far from well. "I am to blame to judge -their minds," wrote Roger Williams, the ablest of -Morgan's officers, after Gilbert's first defeat, "but let -me speak truth. I believe they were afraid." He adds -elsewhere a gentle but telling criticism, that lays the -blame on the right shoulders. "A commander that -enters the enemy's countries ought to know the places -that he doth attempt: if not he ought to be furnished -with guides." So ignorant were even educated Englishmen -of the alphabet of war. Gilbert, however, did not -learn his lesson quickly. A slight success, wherein the -English displayed conspicuous gallantry, heated his -ambition once more to boiling-point; he essayed -another adventure in the grand manner, failed utterly, -and sailed home with the scanty remnant of his -regiment, a sadder and wiser man.</p> - -<p>Morgan meanwhile had gone home and raised ten -more companies, with which however he could do very -little. The men were not paid on their disembarkation -in Holland, as William of Nassau had promised -them, and they became discontented and insubordinate. -Morgan naturally took their part, and the result was, -that after some few petty engagements against the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[143]</a></span> -Spaniards, he took his departure in dudgeon and sailed -with the seven hundred men that were left to him to -England. He had done good work, and his name -deserves to be remembered; for he was the first man -who made perfect arquebusiers of the English, and the -first who taught them to love the musket. Fifty years -had flown since the Spaniards had shown the way, and -the English were only just beginning to follow. Roger -Williams on Morgan's retirement took service with the -Spaniards for a time, in order to learn his duty the -better, and presently returned, without reproach, to -wield the knowledge that he had gained against themselves. -To such shifts were British officers reduced -who wished to master their profession.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1578,<br /> -January 29.<br />August.</div> - -<p>To follow the actions of sundry other corps of -volunteers during the succeeding years would be tedious. -I pass at once to the landing in July 1577 of a company -of three hundred Englishmen under the command of -John Norris, one of the first and most eminent of the -new school of officers who were the fathers of our Army. -He had learned his work first in Ireland, and later in -France under a great disciplinarian, the Admiral -Coligny. He too arrived at a critical time. A few -months after his disembarkation, while he was still in -garrison at Antwerp, Don John of Austria surprised the -Army of the States at Gemblours, and not only defeated -it but shattered it to fragments. Six months later Don -John attempted to repeat the blow against a second -Army of the States, a heterogeneous force of English, -Scotch, and Flemings, under the command of the veteran -Huguenot, De la Noue. Having but fourteen -thousand men against thirty thousand of the finest -troops in Europe, De la Noue took up a strong -position at Rymenant, near Malines, and stood on the -defensive. After trying in vain to draw him from his -entrenchments Don John finally launched a desperate -attack on the quarter held by the English and Scotch -under Norris. Four companies of Scots bore the first -brunt of the assault, but were presently reinforced, just<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[144]</a></span> -in time, by Norris's eleven companies of English; and -then the struggle became as desperate as ever was fought -by British soldiers. The Spanish troops were the -flower of the army, the Old Regiment,<a name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></a><a href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</a> which had not -its peer in Europe; but with all their magnificent training -and discipline they could not carry the position. -Three times they forced the British back, and three -times when success seemed assured they were met by a -resistance that would not be broken, and were hurled -back in their turn. The day was intensely hot, and the -British, scorning all armour, fought in their shirt-sleeves, -but they fought hard, and not only hard but, thanks to -John Norris, in good order. Norris himself, always in -the thickest of the fight, had three horses killed under -him in succession, but never lost hold of his men; and -at last the famous infantry of Spain drew back, beaten, -and Don John abandoned the attack. It was a great -day for old "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Bras de fer</span>" De la Noue, but a still greater -for John Norris and his British. They had, by general -admission, not only saved the day, but they had repulsed -the most formidable troops in the world.</p> - -<p>During the years that follow Norris and his companies -were incessantly engaged, generally victorious, -though once at least defeated with heavy loss; their -gallant leader, though frequently wounded, reappearing -always whenever work was to be done. Their highest -trial was when they encountered the greatest General of -the day, Alexander of Parma, and the whole Spanish -army with him, in a rearguard action, and beat them off -with such persistent bravery that the French volunteers -after the engagement crowded to their colours and -begged to be allowed to serve under them. Norris -indeed was the Moore of the sixteenth century, alike as -a teacher in the camp and as a General in the field.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1584,<br /> -July 10.</div> - -<p>Nevertheless, brilliant as his service was, he could not -stay the victorious advance of the Spaniards. After ten -years of fighting the Dutch States had lost almost the -whole of Spanish Flanders except a few large towns and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[145]</a></span> -the sea-coast from Dunkirk to Ostend, and still Elizabeth -would not move to help the Dutch insurgents in a task, -no less vital to England than to them, which lay beyond -their strength. At last the assassination of William the -Silent forced her to make up her uncertain mind to the -inevitable rupture with Spain. The United Provinces -were in the utmost need; the strong hand of Alexander -of Parma was at the throat of Antwerp, and unless its -grip could be relaxed the city must inevitably fall. The -States threw themselves upon the English Queen, entreating -her even to make them a part of her realm, and -at last, after much paltry haggling, Elizabeth consented -to send them four or five thousand men, taking over -the towns of Brill, Flushing, Rammekins, and Ostend as -security for their obligations towards her. Elizabeth -was always careful to look after the money.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1585.</div> - -<p>This agreement being at last concluded the press-gang<a name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></a><a href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</a> -was at once set to work in England; four thousand -men were raised and dressed in red coats, and within -a fortnight after the signing of the Treaty they had -crossed the North Sea, only to find that Antwerp was -already in Parma's hands and that they had come too -late. Norris, however, at once took the force in hand, -and was carrying on active operations with brilliant -success when he was stopped by a peremptory rebuke -from the Queen; the troops had been transported for -the relief of Antwerp, and she would not have them -employed on any other service. The States, naturally -exasperated by this contemptible double-dealing, received -the troops reluctantly into the cautionary towns and left -them with no very good grace to take care of themselves. -Elizabeth, as her nature was, had refused to send a -penny of money or an ounce of supplies, and the soldiers, -ill-fed, ill-clothed, and ill-lodged, began to melt away by -hundreds through death and desertion.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[146]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1586.</div> - -<p>In December, however, Robert, Earl of Leicester, was -sent out as Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the Low -Countries, and as he brought with him a reinforcement -of cavalry, and also money sufficient to pay the arrears -of the soldiers' wages, it was hoped that matters would -be placed on a better footing. But it was not to be. -Elizabeth was not yet in earnest in breaking with Spain, -and Leicester, gathering an inkling of her intentions -from her refusal to provide him with additional funds, -went very unwillingly to take up his command. On -arriving in Holland he found things even worse than he -had anticipated. The men were in a shocking state, -dying fast of cold and hunger; they had not a penny -wherewith to supply themselves; and their clothing was -so deficient that for very nakedness they were ashamed -to appear in public. Leicester with all his faults had -evidently a genuine tenderness for his unfortunate -soldiers; he wrote letter after letter pressing vehemently -for money, but Elizabeth would not give a farthing. -The natural consequences followed. By February half -the men were dead, and the half that remained alive -were in a state of suppressed mutiny. No good officer -would accept a command in the army on such terms, -and the companies fell into the hands of unscrupulous -swindlers who sent their men out to plunder and did -not omit to take their own share, rejoicing over every -soldier who died or deserted for the money that would -pass into their pockets when the long-deferred pay-day -should come. There have been many sovereigns and -many ministers in England who have neglected and -betrayed their soldiers, but none more wantonly, wilfully, -and scandalously than Elizabeth.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July.</div> - -<p>Nevertheless, as the spring of 1586 approached, it -behoved Leicester to open a campaign of some kind. -Parma was advancing along the line of the Maas, -evidently bent on taking every fortified town on the -river, and it was necessary if possible to check him. -The Generals, however, were ill-matched; Parma easily -brushed aside Leicester's feeble opposition, and having<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[147]</a></span> -secured the line of the Maas turned next to that of the -Rhine. Meanwhile a large reinforcement of men, unarmed -and untrained, had been sent from England; and -Leicester concentrated his forces, summoning all the -garrisons of the cautionary towns to join him at Arnheim. -Philip Sidney came from his government at Flushing, -Lord Willoughby came from Bergen-op-Zoom, John -Norris and his brother Henry hurried up likewise, the -veteran Roger Williams joined them, and lastly, in the -retinue of Lord Willoughby, came a young man of -greater promise than any, named Francis Vere. The -plan of operations was soon determined; since Parma -could not be checked on the Rhine, he must be called -away from it by a diversion in the north on the Yssel, -where the Spaniards still held the towns of Doesburg -and Zutphen.</p> - -<p>All turned out as had been expected. Doesburg -was easily captured, and Parma no sooner heard that -Leicester was before Zutphen than he abandoned his -operations on the Rhine and marched north to relieve it. -Halting on the evening of the 21st of September at some -distance from the town, he sent forward a convoy of -supplies towards it, protected by an escort of three -thousand men under the command of the Marquis of -Pescayra.<a name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></a><a href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</a> The convoy was to start at midnight, and -it was reckoned that it would be within a mile and a -half of Zutphen by daybreak. Pescayra was then to -halt at an appointed place, send a messenger into the -town and concert arrangements with the Governor for -a sortie to facilitate the entrance of the convoy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. 22<br /> -<span class="over">Oct. 2.</span> -</div> - -<p>Intelligence of Parma's design was duly brought to -Leicester, who, calling John Norris, ordered him to take -two hundred horse and three hundred foot and lie with -them in ambuscade by the road by which the convoy -was expected to arrive. Norris readily picked out two -hundred horse, ordered Sir William Stanley to follow -them with three hundred pikemen, and before dawn -of the 22nd had successfully taken up the position<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[148]</a></span> -assigned to him. No force appears to have been detailed -by Leicester to support the ambushed party, and no -scouts to have been sent forward by Norris to give -warning of the enemy's approach. The morning broke -with dense impenetrable fog, amid which the English -could hear a distant sound of rumbling waggons and -tramping men. Presently Norris was joined by all the -adventurous gentlemen—Lord Essex, Lord Audley, -Lord North, and many others—who were to be found in -Leicester's camp: they had not been able to resist the -temptation of an action, and came galloping up with -their retinue at their heels to see the sport. The sounds -of the approaching convoy became more distinct, but -nothing could be seen till the fog suddenly rolled away -and revealed straight before them the three thousand -Spaniards, horse and foot, marching by their waggons -in beautiful order.</p> - -<p>The English gentlemen threw all discipline to the -winds at the sight: they never dreamed of anything but -a direct attack, and one and all went at once, each in his -own way, to work. Young Lord Essex called on his -squadron of troopers to follow him, and couching his -lance flew straight upon the enemy's cavalry, overthrew -the foremost man and horse, flung away his broken -lance for his curtel-axe, and with his handful of men -hard after him burst into a heavy Spanish column and -shivered it to pieces. The routed Spaniards fled in -disorder to the shelter of their musketeers, with Essex -still spurring at their heels; and then Spanish discipline -told. The musketeers fired a volley which brought -down many of the English horses and compelled the -rest to wheel about. Then the action became simply a -series of furious personal combats. Sir Philip Sidney's -horse was killed under him at the first charge, but he -mounted another and plunged into the hottest of the -fight. Lord North, unable owing to a recent wound -to draw on more than one boot, dashed in half-booted -as he was and fought as busily as any. Sir William -Russell swung his curtel-axe so murderously that the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[149]</a></span> -Spaniards vowed he was a devil and no man. Lord -Willoughby was so beset with enemies that only great -good fortune and immense personal strength served to -pluck him out. Sir William Stanley's horse was struck -by seven bullets but found strength to carry him safe -out of action. And meanwhile the drivers of the -waggons had fled, and English and Spanish soldiers -were tugging the heads of the teams this way and that -with oaths and yells and curses; but still Spanish -discipline told, and still the convoy moved slowly -forward. Again and again the Spanish horsemen shrank -before the English cavaliers, but the firm ranks of the -musketeers always gave them shelter, and, charge as the -English might, the waggons crept on and on till they -fairly entered the town. Nothing was gained by the -action. The attack, if supported, might have been fatal -to Pescayra, but no support could be looked for from -Leicester, and there was so little intelligence in the -onslaught that no one seems to have attempted even to -hamstring the waggon-horses. Zutphen therefore remains -no more than one of the maddest of the many -mad exploits performed by English officers of cavalry, -and is remembered chiefly through the death of one of -the noblest of them. Before the action, Philip Sidney -had given the thigh-pieces of his armour to the Lord -Marshal, Sir William Pelham; at its close he was seen -riding painfully back, with the unprotected thigh -shattered by a musket bullet. He lingered in agony -for some days and then died. His body was brought -back to England to be followed to St. Paul's Churchyard -by the London train-bands and laid to rest, as -befitted a good and gallant soldier, under the smoke of -their volleys.<a name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></a><a href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</a></p> - -<p>Yet another scene of desperate valour was witnessed -at Zutphen before the campaign came to an end. -One principal protection of the town was an external<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[150]</a></span> -sconce,<a name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></a><a href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</a> which on a former occasion had resisted the -troops of the States for a whole year, and was now -carried by the English by assault. The breach was -barely practicable, the footing on the treacherous sandy -soil being so uncertain that the storming party could -hardly mount it. Their leader, Edward Stanley, however, -was not to be turned back. Dashing alone into -the breach he caught the head of a Spanish soldier's -pike that was thrust out against him and tried to wrench -the weapon from his grasp. Both men struggled hard -for a time, while a dozen pikes were broken against -Stanley's cuirass and a score of bullets whistled about -his ears. At last Stanley, without quitting his hold, -allowed the Spaniard to raise the pike, used the purchase -so gained to help him up the wall, scrambled over the -parapet and leaped down alone into the press of the -enemy with his sword. His men, redoubling their -efforts, hoisted each other up the breach after him and -the sconce was won. Stanley, marvellous to say, escaped -unhurt, and received not only warm commendation in -Leicester's despatches, but a pension for life from -Leicester's own pocket, for the most daring act that is -recorded of the whole of that long war.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1587.<br />1588.</div> - -<p>The plot of the Spanish Armada now began to -thicken, and the scene must be shifted for a moment -to England. In the Low Countries Parma was -looking about for a port of embarkation from which -to ship his men across the North Sea. He fixed upon -Sluys, and in spite of a desperate resistance from a -handful of gallant Englishmen, led by Roger Williams, -he succeeded in capturing it after a siege of three -months. At the end of 1587 Leicester resigned his -command and returned to England; and in the following -year all the best officers, and many of the English -companies, were gathered together in the camp at -Tilbury. Leicester was in chief command, with John<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[151]</a></span> -Norris for his second, and Roger Williams among -others for assistant, but these officers were not on -very friendly terms with each other; and, indeed, the -less said of Tilbury Camp as a whole the better. Contemporary -writers indeed aver that it was a pleasant -sight to see the soldiers march in from the various -shires, "with cheerful countenances, courageous words -and gestures, leaping and dancing";<a name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></a><a href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</a> but such a display -was a better indication of loyalty than of discipline, -and sadly different from the pace, full of gravity and -state, which had been enjoined by the best authorities. -There was, moreover, great disorder and deformity of -apparel; most of the men wore their armour very uncomely, -and the whole army refused point-blank to use -the headpieces issued from the Tower. Ammunition -again was short, provisions were scanty, organisation -was extremely defective, and the general confusion -incredible. Four thousand men who had marched, -pursuant to orders, twenty miles into Tilbury, found -that they must go that distance from the camp again -before they could find a loaf of bread or a barrel of -beer. A thousand Londoners who were likewise in -the march were ordered to halt unless they could -bring their own provisions with them. Leicester -might safely remark that "great dilatory wants are -found upon all sudden hurly-burlies,"<a name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></a><a href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</a> but there was -no excuse for such chaos after the incessant warnings -of the past thirty years. Elizabeth must bear the -chief share of the blame. The woman who in her -imbecile parsimony starved the fleet that went forth to -fight the Armada could not be expected to show better -feeling towards the army. It was no thanks to the -Queen that the Spanish invasion was repelled.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1589.<br />1590.</div> - -<p>I shall not follow the veterans John Norris and -Lord Willoughby on their expeditions to Corunna -and Brittany in the following year. Far more important -to us is the rise of a great leader, and the -opening of a new era in the war of the Low Countries. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[152]</a></span>On Leicester's resignation of the chief command, there -was appointed to succeed him a man whose name must -ever be venerated in the British Army, Prince Maurice -of Nassau,<a name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></a><a href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</a> second son of William the Silent. Though -but twenty years of age when selected as Governor -and Commander-in-Chief of the United Provinces, he -had already made up his mind that if the War of -Independence were to end in victory it must be fought -not, as heretofore, with a mob of irregular levies, -but with a trained, disciplined, and organised army. -His own natural bent lay chiefly towards mathematics, -which he cultivated as a means to the mastery of -military engineering, and eventually reduced to practice -by so sedulous a use of the spade in all military -operations as to provoke many a sneer from soldiers -of a more primitive type. But Maurice knew his own -mind, and was not to be deterred by sneers. His -principal assistant was his cousin, Louis William, -Stadtholder of Friesland, an industrious student of -classical antiquity with the rare faculty of adapting -old systems to modern requirements. To his diligence -was due the instruction of the army in drill and -discipline, and to his influence must be ascribed -Maurice's admiration for the <cite>Tactics of Ælian</cite>.<a name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></a><a href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</a> His -new and elaborate manœuvres also elicited the scorn -of the old school of officers,<a name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></a><a href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</a> but he too was not -easily discouraged; and the two cousins worked hand-in-hand, -the one at the broader principles, the other at -the hardly less important details, of their profession, -until they raised up an army which supplanted the -Spanish as the model for Europe. Not the least -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[153]</a></span>weighty of Maurice's reforms was the regular payment -of the men, and the stern repression of fraudulent -practices among the officers. In a word, he appreciated -the value of sound administration no less that of pure -military skill and training in the conduct of a war.</p> - -<p>The tactical organisation of the new army was not -so perfect as, with the Spanish model before us, we -might with reason have expected. The tactical unit of -infantry was the company, and the regiment still -consisted of an uncertain number of companies temporarily -united under the command of a colonel. The -composition of the companies again was uncertain. -The normal strength was one hundred and thirteen -men, which was later reduced to eighty, but colonels -had double companies—some even double regiments—and -there appears to have been no very great exactitude, -probably because men could only be persuaded to serve -under the captain of their choice. The officers of a -company were of course captain, lieutenant, and -ensign; the non-commissioned officers included two -sergeants and three corporals, as well as a "gentleman -of the arms," who was responsible for the condition -of the weapons. Lastly, there were two drummers, -who, it should be noted, like the trumpeters in the -cavalry, were not the mere signal-makers that they -now are, but the men regularly employed in all -communications with the enemy, and as such expected -to possess not only discretion but some skill in -languages. They received far higher pay than the -common soldier, and if they did a tithe of that which -was expected of them they were worth every penny of it.</p> - -<p>Every company was divided into three corporalships, -each of which was the peculiar care of one of the three -corporals and of one of the three officers. In equipment -there were at first three descriptions of arms—halberds, -pikes, and muskets—of which however the halberds soon -disappeared, leaving pikes and shot in equal numbers, -but with an ever-growing tendency towards preponderance -of shot. The normal formation of a company was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[154]</a></span> -in ten ranks; and the men were never less than three -feet apart from each other, such open order being -essential to the execution of the prescribed evolutions. -To increase the front, the ranks were doubled by moving -the even ranks into the intervals of the odd; to -diminish the front, the files were doubled by the converse -process.<a name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></a><a href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</a> To take ground to flank or rear every man -turned to right or left or about on his own ground, and it is -worth remarking that the best men were always stationed -in the front rank and the next best in the tenth, and -that while the captain was posted in front of his company, -the lieutenant, except in a charge, remained always -in the rear.</p> - -<p>The musketeers were usually drawn up in two divisions, -one on either flank of the pikes; and the problem -that eternally confronted the captain was how to handle -the two elements in effective combination and yet contrive -never to confuse them. In action the musketeers -generally moved in advance of the pikes, firing by ranks -in succession, according to Pescayra's method, and filing -to the rear to reload. Sometimes they were extended -across the front of the pikes, but more often they kept -their place on the flanks. Meanwhile the pikemen, -heavily weighted by helmet, corselet, and tassets (thigh-pieces), -moved stolidly on: as they drew nearer the -enemy the musketeers fell back until they were first -aligned with them, and then abreast of the fifth or sixth -rank. If neither side gave way, matters came to push -of pike and a general charge, wherein the musketeers -ceased firing and fell in with the butt, a method of -fighting which was peculiarly favoured by the English. -To resist cavalry the musketeers fled for shelter under -the pikes, generally in considerable disorder, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[155]</a></span> -outer ranks of pikemen, lunging forward, stayed the -butts of their pikes against the hollow of the left -foot.</p> - -<p>The cavalry was divided at first into lancers and carbineers, -the former being fully covered with armour to -the knee; but the lance, in deference to the fashion of -the Reiters, was soon<a name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></a><a href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</a> discarded for the pistol. The -carbineers carried a carbine<a name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></a><a href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</a> with a wheel-lock, and -were trained to shoot from the saddle, the ranks firing -in succession according to Pescayra's system. The -tactical unit was the troop or cornet, which, after many -changes, was finally fixed at a strength of one hundred -and twenty men, and divided, like the company, into -three corporalships. Captain, lieutenant and cornet, -three corporals, a trumpeter, a farrier, and a quartermaster -made up the higher ranks of the troop, no such -title as a sergeant appearing in the cavalry. Of artillery -I shall say nothing, since the Dutch organisation was -in this respect peculiar, and could not serve like -that of the infantry and cavalry as a model for the -English.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1589.</div> - -<p>Concurrently with the rise of Maurice as Commander-in-Chief -must be noted that of a new English General, -whose name is bound up for ever with the actions of his -countrymen in the Low Countries. Francis Vere came -of the old fighting stock of the Earls of Oxford. The -seventh Earl had fought with the Black Prince at Creçy -and Poitiers, the twelfth with King Harry at Agincourt, -and succeeding holders of the title had distinguished -themselves on the Lancastrian side in the Wars of the -Roses. Francis, grandson of the fifteenth Earl, was born -about 1560, came to Holland with Leicester in 1585, -and after brilliant service at the defence of Sluys and -elsewhere rose to be sergeant-major of infantry, a sure -proof that he was not only a gallant man but an adept -in his profession. Finally, in August 1589 he was -appointed sergeant-major-general of the Queen's forces -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[156]</a></span>in the Low Countries, where he was joined by two -gallant brothers, Horace and Robert, who worthily upheld -the honour of the name.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1591.<br />1595.<br />1596.</div> - -<p>His task, as that of every officer who had to do with -such a woman as Elizabeth, was at first no easy one. -His force being very small required constant reinforcement, -and was accordingly strengthened by five hundred -of the "very scum of the world," such being the -description of recruit that Elizabeth preferred to supply. -He took care, however, to procure for himself better -material, and at the opening of 1591 had no fewer than -eight thousand men under his command. But as fast -as he trained them into soldiers Elizabeth required their -services for her own purposes, and frittered them away -in petty meaningless operations in France, filling their -place with some more of the very scum of the world, -which could be swept out of the gaols and taverns at a -moment's notice. The system was in fact that of -drafting, in its most vicious form. Vere for a time bore -it in silence, but at last he protested, and like all of -Elizabeth's best men was soundly abused for his pains. -Still the Queen knew his value well enough to withdraw -not only his troops but himself from the expedition -to Cadiz, and the disastrous island-voyage to the -Azores.</p> - -<p>A far more serious difficulty was the corruption of -departments and contractors at home and the vicious -system of paying the men. The wages of a private -at eightpence a day were reckoned for the year at -£12 : 13 : 4, of which £4 : 2 : 6 was deducted for two -suits of summer and winter clothing,<a name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></a><a href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</a> £6 : 18 : 6 paid -in imprests at the rate of 2s. 8d. a week, and the -balance, £1 : 2 : 6, alone made over in money. Even in -theory the allowance does not sound liberal, but in -practice it was ruinous. The men drew their pay and -clothing from their captains, and the captains received -the money in uncertain instalments, the balance due to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[157]</a></span> -them being made good at the close of every six months. -This in itself was wasteful, since it enabled the captain -to put in his own pocket the wages of soldiers who had -died or had been discharged in the interval. But apart -from this the captains frequently withheld the clothing -altogether, or served out material of uncertain quality, -charging the men treble the just price for the same; or -again they would make their own contract for victualling -the men, of course to their own profit, in lieu of paying -to them the weekly 2s. 8d. which was due to them for -subsistence. How widely the practice may have obtained -among officers it is difficult to say, but the system was -presently altered to the advantage alike of the State and -the soldier by the officials in London. The officers -also had their complaints, not a whit less sweeping, -against those officials, and they preferred them in uncompromising -terms. Such representations were not -likely to meet with encouragement. Elizabeth was not -friendly to soldiers, and hated to be troubled with -obligations towards men who had faithfully served her. -An Act had been passed in 1593 throwing the relief of -crippled or destitute soldiers on their parishes, and she -could not see what more they could want. Bloody -Mary had shown them compassion; not so would -Good Queen Bess; she would not be pestered with the -sight of the "miserable creatures." As to the complaints -of officers, she had heard enough of their ways, -and would take the word of the Treasurer of the Forces -against theirs. Still Vere and his captains persisted, -and at last the shameful truth was revealed that the -Treasurer himself was the culprit, and had for years -been cheating alike his Queen, her officers, and her -men.</p> - -<p>It is easy therefore to understand the relief with -which the English commanders in the Low Countries -must have welcomed a new treaty made in 1598, -whereby Elizabeth was quitted of her engagement to -furnish the United Provinces with auxiliary troops, and -all English soldiers were ordered henceforth to take<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[158]</a></span> -their pay from the States and their orders from the -Dutch Generals. The troops in the Low Countries -were now comparatively freed from the caprices of the -Queen and could work in harmony with their masters. -From this point therefore the English fairly enter the -school of the new art of war.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[159]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_V" id="BII_CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#BIICV">CHAPTER V</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1600.</div> - -<p class="noindent">So far I have abstained from any attempt to describe -the military operations of the States, or even the -brilliant little enterprises of Vere himself, since his -assumption of the command: but at this point, when -we enter upon the palmy days of the English in -Holland, it is worth while to be more precise. So far -Maurice had occupied himself principally with the task -of recovering the towns occupied by the Spaniards -within the seven provinces;<a name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></a><a href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</a> the States-General in the -year 1600 resolved upon the bold step of carrying the -war into the enemy's country. Ostend, which was held -by the Queen of England, was to be the base of operations, -and the design was to land a force on the Flemish -coast and besiege first Nieuport, to the west of Ostend, -and afterwards Dunkirk. Maurice and Vere both -thought the enterprise hazardous in the extreme, but -they were overruled by the civilians. A force of twelve -thousand infantry, sixteen hundred cavalry and ten guns -was assembled at Flushing, and a fleet was collected to -transport it to its destination. The army was organised -in the three familiar divisions, vanguard, battle, and -rearguard, of which the rearguard under Sir Francis -Vere consisted of sixteen hundred English veterans, two -thousand five hundred Frisians, two hundred and fifty -of Prince Maurice's body-guard, and ten cornets of -horse, making in all four thousand five hundred men. -With Vere were men whose names through themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[160]</a></span> -or through their successors were to become famous—Sir -Edward Cecil, Sir Charles Fairfax, Captain Holles, -and others. In another division of the army was a -regiment of Scots under Sir William Edmunds, which -had recently been recruited to the high strength of one -hundred and fifty men to each company. English and -Scots already loved to fight side by side.</p> - -<p>The force embarked on the 21st of June, but being -delayed by calms landed short of Nieuport, marched -overland, capturing the fort of Oudenburg on the way, -and on the 1st of July was before Nieuport. The Spanish -commander, the Archduke Albert, no sooner heard -what was going forward than he at once concentrated -his army at Ghent for an immediate advance; and -Maurice, who was busily preparing for the siege of -Nieuport, was surprised by the sudden intelligence that -his little garrison at Oudenburg had been overwhelmed, -and that the Spanish forces were in full march for his -camp. The situation in which he found himself was -now very critical. Expecting no such movement -Maurice had divided his forces round Nieuport into -two parts, which were cut off from each other by the -haven that runs through the town. Though dry at -low water this haven was unfordable at high tide, and -the bridge which was constructing across it was still unfinished. -Worst of all, it was the weakest division of -the force, three thousand five hundred men under -Ernest of Nassau, that stood on the side of the haven -nearest to the enemy; and a battle within twenty-four -hours was inevitable.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July 2.</div> - -<p>The question therefore arose whether the action -should be fought in dispute of the enemy's passage over -a stream called the Yser leet which barred the line of -his advance, or on the sandy dunes by the sea-shore, -where the Spaniards would certainly seek it if the -passage were successfully accomplished. Vere was for -the former course, and Maurice, thinking the advice -good, ordered Count Ernest's division to march straight -for the bridge on the Yser leet, saying that he would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[161]</a></span> -shortly follow with the rest of the army. Vere protested -in vain that this was a perversion of his counsel: -either the whole army must march with Count Ernest, -or no part of it must move at all; for to send forward -a weak division in the hope of delaying the Spanish -advance was simply to court defeat. Maurice, however, -stuck to his opinion, and at midnight Count Ernest -marched off with his division unsupported to the bridge. -He arrived too late, for the Spaniards had already -secured the passage, and he therefore took up the best -position that he could find, behind a dyke, to defend -himself as well as he could. The first shot had hardly -been fired when his men began to run. It was such a -panic as has rarely been matched in the annals of war. -Cavalry and infantry, Dutchmen and Scots, threw down -their arms, took to their heels and fled like swine -possessed of devils into the sea. The Scotch officers of -Sir William Edmunds' regiment strove to rally the -fugitives, but in vain: they were cut down one after -another, and the men that escaped death by lead or -steel were swallowed up literally in the waves. Two -thousand five hundred men, including a thousand -massacred at Oudenburg, were thus lost, and Maurice -had now to face his enemy with a weakened army and -with his retreat barred by the haven behind him. Defeat -would mean not only annihilation but the undoing of -all the work of the rebellion. With superb courage -he ordered his fleet of transports to sea, and staked all -on the hazard of the coming battle.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Vere, whose division had this day the -place of the vanguard, had moved at daybreak down to -the bank of the haven and was waiting for the ebb-tide -to cross it, when the news came that the Archduke's -army was in full march along the sea-shore. As soon -as the tide permitted he forded the haven with all haste, -not allowing the men to strip, for, as he said, by nightfall -they would have dry clothes or want none. Presently -he came in sight of the enemy, ten thousand foot, -sixteen hundred horse and six guns, moving along the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[162]</a></span> -flat sands of the sea-shore. The space between the sea -and the enclosed country was broken up into three -descriptions of ground running parallel one to another; -next the sea was the narrow plain of the strand between -high- and low-water mark, next the strand were the -broken hillocks of the sand-dunes, and between the dunes -and the enclosed land ran a margin of unbroken green, -called by Vere the Greenway. Vere lost no time in -taking up a position at the narrowest point that he -could find, distributing his division skilfully among the -hillocks to repel an advance through the dunes, and -posting two guns, by Maurice's order, to command the -Greenway. To his right rear stood the battle or -second division, one thousand strong, and in rear of -the battle the third division of rather more than two -thousand men. The army was thus formed in echelon -of three lines with the right refused, its left resting in -the sea, its right on the enclosed land.</p> - -<p>Weak in cavalry, the Spaniards halted till the rising -tide had covered all but thirty yards of the strand, and -then moved the whole of their horse to the Greenway -and of their infantry into the dunes. Maurice likewise -withdrew his cavalry from the shore and massed it in -columns on the Greenway, leaving but two troops, both -of them English, still standing on the beach. For two -whole hours of a beautiful summer's afternoon the two -armies waited each for the other to advance, and at last, -at half-past two, the Spaniards began to move. Vere, -taking every possible advantage of the sandhills to -protect and conceal his men, had thrust forward small -parties to contest every inch of ground; and it was -against the foremost of these, two and fifty English and -fifty Frisians, that the first attack of five hundred of the -flower of the Spanish infantry was directed. Meanwhile -the Spanish cavalry moved forward along the Greenway. -This cavalry, disordered by the fire of Vere's two guns -and galled in flank by a detachment of his musketeers, -soon gave way before the cavalry of the States; but the -struggle of the infantry in the van was very severe.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[163]</a></span> -The first attack of the Spanish vanguard was repulsed, -but being quickly reinforced it moved forward again -and the fight then became desperate. For a time the -battle seems to have resolved itself into a furious -contest for the possession of a single sandhill, round -which, as round the two-gun-battery at Inkermann, -both sides fought madly hand to hand, each -alternately repelling and repelled, till at last this -"bloody morsel," as Vere called it, was finally carried -by the English.</p> - -<p>The Archduke without delay brought up his centre -in line with his vanguard, and essayed to force his way -through Vere's right. The columns were met by a -murderous fire from a party of musketeers which had -been posted by Vere to check any such movement, and -were driven back; and then the whole strength of the -Spanish attack was concentrated once more upon Vere's -main position. Husbanding his strength to the utmost, -Vere gradually drew the whole of his English into -action and fought on. So far, owing to the skill of his -dispositions, little more than half of his force had been -engaged, but seeing that they were likely to be overwhelmed -by numbers, he sent messengers to summon -his reserve of two thousand Frisian infantry, and to beg -Maurice to help him with cavalry from his right. -Messenger after messenger was despatched without -result. Vere went down among his few remaining men, -and the little force, cheered by his presence, fought -gallantly on and still held the enemy at bay. He was -struck by a musket ball in the thigh and by a second -in the leg, but he concealed the wounds and held his -men together. Yet the expected reinforcements came -not, and the English were slowly forced back, still in -good order and still showing their teeth, from the -dunes on to the beach, the Spaniards following after -them, but afraid to press the pursuit. As the English -retired, Vere's horse was shot under him and fell, -pinning him helpless to the ground. Three of his -officers ran up and freed him; and mounted on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[164]</a></span> -crupper behind one of them, he continued calmly to -direct the retreat.</p> - -<p>Arrived on the sands he found his reserve of Frisians -still halted in their original position, having never -received orders to move, and with them the two troops -of English horse. A charge of the cavalry, supported -by two hundred infantry under Horace Vere, soon swept -the Spaniards back into the dunes, and then at last Sir -Francis made himself over to the surgeon, while Maurice -came forward, cool and unmoved, to save the day. -The Spaniards now massed two thousand infantry together -for a further advance, while the English officers, -weary with fighting and parched with heat and sand, -exerted themselves to rally their men. The English -were quickly reformed, so quickly that the Spaniards, -who had sent forward a party to disperse them, promptly -withdrew it at the sight of Horace Vere returning with -his two hundred men from the beach. Maurice saw -the movement and exclaimed joyfully, "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Voyez les -Anglais qui tournent à la charge.</span>" He at once ordered -up the cavalry from the right under Sir Edward Cecil; -and meanwhile Horace Vere and his brother officers -hastily decided that their only chance was at once to -charge the two thousand Spaniards with their handful of -men. They rushed desperately down upon them; the -Spaniards, worn out by a long march and hard fighting, -gave way, and Maurice catching the supreme moment -launched Cecil's troopers into the thick of them. A -second charge disposed of the Spanish horse; Maurice -ordered a general advance, and the battle was won. -Three thousand Spaniards were killed outright; six -hundred more with all their guns and one hundred and -twenty colours were captured. On the side of the -States the loss fell almost wholly on the English. Of -their captains eight were killed, and but two came out -of the field unhurt; of the sixteen hundred men eight -hundred were killed and wounded. They with the -Frisians had borne the brunt of the action, and -Maurice gave them credit for it. So ended the fight of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[165]</a></span> -Nieuport,<a name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></a><a href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</a> the dying struggle of the once famous -Spanish soldier, and the first great day of the new -English infantry.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1601.<br />July 9.</div> - -<p>Next year the Archduke Albert sought revenge for -his defeat by the investment of the one stronghold of -the United Provinces in Flanders, the little fortified -fishing-town of Ostend. The garrison had made itself -so obnoxious to the surrounding country that the States -of Flanders petitioned the Archduke to stamp out the -pestilent little fortress once for all; and hence it was that -in the following years the principal operations grouped -themselves around the siege. The Archduke's army -consisted of twenty thousand men with fifty siege-guns; -the garrison of barely six thousand men, half English -and half Dutch, of which fifteen hundred English, all -dressed in red cassocks, were a reinforcement just imported -from across the sea. Francis Vere was in supreme -command, and his brother Horace commanded a regiment -under him.</p> - -<p>I shall not weary the reader with details of Vere's -skill and resource in improving the defences of the town, -or of the incessant encounters that took place during -the first weeks of the siege. The Spanish fire was so -hot and the losses of the besieged so heavy that the -garrison was fairly worn out with the work. Vere was -dangerously wounded in the head within the first three -weeks and compelled to throw up the command until -restored to health, and at the close of the first month -hardly a red cassock of the fifteen hundred was to be -seen, every man being wounded or dead. Nevertheless, -the sea being always open to the besieged, fresh men -and supplies could always be poured into the town to -repair the waste. Two thousand English, for a wonder -well equipped and apparelled, were the first to arrive, -and were followed by a contingent, of French and Scots.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[166]</a></span> -They too went down with terrible rapidity. The town -was but five hundred yards across, and the Spanish -batteries were built within musket-shot of the defences. -Hardly a house was left standing, and the garrison was -compelled to burrow underground as the only refuge -from the incessant rain of missiles. The winter set in -with exceptional rigour, the defenders dwindled to a -bare nine hundred effective men, and at Christmas Vere, -in the face of foul winds and failing supplies, was compelled -to resort to a feigned parley to gain time. By a -fortunate change of wind four hundred men were able -to enter the harbour and recruit the exhausted garrison.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1602.</div> - -<p>So far the Spaniards had fired one hundred and -sixty-three thousand cannon-shot into the town, and -they now decided on a general assault. On the 7th of -January Vere received intelligence of the coming attack, -and, though his force was far too weak to defend the -full extent of his works, made every preparation to repel -it. Firkins of ashes, barrels bristling with tenterhooks, -stones, hoops, brickbats, clubs, what not, were stored -on the ramparts, and at high tide the water was dammed -up into the ditch. At nightfall the Spanish columns -fell on the devoted town at all points. They were met -by a shower of every description of missile; flaming -hoops were cast round their necks, ashes flung in their -eyes, brickbats hurled in their faces; and storm as they -might they could gain no footing. Thrice they returned -to the assault, and thrice they were beaten back, and at -last they retired, sullen and furious, for the tide was -rising, and on one side they could advance to the town -only by a passage which was not fordable at high water. -Vere opened the sluices of the ditch as they retreated, -and the rush of water swept scores if not hundreds of -them out to sea. The Spanish loss was two thousand -men; that of the garrison did not exceed one hundred -and thirty.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1603-1604.</div> - -<p>I shall not further follow this memorable siege. -Vere and his brother Horace left the town worn almost -to death in March 1602, but still the defence was maintained.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[167]</a></span> -Reinforcements from England came in by -hundreds and by thousands. Rogues, vagabonds, idle, -dissolute, and masterless persons were impressed impartially -together with men of honesty and reputation, -clapped into red or blue cassocks and shipped across to -Ostend. Volunteers of noble and of humble birth, -some in search of instruction, some with a thirst for -excitement, hurried likewise to the siege, and Ostend -became one of the sights of Europe. Governor after -governor, gallant Dutchmen all of them, came to take -command. Three of them were killed outright, but -still the defence continued, until at last on the 13th of -September 1604 the heap of ruins which marked the -site of Ostend was surrendered into the generous hands -of Spinola. The siege had lasted three years and ten -weeks, and had cost the lives of one hundred and twenty -thousand men.</p> - -<p>Before the town fell the campaigns of Francis Vere -were ended. In 1602 he accompanied Maurice to the -siege of Grave, where he was once more dangerously -wounded, and in the summer of 1604 he retired from -the service of the States, from whom he deservedly -received a pension for his life. In the very same year -King James the First made a treaty with the Archdukes -of the Spanish Netherlands, which left the Dutch patriots -henceforth to fight their battles by themselves; but -nations like the English and Scotch are not bound by the -decisions of such a creature as James. The British -troops not only remained in the service of the State but -grew and multiplied exceedingly, and Francis Vere, who -had made their service honourable and given their efforts -distinction, could feel that his work was well done. A -few short years of rest closed a life that was shortened -by hardship and wounds; and on the 28th of August, -1609, within four months of the signing of the truce -which gave breathing time to the exhausted combatants -of the Dutch war, the old soldier died peacefully in his -house in London. His tomb in Westminster Abbey is -admired by thousands who know not one of his actions,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[168]</a></span> -but surely it is no derogation to art to remember that the -recumbent marble effigy, and the four noble figures that -kneel around it are those not of conventional heroes, but of -honest English fighting men, typical of many thousands -who perished in the cause of Dutch freedom and lie buried -and forgotten in the blood-stained soil of the Netherlands.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1619.</div> - -<p>The twelve years' truce gave the English regiments -a rest which, though not wholly unbroken, left some of -the more daring spirits free for other adventure. The -cause of the Elector Frederick, a prince less interesting -to the English as the Winter King than as the husband -of their favourite Princess Elizabeth, called Horace Vere -and many another gallant gentleman with four thousand -good soldiers into the Palatinate, where however their -bravery could not avail to save them from inevitable -failure. King James of course had no part in the venture; -so far from moving a finger in aid of the Protestant -cause in Germany, he even conspired secretly with -Spain for a partition of the Netherlands, which was to be -effected by the English troops in the Dutch service, the -very men who had made the cause of the United -Provinces their own and had carried it through the -perils of Nieuport and Ostend. It is hardly surprising -that such a man should, not indeed without searching of -heart but without stirring a hand, have suffered Germany -to drift into the Thirty Years War.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1621.<br />1624.<br />1625-1637.</div> - -<p>The lapse of the twelve years' truce found a large -contingent of English under the command of Sir Edward -Cecil attached to the army of Prince Maurice; and -three years later the final breach of England with Spain -increased its number from six to twelve thousand, and -in 1625 even to seventeen thousand men. It would be -tedious to follow them through the operations of the -ensuing campaigns; it must suffice to call attention to -the rise of men who were to become famous in later -days and thus bridge over by a few stepping-stones the -connection of the British army with the old Dutch -schools of war. The first names are those of Philip -Skippon, whom we find wounded before Breda in 1625,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[169]</a></span> -and of Captain John Cromwell, a kinsman of the great -Oliver, who was also wounded in the same action. -Coming next to the siege of Bois le Duc in 1629 we find -the list far longer—Lord Doncaster, Lord Fielding, who -trailed a pike in Cecil's regiment, Lord Craven, a -Luttrell, a Bridgeman, a Basset, a Throgmorton, a -Fleetwood, a Lambert, a second Cromwell, Thomas -Fairfax, Philip Skippon, Jacob Astley, Thomas Culpeper, -the veterans Balfour and Sandilands from north of the -Tweed, and many more. Lastly, at the siege of Breda -in 1637 we see Prince Rupert and Prince Maurice, sons -of the Winter King, as forward in the trenches as any -needy cadet could be, working side by side with Philip -Skippon, Lord Warwick, and George Goring. Of these -Skippon and Goring divided the honours of the siege. -Skippon at a post of extreme danger drove off two -hundred Spaniards at push of pike with thirty English; -he was struck by five bullets on helmet and corselet and -at last shot through the neck, but he merely sat down -for ten minutes and returned to his work until recalled -by the Prince of Orange. Goring in the extreme -advanced sap paid extra wages from his own pocket to -any who would work with him, and remained there while -two-and-twenty men were shot down round him, until -at last he was compelled to retire by a bullet in the -ankle. Meanwhile fresh volunteers kept pouring in—Herbert, -son of Lord Herbert of Cherbury, Sir Faithful -Fortescue of the King's cavalry in Ireland, Sir Charles -Slingsby, with many more, and lastly Captain George -Monk of Potheridge in Devon, one day to be the first -colonel of the Coldstream Guards, and even now distinguished -by peculiar bravery.</p> - -<p>There they were, brave English gentlemen, all wearing -the scarf of orange and blue, fighting side by side -with the pupils of Francis Vere, learning their work -for the days when they should be divided into Cavaliers -and Roundheads and flying at each other's throats. It -was a merry life enough, though with plenty of grim -earnest. Before each relief marched off for the night<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[170]</a></span> -to the trenches it drew off in <em>parado</em><a name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></a><a href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</a> to the quarters -of the colonel in command, heard prayers, sang a psalm -and so went to its work; but though there was a -preacher to every regiment and a sermon in the -colonel's tent, there was no compulsion to attend, and -there were few listeners except a handful of well-disposed -persons.<a name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></a><a href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</a> It was to be a very different matter -with some of them ten years later, but that they could -not foresee; and in truth we find among the gentlemen -volunteers some very familiar types. One of them -arrived with eighteen suits of clothes, got drunk immediately -on landing and remained drunk, hiccuping "thy -pot or mine," for the rest of his stay. It is not -difficult to understand why this gentleman was sent to the -wars. Another, Ensign Duncombe, came for a different -reason; he had fallen in love with a girl, who though -worthy of him was not approved of by his parents. So -he too was sent out to forget her, as such foolish boys -must be; and he became a great favourite and did well. -But unluckily he could not forget; so one day he sat -down and wrote two letters, one full of passion to his -beloved, and another full of duty to his father, and -having done so, addressed the passionate epistle, as is the -way of such poor blundering boys, to his father and the -dutiful one to the lady. And so it came about that -some weeks later the regiment was horrified to hear -that young Duncombe had shot himself; and there was -an ensign the less in the Low Countries and a broken -heart the more in England, sad silence at the officers' -table and much morbid discussion of the incident in -the ranks. It is such trifles as these that recall to us -that these soldiers of old times were really living creatures -of flesh and blood.</p> - -<p>The men too were learning their business with all -the elaborate exercise of musket and of pike, and -familiarising themselves with the innumerable words of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[171]</a></span>command and with the refinements in the execution of the -same. The pikeman learned by interminable directions -to handle his weapon with the better grace, and listened -to such cautions as the following. "Now at the word -<em>Order your pikes</em>, you place the butt end of your pike -by the outside of your right foot, your right hand holding -it even with your eye and your thumb right up; -then your left arm being set akimbo by your side you -shall stand with a full body in a comely posture." The -musketeer too grasped that the minutest motion must -be executed by word of command. Stray grains of -powder spilled around the pan disappeared at the word -<em>Blow off your loose corns</em>, sometimes by a puff or two -sometimes by a "sudden strong blast," but always in -accordance with regulation. At the word <em>Give fire</em> again -he learned the supreme importance of "gently pressing -the trigger without starting or winking," and soon -revived the old English reputation, first won by the -archers, for fine marksmanship. An eye-witness records -with delight that after each shot they would lean on -their rests and look for the result as coolly as though -they had been so many fowlers watching for the fall of -their bird. Lastly, they learned a new feat, untaught in -any drill-book, with which this section may fitly be -closed. Pikemen and musketeers were drawn up in line, -every pike with a wisp of straw at its head, and every -musket loaded with powder only; and at the word -every wisp was kindled and every musket fired in rapid -succession. The volley met with a stop at first, to use -the words of our authority, as was perhaps natural at a -first attempt, but eventually it ran well; and thus was -fired before Bois le Duc in the year 1629 the first <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">feu -de joie</i> that is recorded of the British Army.<a name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></a><a href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</a></p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The chief sources of information for the actions -of the British in the Low Countries are the histories of Meteren, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[172]</a></span> -Grimeston and Commelyn; Roger Williams's <cite>Actions of the Low -Countries</cite>; Hexham; Vere's <cite>Commentaries</cite>; the <cite>Leicester Correspondence</cite> -(Camden Society); the <cite>Calendars of State Papers, -Domestic and Foreign Series</cite>; and the <cite>Holland Papers</cite> in the -Record Office. These last, consisting of several scores of portfolios -of manuscript documents, I cannot pretend to have studied exhaustively. -Sir Clements Markham's <cite>Fighting Veres</cite> and Mr. Dalton's -<cite>Life of Lord Wimbledon</cite> are the best modern books on the subject, -and I wish to acknowledge to the full my obligation to them. -Hexham's <cite>Principles of the Art Military</cite> is the best authority for -the Dutch system of drill. The <cite>Tactics of Ælian</cite>, translated with -commentary by Captain John Bingham, 1616, is also valuable. -Last, but not least, the reader will supply for himself the familiar -name of Motley.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[173]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_VI" id="BII_CHAPTER_VI"></a><a href="#BIICVI">CHAPTER VI</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">It is now needful to turn to the second and perhaps -more important school of the British Army. As in -the Low Countries we found English and Scots fighting -side by side, but gave to the English, as their numerical -preponderance demanded, the greater share of attention, -so now in the German battlefields of the Thirty Years' -War we shall see them again ranked together, but must -devote ourselves for the same reason to the actions of -the Scots.</p> - -<p>The North Britons seem to have found their way -very quickly to the banners of Gustavus Adolphus, and -to have fought with him in his earlier campaigns long -before he had established himself as the champion of -Protestantism. To mention but two memorable names, -Sir John Hepburn and Sir Alexander Leslie had risen -to high rank in his service many years before he crossed -the Baltic for his marvellous campaigns in Germany. -But to trace the history of the famous Scottish regiments -aright, they must be briefly followed from their first -departure from Scotland to take service under King -Christian the Fourth of Denmark, who curiously enough -forms the link that connects the two schools of Maurice -of Nassau and Gustavus Adolphus.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1626,<br /> -August 17.</div> - -<p>It was in reliance on promises of subsidy from the -English King Charles the First that Christian first levied -an army and took the field for the Protestant cause. -His plan was for a defensive campaign, but this was -impossible unless his soldiers were regularly paid, which -they would be, as he hoped, with English money.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[174]</a></span> -Needless to say, Charles when the moment came was -unable to fulfil his promise; Christian was driven to -take the offensive and was completely defeated by Tilly -at Lutter. The unhappy king appealed indignantly to -Charles for help, but Charles could send nothing but -four English regiments which had been raised for -service in the Low Countries two years before, and -were now, through the prevailing maladministration in -every department of English affairs, weak, disorganised -and useless. Their numbers were however supplemented -by the press-gang, and a body of some five thousand -men, unpaid and ill-found, ripe for disease and disorder, -were shipped off to the Elbe.</p> - -<p>A little earlier than the defeat at Lutter one of the -many gentlemen-adventurers in Scotland, Sir Donald -Mackay, had obtained leave from King Charles to raise -and transport five thousand men for King Christian's -ally, the famous free lance, Count Ernest Mansfeld. It -does not appear that he succeeded in recruiting even half -of that number, for heavy drafts had already been made -upon the centre and south of Scotland for levies. Still -some two thousand men were collected by fair means or -foul, and even if some of them were taken from the -Tolbooth at Edinburgh, it was fitting that in a corps so -famous there should be representatives from the Heart -of Midlothian. But it is certain that a goodly proportion -were taken from the northern counties and in -particular from the district of the Clan Mackay, and that -these took the field in their national costume and so were -the first organised body deserving the name of a kilted -regiment. The officers, from their names and still more -from their subsequent behaviour, seem to have been without -exception gentlemen of birth and standing, worthy -to represent their nation. Some of them probably had -already experience of war; one at least, Robert Munro, -the historian of the regiment, had served in the Scottish -body-guard of the King of France, and had learned from -sad experience the meaning of the word discipline.<a name="FNanchor_144_144" id="FNanchor_144_144"></a><a href="#Footnote_144_144" class="fnanchor">[144]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[175]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1627.</div> - -<p>The regiment sailed in divisions from Cromarty and -Aberdeen and arrived at Glückstadt on the Elbe in -October 1626. The winter was spent in training the -men, but not without riot and brawling. The officers -were constantly quarrelling, and there was so little -discipline among the men that a sergeant actually fell -out of the ranks when at drill to cudgel a foreign -officer who had maltreated one of his comrades. -Meanwhile Count Mansfeld, who had originally hired -the regiment, was dead, and in March 1627 Sir Donald -Mackay offered its services to the King of Denmark. -Christian accordingly reviewed it, and having first -inspected the ranks on parade, "drums beating, colours -flying, horses neighing," saw it march past and paid it -a handsome compliment. The men were then drawn, -after the fashion of the landsknechts, into a ring, where -they took the oath and listened to a rehearsal of the -articles of war; and so their services began. Half -of them were despatched with the English regiments to -Bremen, and the remainder were stationed at Lauenburg -to guard the passage of the Elbe.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July.</div> - -<p>After a vast deal of marching and counter-marching -four companies, under Major Dunbar, were left at -Boitzenburg, at the junction of the Boitze and the -Elbe, while Mackay with the remaining seven was -moved to Ruppin. Three days after Mackay's departure, -Tilly's army, ten thousand strong, marched up -to Boitzenburg and prepared to push forward into -Holstein. Dunbar knowing his own weakness had -strengthened his defences, but eight hundred men was -a small garrison against an army. On the very first -night he made a successful sortie; and on the next -day the Imperialist army assaulted his works at all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[176]</a></span> -points. The first attack was repulsed with loss of over -five hundred men to the assailants. Reinforcements -were brought up; the attack was renewed and again -beaten off, and finally a third and furious onslaught -was made on the little band of Scots. In the midst -of the fighting the ammunition of the garrison failed -and its fire ceased. The Imperialists, guessing the -cause, made a general rush for the walls. The Scots -met them at first with showers of sand torn from -the ramparts, and presently falling in with pike and -butt of musket fought the Imperialists hand to hand, and -after a desperate struggle drove them out with the -loss of another five hundred men. Tilly then drew off -and crossed the Elbe higher up, and Dunbar by -Christian's order marched proudly out of Boitzenburg. -This was the first engagement of Mackay's regiment, -a fitting prelude to work that was to come.<a name="FNanchor_145_145" id="FNanchor_145_145"></a><a href="#Footnote_145_145" class="fnanchor">[145]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">October.</div> - -<p>The headquarters of the regiment was presently moved -from Ruppin to Oldenburg to hold the pass against -Tilly's advance, and here they too came into action. -They were ill supported by their foreign comrades, for -the Danes gave way, the Germans of Christian's army -took to their heels, and the brunt of the engagement -fell upon half the regiment of Scots. After two hours -of heavy fighting they were relieved by the other half, -and so the two divisions, taking turn and turn, maintained -the struggle against vastly superior numbers -from seven in the morning till four in the afternoon, -when the enemy at last drew off owing to the darkness. -The spirit shown by the Scots was superb. Ensign -David Ross received a bullet in the chest; he retired -for a few minutes to get the wound dressed, and -returned to the fight; nor did he afterwards miss an -hour's duty on the plea that he was wounded. Hector -Munro of Coull, being shot through the foot, refused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[177]</a></span> -to retire till he had fired away all his ammunition, and -before he could do so was shot in the other foot -also. Yet another, Hugh Murray, being ordered to -bring away his brother's corpse under a heavy fire, -swore that he would first empty his brother's bandoliers -against the enemy, and was shot in the eye, though -not fatally, while fulfilling his oath. Yet these -were young soldiers, of so little experience that they left -their reserve of ammunition exposed, and suffered -heavily from the explosion of a barrel of powder. -They lost sixteen officers and four hundred men -that day.</p> - -<p>That night the Danish army retreated to Heiligenhaven, -but some German Reiters that were attached -to it were so unsteady that they speedily turned the -retreat into a flight; and when the harbour was -reached the cavalry crowded on to the mole to seize -all the transport-vessels for themselves. Sir Donald -Mackay, who was himself wounded, was not the man -to suffer his regiment to be sacrificed; he calmly -ordered his pikemen to advance, swept the whole -of the Reiters into the sea, seized the nearest ship, -brought others out of the roadstead and proceeded to -the work of embarkation. The last boat's load shoved -off surrounded by the enemy's horse, and the last of -the Scots, a gallant boy named Murchison, though -wounded in the head and shot through the arm, swam -off to the boat under a heavy fire, only to die two -days later of his injuries. The rest of the Danish -army, thirty-five troops of horse and forty companies -of foot, surrendered without a blow. Hence it is hardly -surprising that, when next the Scots found themselves in -quarters alongside Danish horse, there was a furious -riot which cost the lives of seven or eight men before -it could be suppressed. But in truth Mackay's regiment -was so much weakened by its losses that both colonel -and lieutenant-colonel returned perforce to Scotland to -raise recruits.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1628.</div> - -<p>I shall not follow the various small actions of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[178]</a></span> -earlier part of the campaign of 1628 in Holstein, -though many of them were brilliant enough. It must -suffice that Scotch and English fought constantly side -by side not only against the enemy, but once riotously -against the Danes themselves, whom they considered to -be unduly favoured in the matter of rations. In May -the Imperialists moved up in force to occupy Stralsund; -and the burghers having appealed to Christian for assistance -received from him the seven companies, now -reduced to eight hundred men, of Mackay's regiment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">June 26.</div> - -<p>On arrival their commanding officer at once selected -the most dangerous post in the defences, as in honour -bound, and for six weeks the regiment was harassed to -death by exhausting duty. The men took their very -meals at their posts, and Monro, who was now a major, -mentions that he never once took off his clothes. They -suffered heavily too from the enemy's fire, a single -cannon shot strewing the walls with the brains of no -fewer than fourteen men; but still they held out. At -last Wallenstein came up in person, impatient at the -delay, and vowed that he would take the town in three -nights though it hung by a chain between heaven and -earth. His first assault was hurled back by the Scots -with the loss of a thousand men. But the Highlanders -also had been severely punished; three officers and two -hundred men had been killed outright, and seven more -officers were wounded. On the following night the -attack was renewed and again repulsed, but the garrison -was now compelled to open a parley in order to gain -time; and the negotiations were prolonged until the -arrival of a second Scottish regiment under Lord Spynie -enabled the defenders to renew their defiance.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1630.<br />February.</div> - -<p>Shortly after the King of Sweden charged himself -with the defence of Stralsund. Alexander Leslie, whom -we shall meet again, was appointed to take the command, -and Mackay's and Spynie's regiments after a final sortie -were withdrawn to Copenhagen. Of Mackay's, five -hundred had been killed outright in the siege, and a -bare hundred only remained unwounded; in fact the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[179]</a></span> -regiment required virtually to be reconstructed. The -work of recruiting and reorganisation occupied the -winter months, at the close of which the corps, now -raised to ten companies and fifteen hundred men, was -honourably discharged from the service of Denmark, -and free to join itself, as it presently did, to Gustavus -Adolphus.</p> - -<p>Its first duty was to learn the new drill and discipline -introduced by the King of Sweden; and as his -system was destined to be accepted later by all the -armies of Europe, no better place can be found than -this, when it was just brought to perfection and first -taught to British soldiers, to give some brief account -of it.</p> - -<p>The infantry of Gustavus Adolphus, as of all other -civilised armies at that period, was made up of pikemen -and musketeers, and beyond all doubt had originally -been trained and organised on the models of the Spanish -and the Dutch. Enough has already been said of these -to enable the reader to follow the reforms introduced -by the Swedish king. First as regards weapons: the -old long pike was cut down from a length of fifteen -or eighteen feet to the more modest dimension of eleven -feet, and the old clumsy musket with its heavy rest was -replaced by a lighter weapon which could be fired from -the shoulder without further support. The defensive -armour of the pikeman was also reduced to back, breast, -and tassets; and thus both divisions of the infantry, -carrying less weight than heretofore, were enabled to -move more rapidly and to accomplish longer marches -without fatigue. This was a first step towards the -mobility which the great soldier designed to oppose to -the old-fashioned forces of mass and weight.</p> - -<p>Next as to the tactics of infantry: Gustavus's first -improvement was to reduce the old formation from ten -ranks to six; his second and more important was to -withdraw the musketeers from their old station in the -flanks of companies, and to mass pikes and shot into -separate bodies. It is abundantly evident that he looked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[180]</a></span> -upon the development of the fire of musketry as of the -first importance in war, and to this end he sought to -render the musketeers independent of the protection of -the pikes. This idea led him to a curious revival of -old methods, nothing less than a modification of the -stakes which were seen in the hands of the English at -Hastings and Agincourt, and which now took the name -of hog's bristles or Swedish feathers. This, however, -was a small matter compared to his improvement in the -method of maintaining a continuous fire. Pescayra's -system was one which, on the face of it, was not suited -to young or unsteady troops. In theory it was a very -simple matter that the ranks should fire and file off to -the rear in succession, but in practice the temptation to -men to get the firing done as quickly as possible and -to seek shelter behind the ranks of their comrades was -a great deal too strong. The retirement was apt to be -executed with an unseemly haste which was demoralising -to the whole company, and there was no certainty that -the retiring ranks, instead of resuming their place in -rear, would not disappear from the field altogether. -Gustavus therefore made the ranks that had fired retire -through<a name="FNanchor_146_146" id="FNanchor_146_146"></a><a href="#Footnote_146_146" class="fnanchor">[146]</a> instead of outside their companies, where, -through judicious posting of officers and non-commissioned -officers, any disposition to hurry could be -checked by the blow of a halberd across the shins or by -such other expedients as the reader's imagination may -suggest. In an advance, again, he made the rear ranks -move up successively through the front ranks, and in a -retreat caused the front ranks to retire through the rear.</p> - -<p>This reform was as much moral as tactical; but the -next made a great stride towards modern practice. -Not content with reducing ten ranks to six Gustavus -on occasions would double those six into three, and by -making the front rank kneel enabled the fire of all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[181]</a></span> -three to be delivered simultaneously. Here is seen the -advantage of abolishing the old musket-rest, with which -such a concentration of fire would have been impossible. -Still following out his leading principle, he encouraged -the use of cartridges to hasten the process of loading; -and finally to perfect his work he introduced a new -tactical unit, the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">peloton</i>, called by Munro <em>plotton</em> and -later naturalised among us as the platoon of musketeers, -which consisted of forty-eight men, eight in rank -and six in file, all of course carefully trained to the -new tactics. Yet with all these changes the drill -was of the simplest; if men could turn right, left, and -about, and double their ranks and files, that was -sufficient.</p> - -<p>In the matter of pure organisation Gustavus again -improved upon all existing systems. First he made the -companies of uniform strength, one hundred and twenty-six -men, distributed into twenty-one <em>rots</em> or files, and -six corporalships. A corporalship of pikes consisted of -three files, and of musketeers of four files;<a name="FNanchor_147_147" id="FNanchor_147_147"></a><a href="#Footnote_147_147" class="fnanchor">[147]</a> and to -every file was appointed a <em>rottmeister</em><a name="FNanchor_148_148" id="FNanchor_148_148"></a><a href="#Footnote_148_148" class="fnanchor">[148]</a> or leader, who -stood in the front, and an <em>unter-rottmeister</em> or sub-leader, -who stood in the rear rank. Both of these -received higher pay than the private soldier. Two -sergeants, four under-sergeants and a quartermaster-sergeant -completed the strength of non-commissioned -officers, while three pipers and as many drums made -music for all. Moreover each company carried a kind -of reserve with it in the shape of eighteen supernumerary -men who bore the name of <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passe-volans</i>, the old slang -term for fictitious soldiers since the days of Hawkwood, -and; were allowed to the captain as free men, unmustered. -The officers of course were as usual captain, lieutenant, -and ensign.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[182]</a></span></p> - -<p>Eight such companies constituted a regiment, which -was thus one thousand and eight men strong, with a -colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major over all. The -regimental staff included many officials borrowed from -the landsknechts' model for the trial and punishment -of offenders, and for a complete novelty, four surgeons. -The provision of medical aid had formerly been left to -the captains, and it is to Gustavus that we owe the first -example of a sounder medical organisation.</p> - -<p>Four companies or half of such a regiment were -called either a squadron or by the Italian name <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">battaglia</i>, -to which must be traced our modern word battalion. -Two such regiments were called a brigade, which marks -the latest advance in organisation made by Gustavus. -Maurice of Nassau had been before him in the formation -of brigades but had not reduced them to uniform -strength. The Swedish brigades had a stereotyped -formation for battle, and were called after the colour of -their standards, the white, the blue, the yellow, and -finally the green, better known as the Scots Brigade, -which is that wherein we are chiefly interested.</p> - -<p>Passing next to the cavalry, the marks of Gustavus's -reforming hand are not less evident. The force at -large was divided into cuirassiers and dragoons. Of -these the latter, who were armed with muskets and -were simply mounted infantry, may be dismissed without -further observation. The cuirassiers, except outwardly, -bore a strong resemblance to the Reiters, for, -though stripped of all defensive armour except cuirass -and helmet, they still carried two pistols as well as the -sword. Gustavus, however, here as with the infantry, -took a line of his own. He began by reducing the -depth of the ranks from the bottomless profundity of -the Reiters to three or at most four; and though he -still opened his attack with the pistol and so far -adhered to missile tactics he to a considerable extent -combined with them the action by shock. As in the -infantry, it was Pescayra's system that he wished to -supersede. The Reiters, as we know by the testimony<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[183]</a></span> -of many eye-witnesses, were often so anxious to go to the -rear and reload that they fired their pistols at absurd -ranges, sometimes indeed hardly waiting to fire before -they turned about. Unable to apply to cavalry the -system which he had adopted for the infantry, and failing -in common with all his contemporaries to grasp the -principle that, since a horse has four legs and a man two, -the evolutions of horse and foot must be fundamentally -different, Gustavus none the less determined that his -cuirassiers should at all events come to close quarters -with their enemy. He therefore trained them not to -fire till they could see the white of their opponents' -eyes, and having fired to strike in with the sword.</p> - -<p>Hence he has the credit, which is not wholly undeserved, -of having restored shock-action, and is said to -have made his cavalry charge at the gallop; but the first -statement is misleading, and the second in the face of -contemporary accounts incredible. In the first place, -the sword is a singularly ineffective weapon against -mailed men, and a true restorer of shock-action would -almost certainly have reverted to the lance. In the -second place, mounted men who open their attack with -pistols will infallibly check their horses at the moment -of firing in order to ensure greater accuracy of aim. -Lastly, Gustavus's favourite plan for the attack of cavalry -was to intersperse his squadrons with platoons of -musketeers, which advanced with them within close -range<a name="FNanchor_149_149" id="FNanchor_149_149"></a><a href="#Footnote_149_149" class="fnanchor">[149]</a> and fired a volley into the enemy's horse. This -preliminary over, the cuirassiers advanced, fired their -pistols, fell in with the sword, and retired; by which -time the musketeers had reloaded and were ready with -another volley. Close range of the musket of those -days would not have allowed space for a body of horse -to gather way for a shock-attack in the modern sense, -and it is therefore more than doubtful whether the -Swedish squadrons charged at higher speed than the trot. -Gustavus's system was in fact simply a revival of -Edward the First's at Falkirk, which had already been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[184]</a></span> -developed with great success by Pescayra at Pavia. -Nevertheless, by reducing the depth of squadrons and -insisting that his men should come to close quarters, -Gustavus unquestionably did very much for the improvement -of cavalry.<a name="FNanchor_150_150" id="FNanchor_150_150"></a><a href="#Footnote_150_150" class="fnanchor">[150]</a></p> - -<p>Most remarkable of all were his reforms in the -matter of artillery. Profoundly impressed by the power -of field-guns he spared no effort to make them lighter -and more mobile, so as to be at once easily manœuvred -and capable of transport in larger numbers. Here -again Maurice had been before him, not without success, -but Gustavus possessed in the person of a Scotch -gentleman, Sir Alexander Hamilton, an artillerist of -wider views than lay to the hand of the great Dutch -soldier. Hamilton's first experiment was to make -leathern guns,<a name="FNanchor_151_151" id="FNanchor_151_151"></a><a href="#Footnote_151_151" class="fnanchor">[151]</a> strengthened by hoops of metal and with -apparently a core of tin, which could easily be carried -on a pony's back or stacked away by the dozen in a -waggon. Gustavus used them frequently in his earlier -campaigns but discarded them at latest after the battle -of Breitenfeld, finding that their life did not extend -beyond ten or a dozen rounds. He then fell back on -light two-pounders and four-pounders, which required -few horses for draught, and could be loaded and fired -by a skilful crew more rapidly even than a musket. A -few such guns were attached to each regiment and called -regimental pieces; and very effective they were presently -found to be.</p> - -<p>Further, Gustavus was a consummate engineer, as -fond of the spade as Maurice himself, and a past master -of field-fortification. On stepping ashore in Germany -he first fell on his knees and prayed, and then picking -up a spade began to dig with his own hands. This, it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[185]</a></span>may here be mentioned once for all, was the one point -in his system which the Scots could not endure; they -always grumbled when called upon to use the spade, -and in spite of the King's occasional reproaches, always -made less progress with field-works in a given time than -any other corps in the army.</p> - -<p>Lastly, to turn to broader principles, the great -innovation of Gustavus, visible in all his reforms, was to -match mobility against the old system of weight. He -never massed his troops in unwieldy bodies, but distributed -them in smaller and more flexible divisions, -allowing plenty of space for facility of manœuvre. His -order of battle was that which was customary in his -time, consisting of two lines with infantry in the centre -and cavalry on the flanks; but he always allowed three -hundred yards of distance between the first and second -line, and erected the practice of keeping a reserve, which -had been intermittently observed for centuries, into an -established principle. Again, he carefully studied the -effective combination of the three arms with a thoroughness -unknown since the days of Zizca, supplying artillery -to his infantry, and supporting impartially horse with -foot and foot with horse. Finally, as the backbone of -all, he enforced with a strictness that had never been -seen before him the observance of discipline.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1631.</div> - -<p>Such was the Army and such the General to which -Mackay's regiment now joined itself. In June 1630 it -embarked for Germany as part of the thirteen thousand -men which formed the Swedish army, half of the companies -at Elfsknaben, the remainder under Munro at Pillau. -The latter detachment was wrecked off Rügenwalde, -which was held by the Imperialists, and lost everything; -but having made shift to obtain arms calmly attacked -the Imperial garrison and captured the town—as daring -a feat of arms as ever was done by Scotsmen. After -several small engagements Monro rejoined his headquarters -at Stettin, and in January 1631 Gustavus, -who boasted with justice that his army was as effective -for a winter's as for a summer's campaign, invaded<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[186]</a></span> -Brandenburg and marched for the Oder. The Scotch -were organised into the famous Scots Brigade, consisting -of four picked regiments—Hepburn's, Mackay's, -Stargate's, and Lumsden's, the whole under the command -of Sir John Hepburn.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May.</div> - -<p>We must pass over the operations in Brandenburg, -where the Scots Brigade distinguished itself repeatedly, -and come forthwith to Saxony, whither Gustavus had -been called from the Oder by Tilly's advance upon -Magdeburg. Arriving too late to save the unhappy -city he entrenched himself at Werben, at the junction -of the Elbe and the Havel, and gave the world a first -notable example of his skill as an engineer. Tilly, -having lost six thousand men in the vain attempt to -storm the entrenchments, invaded Saxony, whither -Gustavus at once followed him and offered him battle -on the plain of Leipsic.</p> - -<p>On the 7th of September Tilly took up his position -facing north, on a low line of heights running from the -village of Breitenfeld on the west to that of Seehausen -on the east. His army was drawn up in a single line. -On each wing as usual was posted the cavalry, seven -regiments under Pappenheim on the left, seven more -under Furstenburg on the right, all drawn up in the -dense columns beloved of Charles the Fifth. In the -centre was Tilly himself, with eighteen regiments of -infantry, his famous Walloons among them, massed together -in the old heavy Spanish formation. On the heights -above him were his guns. The whole force numbered -forty thousand men, and their General was a man who, -though seventy years of age, had never lost a battle.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept. 7.</div> - -<p>On the other side the armies of Gustavus and of his -allies the Saxons were drawn up in two lines. On the -left were the Saxons, fourteen thousand strong, and on -the right, with which alone we need concern ourselves, -the Swedes. In touch with the Saxon right, the Swedish -left under Field-Marshal Horn was made up, both in -the first and second lines, of six regiments of horse, with -four platoons of musketeers between each regiment.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[187]</a></span> -The right wing under Gustavus himself was similarly -composed. In the centre the first line was made up of -four half brigades of foot, supported by a regiment of -cavalry and eight platoons of Scots; and the second line -of three brigades, of which Hepburn's was one. In rear -of both lines was a reserve of cavalry, and in the extreme -rear a further reserve, the first ever seen, of artillery.</p> - -<p>The battle opened as usual with a duel of artillery, -which was continued from noon till half-past two, the -Swedish guns, more numerous and better served than -Tilly's, firing three shots to the enemy's one. Then -Pappenheim, on Tilly's left, lost patience, and setting -his cavalry in motion without orders came down upon -the Swedish right. He was met by biting volleys from -the platoons of musketeers and charges from the cuirassiers -at their side; his men shrank from the fire, and -edging leftward across the front of Gustavus's wing swept -down towards its rear. General Bauer, in command of -the reserve cavalry of the first line, at once moved out -and broke into them; and the whole Swedish right -coming into action drove back Pappenheim's horse, after -a hard struggle, in disorder. Gustavus checked the -pursuit, for Tilly had pushed forward a regiment of -infantry in support of Pappenheim, and turning all his -force on this unhappy corps annihilated it.</p> - -<p>On the Imperialists' left Furstenburg, following Pappenheim's -example, had also charged, and had driven the -entire Saxon army before him like chaff before the wind.<a name="FNanchor_152_152" id="FNanchor_152_152"></a><a href="#Footnote_152_152" class="fnanchor">[152]</a> -He followed them in hot pursuit; and had Tilly at -once advanced with his centre against Field-Marshal -Horn, the situation of the Swedes would have been -critical, for their left was now completely uncovered. -But owing to the faulty disposition of his artillery Tilly -could not advance directly without putting his guns out -of action, and he therefore followed in the track of -Furstenburg to turn Horn's left flank. The delay gave -Horn time to make dispositions to meet the attack.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[188]</a></span> -Hepburn's brigade came quickly up with another brigade -in support, and the Scots after one volley charged the -hostile infantry with the pike and routed it completely. -Gustavus meanwhile had again advanced with his cavalry -on the right, and sweeping down on the flank of Tilly's -battery captured all his guns and turned them against -himself. The battle was virtually over, but four -splendid old Walloon regiments stood firm to the last, -and though reduced to but six hundred men retreated at -nightfall in good order.</p> - -<p>The victory was crushing; and yet of all the Swedish -infantry two brigades alone had been engaged, and of -these the Scots had done the greater share of the work. -The battle marks the death-day of the old dense formations -and the triumph of mobility over weight, and is -therefore of particular interest to a nation whose strength -is to fight in line.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1632.</div> - -<p>From Leipsic Gustavus marched for the Main, where -the Scots were as usual put forward for every desperate -service, and held his winter court at Mainz. In the -spring of the following year he marched down to the -line of the Danube with forty thousand men, forced the -passage of the Lech in the teeth of Tilly's army, entered -Bavaria and by May was at Munich. Then hearing -that the towns on the Danube in his rear were threatened -he turned back to Donauwörth, whence he was called -away by the movements of Wallenstein in Saxony to -Nürnberg. Such marching had not been since the days -of Zizca. He now turned Nürnberg, as he had turned -Werben in the previous year, into a vast entrenched -camp; for he had now but eighteen thousand men against -Wallenstein's seventy thousand, and it behoved him to -make the most of his position. Wallenstein, however, -without risking an engagement, took the simpler course -of making also an entrenched camp, cutting off Gustavus's -supplies from the Rhine and Danube, and reducing him -by starvation. Reinforcements came to the Swedes, -which raised their army to five-and-thirty thousand men; -Wallenstein allowed them to pass in unmolested to consume<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[189]</a></span> -the provisions the quicker. The pinch of hunger -began to make itself felt in the Swedish camp, pestilence -raged among the unhappy troops, and at last Gustavus -in desperation launched his army in a vain assault upon -Wallenstein's entrenchments. For twelve hours his -men swarmed up the rugged and broken hill with -desperate courage, three times obtaining a momentary -footing and as often beaten back. The cannonade was -kept up all night, and it was not till ten o'clock on the -following morning that the Swedes retreated, leaving four -thousand dead behind them. The Scots Brigade suffered -terribly. Monro, out of a detachment of five hundred -men, lost two hundred killed alone, besides wounded -and missing. His lieutenant-colonel who relieved him -at night brought back but thirty men next morning. -Other corps had lost hardly less heavily, and Gustavus, -foiled for once, retreated to Neustadt, leaving one-third -of his force dead around Nürnberg.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1634,<br /> -August 26.</div> - -<p>Sir John Hepburn, in consequence of a quarrel with -the Swedish king, now took leave of him and entered -the service of France; and the Scots Brigade, weakened -to a mere shadow, was left behind at Dunkerswald to -await reinforcements, while Gustavus marched away to -his last battlefield at Lützen. We need follow the -fortunes of the Brigade little further. The famous -regiments, together with the other Scots and English in -the Swedish service, now some thirteen thousand men, -did abundance of hard and gallant work before the close -of the war. The ranks of Mackay's regiment were again -swelled to twelve companies and fifteen hundred men, -but at Nördlingen it was almost annihilated, and emerged -with the strength of a single company only. Times had -changed, and discipline had decayed since the death of -Gustavus; and in 1635, on alliance of France with -Sweden, and the outbreak of war between France and -Spain, the fragments of all the Scotch regiments were -merged together, and passed into the service of France -under the command of the veteran Sir John Hepburn -as the <span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Regiment d'Hebron</span>.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[190]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1636.</div> - -<p>There for a short period let us leave it, wrangling -with Regiment Picardie for precedence, claiming, on the -ground that some officers of the Scottish Guard had -joined it, to be the oldest regiment in the world,<a name="FNanchor_153_153" id="FNanchor_153_153"></a><a href="#Footnote_153_153" class="fnanchor">[153]</a> and -earning the nickname of Pontius Pilate's guards. -Hepburn commanded it for but one year, for he fell at -its head at the siege of Saverne, but it fought through -many actions and many sieges, the battle of Rocroi not -the least of them, before it returned to the British Isles. -We shall meet with it again before that day under a -new name, and under yet a third name shall grow to -know it well.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—Munro's <cite>Expedition</cite> is far the most valuable; it -has been abridged and supplemented by Mr. John Mackay in his -<cite>Old Scots Brigade</cite>. Harte's <cite>Life of Gustavus</cite> wrestles manfully -with the military details, which are very clearly summed up in Mr. -Fletcher's <cite>Gustavus</cite> in the Heroes of the Nations Series. Some few -details will be found also in Fieffé's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire des troupes Etrangères</cite>.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[191]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BII_CHAPTER_VII" id="BII_CHAPTER_VII"></a><a href="#BIICVII">CHAPTER VII</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">Once more we return to England and take up the -thread of the army's history within the kingdom. Of -the reign of James the First there is little to be recorded -except that at its very outset the Statute of Philip and -Mary for the regulation of the Militia was repealed, -and the military organisation of the country based once -more on the Statute of Winchester. James was not -fond of soldiers, and military progress was not to be -expected of such a man. Enough has already been -seen of his methods through his dealings with the Low -Countries, and there is no occasion to dwell longer on -the first British king of the House of Stuart.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1625.</div> - -<p>Charles the First was more ambitious, and sufficiently -proud of the English soldier to preserve the ancient -English drum-march.<a name="FNanchor_154_154" id="FNanchor_154_154"></a><a href="#Footnote_154_154" class="fnanchor">[154]</a> Soon after the final breach with -Spain he imbibed from Buckingham the idea of a raid -on the Spanish coast after the Elizabethan model, which -eventually took shape in the expedition to Cadiz. Of -all the countless mismanaged enterprises in our history -this seems on the whole to have been the very worst. -There was abundance of trained soldiers in England -who had learned their duty in the Low Countries; and -Edward Cecil, he whom we saw some few years back in -command of the cavalry at Nieuport, begged that -liberal offers might be made to induce them to serve. -Officers again could be procured from the Low -Countries, and therefore there should have been no -difficulty in organising an excellent body of men. In<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[192]</a></span> -the matter of arms, however, though English cannon was -highly esteemed, Charles was forced to purchase what -he needed from Holland, which was a sad reflection on -our national enterprise. Accordingly over a hundred -officers were recalled from Holland; and two thousand -recruits were collected, to be sent in exchange for the -same number of veterans from the Dutch service. -Eight thousand men were then pressed for service in -various parts of England, and the whole of them poured, -without the least preparation to receive them, into -Plymouth, where they gained for themselves the name -of the plagues of England. Sir John Ogle, a veteran -who had served for years with Francis Vere, eyed these -recruits narrowly for a time, old, lame, sick and destitute -men for the most part, and reflected how without -stores, clothes, or money he could possibly convert -them into soldiers. Then taking his resolution he -threw up his command and took refuge in the Church. -Very soon another difficulty arose. The States-General -firmly refused to accept two thousand raw men in exchange -for veterans, and shipped the unhappy recruits -back to England. They too were turned into Plymouth -and made confusion worse confounded. Then the arms -arrived from Holland, and there was no money to pay -men to unload them. The port became a chaos. -Buckingham had already shuffled out of the chief command -and saddled it on Cecil, and the unfortunate man, -good soldier though he was, was driven to his wit's end -to cope with his task. His tried officers from Holland -were displaced to make room for Buckingham's -favourites, who were absolutely useless; and yet he was -expected to clothe, arm, train, discipline, and organise -ten thousand raw, naked men, work out every detail of -a difficult and complicated expedition, and make every -provision for it, all without help, without encouragement, -and without money. Cash indeed was so scarce -that the king could not afford to pay the expenses of -his own journey to Plymouth.</p> - -<p>Under such conditions it is hardly surprising that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[193]</a></span> -the enterprise was a disastrous failure. A few butts of -liquor left by the Spaniards outside Cadiz sufficed to -set the whole force fighting with its own officers, and -after weary weeks at sea, aggravated by heavy weather -and by pestilence, the result of bad stores, Cecil and the -remains of his ten regiments returned home in misery -and shame.<a name="FNanchor_155_155" id="FNanchor_155_155"></a><a href="#Footnote_155_155" class="fnanchor">[155]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1626.</div> - -<p>A similar enterprise under Lord Willoughby in the -following year failed in the same way for precisely the -same reasons; but Buckingham, still unshaken in his -confidence, led a third and a fourth expedition to -Rochelle with equal disaster and equal disgrace. The -captains had no more control over their men than over -a herd of deer.<a name="FNanchor_156_156" id="FNanchor_156_156"></a><a href="#Footnote_156_156" class="fnanchor">[156]</a> At last, at the outset of a fifth expedition, -which promised similar failure, the dagger of -Lieutenant Felton, a melancholy man embittered by -deprivation of his pay, put an end to Buckingham and -to all his follies. On the whole he had not treated the -soldiers worse than Elizabeth, but a man of Elizabeth's -stamp was more than could be borne with.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless, amid all these failures there were still -plenty of men in England who had the welfare of the -military profession at heart. Foremost among them -was the veteran Edward Cecil, now Lord Wimbledon, -who strove hard to do something for the defence of the -principal ports, for the training of the nation at large, -and in particular for the encouragement of cavalry. -The mounted service had become strangely unpopular -with the English at this time, whether because the eternal -sieges of the Dutch war afforded it less opportunity of -distinction, or because missile tactics had lowered it from -its former proud station, it is difficult to say. Certain -it is that officers of infantry, and notably Monro, never -lost an opportunity of girding at horsemen as fitted only -to run away, and as preferring to be mounted only that -they might run away the faster. But Cecil, though in -this respect unique, was by no means the only man who -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[194]</a></span>made his voice heard. Veteran after veteran took pen -in hand and wrote of the discipline of Maurice of -Nassau and, as time went on, of the system of Gustavus -Adolphus; while on the other hand one ingenious -gentleman, still jealous of the old national weapon, -invented what he called a "double-arm," which combined -the pike and the bow, the bow-staff being attached to -the shaft of the pike by a vice which could be traversed -on a hinge. Strange to say this belated weapon was not -ill-received in military circles and found commendation -even among Scotsmen.<a name="FNanchor_157_157" id="FNanchor_157_157"></a><a href="#Footnote_157_157" class="fnanchor">[157]</a> On one important point, however, -there was a general consensus of opinion, namely -that the condition of the English militia was disgraceful, -its system hopelessly inefficient and the corruption of -its administration a scandal. The trained bands were -hardly called out once in five years for exercise; few -men knew how even to load their muskets, and the -majority were afraid to fire a shot except in salute of -the colours, not daring to fire a bullet from want of -practice.<a name="FNanchor_158_158" id="FNanchor_158_158"></a><a href="#Footnote_158_158" class="fnanchor">[158]</a>. The Londoners, as usual, alone made a -favourable exception to the general rule.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1639.</div> - -<p>The real root of the evil was presently to be laid -bare. The disputes between Charles the First and his -subjects were assuming daily an acuter form, until at -last they came to a head in the Scotch rebellion of 1639. -It was imperative to raise an English force forthwith -and move it up to the Border. Charles, as usual in the -last stage of impecuniosity, thought to save money by -an exercise of old feudal rights, and summoned every -peer with his retinue to attend him in person as his -principal force of cavalry. It was a piece of tactless -folly whereof none but a Stuart would have been guilty: -the peers came in some numbers as they were bid, but -they did not conceal their resentment against such proceedings. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[195]</a></span>The foot were levied as usual by writ to the -lord-lieutenant with the help of the press-gang, they -behaved abominably on their march to the rendezvous, -and on arrival were found to be utterly inefficient. -Their arms were of all sorts, sizes, and calibres, and the -men were so careless in the handling of them that hardly -a tent in the camp, not even the king's, escaped perforation -by stray bullets. In other respects the organisation -was equally deficient; no provision had been made for -the supply of victuals and forage; and altogether it was -fortunate that the force escaped, through the pacification -of Berwick, an engagement with the veterans from the -Swedish service under old Alexander Leslie that composed -a large portion of the Scottish army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1640.</div> - -<p>The following year saw the war renewed. This -time the farce of calling out a feudal body of horse was -not repeated, but unexpected difficulties were encountered -in raising the levies of foot. In 1639 the infantry had -been drawn chiefly from the northern counties, where -the tradition of eternal feuds with the Scots made men -not altogether averse to a march to the Border. But in -1640 the trained bands of the southern counties were -called upon, and they had no such feeling. It is possible -that unusual rigour was employed in the process of -impressment, for the authorities had been warned, after -experience of the previous year, to allow no captains to -play the Falstaff with their recruits. Be that as it may, -the recalcitrance of the new levies was startling. From -county after county came complaints of riot and disorder. -The Wiltshire men seized the opportunity to -live by robbery and plunder; the Dorsetshire men -murdered an officer who had corrected a drummer for -flagrant insubordination; in Suffolk the recruits threatened -to murder the deputy-lieutenant; in London, Kent, -Surrey, and half a dozen more counties the resistance to -service was equally determined; and when finally in -July four thousand men reached the rendezvous at Selby, -old Sir Jacob Astley could only designate them as the -arch-knaves of the country. Money being of course<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[196]</a></span> -very scarce, the men were ill-clothed and ill-found, and -their numbers were soon thinned by systematic desertion. -A new difficulty cropped up in the matter of discipline. -Lord Conway, who commanded the horse, had executed -a man for mutiny; he now found that his action was -illegal and that he required the royal pardon. If, he -wrote, the lawyers are right and martial law is impossible -in England, it would be best to break up the army forthwith: -to hand men over to the civil power is to deliver -them to the lawyers, and experience of the ship-money -has shown what support could be expected from them.</p> - -<p>There, in fact, lay the kernel of the whole matter; -indiscipline was not only rife in the ranks but widespread -throughout the nation. From long carelessness -and neglect the organisation of the country for defence -by land and sea had become not only obsolete but impossible -and absurd. For centuries the old vessel had -been patched and tinkered and filed and riveted, occasionally -by statute, more often by royal authority only, -but chiefly by mere habit and custom. But now that -the reaction which had established the new monarchy -was over, and men, stirred by a counter-reaction, subjected -the military system to the fierce heat of constitutional -tests, the whole fabric fell asunder in an instant, -and brought the new monarchy down headlong in its -fall. The story is so instructive to a nation which has -not yet given its standing army a permanent statutory -existence, that it is worth while very briefly to trace the -progress of the catastrophe.</p> - -<p>According to ancient practice, the various shires -were called upon to provide their levies for the Scotch -war with coat-money and with conduct-money to pay -their expenses till they had passed the borders of the -county, from which moment they passed into the king's -pay. The writs to the lord-lieutenants distinctly stated -that these charges would be refunded from the Royal -Exchequer, and though the chronic emptiness of the -Royal Exchequer might diminish the value of the pledge, -the form of the writ was distinctly consonant with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[197]</a></span> -custom and precedent. Many of the county gentlemen, -however, refused to pay this coat- and conduct-money; -they had been encouraged by the attacks made on -military charges in the Short Parliament; and the -Crown, aware of the general opposition to all its doings, -did not venture to prosecute. Another incident raised -the general question of military obligations in an acuter -form. In August 1640, Charles, sadly hampered by -the general objections to military service on any terms, -fell back on the old system of issuing Commissions of -Array to the lord-lieutenants and sheriffs. In themselves -Commissions of Array, especially when addressed -to these particular officers, were nothing extraordinary; -they had been in use to the reign of Queen Mary, and -though more or less superseded by the appointment of -lord-lieutenants, were by implication sanctioned by a -statute of Henry the Fourth.</p> - -<p>Now, however, these Commissions at once raised a -storm. The deputy-lieutenants of Devon promptly approached -the Council with an awkward dilemma. To -which service, they asked, were the gentry to attach -themselves, to the trained bands or to the feudal service -implied in the Commissions of Array; since both were -equally enjoined by proclamation? The Council -answered that the service in the trained bands must be -personal, and the feudal obligation satisfied by deputy -or by pecuniary composition; in other words, if the -gentry halted between two services, they could not go -wrong in performing both. A second question from -the deputy-lieutenants was still more searching: how -were the bands levied under the Commissions to be paid? -The reply of the Council pointed out that the laws and -customs of the realm required every man, in the event -of invasion, to serve for the common defence at his -own charge. Here Charles was strictly within his -rights; and the plea of invasion was sound, since the -Scots had actually passed the Tweed. Parliament, -however, seized hold of the Commissions of Array, and -after innumerable arguments as to their illegality, took<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</a></span> -final refuge under the Petition of Right. Stripped of -all redundant phrases, the position of the two parties -was this: Charles asked how he could raise an army -for defence of the kingdom, if the powers enjoyed by -his predecessors were stripped from him; and Parliament -answered that it had no intention of allowing him -any power whatever to raise such an army.<a name="FNanchor_159_159" id="FNanchor_159_159"></a><a href="#Footnote_159_159" class="fnanchor">[159]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 28.<br />1641,<br /> -May.</div> - -<p>The campaign in the north was speedily ended by -the advance of the Scots and by the rout of the small -English detachment that guarded the fords of the Tyne -at Newburn. The Scots then occupied Newcastle, and -England to all intent lay at their mercy. Nothing -could have better suited the opponents of the king. A -treaty was patched up at Ripon which amounted virtually -to an agreement to subsidise the Scotch army in the -interest of the Parliament. The Scots consented to stay -where they were in consideration of eight hundred and -fifty pounds a day, failing the payment of which it was -open to them to continue their march southward and -impose their own terms. Charles could not possibly -raise such a sum without recourse to Parliament, and -the assembly with which he had now to do was that -which is known to history as the Long Parliament. -Within seven months it had passed an Act to prevent -its dissolution without its own consent, and having -thus secured itself, it allowed the English army to be -disbanded, while the Scots, having played their part, -retired once more across the Tweed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1641-2.<br />1642.</div> - -<p>It would be tedious to follow the widening of the -breach during the year 1641. Both parties saw that -war was inevitable, and both struggled hard to keep -the militia each in its own hands. The scramble was -supremely ridiculous, since it was all for a prize not -worth the snatching. Charles has been censured for -throwing the whole military organisation out of gear -because he wished to employ it for other objects than -the safety of the kingdom, but it would be difficult, I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</a></span> -think, for any one to explain what military organisation -existed. By the showing of the Parliamentary lawyers -themselves, there was no statute to regulate it except -the Statute of Winchester; in strictness there was no -legal requirement for men to equip themselves otherwise -than as in the year 1285. It was to the party that -first made an army, not to that which preferred the -sounder claim to regulate the militia, that victory was -to belong. Strafford had perceived this long before, -but three years were yet to pass before Parliament -should realise it. The few movements worth noting in -the scramble may be very briefly summarised. The -king reluctantly consented to transfer the power of impressment -to the justices of the peace with approval of -Parliament, and abandoned his right to compel men to -service outside their counties. But he refused to concede -to Parliament the nomination of lord-lieutenants -or the custody of strong places, and Parliament therefore -simply arrogated to itself these privileges without -further question. In July the Commons resolved to -levy an army of ten thousand men, in August the King -unfurled the Royal Standard at Nottingham; and so -the Civil War began.</p> - -<p>The lists of the two opposing armies of 1642 are -still extant: the King's, of fourteen regiments of foot -and eighteen troops of horse, and the Parliament's, of -eighteen regiments of foot, seventy-five troops of horse, -and five troops of dragoons; but it would be unprofitable -to linger over them, for except on paper they were -not armies at all. Two names however must be noticed. -The first is that of the commander of the royal horse, -Prince Rupert, a son of the Winter-King. He had -now been domiciled in England for seven years, in the -course of which he had found time to serve the Dutch, -as we have seen, at the siege of Breda in 1639, and the -Swedes in the following year, commanding with the -latter a regiment of horse in more than one dashing -engagement. He was now three-and-twenty, not an -unripe age for a General in those days, as Condé was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</a></span> -presently to prove at Rocroi. The second name is that -of the Captain of the Sixty-Seventh troop of the -Parliamentary horse, Oliver Cromwell, a gentleman -of Huntingdon, not inconspicuous as a member of -Parliament but unknown to military fame. He was -already forty-three years of age, and so far was little -familiar with the profession of arms.<a name="FNanchor_160_160" id="FNanchor_160_160"></a><a href="#Footnote_160_160" class="fnanchor">[160]</a></p> - -<p>On the 23rd of October these two men met at Edgehill, -the first important action of the war, on which I shall -not dwell further than to notice the part that they played -therein. Rupert, knowing the deficiency of fire-arms -in the royal cavalry, before the battle gave his horsemen -orders to keep their ranks and to attack sword in -hand, not attempting to use their pistols till they had -actually broken into the enemy's squadrons. Here -was an improvement on the Swedish system, a step -nearer to shock-action, which was crowned by complete -success. Oliver Cromwell having seen the havoc -wrought by the Royalist cavalry, sought and found -after the battle the cause of the inferiority of the -Parliament's. "Your troops," he said to John -Hampden, "are most of them old decayed serving-men -and tapsters: their troops are gentlemen's sons and -persons of quality. Do you think the spirits of such -base and mean fellows will ever be able to encounter -gentlemen who have courage, honour, and resolution -in them? You must get men of a spirit that is likely -to go as far as gentlemen will go, or you will be beaten -still." Hampden heard and shook his head; he was a -wise and worthy person, but he had probably an idea -that no men except such as those which had been swept -into the ranks by the King and the King's father could -possibly be induced to become soldiers. So he said -that it was a good notion but impracticable. Captain -Cromwell set to work to show that it was not impracticable, -and began to raise men who, in his own words,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</a></span> -made some conscience of what they did, and to teach -them discipline.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">December.</div> - -<p>Meanwhile the helplessness of the Parliament in the -early stages of the war was almost ludicrous; and -though indeed few things are more remarkable than the -rapid growth of administrative ability between the years -1642 and 1658, it must be admitted that at first the -civil leaders of the people were little better than -children. Nearly the whole nation, and with it the -majority of legislators, had made up their minds that -the first battle would decide the contest, and they were -woefully disappointed when it did not do so. Failing -at first to realise the elementary principle that money is -the sinew of war the Houses trusted at first to irregular -contributions for its support, nor was it until pressed to -extremity that they determined to employ general taxation. -Money was the first and eternal difficulty, which -however pressed even harder on the King than on the -Parliament. The next obstacle was the utter collapse -of the existing military organisation. The county -levies were ready enough to fight in defence of their own -homes, but they were unwilling to move far from them; -and when the enemy had left their own particular -quarter they thanked God that they were rid of him -and returned to their usual avocations. This again was -a difficulty that beset both sides and was never overcome -by the King. The Parliament tried to meet it by -the establishment of associations of counties, which -were virtually military districts, and did something, -though not much, to widen the narrow sympathies of -the militiamen. But these associations, though a step in -the right direction, depended too much on the individual -energy of the men at their head to attain uniform -success; and one only, the Eastern, wherein Cromwell -was the moving spirit, did for a time really efficient -work.</p> - -<p>A third and most formidable danger was the -superiority of the Royalist cavalry. The long neglect -of the mounted service left the supremacy to the ablest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</a></span> -amateurs, and the majority of these, though there were -hundreds of gentlemen on the Parliamentary side, were -undoubtedly for the King. Nor was it only the courage, -honour, and resolution of which Cromwell had spoken -that favoured them; they had from the nature of the -case better horses, a higher standard of horsemanship -and equipment, a quicker natural intelligence and a -higher natural training. The thousand lessons which -the county gentlemen learned when riding with hawk -and hound were of infinite advantage in the casual and -irregular warfare of the first two or three years; and -whatever may be said of Rupert's ability on the battlefield, -there can be no question that the work of his -innumerable patrols was admirably done. The dashing -character of Rupert was also an advantage in a sense -to the King's cause, for it attracted to him a group of -fellow hot-heads similar to those that had followed -Thomas Felton under the Black Prince. One fatal -defect however marred what should have been a most -efficient cavalry, the blot that had been hit by Cromwell, -indiscipline.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1643.</div> - -<p>The campaign of 1643 found Parliament little wiser -than before as to the true method of conducting a war. -Though it had named Lord Essex as General it gave -him no control over the operations of any army but his -own, and there was consequently no unity either of -design or of purpose. Charles, on the contrary, had a -definite plan, which had been mapped out for him by -some unknown hand and was within an ace of successful -execution. He himself with one army fixed his headquarters -at Oxford; a second army under Newcastle was to -advance from the north, a third under Prince Maurice -and Sir Ralph Hopton from the extreme west, both -converging on Charles as a centre; and the united -forces were then to advance on London. Hopton, an -experienced soldier and as noble a man as fought in the -war, executed his part brilliantly, advancing victoriously -into Somerset from Cornwall, and finally defeating the -force specially sent to meet him by the Parliament at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</a></span> -Roundway Down. This action is memorable for the -appearance, and it must be added the defeat, of what -was probably the last fully mailed troop of horse ever -seen in England, Sir Arthur Hazelrigg's "Lobsters," -so called from the hardness of their shells. Hopton's -advance was only stayed by the unwillingness of his -Western levies to move any further from their homes. -In the north again the Parliament had suffered disaster; -the Fairfaxes, who were the mainstay of the cause, sustained -a crushing defeat, and but one man stood in the -way to bar Newcastle's march upon London.</p> - -<p>That man however was Oliver Cromwell. Already -he had begun to put in practice the scheme which -Hampden had pronounced impracticable. He had -chosen his recruits from the Puritan yeomen and farmers -of the Eastern Counties, men who had thrown themselves -heart and soul into the religious struggles of the -time, who made some conscience of what they did, -"who knew what they were fighting for and loved what -they knew," and who thought it honourable to submit -to rigid discipline for so noble a cause. Cromwell was -now a colonel, and he had already shown the mettle of -his force, while it was still incomplete, by defeating a -body of twice its numbers in a skirmish at Grantham. -This too he had done not by any novelty in tactics, for -he admits that he attacked only at a pretty round trot, -but by superiority of handling and of discipline. With -the same troops strengthened and improved he now -advanced and met a strong force of Newcastle's advanced -horse at Gainsborough; and by skilful manœuvring -and full appreciation of the principle, as yet unwritten, -that in the combat of cavalry victory rests with him -that throws in the last reserves, he routed it completely. -Following up his success he came, unexpectedly as he -admits, upon the main body of Newcastle's army, both -horse and foot. Horses and men were weary after a -hard day's work and a long pursuit, but they showed a -bold front; and Cromwell, drawing them off by alternate -bodies, once again a movement which was not to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</a></span> -found in the text-books,<a name="FNanchor_161_161" id="FNanchor_161_161"></a><a href="#Footnote_161_161" class="fnanchor">[161]</a> safely effected his retreat. In -truth the man was a born soldier, and probably a great -deal fonder of the profession of arms, late though he -had entered upon it, than he would have cared to admit. -"I have a lovely company," he wrote shortly after this -action, with the genuine pride of a good regimental -officer; and in spite of the rigour of his discipline his -troops increased until they were sufficient to fill two -complete regiments.</p> - -<p>The danger from the north was averted for the -moment, but the situation was so critical that the -Parliament authorised the impressment of men and -raised Essex's army to a respectable total. But meanwhile -negotiations had been opened with the Scots for -the advance of their army against the King's forces in -the north, and by September the conditions, military, -financial, and religious, were agreed upon. This treaty -brought home to the Parliament the necessity for immediately -opening up its communications with the -north and making a way whereby the Scots might -penetrate further southward. The difficult task was -achieved by the united efforts of two men who here -fought their first action together, Thomas Fairfax and -Oliver Cromwell. The day of Winceby must for this -reason remain memorable in the history of the Army, -not the less so because it brought Cromwell nearer to -his death than any action before or after it.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1644.</div> - -<p>By the close of the year Parliament began to realise -that if the war were to be carried to a successful issue, -some more effective force than mere trained bands must -be called into existence. It accordingly voted that -Essex's army should be fixed at a permanent establishment -of ten thousand foot and four thousand horse -with a regular rate of monthly pay. This was progress -in the right direction, but in the disorder of the financial -administration it was extremely doubtful whether the -scheme would not be wrecked by its cost. Meanwhile<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</a></span> -the Scots had crossed the Tweed and fairly entered as -partners with the Parliament in the rebellion. This -new factor led to the formation of a Committee of Both -Kingdoms for the subsequent conduct of the war, an -important step towards unity of design and administration -but clogged by one fatal defect, namely, that the -military members—Essex, Manchester, Waller, and -Cromwell—were all absent in the field, and that the -direction of operations therefore fell entirely into the -hands of civilians. A Committee was better than a -whole House, and that was all that could be said, for -the new directorate soon came into collision with its -officers in the field. On the invasion of the Scots, -Charles of necessity altered his plan of campaign and -detached Rupert to the north, who marked the line of -his advance in deeper than ordinary lines of desolation -and bloodshed. The Parliamentary generals in the -north, Fairfax and Manchester, were at the time engaged -upon the siege of York. The Committee, scared by -the terror of Rupert's march, ordered them to raise the -siege and move southward to meet him. They flatly -refused; and their persistence in their own design led -to the greatest military success hitherto achieved by the -Parliament, the victory of Marston Moor.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July 2.</div> - -<p>Of no battle are contemporary accounts more difficult -of reconciliation than those of Marston Moor, but the -main features of the action are distinguishable and may -be briefly set down. Both armies consisted of about -twenty-three thousand men, and were drawn up in two -lines, the infantry in the centre and the cavalry in the -flanks. On the Royalist side Rupert, as was usual for -the Commander-in-Chief, led the right wing,<a name="FNanchor_162_162" id="FNanchor_162_162"></a><a href="#Footnote_162_162" class="fnanchor">[162]</a> five -thousand horse in one hundred troops; his centre, -fourteen thousand foot, was under Eythin, a veteran -officer imported from Germany; his left, four thousand -cavalry, was led by Goring. On the Parliamentary<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</a></span> -side Ferdinand, Lord Fairfax, commanded the right -wing of horse, the first line consisting of English, the -second of Scots; the centre was composed principally -of Scottish infantry under old Alexander Leslie, Earl of -Leven; the left wing of horse was commanded by -Cromwell, his first line being composed of English, and -the second of Scots under the leadership of David Leslie.</p> - -<p>With extraordinary rashness and folly Rupert led -his army down close to the enemy and posted it within -striking distance, trusting that a ditch which covered -his front would suffice to protect him from attack. The -two forces having gazed at each other during the whole -afternoon without moving, he at last dismounted between -half-past six and seven and called for his supper, an -example which was followed by several of his officers. -The Parliamentary army seized the moment to advance -with its whole line to the attack. Cromwell on the -left led his cavalry across the ditch, and, though Rupert -was quickly in the saddle to meet him, routed the -leading squadrons of the Royalists. Rupert's supports -however were well in hand, and falling on Cromwell -threw his troops into disorder<a name="FNanchor_163_163" id="FNanchor_163_163"></a><a href="#Footnote_163_163" class="fnanchor">[163]</a> till David Leslie, an -excellent officer, brought up the Parliamentary supports -in their turn and routed the Royalists. Then superior -discipline told; Cromwell's men quickly rallied and the -whole of Rupert's horse fled away in disorder. In the -centre the Parliamentary infantry was for a time equally -successful, but the horse on the right wing came to utter -disaster. The ground on the right was unfavourable -for cavalry, being broken up by patches of gorse; and -although Thomas Fairfax with a small body of four -hundred men, armed with lances, broke through the -enemy and rode in disorder right round the rear of the -Royalist army, the main body was hopelessly beaten. -Goring, after the Swedish fashion, had dotted bodies of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</a></span> -musketeers among his horse, who did their work -admirably. Part of Goring's troopers galloped off first -to pursue, and then to plunder the baggage, while the -remainder turned against the Scotch infantry and pressed -them so hard that, in spite of Leven's efforts, almost -every battalion was broken and dispersed. Three alone -behaved magnificently and stood firm, till in the nick -of time Cromwell returned from the left to rescue them. -His appearance turned the scale, and the victory of the -Parliament was made certain and complete.</p> - -<p>Rupert after the action gave Cromwell the name of -Ironside; he had never encountered so tough an adversary -before. Marston Moor may indeed be termed the first -great day of the English cavalry. We find, curiously -enough, examples of three different schools in the field, -the old school of the lance under Thomas Fairfax, the -Swedish of mixed horse and musketeers under Goring, -and the new English of Rupert and Cromwell; but the -greatest of these is Cromwell's. He alone had his men -under perfect control, and had trained them not only to -charge, but what is far more difficult, to rally.</p> - -<p>Little more than a week later came the first sign of -an entirely new departure in the Parliament's conduct of -the war. In spite of Marston Moor the general position -of its affairs was anything but favourable. The inefficiency -of local committees and the narrow self-seeking of -local forces, combined with the jealousy of rival commanders -and the absence of a commander-in-chief, -threatened to bring swift and sudden dissolution to the -cause. Time had aggravated rather than diminished the -evil, and unless it were remedied forthwith, it would be -useless to continue the war. Sir William Waller, an able -commander, who had frequently suffered defeat less from -his own incapacity than from the impossibility of keeping -a force together, gave the authorities plainly to understand -that unless they formed a distinct permanent army -of their own, properly organised, properly disciplined, -and regularly paid they could not hope for success.</p> - -<p>Mutiny, desertion, and indiscipline had dogged every<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</a></span> -step of the local levies, as the Parliament very well knew; -but experience still more bitter was needed before it -could be induced to take Waller's advice. For the -present it voted the formation of an army of ten thousand -foot and three thousand horse and ordered it to be -ready to march in eight days. Ignorance and infatuation -could hardly go further than this. Shortly after -came a great disaster in the west, nothing less than the -capitulation of Essex's whole army. Then came the -second battle of Newbury, which left the King in a -decidedly improved position. Finally at the close of the -campaign the Parliamentary forces sank into a condition -which was nothing short of deplorable, the dissensions -among the commanders rose to a dangerous height, and -as a crowning symptom of the general collapse the -Eastern Association, the strongest of all the local bodies, -declared that its burden was heavier than it could bear -and threw itself upon the Parliament. In the face of such -a crisis the Houses could hesitate no longer, and on the -23rd of November they made over the whole state of the -forces to the Committee of Both Kingdoms, with directions -to consider a frame or model of the whole militia.</p> - -<p>Thus the work that should have been done years -before by Elizabeth was at length taken in hand; and -the broken-down machinery of the Plantagenets was at -last to be superseded. There was of course jealousy as -to the hands in which so powerful an engine should be -placed, and the difficulty was overcome only by the Self-denying -Ordinance, which debarred members of both -Houses of Parliament from command, and laid the ablest -soldier in England aside as impartially as inefficient peers -like Manchester and Essex. But such an evil as this -could be easily remedied, for something more than an -ordinance is required at such times to exclude the ablest -man from the highest post. To bring the New Model -into being was the first and greatest task; and this was -done by the Ordinance of the 15th of February 1645. -The time was come, and England had at last a regular, -and as was soon to be seen, a standing army.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_III" id="BOOK_III">BOOK III</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIII_CHAPTER_I" id="BIII_CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BIIICI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1645.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Even before the Ordinance for the establishment of the -New Model Army had been passed, Parliament had -voted, on the motion of Oliver Cromwell, that the chief -command should be given to Sir Thomas Fairfax. -There is little difficulty in discovering the reason for this -choice. If by the Self-denying Ordinance all members -of both Houses were to be excluded from command in -order to rid the country of incompetent officers, there -could be no doubt that Fairfax was the man best fitted -to be captain-general. He had been the soul of the -Parliamentary cause in the north, and, though by no -means uniformly successful in the field, had shown vigour -in victory, constancy in defeat, and energy at all times. -Though not comparable to Cromwell in military ability, -and perhaps hardly equal either to Rupert on the one side -or to George Monk on the other, he was none the less a -good soldier and a gallant man, though if anything rather -too fond of fighting with his own hand when he should -have been directing the hands of others. He knew the -value of discipline and was strong enough to enforce it, -but he understood also the art of leading men as well as -driving them to obedience. Heir of a noble family and -born to high station, he could fill a great position with -naturalness and ease; being above all things a gentleman, -honourable, straightforward, disinterested, and -abounding in good sense, he could occupy it without -provoking envy or jealousy. No higher praise can be -given to Fairfax than that every one was not only contented -but pleased to serve under him.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</a></span></p> - -<p>Joined with him as sergeant-major-general, and therefore -not only as commander of the foot but as chief of -the staff, was the veteran Philip Skippon. His long experience -of war in the Low Countries, and the respect -which such experience commanded, doubtless prompted -his selection to be Fairfax's chief adviser. The post of -lieutenant-general, which carried with it the command -of the cavalry, was left unfilled. Every one knew who -was the right man for the place, and there could be little -doubt but that, notwithstanding all self-denying ordinances, -he must sooner or later be summoned to hold it. -For the present he was employed, pending the expiration -of the forty days of grace allowed him by the Ordinance, -in watching the movements of the Royalist forces in -the west. Though there had been trouble even with -his famous regiments in the general collapse at the close -of 1644, yet it was noticed that in January 1645 no -troops had appeared so full in numbers, so well armed, -and so civil in their carriage as Colonel Cromwell's horse. -"Call them Independents or what you will," said one -newspaper, "you will find that they will make Sir -Thomas Fairfax a regiment of a thousand as brave and -gallant horse as any in England."</p> - -<p>This however was not to happen at once. Fairfax, -having obtained the Parliament's approval of his list of -officers, was busily engaged with Skippon in hewing -rougher material than Cromwell's troopers into shape. -Many of the disbanded regiments of Essex lay ready -to his hand, but they had lately shown a mutinous spirit -which it required all Skippon's tact and firmness to curb. -The old man, however, as he was affectionately called, -knew how to manage soldiers, and the promise of -regular pay, notwithstanding that one quarter of the same -was deferred as security against desertion, soon brought -them cheerfully into the service. Nevertheless there -were, even so, not voluntary recruits enough to supply -the twenty-two thousand men required by the Ordinance; -more than eight thousand were still wanting, and the -Committee of Both Kingdoms could think of no better<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</a></span> -means for raising them than the press-gang. This was -the system which, when enforced by Charles the First, -had been denounced as an intolerable grievance, and it -was not less violently resisted when sanctioned by -Parliament. The Government, however, carried matters -with a strong hand, and a couple of executions soon -brought the recalcitrant recruits to submission.</p> - -<p>The scene of the making of the New Army which -was destined to subdue the King was, by the irony of -fate, royal Windsor. It is on the broad expanse of -Windsor Park and on the green meadows by the -Thames, before the wondering eyes of the Eton boys, -that we must picture the daily parade of the new -regiments, the exercise of pike and musket and the -assiduous doubling of ranks and files, old Skippon, -gray and scarred with wounds, riding from company to -company and instituting mental comparisons between -them and the English soldiers of the Low Countries, -and the younger sprightlier Fairfax, still but three-and-thirty, -watching with all a Yorkshireman's love of -horseflesh the arrival of troopers and baggage-animals. -Every day the scene grew brighter as corps after corps -received its new clothing, for the whole army, for the -first time in English history, was clad in the familiar -scarlet. Facings of the colonel's colours distinguished -regiment from regiment; and the senior corps of -foot, being the General's own, wore his facings of -blue.<a name="FNanchor_164_164" id="FNanchor_164_164"></a><a href="#Footnote_164_164" class="fnanchor">[164]</a> Thus the royal colours, as we now call them, -were first seen at the head of a rebel army.</p> - -<p>The senior regiment of horse was also in due time -to be clothed in the same scarlet and blue. For -Cromwell's two regiments of horse had been selected, -as was their due, to be blent into one and to take -precedence, as Sir Thomas Fairfax's, of the whole of the -English cavalry. In this same month of April the -regiment was in the field, turning out quicker than any -other corps on the sounding of the alarm, while the -"lovely company" of which the colonel had boasted,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</a></span> -now called the General's troop, was distinguishing itself -above all others. Modern regiments of cavalry that -wear the royal colours need not be ashamed to remember -that they perpetuate the dress of Oliver Cromwell's -troopers. Excluded though Cromwell was from the -making of the New Model Army, he was none the less -its creator, for it was he who had shown the way to -discipline and regimental pride.</p> - -<p>It is now necessary briefly to sketch the organisation -of the New Model. Beginning therefore with the -infantry, the foot consisted of twelve regiments, each -divided into ten companies of one hundred and twenty -men apiece. As all the field-officers, even if they held -the rank of general, had companies of their own, the -full number of officers to a regiment was thirty: colonel, -lieutenant-colonel, major, seven captains, ten lieutenants -and ten ensigns. Each company included moreover -two sergeants, three corporals, and one, if not two, -drums.<a name="FNanchor_165_165" id="FNanchor_165_165"></a><a href="#Footnote_165_165" class="fnanchor">[165]</a> The privates were divided as usual into an -equal number of pikemen and musketeers: the weapons -of officers being, for a captain, a pike; for a lieutenant, -the partisan; and for an ensign, the sword. Since -Skippon, a veteran of the Dutch school, was at the -head of the infantry, it can hardly be doubted that the -Dutch system of drill was preferred to the Swedish. -Gustavus Adolphus, it must be remembered, was chiefly -concerned with the Scots; while the contemporary -drill books of the English prefer the teaching of Maurice -of Nassau. It is therefore reasonably safe to conclude -that the normal formation of the infantry of the New -Model was not less than eight ranks in depth.</p> - -<p>The cavalry consisted of eleven regiments, each of -which contained six troops of one hundred men. Here<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</a></span> -again every field-officer had a troop of his own, so that -the full complement of officers to a regiment numbered -eighteen, namely, colonel, major, four captains, six -lieutenants, and six cornets. Three corporals and a -trumpeter were included among the hundred men; and -the admirable system which sorted each troop into -three divisions, each under special charge of an officer -and a corporal, was in full working order. In the -matter of drill and tactics, the English cavalry was -before rather than behind the times. The modified -shock-action of Gustavus Adolphus had, under the -influence of Rupert and Cromwell, been virtually superseded. -The men indeed were still armed, according to -the old fashion, with iron helmet and cuirass, and still -carried each a brace of pistols as well as a sword; but -they were instructed to trust to their swords in the -charge, and to use their fire-arms only in the pursuit. -Gustavus had formed his horse as a rule in four ranks; -Rupert fixed the depth at three;<a name="FNanchor_166_166" id="FNanchor_166_166"></a><a href="#Footnote_166_166" class="fnanchor">[166]</a> the Parliamentary -officers went so far as to reduce the ranks to two, sacrificing -depth to frontage, and trusting to speed, we cannot -doubt, to overcome weight. Last and most daring -innovation of all, they abolished the file as the tactical -unit of the troop and substituted the rank in its place.<a name="FNanchor_167_167" id="FNanchor_167_167"></a><a href="#Footnote_167_167" class="fnanchor">[167]</a> -No better testimony to the improvement of English -discipline could be found than this reduction in the -depth of the ranks of cavalry. For once it may be said -that the English horse stood in advance of all Europe.</p> - -<p>As regards the duties of reconnaissance, not a -treatise on cavalry omits to mention that it is the -function of the horse to scour the ways in advance of -an army; but there are no precise directions as to the -manner of fulfilling it. Cromwell's constant references -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</a></span>to a "forlorn" of horse show that he employed -advanced parties regularly, and attention has already -been called to the efficiency of Rupert's patrols. There -is no evidence, however, that the men received any -instruction in the matter of reconnaissance, and it is -only from the Royalist Vernon that we learn that -vedettes were posted then, as now, in pairs.</p> - -<p>The dragoons of the New Model seem, in spite -of a resolution of the Commons that they should be -regimented, to have been organised in ten companies, -each one hundred strong. Their officers were a colonel, -a major, eight captains, ten lieutenants, and ten ensigns. -The dragoons were mounted infantry pure and simple, -riding for the sake of swifter mobility only, and -provided with inferior horses. They were armed with -the musket and drilled like their brethren of the foot; -their junior subalterns were called ensigns and not -cornets, and they obeyed not the trumpet but the drum. -Their normal formation was in ten ranks of ten men -abreast. For action, nine out of the ten dismounted, -and linking their horses by the simple method of -throwing the bridle of each over the head of his -neighbour in the ranks, left them in charge of the tenth -man.<a name="FNanchor_168_168" id="FNanchor_168_168"></a><a href="#Footnote_168_168" class="fnanchor">[168]</a></p> - -<p>Next we must glance at the Artillery which, together -with the transport, was comprehended under the head -of the Train. The only organised force of which we -hear as attached to the train is two regiments of -infantry and two companies of firelocks, which were -used for purposes of escort only. The firelocks were -distinguished from the rest of the army by wearing -tawny instead of scarlet coats, and seem therefore to -have been a peculiar people, but the immediate connection -of flint-lock muskets with cannon is not apparent.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</a></span> -The truth seems to be that the English were behind the -times in respect of field artillery, and indeed we hear -little of guns, except siege-cannon, during the whole -period of the Civil War. English military writers of -the period rarely make much of artillery in a pitched -battle. They recommend indeed that the enemy's guns -should be captured by a rush as early as possible, and -they generally agree that cannon should be posted on an -eminence, since a ball travels with greater force downhill -than uphill. On the other hand, it was objected -even to this simple rule that if guns were pointed downhill -there was always the risk of the shot rolling out -of the muzzle, so that in truth the gunner seems to -have been sadly destitute of fixed principles for his -guidance in action.</p> - -<p>The neglect of field artillery in England is the -more remarkable inasmuch as English gun-founders -enjoyed a high reputation in Europe. The cannon of -that day were necessarily heavy and cumbrous, since the -bad quality and slow combustion of the powder made -great length imperative; but there was no excuse for -not imitating the light field-pieces of Gustavus Adolphus. -The probable reason for the backwardness of the -English was the peculiar organisation of the Dutch -artillery, which gave no opening for the instruction of -English gunners in the school of the Low Countries. -Nevertheless there was a distinct drill for the working -of guns, with thirteen words of command for the -wielding of ladle and sponge and rammer. A gun's -crew consisted of three men—the gunner, his mate, often -called a matross, and an odd man who gave general -assistance; and the number of little refinements that -are enjoined upon them show that the artillerymen -took abundant pride in themselves. Thus the withdrawal -of the least quantity of powder with the ladle -after loading was esteemed a "foul fault for a gunner -to commit," while the spilling even of a few grains on -the ground was severely reprobated, "it being a thing -uncomely for a gunner to trample powder under his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[218]</a></span> -feet." Lastly, every gunner was exhorted to "set forth -himself with as comely a posture and grace as he can -possibly; for the agility and comely carriage of a man -in handling his ladle and sponge is such an outward -action as doth give great content to the standers-by." -Nevertheless artillerymen seem nowhere, and least of -all in England, to have been very popular. They had -an evil reputation all over Europe for profane swearing, -a failing which is attributed by one writer to their -enforced commerce with infernal substances, but which -was more probably due to the fact that, being less -perfectly organised than other branches of the army, -they were less amenable to rigid discipline.</p> - -<p>But if the gunners were but a casual and ill-administered -force, much more so were the drivers. -Over a thousand draught-horses were collected for the -general use of the New Model, but how many, if any, -of these were set apart for the artillery, it is impossible -to say. Ordinary waggoners with their teams were -impressed or hired to haul the guns, and it is recorded -that the hackney-coachmen of London performed the -duty more than once. The chief use of the escort of -infantry was therefore to prevent the drivers from -running away. It is doubtful whether the guns themselves -travelled on four wheels or on two, contemporary -drawings showing instances of both; but in either case -there was no approach to what is now called the limber, -the horses being harnessed simply to the trail.<a name="FNanchor_169_169" id="FNanchor_169_169"></a><a href="#Footnote_169_169" class="fnanchor">[169]</a> The -ammunition again was transported in ordinary waggons, -the powder being indeed occasionally made up into -cartridges, but more often carried simply in barrels -which were unloaded behind the gun when it was posted -for action. It was the function of the odd man of the -gun's crew to cover up the powder-barrel between each -discharge of the gun, to avert the danger of a general -explosion. In fact, one principal link alone connects the -artillery of the New Model with the artillery of to-day, -the gun-carriages were painted of a fair lead-colour.</p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[219]</a></span></p> -<p>Lastly we come to the Engineers, a corps which is -more obscure to us even than the Artillery. Even in -the days of the Plantagenets the English kings had -taken Cornish miners with them for their sieges; and in -the war of Dutch Independence Yorkshire colliers were -specially employed for the digging of mines. But, -although by the middle of the sixteenth century the -Germans had already organised a corps of sappers,<a name="FNanchor_170_170" id="FNanchor_170_170"></a><a href="#Footnote_170_170" class="fnanchor">[170]</a> no -such thing existed in England. In truth, the British -were not fond of the spade. The English indeed -handled it often enough under Vere and his successors, -while the Scots, though sorely against the grain, were -forced to do the like by Gustavus Adolphus. But -considering the schools wherein the British were trained, -nothing is more remarkable in the Civil War than the -neglect of field-fortification and the extreme inefficiency -with which at any rate the earlier sieges were conducted. -It is significant that the pioneers,<a name="FNanchor_171_171" id="FNanchor_171_171"></a><a href="#Footnote_171_171" class="fnanchor">[171]</a> who are the only -men that we hear of in connection with the unorganised -corps of engineers, were the very scum of the army, -and that degradation to be "an abject pioneer" was a -regular punishment for hardened offenders. It is still -more significant that the principal engineers of the -New Model Army bear not English but foreign names.</p> - -<p>So much for the various branches of the military -service: it remains to say a few words of the Army as -a whole. Of the organisation of what would now be -called the War Department, it is extremely difficult to -speak. There was a parliamentary Committee of the -Army, which seems to have enjoyed at first an intermittent -and later a continuous existence, and which was -entrusted with the general direction of its affairs and in -particular with the business of recruiting. There were also -Treasurers at War, who were charged with the financial -administration, and there was the already venerable Office -of Ordnance, which was responsible for arms and equipment. -Speaking generally, though the functions of the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[220]</a></span>Committee and of the treasurers seemed to have overlapped -each other at various points, the military administration -seems to have tended to the following allocation -of responsibility: that the Committee of the Army -took charge of the men, the Office of Ordnance of the -weapons and stores, and the Treasurers at War of the -finance, while the Commander-in-Chief was answerable -for the discipline of the Army.</p> - -<p>Passing next to purely military organisation, which -of course fell within the province of the Lord-General, -it is to be remarked that the makers and commanders -of the New Model knew of no better distribution of -command than under the three heads of Infantry, -Cavalry, and Train. There was no such thing as a -division comprehending a proportion of all three arms -under the control of a divisional commander; and -though we do hear frequently of brigades, the word -signifies merely the temporary grouping of certain corps -under a single officer, rarely an essential part of the -general organisation. The subjoined list gives a -tolerable idea of the allotment of functions among the -members of the staff. It is only necessary to add that -all orders of the commander-in-chief were issued through -the sergeant-major-general, distributed by him to the -sergeant-majors or, as they are now called, majors of -the different regiments, and by the sergeant-majors in -their turn to the sergeants of every company and the -corporals of every troop.</p> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<span class="smcap">Commander-in-Chief.</span><br /> - -His Excellency Sir Thomas Fairfax, Knight, Captain-General.<br /> -<br /> -<span class="smcap">Headquarter Staff.</span><br /> - -(<em>Chief of the Staff</em>)—Major-General<a name="FNanchor_172_172" id="FNanchor_172_172"></a><a href="#Footnote_172_172" class="fnanchor">[172]</a> Skippon.<br /> - -<em>Commissary-General of the Musters.</em>—Comm.-Gen. Stone (with -two deputies).<br /> - -<em>Commissary-General of Victuals.</em>—Comm.-Gen. Orpin.<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[221]</a></span> -<em>Commissary-General of Horse Provisions.</em>—Comm.-Gen. Cooke.<br /> - -(<em>Transport</em>) <em>Waggon-Master-General.</em>—Master Richardson.<br /> - -(<em>Intelligence</em>) <em>Scout-Master-General.</em>—Major Watson.<br /> - -(<em>Military Chest</em>) Eight Treasurers at War (civilians),<br /> -(with one deputy).<br /> - -<em>Judge Advocate-General.</em>—John Mills (civilian).<br /> - -<div class="left pad2"> -(<em>Medical</em>) <em>Physicians to the Army.</em>—Doctors Payne and Strawhill.<br /> -<span class="pad2">"</span> <span class="pad2"><em>Apothecary to the Army.</em>—Master Web.</span><br /> -<span class="pad2">"</span> <span class="pad2"><em>Chaplain to the Army.</em>—Master Boles.</span><br /> -</div> - -(<em>Military Secretary</em>) <em>Secretary to the Council of War.</em>—Mr.<br /> -John Rushworth (civilian), with two clerks.<br /> - -(<em>Aides-de-Camp</em>) <em>Messengers to the Army.</em>—Mr. Richard<br /> -Chadwell, Mr. Constantine Heath.<br /> -</div> - -<p class="center fs90 smcap">Foot.<a name="FNanchor_173_173" id="FNanchor_173_173"></a><a href="#Footnote_173_173" class="fnanchor">[173]</a></p> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Major-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Skippon.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Quartermaster-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Spencer.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Assistant-Quartermaster-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Master Robert Wolsey.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Adjutant-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Lieutenant-Colonel Gray.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Marshal-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captain Wykes.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>Ten regiments of foot; each regiment of ten companies; -each company of one hundred and twenty men, exclusive of -the officers.</p> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr class="smcap fs90"><td class="tdc" colspan="2">Regiment.</td><td class="tdc">Colonel.</td><td class="tdc bl">Regiment.</td><td class="tdc">Colonel.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdry" rowspan="2">1st.</td><td class="tdrx fs180" rowspan="2">{</td><td class="tdlx">Sir Thomas Fairfax.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">5th.</td><td class="tdlx">Harley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Lieut.-Colonel Jackson.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">6th.</td><td class="tdlx">Montague.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdry" rowspan="2">2nd.</td><td class="tdrx fs180" rowspan="2">{</td><td class="tdlx">Major-General Skippon.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">7th.</td><td class="tdlx">Lloyd.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Lieut.-Colonel Frances.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">8th.</td><td class="tdlx">Pickering.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">3rd.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Sir Hardress Waller.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">9th.</td><td class="tdlx">Fortescue.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">4th.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Hammond.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">10th.</td><td class="tdlx">Farringdon.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="center fs90 smcap">Horse.</p> - -<div class="center fs90 pad2"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="90%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Lieutenant-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Oliver Cromwell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Commissary-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Henry Ireton.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Quartermaster-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Fincher.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Adjutants-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captains Fleming and Evelyn.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Marshal-General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captain Laurence.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Mark-Master General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Mr. Francis Child.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p>Eleven regiments of horse; each of six troops; each troop -of one hundred men, besides officers.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[222]</a></span></p> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr class="smcap fs90"><td class="tdc" colspan="2">Regiment.</td><td class="tdc">Colonel.</td><td class="tdc bl">Regiment.</td><td class="tdc">Colonel.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdry" rowspan="2">1st.</td><td class="tdrx fs180" rowspan="2">{</td><td class="tdlx">Sir Thomas Fairfax.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">6th.</td><td class="tdlx">Lieut.-General Cromwell.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Major Disbrowe.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">7th.</td><td class="tdlx">Rich.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">2nd.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Butler.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">8th.</td><td class="tdlx">Sir Robert Pye.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">3rd.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Sheffield.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">9th.</td><td class="tdlx">Whalley.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">4th.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Fleetwood.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">10th.</td><td class="tdlx">Graves.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdrx padr1x">5th.</td><td class="tdlx"></td><td class="tdlx">Rossiter.</td><td class="tdrx padr2 bl">11th.</td><td class="tdlx">Comm.-General Ireton.</td></tr> -</table></div> -<p>The captain-general's bodyguard consisted of one troop, -taken from his regiment of horse, under Colonel Doyley.</p> - -<p class="center fs90 smcap">Dragoons.</p> - -<p class="center fs90">Colonel Okey.</p> -<p class="center fs90">Ten companies each of one hundred men, besides officers.</p> - -<p class="center fs90 smcap">Train.</p> - -<div class="center fs90"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="95%" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Lieut.-General of the Ordnance</em></td><td class="tdlx">Lieut.-General Hammond.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Controller of the Ordnance</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captain Deane.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Engineer General</em></td><td class="tdlx">Peter Manteau van Dalem.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Engineer Extraordinary</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captain Hooper.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Chief Engineer</em></td><td class="tdlx">Eval Tercene.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Engineers</em></td><td class="tdlx">Master Lyon, Master Tomlinson.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Master Gunner of the Field</em></td><td class="tdlx">Francis Furin.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx"><em>Captain of Pioneers</em></td><td class="tdlx">Captain Cheese.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx" colspan="2"><em>A Commissary of Ammunition</em></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx" colspan="2"><em>A Commissary of the Draught Horses</em></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdly" rowspan="2">Two Regiments of Infantry</td><td class="tdlx">{ Colonel Rainborough's.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">{ Colonel Weldon's.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlx">Two companies of Firelocks.</td></tr> -</table></div> -<p class="p1" /> - -<div class="sidenote">April 30.</div> - -<p>The regiments of the New Model were not yet -complete when Fairfax received orders from the -Committee of Both Kingdoms to march westward to -the relief of Taunton. It is extraordinary that this -presumptuous body of civilians, even after it had -provided the General with an efficient army, still took -upon itself to direct the plan of campaign. It is still -more extraordinary that Fairfax, who had disregarded -it before Marston Moor, should now have meekly -obeyed. Charles, whose chief hopes rested in a junction -with the gallant and victorious Montrose, was actually -moving northward to meet him while Fairfax was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[223]</a></span> -tramping away to Taunton. Nay, even after Taunton -had been relieved, the sage Committee could think of -no better employment for the New Model than to set -it down to the siege of Oxford. Fatuity could hardly -go further than this. There were in the field on both -sides four armies in all, ranged alternately, so to speak, -in layers from north to south. Northernmost of all was -Montrose, below him in Yorkshire lay Leven with the -Scots, south of Leven was Charles, and south of Charles -the New Model. And yet the Committee proposed -to keep Fairfax inactive before Oxford while Charles -and Montrose crushed Leven between hammer and anvil.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May 9.</div> - -<p>A brilliant victory of Montrose at Auldearn brought -matters to a crisis. Leven was compelled to retreat -into Westmoreland; and the Scots insisted that -Fairfax must break up from before Oxford and move -up towards the King. Charles, meanwhile, with his -usual indecision had suspended his march northward -for the sake of capturing Leicester, and was now lying -at Daventry, uncertain whither to go next. Fairfax -called a council of war, which decided to seek out the -enemy and fight him wherever he could be found, and, -more important still, requested the appointment of -Cromwell to the vacant post of lieutenant-general. The -Parliament meanwhile had come to its senses, and -resolved that the General should henceforth conduct -his own campaign without the advice of a committee of -civilians. Having done so, it could hardly refuse to -sanction the return of Cromwell. He was therefore -summoned to headquarters; and Fairfax began to work -in earnest. So energetic were his movements, when -once the paralysing hand of the Committee was withdrawn, -that the Royalists at once jumped to the conclusion -that "Ironside" had rejoined the army.</p> - -<p>He had not yet rejoined it, and yet the Royalists -were right, for it was his spirit, the spirit of discipline, -that was abroad in the army. The New Model was by -no means perfect when it marched from Windsor at -the end of April 1645. The old failings of insubordination,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[224]</a></span> -desertion, and plunder, natural enough among a -body of men largely recruited by impressment, showed -themselves abundantly at the outset of the march to -Oxford, but they were put down with a strong hand, -not by preaching, but by hanging. Nor was it by -severity only that Fairfax brought men to their duty. -According to custom, every regiment was told off in -succession to furnish the rearguard, but when the turn -of Fairfax's regiment came, the men claimed that, being -the General's own, they had a right to a permanent -place in the van. Fairfax said nothing, but simply -jumped off his horse and tramped along in the midst of -them in the rearguard; and after this there were no more -quarrels over precedence. After a month in the field -the newspapers could report that oaths, quarrelling and -drunkenness were unknown in the New Model. "Yea, -but let Cromwell be called back," they added; and -before long this too was done. At six o'clock on the -morning of the 13th of June, while Fairfax was sitting at -a council of war, Cromwell marched into the camp at -Kislingbury at the head of his regiment. It was but a -small reinforcement of six hundred troopers, but as they -rode in a cheer rose from the cavalry which was taken -up by the whole army, as the word ran round the camp -that Noll was come.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">June 14.</div> - -<p>Next day was fought the battle of Naseby. It was -not a well-managed fight. After considerable shifting -of position, so much prolonged that Rupert came to -the conclusion that Fairfax wished to decline an engagement, -the New Model Army was finally drawn up on -the plateau of a ridge about a mile to the north-east of -Naseby village. It lay behind the brow of a hill which -slopes down somewhat steeply to a valley below called -the Broadmoor, and was formed according to the usual -fashion of the time. Six regiments of three thousand -six hundred horse formed the right wing, seven -thousand infantry under Skippon made up the centre, -two thousand four hundred more horse under Ireton -made the left. Ireton's flank was covered by a hedge,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[225]</a></span> -which by Cromwell's direction was lined with dismounted -dragoons.</p> - -<p>The disposition of the Royalists was of the same -kind, though their force was of little more than half -the strength of the New Model. The right wing of -cavalry was under Rupert, the centre of infantry under -old Sir Jacob Astley, the left wing of cavalry under Sir -Marmaduke Langdale. Each army held two or three -regiments of infantry in reserve.</p> - -<p>Rupert, conspicuous in a red cloak, opened the -action by a rapid advance with his horse against Fairfax's -left. Ireton thereupon drew over the brow of the hill -to meet him, and Rupert, evidently rather astonished -to find so large a force in front of him, incontinently -halted. Ireton then made the fatal mistake of halting -likewise. Whether he was hampered by the ground or -unequal to the task of handling so large a body of -horse, is uncertain; but, whatever the reason, his wing -was in disorder, and instead of continuing the advance -he began to correct his dispositions. Rupert at once -seized the moment to attack. A few divisions under -Ireton's immediate leadership charged gallantly enough -and held their own until driven back by Rupert's -supports, but the rest hung back, and Rupert pressing -on, as was his wont, scattered them in confusion. Ireton, -losing his head, instead of trying to rally them, -plunged down with his few squadrons on the Royalist -infantry, was beaten back, wounded and taken prisoner; -and in fact the left wing of the New Model was for -the time completely overthrown. Away went Rupert -in hot pursuit with his troopers at his heels for a mile -beyond the battlefield, and galloping up to the park -of Parliamentary baggage, summoned it to surrender. -He was answered by a volley of musketry, and then too -late he recollected himself and rode back to the true -scene of action.</p> - -<p>In the centre also matters again had gone ill with -the Parliament. Skippon was wounded early in the -day, and though he refused to leave the field was unable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[226]</a></span> -actively to direct the engagement. Either his dispositions -were incomplete, or his colonels were helpless -without him; but the left centre, its flank exposed by -Ireton's defeat, gave way and in spite of all the efforts -of the officers could not be rallied. Fortunately -Fairfax's regiment on the right centre stood firm; -and the steadiness of three regiments in the reserve -enabled the Parliamentary infantry to maintain the -struggle.</p> - -<p>But it was on the right that the best soldier in the -field was stationed, and his presence counted for very -much. He too was hampered by bad ground, patches -of gorse and a rabbit-warren on his extreme right -preventing all possibility of a general advance of his -wing. But instead of halting like Ireton he took the -initiative in attack. The leftmost troops under Whalley, -having good ground before them, at once moved down, -fired their pistols at close range,<a name="FNanchor_174_174" id="FNanchor_174_174"></a><a href="#Footnote_174_174" class="fnanchor">[174]</a> and fell in with the -sword. Langdale's horse met them gallantly enough, -but were beaten back and retired in rear of the King's -reserve, where they rallied. But Whalley's supports -came up quickly to second him, and meanwhile the -rest of Cromwell's wing came up as best it could over -the broken ground, and falling on the opposing bodies -of Royalist horse routed all in succession. The Royalists -retreated for a quarter of a mile and rallied; and -Cromwell, detaching part of his horse to watch them, -rode down with three regiments against the King's -reserve of horse. Charles, to do him justice, bore -himself gallantly enough, but some one gave the unlucky -word, "To the right turn—march!" whereupon the -whole of his men turned tail and sweeping the King -along with them joined their beaten comrades in rear. -Thither also presently came Rupert with such a following -of blown and beaten horses as he could collect. -Ireton's wing had rallied, and was pressing so close on -his rear that he dared not stop; and Rupert's foolish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[227]</a></span> -and premature pursuit had squandered his squadrons as -effectually as a defeat.</p> - -<p>The whole of Charles's army was now beaten or -dispersed except his centre, and against this the whole -force of the Parliamentary army was now directed. -Okey, who commanded the dragoons, finding the ground -clear before him, made his men mount and attacked it -in flank; Fairfax's regiment of foot engaged it in front, -and Ireton's rallied troopers in rear. All soon laid -down their arms excepting a single battalion,<a name="FNanchor_175_175" id="FNanchor_175_175"></a><a href="#Footnote_175_175" class="fnanchor">[175]</a> which -stood alone with incredible courage and resolution till it -was fairly overwhelmed. Even so, however, Fairfax -dared not advance further till he had reformed his -whole line of battle. But the Royalists could not face -a second attack; they turned and fled; and the -Parliament's cavalry pursued the fugitives for fourteen -miles, capturing the whole of the King's artillery, his -baggage, and practically his entire army. It was a -decisive victory though not a very glorious one. But -for Cromwell, who alone after Skippon's fall seems to -have kept his wits about him and his men in hand, -Naseby would probably have added one more to the -indecisive battles of the Civil War.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1646.<br />Sept. 13.</div> - -<p>Nevertheless the New Model had won its first action, -and Fairfax now started on a campaign to the west, -which did not end until he had penetrated through -Somerset, Devon, and Cornwall, and crushed Royalism -under foot even to the Land's End. It was a long -march of incessant and at first of severe fighting, which -taxed the mettle even of his best soldiers, but the army -gathered strength, in spite of constant hardships, in -its swift progress from victory to victory, and by the -summer of 1646 it had finished the work begun at -Naseby and was virtually master of England. Meanwhile -the persistent folly of the King had raised it from -a partisan to a national army. Charles, who had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[228]</a></span> -spark of patriotic feeling in him, had from the first -striven not only to set nationality against nationality -within the British Isles, but had appealed to foreigners -from France, Lorraine, and Holland to uphold his rights. -All these transactions had been revealed by the capture -of his baggage at Naseby; and his defiance of all the -insular prejudice of the English damaged him unspeakably -even with those who were most sincerely attached -to his cause. Margaret of Anjou was not yet forgotten; -and if men coupled Charles's name with hers, it was no -more than he deserved. Now, however, he was beaten, -beaten on every side. In the first six months of 1645 -Montrose, perhaps the most brilliant natural military -genius disclosed by the Civil War, had scored success -after success with a handful of Scots and Irish. A -woman in emotion and instability, a man in courage, -and a magician in leadership, he was an ideal leader -for such untameable, combative spirits, the stuff of -which Dundonalds are made. Yet Montrose's work -had been undone at Philiphaugh, and Charles's last hope -was gone. A few more ineffectual struggles to divide -England against herself, and he was to be purged away -as a public enemy by the ever victorious army.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[229]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIII_CHAPTER_II" id="BIII_CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BIIICII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1646.</div> - -<p class="noindent">On the subjugation of the west the English Parliament -thought for the present only of securing its position -within England itself. It has been seen how at the -first outbreak of the war the Parliamentary leaders had -taken the Scottish army into pay, and how even after -the formation of the New Model they had tried to -saddle it with the hardest of the work. In truth, the -behaviour of the Parliament towards the Scots had been -sufficiently shifty and ungracious; it had taken at any -rate some care to pay its own troops, but it persistently -neglected its allies, who had done excellent service in -the north. Indeed, had Leven yielded to the English -Parliament's wishes, had he not in fact been forced by -the victory at Auldearn to retreat, the Scots instead of -the English might have won the Naseby of the Civil -War, an event which would have led to untold complications. -Now however that the English army had done -the work for itself, all parties in England became -anxious to be rid of the Scots. Matters were somewhat -confused by the fact that in 1646 Charles threw himself -into the hands of Scotland; but by the close of the -year it was agreed that the Scottish army should be paid -off and withdrawn over the border, and that the King -should be surrendered to the English, who had conquered -him. The Parliament therefore gained its great object, -a free hand for the management of its own affairs. It -overlooked however in its calculations one important -factor, the Army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1647.</div> - -<p>At the opening of 1647 there was a general cry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[230]</a></span> -throughout England for peace. The country was -exhausted; the finance of the Parliament was in -hopeless disorder; and the people groaned under the -enormous expense of the war. Obviously the most -natural item for retrenchment was the Army; its work -was done, and there was no further reason for its -existence; it should therefore be disbanded or at any -rate very greatly reduced. Moreover economy was not -the only motive that prompted such a policy. The -Parliament, united for the moment in the general desire -to get quit of the Scots, fell back, almost immediately -after this was accomplished, into faction. Presbyterians -and Independents were the original names of the two -rival parties, but for our purpose it is simpler to narrow -them forthwith to Parliament and Army; for among -many of the Presbyterian members who had held -commands in the first years of the war, there existed -a professional as well as a political and religious jealousy -of the successful officers who had supplanted them. -Parliament having created the Army by a vote thought -that it could extinguish it by the same simple process; -having used it as a ladder whereon to rise to undisputed -supremacy it now proposed to kick it down. But such -an Army was not disposed to make itself a plaything -of Parliament.</p> - -<p>Petitions from various quarters for the disbandment -of the New Model turned the heads rather than -strengthened the hands of the two Houses. The only -safe and honest course, if the Army must be disbanded, -was to discharge the whole of the country's obligations -to it in full. Now the pay of the foot was eighteen -weeks and of the horse forty-two weeks in arrear, and -the total debt due to the forces amounted to three -hundred and thirty thousand pounds. The Parliament -was in straits for money and by no means inclined to -make the necessary effort to raise this sum. It proposed -as an alternative to turn twelve thousand of the soldiers -into a new army for the pacification of Ireland, and this -without a word as to the terms on which the men had<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[231]</a></span> -taken service, and without the least mention of a settlement -of arrears. Further, as if it were not enough to -irritate the men, the Parliament did its best to alienate -the officers. It passed resolutions insulting to the -army, insulting to Fairfax, insulting to Cromwell. So -deeply injured indeed was Oliver by this ungrateful -treatment, that he thought seriously of carrying his -sword and such troops as he could raise to the wars -in Germany. Such was the pitch of disgust to -which the Parliament had driven the ablest of its -servants.</p> - -<p>The Army raised its first protest in the form of a -respectful petition from the men: the Parliament met -it with violent and ungracious censure. Certain officers -who had supported this petition then tendered a -vindication of their conduct: the Commons refused -even to read it. Finally, as if to aggravate the Army -to extremity, the Lords proposed to grant the troops -six weeks' pay in temporary satisfaction of arrears. -This was too much. Discontent grew apace in the -ranks, the men refused to have anything to do with -service in Ireland, and finally the Army, by the election -of two representatives for each regiment, organised itself -for the orderly maintenance of its just claims. These -representatives were called agitators, a name which in -those days signified simply agents. The degradation -of the term in our own time into a synonym for -political busy-bodies must not mislead us, nor blind us -to the dignified patience, under extreme provocation, -of this irresistible body of disciplined men.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May 25.</div> - -<p>For the moment the Parliament was awed into -concessions and promises, but its leaders did not -lightly submit to humiliation, and rather than yield to -the Army looked about for a force to countervail it. -First they turned to the City of London, which was -strongly Presbyterian, and sought an armed force in -the City train-bands. Next they resorted to Scotland, -which was intensely jealous of the New Model, and -formed a coalition with it in favour of the King, thereby<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[232]</a></span> -sowing the seeds of a quarrel between North and South -Britain. Finally, after stultifying itself by a promise -of attention to the Army's complaints, it passed an -Ordinance for its disbandment without further ado. -This was past endurance. The soldiers broke into -open mutiny; and Fairfax and Cromwell, having striven -in vain to gain justice for their men, and at the same -time to keep them in subordination to the Parliament, -placed themselves at the head of a movement which -they could no longer repress. It was indeed high time, -for the Presbyterian leaders had already invited the -Prince of Wales to place himself at the head of the -Scots for an invasion of England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 6.</div> - -<p>On the 4th of June the Army assembled about four -miles from Newmarket at Kentford Heath. There in -the course of the next few days it erected a general -council, composed of the general officers who had -taken the side of the men and of two officers and two -privates from each regiment, and made a written -declaration of its policy. Still the Parliament remained -obstinate, and now endeavoured to enlist the -discharged soldiers of the earlier armies in order to -meet force with force. The Army advanced to Triplow -Heath, whither Parliament sent a last message -to propose terms for an agreement. The overtures -were rejected, and the Army continued its advance. -In panic fear the Parliament now offered bribes to any -officers or men who would desert the Army. This -contemptible device was a total failure. It then tried -to raise troops, to reopen negotiations with the Army, -to call out the London trained bands, to forbid the -Army's further advance, to gain certain troops, which -were not of the New Model, from the north; all was -in vain. Irresistible as fate, the Army marched on. -At St. Albans it halted and issued a manifesto demanding -the expulsion of eleven of its enemies from the -Commons, and receiving no encouragement advanced -to Uxbridge. There again it halted and spent three -weeks in the hopeless effort to arrange a peaceful<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[233]</a></span> -settlement with the King; and finally it marched -straight into London and occupied the capital.</p> - -<p>Still the Commons persevered in opposition to the -Army; and at last Cromwell, without the orders and -in spite of the unwillingness of Fairfax, gave the Presbyterian -majority a strong hint to convert itself into a -minority. His arguments consisted of one regiment of -horse, stationed in Hyde Park, and a small party of -foot at the door of the House; and they were sufficient -and conclusive. The House thus purged, Cromwell -turned to the task which was to occupy the remainder -of his life and drive him worn-out to his grave, a final -settlement of the original quarrel. Wisely enough he -thought that this could be effected only by agreement -with the King; and it was to negotiation with Charles -Stuart for this object that he now devoted the whole of -his energy. But negotiation with a man who was constitutionally -incapable of straightforward and honourable -dealing could have but one end. The lower ranks of -the Army, not more far-seeing but less sanguine than -their leader, again interposed. A section of extremists, -known at that time by the name of Levellers, began, as -is usual at such times, to raise its head, and condemning -all further traffic with the King boldly put forward a -revolutionary scheme of its own.</p> - -<p>Herein, however, the Levellers mistook their man. -However Cromwell might be distracted by the difficult -questions of a settlement, he was perfectly clear on one -point, that the discipline of the Army must be maintained. -Symptoms all too significant appeared that that -discipline was impaired, and he lost no time in restoring -it. One regiment refusing to obey his orders, Cromwell -promptly drew his sword and rode single-handed straight -into the middle of the malcontents. His resolution -speedily convinced the men that he would not be trifled -with; the mutineers yielded, and a single execution -sufficed to re-establish order.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1648,<br /> -January.</div> - -<p>Then as usual the portentous folly of the King -united all parties not only in the Army but in England<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[234]</a></span> -against himself. He might have made honourable terms -with Cromwell; he preferred to throw himself into the -arms of the Scots. Both Houses of Parliament thereupon -broke with their North British allies, and the -dispute assumed the new phase of a quarrel between -English and Scots. English refugees inflamed national -feeling at Edinburgh, and on the 11th of April the -Scottish Parliament pronounced the treaty between the -two nations to be broken. By the first week in May -the army which was to invade England began slowly -to assemble, and on the 8th of July it crossed the -border, ten thousand five hundred strong, and occupied -Carlisle.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July.</div> - -<p>Meanwhile the energies of the English had been -distracted by Royalist risings in Kent and in Wales -which kept Fairfax and Cromwell both busily employed; -and it was not till the 11th of July that Cromwell was -able to leave Pembroke and march to the north. Even -then his force, after a trying campaign in very inclement -weather, was in no very good state. He was entirely -destitute of artillery, and his men were most of them -both shoeless and stockingless. In one principal respect, -however, the force was strong, for it was perfect in -spirit and in discipline. I shall not dwell on the details -of Cromwell's dash from Wales into Yorkshire. The -Scots, embarrassed by a multitude of commanders, -suffered him to attack their far more numerous army -in detail, when it was divided on opposite banks of the -Ribble; and after one sharp engagement at Preston the -campaign resolved itself into a mere pursuit of the -beaten Scots. How hotly Cromwell pressed the chase, -and with what hardships to his own little army, may be -read in his own despatches. Unfavourable weather, -torrents of rain, and the miserable state of the roads -brought men and horses to the last stage of exhaustion. -"The Scots," wrote Cromwell, "are so tired and in such -confusion that if my horse could but trot after them we -could take them all, but we are so weary we can scarce -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[235]</a></span>be able to do more than walk after them ... my horse -are miserably beaten out, and we have ten thousand -prisoners." The memory of this swift raid into Yorkshire, -and of the unrelenting chase that followed it should -be treasured by the British cavalry that fought through -the Pindarri war and the Central Indian campaign of -1857-58.</p> - -<p>With the close of the pursuit after Preston, the -second Civil War came to an end. The operations of -Fairfax in the south had shown him at his very best, -swift, active, and resolute, and had been brilliantly successful. -Those of Cromwell in the north, though they -were directed against Royalist Scotland only, not yet -the sterner Scotland of the Covenant, had been crushing. -England was now completely under the sway of the -Parliament; but it became a question whether Parliament -was its own master. A movement arose in the -Army for the punishment of the men who had brought -all this bloodshed upon the country, and in particular -of the chief delinquent, Charles Stuart, who was guiltiest -of all. By a final overture for a settlement the Army -gave the King a last chance, and on its failure appealed -to Parliament to bring him to justice.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1649.</div> - -<p>Ireton seems to have been the moving spirit in the -actions that followed, though there can be no doubt that -Cromwell was in full sympathy with them. Oliver was -intensely English in spirit, and had been greatly exasperated -by the English Royalists who had called the -Scots over the border. He was vehement for justice -upon them, and upon the King as the chief of them. -Parliament, on the other hand, was engaged in nominal -negotiations with Charles; and it was therefore not to -be expected that it would comply with the Army's -request that he should be brought to trial. But the -Army was not to be stopped. The King's person was -seized; the Parliament was purged of recalcitrant -members; and from these actions to the High Court of -Justice the march was short. One leading soldier, -Fairfax, did indeed recoil from the final step, but the -majority of the officers pressed on; and on the 30th of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[236]</a></span> -January 1649, the King was brought out into the ring -of red coats to meet his death. He had done his worst -against the British Isles. He had invited foreign armies -against England, and when he failed had roused Welsh, -Scots, and Irish to a hopeless effort to subdue her. But -he succeeded only in establishing her strength; and -the fall of his head was but the first instalment of the -great work done by Cromwell and the Army towards -the unity of the islands under the supremacy of -England.</p> - -<p>We have a pleasant glimpse of Oliver in his lighter -moods before he next unsheathed his sword. On the -evening of the 23rd of February, as he and Ireton were -returning from dinner with Bulstrode Whitelocke, their -coach was stopped by the soldiers who were in charge of -the streets. They explained who they were, but the -captain of the guard would not believe them and -threatened to put them into the guard-room. Ireton -began to lose his temper, but Cromwell laughed, and -pulling out twenty shillings gave them to the men as a reward -for doing their duty. Less than three weeks later -he was summoned to take command of the army that -was collecting for the reconquest of Ireland; for that -unlucky island had been chosen by the Royalists as the -base of operations for the invasion of England. Rupert, -now turned admiral, had already sailed to Kinsale to -enlist Irish sailors, and the faithful Ormonde had invited -Charles the Second to place himself at the head of the -loyal party in Ireland. Cromwell was not unwilling to -undertake the duty. He had no idea of yielding -England either to Scots or Irish, least of all to the Irish, -whose land was regarded rather as a colony than as an -integral part of the realm, and was also a stronghold of -papistry. Still he declined to accept the command -until he had assured himself that all the wants of his -troops should be satisfied; he loved his men and would -not suffer them to be enticed by the magic of his name -to thankless or unprofitable service.</p> - -<p>Four regiments of foot and one of horse were then<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[237]</a></span> -chosen by lot, and the men were informed that they -need not go to Ireland unless they wished, but that if -they refused they would be discharged from the Army. -Several hundred men thereupon at once threw down -their arms and were dismissed; but by some blunder, -which was none of Cromwell's, not a word was said -about the payment of the arrears that were due to them. -The idea spread through the ranks that they must either -go to Ireland or forfeit those arrears; discontent was -naturally aroused and presently burst out into formidable -mutiny. Fairfax and Cromwell, however, could -depend on their own regiments, and faced the danger -with extraordinary swiftness and energy. The mutineers -were suppressed with a strong hand. One ringleader -was executed in St. Paul's Churchyard, a cornet and a -corporal were shot before the eyes of their comrades -against the walls of Burford Church, and discipline was -again restored. Shortly after, Parliament passed an -Ordinance to relieve the financial difficulties of the -soldiers, and the preparations for the Irish campaign -were resumed. It is curious to note the extreme slowness -with which the civilians learned that soldiers were -after all men of flesh and blood, not puppets to be hugged -or broken according to the caprice of the hour.</p> - -<p>The details of the preparations for the war in Ireland -may still be read in the State Papers of the time. There -are still to be seen the orders for fifteen thousand -cassocks, "Venice-red colour, shrunk in water," the like -number of pairs of breeches "of grey or other good -colour," ten thousand shirts, ten thousand hats and -bands,<a name="FNanchor_176_176" id="FNanchor_176_176"></a><a href="#Footnote_176_176" class="fnanchor">[176]</a> one thousand iron griddles, fifteen hundred -kettles, giving a curious picture of the equipment of the -first English regular army for what was then esteemed -to be foreign service. But I shall not follow the red -coats through the terrible Irish campaign of 1649. It -was not, like the later war with the Scots, an honourable<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[238]</a></span> -contest for supremacy: it was rather the stern suppression -of a rebellion, wherein the spirit of the masters -was inflamed by the insolence of long superiority, by the -bitterness of religious hatred, and by the recollection of -past outrages which, even if truly reported, would have -kindled men to vengeance, and when exaggerated by -rage and fear fairly blinded them to mercy. If any -Englishman doubted whether the Irish could fight with -desperate gallantry he was undeceived at the storm of -Drogheda and at Clonmel: but they could not stand, -untrained and unorganised as they were, against the -veterans of the New Model. Much has been said about -Cromwell's cruelty, and that he was ruthlessly severe -there can be no question; but when we speak of cruelty -we should take at any rate some account of the standard -of humanity in the warfare of the seventeenth century. -The Irish War was a war of races, a war of creeds, and a -war of vengeance. That there should therefore have -been such slaughter as at Drogheda and at Wexford is -nothing surprising,<a name="FNanchor_177_177" id="FNanchor_177_177"></a><a href="#Footnote_177_177" class="fnanchor">[177]</a> however deplorable. What is really -remarkable in such a war is that Cromwell, from the -moment of landing, should have paid his way, visited -plunder with the sharpest penalties, and upheld the -sternest and most inflexible discipline. Forty years later, -when the conquest of Ireland was undertaken by a -former marshal of France and a king long schooled in -war against the first generals of the time, they were -glad to search out Cromwell's plans for his Irish campaign -and follow them at such a distance as they might.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1650,<br /> -January 8.<br />June 12.<br />June 26.</div> - -<p>Cromwell was still in full career of victory when -the alarming news of a treaty between Charles the -Second and the Scots moved the Parliament to recall -him to watch over its own safety. He arrived in -London on the 1st of June, and was joyfully welcomed -not only by Fairfax and the officers of the Army but -by all ranks and all classes. It was now almost certain -that the Scots would invade England in the King's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[239]</a></span> -name, and no time was lost by the Council of State in -appointing Fairfax and Cromwell to command the -English army in the north. That they would work -loyally together in the field no one could doubt; but -when the Council consulted the two generals as to plan -of campaign, their opinions were found to be diametrically -opposed to each other. Cromwell was for taking -the bull by the horns and carrying the war into Scotland -before the Scots could cross the border; Fairfax, never -quite at his ease since the establishment of the Commonwealth, -thought such aggressive action unjustifiable. It -is impossible to believe that this was his true military -opinion, but not all the arguments of the Council nor -the pressing entreaty of Cromwell could prevail with -him to alter it. Despite all protests he resigned his -commission on the plea of physical infirmity, and from -this moment passes out of the history of the Army. -Never perhaps has that Army possessed a more popular -and deservedly popular commander-in-chief.</p> - -<p>Only one man could be his successor. On the self-same -26th of June Cromwell received his commission -as captain-general and commander-in-chief; and two -days later he started on his journey to the north. -Charles Fleetwood was his lieutenant-general, John -Lambert, an excellent soldier, his major-general; and -joined to his staff was another officer whom we saw -fighting in the Low Countries many years ago, Colonel -George Monk. He had served in the Civil War first -with the Royalists, and had been taken prisoner by -Fairfax at Nantwich in January 1645; he had then -passed some time in confinement in the Tower, and -finally had taken service with the Parliament in Ireland, -where his merit had attracted the attention of Cromwell. -Oliver was now anxious to provide him with a regiment; -but the corps which he had designed for him was -unwilling to receive a Royalist for colonel. Five -companies were therefore taken from Sir Arthur -Hazelrigg's regiment at Newcastle and as many more -from Colonel Fenwick's at Berwick; and the ten companies<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[240]</a></span> -were united into Monk's regiment of foot. -Thus was formed the oldest of our existing national -regiments, the one complete relic of the famous New -Model,<a name="FNanchor_178_178" id="FNanchor_178_178"></a><a href="#Footnote_178_178" class="fnanchor">[178]</a> the one surviving corps which fought under -Oliver Cromwell, itself more famous under its later -name of the Coldstream Guards.</p> - -<p>On the 19th of July Cromwell halted near Berwick, -where he mustered sixteen thousand men, a third of -them cavalry; and on the 22nd he crossed the Tweed -and marched up the coast upon Edinburgh. A fleet -on the east coast provided him with supplies as he -advanced, which furnishes an interesting precedent for -the system that was to be seen later under Wellington -in the Peninsula. On the 28th of July he was at -Musselburgh, and on the following morning he came -in sight of the Scottish army, which was entrenched -along the line from Leith to the Canongate.</p> - -<p>The Scottish force comprehended a nominal total of -twenty-six thousand men, of which eighteen thousand -were foot and eight thousand horse. It was under the -command, in deed if not in name, of David Leslie, the -same excellent officer who had routed the brilliant -Montrose at Philiphaugh and had handled his cavalry so -efficiently at Marston Moor. His troops however were -inferior in quality to the English. It is true that in -1647 the Scotch had followed the example of England -in remodelling their army, but the total strength of this -force was but five thousand foot and fifteen hundred -horse; and this, even supposing the whole of it to have -been efficient, was but a small leaven among twenty-six -thousand men. Leslie therefore stood carefully on the -defensive and resisted all Cromwell's temptations to a -pitched battle. After a couple of days Cromwell was -compelled to fall back to Musselburgh for supplies.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[241]</a></span> -He then determined to march round Edinburgh and -push on to Queensferry, where he could regain touch -with his fleet on the northern side of the town. Political -reasons, however, induced him to linger in the execution -of this project; and the delay enabled Leslie to take up -a position which rendered it impossible. Unable to -force Leslie to an engagement, and not daring to attack -him with inferior numbers, Cromwell found himself -completely outmanœuvred. Dysentery broke out in the -English troops; supplies began to fail; and he was -compelled to fall back by Haddington and Musselburgh -to his ships at Dunbar. There he arrived on the 1st of -September with "a poor, shattered, hungry, discouraged -army." The Scots had pressed the pursuit very closely, -the rearguard had been constantly engaged, and, most -significant of all, the English discipline even under -Oliver himself had begun to fail.<a name="FNanchor_179_179" id="FNanchor_179_179"></a><a href="#Footnote_179_179" class="fnanchor">[179]</a> Having driven his -enemy into the peninsula of Dunbar, Leslie sent forward -a force to bar a defile on the road to Berwick at -Cockburnspath, and cut off his retreat. The situation -of the English was desperate, and Cromwell was at his -wits' end. His army was reduced by sickness to eleven -thousand men, while the Scots still numbered twenty-three -thousand; he could expect no relief from Berwick; -and Leslie lay in a strong position, from which it was -hopeless to attempt to dislodge him, between him and -the Tweed.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept. 2.</div> - -<p>Leslie on his side might well feel confident that he -held his enemy in the hollow of his hand. He had but -to remain on his hill-side and watch the English army -melt away, or wait for the most favourable moment to -attack it either in the effort to embark or while struggling -through the defile in retreat. He was, however, -not his own master, but was controlled by an Aulic -Council called the Committee of Estates, which urged -him to descend from his weather-beaten position on the -hill and move to the ground below, where he would -not only find greater convenience of supplies but stand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[242]</a></span> -within closer striking distance of his enemy. Down -therefore he came, not altogether unwillingly, and took -up a new position on a triangle of ground enclosed -between the sea, the hill which he had just left, and a -small stream called the Broxburn. This stream, which -runs at the bottom of a course from forty to fifty feet -deep, covered the whole of his front. On his extreme -left it runs close under the steep declivity of the hill -and forms with it, so to speak, the apex of the triangle; -but further down it quits the slope and takes its own -course to the sea, leaving plenty of space between it and -the hill for a camping-ground. Half-way between the -open space and the sea, by the grounds of Broxmouth -House, the deep banks of the stream give place, as is -usual with such waters, to gentle inclines, not unfavourable -to the action of cavalry. This point by Broxmouth -House formed Leslie's extreme right. The whole -position, as he judged, was not ill suited to a force with -great superiority in cavalry. He could post his foot on -his centre and on his left behind the deep trench dug -by the Broxburn, and mass his horse on the right where -it could dash down the gradual incline and across the -shallow water without risk or difficulty. By four -o'clock in the afternoon of the 2nd of September his -new dispositions were complete.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept. 3.</div> - -<p>Cromwell from the other side of the stream followed -every movement with intense attention. At last turning -to Lambert he said that he thought the enemy -gave him an opportunity. Lambert replied that the -very same idea had occurred to him. Monk, who had -probably received higher military training than any -officer in the army, was next appealed to, and cordially -agreed. If Leslie's right, at the base of the triangle, -could be turned, the whole of his force must be pent -up between the hills and the burn, his horse hurled on -to the backs of his foot, and the entire army forced up -to the gorge at the apex of the triangle in ever increasing -confusion, and, in a word, lost. The time of -attack was fixed for the morrow before dawn, and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[243]</a></span> -details of the English dispositions were entrusted to -Lambert.</p> - -<p>Rain fell in torrents all through the night, and the -Scotch picquets laid themselves down to sleep with -what comfort they could among the corn-shocks. The -English, as ever even during the worst and most -disorderly of retreats, had recovered themselves at the -prospect of battle. At four the moon rose and found -Lambert already hard at work. The bulk of the force, -six out of eight regiments of horse and three and a -half regiments of foot, was moved down to the extreme -English left. Five regiments of horse under Lambert -were to cross the burn by Broxmouth House and -attack the Scottish cavalry in front; three regiments of -foot and one of horse, all picked corps, were to cross -the water farther down and sweep round upon its -right flank. Cromwell himself took command of this -turning movement, and the regiment of horse which -he took with him was that which he had made six years -before on the model of his own "lovely company." The -remainder of the force with the artillery was stationed -along the edge of the trench of the Broxburn to check -any movement of the enemy's centre and left.</p> - -<p>The light was beginning to creep over the sea -before Lambert had posted the artillery to his liking. -There was some stir in the Scotch camp; a trumpet -sounded <em>boute-selle</em>; and Cromwell, fearful lest the -enemy should gain time to change position, grew -impatient for Lambert's coming. At last he came, -and both columns moved off. Lambert's regiments -of horse advanced to the burn; and then the trumpets -rang out, and the troopers dashed across the water -and poured up the opposite slope to the attack. The -Scots, though unprepared, met them gallantly enough. -Foreigners would have called them ill-equipped, for -they carried lances, an obsolete weapon, in their front -rank; but the lance was in place in the shock-combat -which Cromwell had taught to the English cavalry, -and the first onset of the English horse was borne back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[244]</a></span> -across the burn. The supports came quickly up and -the fight was renewed, though against heavy odds, for -the Scots could bring infantry and guns to the aid of -their horse, which the English could not yet. But -while the combat of cavalry was still swaying to and -fro, the infantry of Cromwell's turning column came -up steady and inexorable upon the flank of the Scots. -Still Leslie's gallant men fought on for a short time -undismayed. They had been faultily disposed, as -Cromwell had noted, and could not easily change front,<a name="FNanchor_180_180" id="FNanchor_180_180"></a><a href="#Footnote_180_180" class="fnanchor">[180]</a> -but they met the new attack as best they might and -even checked the leading regiment of English infantry. -But Cromwell's own regiment of foot came up in support, -strode grimly forward straight to push of pike, and -swept the stoutest corps of Scottish infantry into rout.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_244fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 244</em></p> -DUNBAR.<br /> -September 3<sup>rd</sup> 1650. -</div></div> - -<p>Then the Scots lost heart and wavered; the English, -horse and foot, gathered themselves up for a final -terrible charge; and the Scottish cavalry, reeling back -upon the foot, carried it away in choking disorder -towards the gorge. Meanwhile Cromwell was urging -his third regiment of foot to the left, always farther to -the left; and as, panting and breathless, they climbed the -lower slopes of the hill they saw the whole length of -the battle spread out before them and the Scotch all in -confusion. "They run, I profess, they run!" cried -Oliver as he looked down. And while he spoke the -sun leaped up over the sea, and flashed beneath the -canopy of smoke on darting pikes and flickering blades -and glancing casques and swaying cuirasses, as the red-coats -rolled the broken waves of the Scottish army -before them. "Now let God arise and let His enemies -be scattered," cried Cromwell in exultation, for the -victory was won. The Scots, wedged tighter and -tighter between hills and stream, were caught like rats -in a pit, and like rats they ran desperately and aimlessly -up the steep slope, only to be caught or turned back by -the English skirmishers above them. Their horse fled -as best they could with the English cavalry spurring<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[245]</a></span> -after them, till Cromwell ordered a rally. While the -broken ranks were reforming he sang the hundred and -seventeenth Psalm, the chorus swelling louder and -louder behind him as trooper after trooper fell into his -place. Then the psalm gave way to the sharp word of -command, and the horse trotted away once more to the -pursuit past Dunbar and Belhaven even to Haddington. -Three thousand of the Scots fell in the field; ten -thousand prisoners, with the whole of the artillery and -baggage and two hundred colours, were taken. It was -the greatest action fought by an English army since -Agincourt.</p> - -<p>Cromwell lost no time in following up his success. -On the day after the battle he sent Lambert forward -with six regiments of horse to Edinburgh, and occupied -the port of Leith and the whole of the town, except the -Castle, without resistance. Leaving sufficient men to -blockade the Castle and hold the works at Leith he -pushed on against Leslie, who had entrenched himself -with five thousand men at Stirling; but finding his -position unassailable he returned to Edinburgh and busied -himself with the reduction of the Castle, while Lambert -completed the subjugation of the West. In the middle -of September the Castle surrendered, and therewith all -Scotland south of the Forth and Clyde was subject to -the English.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1651.</div> - -<p>At Westminster the joy over the victory of Dunbar -was enthusiastic, and found vent in the grant of a medal<a name="FNanchor_181_181" id="FNanchor_181_181"></a><a href="#Footnote_181_181" class="fnanchor">[181]</a> -and of a gratuity to every man who had fought in the -campaign. This, the first medal ever issued to an -English army, bore, in spite of his protests, the effigy -of Cromwell upon the obverse, no unfitting memorial -of the first founder of our Army of to-day. But the -struggle even now was not yet over. Royalist Scotland -had been beaten at Preston, the Scotland of the -Covenant at Dunbar; but Charles Stuart was able, by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[246]</a></span> -unscrupulous lying and shameless hypocrisy, to unite -both for a last effort in his cause, and to gather a new -army around that of David Leslie at Stirling. Accordingly -on the 4th of February 1651 Cromwell left his -winter-quarters for Stirling, but was compelled by the -severity of the weather to retreat, with no further result -to himself than a dangerous attack of fever and ague, -which kept him on the sick-list until June.</p> - -<p>On the 25th of June the English army was concentrated -on the Pentland Hills, and from thence marched -once more to Stirling. Leslie, true to the tactics which -had proved so successful in the previous year, had -occupied an impregnable position which no temptation -could induce him to quit. After a fortnight's -manœuvring, therefore, Cromwell decided, like Surrey -before Flodden, to move round Leslie's left flank and -to cut off his supplies from the north. It is plain, from -the fact that Monk had been engaged in operations for -the reduction of Inchgarvie and Burntisland on the -northern shore of the Firth of Forth, that Cromwell's -plans for this movement were fully matured.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July 19-20.</div> - -<p>The first step was to send Lambert across the Firth -with four thousand men to entrench himself at Queensferry. -Leslie met this move by detaching a slightly -inferior force against Lambert, which was utterly and -disastrously routed, with a loss of five-sixths of its -numbers. Ten days later Inchgarvie and Burntisland -fell into Cromwell's hands, and, his new base being -thus secured, he advanced quickly into Fife. Meanwhile -he sent orders to General Harrison, whom he had -left at Edinburgh with a reserve of three thousand horse, -that he was to move at once to the English border in -the event of Leslie's marching southward. By the 2nd -of August he had received the surrender of Perth, but, -even before he could sign the capitulation, intelligence -reached him that the Scots had quitted Stirling two -days before and were pouring down to the border. -Leaving five or six thousand men with Monk to reduce -Stirling, he at once hurried off in pursuit.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[247]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 4.</div> - -<p>Two days sufficed to bring his army to Edinburgh, -where he halted for forty-eight hours. Harrison had -already marched for the Border, and with ready intelligence -had mounted some of his infantry to strengthen -his little force. Lambert was now despatched with -three thousand horse to hang upon the enemy's rear; -a letter was despatched to the Speaker exhorting the -Parliament to be of good heart; and on the 6th of -August Cromwell resumed his advance. Both armies, -English and Scots, were now fairly started on their -race to the south. Charles, in the hope of picking up -recruits, stuck to the western coast and the Welsh -border, moving by Carlisle, Lancaster, and the ill-omened -town of Preston. Cromwell's course lay farther east; -he passed by Newburn, a scene of English defeat, and -by the more famous field of Towton, where the south -had first taught a lesson of respect to the north. Lambert -and Harrison united, and on the 16th of August -obtained contact with the enemy at Warrington, but not -venturing to attack retired eastward to cover the London -road and to draw closer to the line of Cromwell's march.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept 3.</div> - -<p>The Ribble and the Aire once passed, the two armies -began to converge. On the 22nd of August Charles -halted with the Scots at Worcester and proceeded to -fortify the town, and four days later Cromwell occupied -Evesham. Charles had but sixteen thousand men; -while Cromwell by a masterly concentration had collected -no fewer than twenty-eight thousand. The -militia, which had been reorganised by the Parliament -in the previous year, had been called out and had -answered admirably to the call. There could be little -doubt of the issue of an action where the advantages -both of numbers and of quality were all on one side, -and there is no need to dwell on the battle fought on -the anniversary of Dunbar at Worcester. It was a -victory in its way as complete as Sedan: hardly a man -of the Scottish army escaped. But it was also the -crown of the great work of the Army, the establishment -of England's supremacy in the British Isles.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[248]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIII_CHAPTER_III" id="BIII_CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#BIIICIII">CHAPTER III</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">The victory had not long been reported to Parliament -when the House began to consider the question of -reducing the forces. Silently and almost imperceptibly -the strength of the Standing Army had grown since -1645 until it now amounted to thirty regiments of foot, -eighteen of horse and one of dragoons, or close on fifty -thousand men. Besides these there were independent -companies in garrison to the number of seven thousand -more, and several more regiments which were borne -permanently on the Irish establishment. Five whole -regiments, thirty independent companies, and two independent -troops were ordered to be disbanded forthwith; -other regiments were reserved for service in Ireland or -to replace the disbanded companies in garrison; and the -establishment for England and Scotland was fixed at -eighteen regiments of foot and <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'sixteeen of horse'">sixteen of horse</ins>. It -appears too that the actual strength of companies was -reduced from one hundred and twenty to eighty, and of -troops from one hundred to sixty, thus diminishing the -number of men while retaining the name of the corps -intact. The system is no novelty in these days, but -this is the first instance of its acceptance in the history of -the Army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1652.<br />1652-53.</div> - -<p>A revolutionary Government, however, does not -easily find peace. By June 1652 the recruiting officers -were abroad again, and regiments were increasing their -establishment owing to the outbreak of the Dutch War. -The quarrel with the United Provinces was curious, -inasmuch as the English commonwealth had expected<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[249]</a></span> -sympathy from the sister-republic which had been made -by English soldiers, and had even sought to unite the -two republics into one. But there is no such thing as -national gratitude; and the discourtesy of the Dutch -soon led the English to exchange friendly negotiations -first for the Act of Navigation and very shortly after for -war. The story of that war belongs to the naval history -of England, wherein it forms one of its most glorious -pages. Never perhaps has more desperate fighting been -seen than in the six furious engagements which brought -the Dutch to their knees. Yet in these too the red-coats -to the number of some two thousand<a name="FNanchor_182_182" id="FNanchor_182_182"></a><a href="#Footnote_182_182" class="fnanchor">[182]</a> took part, -under the command of men who had made their mark -as military officers—Robert Blake, Richard Deane and, -not least, George Monk. The last named was so utterly -ignorant of all naval matters that he gave his orders in -military language—"Wheel to the right," "Charge"—but -he made up for all shortcomings by his coolness and -determination. When Deane, his better-skilled colleague, -was cut in two by a round shot at his side he simply -whipped his cloak over the mangled body and went on -fighting his ship as though nothing had happened. Finally, -in the last action of the war he boldly met the greatest -admiral of the day, and one of the finest sailors of all time, -with but ninety ships against one hundred and forty, -fought him not only with superb gallantry but with -skilful manœuvre, and wrenched from him the supremacy -of the sea.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1653,<br /> -April 20.</div> - -<p>And meanwhile the Army ashore had done the deed -whereof the Nemesis has never ceased to pursue it. So -far, except for a few intervals too brief to be worth -noting, the Commonwealth had been occupied with the -business of war, and the principal function of the Parliament -had been to provide ways and means for the conduct -of war. Incapable of dissolution save by its own -act, the House of Commons had resolved just before the -execution of the King that it would put an end to itself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[250]</a></span> -in three months; but this had been rendered impossible -by the Irish and Scotch campaigns. After the victory -of Worcester Cromwell as a private member again brought -forward the question of dissolution, but the Rump, -as the small remnant that remained after several purgings -was called, now showed no disposition to part with the -authority which it had so long enjoyed. Frequent conferences -were held between the officers of the Army and -the members of the House, with the only result that the -latter introduced a Bill which, while providing in some -fashion or another for the settlement of the nation, -reserved to themselves a perpetuity of power. The -Army did not conceal its objections to this Bill; and the -climax came when certain members tried to smuggle it -through the House before the officers could interfere. -Then Cromwell went down to Westminster, and with -twenty or thirty musketeers quickly settled the whole -matter.</p> - -<p>It is difficult to see how things could have ended -otherwise. The House had been sufficiently warned at -the close of the first civil war that the Army would not -submit to do all the hard work in order that a handful -of civilians might reap the profits. The prestige of that -Parliament rested and still rests on the achievements of -its armed forces, and it depended for its life on the -exertions of men who had subjected themselves for its -sake to the restraint of military discipline and to the -hardships and dangers of war. The Parliament itself -had shown no such devotion and self-sacrifice. While -soldiers were in distress for want of the wages due to -them, corrupt members were making money; while -soldiers were flogged and horsed for drunkenness or -fornication, drunkards and lewd livers passed unpunished -in the House. Even in matters of administration, if we -judge by financial management, the Parliament had not -shown extraordinary capacity. Its difficulties were certainly -enormous, but not a few of them had been evaded -rather than honestly met. The Army, on the other -hand, for once contained more than its share of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[251]</a></span> -brains of the nation, and comprehended not less administrative -talent and far more patriotic feeling than was to -be found in the Parliament. It was therefore too much -to expect that it would resign all share in the settlement -of the nation to such a body as the Rump. If the -question of legality be raised, a House of Commons -indissoluble without its own consent, and working without -the checks of lords and sovereign, was as unknown -to the Constitution as a standing army, and at least as -dangerous a menace to liberty. If the Long Parliament -taught a salutary lesson to kings, the Army taught a -lesson no less salutary to parliaments. It would have -been better perhaps for the future of the British Army -had Cromwell suffered the Rump to remain in power -until it should be dissolved in anarchy and confusion, -instead of taking the initiative and keeping stern order -during the next five dangerous years. But it would -have been incomparably worse for England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Dec. 16.</div> - -<p>Nine months later, after the Little Parliament had -been summoned and had in despair resigned its powers, -the soldier who had ousted the Rump and taken over its -authority to himself was installed as Lord Protector of -the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland. -Since 1652 he had been Commander-in-Chief, the first -in our history, of the forces in all three Islands; in -virtue of that command he now took over the general -government. As was to be expected, he chose his -deputies and chief advisers from the officers of the Army; -and if thereby he placed the realm under military rule -we must not allow ourselves to be scared by the phrase -from recognition of the worthiness of the administration. -There is nothing to make a soldier blush, -unless with pride, in the military government of the -Protectorate.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1654.</div> - -<p>Let us begin first with Scotland, which at the close -of the Dutch War had been placed under the charge of -George Monk. The country was as yet by no means -quiet. Agents of Charles Stuart were busy making -mischief in the Highlands: and the English found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[252]</a></span> -themselves confronted for the first time with the -difficulties of a mountain campaign. Monk's predecessor, -Robert Lilburn, had essayed the task with -but sorry results; Monk himself accomplished it with -a success that suffices of itself to stamp him as a great -soldier.</p> - -<p>Without going into elaborate detail it is worth while -to notice his plan for reducing the Highlands. The -Royalist forces and their Highland allies were gathered -together principally in two districts, in Lochaber under -Glencairn, and in Sutherland under Middleton. Monk's -design was to cut the Highlands in twain along the line -of the present Caledonian Canal, that he might pen his -enemy at his will into either half of the country thus -divided, and deal with his forces in detail. North of -this line the country was sufficiently circumscribed by -nature; south of it he was compelled to fix his own -boundaries. The east and south was already guarded -by a strong chain of posts running from Inverness -through Stirling to Ayr, while one corner to the south-west -was secured by the neutrality of the Campbells, -which had been gained by diplomacy. Monk now -established three independent bases of operations, one -at Kilsyth to southward, two more at Perth and Inverness. -He then left one column at Dingwall, under -Colonel Thomas Morgan, an officer of whom we shall -hear more, to hinder the junction of Middleton and -Glencairn; and arranged that another column, under -Colonel Richard Brayne, of whom also we shall hear -more, should sail with all secrecy from Ireland and seize -Inverlochy, which was to be his fourth independent base -to westward. This done he advanced himself with a -third column into the hills from Kilsyth, attacked and -defeated Glencairn, and closed the one gap in the net -which he had drawn round the Highlands between Loch -Lomond and the Clyde.</p> - -<p>Then hearing that Middleton had eluded Morgan -and passed into Lochaber, he suddenly shifted his base -to Perth and advanced into the heart of the mountains.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[253]</a></span> -In two days he had established an advanced magazine -at Loch Tay, where the news reached him that the -Northern clans had been summoned to assemble at Loch -Ness. He at once gave orders that the enemy should -be allowed to pass to the southward, and concerted a -combined advance of himself, Brayne, and Morgan from -the south-west and east to crush him. Unfortunately -Morgan, in his eagerness to close in behind the Highlanders, -arrived before them and headed them back again -to northward. Monk, however, pursued them even -thither, hunting them for a week from glen to glen by -extraordinary marches, such as the Highlanders had not -looked for from mere Englishmen.</p> - -<p>Retiring after this raid to Inverness Monk sent -Morgan away by sea to threaten the Royalist headquarters -at Caithness. The feint was successful. -Middleton, who was again in command in the north, at -once came down towards the south. His march was -seen and reported from the English station at Blair -Athol, and Monk was presently on his track over the -Grampians. The chase lay through the Drumouchter -Pass, Badenoch, Athol, and Breadalbane, thence westward -to the head of Loch Awe and back again into Perthshire -and over the mountains to Glen Rannoch; and there, as -Monk had arranged, Middleton ran straight into the -jaws of Morgan's column and was utterly routed. He -fled to Caithness with Morgan hard at his heels; while -Monk dispersed the few remaining forces of Glencairn -in the hills and destroyed every Highland fastness about -Loch Lomond. By August 1654 the work was done; -and the Highlands, if ever they may be said to have been -conquered, were conquered by George Monk. The -English who now wander in thousands over that rugged -and enchanting land should remember that the first of -their kind that were ever seen therein were Monk's -red-coats.<a name="FNanchor_183_183" id="FNanchor_183_183"></a><a href="#Footnote_183_183" class="fnanchor">[183]</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[254]</a></span></p> -<p>Such very briefly was the first English mountain -campaign, admirably designed and admirably executed. -The difficulties of military operations in so wild and -mountainous a tract were extraordinarily great, and were -increased by constant rain and tempest; yet Monk's -movements were amazingly rapid. His column on one -occasion covered sixty miles in the twenty-four hours. -Still more remarkable is his recognition of the fact that -in such a campaign success depends mainly on the -efficiency of advanced parties and outposts. He never -moved without a cloud of scouts on front and flanks; -he made it a rule never to march after mid-day; and -when he halted he marked out the camp, and posted -every picquet and every sentry himself. He showed -himself to be the first English exponent of the principle -of savage warfare. He invaded the enemy's country, -carrying his supplies with him, and sat down. If he -was attacked he was ready in a strong position; if -not, he made good the step that he had taken, left -a magazine in a strong post behind him, and marched -on, systematically ravaging the country and destroying -the newly-sown crops. The enemy was obliged to -move or starve, and wherever they went he swiftly -followed. If they turned and fought, he asked for -nothing better than the chance of dispersing them at a -blow; if they dodged, he brought forward another -column from another base to cut them off, while he -destroyed the fastnesses which they had deserted. -Finally, when his work was done he settled down quietly -to govern the country in a conciliatory spirit. He was -able gradually to reduce his military establishment, and, -ruling at once with mildness, firmness, watchfulness, and -unflagging industry, showed himself to be not less able -as an administrator than as a general. Scotland has -known many worse rulers and few better than her first -English military governor.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1655.<br />1657.<br />1654-1658.</div> - -<p>In Ireland, after Cromwell's departure, the reduction -of the country to order was carried on also by a number -of flying columns. Of their leaders but two of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[255]</a></span> -most successful need be named, namely Robert Venables -and John Reynolds, the latter Cromwell's kinsman by -marriage and sometime captain in his regiment of horse. -Ireton had been appointed Lord Deputy on Cromwell's -departure, but dying in November 1651 was succeeded -by another soldier, Charles Fleetwood. Though a -valuable man when under the command of a strong -officer Fleetwood was soon found to be useless when -invested with supreme control, and he was soon practically -superseded by Henry Cromwell, the Protector's -second surviving son. Henry had entered the army at -sixteen, had fought with his father in Ireland, and had -become a colonel at two-and-twenty. He was appointed -Lord Deputy of Ireland at the age of twenty-eight. -The country was quiet enough at his accession so far -as concerned open rebellion; the Tories had been -mercilessly hunted down from bog to bog, and the -Irish fighting men had been transported in thousands -by recruiting officers to the armies of Spain and of -France. What gallant service they did under Lewis -the Fourteenth, for they did not greatly love the -service of Spain, has been told with just pride by Irish -writers; and we too shall encounter some of their -regiments before long. Henry Cromwell's difficulties -lay not with the native Irish but with his own officers, -the veterans of the Civil War, who were alike jealous -of his appointment and insubordinately minded towards -the Protector. Immediately on Henry's arrival some -of these malcontents held a meeting, wherein they put it -to the question whether the present government were -or were not according to the Word of God, and carried -it in the negative. The very members of the Irish -Council, old field-officers who should have known -better, were disloyal to him, but being old comrades of -Oliver's could not be dismissed. Young as he was, -however, Henry gave them clearly to understand that -he intended to be master, and therewith proceeded to -the difficult, nay impossible, task of executing what is -known as the Cromwellian settlement of Ireland. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[256]</a></span> -showed conspicuous ability in extremely trying circumstances, -abundant firmness and foresight, and a tolerance -of spirit towards the men of other creeds, even -Catholics, which was as rare as it was politic. The -military governor of Ireland under the Commonwealth -was assuredly not a man of whom the British Army -need feel ashamed.<a name="FNanchor_184_184" id="FNanchor_184_184"></a><a href="#Footnote_184_184" class="fnanchor">[184]</a></p> - -<p>Lastly we come to England, where Oliver Cromwell -himself sat at the head of the Provisional Government -which he was honestly and unceasingly striving to settle -on a permanent basis. He defined his own position -accurately enough: he was a good constable set to -preserve the peace of the parish. But that parish was -in a terribly disturbed condition. All that the most -visionary could have dreamed of in the subversion of -the old order had been accomplished, had even been -crowned by the execution of the King; yet still the -expected millenium was not yet come. All factions of -political and religious dissent, all descriptions of -dreamers, of fanatics, of quacks, and of self-seekers had -been welded together for the moment by the pressure -of the struggle against Royalism and against the rule of -alien races. That pressure removed, the whole mass -fell asunder into incoherent atoms of sedition and -discontent, for which Royalism, as the one element -which strove for definite and attainable ends, formed a -general rallying-point. Good and gallant soldiers who -had followed Cromwell on many a field—Harrison, -Okey, Overton—fell away into disloyalty. Sexby, who -had brought the news of Preston to Westminster, -became the most dangerous of conspirators. There is -nothing more pathetic in history than the desertions; -from Cromwell after the establishment of the Protectorate. -Nevertheless the misfortune was inevitable, -for an army which meddles with politics cannot hope to -escape the diseases of politics. Yet, through all this,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[257]</a></span> -Cromwell on one point was resolute; he would not -allow successful rebellion to be followed by a riot in -anarchy. Come what might, he would not suffer -indiscipline.</p> - -<p>To preserve the peace, however, in such a hot-bed -of plots and conspiracies was no easy matter; and before -he had been eighteen months Protector, Cromwell -brought military government closer home to the people -by parcelling England into at first ten and then twelve -military districts, each under the command of a major-general. -The force at the disposal of these officers for -the suppression of disorder varied in the different -districts from one hundred to fifteen hundred men, -and was composed almost exclusively of cavalry. It -amounted on the whole to some six thousand men, all -drawn from the militia, who received pay to the amount -of eighty thousand pounds annually. Strictly speaking, -therefore, it was rather a force of mounted constabulary -than of regular cavalry, and there can be no doubt that, -if order was to be preserved, such a body of police -was absolutely necessary. Yet it is probable that no -measure brought such hatred on the Army as this. The -magnates of the counties were of course furious at this -usurpation of their powers, and the poorer classes -resented the intrusion of a soldier and a stranger -between themselves and their old masters. After little -more than a year the major-generals were abolished, to -the general relief and satisfaction. Their brief reign -has been forgotten by the Army, which can hardly -believe that it once took complete charge of the three -kingdoms and administered the government on the -whole with remarkable efficiency. But the major-generals -have not been forgotten by the country. The -memory of their dictatorship burned itself deep into the -heart of the nation, and even now after two centuries -and a half the vengeance of the nation upon the soldier -remains insatiate and insatiable.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[258]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIII_CHAPTER_IV" id="BIII_CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#BIIICIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">It is now time to pass to the foreign wars of the -Protectorate; for though they be little remembered -they fairly launched the Army on its long career of -tropical conquest, and of victory on the continent of -Europe.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1654.</div> - -<p class="noindent">It is not easy to explain the motives that prompted -Cromwell to make an enemy of Spain. He was eagerly -courted by both French and Spaniards, and it was open -to him to choose whichever he pleased for his allies. -The probability is that he was still swayed by the old -religious hatred of the days of Elizabeth, and, like her, -looked to fill his empty treasury with the spoils of the -Indies. He did not perceive that the religious wars of -Europe were virtually ended, and that nations were -tending already to their old friendships and antagonisms -as they existed before the Reformation. Be that as it -may, he was hardly firm in the saddle as Protector -when he began to frame a great design against the -Spanish possessions in the New World. His chief -advisers were one Colonel Thomas Modyford of -Barbados, who had his own reasons for wishing to -ingratiate himself with the Protector, and Thomas Gage, -a renegade priest, who had lived long in the Antilles -and on the Spanish Main and had written a book on -the subject. The most fitting base of operations was -obviously Barbados, which, from its position to windward -of the whole Caribbean Archipelago, possessed a -strategic importance which it has only lost since the -introduction of steam-vessels. It lay ready to Cromwell's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[259]</a></span> -hand, having been an English possession since -1628, and was, if Modyford were to be believed, ready -to give active assistance in the enterprise. There -remained the question whether the expedition should be -directed against an Island or against the Main. Gage -was for the latter course, and named the Orinoco as the -objective: Modyford recommended Cuba or Hispaniola,<a name="FNanchor_185_185" id="FNanchor_185_185"></a><a href="#Footnote_185_185" class="fnanchor">[185]</a> -and Modyford's opinion prevailed.</p> - -<p>Gradually the design matured itself, and presently -assumed gigantic proportions. A footing once established -on one of the Spanish Islands to leeward, there -was to be a general contest with the Spaniards for the -whole of the South Atlantic. Two fleets were to be -employed, one in seconding the army's operations on the -Islands and making raids upon the Main, the other in -cruising off the Spanish coast so as to interrupt both -plate-fleets from the west and reinforcements from -the east. Lastly, not England only, but New England -was to play a part in the great campaign. Supplies -would be one principal difficulty, but these could be -furnished from English America, and not only supplies -but settlers, who, trained to self-defence by Indian warfare, -should be capable of holding the territory wrested -from Spain. Thus the English from both sides of the -Atlantic were to close in upon the Spanish dominions -in the New World, and turn Nova Hispania into Nova -Britannia. There was no lack of breadth and boldness -in the design.</p> - -<p>All through the latter half of 1654 mysterious preparations -went forward with great activity in the English -dockyards, and France, Spain, and Holland each trembled -lest they might be turned against herself. But the -existing organisation in England was unequal to the -effort. To equip two fleets of forty and of twenty-five -ships for a long and distant cruise was a heavy task in -itself; but to add to this the transport of six thousand -men over three thousand miles of ocean for an expedition -to the tropics was to tax the resources of the naval and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[260]</a></span> -military departments to excess. The burden of the -duty fell upon John Desborough, major-general and -commissioner of the Admiralty, who was not equal to -thinking out the details of such an enterprise nor -disposed to give himself much trouble about them. -His difficulties were increased by the rascality of contractors, -and by the composition of the expeditionary -force. By a gigantic error, which has not yet been -unlearned, Cromwell, instead of sending complete -regiments under their own officers, made up new corps, -partly of drafts selected by various colonels and probably -containing the men of whom they were most anxious to -be rid, and partly of recruits drawn from the most restless -and worthless of the nation. He returned in fact -to the old system that had so often been found wanting -in the days of Elizabeth, of James, and of Charles.</p> - -<p>The distribution of command was also faulty. The -military commander-in-chief was Robert Venables, who -had made a reputation as a hunter of Tories in Ireland; -the Admiral joined with him was William Penn, who is -unjustly remembered rather as the father of a not wholly -admirable Quaker than as one of the ablest and bravest -naval officers of his day. But as if two commanders -were not already sufficient, there were joined with them -three civil commissioners, one Gregory Butler, an officer -who had served in the Civil War, Edward Winslow, a -civilian and an official, and the Governor of Barbados, -Daniel Searle. There was of course nothing new in -the presence of civil commissioners on the staff, and a -general's instructions since the days of Henry the Eighth -had usually bound him to act by the advice of his -Council of War only; but it is abundantly evident that -Winslow was employed not only as a commissioner, but -as a spy on his colleagues, or on some one of them -whose loyalty was suspected. It is strange that so -sensible a man as Cromwell should have made such a -mistake as this. Monk was the man whom he had -wished to send, could he have spared him from Scotland; -but failing Monk, Penn and Venables were both of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[261]</a></span> -them men who had shown ability in their previous -service.</p> - -<p>With immense difficulty the expedition was got to -sea at the end of December 1654, just two months too -late. Even so it sailed without a portion of its stores, -which Desborough promised faithfully to send after it -without delay. The fleet reached Barbados after a good -passage on the 29th of January 1655; and then the -troubles began. From too blind faith in the promises -of Thomas Modyford, the Protector had trusted to -Barbados in great part to equip his army, and to help it -on its way. Barbados, from its Governor downwards, -refused to move a finger. It had no desire to denude -itself of arms or of men, and so far from assisting the -English threw every possible obstruction in their way. -The planter upon whom Venables had been instructed -chiefly to depend was found to be entirely under the -thumb of his wife. She was averse to the expedition; -and the commissioners, observing her, as they said, to -be very powerful and young, abandoned all hope of co-operation -from that quarter. Every day too brought -fresh evidence of the rotten composition of the force at -large, which was without order, without coherency, and -without discipline. Unfortunately Venables was not the -man to set such failings right. He showed indeed some -spasmodic energy, called the Barbadian planters a company -of geese, improvised rude pikes of branches of -the cabbage-palm, organised a regiment of negroes and -a naval brigade, and after several weeks' stay sailed at -last for St. Domingo. On the way he picked up a -regiment of colonial volunteers which had been collected -by Gregory Butler at St. Kitts, and on the 13th of April -the expedition was in sight of St. Domingo.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1655.</div> - -<p>The naval officers were for running in at once and -taking the town by a sudden attack. Winslow, the -civilian, objected: the soldiers, he said, would plunder -the town, and he wanted all spoil for the English treasury. -This order against plunder raised something like a mutiny -among the troops; but eventually a new plan was chosen,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[262]</a></span> -which was probably based on the precedent of Drake in -1586. Venables with three thousand five hundred men -sailed to a landing-place thirty miles west of the town, -and there disembarked; leaving fifteen hundred more -men under a Colonel Buller to land to the eastward of it -and march on it from that side. Buller, however, finding -it impracticable to obey his instructions, after two -days' delay also landed to the westward of the town, -though but ten miles from it, at a point called Drake's -landing. Elated by a trifling success against a handful -of Spaniards who had opposed his disembarkation, he -laid aside all thought of co-operation with Venables and -pushed on hastily into the jungle to take St. Domingo by -himself. No sooner was he gone, past call or view, -when up came Venables to the identical spot where -Buller had landed. He had for two days pursued a -terrible march of thirty miles through jungle-paths, in -the sultry steam of the tropical forest. The men's -water-bottles had been left behind in England, and they -were choked with thirst; they had torn the fruit from -the trees as they passed and had dropped down by -scores with dysentery. Hundreds had fallen out, sick -and dead, and the column was not only weakened but -demoralised.</p> - -<p>Next day Venables effected a junction with Buller, -and the force, though heartless and spiritless, made shift -to creep up to a detached fort which covered the -approach to the town. On the way it fell into an -ambuscade, and though it beat off the enemy, it lost in -the action the only guide who knew where water was to -be found, and was compelled to retire ten miles to -Drake's landing. There it remained for a week, eating -bad food from some scoundrelly contractor's stores, -drinking water that was poisoned by a copper mine, and -soaked night after night by pouring tropical rain. -Dysentery raged with fearful violence, and Venables -himself did not escape the plague. Unfortunately, instead -of sharing the hardship with his men in camp, he -went on board ship to be nursed by Mrs. Venables, who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[263]</a></span> -had accompanied him on the voyage. Thus arose open -murmurs and scandalous tales, which cost him the confidence -of the army.</p> - -<p><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Neverthless after six'">Nevertheless after six</ins> days' rest he again advanced by -the same line to the fort from which he had been forced -to retreat. To prevent repetition of mishaps from -ambuscades he gave strict orders that the advanced guard -should throw out flanking parties on each side of the -jungle-path. The injunction was disobeyed. The -advanced guard walked straight into an ambuscade, two -officers fell dead, the third, Adjutant-General Jackson, -who was in command, turned and ran; the advanced -guard fled headlong back on to the support; the support -tumbled back on to the main body, and there, wedged -tight in the narrow pass, the English were mown down -like grass by the guns of the fort and the lances of the -Spanish cavalry. At last an old colonel contrived to -rally a few men in the rear, and advancing with them -through the jungle fell upon the flank of the Spaniards -and beat them back. He paid for his bravery with his -life, but he assured the retreat of the rest of the force, -which crept back beaten and crest-fallen to the ships, -leaving several colours and three hundred dead men -behind it.</p> - -<p>Venables and his men were now thoroughly cowed -by failure and disease. Penn in vain offered to take the -town with his sailors, but Venables and Winslow would -not hear of it. All ranks in the fleet now abused the -army for rogues, and the worst feeling grew up between -the two services. Finally, on the 7th of May, the expedition -sailed away in shame to Jamaica. Arrived there, -Penn, openly saying that he would not trust the army, -led the way himself at the head of the boats of the fleet; -and after a trifling resistance the Island was surrendered -by capitulation. Then fleet and army began to fight in -earnest, officers as well as men; and at last, after the -commissioners in command had spent six weeks in incessant -quarrelling, Venables and Penn sailed home, leaving -the troops and a part of the squadron behind them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[264]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1656.</div> - -<p>Cromwell's disappointment and chagrin over the -failure of his great enterprise were extreme. Both the -returned commanders were forthwith sent to the Tower, -and though presently released, remained throughout the -whole of the Protectorate in disgrace. Still Jamaica had -been won and must be held. The command after -Venables' departure had devolved on Richard Fortescue, -a colonel of the New Model, who, without concealing -his infinite contempt for those who had gone home, set -himself cheerfully to turn the new possession to account. -To him Cromwell wrote letters of encouragement and -thanks, with promise of speedy reinforcement. But now -a new enemy appeared in Jamaica, one that has laid low -many tens of thousands of red-coats, the yellow fever. -In October 1655 the first reinforcements arrived, under -command of Major Sedgwicke. He had hardly set foot -on the island before Fortescue succumbed, and he could -only report that the army was sadly thinned and that -hardly a man of the survivors was fit for duty. Then -the recruits began to fall down fast, and in a few days -the men were dying at the rate of twenty a day. Sedgwicke -was completely unnerved; he gave himself up for -lost, and in nine months followed Fortescue to the grave. -Fresh reinforcements, including all the vagabondage of -Scotland, were hurried across the Atlantic to meet the -same fate. Colonel Brayne, who had served with Monk -in Scotland, arrived to succeed Sedgwicke in December -1656. He lasted ten months, surviving even so two -thirds of the men that he brought with him, and then -went the way of Sedgwicke and Fortescue. Finally a -Colonel D'Oyley, who had sailed with the original -expedition, took over the command, and being a healthy, -energetic man, soon reduced things to such order that -when in May 1658 the Spaniards attempted to recapture -the island, he met and repulsed them with brilliant -success. Thus at length was firmly established the -English possession of Jamaica.</p> - -<p>So ended the first great military expedition of the -English to the tropics, the first of many attempts, nearly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[265]</a></span> -all of them disastrous, to wrest from Spain her Empire -in the West. I have dwelt upon it at some length, for -it is the opening chapter of a long and melancholy story, -whereof one recitation will almost serve for the whole. -We have still to go with Wentworth to Carthagena and -with Albemarle to Havanna; we shall accompany Abercromby -and Moore to St. Vincent and St. Lucia, and -other less noted officers to Demarara and Surinam; we -shall even see Wellington himself drawing up a plan for -operations on the Orinoco: but in spite of a hundred -experiences and a thousand warnings we shall find the -mistakes of Oliver Cromwell eternally repeated, and -though we may never again have to tell so disgraceful -a story as that of the repulse from St. Domingo, yet we -shall seldom fail to encounter such mournful complaints -as were made by Fortescue, Sedgwicke, and Brayne, of -regiments decimated as soon as disembarked, and annihilated -before the firing of a shot. We have now well-nigh -learned how to conduct a tropical expedition, and -life in the tropics is a thing familiar to tens of thousands -of Englishmen; but it is worth while to give a thought -to these poor soldiers of the Commonwealth. They -were the first Englishmen who went to the tropics, not -like Drake's crews as fellow-adventurers, but simply -as hired fighting men. Yet the traditions of Drake's -golden voyages were strong upon them, and they landed, -big with expectations of endless gold told up in bags.<a name="FNanchor_186_186" id="FNanchor_186_186"></a><a href="#Footnote_186_186" class="fnanchor">[186]</a> -We can picture their joy at coming ashore, bronzed -healthy Englishmen, and their open-mouthed wonder at -all that they saw; and then after a few hours the first -cases of sickness, the puzzled surgeons with busy lancets, -the first death and the first grave; the instant spread -of fever on the turning of the virgin soil, and then a -hideous iteration of ghastly symptoms, and, sundown after -sundown, the row of silent forms and shrouded faces. -Englishmen had faced such terrors in the flooded -leaguers of Flanders, but it was hard to find them in a -fruitful and pleasant land, where the sun shone brighter<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[266]</a></span> -and the forest grew greener than in England, the loved -England that lay so far away over the glorious mocking -blue of the tropic sea.<a name="FNanchor_187_187" id="FNanchor_187_187"></a><a href="#Footnote_187_187" class="fnanchor">[187]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1655,<br /> -Sept. 9.<br /> -1657,<br /> -March.</div> - -<p>The aggressive attack on St. Domingo at once -decided the hostility of Spain towards the Commonwealth, -and drove her to take Cromwell's most formidable -enemy, Charles Stuart, to her heart. The Protector, -on his side, hastened to make treaty of peace and friendship -with France, which he presently expanded into an -offensive and defensive alliance. Mazarin, who had to -encounter not only Spain but Condé, was only too glad -to welcome the English to his side. By the terms of the -treaty it was agreed that the French should provide -twenty thousand men, and the English six thousand men, -as well as a fleet, for the coming campaign against the -Spaniards in Flanders. Of the English six thousand -half were to be paid by France, but the whole were to -be commanded by English officers, and reckoned to be -the Lord Protector's forces. The plan of campaign was -the reduction of the three coast-towns of Mardyck, -Dunkirk, and Gravelines, of which the two first were to be -made over to England and the third retained by France. -Cromwell's great object was to secure a naval station -from which he could check any attempted invasion of -England by Charles Stuart from Spanish Flanders, and -he was therefore urgent that Dunkirk should be first -attacked. Turenne disliked this design, and even -threatened to throw up his command if it should be insisted -on. To beleaguer Dunkirk without first securing -Nieuport, Furnes, and Bergues would, he said, be to be -besieged while conducting a siege. But Cromwell had -made up his mind that the thing should be done, and, -as shall soon be seen, it was done.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1657.</div> - -<p>Throughout the spring of 1657 therefore preparations -for the expedition kept both military and naval<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[267]</a></span> -departments busily employed, for the fleet was not only -to supply the army but to second its operations. The -six thousand men, though for the most part old soldiers, -were made up of drafts and of new recruits, and were -distributed into six regiments. Turenne would gladly -have preferred complete corps from the standing Army, -but in the existing menace of invasion Cromwell was indisposed -to spare them. Nevertheless the new regiments -were in perfect order and discipline when they embarked -on the 1st of May from Dover for Boulogne. The -general in command was Sir John Reynolds, whom we -saw lately in Ireland; the major-general was Thomas -Morgan, Monk's right-hand man in the Highland war, -an impetuous little dragoon known by the name of the -"little colonel,"<a name="FNanchor_188_188" id="FNanchor_188_188"></a><a href="#Footnote_188_188" class="fnanchor">[188]</a> and justly reputed to be one of the -best officers in the British Isles.</p> - -<p>The arrival of the six thousand English foot, all -dressed in new red-coats, created a great sensation in -France. They were cried up for the best men that ever -were seen in the French service; they took precedence -of the whole French army, even of the famous Picardie, -excepting the Swiss and Scottish body-guards; and they -were welcomed by emissaries from the King and Mazarin -and inspected by the royal family. It is significant of -the difference between the French and English even in -their civil wars that the six thousand were amazed to -see all the villagers fly from their houses at their -approach. They were told that the French soldiery -were dreaded as much by their countrymen as by their -enemies; and yet Reynolds admitted that the discipline -of the French troops was good, for France. "But we," -he added proudly, "can lie in a town four days without -a single complaint." One thing alone went amiss with -the English: they quarrelled with the French ammunition-bread, -and clamoured loudly for beef and beer.</p> - -<p>By the ill-faith of Mazarin, Reynolds' force instead -of marching to Dunkirk was moved inland, and found<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[268]</a></span> -itself engaged at the siege of St. Venant. Here it gave -the Spaniards a taste of its quality. It seems that the -English, who were never very happy in handling the -spade, were working in some confusion at the advanced -trenches when Count Schomberg, a man whom readers -should bear in mind, and a few more foreign officers came -up and began to pass criticisms. Morgan, wincing under -their remarks, impatiently called for a party of fifty men -to come to him; whereupon every English soldier in the -trenches, incontinently jumped up and without further -ado assaulted the town, captured three redoubts, and -forced the Spaniards to capitulate. Such blundering -gallantry had distinguished the nation since Cocherel, and -was to be repeated on a grander scale at Minden. But -Cromwell was not the man to allow his regiments to be -wasted in such operations as these. Dismissing all of -Mazarin's excuses as "parcels of words for children," he -insisted that the true business of the campaign should be -taken in hand at once. In September, therefore, Turenne -moved slowly up to the coast; and Cromwell to give -him encouragement sent him a reinforcement of two -thousand men. Mardyck was easily taken on the 29th -of September; but there Turenne stopped. Lockhart, -the English ambassador, in vain offered him five of the -old regiments of the standing Army if he would proceed -at once to the siege of Dunkirk;<a name="FNanchor_189_189" id="FNanchor_189_189"></a><a href="#Footnote_189_189" class="fnanchor">[189]</a> the great General -would not move; and with the capture of Mardyck the -campaign of 1657 came to an end.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1657-1658.</div> - -<p>The English undertook to garrison Mardyck and -the town of Bourbourg close to it, and while engaged -in this duty incurred the strong censure of Turenne. -They kept, he complained, very bad guards, and seemed -unable to stand the work of watching; and the failing, -it seems, was no new one, for Monk expressed no -surprise at hearing of it. Nevertheless, when on one -night in October the Spaniards attempted to surprise -Mardyck with five thousand men, they found this -unwatchful garrison formidable enough and were repulsed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[269]</a></span> -with heavy loss. The truth was that the condition of -things in the town was what would now be thought -appalling. The winter was unusually severe and the -troops very imperfectly protected against it. Pestilence -had broken out among them and men were dying -at the rate of ten or twelve a day: once indeed the -death-roll within twenty-four hours ran as high as fifty. -Reynolds protested in vain, and at last in December he -sailed for England to represent matters in person to the -Protector. He was cast away on the Goodwin Sands -and never seen again. By the time when the season -opened for active operations the English had lost since -their disembarkation their General and not far from five -thousand men.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1658.</div> - -<p>Lockhart, who took over the command after -Reynolds' death, found the remnant of the army in a -very bad state. Discipline was decidedly lax; and the -French complained bitterly of the insolence of their -allies. This of course was no new thing. So far back -as 1603, in the wars of Dutch Independence, a dispute -about some firewood had set an English and a French -regiment fighting; and the quarrel had ended in the -flight of the French to their ships, leaving their Colonel -and sixteen of their comrades dead behind them.<a name="FNanchor_190_190" id="FNanchor_190_190"></a><a href="#Footnote_190_190" class="fnanchor">[190]</a> The -English now, probably on some equally trivial occasion, -fell at variance with the French guards and killed several -of them; nor could all the frenzy of French indignation -avail to obtain the least redress. Lockhart attributed -this insubordinate spirit to the dearth of chaplains; -but the true explanation was that over eighty of the -officers, disliking the tedium of winter-quarters, had -absented themselves, as was customary, from their -regiments. When they returned, and four thousand -fresh troops with them, Morgan seems to have had -little difficulty in restoring discipline.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">March.<br /> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">27</span> -</span>.<br /> -May 23<br /> -<span class="over">June 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Morgan opened the campaign before the arrival of -Lockhart by the capture of two small redoubts that lay -on the road to Dunkirk; but it was not till the 4th of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[270]</a></span> -May that Turenne broke up his quarters at Amiens, -and after a very difficult march to Dunkirk, on the 27th -invested the town. A brilliant repulse of a Spanish -sortie by the English put him in good humour with his -allies, and he was fain to confess that they had done -right well.<a name="FNanchor_191_191" id="FNanchor_191_191"></a><a href="#Footnote_191_191" class="fnanchor">[191]</a> He was to appreciate them still higher -within a week; for on the 2nd of June the Spanish -army, fifteen thousand strong, under Don John of -Austria, Condé, the Marquis Caracena, and James, Duke -of York, drew down to within a mile of his headquarters, -with the evident design of forcing the besiegers' -lines.</p> - -<p>We must pause for a moment over the composition -of the motley Spanish host, for there is a part of it -under James, Duke of York, with which we are nearly -concerned. Five regiments in all, amounting to some two -thousand men, were entrusted to the Duke's command. -Three of these, James's own, Lord Ormonde's, and Lord -Bristol's, were Irish, the relics of the loyal party that -had been scattered by Cromwell; one, Middleton's, -was Scotch, and represented fragments of the force that -had been broken up by Monk; and one, which readers -must not omit to mark, was English, made up of -refugees mostly of gentle birth. It comprehended the -last shreds of old English royalism, and was called the -King's Regiment of Guards.</p> - -<p>Nor must we omit to throw a passing glance at the -army of Turenne. First and foremost there were the -six regiments sent out by Cromwell. Then there was -a regiment with which we parted last after the battle of -Verneuil, the Scottish body-guard of the kings of France. -Next, there was a regiment which we saw pass from -the Swedish to the French service in 1635, Regiment -Douglas, some time the Scots Brigade of King Gustavus -Adolphus. It had passed through many campaigns and -absorbed other corps of British within the past twenty -years, and could now add the names of Rocroi, Lens -and Fribourg to its records; but here it was, newly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[271]</a></span> -recruited from Scotland by the Protector's permission, -marching side by side with the red-coats, though quite -unconscious how soon it was destined to take its place -among them, to fight the battle of Dunkirk Dunes. -Lastly, an Irish regiment, known by the name of Dillon, -and made up of men who had fled from the wrath of -Cromwell, completed the strange representation of the -united Commonwealth.<a name="FNanchor_192_192" id="FNanchor_192_192"></a><a href="#Footnote_192_192" class="fnanchor">[192]</a></p> - -<p>It was evening of the 2nd of June before Turenne -could satisfy himself that the whole of the Spanish army -was present before him, but no sooner was he assured -of it than he resolved to fight on the morrow. The -English were still at Mardyck, and the orders reached -Lockhart so late and came as such a surprise that the -marshal politely intimated his wish to give reasons for -his determination. "I take the reasons for granted," -answered Lockhart, "it will be time to hear them when -the battle is over." At ten o'clock the English marched -off, Lockhart, who was suffering agonies from stone, -driving in his carriage at their head, and at daybreak -reached Turenne's headquarters. The next three -hours were spent in drawing up the line of battle, which -was of the mathematical precise type that prevailed in -those days. In the first line there were thirteen troops -of cavalry on the right wing, as many on the left, and -eleven battalions of infantry in the centre; in the second -line there were ten troops on the right, nine on the left, -and seven battalions in the centre. Five troops of -horse were posted midway between the two lines of -infantry, and four more were held in reserve. The -whole force was reckoned at six thousand horse and -nine thousand foot, of which latter the English contingent -made more than half. The place assigned -to the red-coats was the left centre, which, if not the -post of honour, was assuredly the post of danger.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Don John's line of battle was widely different. He<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[272]</a></span> -had taken up a strong position among the sand hills, -facing west, his right resting on the beach, his left on -the Bruges Canal; and the whole of his infantry was -drawn up in his first line. A sand hill higher than the -rest on his right was regarded as the key of the position, -and was strongly held, as the place of honour, by four -Spanish regiments. Next to them on their left stood -the five regiments under the Duke of York, with one -battalion in reserve, and the line was continued by -battalions of Germans and Walloons. The Spanish -horse was massed behind the foot in columns according -as the sand hills permitted; and the whole force -numbered between fourteen and fifteen thousand men.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_272fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 272</em></p> -DUNKIRK DUNES<br /> -<span class="blkb fs80"> - <span class="blka">May 24<sup>th</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">June 3<sup>rd</sup></span> -</span> <span class="fs70">1658</span><br /> -</div></div> - -<p>Notwithstanding that they had marched all night, -and in spite of Turenne's orders that the line should -dress by the right, the English outstrode the French in -the advance and began the action alone. The position -occupied by the Spaniards in their front was so strong, -that Lockhart by his own confession despaired of -carrying it. Lieutenant-Colonel Fenwick however, who -commanded Lockhart's regiment, undertook the task -without the General's instructions. Covered by a cloud -of skirmishers he advanced steadily with his pikes to -the foot of the sand hill, and while the musketeers -wheeling right and left maintained a steady fire, he -calmly halted the pikes to let the men take breath. -Then with a joyful shout they swarmed up the -treacherous sand and went straight at the Spaniards. -Fenwick fell at once, mortally wounded by a musket -shot; his major, Hinton, took his place, and was also -shot down. Officer after officer fell, but the men were -not to be checked, and though the Spaniards, backed by -a company of the English guards, fought hard and well, -they were fairly swept off the sand hill, and retired in -confusion, leaving nine out of thirteen captains dead on -the ground. James, Duke of York, tried to save the -rout by charging Lockhart's victorious regiment with -his single troop of horse, but he was beaten back, and -though at a second attempt he succeeded in breaking<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[273]</a></span> -into its flank he met with so sturdy a resistance from -every isolated man as convinced him that his effort was -hopeless. Meanwhile the rest of the English regiments -advanced quickly in support; the French horse on the -left wing came up likewise, and the rout of the Spanish -right was complete.</p> - -<p>With the uncovering of its right flank the whole -of Don John's line wavered, and few regiments, except -those under the immediate direction of Condé, far away -on the left, showed more than a feeble resistance to -the advancing French. Very soon the whole force—Spaniards, -Walloons and Germans, Scots and Irish—were -in full retreat, and a single small corps of perhaps three -hundred men stood isolated and alone in the position -among the sand hills. A French officer rode forward -and summoned the little party to surrender. "We -were posted here by the Duke of York," was the -answer, "and mean to hold our ground as long as we -can." The Frenchman explained that resistance was -hopeless. "We are not accustomed to believe our -enemies," was the reply. "Then look for yourself," -rejoined the Frenchman; and leading the commander -to the top of a sand hill he showed him the retreating -army of Spain. Thereupon the solitary regiment laid -down its arms: it was the English King's Royal -Regiment of Guards.<a name="FNanchor_193_193" id="FNanchor_193_193"></a><a href="#Footnote_193_193" class="fnanchor">[193]</a></p> - -<p>The losses of the victorious English were very -severe. In Lockhart's regiment but six out of the -whole number of officers and sergeants had escaped -unhurt; and the honours of the day were admitted by -all to lie with the red-coats. The action led to the -speedy fall of Dunkirk; and Lockhart, being reinforced -by two regiments from England, was able to detach -four to continue the campaign under the command of -Morgan. Bergues, Dixmuyde, and Oudenarde fell in -quick succession, and little opposition was encountered -until the siege of Ypres, where the English delivered -so daring and brilliant an assault that Turenne, overcome<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[274]</a></span> -with admiration, embraced their leader, Morgan, -and called him one of the bravest captains of the time. -The capture of Ypres was the last exploit of the six -thousand—the immortal six thousand, as they were styled -in the admiring pamphlets of the day. After an -advance almost to the walls of Brussels, the campaign -came to an end; Morgan returned to England to -receive knighthood, and the English retired to Dunkirk -to spend another winter in cold and misery and want, -and worst of all in deep uncertainty for the future.<a name="FNanchor_194_194" id="FNanchor_194_194"></a><a href="#Footnote_194_194" class="fnanchor">[194]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1659,<br /> -April 21.</div> - -<p>For even while Morgan was watching the Spanish -garrison march out of Ypres, the soldier who had made -the English Army was lying speechless and unconscious -at St. James's, worn out with many campaigns and with -the work of keeping the peace in England. Before -tattoo sounded on the 3rd of September 1658, Oliver -Cromwell was dead, and no man could say who should -come after him. Richard Cromwell, his son, held two -trump-cards in his hand—Henry Cromwell and the -army in Ireland, George Monk and his army in Scotland. -He was afraid to play either, and yielded up his power -to a clique of his father's old officers—Fleetwood, -Desborough, and others—who brought back the Rump -of the Long Parliament to reign in his stead. Henry -Cromwell resigned his command, and the power of the -Cromwells was gone. The Rump now took over -Cromwell's body-guard for its own protection, and to -make the Army thoroughly subservient decided that all -officers should be approved by itself, and all commissions -signed by the Speaker. So large was the military -establishment that this work of revising the list of -officers was never completed. George Monk, however, -accepted the Speaker's commission without a word.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">October 17.</div> - -<p>It was not in the nature of things that the English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[275]</a></span> -generals should long submit to the junto of politicians -which it had set over England. In a very short time -the leaders of the Army for the second time cleared -away the Rump, and took the supreme power into their -own hands; but herein they overlooked the existence -of the ablest soldier left in Great Britain. Monk was -ready enough to take his orders from Oliver Cromwell, -but not from such small men as Lambert and -Desborough. No sooner did the news of the new -departure reach him at Dalkeith than with amazing -rapidity he secured every garrison in Scotland, seized -the bridge over the Tweed at Berwick, purged his -troops of all officers disloyal to the Parliament, and gave -orders for his whole force to concentrate at Edinburgh. -Morgan, with the glories of Flanders still fresh on him, -presently came to help him in the reorganisation of -his army, and by the middle of November he began to -move slowly south. Negotiations with the English -leaders had been in progress ever since Monk first -took decided action, and, though fully aware that they -must come to nothing, he was not sorry to gain a little -time in order to establish discipline thoroughly in the -force under his command. By the end of November -he had fixed his headquarters at Berwick.</p> - -<p>There, at one o'clock on the morning of the 7th of -December, he was surprised by the news that, in spite of -much peaceful profession, the English general Lambert -had besieged Chillingham Castle and had marched -within twenty miles of the Border. One hour sufficed -for Monk to write the necessary orders for the movement -of the troops, and at two o'clock he was in the -saddle and away to inspect the fords of the Tweed. -The night was stormy and pitch dark, and the roads -were sheets of ice, but on he galloped, despite the entreaties -of his staff, through wind and sleet, up hill and -down, at dangerous speed. "It was God's infinite -mercy that we had not our necks broke," wrote one -who was an unwilling partaker of that ride.<a name="FNanchor_195_195" id="FNanchor_195_195"></a><a href="#Footnote_195_195" class="fnanchor">[195]</a> By eleven<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[276]</a></span> -o'clock the inspection was over and headquarters were -fixed at Coldstream. A regiment of foot had already -arrived there to guard the ford before the General came, -and had cleared away every scrap of provisions. His -staff-officers dispersed to find food where they could, but -George Monk put a quid of tobacco into his cheek and sat -down contented with a good morning's work. He had -occupied every pass from Berwick to Kelso, and had -so thought out every detail that he could concentrate -his whole force at any given point in four hours. The -bulk of his troops under Morgan were stationed on the -exposed flank at Kelso; he himself was in the centre -at Coldstream. Lambert might attack his front or -turn his flank if he dared.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p>For three weeks Monk's army lay in this position, -four regiments of horse and six of foot,<a name="FNanchor_196_196" id="FNanchor_196_196"></a><a href="#Footnote_196_196" class="fnanchor">[196]</a> waiting for the -moment to advance. The cold was intense, and the -quarters in the little village of Coldstream were very -strait. The General occupied a hovel wherein he had -hardly space to turn round, and the men suffered -greatly from privation and hard weather, but Monk's -spirit kept them all in cheerfulness, and those who -had shared his hardships never ceased to boast themselves -to be Coldstreamers. At last, on the 31st of -December, came the news that the army which had -deposed the Rump was up in mutiny; and at daybreak -of the 1st of January 1660 Monk's army crossed the -Tweed in two brigades and began its memorable march -to the south. All day they tramped knee-deep through -the snow, full fifteen miles to Wooler, while the advanced-guard -of horse by a marvellous march actually -covered the fifty miles to Morpeth. At York they -were met by Fairfax, who had roused himself at such a -crisis for a last turn of military duty, and picking up -deserters on every side from Lambert's regiments they -increased their strength at every march. On the 31st of -January Monk received at St. Albans the Parliament's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[277]</a></span> -confirmation of his commission as General, and three -days later he occupied London. His own regiment of -foot was quartered for the first time in and about St. -James's.</p> - -<p>It is unnecessary to dwell on the intricate movements -in the political world during the three following months; -it must suffice to say that Monk was finally obliged -to coerce the Rump as all other soldiers had coerced it. -In spite of all engagements to dissolve itself without -delay, this pretentious little assembly still clung, notwithstanding -its unpopularity, to power; but a letter -from the General was sufficient to bring it to reason -without a file of musketeers. Such a letter arrived on the -6th of April; and though the House resolved not to -read it until it had gratified its vanity by a little further -debating, yet it decided after opening it to make the -question of dissolution its very next business. Before -evening it had ceased to exist. One last desperate -attempt of Desborough and Lambert to divide the -Army was suppressed with Monk's habitual promptitude, -and on the 1st of May the General, sitting as member -for his native county in a new House of Commons, -moved that the King should be invited to England. -Three weeks later Monk's life-guard and five regiments -of horse escorted the restored monarch into London; -and the work of the New Model Army was done.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[278]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIII_CHAPTER_V" id="BIII_CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#BIIICV">CHAPTER V</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">It is strange that our historians have for the most part -taken leave of the New Model without a tinge of -regret, without estimation of its merits or enumeration -of its services. Mountains of eulogy have been heaped -on the Long Parliament, but little has been spared for -this famous Army; nay, even military historians by -a strange perversity begin the history of the Army -not from its foundation but from its dissolution. -Much doubtless besides the creation of a standing -Army dates from the great rebellion, though few things -more important in our history, unless indeed it be the -cant that denies its importance. The bare thought of -militarism or the military spirit is supposed to be unendurable -to Englishmen. As if a nation had ever risen to -great empire that did not possess the military spirit, and -as if England herself had not won her vast dominions -by the sword. We are accustomed to speak of our rule -as an earnest for the eternal furtherance of civilisation; -but we try to conceal the fact that the first step to -empire is conquest. It is because we are a fighting -people that we have risen to greatness, and it is as a -fighting people that we stand or fall. Arms rule the -world; and war, the supreme test of moral and physical -greatness, remains eternally the touchstone of nations.</p> - -<p>Surely therefore the revival of the military spirit, and -on the whole the grandest manifestation of the same in -English history, are not matters to be lightly overlooked. -The campaigns of the Plantagenets had shown how deep -was the instinct of pugnacity that underlay the stolid<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[279]</a></span> -English calm, but since the accession of the Tudors no -sovereign had given it an outlet ashore in any great -national enterprise. Elizabeth never truly threw in her -lot with the revolted Netherlands; James hated a soldier, -and shrank back in terror from the idea of throwing the -English sword into the scale of the Thirty Years' War; -Charles's miserable trifling with warfare contributed not -a little to the unpopularity which caused his downfall. -The English were compelled to sate their military -appetite in the service of foreign countries, and as -fractions of foreign armies.</p> - -<p>Then at last the door of the rebellion was opened -and the nation crowded in. It is hardly too much to -say that for at any rate the four years from 1642 to -1646 the English went mad about military matters. -Military figures and metaphors abounded in the language -and literature of the day, and were used by none more -effectively than by John Milton.<a name="FNanchor_197_197" id="FNanchor_197_197"></a><a href="#Footnote_197_197" class="fnanchor">[197]</a> Divines took words -of command and the phrases of the parade ground as -titles for their discourses, and were not ashamed to -publish sermons under such a head as "As you were." -If anything like a review or a sham fight were going -forward, the people thronged in crowds to witness it; -and one astute colonel took advantage of this feeling to -reconcile the people to the prohibition of the sports of -May-day. He drew out two regiments on Blackheath, -and held a sham fight of Cavaliers and Roundheads, -wherein both sides played their parts with great spirit -and the Cavaliers were duly defeated; and the spectacle, -we are assured, satisfied the people as well as if they had -gone maying any other way. It is true that the sentiment -did not endure, that the eulogy of the general and -his brave soldiers was turned in time to abuse of the -tyrant and his red-coats; but when a nation after beheading -a king, abolishing a House of Lords, and welcoming -freedom by the blessing of God restored, still finds that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[280]</a></span> -the golden age is not yet returned, it must needs visit its -disappointment upon some one. The later unpopularity -of the strong military hand does not affect the undoubted -fact of a great preliminary outburst of military enthusiasm. -Nor indeed even at the end was there any feeling but of -pride in the prowess of Morgan's regiments in Flanders.</p> - -<p>The rapid advance of military reform in its deepest -significance is not less remarkable. For two years it -may be said that opposing factions of the Civil War -fought at haphazard, after the obsolete fashion of the -days of the Tudors. The most brilliant soldier on -either side was a military adventurer of the type that -Shakespeare had depicted, a man who</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"> -<p class="verse8">dreams of cutting Spanish throats,</p> -<p class="verse">Of trenches, ambuscadoes, Spanish blades</p> -<p class="verse">And healths five fathoms deep.</p> -</div></div> - -<p>Against the wild, impetuous Rupert the primitive -armies of the Parliament were powerless. From the -first engagement Cromwell perceived that such high-mettled -dare-devils could be beaten only by men who -took their profession seriously, who made some conscience -of what they did, who drew no distinction -between moral and military virtues, who believed that a -bad man could not be a good soldier, nor a bad soldier -a good man, who saw in cowardice a moral failing and in -vice a military crime. Cromwell's system is generally -summed up in the word fanaticism; but this is less than -half of the truth. The employment of the phrase, -moral force, in relation to the operations of war, is -familiar enough in our language; but the French term -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">morale</i> is now pressed into the service to signify that -indefinable consciousness of superiority which is the chief -element of strength in an army. Such narrowing of -old broad terms is in a high degree misleading. It -should never be forgotten that military discipline rests -at bottom on the broadest and deepest of moral -foundations; its ideal is the organised abnegation of -self. Simple fanaticism is in its nature undisciplined;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[281]</a></span> -it is strong because it assumes its superiority, it is weak -because it is content with the assumption; only when -bound under a yoke such as that of a Zizka or of a -Cromwell is it irresistible. Cromwell's great work was -the same as Zizka's, to subject the fanaticism that he saw -around him to discipline. He did not go out of his -way to find fanatics. "Sir," he once wrote, "the State in -choosing men for its service takes no notice of their -opinions; if they be willing faithfully to serve it, that -satisfies." In forming his original regiment of horse he -undoubtedly selected men of good character, just as any -colonel would endeavour to do to-day. But Fairfax's -was by no means an army of saints. One regiment -of the New Model mutinied when its colonel opened his -command with a sermon, and the Parliament with great -good sense prohibited by Ordinance the preaching of -laymen in the Army. It is time to have done with all -misconceptions as to the work that Cromwell did for -the military service of England, for it is summed up in -the one word discipline. It was the work not of a -preacher but of a soldier.</p> - -<p>That the discipline was immensely strict and the -punishments correspondingly severe followed necessarily -from the nature of his system. The military code took -cognisance not only of purely military offences, but of -many moral delinquencies, even in time of peace, which -if now visited with the like severity would make the -list of defaulters as long as the muster-roll. Swearing -was checked principally by fine, drunkenness by the -wooden horse. This barbarous engine, imitated from -abroad, consisted simply of a triangular block of wood, -like a saddle-stand, raised on four legs and finished with -a rude representation of a horse's head. On this the -culprit was set astride for one hour a day for so many -days, with from one to six muskets tied to his heels; -and that degradation might be added to the penalty, -drunkards rode the horse in some public place, such as -Charing Cross, with cans about their necks. A soldier -who brought discredit on his cloth by public misconduct<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[282]</a></span> -paid the penalty with public disgrace. Fornication was -commonly punished with the lash, the culprit being -flogged so many times up and down the ranks of his -company or regiment according to the flagrancy of the -offence. It is small wonder that men forced by such -discipline to perpetual self-control should have scorned -civilians who allowed themselves greater latitude, and -despised a Parliament which, in spite of many purgings, -was never wholly purged of loose livers.</p> - -<p>Towards the unfortunate Royalists the feelings of -the Parliamentary Army after 1645 were of unutterable -contempt. It was not only that it felt its moral -superiority over the unhappy cavaliers; it mingled with -this the keenest professional pride. No sergeant-major -of the smartest modern cavalry regiment could speak -with more withering disdain of the rudest troop of -rustic yeomanry than did the Parliamentary newspapers -of the prisoners captured at Bristol.<a name="FNanchor_198_198" id="FNanchor_198_198"></a><a href="#Footnote_198_198" class="fnanchor">[198]</a> It is instructive, -too, to note the patronising tone adopted by Reynolds -towards the army of Turenne, his criticism of the -discipline that was "good, for France," and his observations -as to the proverbial inefficiency of a French -regiment at the end of a campaign. Beyond all doubt the -English standing Army from 1646 to 1658 was the finest -force in Europe. It is the more amazing that Cromwell -should have suffered its fair fame to be tarnished by the -rabble that he sent to the West Indies.</p> - -<p>Such an army will never again be seen in England; -but though its peculiar distinctions are for ever lost, -the legacies bequeathed by it must not be overlooked.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[283]</a></span> -Enough has been said of the institution of the new -discipline, and of the virtual extinction of the old stamp -of military adventurer; it remains now briefly to summarise -the minor changes wrought by the creation of a -standing Army. First comes the incipient organisation -of a War-Department as seen in the Committee of the -Army working with the Treasurers at War on one side -and the ancient Office of Ordnance on the other, and in -the appointment of a single commander-in-chief for all -the forces in England, Scotland, and Ireland. And -here it must be noted in passing that the division of the -Army into an English, Scotch, and Irish establishment, -which lasted until the three kingdoms were one by one -united, becomes fully defined in the years of the Protectorate. -Next must be mentioned the organisation of -regiments with frames of a fixed strength, regiments of -horse with six troops, and of foot and dragoons with -ten companies, and the maintenance of a fixed establishment -for services of artillery and transport.<a name="FNanchor_199_199" id="FNanchor_199_199"></a><a href="#Footnote_199_199" class="fnanchor">[199]</a> Further, -to combine the unity of the Army with the distinction -of the various corps that composed it, there was the -adoption of the historic scarlet uniform differenced by -the facings of the several regiments.</p> - -<p>Clothing however, leads us to the more complicated -question of the pay of the Army. The regular payment -of wages was, as has been seen, the first essential step -towards the establishment of a standing force; and with -it came concurrently the system of clothing, mounting -and equipping soldiers at the expense of the State. It -should seem, however, that the rules for regulating the -system were sufficiently elastic, for we find quite late in -the second Civil War that troopers generally still provided -their own horses, and received a higher rate of pay, and -that colonels were permitted to make independent contracts -for the clothing and equipment of their regiments.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[284]</a></span> -The stoppages from the soldiers' pay at this period are -also instructive. The deduction of a fixed sum for -clothing dates, as has been already told, from the days -of Elizabeth if not from still earlier times. But to this -was now added the principle of withholding a proportion -of the wages, under the name of arrears, as security -against misconduct and desertion; while it was a recognised -rule that both men and officers should forfeit an -additional proportion so long as they lived at free -quarter. An allowance for billet-money, and a fixed -tariff of prices to be paid by soldiers while on the march -within the kingdom, contributed somewhat to lighten -the burden of all these stoppages, and made a precedent -for the Mutiny Act of a later day. It is worthy of remark -that the garrison of Dunkirk found in the town -special buildings, constructed by the Spaniards for their -troops and called barracks,<a name="FNanchor_200_200" id="FNanchor_200_200"></a><a href="#Footnote_200_200" class="fnanchor">[200]</a> and that it was duly installed -therein in the autumn of 1659. The reader, if he have -patience to follow me further, will be able to note for -himself how long was the time before English soldiers -exchanged life in alehouses for the Spanish system of -life in barracks.</p> - -<p>But there is another and more interesting aspect of -the question of pay, when we pass from that of the men -to that of the officers. The extinction of the old -military adventurer brought with it the total abolition, -for the time, of the system of purchase. In the -Royalist regiments that gathered around Charles Stuart -in Flanders, we find that companies and regiments still -changed hands for money, but in the English standing -Army the practice seems utterly to have disappeared. -Promotion was regulated not necessarily by seniority -but by the recommendation of superior officers, and, as -external evidence seems to indicate, ran not in individual -regiments but in the Army at large. The arrears of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[285]</a></span> -officers, especially of those who possessed means of their -own, often remained, through their patriotic forbearance, -not only many months but many years overdue; and it -is interesting to mark that their inability to watch over -their own interests while they were engaged on active -service led to the appointment of regimental agents, who -drew their pay and transacted their financial business -with the country on their behalf. The Army Agent -may, therefore, justly boast himself to be a survival -of the Civil War.</p> - -<p>Nor can I leave this subject without reference to -yet another remarkable feature in the New Model -Army, which unfortunately has not passed into a -tradition. I allude to the great and sudden check on -the ancient evil of military corruption. To say that -corruption came absolutely to an end would be an -excessive statement, for the minutes of courts-martial -on fraudulent auditors are still extant, but it is probable -that during the Civil War it was reduced to the lowest -level that it has touched in the whole of our Army's -history. The abolition of purchase and the higher -moral tone that pervaded the whole force doubtless -contributed greatly to so desirable an end. It is, however, -melancholy to record that the evil was evidently -but scotched, not killed. Before the Protector had -been dead a year, there was seen, at the withdrawal of -part of the garrison of Dunkirk, a deliberate and disgraceful -falsification of the muster-rolls, aggravated by -every circumstance that could encourage fraud and -injure good discipline. Contact with foreign troops -was probably the immediate cause of this lamentable -backsliding, but it furnishes a sad commentary on the -fickleness of Puritan morality.</p> - -<p>Finally, let us close with the greatest and noblest -work of the New Model Army; the establishment of -England's supremacy in the British Isles as a first step -to their constitutional union. No achievement could -have stood in more direct antagonism to the policy of -Charles Stuart, who strove with might and main to set<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[286]</a></span> -nation against nation and kingdom against kingdom, -and paid for his folly with his life. It may be that the -greatness of this service will in these days be denied. -There were not wanting in the Long Parliament men -who intrigued with Scotland against England rather -than suffer power to slip from their hands, and it is not -perhaps strange that the type of such men should be -imperishable. Those, however, who call England the -predominant partner in the British Isles should not -forget who were the men that made her predominant.<a name="FNanchor_201_201" id="FNanchor_201_201"></a><a href="#Footnote_201_201" class="fnanchor">[201]</a> -The Civil War was no mere rebellion against despotic -authority. It accomplished more than the destruction -of the old monarchy; it was the battle for the union of -the British Isles, and it was fought and won by the New -Model Army.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—In so slight a sketch of the Civil War and the -Protectorate as is given in these pages any lengthy enumeration of -the authorities would be absurd. Readers will find them for themselves -in the exhaustive history of Mr. Gardiner, to whose labours, -as well as to those of Mr. C. H. Firth, I am very greatly indebted. -Such collections of documents as the <cite>Calendars of State Papers</cite>, -Rushworth, Thurloe, and Carlyle's <cite>Cromwell's Letters and Speeches</cite> -are almost too obvious to call for mention. The Clarke Papers are -of exceptional value for purposes of military history, and Sprigge's -<cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Anglia Rediviva</cite> is of course an indispensable authority as to the -New Model. But even in such fields as the newspapers and the -King's Pamphlets Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Firth have left little -harvest ungleaned. Of the military writers of the time Barriffe is -the most instructive, particularly in respect of certain comments -added in the later editions. A French folio volume, <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Le Mareschal -le Bataille</cite> (1647), gives excellent plates of the drill of pikemen and -musketeers, and beautiful diagrams of the evolutions.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[287]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[288]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_IV" id="BOOK_IV">BOOK IV</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[289]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIV_CHAPTER_I" id="BIV_CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BIVCI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1660.</div> - -<p class="noindent">The restoration of the Stuarts had been to all outward -semblance effected, Charles had been escorted through -the streets of London by the horse of the New Model, -and yet the power which had practically ruled England -since 1647 was still unbroken. The problem which -the Long Parliament had treated with such disastrous -contempt in that year was still unsolved; and there -could be no assurance of stability for the monarchy -until the Army should be disbanded. As to the manner -in which this most difficult task must be accomplished the -events of 1647 had given sufficient warning, for an army of -sixty-five thousand men was even less to be trifled with -than the comparatively small force of the second year -of the New Model. Disbandment must not be hurried, -and all arrears of pay must be faithfully discharged. -Still the work could not but be both delicate and -dangerous, requiring good faith and a tact that could -only be found in a soldier who understood soldiers and -a man who understood men. Fortunately such a man -and such a soldier was to hand in the person of George -Monk.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661.</div> - -<p>His scheme was soon prepared and adopted by -Parliament. The regiments were to be broken up -gradually, the order of disbandment being determined -by lot, with the reservation that Monk's own regiments -of horse and foot, together with two others that had -been taken over by the Dukes of York and Gloucester,<a name="FNanchor_202_202" id="FNanchor_202_202"></a><a href="#Footnote_202_202" class="fnanchor">[202]</a> -should be kept until the last. An Act copied from an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[290]</a></span> -Ordinance of the Commonwealth was passed, to enable -discharged soldiers to engage in trades without preliminary -apprenticeship, and thus to facilitate their return to -civil life. By extraordinary exertions the needful money -was raised, and the work proceeded apace. It seemed -as if the close of the year 1660, according to the old -reckoning which began the new year on the 25th of -March, would have seen it completed, for by the first -week in January the hand of disbandment had reached -Monk's regiment of horse.</p> - -<p>There however it was stayed. On the 6th of January -an insurrection of fifth-monarchy men, a fanatical sect -which had felt the might of Cromwell's repressing arm, -not only saved the last relic of the New Model, but laid -the foundation stone of a new Army. The rising was -not suppressed without difficulty, not indeed until the -veterans of Monk's regiment of foot, to whom such -work was child's play, came up and swept it contemptuously -away. The outbreak showed the need of keeping -a small permanent force for the security of the King's -person. The disbandment of this regiment and of the -troop of horse-guards which had been assigned to Monk -on his first arrival in London was thereupon countermanded, -and the King gave orders for the raising of a new -regiment of Guards in twelve companies, to be commanded -by Colonel John Russell; of a regiment of horse in eight -troops to be commanded by the Earl of Oxford; and -of a troop of horse-guards, to be commanded by Lord -Gerard. The Duke of York's troop of horse-guards, the -same which he had led to an unsuccessful charge at Dunkirk -Dunes, was also summoned home from Dunkirk.</p> - -<p>The first stones of the new army being thus laid, -there remained nothing but formally to abolish, in accordance -with the letter of the Act of Parliament, the last -remnant of the New Model. On the 14th of February, -1661 Monk's regiment of foot was mustered on Tower -Hill, where it solemnly laid down its arms, and as -solemnly took them up again, with great rejoicing, as -the Lord General's regiment of Foot-Guards. But to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[291]</a></span> -England at large this corps had but one name, that -which still survives in its present title of the Coldstream -Guards. Though ranking second on the list of our -infantry, this is the senior regiment of the British Army. -Other corps may boast of earlier traditions, but this is -the oldest national regiment and the sole survivor of the -famous New Model. Well may it claim, in its proud -Latin motto, that it is second to none.</p> - -<p>Colonel Russell's regiment, being the King's own -regiment of Guards, and raised specially for the protection -of his person, obtained precedence not unnaturally -of its earlier rival, and presently, by absorbing the -handful of gallant men who had refused to surrender at -Dunkirk Dunes, established its claim to represent the -defeated cavaliers, as the Coldstream represent the -victorious Roundheads, in the long contest of the Civil -War. It is the regiment once called the First Guards, -and now the Grenadier Guards, and it has known little -of defeat since it ceased to fight against its countrymen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661-1662.</div> - -<p>The two troops of Life-Guards—the first the King's, -commanded by Lord Gerard, the second the Duke of -York's own—took precedence in like manner of Monk's -Life-Guard; and after long existence as independent -troops, blossomed at last into the First and Second regiments -of Life-Guards that now stand at the head of our -Army list. They were composed of men of birth and -education, and for more than a century were rightly -called gentlemen of the Life-Guards. Cromwell too -had possessed such a guard, for he knew the value of -gentlemen who had courage, honour, and resolution in -them. Thus they stood apart from Lord Oxford's -regiment of horse, which is still known to us from the -colour of its uniform by its original name of the Blues. -This corps was almost certainly made up of disbanded -troopers of the New Model, of which there was no lack -at that time in England;<a name="FNanchor_203_203" id="FNanchor_203_203"></a><a href="#Footnote_203_203" class="fnanchor">[203]</a> while its colonel brought to it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[292]</a></span> -traditions of still earlier days in the honoured name of -Vere.</p> - -<p>But there was yet another regiment to be gathered -in from the battlefield of Dunkirk Dunes, this time not -from the defeated but from the victorious army. In view -of the peril of the King from Vernier's insurrection, Lewis -the Fourteenth was requested to restore to him the regiment -of Douglas, the representative of the Scots Brigade of -Gustavus Adolphus; and this famous corps, having duly -arrived in the year 1662, became the Royal or Scots regiment, -and took the place which it still occupies at the head -of the infantry of the Line under the old title of the -Royal Scots. It returned to France in 1662 and did not -return permanently to the English service until 1670, -but it retained its precedence and it retains it still.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661,<br /> -October.</div> - -<p>So far for the King's provision for his own safety. -But it was also necessary for him to provide himself -with money, and this he did in the simplest fashion by -marrying an heiress, Catherine, Princess of Portugal, -who brought him half a million of money, Bombay and -Tangier, to say nothing of promises of pecuniary aid -from Lewis the Fourteenth, who encouraged the match -for his own ends. Tangier being in constant peril of -recapture by the Moors was a troublesome possession, -and required a garrison, for which duty a regiment of -foot and a strong troop of horse were raised by the Earl -of Peterborough, the recruits being furnished mainly by -the garrison of Dunkirk. These corps also survive -among us as the Second or Queen's regiment of Foot, -and the First or Royal Dragoons.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1661-1665.</div> - -<p>Concurrently in this same year 1661 an Act was -passed for the re-organisation of the militia. The -obligations to provide horse-men and foot-men were -distributed, following the venerable precedent of the -statute of Winchester, according to a graduated scale of -property, and the complete control of each county's force -was committed to the lord-lieutenant. To him also -were entrusted powers to organise the force into -regiments and companies, to appoint officers, and to levy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[293]</a></span> -rates for the supply of ammunition. Finally, the supreme -command of the militia, over which the Long Parliament -had fought so bitterly with Charles the First, was restored -to the King, together with that of all forces by -sea and land.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1665,<br /> -February.</div> - -<p>So much was accomplished in the first two years of -Charles the Second. It sufficed for two years longer, -when English commercial enterprise involved the restored -monarchy in its first war. In truth it is hardly -recognised how powerfully the spirit of adventure and -colonisation had manifested itself under the Stuarts. -The Empire indeed was growing fast. In 1661 England -already possessed the New England States, Maryland -and Virginia, as well as, for the time, Acadia, Nova -Scotia, and Newfoundland. Off the American coast the -Bermudas were hers; in the Caribbean Archipelago -Barbados, Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, and -Jamaica were settled; while Dominica, St. Lucia, St. -Vincent, and Tobago, though not yet wrested from the -Caribs, were reckoned subject to the British Crown. -In 1663 one Company received a charter for the settlement -of Carolina, and another, the Royal African, -which enjoyed the monopoly of the trade in negro -slaves, had fixed its headquarters at Cape Coast Castle. -Nor must it be omitted that the East India Company, -originally incorporated in 1599, received in 1660 a -second charter conferring ampler powers, most notably -in respect of military matters.</p> - -<p>England, however, had abundance of rivals in distant -adventure, whereof none was more jealous and more -powerful than the Dutch federation which her own -good arm had created. Cromwell had read the Dutch -a lesson in 1653, and had imposed upon them restrictions -which, if observed, would have checked their -encroachments on English trade; but the Dutch not -only evaded these obligations, but added to this delinquency -wanton aggression both on the Guinea Coast -and in the East Indies. The African Company at -once commenced reprisals on the Gold Coast, and an<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[294]</a></span> -expedition against the New Netherlands of America -captured New Amsterdam and gave it its now famous -name of New York. Meanwhile the complaints of -English merchants were willingly heard by both King -and Parliament. Charles had received no great kindness -in his exile from the oligarchical faction which -dominated the Dutch Republic; and now that the same -faction had stripped the House of Nassau of its high -dignities, to the prejudice of his nephew William, he -was not sorry for the opportunity of revenge. Parliament -voted liberal supplies for the war. A new regiment, -called the Admiral's regiment, was raised by the Duke -of York for service on board ship; large drafts were -taken from the two regiments of Guards for the same -purpose, and on the 3rd of June, James, Duke of York, -won with them a great naval action off Lowestoft.</p> - -<p>But there were English soldiers outside England -who were troubled by this war. The descendants of -the volunteers, who had followed Morgan in 1572 and -had won an imperishable name under Francis Vere, -were still in the Dutch service and were now comprised -in seven regiments, three of them English and four -Scotch, numbering in all three-and-fifty companies. As -soon as war was declared the Pensionary De Witt forced -upon the United Provinces a resolution that the British -regiments must either take the oath of allegiance to the -States-General or be instantly cashiered. This was the -reward offered by the Dutch Republic to the brave -foreigners who, with their predecessors, had done her -better service than she could ever repay. Dismissal -from the service meant ruin to the unfortunate officers, -and want and misery to the men. Many Dutchmen -were ashamed of the resolution, but they passed it; and -it remained only to be seen whether British loyalty -would stand the test. The English officers hesitated -not a moment. They refused point blank to swear -fealty to Holland, and were ruthlessly turned adrift. -By the help of the English Ambassador, however, they -made their way to England and were presently formed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[295]</a></span> -into the Holland regiment, which now ranks as the -Third of the Line and is known from the facings which -it has worn for more than two centuries, by the honoured -name of the Buffs.<a name="FNanchor_204_204" id="FNanchor_204_204"></a><a href="#Footnote_204_204" class="fnanchor">[204]</a></p> - -<p>The Scottish regiments behaved very differently. -Though Charles was a Stuart and a Scot, only two -officers had the spirit to follow the English example. -The rest, who at first had made great protestation of -loyalty, remained with their Dutch masters and, like all -shamefaced converts, professed exaggerated love for the -Dutch service and extravagant willingness to invade -Great Britain if required. A century hence these -regiments will be seen begging in vain to be received -into the British service, and only accepted at last, after -enduring sad insult from the Dutch, in time to become -not the Fourth but the Ninety-Fourth of the Line. The -corps finally ceased to exist in 1815, while the Buffs are -with us to this day. It was a hard fate, but there is a -nemesis even for unfaithful regiments.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1666.</div> - -<p>In the following year Lewis the Fourteenth, seeing -therein an opportunity for furthering his darling project -of extending his frontier to the Rhine, threw in his lot -with the Dutch and declared war against England. -The time is worthy of remark. For a century England -in common with all Europe had abandoned traditional -friendships and enmities, and sought out new allies by -the guidance of religious sentiment. All this was now -at an end, and the old jealousy of France was strong -throughout the nation. But though the people were in -earnest, the King was not; the policy of keeping France -in check was after two years abandoned, and Charles, -like a true Stuart, sold himself to Lewis the Fourteenth. -False, wrong-headed, and unpatriotic, the dynasty was -already preparing for itself a second downfall.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1672.</div> - -<p>The next step was a declaration of war by France -and England against Holland. One hundred and fifty -thousand men, under the three great captains, Turenne,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[296]</a></span> -Condé and Luxemburg, with Lewis in person at the -head of all, swept down upon the United Provinces, -mastered three of them almost without resistance, and -actually crossed the Rhine. Six thousand English, -grouped around a nucleus from the Guards, served with -them under the command of James, Duke of Monmouth, -and among the officers was a young captain named John -Churchill. He had been born in 1650, less than three -months before Dunbar, had been page to the Duke of -York, and had received through him an ensigncy in the -King's Guards. He had seen his first service, as became -an English officer, in savage warfare at Tangier; he -now enjoyed his first experience of a scientific campaign -under the first General of the day. Soon he became -known to Turenne himself not only as the handsomest -man in the camp, but as an officer of extraordinary -gallantry, coolness, and capacity. As Morgan had won -the great captain's eulogy at Ypres, so did young -Churchill at Maestricht; and it is worthy of note that -on both of the two occasions when an English contingent -served under Turenne the most brilliant little -action of the war was the work of the red-coats.</p> - -<p>But on the Dutch side also there was a young man, -born in the same year as Churchill, who was to show -lesser qualities indeed as an officer, though, as his opportunity -permitted him, perhaps hardly inferior qualities -as a man. William of Orange, long excluded by the -jealousy of faction from the station and the duties of -his rank, with firm resolution and unshaken nerve -assumed the command of the United Provinces, and -began the great work of his life, the work which was to -be finally accomplished by the handsome English soldier -in the enemy's camp, of taming the insolence of the -French.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1674.</div> - -<p>It is unnecessary to dwell further on the story of -this campaign. The courage of William sufficed to -tide Holland over the moment of supreme danger; -and, the crisis once passed, Austria and Spain, alarmed -at the designs of Lewis, hastened to her assistance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[297]</a></span> -Charles made peace with the Dutch in 1674, and, while -declining to withdraw the English troops in the French -service, promised to recruit them no further. Churchill -came home to be colonel of the Second Foot; and from -the troops disbanded at the close of the war, were -formed three English regiments for the service of the -Prince of Orange. Among their officers was James -Graham of Claverhouse. We shall meet with him -again, and we shall see two of the regiments also return -in due time, like their prototype, the Buffs, to take their -place in the English infantry of the Line.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1680.<br />1684.</div> - -<p>With the treaty of 1674 the wars of Charles the -Second came to an end. It was not that the people of -England were unwilling to fight. They were heart and -soul against the French; and the Commons cheerfully -voted large sums for army and fleet while the war lasted, -asking only that the money might be expended on its -legitimate object. But the crookedness and untrustworthiness -of the King were fatal to all military enterprise, -and indeed to all honest administration. Though -the military force of England was far too small for the -safety of her possessions abroad, Parliament never ceased -to denounce the evils of standing armies, and to clamour -for the disbanding of all regiments. In the days of -Cromwell the burden of the red-coats had been grievous -to be borne, but Oliver had at all events made England -respected in Europe. Charles sought to impose a like -burden, but without sympathy for England's quarrels, -and without care for England's glory. He made shift, -nevertheless, to keep his existing regiments throughout -his reign, and in 1680 even to add another to them for -the service of Tangier. In 1684 that ill-fated possession, -having cost many thousands of lives and witnessed as -gallant feats of arms as ever were wrought by English -soldiers, was finally abandoned; though not before the -English had learned one secret of Oriental warfare. -In March 1663, after long endurance of incessant harassing -attacks from the Moors, the Governor, who had -hitherto stood on the defensive, took the initiative and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[298]</a></span> -launched the Royal Dragoons straight at them. So -signal was the success of this first venture that it was -repeated a fortnight later by the same regiment, and -renewed on a grander scale after two months by a sally -of the whole garrison, which after desperate fighting -ended once more in victory. So much at least must be -recorded of this first long lost settlement in Africa.<a name="FNanchor_205_205" id="FNanchor_205_205"></a><a href="#Footnote_205_205" class="fnanchor">[205]</a> -The new regiment, which had arrived too late for -fighting, came home to take rank as the Fourth of the -Line and to remain with us to this day.</p> - -<p>In truth the little Army, which Parliament so -bitterly hated, was busy enough from the day of the -King's accession to the day of his death. In regiments -or detachments it fought in Tangier, in Flanders, and -in the West Indies; it did marines' duty in four great -naval actions, one of them the fiercest ever fought by -the English, and it suppressed an insurrection in Scotland -and a rebellion in Virginia. The reign gave it a foretaste -of the work that lay before it in the next two -centuries, and showed good promise for the manner in -which that work would be done.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1685.</div> - -<p>Charles died on the 6th of February 1685. His -brother James, who succeeded him, was a man of -stronger military instincts than any English king since -Henry the Eighth. He had served through four -campaigns under Turenne and through two more with -the Spaniards, and his narrative of his wars shows that -he had studied the military profession with singular -industry and intelligence of observation. Nor was he -less interested in naval affairs. He had commanded an -English fleet in two great actions without discredit as -an Admiral, and with signal honour as a brave man. -Moreover, he felt genuine pride in the prowess alike of -the English sailor and the English soldier. Finally he -had shown uncommon ability and diligence as an administrator. -The Duke of Wellington a century and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[299]</a></span> -a half later spoke with the highest admiration of the -system which James had established at the Office of -Ordnance, and actually restored it, as Marlborough had -restored it before him, when he himself became Master-General. -The Admiralty again acknowledges that -his hand is still felt for good in the direction of the -Navy. In fact, whatever his failings, James was an -able, painstaking, and conscientious public servant, and -as such has no little claim to the gratitude of the -nation.</p> - -<p>So far then the succession of a diligent and competent -administrator to the shrewd but incorrigibly idle -Charles promised advantages that were obvious enough. -But there was another side to the question. Parliament -had requited James's services to the public by excluding -him as an avowed Catholic from all public employment, -whether civil or military; and James was a narrow-minded, -a vindictive, and, like all the Stuarts, essentially -a wrong-headed man. Though valuable as the head of -a department, he was totally unfit to administer a -kingdom; though not devoid of constancy and patience -in adversity, he was swift and unsatiable in revenge; -though ambitious of military fame, proud of English -valour, and not without jealousy for English honour, -he saw no way to the greatness which he coveted in -Europe except by the overthrow of English liberty. -He longed to interfere effectively abroad, but with -England crushed under his heel, not free and united at -his back.</p> - -<p>So he too sold himself to France, hoping to consolidate -his power by her help and to turn it in due -time to her own hurt; and meanwhile he sought to -strengthen himself by the maintenance of a standing -Army. For this design Monmouth's insurrection of -1685 afforded sufficient excuse.<a name="FNanchor_206_206" id="FNanchor_206_206"></a><a href="#Footnote_206_206" class="fnanchor">[206]</a> The opportune return -of the garrison of Tangier had already added two -regiments of Foot and one of Horse to the English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[300]</a></span> -establishment; and James seized the occasion of the -outbreak to summon the six British regiments, three of -them Scottish and three English, from Holland. These, -though they presently returned to William's service, -secured for two of their number on the invasion of -England in 1688 the precedence of Fifth and Sixth of -the Line. Simultaneously twelve new regiments of infantry -and eight of cavalry were raised under the same -pretext. Of the foot the first was an Ordnance-regiment, -designed like the firelocks of the New Model to act as -escort to the artillery, and was called from its armament -the Regiment of Fusiliers. It is still with us as the -Seventh of the Line. The remainder of the foot, some of -them formed round the nucleus of independent garrison-companies, -also abide with us, numbered the Eighth to -the Fifteenth.<a name="FNanchor_207_207" id="FNanchor_207_207"></a><a href="#Footnote_207_207" class="fnanchor">[207]</a> Of the cavalry six were regiments of -horse, and are now known as the First to the Sixth -Regiments of Dragoon Guards; the remaining two, -which are now numbered the Third and Fourth, after -having been successively dragoons and light dragoons, -have finally become the two senior regiments of hussars. -Add to these thirty independent companies of foot, -borne for duties in garrison, and it will be seen that -King James's army was increasing with formidable -speed.</p> - -<p>The King himself found genuine delight, not in the -sinister spirit of an oppressor but in the laudable pride -of a soldier, in reviewing his troops. In August 1685 -he inspected ten battalions and twenty squadrons which -were in camp at Hounslow, and wrote to his son-in-law, -William of Orange, with significant satisfaction of their -efficiency. In November he met Parliament, and required -of it the continuance of the standing Army in -lieu of the militia. The courtiers had received their -cue, and pointed to the flight of the western militia -before Monmouth's raw levies as proof sufficient of its<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[301]</a></span> -untrustworthiness. The fact indeed was self evident. -But Parliament was not disposed to welcome a royal -speech which submitted no further measures than the -maintenance of a standing army and the admission of -popish officers to command therein. The memories of -Oliver and of his major-generals was still vivid, and -the revocation of the edict of Nantes was but a month -old. Red-coats as saints had been bad; red-coats as -papists would doubtless be worse. Edward Seymour, -the head of that historic house, put the matter as -Englishmen love to put it. The militia, he confessed, -was in an unsatisfactory state, but it might be improved, -and with this and the navy the country would be -secure; but a standing army there must not be. Then -as now, it will be observed, the House of Commons -never stinted the navy, nor doubted its ability to repel -invasion; and then as now it refused to remember that -the British possessions are not bounded by the British -Isles, and that a successful war is something more than -a war of defence. But unfortunately it had but too -good ground for opposing the King in this case. The -debate lasted long. James had asked for £1,400,000 -for the Army; the Chancellor of the Exchequer expressed -his willingness to accept £1,200,000; the -House voted £700,000, and even then declined to -appropriate the sum to any specific purpose.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">December.<br />1686,<br /> -June.<br />1686-1688.</div> - -<p>James was greatly annoyed. He answered the note -of the Commons with a reprimand, and prorogued -Parliament; nor did he summon it again during the -remainder of his reign. He then concentrated from -thirteen to sixteen thousand men at Hounslow Heath, -and kept them encamped there for three years in the -hope of overawing London. Never did man make a -more complete mistake. The Londoners, after their -first alarm had passed away, soon discovered that the -camp was a charming place of amusement. A new -generation had sprung up since a Parliamentary colonel -had held a sham fight to compensate the people for the -loss of the sports of May-day, and there was a certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[302]</a></span> -novelty in military display. Hounslow camp became -the fashion, and the lines were thronged with a motley -crowd of all classes of the people; for then as now the -women loved a red-coat, and where the women led the -men followed them. The troops were doubtless well -worth seeing, for James flattered himself that they were -the best paid, the best equipped, and the most sightly -in Europe.</p> - -<p>Still, merry as the camp might be, there were not -wanting signs of a graver spirit beneath the new red-coats. -There were early rumours of quarrels between -protestant and catholic soldiers, ominous to the catholic -officers whom James had set in command against the -law. Agitators scattered tracts appealing to the Army -to stand up in defence of the liberties of England and -the protestant religion; and the Londoners perceived, -what James did not, that consciences cannot be bought -for eightpence a day, nor flesh and blood extinguished -by a red coat and facings. The Buffs had been the -earliest English volunteers in the cause of liberty and -protestantism; the Royal Scots had rolled back papistry -under the Lion of the North, and, as if one presbyterian -regiment were not sufficient, there was another, just -brought into England for the first time from Scotland, -and known by its present name of the Scotch or Scots -Guards. Again, monks in the habit of their Order -were among the visitors to the camp; and it was easy -to ask how long it was since such men had been seen in -England, and what was the cause of their disappearance. -Cromwell's soldiers had made short and cruel work of -monks in Ireland; yet soldiers, only one generation -younger, were to be called upon to fight against their -kith and kin for a king who openly favoured them, a -king, too, who in the face of all law openly thrust papists -into all places of authority.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1688,<br /> -June.</div> - -<p>It was not long before the seed sown by the agitators -began to bear fruit. When the seven bishops who -had refused to read the declaration which suspended -the penal laws against catholics were committed to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[303]</a></span> -Tower, the guards drank their health; and when the -news of their acquittal reached Hounslow Heath, it was -received by the Army with boisterous delight. In alarm -James broke up the camp and scattered the regiments -broadcast over the country. Having thus isolated -them he attempted to work upon them separately, and -selected as the first subject for this experiment Lord -Lichfield's Regiment, known to us as the Twelfth -Foot. The men were drawn up on Blackheath in the -King's presence, and were informed that they must -either sign a pledge to carry out the royal policy of -indulgence towards catholics, or leave his service forthwith. -Whole ranks without hesitation took him at -his word, and grounded their arms, while two officers -and a few privates, all of them catholics, alone consented -to sign. James stood aghast with astonishment and -disgust. Dismissal meant something more than mere -exclusion from the Army; it carried with it the forfeiture -of all arrears of pay and of the price of the -officers' commissions, but neither men nor officers took -account of that. James eyed them in silence for a time, -and then bade them take up their arms. "Another -time," he said, "I shall not do you the honour to -consult you."</p> - -<p>Foiled in England, James turned, as his father had -turned before him, to Ireland. The Irish speak of the -curse of Cromwell; they might more justly speak of -the curse of the Stuarts, for no two men have brought -on them such woe as Charles and James. Already, in -1686, the King had sent a degenerate Irishman, the Earl -of Tyrconnel, to ensure popish ascendency at any rate -in Ireland; and no better man could have been found -for such mischievous work than lying Dick Talbot. -The army in Ireland consisted at the time of his arrival -of about seven thousand men: within a few months -Tyrconnel, by wholesale dismissal of all protestants, -had turned it upside down. Five hundred men were -discharged from a single regiment on the ground that -they were of inferior stature, and their places shamelessly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[304]</a></span> -filled by ragged, half-trained Irish, beneath them -both in size and quality. In all four thousand soldiers -were broken, stripped of the uniforms which they had -bought by the stoppage of their pay, and dismissed -half-naked to go whither they would. Three hundred -protestant officers shared a like fate in circumstances of -not less hardship. Many of them had fought bravely -for the Stuarts in past days, the majority had purchased -their commissions, yet all alike were turned adrift in -ruin and disgrace. The disbanded took refuge in -Holland, whence they presently returned under the -colours of William of Orange, with such feelings against -the Irish as may be guessed.</p> - -<p>But James did not stop here. He now conceived -the notion of surrounding himself with Irish battalions, -and of moulding the English regiments to his will by -kneading into them a leaven of Irish recruits. When -we reflect that it was just such an importation of Irish -that had turned all England against his father, we can -only stand amazed at such folly. The English held the -Irish for aliens and enemies; they knew them as a -people who for centuries had risen in massacre and -rebellion whenever the English garrison had been -weakened, and that had sunk again into abject submission -as soon as England's hands were free to -suppress them. They did not know them, in spite of -their occasional gallant resistance to Cromwell, as a -great fighting race. They had not read, or, reading, -had not believed, the testimony of Robert Munro to -their merits as soldiers.<a name="FNanchor_208_208" id="FNanchor_208_208"></a><a href="#Footnote_208_208" class="fnanchor">[208]</a> Lastly and chiefly the Irish -were catholics and the English protestants.</p> - -<p>The resentment against the new policy soon made -itself manifest. The Duke of Berwick, the King's -natural son, who had been appointed colonel of the -Eighth Foot, gave orders that thirty Irish recruits -should be enlisted in the regiment. The men said -flatly that they would not serve with them, and the -lieutenant-colonel with five of his captains openly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[305]</a></span> -remonstrated with the Duke against the insult. They -had raised the regiment, they said, at their own expense -for the King's service, and could procure as many -English recruits as they wanted; rather than endure -to have strangers forced upon them they would beg -leave to resign their commissions. James was furious. -He tried the six officers by a court-martial, which -sentenced them to be cashiered; but the culprits -none the less received the sympathy and applause of the -whole nation. The prevalent feeling against the Irish -found vent in a doggrel ballad, known, from the -gibberish of its burden, by the name of Lillibulero. -Partly from the nature of its contents, still more -probably from the rollicking gaiety of its tune,<a name="FNanchor_209_209" id="FNanchor_209_209"></a><a href="#Footnote_209_209" class="fnanchor">[209]</a> it -became a great favourite with the Army, and if we -may judge from Captain Shandy's partiality for it, was -the most popular marching song of the red-coats in -Flanders.</p> - -<p>But meanwhile William of Orange had received his -invitation to come with an armed force for the delivery -of England from the Stuarts, and for some months -had been making preparations for an invasion. It was -long before James awoke to his danger, but when at -last he perceived it he hastened to strengthen the Army. -Commissions were issued for the raising of new -regiments, of which two are still with us as the Sixteenth -and Seventeenth of the Line, and of new -companies for existing regiments. Four thousand -men in all were added to the English establishment; -three thousand were summoned from Ireland, and as -many more from Scotland; and James reckoned that -he could meet the invader with forty thousand men. -On the 2nd of November William, after one failure, -got his expedition safely to sea, and by a feint movement -induced James to send several regiments northward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[306]</a></span> -to meet a disembarkation in Yorkshire. These -regiments were hastily recalled on the intelligence that -the armament had passed the Straits of Dover steering -westward, and fresh orders were given for concentration -at Salisbury.</p> - -<p>In a short time twenty-four thousand men were -assembled at the new rendezvous, but before James -could join them, he received news that Lord Cornbury, -the heir of his kinsmen the Hydes, had deserted to -the enemy. Cornbury had attempted to take his own -regiment, the Royal Dragoons, and two regiments of -horse with him; but officers and men became suspicious, -and with the exception of a few who fell into the hands -of William's horse and took service in his army, all -returned to Salisbury. Before setting out for the camp -James summoned his principal officers to him—Churchill, -since 1683 Lord Churchill, and recently promoted -lieutenant-general; Henry, Duke of Grafton, colonel -of the First Guards; Kirke and Trelawny, colonels of -the Tangier Regiments. One and all swore to be -faithful to him; and the King left London for -Salisbury.</p> - -<p>Arrived there, he learned from Lord Feversham, -his general-in-chief, that though the men were loyal -the officers were not to be trusted. It is said that -Feversham proposed to dismiss all that he suspected -and promote sergeants in their stead. His suspicions -proved to be just. Within a week <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Churchhill, Grafton'">Churchill, Grafton</ins>, -Kirke, and Trelawny had all deserted to the Prince of -Orange. Other officers were less open in their treachery; -and it is said that one battalion of the Foot Guards was -led into William's camp by its sergeants and corporals. -The desertion of his own children finally broke the -spirit of James. On the 11th of December he signed -an order for the disbandment of the Army, and took to -flight; and on the 16th he returned to London to find -on the following night that the battalions of the Prince -of Orange were marching down St. James's Park upon -Whitehall. The old colonel of the Coldstream Guards,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[307]</a></span> -Lord Craven, though now in his eightieth year, was for -resistance, but James forbade him. The Coldstream -Guards filed off, and a Dutch regiment mounted guard -at Whitehall. Five days later James left England for -ever.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[308]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BIV_CHAPTER_II" id="BIV_CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BIVCII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1660-1688.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Before entering on the reign of William we must -pause for a time to study the interior administration of -the Army. The reign of the two last Stuarts is -rightly considered as marking the end of a period of -English general history—the final fall of the old -monarchy first overthrown with King Charles the First. -But in regard to military history the case is different. -It is a critical time of uncertainty during which the -Army, a relic barely saved from the ruins of a military -government, struggled through twenty-eight years of -unconstitutional existence, hardly finding permission at -their close to stand on the foundation which Charles -and James, using materials left by Cromwell, had made -shift to establish for it. Precarious as that foundation -was, it received little support for nearly a century, and -little more even in the century that followed, thanks to -the blind jealousy of the House of Commons. It will -therefore be convenient at this point to examine it once -for all.</p> - -<p>Beginning, therefore, at the top, it must be noted -that the first commander-in-chief under the restored -Monarchy was a subject, George Monk, Duke of -Albemarle. His appointment was inevitable, for he -had already held that command as the servant of the -Parliament over the undisbanded New Model, and he was -the only man who could control that Army. Charles, -in fact, lay at his mercy when he landed in 1660, and -could not do less than confirm him in his old office. -The powers entrusted to Monk by his commission were<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[309]</a></span> -very great. He had authority to raise forces, to fix -the establishment, to issue commissions to all officers -executive and administrative, and to frame Articles of -War for the preservation of discipline; he signed all -warrants for expenditure of money or stores, and, in a -word, he exerted the sovereign's powers as the sovereign's -deputy in charge of the Army. On his death in -January 1670, Charles, by the advice of his brother -James, did not immediately appoint his successor, and -though in 1674 he issued a circular to all officers of -horse and foot to obey the Duke of Monmouth, yet he -expressly reserved to himself many of the powers -formerly made over to Monk. Finally, when in 1678 -he appointed Monmouth to be captain-general, he -withheld from him the title of commander-in-chief. -On Monmouth's disgrace in 1679 Charles appointed no -successor, but became his own commander-in-chief, -an example which was duly followed by James the -Second and William the Third. Thus the supreme -control of the Army, with powers far greater than have -been entrusted to any English commander-in-chief of -modern times, continued at first practically the same -as it had been made by Oliver Cromwell. It was -exclusively in military hands.</p> - -<p>The special branch of military administration in the -hands of the commander-in-chief was that relating to -the men. The care of material of war was committed -to the ancient and efficient Office of Ordnance. At the -Restoration the old post of Master of the Ordnance was -revived with the title of master-general; and in 1683 -the Department was admirably reorganised, as has been -seen, by the Duke of York. At the head stood, of -course, the master-general; next under him were two -officers of two distinct branches, the lieutenant-general -and the surveyor-general. The lieutenant-general was -charged with the duty of estimating the amount of -stores required for the Navy and the Army, and of -making contracts for the supply of the same; he was -also responsible for the maintenance of marching trains<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[310]</a></span> -for service in the field, and for the general efficiency of -the artillery both as regards guns and men. His first -assistant was named the master-gunner. The surveyor-general -was responsible for the custody and care of all -stores, and for all services relative to engineering; his -first assistant was called the principal engineer. Transport -of ordnance by land was the care of a waggon-master, -transport by water of a purveyor. The laboratory -was committed to a fire-master, whose duties -included the preparation of fireworks for festive occasions. -The only weak point of the office was the -exclusiveness of its jurisdiction over artillery and -engineers, which was carried to such a pitch that all -commissions in the two corps were signed by the master-general, -though that functionary and his staff received -their own commissions from the commander-in-chief.</p> - -<p>I turn next to the department of finance. Here in -place of the old treasurers at war there was created a -new officer called the paymaster-general. Parliament, I -must remind the reader, never recognised the existence -of the Army under the Stuarts, nor voted a sixpence -expressly for its service. The force was paid out of -the King's privy purse, or, in the case of James, out of -sums intended for the payment of the militia. Thus -the House of Commons through sheer perversity lost -its hold upon the paymaster-general, and when it came -to examine his office a whole century later, found, as -shall be told in place, a system of corruption and waste -which is almost incredible. The first paymaster-general, -Sir Stephen Fox, received a salary of four hundred -pounds a year, but this he soon supplemented by -becoming practically a farmer of a part of the revenue. -Knowing that Charles was chronically deficient in cash, -he undertook to advance funds on his own private credit -for the weekly pay of the Army, in consideration of a -commission of one shilling in the pound. At the end -of every four months he applied to the Treasury for -reimbursement, and if his claims were not immediately -satisfied, he received eight per cent on the debt owing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[311]</a></span> -to him, thus making a very handsome profit. This -system was discontinued in 1684, but the deduction, or -poundage as it was called, was still levied on the Army, -for no reason whatever, for a full century and a half. -For the care of all other military expenses there was -an office called by the old title of Treasurer of the -Armies.</p> - -<p>So much for the broad divisions of the administration, -under the three heads of men, military stores, and -finance. It is now necessary to trace the rise of a new -department, which was destined to give to civilians the -excessive share that they still enjoy in the direction of -military affairs. While Charles the Second was yet an -exile in Flanders in 1657, he had appointed a civilian, -Sir Edward Nicholas, who had been Secretary of Council -to Charles the First, to be his Secretary at War. It -was not uncommon for such civilian secretaries<a name="FNanchor_210_210" id="FNanchor_210_210"></a><a href="#Footnote_210_210" class="fnanchor">[210]</a> to be -attached to a general's staff, and we have already seen -John Rushworth taking the field with the New Model -as secretary to the Council of War. After the Restoration, -and within six months of the date of Monk's -commission, one Sir William Clarke was appointed to -be secretary to the forces. Though a civilian, he -received a commission couched in military terms, which -were preserved for fully a century unchanged, bidding -him obey such orders as he should from time to time -receive from the King, or the general of the forces for -the time being, according to the discipline of war. In -effect he was a civilian wholly subordinated to the -military authorities and subject to military discipline so -far as that discipline existed; little more, indeed, than a -secretary to the commander-in-chief. His services were -not estimated at a very high rate, for he received at first -but ten shillings, and after 1669 one pound a day, as -salary for himself and clerks. The appointment was of -so personal a nature that Clarke accompanied Monk to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[312]</a></span> -sea in 1666, and was killed in the naval battle of the -1st of June, the first and last secretary at war who has -fallen in action.</p> - -<p>Monk then applied for the services of one Matthew -Lock, whom he knew to be a good clerk, and Lock -was appointed to be Clarke's successor with the title of -sergeant or secretary at war. There is not a letter from -him to be found in the State Papers until after Monk's -death, which is sufficient proof that he was a person of -no great importance; but in 1676, when there was no -longer a single commander-in-chief, he was entrusted -with the removal of quarters, the relief of the established -corps, the despatch of convoys, and even with authority -to quarter troops in inns, all of which duties had been -previously fulfilled by military men. Thus early and -insidiously arose once more that civil interference with -military affairs which had with such difficulty been -thrown off at the establishment of the New Model. -The system was wholly unconnected with any question -of Parliamentary control, for Parliament would have -nothing to do with the standing Army. Most probably -it was due simply to the indolence of the King, who -would neither do the work of commander-in-chief -himself nor appoint any other man to do it for him. -Thus the Army was placed once and for all under the -heel of a civilian clerk.</p> - -<p>The staff at headquarters was based on the model -of that which had prevailed under Cromwell, though of -course on a scale reduced to the minute proportions of the -Army. The duties must, at first, have been within the -scope of a very few officials, and it is probable that -Monk required little assistance. There was, however, -a commissary of the musters, to whom in 1664 a -scoutmaster-general, or head of the intelligence department, -was added. The business of foreign intelligence -in all its branches, diplomatic, naval, and military, had -been conducted with admirable efficiency during the -Protectorate by the Secretary of State, John Thurloe, -but Pepys remarked a sad falling away in this department<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[313]</a></span> -after the Restoration, due, as he admits, to the -scanty allowance of funds allotted to the service. -Charles was not the man to face the difficulties of -establishing a great administrative office on a sound -basis. James, on the other hand, began to grapple with -them very early after his accession. He strengthened -the staff by the addition of adjutants and quartermasters-general -of horse and foot, and strove hard to -improve the efficiency of the office; but his time was -too short and his distractions too manifold to permit -him to do the work thoroughly. Had he reigned for -ten years, his familiarity with the system of Louvois -and his own administrative ability might have reduced -our military system once for all to order. It is not too -much to say that his expulsion was in this respect the -greatest misfortune that ever befell the Army.</p> - -<p>Even he, however, would have found it a hard task -to overcome the obstacles raised by Parliament, namely, -the difficulties of regular payment of wages and of -maintaining discipline. It was impossible to enforce -military law on the troops, since Parliament steadily -withheld its sanction to the same.<a name="FNanchor_211_211" id="FNanchor_211_211"></a><a href="#Footnote_211_211" class="fnanchor">[211]</a> Nothing therefore -remained but the civil law. A soldier who struck his -superior officer or got drunk on guard could legally -only be haled before the civil magistrate for common -assault or for drunkenness, while if he slept on his post -or disobeyed orders or deserted he was subject to no -legal penalty whatever. Parliament never seems to -have been the least alive to the danger of such a state -of things, nor to have weighed it against its fixed -resolution not to recognise the standing Army. As a -matter of fact, however, military offences seem to have -been punished as such throughout the reign of Charles, -though without ostentation; and discipline appears to -have been maintained without serious difficulty. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[314]</a></span> -number of the troops was, after all, but small; many of -the men were already inured to obedience; the traditions -of Oliver and of George Monk were still alive; and the -men probably accepted service with a tacit understanding -that they were subject to different conditions from the -civilian. But when the three regiments returned from -foreign service and savage warfare at Tangier, and -Monmouth's rebellion had brought about a multiplication -of regiments, the situation was altogether changed. -James, who knew the value of discipline, determined to -arrogate the powers that Parliament denied to him, but, -like all weak men, endeavoured to effect his purpose by -half measures. To secure the punishment of certain -deserters he packed the Court of King's Bench with -unscrupulous men; and though the culprits were -hanged, discipline was only preserved at the cost of -the integrity of the courts of law, a proceeding which -damaged him greatly both in the Army and the country -at large. It will presently be seen how this question of -discipline was forced upon Parliament in a fashion that -allowed of no further trifling.</p> - -<p>The subject of pay opens a melancholy chapter in -the history of English administration. It has already -been related that Charles the Second let out the payment -of the Army to a contractor for a commission of -a shilling in the pound. This commission of course -came out of the pockets of officers and men; they paid, -in fact, a tax of five per cent for the privilege of receiving -their wages, and this not to the State, to which the -officers still pay sometimes an equal amount under the -name of income-tax, but for the benefit of a private -individual. If the mulcting of the Army had ended -there, the evil would not have been so serious, but as a -matter of fact it was but one drop in a vast ocean of -corruption. I have already alluded to the immense -service wrought by the Puritans towards integrity of -administration, and towards raising the moral standard -of the military profession. The destruction of the old -traditions and the substitution of new principles was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[315]</a></span> -magnificent stroke, but it was unfortunately premature. -The new principles might indeed have endured had they -but been cherished and encouraged for another generation, -but unfortunately no man better fitted to starve -them could have been found than the merry monarch. -His difficulties were doubtless very great, but he -brought but one principle to meet them, that come -what might he must not be bored. His indolent -selfishness was masked by an exquisite charm of manner, -and being a kind-hearted man, he always heard complaints -with a sympathetic word; but to redress them -cost more trouble than he could afford. Any man who -would save him trouble was welcome; any shift that -would stave off an unpleasant duty was the right one. -There was abundance of deserving suitors to be provided -for, still greater abundance of importunate -favourites to be satisfied; administration was a bore -and money was sadly deficient. All difficulties could -be solved by the simple process of providing alike the -impecunious and the greedy with administrative offices, -or, in other words, with licences to plunder the public. -If they chose to purchase these offices for money, so -much the better for the royal purse. Thus the whole -fabric built up during the Commonwealth was shattered -almost at a blow.</p> - -<p>The effect on the Army was immediate. A great -many of the returned exiles, including Charles and -James themselves, had served in the French army, -where the system of purchasing commissions had never -been abandoned, and where the abuses which had been -shaken off by the New Model were still in full vigour. -The old corrupt traditions had not been killed in -thirteen years, and, reviving under the general reaction -against Puritan restraint, they sprang quickly into new -life. The old military centralisation of Oliver, upheld -for a time by Monk, rapidly perished, and what might -have still been an army sank into a mere aggregate -of regiments, the property of individual colonels, and -of troops and companies, the property of individual<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[316]</a></span> -captains. Every civilian of the military departments -hastened to make money at the expense of the officers, -and every officer to enrich himself at the cost of the -men. The flood-gates so carefully closed by the -Puritans were opened, and the abuses of three centuries -streamed back into their old channel to flow therein -unchecked for two centuries more.</p> - -<p>At its first renewal the system of purchase was -carried to such lengths that the very privates paid -premiums to the enlisting officers; but the practice was -speedily checked by Monk in 1663. In March 1684 -the system received a kind of royal sanction through -the purchase by the King himself of a commission from -one officer for presentation to another. Then nine -months later Charles suddenly declared that he would -permit no further purchase and sale of military appointments. -Whether he would have abolished it if he had -lived may be doubted, but it is certain that the system -continued in full operation under James the Second, -gathering strength of course with each new year of -existence.</p> - -<p>Let me now attempt briefly to sketch the organised -system of robbery that prevailed in the military service -under the two last of the Stuarts. The study may be -unpleasant, but it is less pathological than historic. -First, then, let us treat of the officer. On purchasing his -commission he paid forthwith one fee to the Secretary -at War, and a second, apparently, to one of the -Secretaries of State. After the institution of Chelsea -Hospital, as to which a word shall presently be said, he -paid further five per cent on his purchase money -towards its funds, the seller of the commission contributing -a like proportion from the same sum to the same -object. He then became entitled to the pay of his rank, -but this by no means implied that it was regularly paid -to him. In the first place, his pay was divided into two -parts, termed respectively his subsistence and his arrears, -or clearings. The former sum was a proportion of the -full pay, which varied according to the grade of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[317]</a></span> -officer, it being obvious that an ensign, for instance, -could not subsist if any large fraction was deducted -from his daily pittance, whereas a major could be more -heavily mulcted and yet not starve. This subsistence -was therefore paid, or supposed to be issued, in advance -from the pay-office and to be subject to no stoppage. -The balance of the full pay, or arrears, was paid yearly -after it became due, and after considerable deductions -had been made from it. First of these deductions came -the poundage, or payment of one shilling in the pound, -to the paymaster-general, and the discharge of one -day's full pay to Chelsea Hospital. These stoppages -were more or less legitimate. Then the commissary-general -of the musters stepped in to claim from the -officer, as from every one else in the Army, one day's -pay, a tax which caused much discontent, and was in -1680 reduced to one-third of a day's pay. Then came -a vast number of irregular exactions. Every commissary -of the musters claimed a fee, amounting sometimes -to as much as two guineas for every troop or -company passed at each muster, which, as musters were -taken six times a year, was sufficiently exorbitant. -Next the auditors demanded thirty shillings, or eight -times their legal fee, for each troop and company on -passing the accounts of the paymaster-general. Finally, -fees to the exchequer, fees to the treasury, fees for the -issue of pay-warrants, fees, in a word, to every greedy -clerk who could make himself disagreeable, brought the -tale of extortion to an end. Let the reader remember -that this system of subsistence and arrears, with the same -legitimate deductions and almost equal opportunities -for irregular pilfering, was still in force when we began -the war of the French Revolution, and let him not -wonder that officers of the Army will still cherish unfriendly -feelings towards the clerks at the War Office.<a name="FNanchor_212_212" id="FNanchor_212_212"></a><a href="#Footnote_212_212" class="fnanchor">[212]</a></p> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[318]</a></span></p> -<p>Now comes the more distressing examinations of -the officers' methods of indemnifying themselves. For -this purpose let us study the pay of a private centinel, -as he was called, of the infantry of the Line. This consisted, -as it had been in Queen Mary's time, and was -still to be in King George the Third's, of eightpence a -day, or £12 : 13 : 4 a year. Of this, sixpence a day, or -£9 : 2 : 6 a year, was set apart for his subsistence, and -was nominally inviolable. The balance, £3 : 0 : 10 a -year, was called the "gross off-reckonings," which were -subject of course to a deduction of five per cent, or -12s. 2d., for the paymaster-general, and of one day's -pay to Chelsea Hospital, whereby the gross off-reckonings -were reduced to £2 : 8s. This last amount, -dignified by the title of "net off-reckonings," was made -over to the colonel for the clothing of the regiment, -an item which included not only the actual garments, -but also the sword and belt, and as time went on the -bayonet and cartridge box. The system, as will be -remembered, dated from the days of Queen Elizabeth, -when half a crown a week was allowed to the men for -subsistence and a total of £4 : 2 : 6 deducted for two -suits a year. It is sufficiently plain that the sum now -allowed for clothing was insufficient, and that a colonel -who did his duty by his men must inevitably be a loser. -Moreover, this was not his only expense. The clerical -work entailed by his duties demanded assistance, for -which he was indeed authorised to keep a clerk, but -supplied with no allowance wherewith to pay him. -This clerk presently became known as the colonel's -agent, and though a civilian and the colonel's private -servant, virtually performed the duties of a regimental -paymaster.</p> - -<p>The results of such an arrangement may easily be -guessed. It was not in consonance with military -tradition, certainly not in accordance with human -nature, that colonels should lose money by their -commands, and it is only too certain that they did not. -The contractor was called in, and the door was opened<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[319]</a></span> -wide to robbery at the expense of the soldier. Colonels -took commissions or even open bribes from the contractors; -the agent took his fee likewise; and in at -least one recorded case a colonel actually accepted a -bribe from his own agent to give him the contract. It -may easily be imagined how the soldiers fared for -clothing. But the mischief did not end here. The -subsistence-money, though in theory subject to no -deduction, was practically at the mercy of the colonel -and his agent, who, under various pretexts, appropriated -a greater or smaller share of the poor soldier's sixpence. -As an additional source of profit, it was not uncommon -for colonels to abstain from reporting the vacancy -caused by an officer's death, to continue to draw the -dead man's pay and to put it into his own pocket.</p> - -<p>Captains of companies, with such an example before -them, were not slow to imitate it; and from them too -the unfortunate soldiers suffered not a little. But their -easiest road to plunder was the old beaten track of false -musters, which was rendered all the easier by the -corruption of the commissaries. Any vacancy in the -ranks after one muster was left unfilled until the day -before the next muster, and the captain drew pay for -an imaginary man during the interval. Or again, the -<i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passe-volant</i>, old as the days of Hawkwood, made his -reappearance at musters and was passed, with or without -the collusion of the commissaries, as a genuine soldier. -Finally, Charles himself gave countenance after a manner -to this fraud by reviving the practice of allowing -officers so many imaginary men or permanent vacancies -in each troop or company in order to increase their -emoluments. And so the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">passe-volant</i> became naturalised -first as a "faggot," and later as a "warrant man" -in the infantry and a "hautbois" in the cavalry, and -survived to a period well within the memory of living -men.<a name="FNanchor_213_213" id="FNanchor_213_213"></a><a href="#Footnote_213_213" class="fnanchor">[213]</a> The remoter a regiment's quarters from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[320]</a></span> -home the grosser were the abuses that prevailed in it, -and in Ireland they seem to have passed all bounds. -Captains calmly appropriated the entire pay of their -companies, and turned the men loose to live by the -plunder of the inhabitants. It was a reversion to -the evils rampant in Queen Elizabeth's army in the -Netherlands, and, in justice to the officers, it must be -added that those evils were brought about in both cases -by the same cause. Officers were simply forced into -dishonesty by the withholding of their own pay by -civilian officials in London.</p> - -<p>It must not be thought that these scandals passed -unnoticed at headquarters. As early as 1663 orders -were issued to put a stop to fraudulent musters, and -two years later the salaries of the officers of the -Ordnance were increased almost threefold to check the -sale of places and to diminish the temptation to accept -bribes. Similar orders were respectively promulgated -from time to time, but with little or no effect; possibly -they were issued mainly as a matter of form, to stop -the mouth of criticism. The root of the evil is to be -traced to the civilian paymaster-general, who from the -peculiarity of his position was accountable to no one, -and enjoyed total irresponsibility for full forty years. -The King no doubt flattered himself that the men were -regularly paid; the abuses took some time to attain to -their height, and in the short reign of James the Second -it is probable that his attention to military business did -somewhat to improve matters. But while Charles was -on the throne the paymaster-general did as he pleased. -Though wages were nominally paid after each muster, -they were often withheld for months, and even for years. -Finally, when payment was at last made, it was discharged -not in cash but in tallies or debentures which could only -be sold at a discount; while the colonels' agents seized -the opportunity to deduct a percentage in consideration -of the trouble to which they had been subjected to -obtain any payment whatever.</p> - -<p>So the old foundations of fraud were renovated,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[321]</a></span> -and on them was built during the next century and a -half a gigantic superstructure of rascality and corruption -which is not yet wholly demolished. Let it not be -thought that in the seventeenth century such malpractices -were either new or confined to England. -They were, as I have often repeated, as old almost as -the art of war, and they were rampant all over Europe. -The excuse of English officers for their dishonesty was -always, "It is so in France," and in France, as the -history of the French Revolution shows, the old evils -endured and throve for another full century. But the -sin and shame of England is, that though she had once -put away the accursed thing from her, she returned to -it again as the sow to her wallowing in the mire. In -1659 English soldiers were proud of their name and -calling; in 1666 it had already become a scandal to be -a Life Guardsman.<a name="FNanchor_214_214" id="FNanchor_214_214"></a><a href="#Footnote_214_214" class="fnanchor">[214]</a> Recruits had been found without -difficulty under the Commonwealth to make the -military profession, as was the rule in those days, the -business of their whole life; but after a very few years -of the Stuarts the King was compelled to resort to the -press-gang. The status of the soldier was lowered, and -has never recovered itself to this day.</p> - -<p>I turn from this melancholy tale of retrogression to -contemplate the changes made in other departments of -the service. Herein it will be most convenient to begin -with the regimental organisation and equipment. First, -then, let us glance at the cavalry, which at the Restoration -appears definitely to have taken precedence as the -senior service. The reader will remember that in the -New Model the fixed strength of a regiment was six -troops of one hundred men, which was reduced in time -of peace to an establishment of sixty men. Setting -aside the Life Guards, which were independent troops of -two hundred gentlemen apiece, the regiment which first -occupies our attention is the Blues, which began life -with eight troops, each of sixty men. So far there was -practically no change, but in 1680 the strength of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[322]</a></span> -Blues was diminished to fifty men in a troop; and in -1687 the newly raised regiments were established at -an initial strength of six or seven troops of forty men -only. Finally, as shall presently be seen in the campaigns -that lie before us in Flanders, the establishment -of a troop for war sinks to fifty men, and the establishment -for peace to thirty-six. Here, therefore, is -Cromwell's excellent system overthrown. The troop -of cavalry is so far weakened as to be not worth assorting -into three divisions, one to each of the three -officers, and the seeds of enforced idleness are sown, to -bear fruit an hundredfold. Hardly less significant is -the appointment, in 1661, of regimental adjutants to -help the majors in the duties which they had hitherto -discharged without assistance.</p> - -<p>The equipment of the Horse was likewise altered. -The trooper retained the iron head-piece<a name="FNanchor_215_215" id="FNanchor_215_215"></a><a href="#Footnote_215_215" class="fnanchor">[215]</a> and cuirass, -the pistols and the sword of the New Model, but he -was now further supplied with a carbine, which was -slung at his back, and with a cartridge box for his -ammunition. The new equipment was served out to -the household troops in 1663, and to other regiments -of Horse in 1677. It marks a new birth of the futile -practice of firing from the saddle, which has wasted -untold ammunition with infinitesimal results. As -regards horses it was still the rule, which had been -little modified during the Civil War, that the trooper -should bring with him his own horse; if he had none -the King supplied him with one, at an average price, -and the money was stopped, if necessary, from the -trooper's pay.</p> - -<p>The drill still bore marks of Cromwell's influence, -for the men were drawn up in three ranks only; and -though the attack was opened by the discharge of -carbines and pistols, yet it was distinctly laid down that -when the fire-arms were empty, there must be no -thought of reloading, but immediate resort to the sword.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[323]</a></span> -Moreover, although the front was still increased or -diminished by the doubling of ranks or files, there -were already signs of the manœuvre by small divisions -that was to displace it.</p> - -<p>Passing next to the dragoons, the reader will have -noticed that this arm was not represented in the original -Army formed by Charles the Second. Notwithstanding -the high reputation which dragoons had enjoyed during -the Civil War, it was not until 1672 that a regiment of -them was raised, and then only to be disbanded after a -brief existence of two years. The Tangier Horse, now -called the First Royal Dragoons, was converted into -a regiment of dragoons on its return from foreign -service in 1684; and four years later there was added -to the establishment a Scotch regiment which bears a -famous name. It was made up in 1681 of three independent -troops that had been raised three years before, -and was completed by three additional troops, under the -name of the Royal Regiment of Dragoons of Scotland. -It now ranks as the Second regiment of the Cavalry of the -Line, and is known to all the world as the Scots Greys.</p> - -<p>Dragoons still preserved their original character of -mounted infantry. Twelve men of each troop besides -the non-commissioned officers were armed with the -halberd and a pair of pistols, while the remainder were -equipped with matchlock muskets, bandoliers, and, after -1672, with bayonets. In 1687 this equipment was -improved by the substitution of flintlocks for matchlocks, -of cartridge boxes for bandoliers, and of buckets, -in addition to the old slings, for the carriage of muskets. -The tactical unit of the dragoons was still called the -company, though at the close of the Civil War often -denominated the troop; but the tendency of dragoons -to assimilate themselves to horse is seen in the substitution -of cornet for ensign as the title of the junior -subaltern. This tendency was perhaps the stranger, -since the companies of dragoons, eighty men strong, -must have presented a favourable contrast to the weak -and attenuated troops of horse.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[324]</a></span></p> - -<p>A new description of mounted soldier appeared -in 1683,<a name="FNanchor_216_216" id="FNanchor_216_216"></a><a href="#Footnote_216_216" class="fnanchor">[216]</a> in the shape of the Horse-grenadier. I shall -have more to say presently of grenadiers, when treating -of the infantry, so it is sufficient to state here that -Horse-grenadiers were practically only mounted men of -that particular arm, who as a rule linked their horses -for action and fought on foot like the dragoons. There -were in all three troops of Horse-grenadiers, which were -attached to the three troops of Life Guards. Their -peculiarity was that the two junior officers of each -troop were both lieutenants, instead of lieutenant and -cornet.</p> - -<p>The infantry, like the cavalry, suffered an alteration -in the regimental establishments after the Restoration. -The old strength of one hundred and twenty to a -company was reduced to one hundred, and in time of -peace sank to eighty, sixty, and even fifty men. The -number of companies to a battalion was also altered. -The First Guards began life with twelve companies; -and though for a time the Coldstreamers and newly -raised regiments retained the original number of ten, -yet twelve gradually became the usual, and after the -accession of James the Second, the accepted, strength -of a battalion. It must be noted that after 1672 a -battalion and a regiment of foot cease to be synonymous -terms, the First Guards being in that year increased to -twenty-four companies and two battalions, a precedent -which was soon extended to sundry other regiments.</p> - -<p>On the accession of James there was added to the -twelve companies of every regiment an additional -company of grenadiers. These were established first -in 1678, and took their name from the grenade,<a name="FNanchor_217_217" id="FNanchor_217_217"></a><a href="#Footnote_217_217" class="fnanchor">[217]</a> the -new weapon with which they were armed. The hand -grenade was simply a small shell of from one to two -inches in diameter, kindled by a fuse and thrown by -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[325]</a></span>the hand. Hence it was entrusted to the tallest and -finest men in the regiment, who might reasonably be -expected to throw it farthest. The white plume, -supposed to be symbolic of the white smoke of the fuse, -was not apparently used at first as the distinctive mark -of grenadiers. They, and the fusiliers likewise, wore -caps instead of broad-brimmed hats, to enable them to -sling their firelocks over both shoulders with ease. -These caps, which were at first of fur, were soon made -of cloth, and assumed the shape of the mitre which -Hogarth has handed down to us. Another peculiarity -of grenadiers was that they were always armed with -firelocks and with hatchets,<a name="FNanchor_218_218" id="FNanchor_218_218"></a><a href="#Footnote_218_218" class="fnanchor">[218]</a> and that both of their -subaltern officers were lieutenants.</p> - -<p>Another new branch of the infantry was the regiment -of Fusiliers, so called from the fusil or flintlock, as -opposed to the matchlock, with which they were armed. -They were, in fact, simply an expansion of the companies -of firelocks which formed part of the New Model in -the department of the Train; they were borne for duty -with the artillery specially, and therefore included one -company of miners. Miner-companies were armed -with long carbines and hammer-hatchets peculiar to -themselves, and they had but one subaltern officer, a -lieutenant. Like the grenadiers, the fusiliers did not -recognise the rank of ensign, and their junior subalterns -were therefore called second lieutenants.<a name="FNanchor_219_219" id="FNanchor_219_219"></a><a href="#Footnote_219_219" class="fnanchor">[219]</a></p> - -<p>It is somewhat remarkable that so much should -have been made of a weapon so familiar as the firelock. -Men who, like Gustavus Adolphus, saw that the whole -future of warfare turned on the fire of musketry, -had long accepted its superiority to the matchlock; -and George Monk, on marching into London in 1660, -had at once ordered the Coldstreamers to return their -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[326]</a></span>matchlocks into store and to draw firelocks in their -stead. Nor was this preference confined solely to -military reformers, for we find the Assemblies of -Barbados and Jamaica, remote islands in which old -fashions might have been expected to die their hardest, -uncompromisingly rejecting the matchlocks prescribed -for them by the English Government and insisting on -arming themselves with "fusees."<a name="FNanchor_220_220" id="FNanchor_220_220"></a><a href="#Footnote_220_220" class="fnanchor">[220]</a> At home, however, -jobbery and corruption were doubtless at work, for the -Coldstream Guards reverted to the matchlock in 1665. -Finally, after many compromises, the Guards were in -1683 armed exclusively with firelocks, while the other -regiments carried a fixed proportion, probably not less -than one-half, of the superior weapon among their -matchlocks.</p> - -<p>Correspondingly we find throughout these reigns a -steady diminution in the use of the pike. In companies -of grenadiers and regiments of fusiliers they were utterly -abolished; in other corps the proportion, which had -once been one-half, had already sunk at the Restoration -to one-third, whence it speedily declined to one-fourth -and one-fifth.<a name="FNanchor_221_221" id="FNanchor_221_221"></a><a href="#Footnote_221_221" class="fnanchor">[221]</a> We find them, however, still in use -during the wars of William the Third, and we shall -see that they did not want advocates even at the close -of the Seven Years' War, to say nothing of the part -that they played in the French Revolution.<a name="FNanchor_222_222" id="FNanchor_222_222"></a><a href="#Footnote_222_222" class="fnanchor">[222]</a> As a -weapon for officers it survived for many generations -under the form of the half-pike or spontoon,<a name="FNanchor_223_223" id="FNanchor_223_223"></a><a href="#Footnote_223_223" class="fnanchor">[223]</a> even as -the halberd prolonged its life as the peculiar weapon -of sergeants. To the officers also was assigned by a -singular coincidence the preservation of the memory of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[327]</a></span>the armour which had once been worn by all pikemen; -and the gorget survived as a badge of rank on their -breasts long after corslet and tassets had vanished from -the world.<a name="FNanchor_224_224" id="FNanchor_224_224"></a><a href="#Footnote_224_224" class="fnanchor">[224]</a></p> - -<p>None the less the pike had received its death-blow -through the invention of the bayonet. This new and -revolutionary weapon had been invented in 1640, when -it consisted of a double-edged blade, like a pike-head, -mounted on two or three inches of wooden haft, which -could be thrust into the barrel of the musket. In this -form the bayonet was issued first to the Tangier -regiment<a name="FNanchor_225_225" id="FNanchor_225_225"></a><a href="#Footnote_225_225" class="fnanchor">[225]</a> alone in 1663, and to all the infantry and -dragoons in 1673, but only to be withdrawn, until in -1686 it was finally reissued to the Foot Guards. It -was not until after the Revolution that bayonets were -served out to the whole of the infantry.</p> - -<p>In the matter of drill there was little or no change. -The front was still increased or diminished by the -doubling of ranks and of files, and the file still consisted -of six men. The reduction of the numbers of pikemen, -however, greatly increased the homogeneity of the -infantry and contributed not a little to simplify its -movements. Moreover, although the file might consist -of six men, it is not likely, considering how far -the musket and bayonet had superseded the pike, that -the formation for action was greater than three ranks -in depth. The platoon is not mentioned in the drill -books, the probable reason being that it was not -favoured by the French School, in which Charles and -James had both of them received their training. But -for this, there is every reason to suppose that the army -encamped on Hounslow Heath would not have been -found behind the times in the matter of exercise and -equipment if it could have been transported without -change to the field of Blenheim.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[328]</a></span></p> - -<p>Of the artillery there is still little to be said. Until -1682 gunners seem to have enjoyed their original -distribution into small, independent bodies, in charge -of the various scattered garrisons. Even such small -organisation as appeared in the New Model seems to -have been lost, and field-guns appear to have been told -off to battalions of infantry, or to have been worked by -such of the escort of fusiliers as had been trained by -the few expert gunners. The artilleryman had long -looked upon himself as a superior mortal,<a name="FNanchor_226_226" id="FNanchor_226_226"></a><a href="#Footnote_226_226" class="fnanchor">[226]</a> but in 1682 -he was brought under the Ordnance, subjected to -military discipline, and regularly exercised at his duty. -The time was not far distant when the organisation -of the gunners was to be improved. Of engineers I -can say no more than the few details already given -when describing the Ordnance Office and the fusiliers.</p> - -<p>A word remains to be said of the foundation of -Chelsea Hospital. It has been told that Queen Mary -was the first of our sovereigns who showed any care -for old soldiers, and that Elizabeth was intolerably -impatient of such miserable creatures. Two generations, -however, had bred a softer heart in English sovereigns, -and when Charles the Second had been twenty years on -the throne, and England was again thronged with -maimed and infirm soldiers who had served their time -in Tangier, in the West Indies, or in the Low Countries, -it was felt to be a reproach that faithful fighting-men -should be left to starve or to beg their bread. Kilmainham -Hospital in Dublin was the first-fruit of this -sentiment, and was founded in 1680; Chelsea followed -it in the succeeding year. Sir Stephen Fox, the paymaster-general, -was the man who was foremost in -the work, and it is to his credit that, having made so -much money out of the private soldier, he should have<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[329]</a></span> -chosen this method of repaying him. The scheme of -the hospital was submitted to the King, who was asked -to grant a piece of land for a building. Charles, always -gracious, readily complied, and offered the site of St. -James's College, Chelsea. "But odso!" he added, "I -now recollect that I have already given that land to -Mistress Nell here." Whereupon, so runs the story, -whether true or untrue, Nell gracefully forewent her -grant for so good a purpose; and Chelsea Hospital is -the British soldier's to this day. It is painful to have -to add that the officials of the pay-office seem to have -begun at once to steal part of the money contributed -by the Army to its maintenance, though the fact will -astonish no reader who has followed me through this -chapter. But the friends of the Army have always been -few, and the best of them in former times, strange conjunction, -were a queen and a harlot. Had they endowed -a fund for supplying African negroes with Bibles, or -even with mass-books, much would be forgiven them -in England; but they thought more of saving old -soldiers from want, so Mary Tudor is still Bloody Mary, -and Eleanor Gwyn the unspeakable Nell.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The reader will find the fullest of references -for the details in this chapter in Clifford Walton's <cite>History of the -British Standing Army</cite>, with an index which will enable him to -trace them without difficulty. Having myself perused the War -Office books and papers in the Record Office, and the Calendars -of the Domestic and Treasury State Papers independently, I can -answer for the care and accuracy of the author in the preparation -of this vast store of information, and gladly acknowledge my debt -to it. The defect of the work is, of course, that it begins abruptly -at the year 1660. Mr. Dalton's <cite>Army Lists and Commission Registers</cite> -are also of great value, and claim the gratitude of all workers in the -field of English military history. Sir Sibbald Scott's <cite>British Army</cite> -is worth consulting occasionally for a few details, but is superseded -by Hewitt's <cite>Ancient Armour</cite> on one side, and by Colonel Clifford -Walton on the other. Mackinnon's <cite>Coldstream Guards</cite> contains a -very valuable appendix of ancient documents. Sir F. Hamilton's -<cite>History of the Grenadier Guards</cite> should be used only with extreme -caution. The drill and exercise of the period may be studied in -Venn's <cite>Military Observations</cite>, 1672.</p></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[330]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[331]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_V" id="BOOK_V">BOOK V</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[332]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[333]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BV_CHAPTER_I" id="BV_CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BVCI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">Seldom has a man been confronted with such difficulties -as those that beset William of Orange when the Revolution -was fairly accomplished. So long as his success -was still uncertain he stood in his favourite position of -a military commander doing his worst against the power -of France, while to the English nation he was a -champion and a deliverer. Once seated on the throne -he found that he had to do with a disorganised administration -and a demoralised people. Forty years -of revolution, interrupted by twenty-five of corrupt -government, had done their work; and chaos reigned -alike in the minds of private men and in all departments -of the public service. Finally, as if this were not -sufficient, there was a war in Ireland, a war in Flanders, -and the practical certainty of an insurrection in Scotland.</p> - -<p>His first trouble came quickly enough. Amid the -general rejoicing over the overthrow of King James the -English Army stood apart, surly and silent. The -regiments felt that they had been fooled. They had -been concentrated to resist foreign invasion, but had -been withdrawn without any attempt to strike a blow. -During his advance, and after his arrival in London, -William had detailed the British regiments in the Dutch -service for all duties which, if entrusted to foreigners, -might have offended national sentiment; but his -prudence could not reconcile the Army. The troops -felt their disgrace keenly, and the burden of their dishonour -was aggravated by the taunts of the foreigners. -Moreover, the discipline of the Dutch had been so<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[334]</a></span> -admirable that English folk had not failed to draw -invidious comparisons between the well-conducted -strangers and their own red-coats. Needless to say, -they never reflected that Parliament, by withholding -powers to enforce discipline, was chiefly responsible for -the delinquencies of the English soldier. Discontent -spread fast among the troops, and before the new king -had been proclaimed a month, found vent in open -mutiny.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1689.</div> - -<p>On the news of William's expedition to England, -France had declared war against the States-General; -and England, pursuant to obligations of treaty, was -called upon to furnish her contingent of troops for their -defence. On the 8th of March accordingly Lieutenant-General -Lord Marlborough was ordered to ship four -battalions of Guards and six of the Line<a name="FNanchor_227_227" id="FNanchor_227_227"></a><a href="#Footnote_227_227" class="fnanchor">[227]</a> for Holland. -Among these battalions was the Royal Scots, to which -regiment William, doubtless with the best intentions, had -lately appointed the Duke of Schomberg to be colonel. -Schomberg was by repute one of the first soldiers in -Europe. He had held a marshal's bâton in France and -had sacrificed it to the cause of the Protestant religion. -He had even fought by the side of the Royal Scots in -more than one great action. But he was not a Scotsman, -and the Scots had known no colonel yet but a -Mackay, a Hepburn, or a Douglas. Moreover, the -Parliament at Westminster, though not a Scottish -Assembly, had, without consulting the regiment, coolly -transferred its allegiance from James Stuart to William -of Nassau.</p> - -<p>With much grumbling the Scots marched as far as -Ipswich on their way to their port of embarkation, and -then, at a signal from some Jacobite officers, they broke -into mutiny, seized four cannon, and, turning northward, -advanced by forced marches towards Scotland. The -alarm in London was great. "If you let this evil -spread," said Colonel Birch, an old officer of Cromwell's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[335]</a></span> -day, "you will have an army upon you in a few days." -William at once detached Ginkell, one of his best -officers, with a large force in pursuit; the mutineers -were overtaken near Sleaford, and, finding resistance -hopeless, laid down their arms. William, selecting a -few of the ringleaders only for punishment, ordered the -rest of the regiment to return to its duty, and the -Royal Scots sailed quietly away to the Maas. There -the men deserted by scores, and even by hundreds,<a name="FNanchor_228_228" id="FNanchor_228_228"></a><a href="#Footnote_228_228" class="fnanchor">[228]</a> but -recruits were found, as good as they, to uphold the -ancient reputation of the regiment.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile good came out of evil, for the mutiny -frightened the House of Commons not only into paying -the expenses of William's expedition, but into passing -the first Mutiny Act. It is true that the Act was -passed for six months only, and that it provided for no -more than the punishment of mutiny and desertion; -but it recognised at least that military crime cannot be -adequately checked by civil law, and it gave the Army -more or less of a statutory right to exist. But readers -should be warned once for all against the common -fallacy that the existence of the Army ever depended -on the passing of the annual Mutiny Act. The statute -simply empowered the King to deal with certain -military crimes for which the civil law made no provision. -It made a great parade of the statement that -the raising or keeping of a standing army in time -of peace is against law, but the standing army was in -existence for nearly thirty years before the Mutiny Act -was passed, and continued to exist, as will be seen, for -two short but distinct periods between 1689 and 1701 -without the help of any Mutiny Act whatever. If, -therefore, the keeping of a standing army in time of -peace be against the law, it can only be said that during -those periods Parliament deliberately voted money for -the violation of the law, as indeed it is always prepared -to do when convenient to itself. The Mutiny Act was -not a protection to liberty; Parliament for the present<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[336]</a></span> -reserved for itself no check on the military code that -might be framed by the King; and the Act was therefore -rather a powerful weapon placed in the hands of -the sovereign. Nevertheless, the passing of the Mutiny -Act remains always an incident of the first importance -in the history of the Army, and the story of its origin -is typical of the attitude of Parliament towards that -long-suffering body. Every concession, nay, every -commonest requirement, must be wrung from it by the -pressure of fear.</p> - -<p>It might have been thought that the news which -came from Ireland a few days before the mutiny would -have stirred the House of Commons to take some such -measure in hand. Tyrconnel had already called the -Irish to arms for King James, and on the 14th of March -James himself, having obtained aid from the French -king, had landed at Cork with some hundreds of officers -to organise the Irish levies. The regular troops in the -Irish establishment, already manipulated by Tyrconnel -before the Revolution, were ready to join him. Some -regiments went over to him entire; others split themselves -up into Catholics and Protestants, and ranged -themselves on opposite sides. It was evident that no -less a task than the reconquest of Ireland lay before the -English Government; and considering that several -regiments had already been detached to Flanders, it -was equally evident that the Army must be increased. -Estimates were therefore prepared of the cost of six -regiments of horse, two of dragoons, and twenty-five of -foot, sixteen of which last were to be newly raised, for -the coming campaign.</p> - -<p>Of the new regiments a few lay ready to William's -hand. The first was Lord Forbes's regiment, one of -the many Irish corps brought over to England by King -James in 1688, and the only one which, being made up -entirely of Protestants, was not disbanded by William -at his accession. It is still with us as the Eighteenth -Royal Irish. The next three were corps which had -been raised for the support of the Protestant cause at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[337]</a></span> -the Revolution. The first of them was a regiment of -horse raised by the Earl of Devonshire among his -tenantry in Derbyshire, which, long known by the -name of the Black Horse, now bears the title of the -Seventh Dragoon Guards. The second was a regiment -of foot that had been formed at Exeter to join the -Prince of Orange on his march from Torbay, and is -still known as the Twentieth East Devon; and the -third also remains with us as the Nineteenth of the -Line. Three more regiments date their birth from -March 1689—one raised by the Duke of Norfolk, one -enlisted in the Welsh Marches, and a third which was -recruited in Ireland but almost immediately brought -over to England. These are now the Twenty-second, -Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth of the Line. Six -more regiments of infantry which were raised in the -same year, but disbanded at the close of the war, were -Drogheda's, Lisburn's, Kingston's, Ingoldsby's, Roscommon's, -and Bolton's. Of these, curiously enough, -no fewer than three were dressed in blue instead of -scarlet coats, possibly in flattering imitation of King -William's famous Blue Guards. Thus, with ten -thousand men to be enlisted, drilled, trained, and -equipped, there was no lack of work for the recruiting -officer, or for the Office of Ordnance, in the spring of</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May 10.</div> - -<p>It was not long before William and Schomberg -made the discovery that the old regiments would require -as much watching as the new. There were significant -symptoms of rottenness in the whole military system; -and discontented spirits were already spreading false and -calumnious reports as to the treatment of the English -regiments in Flanders, with the evident design of -kindling a mutiny. Moreover, there were loud complaints -from citizens of oppression by the soldiery, from -soldiers of the fraudulent withholding of their pay, and -from every honest officer, not, alas! a very numerous -body, of false musters, embezzlement, fraud, and every -description of abuse. The King lost no time in appointing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[338]</a></span> -nine commissioners, with Schomberg at their head, to -make the tour of the quarters in England, to inquire -into the true state of the case, and if possible to restore -order and discipline.<a name="FNanchor_229_229" id="FNanchor_229_229"></a><a href="#Footnote_229_229" class="fnanchor">[229]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Still more disquieting news came from the Prince of -Waldeck, who commanded the confederate army in -Flanders. The English regiments were far below the -strength assigned to them on paper, their officers were -ill-paid, and many of them, even the colonels, ill-conducted; -the men were sickly, listless,<a name="FNanchor_230_230" id="FNanchor_230_230"></a><a href="#Footnote_230_230" class="fnanchor">[230]</a> undisciplined, -and disorderly; their shoes were bad, their clothing -miserable, their very arms defective. William, whose -eyes always rested by preference on the eastern side of -the German Ocean, lost no time in sending his best -officer to Flanders; but even the Earl of Marlborough -had much ado to reduce these unruly elements to order. -Nevertheless he persevered; and in the one serious -action wherein the British were engaged during the -campaign, that against Marshal d'Humières at Walcourt, -Marlborough opened the eyes of Waldeck to the -qualities of his men and to his own capacity. This was -Marlborough's first brush with a Marshal of France; -and it would seem that it was never forgotten by -William. With this we may dismiss the campaign in -Flanders for 1689.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile another soldier of remarkable talent, and -an old comrade of William, had rushed into rebellion in -Scotland. The dragoons with which Dundee had harried -the Covenanters and earned the name of "Bloody -Claver'se" were still ready to his hand, and to these, by -fanning the undying flame of tribal feud, he presently -added an array of Highland clans. The flight of -Dundee from Edinburgh on his errand of insurrection -warned the city to take speedy measures for its defence. -Lord Leven caused the drums to beat, and within two -hours, it is said, had raised eight hundred men; but -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[339]</a></span>the work of these two hours has lasted for two centuries, -for the regiment thus hastily enlisted is still alive as the -Twenty-fifth of the Line. Shortly after, William sent -up three Scotch regiments of the Dutch service under a -veteran officer, Mackay; and the Highland war began -in earnest. Skilful, however, as Mackay might be on -the familiar battle-grounds of Flanders, he was helpless -in the Highlands, where one week with George Monk -would have helped him more than all the campaigns of -Turenne. He crawled over the country conscientiously -enough in pursuit of an enemy that he could never -overtake, without further result than to exhaust the -strength of both horses and men. It was not until one -stage of a desultory campaign had been ended and a new -one begun, that he at last met his enemy at Killiecrankie.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July 27.</div> - -<p>There is no need for me to repeat the story told -once for all by Lord Macaulay, of that romantic action; -but it is worth while to glance at some few of its -peculiarities. Mackay's force consisted of five battalions—the -three Scottish regiments already mentioned, Hastings', -now the Thirteenth Light Infantry, and the newly -raised Twenty-fifth, together with two troops of horse. -Of these the Scottish battalions, trained in the Dutch -School by competent officers, should unquestionably -have been the most efficient; yet all three of them -broke before the charge of the Highlanders, threw -down their arms, and would not be rallied. The two -troops of horse took to their heels and disappeared; -the Twenty-fifth broke like the other Scottish regiments, -as was pardonable in such young soldiers, though they -made some effort to rally. The only regiment that -stood firm was the Thirteenth, which kept up a -murderous fire to the end, and retired with perfect -coolness and good order. Yet this was their first -action, and Hastings, their colonel, was one of the most -unscrupulous scoundrels, even in those days of universal -robbery, that ever robbed a regiment.<a name="FNanchor_231_231" id="FNanchor_231_231"></a><a href="#Footnote_231_231" class="fnanchor">[231]</a> Thus the troops<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[340]</a></span> -which should have done best did worst, and those that -might have been expected to do worst did best; and -the moral would seem to be that inexperienced troops are -sometimes safer than troops trained in civilised warfare -for the rough-and-ready fighting of a savage campaign.</p> - -<p>A still more curious example of the same peculiarity -was seen before the close of the war. At the end of -the first stage of Mackay's campaign it was found -necessary to raise fresh troops; and it was hoped that -the Covenanters of Western Scotland, who of all men -had most reason to detest bloody Claverhouse, might be -willing to furnish recruits. But the Covenanters had -scruples about joining the army of King William, -wherein they might be set shoulder to shoulder with -the immoral and, even worse, with the unorthodox. -Even Mackay, a man of extreme piety,<a name="FNanchor_232_232" id="FNanchor_232_232"></a><a href="#Footnote_232_232" class="fnanchor">[232]</a> was suspected -by them. They held a tumultuous meeting, wherein -the majority, little knowing probably how terribly true -their words then were of the British Army, declared that -military service was a sinful association. Nevertheless -there was still a minority from which the Earl of Angus -formed a body of infantry, twelve hundred strong, -which, though now numbered Twenty-sixth of the Line, -is still best known by its first name of the Cameronians. -Their ideas of military organisation were peculiar. -They desired that each company should furnish an -elder, who with the chaplain should constitute a court -for the suppression of immorality and heresy; and -though the elders were never appointed, and the officers -bore the usual titles of captain, lieutenant, and ensign, -yet the chaplain, a noted hill-preacher, supplied in his -own person fanaticism for all. So in spite of the -ravings of the majority a true Puritan regiment once -more donned the red coat, under the youngest colonel—for -Angus was no more than eighteen—that had led -such men since Henry Cromwell.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 21.</div> - -<p>Within four months they were engaged against four -times their number of Highlanders at Dunkeld. They<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[341]</a></span> -were still imperfectly disciplined, still somewhat of a -congregation that preferred elders to officers. They -would not be satisfied that their mounted officers would -not gallop away, until the lieutenant-colonel and major -offered to shoot their horses before their eyes. Then -they braced themselves, and fought such a fight as has -seldom fallen to the lot of a regiment of recruits. The -battle was fought amid the roar of a burning town. -Angus was not present—short though his time was to -be, it was not yet come—and his place was taken by -Lieutenant-Colonel Cleland. The action was hardly -opened before Cleland fell dead. The major stepped -forward to his place, and a minute after was pierced by -three mortal wounds. The men too fell fast; the -musketry crackled round them, and the flames roared -behind them; but still they fought on. Ammunition -failed them at last; everything conspired to make the -trial too hard for a young regiment to endure; but -nothing could break the spirit of these men. At last, -after four long hours, the Highlanders rolled back in -disorder. The Cameronians had won their first battle -and ended the Highland war.</p> - -<p>But that war brought something more to the British -Army even than two famous Scottish regiments. For -Mackay had noticed that at Killiecrankie his Scotsmen -had not had time to fix the clumsy plug-bayonets into -the muzzles of their muskets, and had consequently -been unable to meet the Highland charge. He therefore -ordered bayonets to be made so that they could be -screwed on to the outside of the barrel, thus enabling the -men to fire with bayonets fixed. So finally was accomplished -the blending of pike and musket into a single -weapon, a great era in the history of the art of war.<a name="FNanchor_233_233" id="FNanchor_233_233"></a><a href="#Footnote_233_233" class="fnanchor">[233]</a></p> - -<p>But while recruiting officers were beating their -drums through the market towns of England, and -Mackay was toiling in pursuit of the Highlanders, -Protestant Ireland was standing desperately at bay<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[342]</a></span> -against King James at Londonderry and Enniskillen. -There is no need for me to recall the triumph of the -unconquerable defenders of Derry; and it would be -pleasanter, were it possible, to pass over the somewhat -discreditable behaviour of the Army in relation to their -relief. Five days, indeed, before the city was invested -two English regiments, the Ninth and Seventeenth -Foot, had arrived in the bay, but had been persuaded -by the treacherous governor, Lundy, to return and to -leave Derry to its fate. Colonels Cunningham and -Richards, who commanded these corps, were both of -them superseded on their arrival in England; but no -further help came until on the 15th of June General -Kirke sailed into Lough Foyle with the Second, Ninth, -and Eleventh Foot. Even then he would not stir for -six whole weeks, when he received positive orders from -home to relieve the city.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July 31.</div> - -<p>Meanwhile all operations of the Irish Protestants -that were not wholly defensive were directed from -Enniskillen, which was filled with refugees from -Munster and Connaught. With extraordinary energy -these Protestants organised a body of horse and another -of foot, with which they kept up an incessant harassing -warfare against the insurgent Irish. On Kirke's arrival -they applied to him for reinforcements. These he -refused to give; but he sent them arms and he sent -them officers, one of whom, Colonel Wolseley, equalled -at Newtown Butler Dundee's feat of Killiecrankie, of -beating trained soldiers with raw but enthusiastic levies. -After this action the force of the Enniskilleners was -reorganised into two regiments of dragoons and three -of foot, which are represented among us to this day by -the Fifth Royal Irish Dragoons, now Lancers, the Sixth -Enniskillen Dragoons, and the Twenty-seventh Enniskillen -regiment of the infantry of Line.</p> - -<p>The time was now come when the great English -expedition for the reconquest of Ireland should set -sail. The untrained Irish Protestant had played his -part gallantly, and it was the turn of the English<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[343]</a></span> -soldier. For months great preparations had been going -forward; the new regiments had been raised; and on -paper at any rate there were not only horse, foot, and -dragoons, but a respectable train of artillery and of -transport. Moreover, the failure of Cunningham and -Richards had led Parliament to inquire into the conduct -of that expedition; and it had been discovered that the -supply of transport-ships had been so insufficient that -the men had not had space even to lie down, while -the biscuit provided for them had been mouldy and -uneatable, and the beer so foul and putrid that they -preferred to drink salt water. These shortcomings had -occurred in the dispatch of a couple of battalions only; -it remained to be seen how the military departments -could cope with the transport and maintenance of an -entire army. The total force to be employed in Ireland -was close on nineteen thousand men, of which about -one-fourth was already on the spot.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">August 13.</div> - -<p>William had chosen Marshal Schomberg to command -the expedition. Though past fourscore, the veteran -was still active and fit for duty; and in reputation -there was no better officer in Europe. On the 13th of -August he landed with his army at Bangor and detached -twelve regiments to besiege Carrickfergus. The -garrison held out for a week, and was then permitted -to capitulate and to march away to Newry. But that -week was sufficient to open Schomberg's eyes. The new -regiments proved to be mobs of undisciplined boys. -Their officers were ignorant, negligent, and useless. -The arms served out from the Tower were so ill-made, -and the men so careless in the handling of them, that -nearly every regiment required to be re-armed. The -officers of artillery were not only ignorant and lazy, but -even cowardly,<a name="FNanchor_234_234" id="FNanchor_234_234"></a><a href="#Footnote_234_234" class="fnanchor">[234]</a> while their guns were so defective that -a week of easy work had sufficed to render most of -them unserviceable.<a name="FNanchor_235_235" id="FNanchor_235_235"></a><a href="#Footnote_235_235" class="fnanchor">[235]</a> Senior officers were as deficient as -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[344]</a></span>junior: there was not one qualified to command a -brigade; and the commissary, in spite of reports that -he had made all needful provision, had failed to supply -sufficient stores. Lastly, in spite of the warning given -by the experience of Cunningham and Richards, the -transport across St. George's Channel was so shamefully -conducted that one regiment of horse, that now known -as the Queen's Bays, lost every charger and troop-horse -in the passage.<a name="FNanchor_236_236" id="FNanchor_236_236"></a><a href="#Footnote_236_236" class="fnanchor">[236]</a> The result was that all was -confusion, and that every detail in every department -required the personal supervision of the Commander-in-Chief.</p> - -<p>Fortunately James's Irish were so far demoralised by -previous failures that his officer at Belfast thought it -prudent to evacuate that town. Schomberg therefore -threw a garrison into it, and marched with his whole -force upon Newry. The Duke of Berwick, who was -guarding the road, fell back on his approach to -Drogheda, where James had collected twenty thousand -men; and Schomberg, advancing through a wasted and -deserted country, halted, and entrenched himself at -Dundalk. James struggled forward to within a league -of him to try and tempt him to an action, but Schomberg -was not to be entrapped; and by the second week -in September the campaign was over.</p> - -<p>The fact was that a month's service in the field had -completely broken the English Army down. By the -time when it reached Dundalk it was on the brink of -starvation. The Commissary-General, one Shales, was a -man of experience, for he had been purveyor to King -James's camp at Hounslow; and he had accumulated -stores—bad stores, it is true, but nevertheless stores—at -the base, Belfast. But he had made no provision for -carrying any part of them with the Army. He had -bought up large numbers of horses in Cheshire, but,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[345]</a></span> -instead of transporting them to Ireland, had let them -out to the farmers of the district for the harvest, and -pocketed their hire.<a name="FNanchor_237_237" id="FNanchor_237_237"></a><a href="#Footnote_237_237" class="fnanchor">[237]</a> Again, the artillery could not be -moved because the Ordnance Department looked to -Shales to provide horses, while Shales declared the -artillery to be no business of his. Moreover, had the -horses been on the spot, there was not a shoe ready for -their feet.<a name="FNanchor_238_238" id="FNanchor_238_238"></a><a href="#Footnote_238_238" class="fnanchor">[238]</a> No measures had been taken, in spite of -Schomberg's representations, to victual the troops by -sea, though Cromwell had shown forty years before, in -Scotland, how readily the work could be done. But -indeed the expedition would have been better managed -than it was by following the guidance of so old a master -as King Edward the Third.<a name="FNanchor_239_239" id="FNanchor_239_239"></a><a href="#Footnote_239_239" class="fnanchor">[239]</a> Never was there a more -signal example of English ignorance, neglect, and sloth -in respect of military administration.</p> - -<p>By the 18th of September victuals at Dundalk were -at famine price, and the men began to perish by scores -and by hundreds. It was hardly surprising, for they -were not only unfed but unclothed; there was not so -much as a greatcoat in the whole of the English -infantry; the cavalry were without cloaks, boots, and -belts, and almost the entire force wanted shoes. Moreover, -the English were shiftless; when ordered to build -themselves huts they could not be at the pains to obey, -even with the example of their Dutch and Huguenot -comrades before them. Sickness spread rapidly among -them, and there was no hospital; and had there been a -hospital there were no medicines. Finally, the behaviour -of the officers was utterly shameful. "The lions in -Africa," wrote one who was on the spot, "are not more -barbarous than some of our officers are to the sick."<a name="FNanchor_240_240" id="FNanchor_240_240"></a><a href="#Footnote_240_240" class="fnanchor">[240]</a> -"I never saw officers more wicked and more interested," -wrote Schomberg almost on the same day.<a name="FNanchor_241_241" id="FNanchor_241_241"></a><a href="#Footnote_241_241" class="fnanchor">[241]</a> The -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[346]</a></span>Commander-in-Chief did his best to interpose on behalf -of the men, but his hands were already overfull. The -colonels were perhaps the worst of all the officers; they -understood pillage better than the payment of their -men, and filled their empty ranks with worthless Irish -recruits, simply because these were more easily cheated -than English.<a name="FNanchor_242_242" id="FNanchor_242_242"></a><a href="#Footnote_242_242" class="fnanchor">[242]</a> It cost Schomberg a week's work to -ensure that the pay of the soldiers went into their own -and not into their captains' pockets.</p> - -<p>Yet on the whole it was not the military officers -that were chiefly to blame. The constant complaint of -Schomberg was that he could get no money; and for -this the Treasurer of the Army was responsible. This -functionary, William Harbord, a civilian and a member -of the House of Commons, appears to have been on -the whole the most shameless of all the officials in -Ireland. By some jobbery he had contrived to obtain -an independent troop of cavalry, for which he drew pay -as though it were complete, though the troop in reality -consisted of himself, two clerks whom he put down as -officers, and a standard which he kept in his bedroom.<a name="FNanchor_243_243" id="FNanchor_243_243"></a><a href="#Footnote_243_243" class="fnanchor">[243]</a> -This was the only corps which was regularly paid. The -other regiments he turned equally to his own advantage -by sending home false muster-rolls<a name="FNanchor_244_244" id="FNanchor_244_244"></a><a href="#Footnote_244_244" class="fnanchor">[244]</a> in order to draw -the pay of the vacancies; but whenever the question of -payment of the men was raised, he evaded it and went -to England, pleading the necessity of attending to his -duties in the House of Commons. It was Harbord -again who was responsible for the failure of the hospital. -He admitted, indeed, that if he had known as much -about hospitals at the beginning as at the end of the -campaign, he might have saved two-thirds of the men; -but the truth was that he would never at any time -supply a penny for it.<a name="FNanchor_245_245" id="FNanchor_245_245"></a><a href="#Footnote_245_245" class="fnanchor">[245]</a> By Christmas Schomberg began -to relent towards his officers, for he discovered that they -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[347]</a></span>were penniless, not having received a farthing of pay -for four months.<a name="FNanchor_246_246" id="FNanchor_246_246"></a><a href="#Footnote_246_246" class="fnanchor">[246]</a> Meanwhile civilians were growing -fat. Shales was buying salt at ninepence a pound and -selling it at four shillings;<a name="FNanchor_247_247" id="FNanchor_247_247"></a><a href="#Footnote_247_247" class="fnanchor">[247]</a> and junior commissaries -were acting as regimental agents and advancing money -to the unhappy officers at exorbitant interest.<a name="FNanchor_248_248" id="FNanchor_248_248"></a><a href="#Footnote_248_248" class="fnanchor">[248]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">Nov. 5.</div> - -<p>In such a state of affairs Schomberg, rightly or -wrongly, considered himself powerless. William ordered -him from time to time to advance on Dublin; and -Harbord, with incredible impertinence, urged him to -march against the enemy.<a name="FNanchor_249_249" id="FNanchor_249_249"></a><a href="#Footnote_249_249" class="fnanchor">[249]</a> Schomberg answered William -by a plain statement of his condition, and Harbord by -a surly and contemptuous growl. In truth his Dutch -and Huguenot regiments, which alone were well clad -and well looked after by their officers, were the only -troops on which he could rely. The English continued -to die like flies. Schomberg wisely endeavoured to -distract their thoughts from their own misery by keeping -them at drill. He found that not one in four had the -slightest idea how to load or fire his musket, while the -muskets themselves fell to pieces in the handling. -Pestilence increased, and with it callousness and insubordination. -The men used the corpses of their comrades -to stop the draughts under their tent-walls, and -robbed any man whose appearance promised hope of -gain. Nor was this indiscipline confined to Dundalk. -The Enniskilleners, who have generally been represented -as superior to the English, were quite as fond of plunder, -and robbed William Harbord himself, despite his protestations, -in broad daylight.<a name="FNanchor_250_250" id="FNanchor_250_250"></a><a href="#Footnote_250_250" class="fnanchor">[250]</a> Happily for Schomberg, -James's forces were in as ill condition as his own, so -that he was able to retire into winter quarters from -Dundalk without molestation. <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Of fourteeen'">Of fourteen</ins> thousand -men in the camp, upwards of six thousand had perished.<a name="FNanchor_251_251" id="FNanchor_251_251"></a><a href="#Footnote_251_251" class="fnanchor">[251]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[348]</a></span></p> - -<p>Gradually and painfully the winter wore away, but -without abatement in the mortality of the troops. -Meanwhile the House of Commons, awaking to the -terrible state of things in Ireland, addressed the King -for the arrest of Shales. William replied that he had -already put him under arrest; and the name of Shales -was accordingly constantly before the House in the -course of the next few months, but without any result. -He seems to have escaped scot-free; and indeed there -was no lack of men as corrupt as he in the House of -Commons and in all places of trust. William then -took the extraordinary step of asking the House to -appoint seven members to superintend the preparations -for the next campaign; but this it very wisely declined -to do. It appointed a Committee, however, to examine -into the expenses of the war,<a name="FNanchor_252_252" id="FNanchor_252_252"></a><a href="#Footnote_252_252" class="fnanchor">[252]</a> and finally passed a -Mutiny Act with new clauses against false musters and -other abuses—clauses which were as old as King Edward -the Sixth, and for all practical purposes as dead. It was -not legislation that was wanted, but enforcement of -existing laws. William, however, appears early to have -abandoned in despair the hope of finding an honest man -in England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1690.</div> - -<p>And now, with the experience of 1689 before them, -the King and Schomberg began to arrange their plans -for the campaign of 1690. In the matter of troops -Schomberg was vehement against further employment -of regiments of miserable English and Irish boys;<a name="FNanchor_253_253" id="FNanchor_253_253"></a><a href="#Footnote_253_253" class="fnanchor">[253]</a> and -it was therefore decided to transport twenty-seven -thousand seasoned men, seventeen thousand of them -British and the remainder Dutch and Danish, from -England and Holland. Artillery and small arms were -imported from Holland, since the Office of Ordnance -had been found wanting; and as a daring experiment, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[349]</a></span>which proved to be a total failure, the King took the -clothing of several regiments out of their colonels' hands -into his own.<a name="FNanchor_254_254" id="FNanchor_254_254"></a><a href="#Footnote_254_254" class="fnanchor">[254]</a> Finally care was taken for the proper -organisation of the transport-service. The plan of -campaign in its broad lines was mapped out by a civilian, -Sir Robert Southwell,<a name="FNanchor_255_255" id="FNanchor_255_255"></a><a href="#Footnote_255_255" class="fnanchor">[255]</a> the secretary for Ireland. The -country, he said, must be attacked simultaneously from -north and south, for while the ports of Munster were -open France could always pour in reinforcements and -supplies. While, therefore, Schomberg advanced from -the north, a descent should be made on the south, and -Cork should be the objective. Finally, Southwell or -some other sensible man did what William should have -done the year before, and drew out a succinct account -of the principles followed in Ireland with such signal -success by that forgotten General, Oliver Cromwell.<a name="FNanchor_256_256" id="FNanchor_256_256"></a><a href="#Footnote_256_256" class="fnanchor">[256]</a></p> - -<p>I shall not dwell further on the Irish campaigns of -1690 and 1691. There is little of importance to the -History of the Army to be found in them; and the -reader will more readily follow Lord Macaulay than -myself over this familiar ground. The battle of the -Boyne was won without great credit to William's skill, -and paid for rather dearly by the death of gallant old -Schomberg. The troops learned something of active -service, and something, though not nearly so much as -they should have learnt, of discipline. The lesson of -Cromwell was not taken to heart; and the Protestant -Irish were allowed to set an example of plunder which -was but too readily followed by the English. Ginkell's -final campaign of 1691 was more successful, more -brilliant, and more satisfactory in every respect, inasmuch -as the Irish fought with distinguished gallantry. For -the rest, the English showed at Aghrim and at Athlone -their usual desperate valour; succeeding, even when -experienced commanders, like St. Ruth, confessed with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[350]</a></span>admiration that they had thought their success impossible. -But in the matter of skill the quiet and unostentatious -captures of Cork and Kinsale in 1690 were far -the most brilliant achievements of the war; and these -were the work of John, Earl of Marlborough.<a name="FNanchor_257_257" id="FNanchor_257_257"></a><a href="#Footnote_257_257" class="fnanchor">[257]</a></p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[351]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BV_CHAPTER_II" id="BV_CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BVCII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1690,<br /> -October.</div> - -<p class="noindent">I pass now to Flanders, which is about to become for -the second time the training ground of the British Army. -The judicious help sent by Lewis the Fourteenth to -Ireland had practically diverted the entire strength of -William to that quarter for two whole campaigns; and -though, as has been seen, there were English in Flanders -in 1689 and 1690, the contingents which they furnished -were too small and the operations too trifling to warrant -description in detail. After the battle of the Boyne the -case was somewhat altered, for, though a large force was -still required in Ireland for Ginkell's final pacification of -1691, William was none the less at liberty to take the field -in Flanders in person. Moreover, Parliament with great -good-will had voted seventy thousand men for the ensuing -year, of which fully fifty thousand were British,<a name="FNanchor_258_258" id="FNanchor_258_258"></a><a href="#Footnote_258_258" class="fnanchor">[258]</a> so that -England was about to put forth her strength in Europe -on a scale unknown since the loss of Calais.</p> - -<p>But first a short space must be devoted to the -theatre of war, where England was to meet and break -down the overweening power of France. Few studies -are more difficult, even to the professed student, than -that of the old campaigns in Flanders, and still fewer -more hopeless of simplification to the ordinary reader. -Nevertheless, however desperate the task, an effort -must be made once for all to give a broad idea of the -scene of innumerable great actions.</p> - -<p>Taking his stand on the northern frontier of France<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[352]</a></span> -and looking northward, the reader will note three great -rivers running through the country before him in, -roughly speaking, three parallel semicircles, from south-east -to north-west. These are, from east to west, the -Moselle, which is merged in the Rhine at Coblentz, the -Meuse, and the Scheldt, all three of which discharge -themselves into the great delta whereof the southern key -is Antwerp. But for the present let the reader narrow -the field from the Meuse in the east to the sea in the -west, and let him devote his attention first to the Meuse. -He will see that, a little to the north of the French -frontier, it picks up a large tributary from the south-west, -the Sambre, which runs past Maubeuge and -Charleroi and joins the Meuse at Namur. Thence the -united rivers flow on past the fortified towns of Huy, -Liège, and Maestricht to the sea. But let the reader's -northern boundary on the Meuse for the present be -Maestricht, and let him note another river which rises a -little to the west of Maestricht and runs almost due west -past Arschot and Mechlin to the sea at Antwerp. Let -this river, the Demer, be his northern, and the Meuse -from Maestricht to Namur his eastern, boundary.</p> - -<p>Returning to the south, let him note a river rising immediately -to the west of Charleroi, the Haine, which -joins the Scheldt at Tournay, and let him draw a line -from Tournay westward through Lille and Ypres to the -sea at Dunkirk. Let this line from Dunkirk to Charleroi -be carried eastward to Namur; and there is his southern -boundary. His western boundary, is, of course, the sea. -Within this quadrilateral, Antwerp (or more strictly -speaking the mouth of the Scheldt), Dunkirk, Namur, -and Maestricht, lies the most famous fighting-ground -of Europe.</p> - -<p>Glancing at it on the map, the reader will see that -this quadrilateral is cut by a number of rivers running -parallel to each other from south to north, and flowing -into the main streams of the Demer and the Scheldt. -The first of these, beginning from the east, are the -Great and Little Geete, which become one before they<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[353]</a></span> -join the main stream. It is worth while to pause for a -moment over this little slip of land between the Geete -and the Meuse. We shall see much of Namur, Huy, -Liège, and Maestricht, which command the navigation -of the greater river, but we shall see still more of the -Geete, and of two smaller streams, the Jaar and the -Mehaigne, which rise almost in the same table-land with -it. On the Lower Jaar, close to Maestricht, stands the -village of Lauffeld, which shall be better known to -us fifty years hence. On the Little Geete, just above -its junction with its greater namesake, are the villages of -Neerwinden and Landen. In the small space between -the heads of the Geete and the Mehaigne lies the village -of Ramillies. For this network of streams is the protection -against an enemy that would threaten the navigation -of the Meuse from the north and west, and the -barrier of Spanish Flanders against invasion from the -east; and the ground is rich with the corpses and fat -with the blood of men.</p> - -<p>The next stream to westward is the Dyle, which -flows past Louvain to the Demer, and gives its name, -after the junction, to that river. The next in order is -the Senne, which flows past Park and Hal and Brussels to -the same main stream. At the head of the Senne stands -the village of Steenkirk; midway between the Dyle and -Senne are the forest of Soignies and the field of Waterloo.</p> - -<p>Here the tributaries of the Demer come to an end, -but the row of parallel streams is continued by the -tributaries of another system, that of the Scheldt. -Easternmost of these, and next in order to the Senne, is -the Dender, which rises near Leuse and flows past Ath -and Alost to the Scheldt at Dendermond. Next comes -the Scheldt itself, with the Scarpe and the Haine, its -tributaries, which it carries past Tournay and Oudenarde -to Ghent, and to the sea at Antwerp. Westernmost -of all, the Lys runs past St. Venant, where in -Cromwell's time we saw Sir Thomas Morgan and his -immortal six thousand, past Menin and Courtrai, and is -merged in the Scheldt at Ghent.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[354]</a></span></p> - -<p>The whole extent of the quadrilateral is about one -hundred miles long by fifty broad, with a great waterway -to the west, a second to the east, and a third, whereof -the key is Ghent, roughly speaking midway between -them. The earth, fruitful by nature and enriched by -art, bears food for man and beast, the waterways provide -transport for stores and ammunition. It was a country -where men could kill each other without being starved, -and hence for centuries the cockpit of Europe.</p> - -<p>A glance at any old map of Flanders shows how -thickly studded was this country with walled towns of -less or greater strength, and explains why a war in -Flanders should generally have been a war of sieges. -Every one of these little towns, of course, had its garrison; -and the manœuvres of contending forces were governed -very greatly by the effort on one side to release these -garrisons for active service in the field, and on the -other to keep them confined within their walls for as -long as possible. Hence it is obvious that an invading -army necessarily enjoyed a great advantage, since it -menaced the fortresses of the enemy while its own were -unthreatened. Thus ten thousand men on the Upper -Lys could paralyse thrice their number in Ghent and -Bruges and the adjacent towns. On the other hand, if -an invading general contemplated the siege of an important -town, he manœuvred to entice the garrison into -the field before he laid siege in form. Still, once set -down to a great siege, an army was stationary, and the -bare fact was sufficient to liberate hostile garrisons all -over the country; and hence arose the necessity of a -second army to cover the besieging force. The skill -and subtlety manifested by great generals to compass -these different ends is unfortunately only to be apprehended -by closer study than can be expected of any but -the military student.</p> - -<p>A second cause contributed not a little to increase -the taste for a war of sieges, namely the example of -France, then the first military nation in Europe.<a name="FNanchor_259_259" id="FNanchor_259_259"></a><a href="#Footnote_259_259" class="fnanchor">[259]</a> The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[355]</a></span> -Court of Versailles was particularly fond of a siege, -since it could attend the ceremony in state and take -nominal charge of the operations with much glory and -little discomfort or danger. The French passion for -rule and formula also found a happy outlet in the -conduct of a siege, for while there is no nation more -brilliant or more original, particularly in military affairs, -there is also none that is more conceited or pedantic. -The craving for sieges among the French was so great -that the King took pains, by the grant of extra pay -and rations, to render this species of warfare popular -with his soldiers.<a name="FNanchor_260_260" id="FNanchor_260_260"></a><a href="#Footnote_260_260" class="fnanchor">[260]</a></p> - -<p>Again, it must be remembered that the object of a -campaign in those days was not necessarily to seek out -an enemy and beat him. There were two alternatives -prescribed by the best authorities, namely, to fight at -an advantage or to subsist comfortably.<a name="FNanchor_261_261" id="FNanchor_261_261"></a><a href="#Footnote_261_261" class="fnanchor">[261]</a> Comfortable -subsistence meant at its best subsistence at an enemy's -expense. A campaign wherein an army lived on the -enemy's country and destroyed all that it could not -consume was eminently successful, even though not a -shot was fired. To force an enemy to consume his -own supplies was much, to compel him to supply his -opponent was more, to take up winter-quarters in his -territory was very much more. Thus to enter an -enemy's borders and keep him marching backwards and -forwards for weeks without giving him a chance of -striking a blow, was in itself no small success, and -success of a kind which galled inferior generals, such -as William of Orange, to desperation and so to disaster. -The tendency to these negative campaigns was heightened -once more by French example. The French ministry -of war interfered with its generals to an extent that was -always dangerous, and eventually proved calamitous. -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[356]</a></span>Nominally the marshal commanding-in-chief in the -field was supreme; but the intendant or head of the -administrative service, though he received his orders -from the marshal, was instructed by the King to forward -those orders at once by special messenger to Louvois, -and not to execute them without the royal authority. -Great commanders such as Luxemburg had the strength -from time to time to kick themselves free from this -bondage, but the rest, embarrassed by the surveillance -of an inferior officer, preferred to live as long as -possible in an enemy's country without risking a general -action. It was left to Marlborough to advance triumphant -in one magnificent campaign from the Meuse to -the sea.</p> - -<p>Next, a glance must be thrown at the contending -parties. The defenders of the Spanish Netherlands, -for they cannot be called the assailants of France, were -confederate allies from a number of independent states—England, -Holland, Spain, the Empire, sundry states of -Germany, and Denmark, all somewhat selfish, few very -efficient, and none, except the first, very punctual. -From such a heterogeneous collection swift, secret, and -united action was not to be expected. King William -held the command-in-chief, and, from his position as the -soul of the alliance, was undoubtedly the fittest for the -post. But though he had carefully studied the art of -war, and though his phlegmatic temperament found its -only genuine pleasure in the excitement of the battlefield, -he was not a great general. He could form good -plans, and up to a certain point could execute them, but -up to a certain point only. It would seem that his -physical weakness debarred him from steady and sustained -effort. He was strangely incapable of conducting a -campaign with equal ability throughout; he would -manœuvre admirably for weeks, and forfeit all the -advantage that he had gained by the carelessness of a -single day. In a general action, of which he was fonder -than most commanders of his day, he never shone except -in virtue of conspicuous personal bravery. He lacked<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[357]</a></span> -tactical instinct, and above all he lacked patience; in -a word, to use a modern phrase, he was a very clever -amateur.</p> - -<p>France, on the other hand, possessed the finest -and strongest army in Europe,—well equipped, well -trained, well organised, and inured to work by countless -campaigns. She had a single man in supreme -control of affairs, King Lewis the Fourteenth; a great -war-minister, Louvois; one really great general, Luxemburg; -and one with flashes of genius, Boufflers. Moreover -she possessed a line of posts in Spanish Flanders -extending from Dunkirk to the Meuse. On the Lys -she had Aire and Menin; on the Scarpe, Douay; on -the Upper Scheldt, Cambray, Bouchain, Valenciennes, -and Condé; on the Sambre, Maubeuge; between -Sambre and Meuse, Philippeville and Marienburg; and -on the Meuse, Dinant. Further, in the one space where -the frontier was not covered by a friendly river, between -the sea and the Scheldt, the French had constructed -fortified lines from the sea to Menin and from thence -to the Scheldt at Espierre. Thus with their frontier -covered, with a place of arms on every river, with -secrecy and with unity of purpose, the French enjoyed -the approximate certainty of being able to take the field -in every campaign before the Allies could be collected -to oppose them.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1691.</div> - -<p>The campaign of 1691 happily typifies the relative -positions of the combatants in almost every respect. -The French concentrated ten thousand men on the Lys. -This was sufficient to paralyse all the garrisons of the -Allies on and about the river. They posted another -corps on the Moselle, which threatened the territory of -Cleves. Now Cleves was the property of the Elector -of Brandenburg, and it was not to be expected that he -should allow his contingent of troops to join King -William at the general rendezvous at Brussels, and -suffer the French to play havoc among his possessions. -Thus the Prussian contingent likewise was paralysed. -So while William was still ordering his troops to concentrate<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[358]</a></span> -at Brussels, Boufflers, who had been making -preparations all the winter, suddenly marched up from -Maubeuge and, before William was aware that he was -in motion, had besieged Mons. The fortress presently -surrendered after a feeble resistance, and the line of the -Allies' frontier between the Scheldt and Sambre was -broken. William moved down from Brussels across -the Sambre in the hope of recovering the lost town, outmanœuvred -Luxemburg, who was opposed to him, and -for three days held the recapture of Mons in the hollow -of his hand. He wasted those three days in an aimless -halt; Luxemburg recovered himself by an extraordinary -march; and William, finding that there was no alternative -before him but to retire to Brussels and remain -inactive, handed over the command to an incompetent -officer and returned to England. Luxemburg then -closed the campaign by a brilliant action of cavalry, -which scattered the horse of the Allies to the four -winds. As no British troops except the Life Guards -were present, and as they at any rate did not disgrace -themselves, it is unnecessary to say more of the combat -of Leuse. It, had however, one remarkable effect: it -increased William's dread of the French cavalry, already -morbidly strong, to such a pitch as to lead him subsequently -to a disastrous military blunder.</p> - -<p>The campaign of 1691 was therefore decidedly -unfavourable to the Allies, but there was ground for -hope that all might be set right in 1692. The Treasurer, -Godolphin, was nervously apprehensive that Parliament -might be unwilling to vote money for an English army -in Flanders; but the Commons cheerfully voted a total -of sixty-six thousand men, British and foreign; which, -after deduction of garrisons for the safety of the British -Isles, left forty thousand free to cross the German Ocean.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1692.</div> - -<p>Of these, twenty-three thousand were British, the -most important force that England had sent to the -Continent since the days of King Henry the Eighth. -The organisation was remarkably like that of the New -Model. William was, of course, commander-in-chief,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[359]</a></span> -and under him a general of horse and a general of foot, -with a due allowance of lieutenant-generals, major-generals, -and brigadiers. There is, however, no sign of -an officer in command of artillery or engineers, nor any -of a commissary in charge of the transport.<a name="FNanchor_262_262" id="FNanchor_262_262"></a><a href="#Footnote_262_262" class="fnanchor">[262]</a> The one -strangely conspicuous functionary is the Secretary-at-War, -who in this and the following campaigns for the -last time accompanied the Commander-in-Chief on active -service. But the most significant feature in the list of -the staff is the omission of the name of Marlborough. -Originally included among the generals for Flanders, he -had been struck off the roll, and dismissed from all -public employment, in disgrace, before the opening of the -campaign. Though this dismissal did not want justification, -it was perhaps of all William's blunders the greatest.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">10</span> - <span class="blka over">20</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">13</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>As usual, the French were beforehand with the -Allies in opening the campaign. They had already -broken the line of the defending fortresses by the capture -of Mons; they now designed to make the breach still -wider. All through the winter a vast siege-train was -collecting on the Scheldt and Meuse, with Vauban, -first of living engineers, in charge of it. In May all -was ready. Marshal Joyeuse, with one corps, was on -the Moselle, as in the previous year, to hold the -Brandenburgers in check. Boufflers, with eighteen -thousand men, lay on the right bank of the Meuse, near -Dinant; Luxemburg, with one hundred and fifteen -thousand more, stood in rear of the river Haine. On -the 20th of May, King Lewis in person reviewed the -grand army; on the 23rd it marched for Namur; and -on the 26th it had wound itself round two sides of the -town, while Boufflers, moving up from Dinant, completed -the circuit on the third side. Thus Namur was completely -invested; unless William could save it, the line -of the Sambre and one of the most important fortresses -on the Meuse were lost to the Allies.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[360]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 5.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>William, to do him justice, had strained every nerve -to spur his indolent allies to be first in the field. The -contingents, awaked by the sudden stroke at Namur, -came in fast to Brussels; but it was too late. The -French had destroyed all forage and supplies on the -direct route to Namur, and William's only way to the -city lay across the Mehaigne. Behind the Mehaigne -lay Luxemburg, the ablest of the French generals. -The best of luck was essential to William's success, and -instead of the best came the worst. Heavy rain -swelled the narrow stream into a broad flood, and the -building of bridges became impossible. There was -beautiful fencing, skilful feint, and more skilful parry, -between the two generals, but William could not get -under Luxemburg's guard. On the 5th of June, after -a discreditably short defence, Namur fell, almost before -William's eyes, into the hands of the French.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Then Luxemburg thought it time to draw the -enemy away from the vicinity of the captured city; so -recrossing the Sambre, and keeping Boufflers always -between himself and that river, he marched for the -Senne as if to threaten Brussels. William followed, as -in duty bound; and French and Allies pursued a -parallel course to the Senne, William on the north and -Luxemburg on the south. The 2nd of August found -both armies across the Senne, William at Hal, facing -west with the river in his rear, and Luxemburg some -five miles south of him with his right at Steenkirk, and -his centre between Hoves and Enghien, while Boufflers -lay at Manny St. Jean, seven miles in his rear.</p> - -<p>The terrible state of the roads owing to heavy rain -had induced Luxemburg to leave most of his artillery -at Mons, and as he had designed merely to tempt the -Allies away from Namur, the principal object left to him -was to take up a strong position wherein his worn and -harassed army could watch the enemy without fear of -attack. Such a position he thought that he had found -at Steenkirk.<a name="FNanchor_263_263" id="FNanchor_263_263"></a><a href="#Footnote_263_263" class="fnanchor">[263]</a> The country at this point is more<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[361]</a></span> -broken and rugged than is usual in Belgium. The -camp lay on high ground, with its right resting on the -river Sennette and its right front covered by a ravine, -which gradually fades away northward into a high -plateau of about a mile in extent. Beyond the ravine -was a network of wooded defiles, through which -Luxemburg seems to have hoped that no enemy could -fall upon him in force unawares. It so happened, however, -that one of his most useful spies was detected, in -his true character, in William's camp at Hal; and this -was an opportunity not to be lost. A pistol was held -at the spy's head, and he was ordered to write a letter -to Luxemburg, announcing that large bodies of the -enemy would be in motion next morning, but that -nothing more serious was contemplated than a foraging -expedition. This done, William laid his plans to -surprise his enemy on the morrow.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>An hour before daybreak the advanced guard of -William's army fell silently into its ranks, together with -a strong force of pioneers to clear the way for a march -through the woods. This force consisted of the First -Guards, the Royal Scots, the Twenty-first, Fitzpatrick's -regiment of Fusiliers, and two Danish regiments of -great reputation, the whole under the command of -the Duke of Würtemberg. Presently they moved away, -and as the sun rose the whole army followed them in -two columns, without sound of drum or trumpet, towards -Steenkirk. French patrols scouring the country in the -direction of Tubise saw the two long lines of scarlet -and white and blue wind away into the woods, and -reported what they had seen at headquarters; but -Luxemburg, sickly of constitution, and, in spite of his -occasional energy, indolent of temperament, rejoiced to -think that, as his spy had told him, it was no more -than a foraging party. Another patrol presently sent -in another message that a large force of cavalry was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[362]</a></span> -advancing towards the Sennette. Once more Luxemburg -lulled himself into security with the same comfort.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the allied army was trailing through -narrow defiles and cramped close ground, till at last it -emerged from the stifling woods into an open space. -Here it halted, as the straitness of the ground demanded, -in dense, heavy masses. But the advanced guard -moved on steadily till it reached the woods over against -Steenkirk, where Würtemberg disposed it for the -coming attack. On his left the Bois de Feuilly covered -a spur of the same plateau as that occupied by the -French right, and there he stationed the English -Guards and the two battalions of Danes. To the right -of these, but separated from them by a ravine, he placed -the three remaining British battalions in the Bois de -Zoulmont. His guns he posted, some between the two -woods, and the remainder on the right of his division. -These dispositions complete, the advanced party awaited -orders to open the attack.</p> - -<p>It was now eleven o'clock. Luxemburg had left -his bed and had ridden out to a commanding height -on his extreme right, when a third message was brought -to him that the Allies were certainly advancing in force. -He read it, and looking to his front, saw the red coats -of the Guards moving through the wood before him, -while beyond them he caught a glimpse of the dense -masses of the main body. Instantly he saw the danger, -and divined that William's attack was designed against -his right. His own camp was formed, according to -rule, with the cavalry on the wings; and there was -nothing in position to check the Allies but a single -brigade of infantry, famous under the name of Bourbonnois, -which was quartered in advance of the cavalry's -camp on his extreme right. Moreover, nothing was -ready, not a horse was bridled, not a man standing to -his arms. He despatched a messenger to summon -Boufflers to his aid, and in a few minutes was flying -through the camp with his staff, energetic but perfectly -self-possessed, to set his force in order of battle. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[363]</a></span> -two battalions of Bourbonnois fell in hastily before their -camp, with a battery of six guns before them. The -dragoons of the right wing dismounted and hastened to -seal up the space between Bourbonnois and the Sennette. -The horse of the right was collected, and some of it -sent off in hot speed to the left to bring the infantry up -behind them on their horses' croups. All along the -line the alarm was given, drums were beating, men -snatching hastily at their arms and falling into their -ranks ready to file away to the right. Such was the -haste, that there was no time to think of regimental -precedence, a very serious matter in the French army, -and each successive brigade hurried into the place -where it was most needed as it happened to come up.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Würtemberg's batteries had opened fire, -and a cunning officer of the Royal Scots was laying -his guns with admirable precision. French batteries -hastened into position to reply to them with as deadly -an aim, and for an hour and a half the rival guns -thundered against each other unceasingly. All this -time the French battalions kept massing themselves -thicker and thicker on Luxemburg's right, and the -front line was working with desperate haste, felling -trees, making breastworks, and lining the hedges and -copses while yet they might. But still Würtemberg's -division remained unsupported, and the precious minutes -flew fast. William, or his staff for him, had made a -serious blunder. Intent though he was on fighting a -battle with his infantry only, he had put all the cavalry -of one wing of his army before them on the march, -so that there was no room for the infantry to pass. -Fortunately six battalions had been intermixed with -the squadrons of this wing, and these were now with -some difficulty disentangled and sent forward. Cutts's, -Mackay's, Lauder's, and the Twenty-sixth formed up -on Würtemberg's right, with the Sixth and Twenty-fifth -in support; and at last, at half-past twelve, -Würtemberg gave the order to attack.</p> - -<p>His little force shook itself up and pressed forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_364" id="Page_364">[364]</a></span> -with eagerness. The Guards and Danes on the extreme -left, being on the same ridge with the enemy, were the -first that came into action. Pushing on under a terrible -fire at point-blank range from the French batteries, they -fell upon Bourbonnois and the dragoons, beat them -back, captured their guns, and turned them against -themselves. On their right the Royal Scots, Twenty-first, -and Fitzpatrick's plunged down into the ravine -into closer and more difficult ground, past copses and -hedges and thickets, until a single thick fence alone -divided them from the enemy. Through this they -fired at each other furiously for a time, till the Scots -burst through the fence with their Colonel at their head -and swept the French before them. Still further to the -right, the remaining regiments came also into action; -muzzle met muzzle among the branches, and the -slaughter was terrible. Young Angus, still not yet of -age, dropped dead at the head of the Cameronians, and -the veteran Mackay found the death which he had missed -at Killiecrankie. He had before the attack sent word -to General Count Solmes, that the contemplated assault -could lead only to waste of life, and had been answered -with the order to advance. "God's will be done," -he said calmly, and he was among the first that fell.</p> - -<p>Still the British, in spite of all losses, pressed -furiously on; and famous French regiments, spoiled -children of victory, wavered and gave way before them. -Bourbonnois, unable to face the Guards and Danes, -doubled its left battalion in rear of its right; Chartres, -which stood next to them, also gave way and doubled -itself in rear of its neighbour Orleans. A wide gap -was thus torn in the first French line, but not a -regiment of the second line would step into it. The -colonel of the brigade in rear of it ordered, entreated, -implored his men to come forward, but they would not -follow him into that terrible fire. Suddenly the wild -voice ceased, and the gesticulating figure fell in a heap -to the ground: the colonel had been shot dead, and the -gap was still unfilled.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[365]</a></span></p> - -<p>The first French line was broken; the second and -third were dismayed and paralysed: a little more and -the British would carry the French camp. Luxemburg -perceived that this was a moment when only his best -troops could save him. In the fourth line stood the -flower of his infantry, the seven battalions of French -and Swiss Guards. These were now ordered forward -to the gap; the princes of the blood placed themselves -at their head, and without firing a shot they charged -down the slope upon the British and Danes. The -English Guards, thinned to half their numbers, faced -the huge columns of the Swiss and stood up to them -undaunted, till by sheer weight they were slowly rolled -back. On their right the Royal Scots also were forced -back, fighting desperately from hedge to hedge and -contesting every inch of ground. Once, the French -made a dash through a fence and carried off one of -their colours. The Colonel, Sir Robert Douglas, -instantly turned back alone through the fence, recaptured -the colour, and was returning with it when he -was struck by a bullet. He flung the flag over to his -men and fell to the ground dead.</p> - -<p>Slowly the twelve battalions retired, still fighting -furiously at every step. So fierce had been their -onslaught that five lines of infantry backed by two -more of cavalry<a name="FNanchor_264_264" id="FNanchor_264_264"></a><a href="#Footnote_264_264" class="fnanchor">[264]</a> had hardly sufficed to stop them, and -with but a little support they might have won the day. -But that support was not forthcoming. Message after -message had been sent to the Dutch general, Count -Solmes, for reinforcements, but there came not a man. -The main body, as has been told, was all clubbed -together a mile and a half from the scene of action, -with the infantry in the rear; and Solmes, with almost -criminal folly, instead of endeavouring to extricate the -foot, had ordered forward the horse. William rectified -the error as soon as he could, but the correction led -to further delay and to the increased confusion which<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[366]</a></span> -is the inevitable result of contradictory orders. The -English infantry in rear, mad with impatience to rescue -their comrades, ran forward in disorder, probably with -loud curses on the Dutchman who had kept them back -so long; and some time was lost before they could be -re-formed. Discipline was evidently a little at fault. -Solmes lost both his head and his temper. "Damn the -English," he growled; "if they are so fond of fighting, -let them have a bellyful"; and he sent forward not a -man. Fortunately junior officers took matters into -their own hands; and it was time, for Boufflers had -now arrived on the field to throw additional weight into -the French scale. The English Horse-grenadiers, the -Fourth Dragoons, and a regiment of Dutch dragoons -rode forward and, dismounting, covered the retreat of -the Guards and Danes by a brilliant counter-attack. -The Buffs and Tenth advanced farther to the right, and -holding their fire till within point-blank range, poured -in a volley which gave time for the rest of Würtemberg's -division to withdraw. A demonstration against the -French left made a further diversion, and the shattered -fragments of the attacking force, grimed with sweat and -smoke, fell back to the open ground in rear of the -woods, repulsed but unbeaten, and furious with rage.</p> - -<p>William, it is said, could not repress a cry of anguish -when he saw them; but there was no time for emotion. -Some Dutch and Danish infantry was sent forward to -check further advance of the enemy, and preparations -were made for immediate retreat. Once again the -hardest of the work was entrusted to the British; and -when the columns were formed, the grenadiers of the -British regiments brought up the rear, halting and -turning about continually, until failing light put an end -to what was at worst but a half-hearted pursuit. The -retreat was conducted with admirable order; but it was -not until the chill, dead hour that precedes the dawn -that the Allies regained their camp, worn out with the -fatigue of four-and-twenty hours.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_366fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 366</em></p> -STEENKIRK<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">July 23<sup>rd</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">Aug. 3<sup>rd</sup></span> -</span> <span class="fs80">1692</span><br /> -</div></div> - -<p>The action was set down at the time as the severest<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[367]</a></span> -ever fought by infantry, and the losses on both sides -were very heavy. The Allies lost about three thousand -killed and the same number wounded, besides thirteen -hundred prisoners, nearly all of whom were wounded. -Ten guns were abandoned, the horses being too weary -to draw them; the English battalions lost two colours, -and the foreign three or four more. The British, -having borne the brunt of the action, suffered most -heavily of all, the Guards, Cutts's, and the Sixth being -terribly punished. The total French loss was about -equal to that of the Allies, but the list of the officers -that fell tells a more significant tale. On the side of -the Allies four hundred and fifty officers were killed -and wounded, no fewer than seventy lieutenants in the -ten battalions of Churchill's British brigade being killed -outright. The French on their side lost no less than -six hundred and twenty officers killed and wounded, a -noble testimony to their self-sacrifice, but sad evidence -of their difficulty in making their men stand. In truth, -with proper management William must have won a -brilliant victory; but he was a general by book and not -by instinct. Würtemberg's advanced guard could -almost have done the work by itself but for the mistake -of a long preliminary cannonade; his attack could -have been supported earlier but for the pedantry that -gave the horse precedence of the foot in the march to -the field; the foot could have pierced the French -position in a dozen different columns but for the -pedantry which caused it to be first deployed. Finally, -William's knowledge of the ground was imperfect, and -Solmes, his general of foot, was incompetent. The plan -was admirably designed and abominably executed. -Nevertheless, British troops have never fought a finer -action than Steenkirk. Luxemburg thought himself -lucky to have escaped destruction; his troops were -much shaken; and he crossed the Scheldt and marched -away to his winter-quarters as quietly as possible. So -ended the campaign of 1692.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[368]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BV_CHAPTER_III" id="BV_CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#BVCIII">CHAPTER III</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1692,<br /> -November.</div> - -<p class="noindent">In November the English Parliament met, heartened -indeed by the naval victory of La Hogue, but not a -little grieved over the failure of Steenkirk. Again, the -financial aspect was extremely discouraging; and Sir -Stephen Fox announced that there was not another -day's subsistence for the Army in the treasury. The -prevailing discontent found vent in furious denunciations -of Count Solmes, and a cry that English soldiers ought -to be commanded by English officers. The debate rose -high. The hardest of hard words were used about the -Dutch generals, and a vast deal of nonsense was talked -about military matters. There were, however, a great -number of officers in the House of Commons, many of -whom had been present at the action. With great -modesty and good sense they refused to join in the outcry -against the Dutch, and contrived so to compose matters -that the House committed itself to no very foolish -resolution. The votes for the Army were passed; and -no difficulty was made over the preparations for the -next campaign. Finally, two new regiments of cavalry -were raised—Lord Macclesfield's Horse, which was -disbanded twenty years later; and Conyngham's Irish -Dragoons, which still abides with us as the Eighth -(King's Royal Irish) Hussars.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1693.</div> - -<p>Meanwhile the French military system had suffered -an irreparable loss in the death of Louvois, the source -of woes unnumbered to France in the years that were -soon to come. Nevertheless, the traditions of his rule -were strong, and the French once more were first in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[369]</a></span> -the field, with, as usual, a vast siege-train massed on -the Meuse and on the Scheldt. But a late spring and -incessant rain delayed the beginning of operations till -the beginning of May, when Luxemburg assembled -seventy thousand men in rear of the Haine by Mons, -and Boufflers forty-eight thousand more on the Scheldt -at Tournay. The French king was with the troops in -person; and the original design was, as usual, to carry -on a war of sieges on the Meuse, Boufflers reducing -the fortresses while Luxemburg shielded him with a -covering army. Lewis, however, finding that the towns -which he had intended to invest were likely to make an -inconveniently stubborn defence, presently returned -home, and after detaching thirty thousand men to the -war in Germany, left Luxemburg to do as he would. -It had been better for William if the Grand Monarch -had remained in Flanders.</p> - -<p>The English king, on his side, assembled sixty -thousand men at Brussels as soon as the French began -to move, and led them with desperate haste to the -Senne, where he took up an impregnable position at -Park. Luxemburg marched up to a position over -against him, and then came one of those deadlocks -which were so common in those old campaigns. The -two armies stood looking at each other for a whole -month, neither venturing to move, neither daring to -attack, both ill-supplied, both discontented, and as a -natural consequence both losing scores, hundreds, and -even thousands of men through desertion.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 6.</span><br /> -July. -</div> - -<p>At last the position became insupportable, and on -the 6th of July Luxemburg moved eastward as if to -resume the original plan of operations on the Meuse. -William thereupon resolved to create a diversion by -detaching a force to attack the French lines of the -Scheldt and Lys, a project which was brilliantly executed -by Würtemberg, thanks not a little to three British -regiments, the Tenth, Argyll's, and Castleton's, which -formed part of his division. But meanwhile Luxemburg, -quite ignorant of the diversion, advanced to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[370]</a></span> -Meuse and laid siege to Huy, in the hope of forcing -William to come to its relief. He judged rightly. -William left his impregnable camp at Park and hurried -to the rescue. But he came too late, and Huy fell after -a trifling resistance. Luxemburg then made great -seeming preparations for the siege of Liège, and William, -trembling for the safety of that city and of Maestricht, -detached eight thousand men to reinforce those -garrisons, and then withdrew to the line of the Geete. -Luxemburg watched the whole proceeding with grim -delight. Würtemberg's success was no doubt annoying, -but William had weakened his army by detaching this -force to the Lys, and had been beguiled into weakening -it still further by reinforcing the garrisons on the -Meuse, which was exactly what he wanted. If he -could bring the Allies to action forthwith he could -reasonably hope for success.</p> - -<p>The ground occupied by William was a triangular -space enclosed between the Little Geete and a stream -called the Landen Beck, which joins it at Leuw. The -position was not without features of strength. The -camp, which faced almost due south, was pitched on a -gentle ridge rising out of a vast plain.<a name="FNanchor_265_265" id="FNanchor_265_265"></a><a href="#Footnote_265_265" class="fnanchor">[265]</a> This ridge -runs parallel to the Little Geete and has that river in -its rear. The left flank was protected by marshy -ground and by the Landen Beck itself, while the -villages of Neerlanden and Rumsdorp, one on either -side of the beck and the latter well forward on the plain, -offered the further security of advanced posts. The -right rested on a little stream which runs at right angles -to the Geete and joins it at Elixheim, and on the -villages of Laer and Neerwinden, which stand on its -banks. From Neerlanden on the left to Neerwinden -on the right the position measured close on four miles; -and to guard this front, to say nothing of strong<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[371]</a></span> -garrisons for the villages, William had little more than -fifty thousand men. Here then was one signal defect: -the front was too long to permit troops to be readily -moved from flank to flank, or to be withdrawn, without -serious risk, from the centre. But this was not all. -The depth of the position was less than half of its -frontage, and thus allowed no space for the action of -cavalry. This William ignored: he was afraid of the -French horse, and was anxious that the action should -be fought by infantry only. Finally, retreat was barred -by the Geete, which was unfordable and insufficiently -bridged, and therefore the forcing of the allied right -must inevitably drive the whole army into a pinfold, as -Leslie's had been driven at the battle of Dunbar.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">18</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Luxemburg, who knew every inch of the ground, -was now anxious only lest William should retire before -he could catch him. On the 28th of July, by a great -effort and a magnificent march, he brought the whole of -his army, eighty thousand strong, before William's -position. He was now sure of his game, but he need -not have been anxious, for William, charmed with the -notion of excluding the French cavalry from all share -in the action, was resolved to stand his ground. Many -officers urged him to cross the Geete while yet he might, -but he would not listen. Fifteen hundred men were -told off to entrench the open ground between Neerwinden -and Neerlanden. The hedges, mud-walls, and -natural defences of Neerwinden and Laer were improved -to the uttermost, and the ditches surrounding them were -enlarged. Till late into the night the King rode backward -and forward, ordering matters under his own eyes, -and after a few hours' rest began very early in the -morning to make his dispositions.</p> - -<p>The key of the position was the village of Neerwinden -with the adjoining hamlet of Laer, and here -accordingly he stationed the best of his troops. The -defence of Laer was entrusted to Brigadier Ramsey -with the Scots Brigade, namely, the Twenty-first, -Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Mackay's and Lauder's<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[372]</a></span> -regiments, reinforced by the Buffs and the Fourth Foot. -Between Laer and Neerwinden stood six battalions of -Brandenburgers, troops already of great and deserved -reputation, of whom we shall see more in the years -before us. Neerwinden itself was committed to the -Hanoverians, the Dutch Guards, a battalion of the First -and a battalion of the Scots Guards. Immediately -to the north or left of the village the entrenchment was -lined by the two remaining battalions of the First and -Scots Guards, the Coldstream Guards, a battalion of the -Royal Scots, and the Seventh Fusiliers. On the extreme -left of the position Neerlanden was held by the -other battalion of the Royal Scots, the Second Queen's, -and two Danish regiments, while Rumsdorp was -occupied by the Fourteenth, Sixteenth, Nineteenth, and -Collingwood's regiments. In a word, every important -post was committed to the British. The remainder of -the infantry, with one hundred guns, was ranged along -the entrenchment, and in rear of them stood the cavalry, -powerless to act outside the trench, and too much -cramped for space to manœuvre within it.</p> - -<p>Luxemburg also was early astir, and was amazed to -find how far the front of the position had been -strengthened during the night. His centre he formed -in eight lines over against the Allies' entrenchments -between Oberwinden and Landen, every line except -the second and fourth being composed of cavalry. For -the attack on Neerlanden and Rumsdorp he detailed -fifteen thousand foot and two thousand five hundred -dismounted dragoons. For the principal assault on -Neerwinden he told off eighteen thousand foot supported -by a reserve of two thousand more and by eight -thousand cavalry; while seventy guns were brought -into position to answer the artillery of the Allies.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">19</span> - <span class="blka over">29</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Shortly after sunrise William's cannon opened fire -against the heavy masses of the French centre; and at -eight o'clock Luxemburg moved the whole of his left -to the attack of Neerwinden. Six battalions, backed by -dragoons and cavalry, were directed against Laer, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_373" id="Page_373">[373]</a></span> -three columns, counting in all seven brigades, were -launched against Neerwinden. The centre column, -under the Duke of Berwick, was the first to come into -action. Withholding their fire till they reached the -village, the French carried the outer defences with a -rush, and then meeting the Hanoverians and the First -Guards, they began the fight in earnest. It was hedge-fighting, -as at Steenkirk, muzzle to muzzle and hand to -hand. Every step was contested; the combat swayed -backwards and forwards within the village; and the -carnage was frightful. The remaining French columns -came up, met with the like resistance, and made little -way. Fresh regiments were poured by the French into -the fight, and at last the First Guards, completely broken -by its losses, gave way. But it was only for a moment. -They rallied on the Scots Guards; the Dutch and -Hanoverians rallied behind them, and though the -French had been again reinforced, they resumed the -unequal fight, nine battalions against twenty-six, with -unshaken tenacity. At Laer, on the extreme right, the -fight was equally sharp. Ramsey for a time was driven -out of the village, and the French cavalry actually -forced its way into the Allies' position. There, however, -it was charged in flank by the Elector of Bavaria, -and driven out with great slaughter. Ramsey seized -the moment to rally his brigade. The French columns, -despite their success, still remained isolated and detached, -and presented no united front. The King placed himself -at the head of the Guards and Hanoverians, and -with one charge British, Dutch, and Germans fell upon -the Frenchmen and swept them out of both villages.</p> - -<p>The first attack on Neerwinden had failed, and a -similar attack on the allied left had been little more -successful. At Neerlanden the First and Second Foot -had successfully held their own against four French -battalions until reinforcements enabled them to drive -them back. At Rumsdorp the British, being but three -thousand against thirteen thousand, were pushed out of -the village, but being reinforced, recovered a part of it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_374" id="Page_374">[374]</a></span> -and stood successfully at bay. Luxemburg, however, -was not easily discouraged. The broken troops in the -left were rallied, fresh regiments were brought forward, -and a second effort was made to carry Neerwinden. -Again French impetuosity bore all before it, and again -the British and Germans, weakened and weary though -they were, rallied when all seemed lost, and hurled the -enemy back not merely repulsed but in confused and -disorderly retreat.</p> - -<p>On the failure of the second attack the majority of -the French officers urged Luxemburg to retire; but -the marshal was not to be turned from his purpose. -The fourteen thousand men of the Allies in Laer and -Neerwinden had lost more than a third of their numbers, -while he himself had still a considerable force of -infantry interlined with the cavalry in the centre. -Twelve thousand of them, including the French and -Swiss Guards, were now drawn off to the left for a third -attack. When they were clear of the cavalry, the -whole six lines of horse, which had stood heroically for -hours motionless under a heavy fire, moved forward at -a trot to the edge of the entrenchments;<a name="FNanchor_266_266" id="FNanchor_266_266"></a><a href="#Footnote_266_266" class="fnanchor">[266]</a> but the -demonstration, for such it seems to have been, cost them -dear, for they were very roughly handled and compelled -to retire. But now the French reinforcements -supported by the defeated battalions drew near, and a -third attack was delivered on Neerwinden. British -and Dutch still made a gallant fight, but the odds -against their weakened battalions were too great, and -ammunition began to fail. They fought on indomitably -till the last cartridge was expended before -they gave way, but they were forced back, and Neerwinden -was lost. Five French brigades then assailed -the central entrenchment at its junction with Neerwinden, -where stood the Coldstream Guards and the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_375" id="Page_375">[375]</a></span> -Seventh Fusiliers. Wholly unmoved by the overwhelming -numbers in their front and the fire from -Neerwinden on their flank, the two regiments stood -firm and drove their assailants back over the breastwork. -Even when the French Household Cavalry came spurring -through Neerwinden and fell upon their flank they -fought on undismayed, and the Coldstreamers not only -repelled the charge but captured a colour.</p> - -<p>Such fighting, however, could not continue for long. -William, on observing Luxemburg's preparations for -the final assault, had ordered nine battalions from his -left to reinforce his right. These never reached their -destination. The Marquis of Feuquières, an officer -even more celebrated for his acuteness as a military -critic than for skill in the field, watched them as they -moved and suddenly led his cavalry forward to the -weakest point of the entrenchment. The battalions -hesitated, halted, and then turned about to meet this -new danger, but too late to save the forcing of the -entrenchment. The battle was now virtually over. -Neerwinden was carried, Ramsey after a superb defence -had been driven out of Laer, the Brandenburgers had -perforce retreated with him, the infantry that lined -the centre of the entrenchment had forsaken it, and the -French cavalry was pouring in and cutting down the -fugitives by scores. William, who had galloped away -in desperation to the left, now returned at headlong -speed with six regiments of English cavalry,<a name="FNanchor_267_267" id="FNanchor_267_267"></a><a href="#Footnote_267_267" class="fnanchor">[267]</a> which -delivered charge after charge with splendid gallantry, -to cover the retreat of the foot. On the left Tolmach -and Bellasys by great exertion brought off their infantry -in good order, but on the right the confusion was -terrible. The rout was complete, the few bridges were -choked by a heaving mass of guns, waggons, pack-animals, -and men, and thousands of fugitives were cut -down, drowned, or trampled to death. William did all -that a gallant man could do to save the day, but in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_376" id="Page_376">[376]</a></span> -vain. His troops had done heroic things to redeem his -bad generalship; and against any living man but Marlborough -or Luxemburg they would probably have held -their own. It was the general not the soldiers that failed.</p> - -<p>The losses on both sides were very severe. That -of the French was about eight thousand men; that -of the Allies about twelve thousand, killed, wounded, -and prisoners, and among the dead was Count Solmes, -the hated Solmes of Steenkirk. The nineteen British -battalions present lost one hundred and thirty-five -officers killed, wounded, and taken. The French -captured eighty guns and a vast quantity of colours, -but the Allies, although beaten, could also show fifty-six -French flags. And, indeed, though Luxemburg won, -and deserved to win, a great victory, yet the action was -not such as to make the allied troops afraid to meet -the French. They had stood up, fifty thousand against -eighty thousand, and if they were beaten they had at -any rate dismayed every Frenchman on the field but -Luxemburg. In another ten years their turn was to -come, and they were to take a part of their revenge -on the very ground over which many of them had fled.</p> - -<p>The campaign closed with the surrender of Charleroi, -and the gain by the French of the whole line of the -Sambre. William came home to meet the House of -Commons and recommend an augmentation of the Army -by eight regiments of horse, four of dragoons, and -twenty-five of foot. The House reduced this list by the -whole of the regiments of horse, and fifteen of foot, but -even so it brought the total establishment up to eighty-three -thousand men. There is, however, but one new -regiment of which note need be taken in the campaign of -1694, namely the Seventh Dragoons, now known as the -Seventh Hussars, which, raised in 1689-90 in Scotland, -now for the first time took its place on the English establishment -and its turn of service in the war of Flanders.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_376fp.jpg" width="450" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 376</em></p> -LANDEN<br /> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">19<sup>th</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">29<sup>th</sup></span> -</span> 1693<br /> -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote">1694.</div> - -<p>I shall not dwell on the campaign of 1694, which is -memorable only for a marvellous march by which -Luxemburg upset William's entire plan of campaign.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_377" id="Page_377">[377]</a></span> -Nor shall I speak at length of the abortive descent on -Brest, which is remembered mainly for the indelible -stain which it has left on the memory of Marlborough. -It is only necessary to say that the French, by Marlborough's -information, though not on Marlborough's -information only, had full warning of an expedition -which had been planned as a surprise, and that Tolmach,<a name="FNanchor_268_268" id="FNanchor_268_268"></a><a href="#Footnote_268_268" class="fnanchor">[268]</a> -who was in command, unfortunately though most -pardonably lacked the moral courage to abandon an -attack which, unless executed as a surprise, was hopeless -of success. He was repulsed with heavy loss, and died -of wounds received in the action, a hard fate for a good -soldier and a gallant man. But it is unjust to lay his -death at Marlborough's door. For the failure of the -expedition Marlborough was undoubtedly responsible, -and that is quite bad enough; but Tolmach alone was -to blame for attempting an enterprise which he knew -to be hopeless. Marlborough cannot have calculated -that he would deliberately essay to do impossibilities -and perish in the effort, so cannot be held guilty of -poor Tolmach's blunders.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1695.<br />January.</div> - -<p>Before the new campaign could be opened there had -come changes of vital importance to France. The vast -expense of the war had told heavily on the country, and -the King's ministers were at their wit's end to raise -money. Moreover, the War Department had deteriorated -rapidly since the death of Louvois; and to this -misfortune was now added the death of Luxemburg, -a loss which was absolutely irreparable. Lastly, with -the object of maintaining the position which they had -won on the Sambre, the French had extended their -system of fortified lines from Namur to the sea. Works -so important could not be left unguarded, so that a -considerable force was locked up behind these entrenchments, -and was for all offensive purposes useless. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_378" id="Page_378">[378]</a></span> -shall see before long how a really great commander -could laugh at these lines, and how in consequence it -became an open question whether they were not rather -an encumbrance than an advantage. The subject is -one which is still of interest; and it is remarkable that -the French still seem to cling to their old principles -in the works which they have constructed for defence -against a German invasion.</p> - -<p>His enemy being practically restricted to the -defensive, William did not neglect the opportunity of -initiating aggressive operations. Masking his design -by a series of feints, he marched swiftly to the Meuse -and invested Namur. This fortress, more famous -through its connection with the immortal Uncle Toby -even than as the masterpiece of Cohorn carried to yet -higher perfection by Vauban, stands at the junction of -the Sambre and the Meuse, the citadel lying in the -angle between the two rivers, and the town with its -defences on the left bank of the Meuse. To the -northward of the town outworks had been thrown up -on the heights of Bouge by both of these famous -engineers; and it was against these outworks that -William directed his first attack.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_378fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 378</em></p> -NAMUR<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">June 26<sup>th</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">July 6<sup>th</sup></span> -</span> <span class="fs80">1695</span><br /> -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 3.</span><br /> - -June 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Ground was broken on the 3rd of July, and three -days later an assault was delivered on the lines of Bouge. -As usual, the hardest of the work was given to the -British, and the post of greatest danger was made over, -as their high reputation demanded, to the Brigade of -Guards. On this occasion the Guards surpassed themselves -alike by the coolness of their valour and by the -fire of their attack. They marched under a heavy fire -up to the French palisades, thrust their muskets between -them, poured in one terrible volley, the first shot that -they had yet fired, and charged forthwith. In spite of -a stout resistance, they swept the French out of the -first work, pursued them to the second, swept them out -of that, and gathering impetus with success, drove them -from stronghold to stronghold, far beyond the original -design of the engineers, and actually to the gates of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_379" id="Page_379">[379]</a></span> -town. In another quarter the Royal Scots and the -Seventh Fusiliers gained not less brilliant success; and -in fact it was the most creditable action that William -had fought during the whole war. It cost the Allies -two thousand men killed and wounded, the three -battalions of Guards alone losing thirty-two officers. -The British were to fight many such bloody combats -during the next twenty years—combats forgotten since -they were merely incidents in the history of a siege, and -so frequent that they were hardly chronicled and are not -to be restored to memory now. I mention this, the first -of such actions, only as a type of many more to come.</p> - -<p>The outworks captured, the trenches were opened -against the town itself, and the next assault was directed -against the counterguard of St. Nicholas gate. This -again was carried by the British, with a loss of eight -hundred men. Then came the famous attack on the -counterscarp before the gate itself, where Captain -Shandy received his memorable wound. This gave -William the possession of the town. Then came -the siege of the citadel, wherein the British had -the honour of marching to the assault over half a mile -of open ground, a trial which proved too much even -for them. Nevertheless, it was they who eventually -stormed a breach from which another of the assaulting -columns had been repulsed, and ensured the surrender of -the citadel a few days later. For their service on this -occasion the Eighteenth Foot were made the Royal Irish; -and a Latin inscription on their colours still records -that this was the reward of their valour at Namur.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1697.</div> - -<p>Thus William on his return to England could for -the first time show his Parliament a solid success due -to the British red-coats; and the House of Commons -gladly voted once more a total force of eighty-seven -thousand men. But the war need be followed no further. -The campaign of 1696 was interrupted by a futile -attempt of the French to invade England, and in 1697 -France, reduced to utter exhaustion, gladly concluded -the Peace of Ryswick. So ended, not without honour,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_380" id="Page_380">[380]</a></span> -the first stage of the great conflict with King Lewis the -Fourteenth. The position of the two protagonists, -England and France, was not wholly unlike that which -they occupied a century later at the Peace of Amiens. -The British, though they had not reaped great victories, -had made their presence felt, and terribly felt, on the -battlefield; and as the French in the Peninsula remembered -that the British had fought them with a -tenacity which they had not found in other nations, not -only in Egypt but even earlier at Tournay and Lincelles, -so, too, after Blenheim and Ramillies they looked back -to the furious attack at Steenkirk and the indomitable -defence of Neerwinden. "Without the concurrence of -the valour and power of England," said William to the -Parliament at the close of 1695, "it were impossible to -put a stop to the ambition and greatness of France." -So it was then, so it was a century later, and so it will -be again, for though none know better the superlative -qualities of the French as a fighting people, yet the -English are the one nation that has never been afraid to -meet them. With the Peace of Ryswick the 'prentice -years of the standing Army are ended, and within five -years the old spirit, which has carried it through -the bitter schooling under King William, will break -forth with overwhelming power under the guiding -genius of Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The leading authority for William's campaigns on -the English side is D'Auvergne, and on the French side the compilation, -with its superb series of maps, by Beaurain. Supplementary -on one side are Tindal's History, Carleton's Memoirs, and Sterne's -<cite>Tristram Shandy</cite>; and on the other the <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mémoires</cite> of Berwick and St. -Simon, Quincy's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire Militaire de Louis XIV.</cite>, and in particular -the <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mémoires</cite> of Feuquières. Many details as to Steenkirk, in -particular as to the casualties, are drawn from <cite>Present State of -Europe, or Monthly Mercury</cite>, August 1692; and as to Landen from -the official relation of the battle, published by authority, 1693. -Beautiful plans of both actions are in Beaurain, rougher plans in -Quincy and Feuquières. All details as to the establishment voted -are from the Journals of the House of Commons. Very elaborate -details of the operations are given in Colonel Clifford Walton's -<cite>History of the British Standing Army</cite>.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_381" id="Page_381">[381]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BV_CHAPTER_IV" id="BV_CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#BVCIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1697.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Peace having been signed, there arose the momentous -question, what should be done with the Army. To -understand aright the attitude of Parliament towards it, -a brief sketch must be given of its relations therewith -apart from the mere question of voting supplies. It -has been seen that the scandals of Schomberg's first -campaign had opened the eyes of Parliament to the -iniquities that were then going forward; but, though a -scape-goat had been made of the Commissary-General, -the matter had not been sifted to the bottom.</p> - -<p>The primary and principal difficulty was, of course, -lack of money. In the case of the Irish war this had -been overcome by grants of the Irish estates which had -been forfeited after the conquest, the mere expectation -and hope of which had sufficed to set the minds of -many creditors at rest. For the war in Flanders, however, -there was no such resource. The treasury was -empty, and the funds voted by Parliament were so -remote that they could only be assigned to creditors in -security for payment at some future time. Many of -these creditors, however, were tradesmen who could not -afford to wait until tallies should be issued in course of -payment, and were therefore compelled to dispose of -these securities at a ruinous discount. The mischief -naturally did not end there. Capitalists soon discovered -that to buy tallies at huge discount was a much more -profitable business than to lend money direct to the -State at the rate of seven per cent, and accordingly -devoted all their money to it. Thus the "tally-traffic,"<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_382" id="Page_382">[382]</a></span> -as it was called, grew so formidable that the Lord -Treasurer, Godolphin, was obliged secretly to offer -larger interest for loans than was authorised by -Parliament.<a name="FNanchor_269_269" id="FNanchor_269_269"></a><a href="#Footnote_269_269" class="fnanchor">[269]</a></p> - -<p>The result of this financial confusion was that the -close of every campaign found the Army in Flanders in -a miserable state, owing to the exhaustion of its money -and its credit. When it is remembered that a large -proportion of the pay of officers and men was kept on -principle one year in arrear, that they had to pay discount -for anticipation of its payment at the best of -times, and that to this charge was now added the further -discount on the tallies of the State, it will be seen that -their loss became very serious. The incessant difficulties -of all ranks from want of their pay and arrears -gave rise to much discontent and frequently hampered -active operations. Officers were obliged to sell the -horses, which they had bought for purposes of transport, -before the campaign opened, and were very often driven -to supply not only themselves but their men out of their -own pockets.</p> - -<p>Of all this it is probable that the House of Commons -knew little, and as in 1691 it had appointed Commissioners -to inquire into the public accounts, it -doubtless awaited their report before taking any active -step. In 1694, however, the House was rudely -surprised by certain revelations respecting a notorious -crimp of London, named Tooley, who went so far in -his zeal to procure recruits that he not only forced the -King's shilling on them when they were drunk—a practice -which was common in France and has not long been -extinct in England—but resorted to kidnapping pure -and simple.<a name="FNanchor_270_270" id="FNanchor_270_270"></a><a href="#Footnote_270_270" class="fnanchor">[270]</a> Here was one gross infringement of the -liberty of the subject; and this scandal was quickly -followed by another. At the end of 1694 there came a -petition from the inhabitants of Royston, complaining -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_383" id="Page_383">[383]</a></span>that the troops quartered there were exacting subsistence -from the townsfolk on a fixed scale. Inquiry proved -the truth of the allegation: the troops were unpaid, -and had taken their own measures to save themselves -from starvation. Almost simultaneously the Commissioners -of Public Accounts reported that their -inquiries had been baffled by the refusal of several -regimental agents to show their books; and they gave -at the same time an unvarnished relation of the shameful -extortion practised by agents towards officers and men, -and of one case of glaring misconduct on the part of a -colonel. The House brought the recalcitrant agents -to their senses by committing them to custody, and -addressed the King with an earnest prayer that he -would put a stop to these iniquities.<a name="FNanchor_271_271" id="FNanchor_271_271"></a><a href="#Footnote_271_271" class="fnanchor">[271]</a> The King -accordingly cashiered the colonel<a name="FNanchor_272_272" id="FNanchor_272_272"></a><a href="#Footnote_272_272" class="fnanchor">[272]</a> and promised -amendment, which promise was discharged so far as -orders could fulfil it. But the case demanded not new -orders but execution of existing regulations.</p> - -<p>There, however, the matter rested for the time, the -Commons being occupied with the task of purging -corruption from their own body, which was very -inadequately performed by the expulsion of the Speaker. -Nevertheless, to the end of the war fresh petitions -continued to come in from towns, from widows of -officers, and from private soldiers, all complaining of the -dishonesty of officers and of agents; and the House -thus established itself as in some sort a mediator between -officers and men. Such a mediator, it must be confessed, -was but too sadly needed, but in the interests of -discipline it was a misfortune that the House should -ever have accepted the position. The immediate result -was to overwhelm the Commons with a vast amount of -business which they were incompetent to transact, and -to suggest an easy remedy for soldiers' grievances in -the abolition of all soldiers.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Dec. 11.</div> - -<p>William was not unaware of the danger, and had -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_384" id="Page_384">[384]</a></span>taken measures to meet it. Before meeting Parliament -in December 1697, he had already disbanded ten regiments, -and having thrown this sop to English prejudice, -he delivered it as his opinion in his speech from the -throne that England could not be safe without a land-force. -But agitators and pamphleteers had been before -him. The old howl of "No Standing Army" had -been raised, and reams of puerile and pedantic nonsense -had been written to prove that the militia was amply -sufficient for England's needs. The arguments on the -other side were stated with consummate ability by Lord -Somers; but the old cry was far too pleasant in the -ears of the House to be easily silenced. Another reason -which may well have swayed the House was that, -though his English soldiers had fought for William as -no other troops in the world, he had never succeeded -in winning a victory. Be that as it may, within eight -days the House, on the motion of Robert Harley, -resolved that all forces raised since September 1680 -should be disbanded.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Dec. 13.<br />1698.</div> - -<p>The resolution, in the existing condition of -European affairs, was a piece of malignant folly; but -the accounts submitted two days later by the Paymaster-General -probably did much to confirm it. The arrears -of pay due to the Army since April 1692 amounted to -twelve hundred thousand pounds, and the arrears of -subsistence to a million more, while yet another hundred -thousand was due to regiments on their transfer from -the Irish to the English establishment.<a name="FNanchor_273_273" id="FNanchor_273_273"></a><a href="#Footnote_273_273" class="fnanchor">[273]</a> To meet this -debt there was eighty thousand pounds in tallies which -no one would discount at any price, while to make -matters worse, taxation voted by the House to produce -three millions and a half had brought no more than -two millions into the treasury. Attempts were made -in January 1698 to rescind the resolution, but in vain. -The Government yielded, and after struggling hard to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_385" id="Page_385">[385]</a></span> -obtain four hundred thousand pounds, was fain to -accept fifty thousand pounds less than that sum for the -service of the Army in the ensuing year.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May 28.</div> - -<p>The effect of the vote was immediate. The enemies -of the Army were exultant, and heaped abuse and insult -on the soldiers who for five years had spent their blood -and their strength for a people that had not paid them -so much as their just wages. All William's firmness -was needed to restrain the exasperated officers from -wreaking summary vengeance on the most malignant of -these slanderers. It was the old story. Men who had -grown fat on the "tally-traffic" could find nothing -better than bad words for the poor broken lieutenant -who borrowed eighteenpence from a comrade to buy a -new scabbard for his sword, being ashamed to own that -he wanted a dinner.<a name="FNanchor_274_274" id="FNanchor_274_274"></a><a href="#Footnote_274_274" class="fnanchor">[274]</a> The distress in the Army soon -became acute. Petitions poured in from the disbanded -men for arrears, arrears, arrears. Bad soldiers tried to -wreak a grudge against good officers, good soldiers to -obtain justice from bad officers; all military men of -whatever rank complained loudly of the agents.<a name="FNanchor_275_275" id="FNanchor_275_275"></a><a href="#Footnote_275_275" class="fnanchor">[275]</a> Then -came unpleasant reminders that the expenses of the -Irish war were not yet paid. Colonel Mitchelburne, -the heroic defender of Londonderry, claimed, -and justly claimed, fifteen hundred pounds which had -been owing to him since 1690.<a name="FNanchor_276_276" id="FNanchor_276_276"></a><a href="#Footnote_276_276" class="fnanchor">[276]</a> The House strove -vainly to stem the torrent by voting a gratuity of a -fortnight's subsistence to every man, and half-pay as a -retaining fee to every officer, until he should be paid in -full. The claims of men and officers continued to flow -in, and at last the Commons addressed the King to -appoint persons unconnected with the Army to examine -and redress just grievances, and to punish men who -complained without cause.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_386" id="Page_386">[386]</a></span></p> - -<p>On the 7th of July the House was delivered from -further importunities by a dissolution; and William -returned to his native Holland. Before his departure -he left certain instructions with his ministers concerning -the Army. The actual number of soldiers to be -maintained was not mentioned in the Act of Parliament, -but was assumed, from the proportion of money granted, -to be ten thousand men. William's orders were to -keep sixteen thousand men, for he still had hopes that -Parliament might reconsider the hasty votes of the -previous session.<a name="FNanchor_277_277" id="FNanchor_277_277"></a><a href="#Footnote_277_277" class="fnanchor">[277]</a> These expectations were not realised. -The clamour against the Army had been strengthened -by a revival of the old outcry against the Dutch, and -against the grant of crown-lands in general, and to -Dutchmen in particular. Moreover, the House had no -longer the pressure of the war to unite it in useful and -patriotic work. The inevitable reaction of peace after -long hostilities was in full vigour. All the selfishness, -the prejudice, and the conceit that had been restrained in -the face of great national peril was now let loose; and -the House, with a vague idea that there were many things -to be done, but with no clear perception what these things -might be, was ripe for any description of mischief.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Dec. 12.<br />Dec. 17.</div> - -<p>William's speech was tactful enough. Expressing -it as his opinion that, if England was to hold her place -in Europe, she must be secure from attack, he left the -House to decide what land-force should be maintained, -and only begged that, for its own honour, it would -provide for payment of the debts incurred during the -war. The speech was not ill-received; and William, -despite the warnings of his ministers, was sanguine that -all was well. Five days later a return of the troops -was presented to the House, showing thirty thousand -men divided equally between the English and Irish -establishments. Then Harley, the mover of the foolish -resolution of the previous year, proposed that the -English establishment should be fixed at seven thousand -men, all of them to be British subjects. This was confirmed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_387" id="Page_387">[387]</a></span> -by the House on the following day, together -with an Irish establishment of twelve thousand men to -be maintained at the expense of the sister island. The -words of the Act that embodied this decision were -peremptory; it declared that on the 26th March 1699 -all regiments, saving certain to be excepted by proclamation, -were actually disbanded. Finally, the Mutiny -Act, which had expired in April 1698, was not renewed -by the House, so that even in this pittance of an Army -the officers had no powers of enforcing discipline.</p> - -<p>There is no need to dilate further on this resolution, -which for three years placed England practically at the -mercy of France. It was an act of criminal imbecility, -the most mischievous work of the most mischievous -Parliament that has ever sat at Westminster. William -was so deeply chagrined that he was only with difficulty -dissuaded from abdication of the throne. Apart from -the madness of such wholesale reduction of the Army, -the clause restricting the nationality of the seven -thousand was directly aimed at the King's favourite -regiment, the Dutch Blue Guards. He submitted, -however, with dignity enough, merely warning the -House that he disclaimed all responsibility for any -disaster that might follow. Just at that moment came -a rare opportunity for undoing in part the evil work of -the Commons. The death of the Electoral Prince of -Bavaria brought the question of the succession to the -Spanish throne to an acute stage; and the occasion was -utilised to ask Parliament for the grant of a larger -force. William, however, with an unwisdom which -even his loyalty to his faithful troops cannot excuse, -pleaded as a personal favour for the retention of his -Dutch Guards. The request preferred on such grounds -was refused, and a great opportunity was lost.</p> - -<p>Nothing, therefore, remained but to make the most of -the slender force that was authorised by the Act of -Disbandment. The ministers with great adroitness -contrived to extort from the Commons an additional -three thousand men under the name of marines, for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_388" id="Page_388">[388]</a></span> -collective wisdom of the nation will often give under -one name what it refuses under another; but as regards -the Army proper, the only expedient was to preserve -the skeleton of a larger force. Thus finally was -established the wasteful and extravagant system which -has been followed even to the present day. The seven -thousand troops for England were distributed into -nineteen, and the twelve thousand for Ireland into -twenty-six, distinct corps, with an average proportion -of one officer to ten men.<a name="FNanchor_278_278" id="FNanchor_278_278"></a><a href="#Footnote_278_278" class="fnanchor">[278]</a> In addition to these, three -corps of cavalry and seven of infantry were maintained -in Scotland, while the Seventh Fusiliers were retained -apparently in the Dutch service, or at any rate in -Holland. The Artillery was specially reserved on a -new footing by the name of the regimental train, -first germ of the Royal Regiment that was to come,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_389" id="Page_389">[389]</a></span> -and contained four companies, each of thirty men, with -the usual proportion of an officer to every ten men. -To these were added ten officers of engineers.<a name="FNanchor_279_279" id="FNanchor_279_279"></a><a href="#Footnote_279_279" class="fnanchor">[279]</a> Within -the next two years the principle of a skeleton army was -pushed still further, and in each of the regiments of -dragoons thirty-three officers and thirty sergeants and -corporals looked minutely to the training of two hundred -and sixteen men. Large numbers of officers, who were -retained for emergencies by the allowance of half-pay, -also drew heavily on the niggardly funds granted by -the Commons; and it was a current jest of the time -that the English Army was an army of officers.<a name="FNanchor_280_280" id="FNanchor_280_280"></a><a href="#Footnote_280_280" class="fnanchor">[280]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1699.<br />November.</div> - -<p>The sins of Parliament soon found it out. Before -it had sat a month petitions from officers and men -began to pour in, as during the previous sessions, with -claims for arrears and with complaints of all kinds. As -the Commons were the fountain of pay, it was natural -and right that the clamour for wages should be directed -at them; but the fashion had been set for soldiers to -resort to them for redress of all grievances, and it -would seem that men used the petition to Parliament -as a means of openly threatening their officers.<a name="FNanchor_281_281" id="FNanchor_281_281"></a><a href="#Footnote_281_281" class="fnanchor">[281]</a> Moreover, -by some extraordinary blunder the grant of half-pay -had been limited to such officers only as at the -time of disbandment were serving in English regiments. -This regulation naturally caused loud outcry from -officers who, after long service in English regiments, -had been transferred to Scottish corps on promotion. -A prorogation at the end of April brought relief to the -Commons for a time; but no sooner was it reassembled -than the petitions streamed in with redoubled volume. -The House thus found itself converted almost into a -military tribunal. Appeal was made to it on sundry -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_390" id="Page_390">[390]</a></span>points that were purely of military discipline, and -private soldiers sought to further their complaints by -alleging that their officers had spoken disrespectfully -and disdainfully of the House itself.<a name="FNanchor_282_282" id="FNanchor_282_282"></a><a href="#Footnote_282_282" class="fnanchor">[282]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1700.</div> - -<p>To do them justice, the Commons were woefully -embarrassed by these multitudinous petitions. Once -they interfered actively by taking up the cause of an -officer, whom they knew, or should have known, to be -a bad character,<a name="FNanchor_283_283" id="FNanchor_283_283"></a><a href="#Footnote_283_283" class="fnanchor">[283]</a> and threatened his colonel with their -vengeance unless the wrongs of the supposed sufferer -were redressed. The reply of the colonel was so disconcerting -as effectually to discourage further meddling -of this kind. Nevertheless the grievances urged by the -men must many of them have been just, while some of -the allegations brought forward were most scandalous. -In one of the disbanded regiments, Colonel Leigh's, it -was roundly asserted that the officers had made all the -men drunk, and then caused them to sign receipts in -full for pay which had not been delivered to them.<a name="FNanchor_284_284" id="FNanchor_284_284"></a><a href="#Footnote_284_284" class="fnanchor">[284]</a> -Finally, in despair, a bill was introduced to erect a Court -of Judicature to decide between officers and men. This -measure, however, was speedily dropped, and the more -prudent course was adopted of appointing Commissioners -to inquire into the debt due to the Army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">April 11.</div> - -<p>But meanwhile another question had been raised, -which brought matters into still greater confusion. A -parliamentary inquiry as to the disposition of the Irish -forfeited estates had revealed the fact that William had -granted large shares of the same, not only in reward and -compensation to deserving officers, which was just and -right, but also to his discarded mistress, Elizabeth -Villiers, and to his Dutch favourites, Portland and -Albemarle. The King's conduct herein was the less -defensible, inasmuch as the Irish government had -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_391" id="Page_391">[391]</a></span>counted upon these estates to defray the expenses, still -unpaid, of the Irish war, and had thrown up its hands -in despair when it found that this resource was to be -withheld.<a name="FNanchor_285_285" id="FNanchor_285_285"></a><a href="#Footnote_285_285" class="fnanchor">[285]</a> The House of Commons took up the -question viciously, passed a sweeping and shameful bill -resuming all property that had belonged to the Crown -at the accession of James the Second, tacked it to a -money-bill, and sent it up to the Lords. The Upper -House, to save a revolution, yielded, after much protest, -and passed the bill; and then none too soon William -sent this most mischievous House of Commons about -its business.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1701,<br /> -February 14.</div> - -<p>It was not until early in the following year that the -King met the Parliament, more distinctly even than the -last a Tory Parliament, which had been elected in the -autumn. Once more he was obliged to remind it that, -amid the all-important questions of the English succession -and the Spanish succession, provision should be -made for paying the debts incurred through the war. -There could be no doubt about these debts, for the -petitions which had formerly dropped in by scores, now, -in consequence of the interference with the Irish grants, -flowed in by hundreds. The Commons had flattered -themselves that they had disposed of this disagreeable -business by their appointment of commissioners, but -they found that, owing to their own faulty instructions, -the commissioners were powerless to deal with many -of the cases presented to them. The complaints of -officers against the Government became almost as -numerous as those of men against officers, and every -day came fresh evidence of confusion of military -business worse confounded by the imbecility and -mismanagement of the House.<a name="FNanchor_286_286" id="FNanchor_286_286"></a><a href="#Footnote_286_286" class="fnanchor">[286]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_392" id="Page_392">[392]</a></span></p> - -<p>Where the matter would have ended, and whether it -might not have led ultimately to a dangerous military -riot, it is difficult to say. All, however, was cut short by -the despatch of English troops to the Low Countries, -and the evident approach of war; for the prospect of -employment for every disbanded soldier and reduced -officer sufficed in itself to quiet a movement which -might easily have become formidable. Two more -sessions such as those of 1698 and 1699 might have -brought about a repetition of Cromwell's famous scene -with the Long Parliament.</p> - -<p>It is, however, impossible to leave these few stormy -years of peace without taking notice of the apparent -helplessness of the military administration. The War -Office was in truth in a state of transition. The -Secretary-at-War was still so exclusively the secretary -to the Commander-in-Chief that he accompanied him -on his campaigns; and it is difficult to say with whom, -except with the Commander-in-Chief, rested the responsibility -for the government of the Army. No ordinary -standard should be used in judging of a man who was -confronted with so many difficulties as King William -the Third. His weak frame, the vast burden of his -work in the department of foreign affairs, his failure -to understand and his inability to sympathise with -the English character, all these causes conspired to -make the task of governing England and of commanding -her Army too heavy for him. Still, making all<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_393" id="Page_393">[393]</a></span> -possible allowance, and accepting as true Sterne's pictures -of his popularity among the soldiers, it is difficult -wholly to acquit him of blame for the misconduct of -the military administration. His mind in truth was -hardly well-suited for administrative detail. He could -handle a great diplomatic combination with consummate -skill and address, even as he could sketch the broad -features of a movement or of a campaign; but he was -a statesman rather than an administrator, a strategist -rather than a general. In war his impatience guided -him to a succession of crushing defeats, in peace his -contempt for detail made his period of the command-in-chief -one of the worst in our history. That, amid -the corruption which he found in England, he should -have despaired of finding an honest man is pardonable -enough, but he took no pains to cure that corruption, -preferring rather to conduct his business through his -Dutch favourites than through the English official -channels. Finally, his behaviour in the matter of the -Irish forfeitures suggests that he was not averse to -jobbery himself, nor over-severe towards the same -weakness in others; and in truth the Dutch have no -good reputation in the matter of corruption. Stern, -hard, and cold, he had little feeling for England and -Englishmen except as ministers to that hostility for -France which was his ruling passion. Probably he felt -more kindly towards the English soldier than towards -any other Englishman; the iron nature melted at the -sight of the shattered battalions at Steenkirk, and, if we -are to believe Burnet, the cold heart warmed sufficiently -towards the red-coat to prompt him to relieve the -starving men, so shamefully neglected by Parliament, -out of his own pocket. On the whole, it may be said -that no commander was ever so well served by British -troops, nor requited that service, whatever his good -intent, so unworthily and so ill.</p> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_394" id="Page_394">[394]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_395" id="Page_395">[395]</a></span></p> -<h2><a name="BOOK_VI" id="BOOK_VI">BOOK VI</a></h2> -<p class="p6" /> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_396" id="Page_396">[396]</a></span><br /> - <span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_397" id="Page_397">[397]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_I" id="BVI_CHAPTER_I"></a><a href="#BVICI">CHAPTER I</a></h3> - </div> - -<p class="noindent">A European quarrel over the succession to the -Spanish throne,<a name="FNanchor_287_287" id="FNanchor_287_287"></a><a href="#Footnote_287_287" class="fnanchor">[287]</a> on the death of the imbecile King -Charles the Second, had long been foreseen by William, -and had been provided against, as he hoped, by a -Partition Treaty in the year 1698. The arrangement -then made had been upset by the death of the -Electoral Prince of Bavaria, and had been superseded -by a second Partition Treaty in March 1700. In -November of the same year King Charles the Second -died, leaving a will wherein Philip, Duke of Anjou, and -second son of the Dauphin, was named heir to the whole -Empire of Spain. At this the second Partition Treaty -went for naught. Lewis the Fourteenth, after a -becoming interval of hesitation, accepted the Spanish -crown for the Duke of Anjou under the title of King -Philip the Fifth.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1701.</div> - -<p>The Emperor at once entered a protest against the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_398" id="Page_398">[398]</a></span> -will, and Lewis prepared without delay for a campaign -in Italy. William, however, for the present merely -postponed his recognition of Philip the Fifth; and his -example was followed by the United Provinces. Lewis, -ever ready and prompt, at once took measures to -quicken the States to a decision. Several towns<a name="FNanchor_288_288" id="FNanchor_288_288"></a><a href="#Footnote_288_288" class="fnanchor">[288]</a> in -Spanish Flanders were garrisoned, under previous -treaties, by Dutch troops. Lewis by a swift movement -surrounded the whole of them, and having thus secured -fifteen thousand of the best men in the Dutch army, -could dictate what terms he pleased. William expected -that the House of Commons would be roused to -indignation by this aggressive step, but the House was -far too busy with its own factious quarrels. When, -however, the States appealed to England for the ten -thousand men, which under the treaty of 1677 she was -bound to furnish, both Houses prepared faithfully to -fulfil the obligation.</p> - -<p>Then, as invariably happens in England, the work -which Parliament had undone required to be done -again. Twelve battalions were ordered to the Low -Countries from Ireland, and directions were issued for -the levying of ten thousand recruits in England to take -their place. But, immediately after, came bad news -from the West Indies, and it was thought necessary to -despatch thither four more battalions from Ireland. -Three regiments<a name="FNanchor_289_289" id="FNanchor_289_289"></a><a href="#Footnote_289_289" class="fnanchor">[289]</a> were hastily brought up to a joint -strength of two thousand men, and shipped off. Thus, -within fifteen months of the disbandment of 1699, -the garrison of Ireland had been depleted by fifteen -battalions out of twenty-one; and four new battalions -required to be raised immediately. Of these, two, -namely Brudenell's and Mountjoy's, were afterwards -disbanded, but two more, Lord Charlemont's and Lord -Donegal's, are still with us as the Thirty-fifth and -Thirty-sixth of the Line.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_399" id="Page_399">[399]</a></span></p> - -<p>In June the twelve battalions<a name="FNanchor_290_290" id="FNanchor_290_290"></a><a href="#Footnote_290_290" class="fnanchor">[290]</a> were shipped off to -Holland, under the command of John, Earl of Marlborough, -who since 1698 had been restored to the -King's favour, and was to fill his place as head of the -European coalition and General of the confederate -armies in a fashion that no man had yet dreamed of. -He was now fifty years of age; so long had the ablest -man in Europe waited for work that was worthy of -his powers; and now his time was come at last. His -first duties, however, were diplomatic; and during the -summer and autumn of 1701 he was engaged in -negotiations with Sweden, Prussia, and the Empire for -the formation of a Grand Alliance against France and -Spain. Needless to say he brought all to a successful -issue by his inexhaustible charm, patience, and tact.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">September.</div> - -<p>Still the attitude of the English people towards the -contest remained doubtful, until, on the death of King -James the Second, Lewis made the fatal mistake of -recognising and proclaiming his son as King of England. -Then the smouldering animosity against France leaped -instantly into flame. William seized the opportunity -to dissolve Parliament, and was rewarded by the election -of a House of Commons more nearly resembling that -which had carried him through the first war to the -Peace of Ryswick. He did not fail to rouse its -patriotism and self-respect by a stirring speech from -the throne, and obtained the ratification of his agreement -with the Allies that England should furnish a -contingent of forty thousand men, eighteen thousand -of them to be British and the remainder foreigners. -So the country was committed to the War of the -Spanish Succession.</p> - -<p>It was soon decided that all regiments in pay must -be increased at once to war-strength, and that six more -battalions, together with five regiments of horse and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_400" id="Page_400">[400]</a></span> -three of dragoons, should be sent to join the troops -already in Holland. Then, as usual, there was a rush to -do in a hurry what should have been done at leisure; -and it is significant of the results of the late ill-treatment -of the Army that, though the country was full of -unemployed soldiers, it was necessary to offer three -pounds, or thrice the usual amount of levy-money, to -obtain recruits. The next step was to raise fifteen new -regiments—Meredith's, Cootes', Huntingdon's, Farrington's, -Gibson's, Lucas's, Mohun's, Temple's, and -Stringer's of foot; Fox's, Saunderson's, Villiers', Shannon's, -Mordaunt's and Holt's of marines. Of the foot -Gibson's and Farrington's had been raised in 1694, but -the officers of Farrington's, if not of both regiments, -had been retained on half-pay, and, returning in a body, -continued the life of the regiment without interruption. -Both are still with us as the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth -of the Line. Huntingdon's and Lucas's also -survive as the Thirty-third and Thirty-fourth, and -Meredith's and Cootes', which were raised in Ireland, -as the Thirty-seventh and Thirty-ninth, while the -remainder were disbanded at the close of the war. Of -the marines, Saunderson's had originally been raised in -1694, and eventually passed into the Line as the -Thirtieth Foot, followed by Fox's and Villiers' as the -Thirty-first and Thirty-second. Nothing now remained -but to pass the Mutiny Act, which was speedily done; -and on the 5th of May, just two months after the death -of King William, the great work of his life was continued -by a formal declaration of war.</p> - -<p>The field of operations which will chiefly concern us -is mainly the same as that wherein we followed the -campaigns of King William. The eastern boundary of -the cock-pit must for a time be extended from the -Meuse to the Rhine, the northern from the Demer to -the Waal, and the southern limit must be carried from -Dunkirk beyond Namur to Bonn. But the reader -should bear in mind that, in consequence of the Spanish -alliance, Spanish Flanders was no longer hostile, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_401" id="Page_401">[401]</a></span> -friendly, to France, so that the French frontier, for all -practical purposes, extended to the boundary of Dutch -Brabant. Moreover, the French, besides the seizure, -already related, of the barrier-towns, had contrived -to occupy every stronghold on the Meuse except -Maestricht, from Namur to Venloo, so that practically -they were masters so far of the whole line of the river.</p> - -<p>A few leagues below Venloo stands the fortified -town of Grave, and beyond Grave, on the parallel -branch of the Rhine, stands the fortified city of -Nimeguen. A little to the east of Nimeguen, at a -point where the Rhine formerly forked into two streams, -stood Fort Schenk, a stronghold famous in the wars of -Morgan and of Vere. These three fortresses were the -three eastern gates of the Dutch Netherlands, commanding -the two great waterways, doubly important -in those days of bad roads, which lead into the heart -of the United Provinces.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1702.<br /> -May 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 10.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>It is here that we must watch the opening of the -campaign of 1702. There were detachments of the -French and of the Allies opposed to each other on the -Upper Rhine, on the Lower Rhine, and on the Lower -Scheldt; but the French grand army of sixty thousand -men was designed to operate on the Meuse, and the -presence of a Prince of the blood, the Duke of Burgundy, -with old Marshal Boufflers to instruct him, sufficiently -showed that this was the quarter in which France -designed to strike her grand blow. Marlborough being -still kept from the field by other business, the command -of the Allied army on the Meuse was entrusted to -Lord Athlone, better known as that Ginkell who had -completed the pacification of Ireland in 1691. His -force consisted of twenty-five thousand men, with -which he lay near Cleve, in the centre of the crescent -formed by Grave, Nimeguen, and Fort Schenk, watching -under shelter of these three fortresses the army of -Boufflers, which was encamped some twenty miles to -south-east of him at Uden and Xanten. On the 10th -of June Boufflers made a sudden dash to cut off Athlone<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_402" id="Page_402">[402]</a></span> -from Nimeguen and Grave, a catastrophe which Athlone -barely averted by an almost discreditably precipitate -retreat. Having reached Nimeguen Athlone withdrew -to the north of the Waal, while all Holland trembled -over the danger which had thus been so narrowly -escaped.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 2.</span><br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Such was the position when Marlborough at last -took the field, after long grappling at the Hague with -the difficulties which were fated to dog him throughout -the war. In England his position was comparatively -easy, for though Prince George of Denmark, the consort -of Queen Anne, was nominally generalissimo of all forces -by sea and land, yet Marlborough was Captain-General -of all the English forces at home and in Holland, -and in addition Master-General of the Ordnance. But -it was only after considerable dispute that he was -appointed Commander-in-Chief of the allied forces, and -then not without provoking much dissatisfaction among -the Dutch generals, and much jealousy in the Prince -of Nassau-Saarbrück and in Athlone, both of whom -aspired to the office. These obstacles overcome, there -came the question of the plan of campaign. Here -again endless obstruction was raised. The Dutch, after -their recent fright, were nervously apprehensive for the -safety of Nimeguen, the King of Prussia was much -disturbed over his territory of Cleve, and all parties -who had not interests of their own to put forward -made it their business to thwart the Commander-in-Chief. -With infinite patience Marlborough soothed -them, and at last, on the 2nd of July, he left the Hague -for Nimeguen, accompanied by two Dutch deputies, -civilians, whose duty it was to see that he did nothing -imprudent. Arrived there he concentrated sixty -thousand men, of which twelve thousand were British,<a name="FNanchor_291_291" id="FNanchor_291_291"></a><a href="#Footnote_291_291" class="fnanchor">[291]</a> -recrossed the Waal and encamped at Ober-Hasselt over -against Grave, within two leagues of the French. Then -once more the obstruction of his colleagues caused<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_403" id="Page_403">[403]</a></span> -delay, and it was not until the 26th of July that he -could cross to the left bank of the Meuse. "Now," -he said to the Dutch deputies, as he pointed to the -French camp, "I shall soon rid you of these troublesome -neighbours."</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 22<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Five swift marches due south brought his army over -the Spanish frontier by Hamont. Boufflers thereupon -in alarm broke up his camp, summoned Marshal Tallard -from the Rhine to his assistance, crossed the Meuse -with all haste at Venloo, and pushed on at nervous -speed for the Demer. On the 2nd of August he lay -between Peer and Bray, his camping-ground ill-chosen, -and his army worn out by a week of desperate marching. -Within easy striking distance, a mile or two to the -northward, lay Marlborough, his army fresh, ready, and -confident. He held the game in his hand; for an -immediate attack would have dealt the French as rude -a buffet as they were to receive later at Ramillies. But -the Dutch deputies interposed; these Dogberries were -content to thank God that they were rid of a rogue. -So Boufflers was allowed to cross the Demer safely at -Diest, and a first great opportunity was lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> - -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough, having drawn the French away from -the Meuse, was now at liberty to add the garrison of -Maestricht to his field-force, and to besiege the fortresses -on the river. Boufflers, however, emboldened by his -escape, again advanced north in the hope of cutting off -a convoy of stores that was on its way to join the -Allies. Marlborough therefore perforce moved back -to Hamont and picked up his convoy; then, before -Boufflers could divine his purpose he had moved swiftly -south, and thrown himself across the line of the French -retreat to the Demer. The French marshal hurried -southward with all possible haste, and came blundering -through the defiles before Hochtel on the road to -Hasselt, only to find Marlborough waiting ready for -him at Helchteren. Once again the game was in the -Englishman's hand. The French were in great disorder, -their left in particular being hopelessly entangled<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_404" id="Page_404">[404]</a></span> -in marshy and difficult ground. Marlborough instantly -gave the order to advance, and by three o'clock the -artillery of the two armies was exchanging fire. At -five Marlborough directed the whole of his right to fall -on the French left; but to his surprise and dismay, the -right did not move. A surly Dutchman, General -Opdam, was in command of the troops in question and, -for no greater object than to annoy the Commander-in-Chief, -refused to execute his orders. So a second great -opportunity was lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Still much might yet be won by a general attack on -the next day; and for this accordingly Marlborough at -once made his preparations. But when the time came -the Dutch deputies interposed, entreating him to defer -the attack till the morrow morning. "By to-morrow -morning they will be gone," answered Marlborough; -but all remonstrance was unavailing. The attack was -perforce deferred, the French slipped away in the night, -and though it was still possible to cut up their rearguard -with cavalry, a third great opportunity was lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">18</span> - <span class="blka over">29</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough was deeply chagrined; but although -with unconquerable patience and tact he excused -Opdam's conduct in his public despatches, he could not -deceive the troops, who were loud in their indignation -against both deputies and generals. There was now -nothing left but to reduce the fortresses on the Meuse, -a part of the army being detached for the siege while -the remainder covered the operations under the command -of Marlborough. Even over their favourite -pastime of a siege, however, the Dutch were dilatory -beyond measure. "England is famous for negligence," -wrote Marlborough, "but if Englishmen were half as -negligent as the people here, they would be torn to -pieces by Parliament."<a name="FNanchor_292_292" id="FNanchor_292_292"></a><a href="#Footnote_292_292" class="fnanchor">[292]</a> Venloo was at length invested -on the 29th of August,<a name="FNanchor_293_293" id="FNanchor_293_293"></a><a href="#Footnote_293_293" class="fnanchor">[293]</a> and after a siege of eighteen -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_405" id="Page_405">[405]</a></span> -days compelled to capitulate. The English distinguished -themselves after their own peculiar fashion. -In the assault on the principal defence General Cutts, -who from his love of a hot fire was known as the -Salamander, gave orders that the attacking force, if it -carried the covered way, should not stop there but rush -forward and carry as much more as it could. It was a -mad design, criminally so in the opinion of officers -who took part in it,<a name="FNanchor_294_294" id="FNanchor_294_294"></a><a href="#Footnote_294_294" class="fnanchor">[294]</a> but it was madly executed, with -the result that the whole fort was captured out of hand.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -October 7.</span><br /> - -Oct. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">1</span> - <span class="blka over">12</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The reduction of Stevenswaert, Maseyk, and Ruremond -quickly followed; and the French now became -alarmed lest Marlborough should transfer operations to -the Rhine. Tallard was therefore sent back with a -large force to Cologne and Bonn, while Boufflers, much -weakened by this and by other detachments, lay helpless -at Tongres. But the season was now far advanced, and -Marlborough had no intention of leaving Boufflers for -the winter in a position from which he might at any -moment move out and bombard Maestricht. So no -sooner were his troops released by the capture of -Ruremond than he prepared to oust him. The French, -according to their usual practice, had barred the eastern -entrance to Brabant by fortified lines, which followed -the line of the Geete to its head-waters, and were thence -carried across to that of the Mehaigne. In his position -at Tongres Boufflers lay midway between these lines and -Liège, in the hope of covering both; but after the fall -of so many fortresses on the Meuse he became specially -anxious for Liège, and resolved to post himself under -its walls. He accordingly examined the defences, -selected his camping-ground, and on the 12th of -October marched up with his army to occupy it. Quite -unconscious of any danger he arrived within cannon-shot -of his chosen position, and there stood Marlborough, -calmly awaiting him with a superior force. -For the fourth time Marlborough held his enemy -within his grasp, but the Dutch deputies, as usual,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_406" id="Page_406">[406]</a></span> -interposed to forbid an attack; and Boufflers, a fourth -time delivered, hurried away in the night to his lines at -Landen. Had he thrown himself into Liège Marlborough -would have made him equally uncomfortable -by marching on the lines; as things were the French -marshal perforce left the city to its fate.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Oct. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The town of Liège, which was unfortified, at once -opened its gates to the Allies; and within a week -Marlborough's batteries were playing on the citadel. -On the 23rd of October the citadel was stormed, the -English being first in the breach, and a few days later -Liège, with the whole line of the Meuse, had passed -into the hands of the Allies. Thus brilliantly, in -spite of four great opportunities marred by the Dutch, -ended Marlborough's first campaign. Athlone, like -an honest man, confessed that as second in command -he had opposed every one of Marlborough's projects, -and that the success was due entirely to his incomparable -chief. He at any rate had an inkling that in -Turenne's handsome Englishman there had arisen one -of the great captains of all time.</p> - -<p>Nevertheless the French had not been without their -consolations in other quarters. Towards the end of -the campaign the Elector of Bavaria had declared himself -for France against the Empire, and, surprising the all-important -position of Ulm on the Danube, had opened -communication with the French force on the Upper -Rhine. Villars, who commanded in that quarter, had -seconded him by defeating his opponent, Prince Lewis -of Baden, at Friedlingen, and had cleared the passages -of the Black Forest; while Tallard had, almost without -an effort, possessed himself of Treves and Trarbach on -the Moselle. The rival competitors for the crown of -Spain were France and the Empire, and the centre of -the struggle, as no one saw more clearly than Marlborough, -was for the present moving steadily towards -the territory of the Empire.</p> - -<p>While Marlborough was engaged in his operations -on the Meuse, ten thousand English and Dutch, under<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_407" id="Page_407">[407]</a></span> -the Duke of Ormonde and Admiral Sir George Rooke, -had been despatched to make a descent upon Cadiz. -The expedition was so complete a failure that there is -no object in dwelling on it. Rooke would not support -Ormonde, and Ormonde was not strong enough to -master Rooke; landsmen quarrelled with seamen, and -English with Dutch. No discipline was maintained, -and after some weeks of feeble operations and shameful -scenes of indiscipline and pillage, the commanders found -that they could do no more than return to England. -They were fortunate enough, however, on their way, to -fall in with the plate-fleet at Vigo, of which they -captured twenty-five galleons containing treasure worth -a million sterling. Comforted by this good fortune -Rooke and Ormonde sailed homeward, and dropped -anchor safely in Portsmouth harbour.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile a mishap, which Marlborough called an -accident, had gone near to neutralise all the success -of the past campaign. At the close of operations the -Earl, together with the Dutch deputies, had taken ship -down the Meuse, with a guard of twenty-five men on -board and an escort of fifty horse on the bank. In -the night the horse lost their way, and the boat was -surprised and overpowered by a French partisan with a -following of marauders. The Dutch deputies produced -French passes, but Marlborough had none and was -therefore a prisoner. Fortunately his servant slipped -into his hand an old pass that had been made out for -his brother Charles Churchill. With perfect serenity -Marlborough presented it as genuine, and was allowed -to go on his way, the French contenting themselves -with the capture of the guard and the plunder of the -vessel, and never dreaming of the prize that they had -let slip. The news of his escape reached the Hague, -where on his arrival rich and poor came out to welcome -him, men and women weeping for joy over his safety. -So deep was the fascination exerted on all of his kind -by this extraordinary man.</p> - -<p>A few days later he returned to England, where a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_408" id="Page_408">[408]</a></span> -new Parliament had already congratulated Queen Anne -on the retrieving of England's honour by the success -of his arms. The word retrieving was warmly resented, -but though doubtless suggested by unworthy and factious -animosity against the memory of William, it was -strictly true. The nation felt that it was not in the -fitness of things that Englishmen should be beaten by -Frenchmen, and they rejoiced to see the wrong set -right. Nevertheless party spirit found a still meaner -level when Parliament extended to Rooke and Ormonde -the same vote of thanks that they tendered to Marlborough. -This precious pair owed even this honour -to the wisdom and good sense of their far greater -comrade, for they would have carried their quarrel -over the expedition within the walls of Parliament, -had not Marlborough told them gently that the whole -of their operations were indefensible and that the -less they called attention to themselves the better. -The Queen, with more discernment, created Marlborough -a Duke and settled on him a pension of -£5000 a year. With the exaggerated bounty of a -woman she wished Parliament to attach that sum -forthwith permanently to the title, but this the -Commons most properly refused to do. Moreover, the -House was engaged just then on a work of greater -utility to the Army than the granting of pensions even -to such a man as Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Nov 11.</div> - -<p>On the 11th of November, the day before the -public thanksgiving for the first campaign, the Committee -of Public Accounts presented its report on the books -of Lord Ranelagh, the paymaster-general. Ranelagh, -according to their statement, had evinced great unwillingness -to produce his accounts, and had met their -inquiries with endless shuffling and evasion. In his -office, too, an unusual epidemic of sudden illness, and an -unprecedented multitude of pressing engagements, had -rendered his clerks strangely inaccessible to examination. -The commissioners, however, had persisted, and were -now able to tell a long story of irregular book-keeping,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_409" id="Page_409">[409]</a></span> -false accounts, forged vouchers, and the clumsiest -and most transparent methods of embezzlement and -fraud.</p> - -<p>Ranelagh defended himself against their charges -not without spirit and efficiency, but the commissioners -declined to discuss the matter with him. The Commons -spent two days in examination of proofs, and then -without hesitation voted that the Paymaster-General had -been guilty of misappropriation of public money. It -was thought by many at the time that Ranelagh was -very hardly used; and it is certain that factious desire -to discredit the late Government played a larger part -than common honesty in this sudden zeal against -corruption. Whig writers<a name="FNanchor_295_295" id="FNanchor_295_295"></a><a href="#Footnote_295_295" class="fnanchor">[295]</a> assert without hesitation -that there was no foundation whatever for the charges; -and it is indubitable that many of the conclusions of -the commissioners were strained and exaggerated. It -is beyond question too that much of the financial -confusion was due to the House of Commons, which -had voted large sums without naming the sources from -whence they should be raised, and where it had named -the source had absurdly over-estimated the receipts. -But it is none the less certain that Ranelagh's accounts -were in disorder, and that, though his patrimony was -small, he was reputed to have spent more money on -buildings, gardens, and furniture than any man in -England. Without attempting to calculate the measure -of his guilt, it cannot be denied that his dismissal was -for the good of the Army.</p> - -<p>Had the House of Commons followed up this -preliminary inquiry by further investigation much good -might have been done, but its motives not being pure -its actions could not be consistent. Ranelagh, for -instance, had made one statement in self-defence which -gravely inculpated the Secretary-at-War; but the House -showed no alacrity to turn against that functionary. -Very soon the question of the accounts degenerated -into a wrangle with the House of Lords; and in March<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_410" id="Page_410">[410]</a></span> -1704 the Commons were still debating what should be -done with Ranelagh, while poor Mitchelburne of -Londonderry, a prisoner in the Fleet for debt, was -petitioning piteously for the arrears due to him since -1689.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1705,<br /> -May 10.<br /> -Commission<br /> -dated April<br /> -20, 1704.</div> - -<p>It will, however, be convenient to anticipate matters -a little, and to speak at once of the reforms that were -brought about by this scandal in the paymaster's office. -First, on the expulsion of Ranelagh the office was -divided and two paymasters-general were appointed, -one for the troops abroad, the other for those at home. -Secondly, two new officers were established, with salaries -of £1500 a year and the title of Controllers of -the Accounts of the Army, Sir Joseph Tredenham and -William Duncombe being the first holders of the office. -Lastly, the Secretary-at-War definitely ceased to be -mere secretary to the Commander-in-Chief, and became -the civil head of the War Department. In William's -time he had taken the field with the King, but from -henceforth he stayed at home; while a secretary to the -Commander-in-Chief, not yet a military secretary, -accompanied the general on active service on a stipend -of ten shillings a day. William Blathwayt, who had -been Secretary-at-War since the days of Charles the -Second, was got rid of, with no disadvantage to the -service, and his place was taken by the brilliant but -unprofitable Henry St. John.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_411" id="Page_411">[411]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_II" id="BVI_CHAPTER_II"></a><a href="#BVICII">CHAPTER II</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1703.</div> - -<p class="noindent">The force voted by Parliament for the campaign of -1703 consisted, as in the previous year, of eighteen -thousand British and twenty-two thousand Germans. -There had been much talk of an increase of the Army, -and indeed Parliament had agreed to make an augmentation -subject to certain conditions to be yielded by the -Dutch; but when the session closed no provision had -been made for it, and the details required to be settled, -as indeed such details generally were, by Marlborough -himself. Four new British regiments formed part of -the augmentation, and accordingly five new battalions -were raised, which, as they were all disbanded subsequently, -remain known to us only by the names of -their colonels, Gorges, Pearce, Evans, Elliott, and -Macartney. Finally, small contingents from a host of -petty German states brought the total of mercenaries to -twenty-eight thousand, which, added to twenty thousand -British, made up a nominal total of fifty thousand men -in the pay of England. But none of these additional -troops could take the field until late in the campaign.</p> - -<p>Such efforts were not confined to the side of the -Allies. The French successes to the eastward of the -Rhine had encouraged them to projects for a grand -campaign, so their army too was increased, and every -nerve was strained to make the preparations as complete -as possible. The grand army under Villeroy and -Boufflers, numbering fifty-four battalions and one -hundred and three squadrons, was designed to recapture -the strong places on the Meuse and to threaten the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_412" id="Page_412">[412]</a></span> -Dutch frontier. The frontiers towards Ostend and -Antwerp were guarded by flying columns under the -Marquis of Bedmar, Count de la Mothe, and the -Spanish Count Tserclaes de Tilly. The entire force of -the Bourbons in the Low Countries, including garrisons -and field-army, included ninety thousand men in -infantry alone.<a name="FNanchor_296_296" id="FNanchor_296_296"></a><a href="#Footnote_296_296" class="fnanchor">[296]</a> With such a force to occupy the -Allies in Flanders and with Marshal Tallard to hold -Prince Lewis of Baden in check at Stollhofen on the -Upper Rhine, Marshal Villars was to push through the -Black Forest and join hands with the Elector of Bavaria. -Finally, the joint forces of France and Savoy were to advance -through the Tyrol to the valley of the Inn and combine -with Villars and the Elector for a march on Vienna.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -March -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">17</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The design was grand enough in conception; but -Marlborough too had formed plans for striking at the -enemy in a vital part. A campaign of sieges was not -to his mind, for he conceived that to bring his enemy -to action and beat him was worth the capture of twenty -petty fortresses; and accordingly on his arrival at the -Hague he advocated immediate invasion of French -Flanders and Brabant. But the project was too bold -for the Dutch, whose commanders had changed and -changed for the worse. Old Athlone was dead, and in -his stead had risen up three new generals—Overkirk, -who had few faults except mediocrity and age; Slangenberg, -who combined ability with a villainous temper; -and Opdam, who was alike cantankerous and incapable. -Very reluctantly Marlborough was compelled to undertake -the siege of Bonn, he himself commanding the -besiegers, while Overkirk handled the covering army. -Notwithstanding Dutch procrastination, Marlborough's -energy had succeeded in bringing the Allies first into -the field; and before Villeroy could strike a blow to -hinder it, Bonn had capitulated, and Marlborough had -rejoined Overkirk and was ready for active operations -in the field.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_413" id="Page_413">[413]</a></span></p> - -<p>The Duke now reverted to his original scheme of -carrying the war into the heart of Brabant and West -Flanders, and with this view ordered every preparation -to be made for an attack on Antwerp. Cohorn, the -famous engineer, was to distract the French by the -capture of Ostend on the west side, a second force was -to be concentrated under Opdam at Bergen-op-Zoom -to the north, while Marlborough was to hold Villeroy -in check in the east until all was ready.</p> - -<p>The Duke's own share of the operations was conducted -with his usual skill. Pressing back Villeroy -into the space between the heads of the Jaar and the -Mehaigne he kept him in continual suspense as to -whether his design lay eastward or westward, against -Huy or against Antwerp. Unfortunately, in an evil -hour he imparted to Cohorn that he thought he might -manage both.<a name="FNanchor_297_297" id="FNanchor_297_297"></a><a href="#Footnote_297_297" class="fnanchor">[297]</a> The covetous old engineer had laid his -own plans for filling his pockets; and no sooner did he -hear of Marlborough's idea of attacking Huy than, -fearful lest Villeroy should interrupt his private schemes -for making money, he threw the capture of Ostend to -the winds, and marched into West Flanders to levy -contributions before it should be too late.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Still Marlborough was patient. He had hoped for -Ostend first and Antwerp afterwards, but a reversal of -the arrangement would serve. Cohorn having filled -his pockets returned to the east of the Scheldt at -Stabrock; Spaar, another Dutch general, took up his -position at Hulst; Opdam remained at Bergen-op-Zoom; -and thus the three armies lay in wait round the north -and west of Antwerp, ready to move forward as soon as -Marlborough should come up on the south-east. The -Duke did not keep them long waiting. On the night -of the 26th of June he suddenly broke up his camp, -crossed the Jaar, and made for the bridge over the -Demer at Hasselt. Villeroy, his eyes now thoroughly -opened, hastened with all speed for Diest in order to be -before him; and the two armies raced for Antwerp.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_414" id="Page_414">[414]</a></span> -The Duke had hastened his army forward on its way by -great exertions for six days, when the news reached him -that Cohorn, unable to resist the temptation of making -a little more money, had made a second raid into West -Flanders, leaving Opdam in the air on the other side of -the Scheldt. The Dutch were jubilant over Cohorn's -supposed success, but Marlborough took a very -different view. "If Opdam be not on his guard," he -said, "he will be beaten before we can reach him"; -and he despatched messengers instantly to give Opdam -warning. As usual he was perfectly right. Villeroy -hit the blot at once, and detached a force under -Boufflers to take advantage of it. Opdam, in spite of -Marlborough's warning, took no precautions, and finding -himself surprised took to his heels, leaving Slangenberg -to save his army. Thus the whole of Marlborough's -combinations were broken up.<a name="FNanchor_298_298" id="FNanchor_298_298"></a><a href="#Footnote_298_298" class="fnanchor">[298]</a></p> - -<p>The quarrels of the Dutch generals among themselves<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_415" id="Page_415">[415]</a></span> -left no hope of success in further operations. -Failing to persuade the Dutch to undertake anything -but petty sieges he returned to the Meuse, and after the -capture of Huy and Limburg closed the campaign. -Thus a second year was wasted through the perversity -of the Dutch.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">9</span> - <span class="blka over">20</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Meanwhile things had gone ill with the Grand -Alliance in other quarters. The King of Portugal had -indeed been gained for the Austrian side and had -offered troops for active operations in Spain, an event -which will presently lead us to the Peninsula. The -Duke of Savoy again had been detached from the -French party, and the intended march over the Tyrol -had been defeated by the valour of the Tyrolese; but -elsewhere the French arms had been triumphant. -Early in March Villars had seized the fort and bridge -of Kehl on the Rhine, had traversed the Black Forest, -joined hands with the Elector of Bavaria, and in spite -of bitter quarrels with him had won in his company the -victory of Hochstädt. Tallard too, though he took -the field but late, had captured Old Brisach on the -Upper Rhine, defeated the Prince of Hessen-Cassel at -Spires, and recaptured Landau. The communications -between the Rhine and the Danube were thus secured, -and the march upon Vienna could be counted on for -the next year. With her armies defeated in her front, -and the Hungarian revolt eating at her vitals from -within, the situation of the Empire was well-nigh -desperate.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">[1697.]</div> - -<p>Marlborough, for his part, had made up his mind to -resign the command, for he saw no prospect of success -while his subordinates systematically disobeyed his -orders. "Our want of success," he wrote, "is due to -the want of discipline in the army, and until this is -remedied I see no prospect of improvement."<a name="FNanchor_299_299" id="FNanchor_299_299"></a><a href="#Footnote_299_299" class="fnanchor">[299]</a> Nevertheless -a short stay in England seems to have restored -him to a more contented frame of mind, while even -before the close of the campaign he had begun to plan<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_416" id="Page_416">[416]</a></span> -a great stroke for the ensuing year, and to discuss it -with the one able general in the Imperial service, Prince -Eugene of Savoy. Frail and delicate in constitution, -Eugene had originally been destined for the Church, -and for a short time had been known as the Abbé -of Savoy, but he had early shown a preference for -the military profession and had offered his sword -first to Lewis the Fourteenth. It was refused. Then -Eugene turned to the Imperial Court, and after ten -years of active service against Hungarians, Turks, and -French, found himself at the age of thirty a field-marshal. -At thirty-four he had won the great victory -of Zenta against the Turks, and in the War of the -Succession had made himself dreaded in Italy by the -best of the French marshals. He was now forty years -of age, having spent fully half of his life in war, and -fully a quarter of it in high command. Marlborough -was fifty-three, and until two years before had never -commanded an army in chief.</p> - -<p>Marlborough's design was nothing less than to -commit the Low Countries to the protection of the -Dutch, and, leaving the old seat of war with all its -armies and fortresses in rear, to carry the campaign into -the heart of Germany. The two great captains decided -that it could and must be done; but it would be no -easy task to persuade the timid States-General and a -factious House of Commons to a plan which was bold -almost to rashness.</p> - -<p>Marlborough began his share of the work in England -forthwith. Without dropping a hint of his great -scheme he contrived to put some heart into the English -ministers, and so into their supporters in Parliament. -The Houses met on the 9th of November, and the -Commons, after just criticism of the want of concert -shown by the Allies, cheerfully voted money and men -for the augmented force that had been proposed in the -previous session. Then came a new difficulty which -had been added to Marlborough's many troubles in the -autumn. The treaty lately concluded with Portugal<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_417" id="Page_417">[417]</a></span> -required the despatch of seven thousand troops to the -Peninsula; and these it was decided to draw from the -best British regiments in the Low Countries.<a name="FNanchor_300_300" id="FNanchor_300_300"></a><a href="#Footnote_300_300" class="fnanchor">[300]</a> It was -therefore necessary to raise one new regiment of -dragoons and seven new battalions of foot,<a name="FNanchor_301_301" id="FNanchor_301_301"></a><a href="#Footnote_301_301" class="fnanchor">[301]</a> a task -which was no light one from the increasing difficulty of -obtaining recruits.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1704.<br />January 15.</div> - -<p>But while the recruiting officers were busily beating -their drums, and convicted felons were awaiting the -decision which should send them either in a cart to -Tyburn or in a transport to the Low Countries, the -indefatigable Marlborough crossed the North Sea in -the bitterest weather to see how the Dutch preparations -were going forward. He found them in a state which -caused him sad misgivings for the coming campaign, -but he managed to stir up the authorities to increase -supplies of men and money, and suggested operations -on the Moselle for the next campaign. The same -phrase, operations on the Moselle, was passed on to the -King of Prussia and to other allies, and was repeated to -the Queen and ministers on his return to England. -Finally, early in April the Duke embarked for the Low -Countries once more in company with his brother -Charles, with general instructions in his pocket to -concert measures with Holland for the relief of the -Emperor.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -May 5.</span><br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Three weeks were then spent in gaining the consent -of the States-General to operations on the Moselle, a -consent which the Duke only extorted by threatening -to march thither with the British troops alone, and in -consultation with the solid but slow commander of the -Imperial forces, Prince Lewis of Baden. To be quit of -Dutch obstruction Marlborough asked only for the -auxiliary troops in the pay of the Dutch, and obtained -for his brother Charles the rank of General with the -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_418" id="Page_418">[418]</a></span> -command of the British infantry. In the last week of -April the British regiments began to stream out of their -winter quarters to a bridge that had been thrown over -the Meuse at Ruremonde, and a fortnight later sixteen -thousand of them made rendezvous at Bedbourgh. -Not a man of them knew whither he was bound, for it -was only within the last fortnight that the Duke had so -much as hinted his destination even to the Emperor or -to Prince Lewis of Baden.</p> - -<p>It is now time to glance at the enemy, who had -entered on the campaign with the highest hopes of -success. The dispositions of the French were little -altered from those of the previous year. Villeroy with -one army lay within the lines of the Mehaigne; Tallard -with another army was in the vicinity of Strasburg, his -passage of the Rhine secured by the possession of -Landau and Old Brisach; and the Count of Coignies -was stationed with ten thousand men on the Moselle, -ready to act in Flanders or in Germany as occasion -might demand. At Ulm lay the Elector of Bavaria -and his French allies under Marsin, who had replaced -Villars during the winter. The whole of this last force, -forty-five thousand men in all, stood ready to march to -the head-waters of the Danube, and there unite with the -French that should be pushed through the Black Forest -to meet it. The Elector, by the operations of the past -campaign, had mastered the line of the Danube from its -source to Linz within the Austrian frontier; he held also -the keys of the country between the Iller and the Inn; -and he asked only for a French reinforcement to enable -him to march straight on Vienna.</p> - -<p>To the passage of this reinforcement there was no -obstacle but a weak Imperial force under Prince Lewis -of Baden, which made shift to guard the country from -Philipsburg southward to Lake Constance. The -principal obstruction was certain fortified lines, of -which the reader should take note, on the right bank -of the Rhine, which ran from Stollhofen south-eastward -to Bühl, and, since they covered the entrance into<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_419" id="Page_419">[419]</a></span> -Baden from the north-west, were naturally most -jealously guarded by Prince Lewis. From that point -southward the most important points were held by -weak detachments of regular troops, but a vast extent -of the most difficult country was entrusted to raw -militia and peasantry. To escort a reinforcement -successfully through the defiles from Fribourg to -Donaueschingen and to return with the escort in safety -was no easy task, but it was adroitly accomplished by -Tallard within the space of twelve days. The feat was -lauded at the time with ridiculous extravagance, for, -apart from the fact that Prince Lewis of Baden was -remarkable neither for swiftness nor for vigilance, -Tallard had hustled his unhappy recruits forward so -unmercifully, along bad roads and in bad weather, that -the greater part of them perished by the way.<a name="FNanchor_302_302" id="FNanchor_302_302"></a><a href="#Footnote_302_302" class="fnanchor">[302]</a> Nevertheless -the French had scored the first point of the -game and were proportionately elated, while poor -Tallard's head was, to his great misfortune, completely -turned.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">8</span> - <span class="blka over">19</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough meanwhile had begun his famous -march, the direction lying up the Rhine towards Bonn. -On the very day after he started he received urgent -messages from Overkirk that Villeroy had crossed the -Meuse and was menacing Huy, and from Prince Lewis -that Tallard was threatening the lines of Stollhofen, -both commanders of course entreating him to return to -their assistance. Halting for one day to reassure them, -the Duke told Overkirk that Villeroy had no designs -against any but himself, and that the sooner reinforcements -were sent to join the British the better. Prince -Lewis he answered by giving him a rendezvous where -his Hessians and Danes might also unite with his own -army. This done he continued his march.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">18</span> - <span class="blka over">29</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 1.</span><br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">20</span> - <span class="blka over">31</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough's information was good. Villeroy had -received strict orders to follow him to the Moselle, the -French Court being convinced that he meditated operations<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_420" id="Page_420">[420]</a></span> -in that quarter. The Duke stepped out of his -way to inspect Bonn in order to encourage this belief, -and then pushed on in all haste to Coblentz with his -cavalry only, leaving his brother to follow him with the -infantry, while the artillery and baggage was carried up -the Rhine to Mainz. Once again all his movements -seemed to point to operations on the Moselle, unless -indeed (for the French never knew what such a man -might do next) he designed to double back down the -river for operations near the sea. But wherever he -might be going he did not linger, but crossing the Rhine -and Moselle pushed constantly forward with his cavalry. -Starting always before dawn and bringing his men into -camp by noon he granted them no halt until he reached -the suburbs of Mainz at Cassel. Here he improved -his time by requesting the Landgrave of Hesse to send -the artillery, which he had prepared for a campaign on -the Moselle, to Mannheim. Again the French were -puzzled. Was Alsace, and not the Moselle, to be the -scene of the next campaign; and if not, why was the -English general bridging the Rhine at Philipsburg, and -why was his artillery moving up the river? Tallard -moved up to Kehl, crossed to the left bank of the -Rhine and took up a position on the Lauter, and -Villeroy sent to Flanders for reinforcements; but meanwhile -Marlborough had crossed the Main, and still, -struggling on by rapid and distressing marches over -execrable roads, was within three more days across the -Neckar at Ladenburg and out of their reach.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 6.</span><br /> - -May 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 10.</span><br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2</span> - <span class="blka over">13</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>His plans were now manifest enough, but it was too -late to catch him. He therefore halted two days by -Ladenburg to give orders for the concentration of the -troops that were on march to join him from the Rhine, -and then striking south-eastward across the great bend -of the Neckar, traversed the river for the second time -at Lauffen, and by the 10th of June was at Mondelheim. -Halting here for three days to allow his infantry to -come nearer to him, he was joined by Prince Eugene -whom he now met for the first time in the flesh. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_421" id="Page_421">[421]</a></span> -Prince inspected the English horse and was astonished -at the condition of the troops after their long and -trying march. "I have heard much," he said, "of the -English cavalry, and find it to be the best appointed and -finest that I have ever seen. The spirit which I see in -the looks of your men is an earnest of victory." Hither -three days later came also a less welcome guest, Prince -Lewis of Baden; and the three commanders discussed -their plans for the future. Marlborough in vain tried -to keep Eugene for his colleague, but it was ultimately -decided that Eugene should take command in the lines -of Stollhofen, to prevent the French if possible from -crossing the Rhine, and to follow them at all hazards if -they should succeed in crossing, while Baden should -remain on the Danube and share the command of the -allied army by alternate days with Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">3</span> - <span class="blka over">14</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">9</span> - <span class="blka over">20</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Then the march was resumed south-eastward upon -Ulm; and after one day's halt to perfect the arrangements -for the junction with Prince Louis, the army -reached the mountain-chain that bounded the valley of -the Danube. The Pass of Geislingen, through which -its road lay, could not in the most favourable circumstances -be passed by any considerable number of troops -in less than a day, and was now rendered almost -impracticable by incessant heavy rain. To add to -Marlborough's troubles the States-General, learning -that Villeroy was astir, became frightened for their own -safety and entreated for the return of their auxiliary -troops. The Duke, to calm them, ordered boats to be -ready to convey forces down the Rhine, and went -quietly on with his own preparations, establishing -magazines to the north of the Danube, and not forgetting -to send a reinforcement of foreign troops to -Eugene. At last the news came that Baden's army -was come within reach; the British cavalry plunged -into the defile, and two days later the junction of the -two forces was effected at Ursprung.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">14</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The joint armies presently advanced to within eight -miles of Ulm, whereupon the Elector of Bavaria withdrew<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_422" id="Page_422">[422]</a></span> -to an entrenched camp further down the Danube -between Lavingen and Dillingen. The Allies therefore -turned northward to await the arrival of the British -infantry at Gingen; for Charles Churchill, with the -foot and the artillery, had found it difficult to march at -great speed in the perpetual pouring rain. His troubles -had begun from the moment when Marlborough had -gone ahead with the cavalry from Coblentz. The -ascent of a single hill in that mountainous country often -cost the artillery<a name="FNanchor_303_303" id="FNanchor_303_303"></a><a href="#Footnote_303_303" class="fnanchor">[303]</a> a whole day's work, and would have -cost more but for the indefatigable exertions of the -officers.<a name="FNanchor_304_304" id="FNanchor_304_304"></a><a href="#Footnote_304_304" class="fnanchor">[304]</a> Marlborough's care for the comfort and -discipline of these troops was incessant. A large supply -of shoes, for instance, was ready at Heidelberg to make -good defects, while constant injunctions in his letters to -his brother testify to his anxiety that nothing should -be omitted to lighten the burden of the march. Finally, -anticipating Wellington in the Peninsula, he insisted -that the men should pay honestly for everything that -they took, and took care to provide money to enable -them to do so. Such a thing had never been known in -all the innumerable campaigns of Germany.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">18</span> - <span class="blka over">29</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June 20<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 1.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The joint armies after the arrival of Churchill -amounted to ninety-six battalions, two hundred and -two squadrons, and forty-eight guns; but a large contingent -of Danish cavalry was still wanting, and not all -Marlborough's entreaties could prevail with its commander, -the Duke of Würtemberg, to hasten his march. -Nevertheless it was necessary to move at once. Marlborough's -objective had from the first been Donauwörth, -which would give him at once a bridge over the -Danube and a place of arms for the invasion of -Bavaria. His move northward had revealed his intentions; -and the Elector of Bavaria had detached Count -d'Arco with ten thousand foot and twenty-five hundred -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_423" id="Page_423">[423]</a></span> -horse to occupy the Schellenberg, a commanding height -which covers Donauwörth on the north bank of the -Danube. Marlborough pressed Baden hard to attack -this detachment before it could be reinforced; and -accordingly the army broke up from Gingen, and -advancing parallel to the Danube encamped on the 1st -of July at Amerdingen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The next day was Marlborough's turn for command. -It had not yet dawned when Quartermaster-General -Cadogan was up and away with a party of cavalry, -pioneers, and pontoons. At three o'clock marched six -thousand men from the forty-five battalions of the left -wing,<a name="FNanchor_305_305" id="FNanchor_305_305"></a><a href="#Footnote_305_305" class="fnanchor">[305]</a> three regiments of Imperial Grenadiers, and -thirty-five squadrons of horse. At five o'clock the -rest of the army, excepting the artillery, followed in -two columns along the main road towards a height -that overhangs the river Wörnitz between Obermorgen -and Wörnitzstein. By eight o'clock Cadogan was at -Obermorgen, had driven back the enemy's picquets, -and was engaged in marking out a camp; and at nine -appeared the Duke himself, who, taking Cadogan's -escort, went forward to reconnoitre the position.</p> - -<p>The Schellenberg, as its name implies, is a bell-shaped -hill, some two miles in circumference at the -base and with a flat top about half a mile wide, whereon -was pitched the enemy's camp. On the south side, -where the hill falls down to the Danube, the ascent is -steeper than elsewhere; on the north-west the slope is -gradual and about five hundred yards in length. To -the south-west the hill joins the town of Donauwörth, -from the outworks of which an entrenchment had been -carried for nearly two miles round the summit to the -river. This defence was strongest and most complete -to the north-east, where a wood gave shelter for the -formation of an attacking force; and at this point was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_424" id="Page_424">[424]</a></span> -stationed a battery of cannon. To the north-west the -works though incomplete were well advanced, and were -strengthened by an old fort wherein the enemy had -mounted guns. Marlborough, as he conned the position, -could see that the enemy before him was so disposed as -if expecting an attack on the northern and western -sides. But looking to his right beyond Donauwörth, -and across the Danube, he could see preparations of a -more ominous kind, a camp with tents pitched on both -wings and a blank space in the centre, sure sign that -cavalry was already present and that infantry was -expected. Closer and closer he drew to the hill, -Prince Lewis and others presently joining him; and -then puffs of white smoke began to shoot out from -various points in the enemy's works as his batteries -opened fire.</p> - -<p>Finishing his survey undisturbed, Marlborough -turned back to meet the advanced detachment of the -army; for it was plain to him that the Schellenberg -must be carried at once before more of the enemy's -troops could reach it. So bad, however, was the state -of the roads, that though the distance was but twelve -miles, the detachment did not reach the Wörnitz until -noon. It was then halted to give the men rest, for -there were still three miles of bad road before them, -and to allow the main body to come up. The cavalry -was sent forward to cut fascines in the wood, pontoon -bridges were thrown across the Wörnitz, and at three -o'clock the advanced detachment passed the river. -While this was going forward a letter arrived from -Eugene that Villeroy and Tallard were preparing to -send strong reinforcements to the Elector; and this -intelligence decided Marlborough to take the work in -hand forthwith. Without waiting for the rear of the -main body to arrive he drew out sixteen battalions only, -five of them British,<a name="FNanchor_306_306" id="FNanchor_306_306"></a><a href="#Footnote_306_306" class="fnanchor">[306]</a> and led them and the advanced -detachment straight on to the attack. The infantry<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_425" id="Page_425">[425]</a></span> -of the detachment was formed in four lines, the English<a name="FNanchor_307_307" id="FNanchor_307_307"></a><a href="#Footnote_307_307" class="fnanchor">[307]</a> -being on the extreme left by the edge of the wood, and -the cavalry was drawn up in two lines behind them. -Eight battalions more were detailed to support the -detachment or to deploy to its right if need should -be, and yet eight more were held in reserve.</p> - -<p>It was six o'clock in the evening before Marlborough -gave the order to attack. Every foot-soldier -took a fascine from the cavalry, and the columns, -headed by two parties of grenadiers from the First -Guards under Lord Mordaunt and Colonel Munden, -marched steadily up the hill. The hostile batteries at -once opened a cross-fire of round shot from the -intrenchment and from the walls of Donauwörth, but -the columns pressed on unheeding to within eighty -yards of the intrenchment before they fired a shot. -Then the enemy continued the fire with musketry and -grape, and the slaughter became frightful. The -grenadiers of the Guards fell down right and left, and -very soon few of them were left. Still Mordaunt and -Munden, the one with his skirts torn to shreds and -the other with his hat riddled by bullets, stood up -unhurt and kept cheering them on. General Goor, a -gallant foreigner who commanded the attack, was shot -dead, and many other officers fell with him under that -terrible fire. The columns staggered, wavered, recovered, -and went on. But now came an unlucky -accident. In front of the intrenchment ran a hollow -way worn in the hill by rain, into which the foremost -men, mistaking it for the intrenchment, threw down -their fascines, so that on reaching the actual lines they -found themselves unable to cross them. Thus checked -they suffered so heavily that they began to give way; -and the enemy rushed out rejoicing to finish the defeat -with the bayonet. But the English Guards, though -they had suffered terribly, stood immovable as rocks, -the Royal Scots and the Welshmen of the Twenty-third<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_426" id="Page_426">[426]</a></span> -stood by them, and the counter-attack after -desperate fighting was beaten back.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the enemy, finding the western face of -the hill unthreatened, withdrew the whole of their force -from thence to the point of assault. Their fire increased; -the attacking columns wavered once more, and General -Lumley was obliged to move up the entire first line -of cavalry into the thick of the fire to support them. -So the fight swayed for another half-hour, when the -remainder of the Imperial army at last appeared on -Marlborough's right, and finding the intrenchments -deserted passed over them at once with trifling loss. -Repulsing a charge of cavalry which was launched -against them, they hurried on and came full on the -flank of the French and Bavarians; yet even so this -gallant enemy would not give way, and the allied infantry -still failed to carry the intrenchment. Lumley now -ordered the Scots Greys to dismount and attack on -foot; but before they could advance the infantry by a -final effort at last forced their way in. Then the Greys -remounted with all haste and galloped forward to the -pursuit, while Marlborough, halting the exhausted foot, -sent the rest of the cavalry to join the Greys. The -rout was now complete. Hundreds of men were cut -off before they could reach Donauwörth, many were -driven into the Danube, many more, flying to a -temporary bridge to cross the river, broke it down -by their weight and miserably perished. Of twelve -thousand men not more than one-fourth rejoined the -Elector's army.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_426fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 426</em></p> -SCHELLENBERG<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">June 21<sup>st</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">July 2<sup>nd</sup></span> -</span> 1704<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>The whole affair had lasted little more than an hour -and a half, but the loss of the Allies in overcoming so -gallant a defence cost them no fewer than fourteen -hundred killed and three thousand eight hundred -wounded. The losses of the British<a name="FNanchor_308_308" id="FNanchor_308_308"></a><a href="#Footnote_308_308" class="fnanchor">[308]</a> were very heavy,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_427" id="Page_427">[427]</a></span> -amounting to fifteen hundred of all ranks, or probably -more than a third of the numbers engaged. The -First Guards, Royal Scots, and the Twenty-third suffered -most severely, every battalion of them having lost -two hundred men or more, while the Guards at the -close of the day could count but five officers unhurt out -of seventeen. Of these five, wonderful to say, were -Mordaunt and Munden, the one with three bullets -through his clothes, the other with five through his -hat, but neither of them scratched; but of eighty-two -men whom they led to the assault only twenty-one -returned. When it is remembered that the main body -had been on foot fourteen hours, and the advanced -detachment for sixteen hours, the exhaustion of the -troops at the end of the day may be imagined. Nevertheless -Donauwörth was taken and the enemy was not -only beaten but demoralised.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The Elector of Bavaria on hearing the news broke -down the bridge over the Lech, and entrenched himself -at Augsburg. Marlborough on his part crossed -the Danube, and set himself to cut off the Elector's -supplies. The passage of the Danube he severed at -Donauwörth, the road to the north by the capture of -Rain, and that to the north-east by an advance south-eastward -to Aichach, from which he presently moved on -to Friedberg, hemming his enemy tightly into his -entrenched camp. The Elector was at first inclined -to come to terms, but hearing that the French were -about to reinforce him he thought himself bound in -honour to hold out. Marlborough was therefore -compelled to put pressure on him by ravaging the -country, a work which his letters show that he detested -but felt obliged in duty to perform. The destruction -was carried to the very walls of Munich; indeed, -nothing but want of artillery, for which Prince Lewis -of Baden was responsible, prevented an attack upon -the city itself.<a name="FNanchor_309_309" id="FNanchor_309_309"></a><a href="#Footnote_309_309" class="fnanchor">[309]</a> The prospect of the arrival of a French -army gave the Duke little disquiet: if Bavaria were to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_428" id="Page_428">[428]</a></span> -become the seat of war, so much the worse for Bavaria -and for the cause of the Bourbons. So after sending -thirty squadrons to reinforce Eugene, he prepared in -the interim for the siege of Ingolstadt, which would -give him command of the Danube from Ulm to Passau, -and free access at all times into Bavaria. The Elector's -country should feel the stress of war at any rate, and -if fortune were propitious the French might feel it also. -It is now time to return to the movements of those -French.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_429" id="Page_429">[429]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_III" id="BVI_CHAPTER_III"></a><a href="#BVICIII">CHAPTER III</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1704.<br /> -May 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 9.</span><br /> - -June 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 2.</span><br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">5-10</span> - <span class="blka over">16-21</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p class="noindent">We left Villeroy with his army in the Low Countries -endeavouring not very successfully to obey the orders -which he had received, to watch Marlborough. On -the 29th of May, when the Duke had already crossed -the Neckar and fixed his quarters at Mondelheim, -Villeroy was still at Landau waiting for him to repass -the Rhine. On the following day, however, he took -counsel with Tallard, with the result that, while Marlborough -was marching to the attack of the Schellenberg -the French armies were streaming across the Rhine at -Kehl. Tallard then moved south towards Fribourg, -close to which he received intelligence of the Elector's -defeat. Thereupon both he and Villeroy entered the -defiles of the Black Forest, uniting at Horneberg, from -which point Tallard pushed on eastward alone. Advancing -to Villingen he wasted five precious days in an -unsuccessful effort to take that town, a mistake which -was not lost on Marlborough and Eugene. Called to -his senses by an urgent message from the Elector, -Tallard at last marched on by the south bank of the -Danube, encamped before Augsburg on the 23rd of -July, and three days later effected his junction with the -Elector and Marsin a few miles to the north of the city.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Tallard was no sooner fairly on his way than Eugene, -leaving a small garrison to hold the lines of Stollhofen, -hurried on parallel with him along the north bank of -the Danube, reaching Hochstädt on the day of the -enemy's junction at Augsburg. Marlborough meanwhile, -at the news of Tallard's arrival, had fallen back<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_430" id="Page_430">[430]</a></span> -northward in the direction of Neuburg on the Danube, -and was lying at Schobenhausen some twelve miles to -the south of the river. Hither came Eugene from -Hochstädt to concert operations. The French and -Bavarians were united to the south of the Danube; the -Allies were divided on both sides of the river. If Marlborough -fell back to Neuburg to join Eugene, the -enemy could pass the Lech and enter Bavaria; if -Eugene crossed the river to join Marlborough the -enemy could pass to the north of the river and cut -them off from Franconia, their only possible source of -supplies. It was agreed that Prince Lewis of Baden -should be detached with fifteen thousand men for the -siege of Ingolstadt; and, as it was reported that the -French were moving towards the Danube, Marlborough -advanced closer to the river, so as to be able to cross it -either at Neuburg or by the bridges which he had -thrown over it by the mouth of the Lech at Merxheim.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 9.</span><br /> - -July 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 10.</span><br /> - -July 31<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 11.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>On the 9th of August Prince Lewis marched off to -Ingolstadt, to the unspeakable relief of his colleagues, -and Eugene took his leave. Two hours later, however, -Eugene hurried back to report that the French were in -full march to the bridge of Dillingen, evidently intending -to cross the river and overwhelm his army. The -Prince hastened back and withdrew his army eastward -from Hochstädt to the Kessel. Marlborough, on his -side, at midnight sent three thousand cavalry over the -Danube to reinforce him, while twenty battalions under -Churchill followed them as far as the bridge of -Merxheim, with orders to halt on the south bank of the -river. Next morning the Duke brought the whole of -the army up to Rain, within a league of the Danube, -where he received fresh messages from Eugene urging -him to hasten to his assistance. At midnight Churchill -received his orders to pass the river and march for -the Kessel, and two hours later the whole army moved -off in two columns, one to cross the Danube at -Merxheim, the other to traverse the Lech at Rain and -the Danube at Donauwörth. At five on the same afternoon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_431" id="Page_431">[431]</a></span> -the whole of them were filing across the Wörnitz; -by ten that night the junction was complete, and the -united armies encamped on the Kessel, their right -resting on Kessel-Ostheim, their left on the village of -Munster and the Danube. Row's brigade of British -was pushed forward to occupy Munster; and then the -wearied troops lay down to rest. The main body had -been on foot for twenty hours, though it had covered -no more than twenty-four miles. Both columns had -passed the Danube and the Wörnitz, and the left -column the Ach and the Lech in addition. It is easy -to imagine how long and how trying such a march -must have been; it is less easy to appreciate the foresight -and arrangement which enabled it to be performed -at all.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">1</span> - <span class="blka over">12</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The artillery, which had perforce been left to come -up in the rear of the army, was by great exertions -brought up at dawn on the following morning. A -little later the Duke and Eugene rode forward with a -strong escort to reconnoitre the ground before them, -but perceiving the enemy's cavalry at a distance, -ascended the church-tower of Tapfheim, from whence -they descried the French quartermasters marking out a -camp between Blenheim and Lutzingen, some three or -four miles away. This was the very ground that they -had designed to take up themselves, and it was with no -small satisfaction that they perceived it to be occupied -by the enemy. The French and Bavarian commanders -had decided, after their junction on the Lech, that their -best policy would be to cross the Danube, take up a -strong position, and wait until want of supplies, by -which Marlborough had already been greatly embarrassed, -should compel the Allies to withdraw from -the country. Tallard had no idea of offering battle; -Marlborough indeed did not expect it of him, and had -not dared to hope that the marshal would allow an -action to be forced on him. But now that he had the -chance, the Duke resolved not to let it slip. Men were -not wanting to urge upon him the dangers of an attack<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_432" id="Page_432">[432]</a></span> -on a superior force. "I know the difficulties," he -answered, "but a battle is absolutely necessary, and I -rely on the discipline of my troops."</p> - -<p>The two camps lay some five miles apart, the ground -between them consisting of a plain of varying breadth -confined between a chain of woods and the Danube. -This plain is cut by a succession of streams running -down at right angles to the Danube, no fewer than -three crossing the line of the march between the Kessel -and the French position. The first of these, the -Reichen, cuts a ravine through which the road passed -close to the village of Dapfheim; and Marlborough, -seeing that at this point the enemy could greatly -embarrass his advance, sent forward pioneers to level -the ravine, and occupied the village with two brigades -of British and Hessian infantry.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the enemy entered their camp, Tallard -taking up his quarters on the right, Marsin in the centre, -and the Elector of Bavaria on the left. Tallard's -force consisted of thirty-six battalions and forty-four -squadrons of the best troops of France, his colleague's -of forty-six battalions and one hundred and eight -squadrons; yet notwithstanding this unequal distribution -of the cavalry, the force was encamped not as -one army but as two. The rule that infantry should -be massed in the centre and the cavalry divided on each -wing was followed, not for the entire host, but for each -army independently. Thus the centre was made up -of the cavalry of both armies without unity of command; -the infantry was distributed on each flank of it; and on -each flank of the infantry was yet another body of -cavalry. Yet it was an axiom in those days that an -army which ran the least risk of an engagement should -be encamped as nearly as possible according to the -probable disposition for action. This violation of rules -was not unperceived by Marlborough.</p> - -<p>The camp itself was situated at the top of an almost -imperceptible slope, which descends for a mile, without -affording the slightest cover, to a brook called the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_433" id="Page_433">[433]</a></span> -Nebel. Its right rested on the village of Blenheim, -little more than a furlong from the Danube; and here -were Tallard's headquarters. The village having an -extended front, and being covered by hedges and -palisades, could easily be converted into a strong -position. Half a mile above it a little boggy rivulet, -called the Maulweyer, which was destined to play an -important part in the next day's work, rises and flows -down through the village to the Danube. About two -miles up the Nebel from Blenheim, but on the opposite -or left bank of the stream, stands the village of Unterglau; -and a mile above this, on the same side of the -stream as Blenheim, and about a hundred yards from -the water, is another village called Oberglau. This -Oberglau was the centre of the position, and Marsin's -headquarters. A mile upward from Oberglau is another -village, Lutzingen, resting on wooded country much -broken by ravines. Here were the Elector's headquarters -and the extreme left of the enemy's position. -The Nebel, though no more than four yards broad at -its mouth, was a troublesome obstacle, its borders being -marshy, especially between Oberglau and Blenheim, and -in many places impassable. Below Unterglau this -swampy margin extended for a considerable breadth, -while opposite Blenheim the stream parted in twain and -flowed on each side of a small boggy islet. At the -head of this islet was a stone bridge, over which ran -the great road from Donauwörth to Dillingen. This -had been broken down, or at least damaged, by Tallard; -but herewith had ended his measures for obstructing -the passage of the Nebel.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2</span> - <span class="blka over">13</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>At two o'clock on the morrow morning, amid dense -white mist, the army of the Allies broke up its camp, -and passed the Kessel in eight columns, the two outermost -on each flank consisting of cavalry, the four -innermost of infantry. For this day the stereotyped -formation was to be reversed; the cavalry was to form -the centre and the infantry the wings. On reaching -Tapfheim the army halted, and the two outlying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_434" id="Page_434">[434]</a></span> -brigades, reinforced by eleven more battalions as well as -by cavalry, formed a ninth column on the extreme left, -to cover the march of the artillery along the great road -and in due time to attack Blenheim. The new column -was conspicuous from the red-coats of fourteen British -battalions, with Cutts the Salamander at its head.</p> - -<p>Then Marlborough, who commanded on the left, -directed his generals to occupy the ground from the -Danube to Oberglau, while Eugene's should prolong the -line from Oberglau upwards to Lutzingen. The columns -resumed the advance, spreading out like the sticks of a -fan, wider and wider, as the Imperial troops streamed -away to their appointed positions on the right. Fifty-two -thousand men in all were tramping forward, and -fifty-two guns groaning and creaking after them. Far -in advance of all Marlborough and Eugene pushed on -with a strong escort. At six o'clock they met and -drove back the French advanced posts, and at seven -they were on high ground within a mile of the Nebel -and in full view of the enemy's camp.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Marshal Tallard was taking things at -his ease, and had dispersed his cavalry to gather forage. -Even while his vedettes were falling back before Marlborough's -escort, he was calmly writing that the enemy -had turned out early and was almost certainly on the -march for Nördlingen. The morning was foggy, no -uncommon thing on the banks of great and marshy -rivers, and a dangerous enemy was within striking -distance; yet no precautions had been taken against -surprise. Then at seven o'clock the fog rolled away, -and there, in great streaks of blue and white and scarlet, -were the allied columns in full view, preparing to -deploy on the other side of the Nebel. Presently the -village of Unterglau and two mills farther down the -stream burst into smoke and flame, and the outlying -posts of the French came hurrying back across the -stream. Then all was hurry and confusion in the -French camp. Staff-officers flew off in all directions -with orders, signal-guns brought the foragers galloping<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_435" id="Page_435">[435]</a></span> -back, drums beat the assembly from end to end of the -line, and the troops fell in hastily before their tents.</p> - -<p>Tallard's eyesight was very defective, but he had -no difficulty in making out the red coats of Cutts's -column, and he knew by this time that where the -British were, there the heaviest fighting was to be -expected. He therefore lost no time in occupying -Blenheim. Four regiments of French dragoons trotted -down to seal up the space between the village and the -Danube, and presently almost the entire mass of the -infantry faced to the right, and the white coats began -striding away towards Blenheim itself. Eight squadrons -of horse in scarlet, easily recognisable by Marlborough -as the Gendarmerie, began Tallard's first line leftward -from the village, and other squadrons presently -prolonged it to Marsin's right wing. More cavalry -supported these in a second line, together with nine -battalions, which, being raw regiments, were not trusted -to stand in the first line. Then the artillery came -forward into position, ninety pieces in all, French and -Bavarian. Four twenty-four pounders were posted -before Blenheim, while a chain of batteries covered the -line from end to end.</p> - -<p>These dispositions completed, Tallard galloped off -to the left, for Marsin had never yet commanded more -than five hundred men in the field. Marsin's cavalry -was already drawn up in two lines; his infantry and -the Elector's was in rear of Oberglau and to the left of -it, and the village itself was strongly occupied. Beyond -this the left wing of cavalry stood in front of Lutzingen, -and beyond them again a few battalions doubled back -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">en potence</i> protected the Elector's extreme left flank.</p> - -<p>Marlborough on his side was equally busy. Blenheim -and Oberglau were, as he saw, too far apart to cover -the whole of the intervening ground with a cross-fire, -and the French cavalry on the slope above were too -remote to bar the passage of the Nebel. Officers -were sent down to sound the stream, the stone bridge -was repaired, and five pontoon bridges were laid, one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_436" id="Page_436">[436]</a></span> -above Unterglau, the rest below it. Cutts formed his -column into six lines, the first of Row's British brigade, -the second of Hessians, the third of Ferguson's British -brigade, and the fourth of Hanoverians, with two more -lines in reserve. The four remaining columns of Marlborough's -army were deployed between Wilheim and -Oberglau in four lines, the first and fourth of infantry, -with two lines of cavalry between them. The French -esteemed this a "bizarre"<a name="FNanchor_310_310" id="FNanchor_310_310"></a><a href="#Footnote_310_310" class="fnanchor">[310]</a> formation, but they understood -its purport before the day was over.</p> - -<p>At eight o'clock Tallard's batteries opened fire, -though with little effect. Eugene thereupon took -leave of Marlborough and hurried away to the right, -while the Duke occupied himself with the posting of -his artillery, every gun of which was stationed under -his own eye. The chaplains came forward to the heads -of the regiments and read prayers; and then the Duke -mounted and rode down the whole length of his line. -As he passed a round shot struck the ground under his -horse and covered him with dust. For a moment -every man held his breath, but in a few seconds the -calm figure with the red coat and the broad blue ribbon -reappeared, the horse moving slowly and quietly as -before, and the handsome face unchangeably serene.</p> - -<p>The inspection over, the Duke dismounted and -waited till Eugene should be ready. The delay was -long, and messenger after messenger was despatched to -ask the cause. The answer came that the ground on -the right was so much broken by wood and ravine that -the columns had been compelled to make a long detour, -and that formation had been hampered by the fire of -the enemy's artillery as well as by the necessity for -altering preconcerted dispositions. Marlborough waited -with impatience, for, whether he hoped to carry Blenheim -or not, every hour served to place it in a better state -of defence. The French dragoons by the river had -entrenched themselves behind a leaguer of waggons, -and the infantry in the village had turned every wall<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_437" id="Page_437">[437]</a></span> -and hedge and house to good account. Moreover Marlborough -had seen how strong the garrison of Blenheim -was, having probably counted every one of the twenty-seven -battalions into it, and identified them by their -colours as the finest in the French army.</p> - -<p>At last, at half-past twelve, an aide-de-camp galloped -up from Eugene to say that all was ready. Cutts was -instantly ordered to attack Blenheim, while the Duke -moved down towards the bridges over the Nebel. By -one o'clock Cutts's two leading lines were crossing the -stream by the ruins of the burnt mills under a heavy -fire of grape. On reaching the other side they halted -to reform under shelter of a slip of rising ground. -There the Hessians remained in reserve; and the -First Guards, Tenth, Twenty-first, Twenty-third, and -Twenty-fourth, with Brigadier Row on foot at their -head, advanced deliberately against Blenheim. They -were received at thirty paces distance by a deadly fire -from the French, but Row's orders were, that until he -struck the palisades not a shot must be fired, and that the -village must be carried with the steel. The British -pressed resolutely on, Row struck his sword into the -palisades, and the men pouring in their volley rushed -forward, striving to drag down the pales by main -strength in the vain endeavour to force an entrance. -In a few minutes a third of the brigade had fallen, Row -was mortally wounded, his lieutenant-colonel and major -were killed in the attempt to bring him off, and the -first line, shattered to pieces against a superior force in -a very strong position, fell back in disorder. As they -retired, three squadrons of the Gendarmerie swept down -upon their flank and seized the colours of the Twenty-first, -but pursuing their advantage too far were brought -up by the Hessians, who repulsed them with great -gallantry and recaptured the colours.</p> - -<p>Cutts observing more of the Gendarmerie preparing -to renew the attack asked for a reinforcement of cavalry -to protect his flank, whereupon five English squadrons -were ordered by General Lumley to cross the Nebel.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_438" id="Page_438">[438]</a></span> -Floundering with the greatest difficulty through the -swamp, these were immediately confronted by the -Gendarmerie, who, however, with astonishing feebleness -opened a fire of musketoons from the saddle. The -English promptly charged them sword in hand and put -them to flight, but pursuing as usual too far were -galled by the flank fire from Blenheim and compelled -to retire.</p> - -<p>Cutts's two remaining lines now crossed the Nebel -for a fresh attack on Blenheim. The enemy had by -this time brought forward more artillery to sweep the -fords with grape-shot, but the British made good their -footing on the opposite bank and compelled the guns -to retire. Then Ferguson's brigade advanced together -with Row's against the village once more, carried the -outskirts, but could penetrate no further in spite of -several desperate attacks, and were finally obliged to -fall back with very heavy loss. The subordinate -generals would have thrown away more lives<a name="FNanchor_311_311" id="FNanchor_311_311"></a><a href="#Footnote_311_311" class="fnanchor">[311]</a> had not -Marlborough given orders that the regiments should -take up a sheltered position and keep up a feigned -attack by constant fire of platoons. Then, withdrawing -the Hanoverian brigade to the infantry of the centre, the -Duke turned the whole of his attention to that quarter.</p> - -<p>During these futile attacks on Blenheim, the four -lines of Marlborough's main army were struggling with -much difficulty across the Nebel. The first line of -infantry passed first, and drew up at intervals to cover -the passage of the cavalry; while eleven battalions, -under the Prince of Holstein-Beck, were detached to -carry the village of Oberglau. Then the cavalry filed -down to the stream, using fascines and every other -means that they could devise to help them through the -treacherous miry ground. The British cavalry had the -hardest of the work, being on the extreme left, and -therefore not only confronted with the worst of the -ground, but exposed to the fire of the artillery at -Blenheim. With immense difficulty the squadrons<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_439" id="Page_439">[439]</a></span> -extricated themselves and, with horses blown and heated, -was forming up in front of the infantry, when the -squadrons of the French right, fresh and favoured by -the ground, came down full upon them. The first line -of the British was borne back to the very edge of the -stream, but the pursuit was checked by the fire of the -infantry. Then the Prussian General Bothmar fell -upon the disordered French with the second line of -cavalry, and drove them in confusion behind the -Maulweyer. Reinforced by additional squadrons he -held the line of the rivulet and kept them penned in -behind it, for the French could not cross it, and dared -not pass round the head of it for fear of being charged -in flank. It was not until two battalions had been -sent from Blenheim to ply the allied squadrons with -musketry that Bothmar retired, and some, but not all, -of the French cavalry on this side was released.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile General Lumley had rallied his broken -troops, and the squadrons further to the right had -successfully crossed the Nebel. Still further up the -water the Danish and Hanoverian cavalry had been put -to the same trial as the British, being exposed to the -fire from Oberglau and to the charges of Marsin's -horse. While the combat was still swaying at this -point the Prince of Holstein-Beck delivered his attack -on Oberglau. He was instantly met by a fierce counterattack -from the Irish Brigade, which was stationed in -the village. His two foremost battalions were cut to -pieces, he himself was mortally wounded, and affairs -would have gone ill had not Marlborough hastened up -with fresh infantry and artillery, and forced the enemy -back into Oberglau. Thus the passage for the central -line of the allied cavalry was secured.</p> - -<p>It was now three o'clock; and Marlborough sent an -aide-de-camp to Eugene to ask how things fared with -him. The Prince was holding his own and no more. -His infantry had behaved admirably, but his horse had -supported them but ill; and three consecutive attacks -though brilliantly begun had ended in failure. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_440" id="Page_440">[440]</a></span> -fact was that the Elector, with better judgment than -Tallard, had moved his troops down towards the water, -and was straining every nerve to prevent his enemy -from crossing. Meanwhile Marlborough, having at last -brought the whole of his force across the Nebel, formed -the cavalry in two grand lines for the final attack, the -infantry being ranged at intervals to the left rear as -rallying-points for any broken squadron. Tallard, on -his side, brought forward the nine battalions of his -centre from the second line to the first, a disposition -which was met by Marlborough by the advance of -three Hanoverian battalions and a battery of artillery. -For a time these young French infantry stood firm -against the rain of great and small shot, closing up -their ranks as fast as they were broken; but the trial -was too severe for them. Tallard strove hard to relieve -them by a charge of the squadrons on their left, but his -cavalry would not move; and Marlborough's horse -crashed into the hapless battalions, cut them down by -whole ranks, and swept them out of existence.</p> - -<p>Then Tallard's sins found him out. The cavalry -of Marsin's right, seeing their flank exposed, swerved -back upon Marsin's centre; a wide gap was cut in the -French line; and Tallard's army was left isolated and -alone. The marshal sent urgent messages to Marsin -for reinforcements, and to Blenheim for the withdrawal -of the infantry; but Marsin could not spare a man, -and the order reached Blenheim too late. Marlborough -was riding along the ranks of his cavalry from right to -left, and presently the trumpets sounded the charge, -and the two long lines swept sword in hand up the -slope. The French stood firm for a brief space, and -then, after a feeble volley from the saddle, they broke, -wheeled round upon their supports, and carried all away -with them in confusion. Thirty squadrons fled wildly -in rear of Blenheim towards the river. General -Hompesch's division of horse by the Duke's order -brought up their right shoulders and galloped after -them; and the fugitives in panic madness plunged<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_441" id="Page_441">[441]</a></span> -down the slope towards the Danube. The great river -was before them, another stream and a swamp to their -right; and there was no escape. Some dashed into the -water and tried to swim away, others crept along the -bank and over the morass towards Hochstädt, others -again broke back over the slope towards Morselingen; -but the relentless Hompesch left them no rest. Those -that reached Hochstädt found themselves cut off, -for another division of fugitives had fled thither -straight from the field with Marlborough himself hard -at their heels. Hundreds were drowned, hundreds were -cut down, and a vast number taken prisoners. A few -only preserving some semblance of order made good -their retreat.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Marsin and the Elector, seeing the -collapse of Tallard's army, set fire to Oberglau and -Lutzingen, and began their retreat, with Eugene in full -march after them. Marlborough thereupon recalled -Hompesch and prepared to break up this army also -by a flank attack; but in the dusk Eugene's troops -were mistaken for the enemy, so Marsin was permitted -to escape, though with an army much shaken and -demoralised. But there were still the French battalions -in Blenheim, which Churchill, after the defeat of -Tallard's cavalry, had made haste to envelope with his -infantry and dragoons. Tallard had been captured -while on his way to them, and the finest troops of France -were locked up in the village without orders of any -kind, helpless and inactive, and too much crowded -together for effective action. At last they tried to -break out to the rear of the village, but were headed -back by the Scots Greys; they made another attempt -on the other side, and were checked by the Irish -Dragoons. Churchill was just about to attack them -with infantry and artillery in overwhelming force, when -the French proposed a parley. Churchill would hear -of nothing but unconditional surrender. Regiment -Navarre in shame and indignation burnt its colours -rather than yield them, but there was no help for it;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_442" id="Page_442">[442]</a></span> -and twenty-four battalions of infantry together with -four regiments of dragoons laid down their arms, many -of them not having fired a shot. The officers were -stupefied by their misfortune, and could only ejaculate -"<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Oh, que dira le Roi, que dira le Roi!</span>" Seldom has -harder fate overtaken brave men.</p> - -<p>The day was closing when Marlborough borrowed -a leaf from a commissary's pocket-book and wrote a -note in pencil to his wife, the message and the handwriting -both those of a man who is quite tired out.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<p class="right fs80">"<em>13th August 1704.</em></p> - -<p>"I have not time to say more, but to beg you will -give my duty to the queen, and let her know her army -has had a glorious victory, Monsr. Tallard and two -other generals are in my coach and I am following the -rest. The bearer, my aide-de-camp, Colonel Parke, -will give her an account of what has pass'd. I shall doe -it in a day or two by another more at large.</p> - -<p class="right smcap">"Marlborough."</p></div> - -<p>So Colonel Parke galloped away with the news to -England, and the broad Danube bore the same tale to -the east as it rolled the white-coated corpses in silence -towards the sea.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_442fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 442</em></p> -BLENHEIM<br /> -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2<sup>nd</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">13<sup>th</sup></span> -</span> 1704<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>The total loss of the Allies amounted to four -thousand five hundred killed and seven thousand five -hundred wounded, of which the British numbered six -hundred and seventy killed and over fifteen hundred -wounded. No regimental list of the casualties seems to -exist, but judging from their loss in officers the Tenth, -Fifteenth, Sixteenth, Twenty-first, and Twenty-sixth -regiments of Foot, and the Third, Sixth, and Seventh -Dragoon Guards were the corps that suffered most -severely—the Twenty-sixth in particular losing twenty -officers, the Carabiniers ten officers and seventy-four -horses, and the Seventh Dragoon Guards six officers and -seventy-five horses. But most remarkable, and perhaps -most splendid of all, is the record of the regiments -which had been so terribly shattered at the Schellenberg.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_443" id="Page_443">[443]</a></span> -The Guards lost their colonel and seven other officers; -the two battalions of the Royal Scots lost twelve, and -the Twenty-third nine officers, notwithstanding that the -former had already lost thirty and the latter sixteen -little more than a month before. Troops that will -stand such punishment as this twice within a few weeks -are not to be found in every army.</p> - -<p>The losses of the French and their allies in killed, -wounded, and prisoners, on the day of the battle and -during the subsequent pursuit, fell little short of forty -thousand men. Marlborough and Eugene divided -eleven thousand prisoners, while the trophies included -one hundred guns of various calibres, twenty-four -mortars, one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one -hundred and seventy-one standards and other less -important items, together, of course, with the whole of -the French camp.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">3</span> - <span class="blka over">14</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The Allies lay on their arms on the field during the -night after the battle, moved on for a short march on -the morrow, and then halted for four days. The -troops were very greatly fatigued, and Marlborough -was much embarrassed by the multitude of his prisoners, -so the pursuit, if pursuit it can be called, was left to the -hussars of the Imperial Army. The Elector, however, -needed no spur. On the night of the battle he crossed -the Danube at Lavingen, and destroying the bridge -behind him hurried back toward Ulm. Then, without -pausing for a moment or attempting to obtain aid from -Villeroy, he hastened on by forced marches, rather in -flight than retreat, through the Black Forest to the -Rhine. The sufferings of his troops were terrible. -He had carried with him a thousand wounded officers -and six thousand wounded men; and there was not a -village on the line of march that had not its churchyard -choked with the graves of those that had succumbed. -The Imperial hussars too hung restlessly round his -skirts, cutting off every straggler and bringing back -multitudes of prisoners and deserters. Altogether it -was a disastrous retreat.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_444" id="Page_444">[444]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">8</span> - <span class="blka over">19</span> -</span>.<br /> - -August 28<br /> -<span class="over"> - Sept. 8.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>On the 19th of August Marlborough resumed his -march up the Danube, having first recalled Prince -Lewis of Baden from Ingolstadt, and occupied Augsburg. -On arrival at Ulm a force was detached to besiege the -town, while the main army marched back in three -columns by the line of its original advance. By the -8th of September the whole force, strengthened by a -reinforcement from Stollhofen, had crossed the Rhine -and was concentrated at Philipsburg.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">5</span> - <span class="blka over">16</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Nov. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Villeroy, who with his own army and the remains of -the Elector's had taken post in the Queich to cover -Landau, now fell back without pausing to the Lauter, -very much to the relief of Marlborough, who found it -difficult to understand such feebleness even after such a -defeat as that of Blenheim. Landau was accordingly -invested by Prince Lewis of Baden, while Marlborough -and Eugene covered the operations. The siege lasted -long, and in October Marlborough, weary of such slow -work, made a sudden spring upon Treves, gave orders -for the siege of Trarbach, and so secured his winter -quarters on the Moselle. The fall of Trarbach and the -capture of Landau closed the campaign; and the occupation -of Consaarbrück at the confluence of the Moselle -and Saar showed what was to be the starting-point for -the next year. A full week before the fall of Landau -the English troops, so much weakened that their fourteen -battalions had been temporarily reorganised into -seven, were sent into winter quarters for the rest that -they had earned so well.</p> - -<p>Thus ended the famous campaign of Blenheim, a -name which is rightly grouped with Creçy, Poitiers, -Agincourt, and Waterloo. For well-nigh forty years -the French arms had triumphed in every quarter of -Europe, checked indeed by an occasional reverse, such -as that of Namur, but by no failure that could be -counted against the long succession of victories. But -now an English general had rudely broken the chain of -successes by a crushing defeat, with every circumstance -of humiliation. First, the French marshals had been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_445" id="Page_445">[445]</a></span> -<ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'wholly ontwitted'">wholly outwitted</ins> by Marlborough's march to the -Danube. Next, when they approached him it was without -an idea of offering battle, but in full confidence -that their manœuvres, added to their superior numbers, -would compel him to withdraw. Yet to their astonishment -the despised enemy had attacked them without -hesitation, utterly destroyed one complete army and -driven the relics of another in headlong flight to the -Rhine. The dismay in Paris was profound; but -mighty was the exultation in England, for the nation -felt that the old traditions were right after all, and that -the English were still better men than the French.<a name="FNanchor_312_312" id="FNanchor_312_312"></a><a href="#Footnote_312_312" class="fnanchor">[312]</a> -"Welcome to England, Sir," said an English butcher -to Tallard, as the captured marshal was escorted with<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_446" id="Page_446">[446]</a></span> -every mark of respect into Nottingham. "Welcome -to England. I hope to see your master here next year." -It was the revival of this feeling in all its old intensity, -after a pause of nearly three centuries, that was to win -for England her empire in East and West.</p> - -<p>Yet amid all the noise of triumph and jubilation -there were two men who preserved their modesty and -tranquillity unmoved; and these were Marlborough and -Eugene. Each quietly disclaimed credit for himself, -each eagerly welcomed praise for the other. The -French prisoners were comforted by Eugene's testimony -to their gallant resistance to his own army, while even -the unfortunate officers who had been swept into the -net in the village of Blenheim found consolation in the -thoughtful and generous courtesy of the great Duke.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_447" id="Page_447">[447]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_IV" id="BVI_CHAPTER_IV"></a><a href="#BVICIV">CHAPTER IV</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1704.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Our attention is now claimed for a time by the Peninsula, -where the War of the Spanish Succession was to be -carried forward on Spanish soil. In January 1704 the -Imperial claimant to the throne, the Archduke Charles -of Austria, otherwise King Charles the Third of Spain, -arrived in England, and was sent away with an English -fleet and an English army to possess himself of his -kingdom. Portugal had offered to help him with -twenty-eight thousand men, to which the Dutch had -added two thousand under General Fagel, and the -British six thousand five hundred men,<a name="FNanchor_313_313" id="FNanchor_313_313"></a><a href="#Footnote_313_313" class="fnanchor">[313]</a> under Mainhard, -Duke of Schomberg, a son of the old marshal. -The campaign of 1704 need not detain us. It was -speedily found that the Portuguese army was ill-equipped -and inefficient, the magazines empty, the -fortresses in ruins, the transport not in existence. To -add to these shortcomings, Schomberg and Fagel -quarrelled so bitterly that they went off, each with his -own troops, in two different directions.</p> - -<p>The result might have been foreseen. King Philip, -sometime Duke of Anjou, and the Duke of Berwick -with twelve thousand French, marched down to the -fortresses on the Portuguese frontier, and took them -one after another without difficulty. So ready and -eager were the Portuguese to surrender these strongholds -that they made over not only themselves as -prisoners of war, but also to their extreme indignation<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_448" id="Page_448">[448]</a></span> -two British regiments, the Ninth and Eleventh Foot, -which had the misfortune to be in garrison with them. -Marlborough, in all the press of his work on the -Danube, was called upon to nominate a successor to the -incompetent Schomberg and selected the Huguenot -Ruvigny, Earl of Galway, for the post. With this -appointment we may for the present take leave of the -Peninsula.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Meanwhile, however, the fleet under Sir George -Rooke, and a handful of marines under Prince George -of Hesse-Darmstadt, brought a new and unexpected -possession to England by the surprise of Gibraltar, -which, though captured for King Charles the Third, was -kept for Queen Anne. The intrinsic value of the Rock -in those days was small, and its value as a military -position was little understood in England; but it was -at any rate a capture and very soon it became a centre -of sentiment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -October 4.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>After the surrender of Gibraltar the fleet sailed away, -leaving Prince George with a good store of provisions -and about two thousand men to hold it. These troops, -though now numbered the Fourth, Thirty-first, and -Thirty-second of the Line, were at that time Marines, a -corps which, despite brilliant and incessant service by sea -and land in all parts of the world, still contents itself -with the outward record of a single name, Gibraltar. -Prince George lost no time in repairing the fortifications, -and with good reason, for at the end of August a -Spanish force of eight thousand men marched down to -the isthmus, while a month later four thousand Frenchmen -were disembarked at the head of the bay. These -joint forces then began the siege of Gibraltar.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">December.</div> - -<p>The operations were pushed forward with great -vigour, and the besieged were soon hard beset. At the -end of October Admiral Leake contrived to throw -stores and a couple of hundred men on to the Rock, -together with an officer of engineers, one Captain -Joseph Bennett, whose energy and ability were of priceless -value. The siege dragged on for another month,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_449" id="Page_449">[449]</a></span> -the British repulsing an attack from the eastern side -with heavy loss; but by the end of November the -garrison had dwindled to one thousand men, exhausted -by the fatigue of incessant duty. At last, in the -middle of December a stronger reinforcement of two -thousand men,<a name="FNanchor_314_314" id="FNanchor_314_314"></a><a href="#Footnote_314_314" class="fnanchor">[314]</a> having first narrowly escaped capture -by a French fleet, was successfully landed on the Rock; -and then Prince George turned upon the besiegers, and -by a succession of brilliant sorties almost paralysed -further progress on their side.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1705.<br /> -Jan. 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -Feb. 7.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>In the middle of January, however, a reinforcement -of four thousand men reached the enemy's camp; their -batteries renewed their fire, and a great breach was -made in the Round Tower, which formed one of the -principal defences on the western side. On the morning -of the 27th an assault was delivered, and thirteen -hundred men swarmed up to the attack of the Round -Tower. They were met by a brave resistance by one-fifth -of their number of British, but after a severe -struggle they overpowered them, drove them out, and -pressed on to gain possession of a gate leading into the -main fortress. There, however, they were checked by -a handful of Seymour's Marines,<a name="FNanchor_315_315" id="FNanchor_315_315"></a><a href="#Footnote_315_315" class="fnanchor">[315]</a> just seventeen men, -under Captain Fisher. Few though they were, this -gallant little band held its own, until the arrival of -some of the Thirteenth and of the Coldstream Guards -enabled them to force the enemy back and drive them -headlong out of the Round Tower.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -March -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">10</span> - <span class="blka over">21</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>This brilliant little affair marked practically the close -of the siege. Further reinforcements arrived for the -garrison, and Marshal Tessé, who had taken command -of the siege, fell back on the bombardment of the town, -which was speedily laid in ruins. The advent of a -French squadron seemed likely at one moment to -hearten the besiegers to renewed efforts, but Bennett, -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_450" id="Page_450">[450]</a></span> -who ever since his arrival had been the soul of the -defence, had by that time constructed fresh batteries -and was fully prepared. Finally, in March Admiral -Leake's fleet appeared on the scene, destroyed a third -of the French squadron, and definitely relieved the -fortress. By the middle of April the last of the -Frenchmen had disappeared and Gibraltar was safe. -Though the scale of the operations may seem small the -siege had cost the enemy no fewer than twelve thousand -men.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1704.<br />1705.</div> - -<p>Meanwhile Parliament had met on the 29th of the -previous October, full of congratulations to the Queen -on the triumphs of the past campaign. There were -not wanting, of course, men who, in the madness of -faction, doubted whether Blenheim were really a victory, -for the very remarkable reason that Marlborough had -won it, but they were soon silenced by the retort that -the King of France at any rate had no doubts on the -point.<a name="FNanchor_316_316" id="FNanchor_316_316"></a><a href="#Footnote_316_316" class="fnanchor">[316]</a> The plans for the next campaign were designed -on a large scale, and were likely to strain the resources -of the Army to the uttermost. The West Indies -demanded six battalions and Gibraltar three battalions -for garrison; Portugal claimed ten thousand men, -Flanders from twenty to twenty-five thousand; while -besides this a design was on foot, as shall presently be -seen, for the further relief of Portugal by a diversion -in Catalonia. Five millions were cheerfully voted for -the support of the war, and six new battalions were -raised, namely, Wynne's, Bretton's, Lepell's, Soames's, -Sir Charles Hotham's, and Lillingston's, the last of -which alone has survived to our day with the rank of -the Thirty-eighth of the Line.<a name="FNanchor_317_317" id="FNanchor_317_317"></a><a href="#Footnote_317_317" class="fnanchor">[317]</a></p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_450fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 450</em></p> -GIBRALTAR<br /> -1705<br /> -<em>From a contemporary Plan<br /> -by<br /> -Col. D'Harcourt</em><br /> -</div></div> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">17</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough's plan of campaign had been sufficiently -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_451" id="Page_451">[451]</a></span> -foreshadowed at the close of the previous year, namely, -to advance on the line of the Moselle and carry the -war into Lorraine. The Emperor and all the German -Princes promised to be in the field early, the Dutch -were with infinite difficulty persuaded to give their -consent, and after much vexatious delay Marlborough -joined his army at Treves on the 26th of May. Here -he waited until the 17th of June for the arrival of the -German and Imperial troops. Not a man nor a horse -appeared. In deep chagrin he broke up his camp and -returned to the Meuse, having lost, as he said, one -of the fairest opportunities in the world through the -faithlessness of his allies.<a name="FNanchor_318_318" id="FNanchor_318_318"></a><a href="#Footnote_318_318" class="fnanchor">[318]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">May 21.<br /> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">14</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>His presence was sorely needed on the Meuse. -Villeroy, who commanded the French in Flanders, -finding no occasion for his presence on the Moselle, -had moved out of his lines, captured Huy, and then -marching on to Liège had invested the citadel. The -States-General in a panic of fright urged Marlborough -to return without delay, and Overkirk, who commanded -the Dutch on the Meuse, added his entreaties to theirs. -Marlborough, when once he had made up his mind to -move, never moved slowly, and by the 25th of June he -was at Düren, to the eastward of Aix-la-Chapelle. -Here he was still the best part of forty miles from the -Meuse, but that was too near for Villeroy, who at once -abandoned Liège and fell back on Tongres. Marlborough, -continuing his advance, crossed the Meuse at -Visé on the 2nd of July, and on the same day united -his army with Overkirk's at Haneff on the Upper -Jaar. Villeroy thereupon retired ignominiously within -his fortified lines.</p> - -<p>These lines, which had been making during the past -three years, were now complete. They started from -the Meuse a little to the east of Namur, passed from -thence to the Mehaigne and the Little Geete, followed -the Little Geete along its left bank to Leuw and thence<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_452" id="Page_452">[452]</a></span> -along the Great Geete to the Demer; from thence they -ran up the Demer as far as Arschot, from which point -a new line of entrenchments carried the barrier through -Lierre to Antwerp. Near Antwerp Marlborough had -already had to do with these lines in 1703, but hitherto -he had made no attempt to force them. Villeroy and -the Elector of Bavaria now lay before him with seventy -thousand men, a force superior to his own, but -necessarily spread over a wide front for the protection -of the entrenchments. The marshal's headquarters -were at Meerdorp, in the space between the Geete and -the Mehaigne, which he probably regarded as a weak -point. Marlborough posted himself over against him -at Lens-les-Beguines, detaching a small force to re-capture -Huy while Overkirk with the Dutch army -covered the siege from Vignamont. Thus, as if daring -the French to take advantage of the dispersion of his -army, he quietly laid his plans for forcing the lines.</p> - -<p>The point that he selected was on the Little Geete -between Elixheim and Neerhespen, exactly in rear of -the battlefield of Landen. The abrupt and slippery -banks of the river, which the English knew but too -well, together with the entrenchments beyond it, presented -extraordinary difficulties, but the lines were on -that account the less likely to be well guarded at that -particular point. Marlborough had already obtained -the leave of the States-General for the project, but he -had now the far more difficult task of gaining the -consent of the Dutch generals at a Council of War. -Slangenberg and others opposed the scheme vehemently, -but were overruled; and the Duke was at length at -liberty to fall to work.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 11.</span><br /> -July.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Huy fell on the 11th of July, but to the general -surprise the besieging force was not recalled. Six days -later Overkirk and the covering army crossed the -Mehaigne from Vignamont and pushed forward detachments -to the very edge of the lines between Meffle -and Namur. Villeroy fell into the trap, withdrew -troops from all parts of the lines and concentrated<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_453" id="Page_453">[453]</a></span> -forty thousand men at Meerdorp. Marlborough then -recalled the troops from Huy, and made them up to a -total of about eight thousand men, both cavalry and -infantry,<a name="FNanchor_319_319" id="FNanchor_319_319"></a><a href="#Footnote_319_319" class="fnanchor">[319]</a> the whole being under the command of the -Count of Noyelles. The utmost secrecy was observed -in every particular. The corps composing the detachment -knew nothing of each other, and nothing of the -work before them; and, lest the sight of fascines should -suggest an attack on entrenchments, these were dispensed -with, the troopers only at the last moment receiving -orders to carry each a truss of forage on the saddle -before them.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">17</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6-7</span> - <span class="blka over">17-18</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>At tattoo the detachment fell in silently before the -camp of the right wing, and at nine o'clock moved off -without a sound in two columns, the one upon Neerhespen, -the other upon the Castle of Wange before -Elixheim. An hour later the rest of the army followed, -while at the same time Overkirk, under cover of the -darkness, crossed the Mehaigne at Tourines and joined -his van to the rear of Marlborough's army. The -distance to be traversed was from ten to fifteen miles; -the night though dry was dark; and the guides, -frequently at fault, were fain to direct themselves by -the trusses dropped on the way by the advanced -detachment. Twelve years before to the very day a -French army had toiled along the same route, wearied -out and stifled by the sun, and only kept to its task by -an ugly little hunch-backed man whom it had reverenced -as Marshal Luxemburg. Now English and -Dutch were blundering on to take revenge for Luxemburg's -victory at the close of that march. The hours -fled on, the light began to break, and the army found -itself on the field of Landen, William's entrenchment -grass-grown before it, Neerwinden and Laer lying -silent to the left, and before the villages the mound -that hid the corpses of the dead. Then some at least -of the soldiers knew the work that lay before them.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_454" id="Page_454">[454]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>At four o'clock the heads of the columns halted -within a mile of the Geete, wrapped in a thick mist and -hidden from the eye of the enemy. The advanced -detachment quickly cleared the villages by the river, -seized the bridge before the Castle of Wanghe, which -had not been broken down, and drove out the garrison -of the Castle itself. Then the pontoniers came forward -to lay their bridges; but the infantry would not wait -for them. They scrambled impatiently through hedges -and over bogs, down one steep bank of the river and -up the other, into the ditch beyond, and finally, breathless -and dripping, over the rampart into the lines. So -numerous were the hot-heads who thus broke in that -they forced three regiments of French dragoons to -retire before them without attempting resistance. -Then the cavalry of the detachment began to file -rapidly over the pontoon-bridges; but meanwhile the -alarm had been given, and before the main army could -cross, the French came down in force from the north, -some twenty battalions and forty squadrons, in all close -on fifteen thousand men, with a battery of eight guns.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_454fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 454</em></p> -LINES OF THE GEETE.<br /> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span> 1705.<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>The enemy advanced rapidly, their cavalry leading, -until checked by a hollow way which lay between them -and the Allies, where they halted to deploy. Marlborough -took in the whole situation at a glance. -Forming his thirty-eight squadrons into two lines, with -the first line composed entirely of British, he led them -across the hollow way and charged the French sword -in hand. They answered by a feeble fire from the -saddle and broke in confusion, but presently rallying -fell in counter-attack upon the British and broke them -in their turn. Marlborough, who was riding on the -flank, was cut off and left isolated with his trumpeter -and groom. A Frenchman galloped up and aimed at -him so furious a blow that, failing to strike him, he -fell from his horse and was captured by the trumpeter. -Then the allied squadrons rallied, and charging the -French once more broke them past all reforming and -captured the guns. The French infantry now retired<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_455" id="Page_455">[455]</a></span> -very steadily in square, and the Duke sent urgent -messages for his own foot. But by some mistake the -battalions had been halted after crossing the Geete, so -that the French were able to make good their retreat.</p> - -<p>By this time Villeroy, who had spent the night in -anxious expectation of an attack at Meerdorp, had -hurried up with his cavalry, only to find that the Duke -was master of the lines. Hastily giving orders for his -scattered troops to pass the Geete at Judoigne he began -his retreat upon Louvain. Presently up came Marlborough's -infantry at an extraordinary pace, the men -as fresh and lively after fifteen hours of fatigue as if -they had just left camp. The Duke was anxious to -follow up his success forthwith, a movement which -the French had good reason to dread, but the Dutch -generals opposed him, and Marlborough was reluctantly -constrained to yield. The loss of the French seems to -have been about two thousand men, most of them -prisoners, a score of standards and colours, of which -the Fifth Dragoon Guards claimed four as their own, -and eighteen guns, eight of which were triple-barrelled -and were sent across the Channel to be copied in -England.<a name="FNanchor_320_320" id="FNanchor_320_320"></a><a href="#Footnote_320_320" class="fnanchor">[320]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">8</span> - <span class="blka over">19</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The Allies halted for the night at Tirlemont, and -advancing next day upon Louvain struck against the -rear of the French columns and captured fifteen hundred -prisoners. That night they encamped within a mile to -the east of Louvain, while the French, once again -distributing their force along a wider front, lined the -left bank of the Dyle from the Demer to the Yssche, -with their centre at Louvain. Marlborough had hoped -to push in at once, but he was stopped by heavy rains -that rendered the Dyle impassable; and it was not -until ten days later that, after infinite trouble with the -Dutch, he was able to pursue his design.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">18</span> - <span class="blka over">29</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The operations for the passage of the Dyle were -conducted in much the same way as in the forcing of -the lines. An advanced detachment was pushed forward<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_456" id="Page_456">[456]</a></span> -from each wing of the army, that from the right or -English<a name="FNanchor_321_321" id="FNanchor_321_321"></a><a href="#Footnote_321_321" class="fnanchor">[321]</a> flank being appointed to cross the river under -the Duke of Würtemberg at Corbeek Dyle, that -from the left under General Heukelom to pass it at -Neeryssche. The detachments fell in at five in the -evening, reached their appointed destination at ten, and -effected their passage with perfect success. The main -bodies started at midnight, and went somewhat astray -in the darkness, though by three o'clock the Dutch -army was within supporting distance of its detachment -and the British rapidly approaching it. The river had -been in fact forced, when suddenly the Dutch generals -halted their main body. Marlborough rode up to -inquire the cause, and was at once taken aside by -Slangenberg. "For God's sake, my Lord—" began -the Dutchman vehemently, and continued to protest -with violent gesticulations. No sooner was Marlborough's -back turned than the Dutch generals, like -a parcel of naughty schoolboys, recalled Heukelom's -detachment. Thus the passage won with so much -skill was for no cause whatever abandoned, without loss -indeed, but also not without mischievous encouragement -to the French, who boasted loudly that they had -repulsed their redoubtable adversary.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">5</span> - <span class="blka over">16</span> -</span>.<br /> - -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">17</span> -</span>.<br /> - -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Deeply hurt and annoyed though he was, the Duke, -with miraculous patience, excused in his public -despatches the treachery and imbecility which had -thwarted him, and prepared to effect his purpose in -another way. His movements were hastened by news -that French reinforcements, set free by the culpable -inaction of Prince Lewis of Baden, were on their way -from Alsace. Unable to pass the Dyle he turned its -head-waters at Genappe, and wheeling north towards -the forest of Soignies encamped between La Hulpe and -Braine l'Alleud.<a name="FNanchor_322_322" id="FNanchor_322_322"></a><a href="#Footnote_322_322" class="fnanchor">[322]</a> The French at once took the alarm -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_457" id="Page_457">[457]</a></span> -and posted themselves behind the river Yssche, with -their left at Neeryssche, and their right at Overyssche -resting on the forest of Soignies. Marlborough at -once resolved to force the passage of the river. -On the evening of the 17th of August he detached -his brother Churchill with ten thousand foot and two -thousand horse to advance through the forest and turn -the French right; while he himself marched away at -daybreak with the rest of the army and emerged into -the plain between the Yssche and the Lasne. The -Duke quickly found two assailable points, and choosing -that of Overyssche, halted the army pending the arrival -of the artillery. The guns were long in arriving, -Slangenberg having insisted, despite the Duke's express -instructions, on forcing his own baggage into the column -for the express purpose of causing delay. At last about -noon the artillery appeared, and Marlborough asked -formal permission of the Dutch deputies to attack. To -his surprise, although Overkirk had already consented, -they claimed to consult their generals. Slangenberg -with every mark of insolence condemned the project -as murder and massacre, the rest solemnly debated the -matter for another two hours, the auspicious moment -passed away exactly as they intended, and another great -opportunity was lost. The French reinforcements -arrived, and having been the weaker became the -stronger force. Nothing more could be done for the -rest of the campaign, but to level the French lines from -the Demer to the Mehaigne.</p> - -<p>Thus for the third time a brilliant campaign was -spoilt by the Dutch generals and deputies. Fortunately -the public indignation both in England and in Holland -was too strong for them, and Slangenberg, though -not indeed hanged as he deserved, was deprived of -all further command. Jealousy, timidity, ignorance, -treachery, and flat imbecility seem to have been the -motives that inspired these men, whose conduct has<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_458" id="Page_458">[458]</a></span> -never been reprobated according to its demerit. It was -they who were responsible for the prolongation of the -war, for the burden that it laid on England, and for the -untold misery that it wrought in France. Left to -himself Marlborough would have forced the French to -peace in three campaigns, and the war would not have -been ended in shame and disgrace by the Treaty of -Utrecht.<a name="FNanchor_323_323" id="FNanchor_323_323"></a><a href="#Footnote_323_323" class="fnanchor">[323]</a></p> - -<p>Consolation for the disappointment in Flanders came -from an unexpected quarter. In Portugal, indeed, -comparatively little was done. An army was made up -of about three thousand British<a name="FNanchor_324_324" id="FNanchor_324_324"></a><a href="#Footnote_324_324" class="fnanchor">[324]</a> under Lord Galway, -two thousand Dutch under General Fagel, and twelve -thousand Portuguese under the Spanish General de -Corsana; and to avoid friction it was arranged that these -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_459" id="Page_459">[459]</a></span>three generals should hold command alternately for a -week at a time. In such circumstances it was surprising -that they should even have accomplished the siege and -capture of three weak fortresses, Valenza, Albuquerque, -and Badajoz, with which achievements the campaign -came to an end.<a name="FNanchor_325_325" id="FNanchor_325_325"></a><a href="#Footnote_325_325" class="fnanchor">[325]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">9</span> - <span class="blka over">20</span> -</span>.<br /> - -August -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>But in Catalonia the operations were of a more -brilliant kind. The Catalans were known to favour -the Austrian side; and it was accordingly resolved in -this year to send a fleet and an army to back them -under Admiral Leake and Lord Peterborough, the -latter to be joint admiral at sea as well as commander-in-chief -ashore. The character of Peterborough is one -of the riddles of history. He was now forty years of -age, and had so far distinguished himself chiefly by -general eccentricity, not always of a harmless kind, and, -in common with most prominent men of his age, by -remarkable pliancy of principle. His experience of -active service was slight and had been gained afloat -rather than ashore, and though he had long held the -colonelcy of a regiment, he had never commanded in -war nor in peace. His force consisted of six British<a name="FNanchor_326_326" id="FNanchor_326_326"></a><a href="#Footnote_326_326" class="fnanchor">[326]</a> -and four Dutch battalions, or about six thousand five -hundred men in all. The expedition arrived at Lisbon -early in June, when after some delay it was decided that -the fleet should proceed to Barcelona. Galway lent his -two regiments of dragoons, the Royals and the Eighth; -and with them Peterborough sailed to Gibraltar, where -he picked up the eight battalions<a name="FNanchor_327_327" id="FNanchor_327_327"></a><a href="#Footnote_327_327" class="fnanchor">[327]</a> of the garrison, -leaving two of his own in their place, and proceeded to -his destination. On the way up the Spanish coast a -detachment was landed to capture Denia, and on the -23rd of August the main force was disembarked before -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_460" id="Page_460">[460]</a></span> -Barcelona and took up a position to the north-east of -the town with its left flank resting on the sea.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2</span> - <span class="blka over">13</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The reports sent to England had represented -Barcelona as ill-fortified and ill-garrisoned. Ill-fortified -it may have been if compared with a creation of -Vauban or Cohorn, but it was none the less a formidable -fortress, well stocked with supplies and garrisoned -by seven thousand troops under an energetic governor, -by name Velasco. Peterborough, who grasped the -situation, wished to abandon the project of a regular -siege for operations of a livelier kind, but was prevailed -upon to give it a trial for eighteen days, at the close of -which he ordered the re-embarkation of the army. -He was, however, again induced to change his mind, -and then suddenly, on the evening of the 13th of -September, he produced an original scheme of his own.</p> - -<p>About three-quarters of a mile to south-west of -Barcelona stood the small fort of Montjuich, crowning -a hill seven hundred feet above the fortress, strong by -nature and strengthened still further by outworks, which -though incomplete were none the less formidable. This -Peterborough resolved to capture by escalade. Not a -word was said to the men of the work before them. -No further orders were issued than that twelve hundred -English and two hundred Dutch should be ready in the -afternoon to march towards Tarragona, while thirteen -hundred men under Brigadier Stanhope were secretly -detailed to cover the rear of the assaulting columns -from any attack from Barcelona. At six o'clock the -attacking force moved off under Lord Charlemont -towards the north-west, continuing the march in this -false direction for four hours, till Peterborough at last -gave the order to turn about to southward. The night -was dark, and much of the ground so rocky as to show -no track, so that when the columns at length came up -before Montjuich one complete body of two hundred -was found to be missing, having evidently strayed away -from the path of the remainder.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">3</span> - <span class="blka over">14</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Half the force however was told off for simultaneous<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_461" id="Page_461">[461]</a></span> -assault on the eastern and western extremities of the -fort, Peterborough and Prince George of Hessen-Darmstadt -accompanying the eastern column, which, -since it was expected to meet with the sternest of the -work, was made the stronger. The other moiety of the -troops was held in reserve between the two columns. -A little after daybreak the signal was given; the storming -parties dashed up the glacis under a heavy and -destructive fire, and plunging in among the enemy -drove them headlong from the outworks. Following -the fugitives in hot pursuit Peterborough and Prince -George captured the eastern bastion of the fort itself, -threw up a barricade of loose stones in the gorge and -entrenched themselves behind it. The western attack -had met with equal success, and had likewise entrenched -itself in a demi-bastion in that flank of the fort. Both -parties being thus under cover the fire ceased, and -Peterborough sent orders to Stanhope to bring up his -reserve.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Governor of Barcelona, being in -communication with Montjuich, had at the sound of -the firing despatched four hundred dragoons in all haste -to reinforce the garrison. As they entered the fort -they were received with loud shouts of welcome by the -Spanish. Prince George, mistaking the sound for a cry -of surrender, at once started up and advanced with all -his men into the inner works. They were no sooner in -the ditch than the Spaniards swept round them to cut -them off. Two hundred were taken prisoners, Prince -George fell mortally wounded, and the rest fell back in -confusion. This was a severe blow; but worse was to -come. Peterborough hearing that fresh reinforcements -were on their way to the enemy from Barcelona, rode -out of the bastion to look for himself, and no sooner -was he gone than the troops were seized with panic. -Lord Charlemont was powerless to check it; and in a -few minutes the whole of the men, with Charlemont at -their head, came running with unseemly haste out of -the captured position.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_462" id="Page_462">[462]</a></span></p> - -<p>They had not run far when up galloped Peterborough -in a frenzy of rage. What he said no writer has dared -to set down; but he snatched Charlemont's half-pike -from his hand and waved the men back to the fort with -a torrent of rebuke. Rallying instantly they regained -their post without the loss of a man before the enemy -had discovered their retreat; and the appearance of -Stanhope with the reserve presently banished all further -idea of panic. Meanwhile the Spanish reinforcements -from Barcelona had met the English prisoners, and -learning from them that Peterborough and Prince -George were present in person before Montjuich, -assumed that the British were attacking in overwhelming -force. They therefore returned to Barcelona, -leaving the fort to its fate. Three days of bombardment -sufficed to overcome the resistance of the weakened -garrison; and thus by a singular chapter of accidents -Peterborough's design proved to be a success, and -Montjuich was taken.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -October 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The siege of Barcelona was then pushed forward in -form, aided by the guns of the fleet; and on the 9th of -October the garrison capitulated with the honours of -war. A fortnight later King Charles the Third made -his public entry into the city; Peterborough scattered -dollars with a liberal hand, and all was merriment and -rejoicing. The picture would not be complete without -the figure of a drunken English grenadier, whose -vagaries afforded inexhaustible amusement to the -populace;<a name="FNanchor_328_328" id="FNanchor_328_328"></a><a href="#Footnote_328_328" class="fnanchor">[328]</a> but Peterborough was a disciplinarian, and -the troops as a whole behaved remarkably well. Stanhope -was at once sent home with the good news, -and England awoke to the fact that she possessed -a second officer who, though not to be named in the -same breath with Marlborough, possessed a natural, if -eccentric, genius for war.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_462fp.jpg" width="425" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 462</em></p> -BARCELONA<br /> -1705.<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>The capture of Barcelona, and the subsequent reduction -of Tarragona by the fleet, brought practically -the whole of Catalonia to the side of King Charles.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_463" id="Page_463">[463]</a></span> -But now further operations were checked by lack of -money and supplies. Peterborough, who saw the difficulty -of supporting a large force in the field, was for -dividing his little army into flying columns, and making -good the deficiency of numbers by extreme mobility; -but he could not gain acceptance for his views. He -wrote piteous letters of his state of destitution, reviling, -as his custom was, all his colleagues and subordinates -with astonishing freedom. Very soon the troops in -Barcelona became so sickly that he was compelled to -distribute them in the fortresses of Catalonia, leaving -further operations to the Catalan guerillas. By the -exertions of these last the close of the year saw not -only Catalonia but Valencia gained over, though on no -very certain footing, to the side of King Charles. So -ended the first serious campaign of the first Peninsular -war.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_464" id="Page_464">[464]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_V" id="BVI_CHAPTER_V"></a><a href="#BVICV">CHAPTER V</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1706.</div> - -<p class="noindent">It is now time to revert to England and to the -preparations for the campaign of 1706. Marlborough, -as usual, directly that the military operations were concluded, -had been deputed to visit the courts of Vienna -and of sundry German states in order to keep the -Allies up to the necessary pitch of unity and energy. -These duties detained him in Germany and at the -Hague until January 1706, when he was at last able -to return to England. There he met with far less -obstruction than in former years, but none the less with -an increasing burden of work. The vast extension of -operations in the Peninsula, and the general sickliness -of the troops in that quarter, demanded the enlistment -of an usually large number of recruits. One new -regiment of dragoons and eleven new battalions of foot -were formed in the course of the spring, to which it -was necessary to add yet another battalion before the -close of the year.<a name="FNanchor_329_329" id="FNanchor_329_329"></a><a href="#Footnote_329_329" class="fnanchor">[329]</a> Again the epidemic sickness among -the horses in Flanders had caused an extraordinary -demand for horses. The Dutch, after their wonted -manner, had actually taken pains to prevent the supply -of horses to the British,<a name="FNanchor_330_330" id="FNanchor_330_330"></a><a href="#Footnote_330_330" class="fnanchor">[330]</a> though, even if they had not, -the Duke had a prejudice in favour of English horses, -as of English men, as superior to any other. Finally, -the stores of the Ordnance were unequal to the constant -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_465" id="Page_465">[465]</a></span>drain of small arms, and it was necessary to make good -the deficiency by purchases from abroad. All these -difficulties and a thousand more were of course referred -for solution to Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">14</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>When in April he crossed once more to the Hague -he found a most discouraging state of affairs. The -Dutch were backward in their preparations; Prussia -and Hanover were recalcitrant over the furnishing of -their contingents; Prince Lewis of Baden was sulking -within his lines, refusing to communicate a word of his -intentions to any one; and everybody was ready with -a separate plan of campaign. The Emperor of course -desired further operations in the Moselle for his own -relief; but after the experience of the last campaign -the Duke had wisely resolved never again to move -eastward to co-operate with the forces of the Empire. -The Dutch for their part wished to keep Marlborough -in Flanders, where he should be under the control of -their deputies; but the imbecile caprice of these -worthies was little more to his taste than the sullen -jealousy of Baden. Marlborough himself was anxious -to lead a force to the help of Eugene in Italy, a scheme -which, if executed, would have carried the British to a -great fighting ground with which they are unfamiliar, -the plains of Lombardy. He had almost persuaded -the States-General to approve of this plan, when all was -changed by Marshal Villars, who surprised Prince Lewis -of Baden in his lines on the Motter, and captured two -important magazines. The Dutch at once took fright -and, in their anxiety to keep Marlborough for their own -defence, agreed to appoint deputies who should receive -rather than issue orders. So to the Duke's great disappointment -it was settled that the main theatre of -war should once again be Flanders.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">8</span> - <span class="blka over">19</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">9</span> - <span class="blka over">20</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Villeroy meanwhile lay safely entrenched in his -position of the preceding year behind the Dyle, from -which Marlborough saw little hope of enticing him. -It is said that an agent was employed to rouse Villeroy -by telling him that the Duke, knowing that the French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_466" id="Page_466">[466]</a></span> -were afraid to leave their entrenchments, would take -advantage of their inaction to capture Namur.<a name="FNanchor_331_331" id="FNanchor_331_331"></a><a href="#Footnote_331_331" class="fnanchor">[331]</a> Be -that as it may, Villeroy resolved to quit the Dyle. He -knew that the Prussian and Hanoverian contingents -had not yet joined Marlborough, and that the Danish -cavalry had refused to march to him until their wages -were paid; so that interest as well as injured pride -prompted the hazard of a general action. On the 19th -of May, therefore, he left his lines for Tirlemont on the -Great Geete. Marlborough, who was at Maestricht, -saw with delight that the end, for which he had not -dared to hope, was accomplished. Hastily making -arrangements for the payment of the Danish troops, he -concentrated the Dutch and British at Bilsen on the -Upper Demer, and moved southward to Borchloen. -Here the arrival of the Danes raised his total force to -sixty thousand men, a number but little inferior to that -of the enemy. On the very same day came the intelligence -that Villeroy had crossed the Great Geete and -was moving on Judoigne. The Duke resolved to -advance forthwith and attack him there.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>At one o'clock in the morning, of Whitsunday the -23rd of May, Quartermaster-General Cadogan rode -forward from the headquarters at Corswarem with six -hundred horse and the camp-colours towards the head -of the Great Geete, to mark out a camp by the village -of Ramillies. The morning was wet and foggy, and it -was not until eight o'clock that, on ascending the -heights of Merdorp, they dimly descried troops in -motion on the rolling ground before them. The allied -army had not marched until two hours later than -Cadogan, but Marlborough, who had ridden on in -advance of it, presently came up and pushed the cavalry -forward through the mist. Then at ten o'clock the -clouds rolled away, revealing the whole of the French -army in full march towards them.</p> - -<p>Villeroy's eyes were rudely opened, for he had not -expected Marlborough before the following day; but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_467" id="Page_467">[467]</a></span> -he knew the ground well, for he had been over it before -with Luxemburg, and he proceeded to take up a position -which he had seen Luxemburg deliberately reject. The -table-land whereon he stood is the highest point in the -plains of Brabant. To his right flowed the Mehaigne; -in his rear ran the Great Geete; across his centre and -left the Little Geete rose and crept away sluggishly in -marsh and swamp.<a name="FNanchor_332_332" id="FNanchor_332_332"></a><a href="#Footnote_332_332" class="fnanchor">[332]</a> In his front lay four villages: -Taviers on the Mehaigne to his right, Ramillies, less -advanced than Taviers, on the source of the Little -Geete to his right centre, Offus parallel to Ramillies -but lower down the stream to his left centre, Autréglise or -Anderkirch between two branches of the Little Geete -and parallel to Taviers to his left. Along the concave -line formed by these villages Villeroy drew up his army -in two lines facing due east.</p> - -<p>The Mehaigne, on which his right rested, is at -ordinary times a rapid stream little more than twelve -feet wide, with a muddy bottom, but is bordered by -swampy meadows on both sides, which are flooded after -heavy rain. From this stream the ground rises northward -in a steady wave for about half a mile, sinks -gradually and rises into a higher wave at Ramillies, -sinks once more to northward of that village and rolls -downward in a gentler undulation to Autréglise. -Between the Mehaigne and Ramillies, a distance of -about a mile and a half, the ground east and west is -broken by sundry hollows of sufficient inclination to -offer decided advantage or disadvantage in a combat -of cavalry. A single high knoll rises in the midst of -these hollows, offering a place of vantage from which -Marlborough must almost certainly have reconnoitred the -disposition of the French right. The access to Ramillies -itself is steep and broken both to north and south, but -on the eastern front the ground rises to it for half a -mile in a gentle, unbroken slope, which modern rifles -would make impassable by the bravest troops. In rear, -or to westward of the French position, the table-land is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_468" id="Page_468">[468]</a></span> -clear and unbroken, and to the right rear or south-west -stands a mound or barrow called the tomb of Ottomond, -still conspicuous and still valuable as a key to the actions -of the day.<a name="FNanchor_333_333" id="FNanchor_333_333"></a><a href="#Footnote_333_333" class="fnanchor">[333]</a> The full extent of the French front -from Taviers to Autréglise covered something over -four miles.</p> - -<p>Having chosen his position, Villeroy lost no time in -setting his troops in order. His left, consisting of -infantry backed by cavalry,<a name="FNanchor_334_334" id="FNanchor_334_334"></a><a href="#Footnote_334_334" class="fnanchor">[334]</a> extended from Autréglise -to Offus, both of which villages were strongly occupied. -His centre from Offus to Ramillies was likewise composed -of infantry. On his right, in the expanse of -sound ground which stretches for a mile and a half -from the marshes of the Geete at Ramillies to those -of the Mehaigne, were massed more than one hundred -and twenty squadrons of cavalry with some battalions of -infantry interlined with them, the famous French Household -Cavalry (Maison du Roi), being in the first line. -The left flank of this expanse was covered by the village -of Ramillies, which was surrounded by a ditch and -defended by twenty battalions and twenty-four guns. -On the right flank not only Taviers but Franquinay, a -village still further in advance, were occupied by -detachments of infantry, while Taviers was further -defended by cannon.</p> - -<p>Marlborough quickly perceived the defects of -Villeroy's dispositions, which were not unlike those of -Tallard at Blenheim. Taviers was too remote from -Ramillies for the maintenance of a cross-fire of artillery. -Again, the cavalry of the French left was doubtless -secure against attack behind the marshes of the Geete, -but for this very reason it was incapable of aggressive -action. The French right could therefore be turned, -provided that it were not further reinforced; and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_469" id="Page_469">[469]</a></span>accordingly the Duke opened his manœuvres by a -demonstration against the French left.</p> - -<p>Presently the infantry of the allied right moved -forward in two lines towards Offus and Autréglise, -marching in all the pomp and circumstance of war, -Dutch, Germans, and British, with the red coats conspicuous -on the extreme right flank. Striding forward -to the river they halted and seemed to be very busy in -laying their pontoons. Villeroy marked the mass of -scarlet, and remembering its usual place in the battlefield, -instantly began to withdraw several battalions -from his right and centre to his left. Marlborough -watched the white coats streaming away to their new -positions, and after a time ordered the infantry of his -right to fall back to some heights in their rear. The -two lines faced about and retired accordingly over the -height until the first line was out of sight. Then the -second line halted and faced about once more, crowning -the ascent with the well-known scarlet, while the first -marched away with all speed, under cover of the hill -and unseen by the French, to the opposite flank. -Many British battalions<a name="FNanchor_335_335" id="FNanchor_335_335"></a><a href="#Footnote_335_335" class="fnanchor">[335]</a> stood on that height all day -without moving a step or firing a shot, but none the -less paralysing the French left wing.</p> - -<p>About half-past one the guns of both armies opened -fire, and shortly afterwards four Dutch battalions were -ordered forward to carry Franquinay and Taviers, and -twelve more to attack Ramillies, while Overkirk advanced -slowly on the left with the cavalry. Franquinay -was soon cleared; Taviers resisted stoutly for a time -but was carried, and a strong reinforcement on its way -to the village was intercepted and cut to pieces. Then -Overkirk, his left flank being now cleared, pushed -forward his horse and charged. The Dutch routed the -first French line, but were driven back in confusion by -the second; and the victorious French were only<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_470" id="Page_470">[470]</a></span> -checked by the advance of fresh squadrons under -Marlborough himself. Even so the Allies were at -a decided disadvantage; and Marlborough, after -despatching messengers to bring up every squadron, -except the British, to the left, plunged into the thick of -the melée to rally the broken horse. He was recognised -by some French dragoons, who left their ranks to -surround him, and in the general confusion he was -borne to the ground and in imminent danger of capture. -His aide-de-camp, Captain Molesworth, dismounted at -once, and giving him his own horse enabled him to -escape. The cavalry, however, encouraged by the Duke's -example, recovered themselves, and Marlborough took -the opportunity to shift from Molesworth's horse to his -own. Colonel Bringfield, his equerry, held the stirrup -while he mounted, but Marlborough was hardly in the -saddle before the hand that held the stirrup relaxed its -hold, and the equerry fell to the ground, his head -carried away by a round shot.<a name="FNanchor_336_336" id="FNanchor_336_336"></a><a href="#Footnote_336_336" class="fnanchor">[336]</a></p> - -<p>Meanwhile the attack of the infantry on Ramillies -was fully developed, and relieved the horse from the -fire of the village. Twenty fresh squadrons came -galloping up at the top of their speed and ranged themselves -in rear of the reforming lines. But before they -could come into action the Duke of Würtemberg -pushed his Danish horse along the Mehaigne upon the -right flank of the French, and the Dutch guards -advancing still further fell upon their rear. These now -emerged upon the table-land by the tomb of Ottomond, -and the rest of the Allied horse dashed themselves once -against the French front. The famous Maison du Roi -after a hard fight was cut to pieces, and the whole of -the French horse, despite Villeroy's efforts to stay them, -were driven in headlong flight across the rear of their line -of battle, leaving the battalions of infantry helpless and -alone to be ridden over and trampled out of existence.</p> - -<p>Villeroy made frantic efforts to bring forward the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_471" id="Page_471">[471]</a></span> -cavalry of his left to cover their retreat, but the ground -was encumbered by his baggage, which he had carelessly -posted too close in his rear. The French troops in -Ramillies now gave way, and Marlborough ordered the -whole of the infantry that was massed before the village -to advance across the morass upon Offus, with the -Third and Sixth Dragoon Guards in support. The -French broke and fled at their approach; and meanwhile -the Buffs and Twenty-first, which had so far -remained inactive on the right, forced their way through -the swamps before them, and taking Autréglise in rear -swept away the last vestige of the French line on the left. -Five British squadrons followed them up and captured -the entire King's Regiment (Regiment du Roi). The -Third and Sixth Dragoon Guards also pressed on, and -coming upon the Spanish and Bavarian horse-guards, -who were striving to cover the retreat of the French -artillery, charged them and swept them away, only -narrowly missing the capture of the Elector himself, -who was at their head.<a name="FNanchor_337_337" id="FNanchor_337_337"></a><a href="#Footnote_337_337" class="fnanchor">[337]</a> On this the whole French<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_472" id="Page_472">[472]</a></span> -army, which so far had struggled to effect an orderly -retreat, broke up in panic and fled in all directions.</p> - -<p>The mass of the fugitives made for Judoigne, but -the ways were blocked by broken-down baggage-waggons -and abandoned guns, and the crush and -confusion was appalling. The British cavalry, being -quite fresh, quickly took up the pursuit over the table-land. -The guns and baggage fell an easy prey, but -these were left to others, while the red-coated troopers, -not without memories of Landen, pressed on, like hounds -running for blood, after the beaten enemy. The chase -lay northwards to Judoigne and beyond it towards the -refuge of Louvain. Not until two o'clock in the -morning did the cavalry pause, having by that time -reached Meldert, fifteen miles from the battlefield; -nay, even then Lord Orkney with some few squadrons -spurred on to Louvain itself, rekindled the panic and -set the unhappy French once more in flight across the -Dyle.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">13</span> - <span class="blka over">24</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">14</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">27</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Nor was the main army far behind the horse. -Marching far into the night, the men slept under arms -for two or three hours, started again at three o'clock, -and before the next noon had also reached Meldert and -were preparing to force the passage of the Dyle. Marlborough, -who had been in the saddle with little intermission -for nearly twenty-eight hours, here wrote to -the Queen that he intended to march again that same -night, but, through the desertion of the lines of the -Dyle by the French, the army gained some respite. -The next day he crossed the Dyle at Louvain and -encamped at Betlehem, the next he advanced to -Dieghem, a few miles north of Brussels, the next he -passed the Senne at Vilvorde and encamped at Grimberghen, -and here at last, after six days of incessant -marching, the Duke granted his weary troops a halt, -while the French, hopelessly beaten and demoralised, -retired with all haste to Ghent.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_472fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 472</em></p> -RAMILLIES<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">May 12<sup>th</sup></span> - <span class="blka over"> " 23<sup>rd</sup></span> -</span> 1706.<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>So ended the fight and pursuit of Ramillies, which -effectually disposed of the taunt levelled at Marlborough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_473" id="Page_473">[473]</a></span> -after Blenheim, that he did not know how to improve a -victory. The loss of the French in killed, wounded, -and prisoners was thirteen thousand men, swelled by -desertion during the pursuit to full two thousand more. -The trophies of the victors were eighty standards and -colours, fifty guns, and a vast quantity of baggage. The -loss of the Allies was from four to five thousand killed -and wounded, which fell almost entirely on the Dutch -and Danes, the British, owing to their position on the -extreme right, being but little engaged until the close -of the day. The chief service of the British, therefore, -was rendered in the pursuit, which they carried forward -with relentless thoroughness and vigour. The Dutch -were delighted that their troops should have done the -heaviest of the work in such an action, and the British -could console themselves with the performance of their -cavalry, and above all, with the reflection that the whole -of the success was due to their incomparable chief.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May-June.</div> - -<p>The effect of the victory and of the rapid advance -that followed it was instantaneous. Louvain and the -whole line of Dyle fell into Marlborough's hands on -the day after the battle; Brussels, Malines, and Lierre -surrendered before the first halt, and gave him the line -of the Senne and the key of the French entrenchments -about Antwerp; and one day later, the surrender of -Alost delivered to him one of the strongholds on the -Dender. Never pausing for a moment, he sent forward a -party to lay bridges on the Scheldt below Oudenarde in -order to cut off the French retreat into France, a movement -which obliged Villeroy forthwith to abandon the -lines about Ghent and to retire up the Lys to Courtrai. -Ghent, Bruges, and Damme thereupon surrendered on -the spot; Oudenarde followed them, and after a few -days Antwerp itself. Thus within a fortnight after the -victory the whole of Flanders and Brabant, with the -exception of Dendermond and one or two places of -minor importance, had succumbed to the Allies, and -the French had fallen back to their own frontier.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">June.</div> - -<p>Nor was even this all. A contribution of two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_474" id="Page_474">[474]</a></span> -million livres levied in French Flanders brought home -to the Grand Monarch that the war was now knocking -at his own gates. Villars, with the greater part of his -army, was recalled from the Rhine to the Lys, and a -number of French troops were withdrawn to the same -quarter from Italy. Baden had thus the game in his -own hand on the Rhine, and though he was too sulky -and incapable to turn the advantage to account, yet -his inaction was no fault of Marlborough's. We are -hardly surprised to find that in the middle of this -fortnight the Duke made urgent request for fresh stores -of champagne; he may well have needed the stimulant -amid such pressure of work and fatigue.<a name="FNanchor_338_338" id="FNanchor_338_338"></a><a href="#Footnote_338_338" class="fnanchor">[338]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">17</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>He now detached Overkirk to besiege Ostend and -another party to blockade Dendermond, at the same -time sending off five British battalions, which we shall -presently meet again, for a descent on the Charente -which was then contemplated in England. This done -he took post with the rest of the Army at Rouslers, to -westward of the Lys, whence he could at once cover -the siege of Ostend and menace Menin and Ypres. -The operations at Ostend were delayed for some time -through want of artillery and the necessity of waiting -for the co-operation of the Fleet; but the trenches -were finally opened on the 17th of June, and a few -weeks later the town surrendered.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 8.</span><br /> - -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Three days after this the army was reassembled for -the siege of Menin. This fortress was of peculiar -strength, being esteemed one of Vauban's masterpieces, -and was garrisoned by five thousand men. Moreover, -the French, being in command of the upper sluices of -the Lys, were able greatly to impede the operations by -cutting off the water from the lower stream, and thus -rendering it less useful for purposes of transport. But -all this availed it little; for three weeks after the -opening of the trenches Menin surrendered. The -British battalions<a name="FNanchor_339_339" id="FNanchor_339_339"></a><a href="#Footnote_339_339" class="fnanchor">[339]</a> which had been kept inactive at -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_475" id="Page_475">[475]</a></span> -Ramillies took a leading share in the work, and some -of them suffered very heavily, but had the satisfaction -of recapturing four of the British guns that had been -taken at Landen.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 25<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 5.</span><br /> - -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">12</span> - <span class="blka over">23</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Sept. 21<br /> -<span class="over"> -Oct. 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>A few days later Dendermond was attacked in -earnest and was likewise taken, after which Marlborough -fell back across the Scheldt to secure the whole -line of the Dender by the capture of Ath. Ten days -sufficed for the work, after which Ath also fell into the -hands of the Allies. The apathy of the French -throughout these operations sufficiently show their -discouragement. Owing to the supineness of Prince -Lewis of Baden Villars had been able to bring up -thirty-five thousand men to the assistance of Marshal -Vendôme, who had now superseded Villeroy, but even -with this reinforcement the two commanders only -looked on helplessly while Marlborough reduced -fortress after fortress before their eyes. They were, -indeed, more anxious to strengthen the defences of -Mons and Charleroi, lest the Duke should break into -France by that line, than to approach him in the field. -Nor were they not wholly unreasonable in their anxiety, -for Marlborough's next move was upon the Sambre; -but incessant rain and tempestuous weather forbade any -further operations, so that Ath proved to be the last -conquest of the year. Thus ended the campaign of -Ramillies, one of the most brilliant in the annals of war, -wherein Marlborough in a single month carried his -arms triumphant from the Meuse to the sea.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_476" id="Page_476">[476]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_VI" id="BVI_CHAPTER_VI"></a><a href="#BVICVI">CHAPTER VI</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1706.</div> - -<p class="noindent">From Flanders it is necessary to return to the -Peninsula, where we left Peterborough bewailing his -enforced inaction. Nothing is more remarkable in the -story of these Peninsular campaigns than the utter want -of unity in design between the forces of the Allies in -Catalonia and in Portugal. Even in England the -British troops in these two quarters were treated, for -purposes of administration, as two distinct establishments, -which might have been divided by the whole -breadth of the Atlantic instead of by twice the breadth -of England. Yet the fault could hardly be attributed to -any English functionary, civil or military. Galway was -as anxious as Peterborough to advance to Madrid; but -the Portuguese were terrified at the prospect of moving -far from their frontier, while the eyes of King Charles -ever rested anxiously on the passes by which French -reinforcements might advance into Catalonia. In such -circumstances it was not easy to accomplish an effective -campaign.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Dec. 26,<br />1705.<br /> -<span class="over"> -Jan. 6, </span><br />1706.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The Spaniards of the Austrian party, as has been -told, had by the winter of 1705 gained a precarious -hold on the whole province of Valencia. Just before -the close of the year came intelligence that the Spanish -General de las Torres had crossed the northern frontier -from Arragon into Valencia and had laid siege to San -Mateo. The town was important, inasmuch as it commanded -the communications between Catalonia and -Valencia, but it was held by no stronger garrison than -thirty of the Royal Dragoons and a thousand Spanish<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_477" id="Page_477">[477]</a></span> -irregular infantry under Colonel Jones. This officer -defended himself as well as he could, but at once begged -urgently for reinforcements. King Charles thereupon -appealed for help to Peterborough, who forthwith -ordered General Killigrew to march with his garrison -from Tortosa and cross the Ebro, while he himself, riding -night and day from Barcelona, caught up the column at -the close of the first day's march. King Charles had -represented the force of Las Torres as but two thousand -strong, and had added that thousands of peasants -were up in arms against it. Peterborough now discovered -that the Spaniards numbered four thousand -foot and three thousand horse, while the thousands -of armed peasantry were wholly imaginary. His own -force consisted of three weak British battalions, the -Thirteenth, Thirty-fifth, and Mountjoy's Foot, together -with one hundred and seventy of the Royal -Dragoons, in all thirteen hundred men. With such a -handful his only hope of success must lie in stratagem.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Dec. 28,<br />1705.<br /> -<span class="over"> -Jan. 8, </span><br />1706.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Advancing southward with all speed he split up his -minute army into a number of small detachments, and -pushing them forward by different routes arrived early -in the morning, unseen and unsuspected, at Traguera, -within six miles of the enemy's camp. That same day -a spy was captured by the enemy and brought before -Las Torres. On him was found a letter from Peterborough -to Colonel Jones, written in the frankest and -easiest style. "I am at Traguera," so it ran in effect, -"with six thousand men and artillery. You may -wonder how I collected them; but for transport and -secrecy nothing equals the sea. Now, be ready to -pursue Las Torres over the plain. It is his only line -of retreat, for I have occupied all the passes over the -hills. You will see us on the hill-tops between nine -and ten. Prove yourself a true dragoon, and have -your miquelets (irregulars) ready for their favourite -plunder and chase." The spy, being threatened with -death, offered to betray another messenger of Peterborough's -who was lying concealed in the hills. This<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_478" id="Page_478">[478]</a></span> -second spy was captured, and a duplicate of the same -letter was found on him. The pair of them were -questioned, when the first protested that he knew -nothing of the strength of Peterborough's force, while -the other declared that the despatch spoke truth. -Suddenly came intelligence from the Spanish outposts -that the enemy was advancing in force in several -columns, and presently the red-coats appeared at -different points on the hill-tops, making a brave show -against the sky. Las Torres became uneasy. His -depression was increased by the accidental explosion of -one of his own mines before San Mateo; and he hastily -ordered an immediate retreat. Whereupon out came -Jones with his garrison, and turned the retreat into -something greatly resembling a flight; while Peterborough -with his thirteen hundred men walked quietly -into San Mateo and took possession of the whole of the -enemy's camp and material of war. The trick, for the -whole incident of the captured spies had been carefully -preconcerted, had proved a brilliant success.</p> - -<p>Las Torres, though disagreeably shaken, was recovering -his equanimity when, on the second day of the -retreat, a friendly spy came to warn him that an English -force was marching parallel to his left flank, was already -in advance of him, and was likely to cut off his retreat -by seizing the passes into the plain of Valencia. The -warning was scouted as ridiculous, but the spy offered, -if two or three officers would accompany him, to prove -that he was right. Two officers, disguised as peasants, -were accordingly guided to a point already indicated by -the spy, where they were promptly captured by a -picquet of ten of the Royal Dragoons. The spy, however, -undertook to produce liquor, the dragoons -succumbed or seemed to succumb to their national -failing, and the three captives slipped out, took three of -the dragoons' horses and galloped back with all speed -to Las Torres to confirm the spy's story. Their escape -did not prompt them to make the least of their adventure; -the housings of the horses testified incontestably<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_479" id="Page_479">[479]</a></span> -to the actual presence of English dragoons; and -Las Torres broke up his camp on the spot and hurried -away once more. Once again the tricks of the eccentric -Englishman had been successful; for the friendly spy -was in reality a Spanish officer in his own army; and -though there were undoubtedly ten English dragoons, -who had been specially sent for the purpose, in advance -of Las Torres at that particular moment, yet there were -no more English within twenty miles of them.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> - -Jan. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">1</span> - <span class="blka over">12</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Las Torres was still retreating southward by the -coast-road, and Peterborough was making a show of -pursuit by marching wide on his right flank, when -a pressing message reached him from King Charles. A -French force of eight thousand men was advancing into -Catalonia from Roussillon; a second force of four or -five thousand men under Count Tserclaes de Tilly was -threatening Lerida, and a third under Marshal Tessé -was marching through Arragon upon Tortosa. Seeing -that the King was urgent for help in Catalonia, but -intent on pursuing his own design in Valencia, Peterborough -resolved to send his infantry to the coast at -Vinaroz, to be transported if necessary by sea. The -men, though ragged, shoeless, and much distressed by -long marches through the wintry days, left him very -unwillingly. Then summoning the garrison of Lerida<a name="FNanchor_340_340" id="FNanchor_340_340"></a><a href="#Footnote_340_340" class="fnanchor">[340]</a> -and a reinforcement of Spaniards to follow him to -Valencia, Peterborough resumed the pursuit of Las -Torres with one hundred and fifty dragoons.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">January.</div> - -<p>He was too late to save Villa Real, which Las Torres -took by treachery, and having taken massacred the -entire male population; but while always concealing his -own weakness he contrived by incessant harassing of -the enemy's rear to inflict considerable loss and annoyance. -Thus in due time he reached Nules, three days' -march from the city of Valencia, a town of considerable -strength, where Las Torres had left arms sufficient to -equip a thousand of the townsmen. Peterborough<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_480" id="Page_480">[480]</a></span> -marched straight up to the gate with his handful of -dragoons. The townspeople manned the walls and -opened fire, but were speedily checked by a message -from Peterborough, bidding them send out a priest or -a magistrate instantly on pain of having their walls -battered down and every soul put to the sword, in -revenge for Villa Real. Some priests who knew him -at once came out to him. "I give you six minutes," -said Peterborough to the trembling cassocks. "Open -your gates or I spare not a soul of you." The gates -were quickly opened, and the General, riding in at the -head of his tattered dragoons, demanded immediate -provision of rations and forage for several thousand men.</p> - -<p>The news soon reached Las Torres, who was little -more than an hour ahead, and for the third time his -unfortunate army was hurried out of camp and condemned -to a weary retreat from an imaginary enemy. -Peterborough, however, after taking two hundred -horses from Nules, left the town to ponder over its -fright and retired to Castallon de la Plana. Having -there raised yet another hundred horses he ordered the -Thirteenth Foot to march from Vinaroz to Oropesa -and went thither himself to inspect them. The men -marched in but four hundred strong, with red coats -ragged and rusty, yellow facings in tatters, yellow -breeches faded and torn, shoes and stockings in holes -or more often altogether wanting. "I wish," said -Peterborough when the inspection was over, "that I -had horses and accoutrements for you, to try if you -would keep up your good reputation as dragoons." -The men doubtless glanced at their sore and unshod feet, -and silently agreed. Presently they were marched up to -the brow of a neighbouring hill, where to their amazement -they found four hundred horses awaiting them, -all fully equipped. The officers received commissions -according to their rank in the mounted service, two or -three only being detached to raise a new battalion in -England; and thus within an hour Barrymore's Foot -became Pearce's Dragoons.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_481" id="Page_481">[481]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote">January.<br /> -January 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -February 4.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Peterborough now called in such additional weak -battalions of British as he could, and having collected a -total force of three thousand men, one-third of it -mounted, prepared to outwit a new general, the Duke -of Los Arcos, who had superseded Las Torres. The -relief of Valencia was Peterborough's first object, but to -effect this he had first to gain possession of Murviedro, -which lay on his road and was occupied by the enemy, -and that, too, in such a way that Los Arcos should not -move out against him in the open plain and crush him -by superior numbers. It was a difficult problem, and -it was only solved by a trick too elaborate and lengthy -to be detailed here. The plan was very clever, so -clever as almost to transcend the bounds of what is fair -in war, but it was completely successful; and on the -4th of February Peterborough marched into Valencia -without firing a shot.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -March 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -April 3.</span><br /> - -April.<br /> -April 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -May 11.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>He now cultivated the friendship of the priests and -something more than the friendship of the ladies of -Valencia, thereby combining pleasure with business and -obtaining the best of information. Las Torres, who -had once more superseded Los Arcos, presently appeared -on the scene again, bringing four thousand men by -land and a powerful siege-train by sea for the reduction -of the city. Peterborough pounced upon the train -directly after it had been landed and captured the whole -of it; then sending twelve hundred men against the -four thousand he surprised them, routed them, and -took six hundred prisoners. But the pleasant and -exciting life at Valencia was interrupted by an urgent -summons to assist in the defence of Barcelona. King -Lewis, at the entreaty of his grandson Philip, had -resolved to make a great effort to recover it; and thus -it was that at the beginning of April Marshal Tessé -appeared before the city with twenty-five thousand men, -and three days later began the siege in form. The -garrison consisted of less than four thousand regular -troops, the backbone of which were eleven hundred -British of the Guards and the Thirty-fourth Foot.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_482" id="Page_482">[482]</a></span> -Weak as it was this little force made a gallant resistance, -but the odds were too great against it, and but -for the arrival of Peterborough it could not have held -out for more than a fortnight. Even after his coming -it was well-nigh overpowered; for of the three thousand -troops that he brought with him the most part were -employed chiefly in harassing Tessé's communications -from the rear. The siege was finally raised on the -advent of a relieving squadron under Admiral Leake, -which so much discouraged Tessé that he abandoned -the whole of his siege-train and retired once more over -the French frontier.</p> - -<p>Nothing now remained but to take advantage of -this piece of good fortune. Peterborough had always -favoured a dash on Madrid, and had twice urged this -course upon King Charles in vain. He now pressed it -for a third time with success, and presently sailed for -Valencia with eleven thousand men. With immense -trouble he procured horses and accoutrements to convert -some of his infantry into dragoons, and then pushing -forward a detached force of English he succeeded by -the beginning of July in capturing Requena and Cuença -and opening the road for King Charles to Madrid.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -March -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">20</span> - <span class="blka over">31</span> -</span>.<br /> - -May 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 7.</span><br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">27</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Meanwhile, after enormous delay, the English and -Portuguese had actually begun operations from the side -of Portugal against Marshal Berwick. On the 31st of -March Lord Galway and General das Minas left Elvas -with nineteen thousand men<a name="FNanchor_341_341" id="FNanchor_341_341"></a><a href="#Footnote_341_341" class="fnanchor">[341]</a> and advanced slowly -northward, forcing back Berwick, whose army was -much inferior in number, continually before them. -Alcantara, Plasencia, and Ciudad Rodrigo yielded to -them after slight resistance; and by the 7th of June -the Allied army had reached Salamanca, a country -which two regiments, the Second and the Ninth, were -to know better a century later. Then turning east it -marched straight upon Madrid and entered the city on -the 27th of June. So far all was well. The advance<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_483" id="Page_483">[483]</a></span> -from Portugal had been singularly slow, but the capital -had been reached. King Philip had retired to Burgos, -and King Charles had been proclaimed in Madrid. -The object of the War of the Succession seemed to have -been fulfilled in Spain.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">4</span> - <span class="blka over">15</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>At this juncture, however, the operations for no -particular reason came to an end. Galway, without a -thought apparently of following up Berwick, halted -for a fortnight in Madrid, where the Portuguese troops -behaved disgracefully, and then moving a short distance -north-eastward took up a strong position at Guadalaxara. -King Charles after immense delay suddenly altered the -route which Peterborough had marked out for him and -insisted on marching to Madrid through Arragon, even -so not reaching Saragossa till the 18th of July. Meanwhile -the whole of the country through which Galway -had marched rose in revolt against the House of -Austria. Berwick, reinforced from France to twice -the strength of Galway, cut him off from Madrid, and -reproclaimed King Philip; and when Charles and -Peterborough with three thousand men at last joined -Galway on the 6th of August, the Archduke found that -he must prepare not for triumphant entry into Madrid, -but for what promised to be a difficult and perilous retreat.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Peterborough was for a sudden spring at Alcala and -so on Madrid, but being over-ruled retired to Italy to -raise a loan for the army. Galway, whose army had -been so much reduced by sickness as to number, with -Peterborough's reinforcement, but fourteen thousand -men, still lingered close to Madrid for nearly a month -in the vain hope of seeing the tide turn in his favour. -Finally, being cut off from his base in Portugal, he -marched for Valencia and the British fleet, Berwick -troubling him no further than by occasional harassing -of his rearguard. On crossing the Valencian frontier -he distributed his force into winter quarters; an example -which, after the reduction of Carthagena and of sundry -small strongholds, was imitated by Berwick at the end -of November.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_484" id="Page_484">[484]</a></span></p> - -<p>So closed the year 1706, memorable for two of the -most brilliant, even if in some respects disappointing, -campaigns ever fought simultaneously by two British -generals.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1707.</div> - -<p>Unexpected reinforcements from Britain came -opportunely to revive the hopes of the Archduke -Charles at the opening of the new year. It will be remembered -that in the summer of 1706 a project for a -descent on the Charente had been matured in England, -for which Marlborough had detached certain of his -battalions after Ramillies. The plan being considered -doubtful of success, the destination of the expedition -was altered to Cadiz. A storm in the Bay of Biscay, -however, dispersed the fleet, which was only reassembled -at Lisbon after very great delay, and after waiting in -that port for two months was directed to place its force -at the disposal of Galway.<a name="FNanchor_342_342" id="FNanchor_342_342"></a><a href="#Footnote_342_342" class="fnanchor">[342]</a> In December 1706 Peterborough -returned from Italy to Valencia to attend the -councils of war respecting the next campaign. The -general outlook in the Peninsula was not promising. -Marlborough indeed opined that nothing could save -Spain but an offensive movement against France from -the side of Italy, and Peterborough, adopting the same -view, strongly advocated a defensive campaign. He -was overruled, and since his endless squabbles with his -colleagues and his military conduct in general had been -called in question in England, he was shortly after relieved -of his command and returned to England.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">March.<br /> -March 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -April 10.</span><br /> -April.<br /> -</div> - -<p>After his departure the Archduke Charles and the -English commanders fell at variance over their alternative -plans, with the result that Charles withdrew with -the whole of the Spanish troops to Catalonia. Galway -and Das Minas then decided first to destroy Berwick's -magazines in Murcia, and this done to march up the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_485" id="Page_485">[485]</a></span> -Guadalaviar, turn the head-waters of the Tagus, and so -move on to Madrid. Though the reinforcements had -reached the Valencian coast in January it was not until -the 10th of April that Galway crossed the Murcian -frontier and after destroying one or two magazines -laid siege to Villena. While thus engaged he heard -that Berwick having collected his army was advancing -towards Almanza, some five and twenty miles to the -north-east, and that the Duke of Orleans was on his -way to join him with reinforcements. Thereupon -Galway and Das Minas resolved to advance and fight -him at once, apparently without taking pains to -ascertain what the numbers of his army might actually -be. Berwick had with him twenty-five thousand men, -half French, half Spanish, besides a good train of -artillery. Galway, owing to the frightful mortality on -board the newly-arrived transports, had but fifteen -thousand, of which a bare third were British, half were -Portuguese, and the remainder Dutch, German, and -Huguenot. Considering how poorly the Portuguese -had behaved on every occasion so far, the result of an -open attack against such odds could hardly be doubtful.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">14</span> - <span class="blka over">25</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Berwick on his side drew up his army in the usual -two lines on a plain to the south of Almanza, his -right resting on rising ground towards Montalegre, his -left on a height overlooking the road to Valencia, -while his right centre was covered by a ravine which -gradually lost itself on level ground towards his extreme -right flank. The force was formed according to -rule with infantry in the centre and cavalry on each -flank, the Spaniards taking the right and the French -the left. At midday, after a march of eight miles, -Galway approached to within a mile of the position, and -formed his line of battle according to the prescribed -methods. The Portuguese, with poor justice, claimed -the post of honour on the right wing, so that the -British and Dutch took the left, though with several -Portuguese squadrons among them in the second line. -But finding himself weak in cavalry Galway made good<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_486" id="Page_486">[486]</a></span> -the deficiency, after the manner of Gustavus Adolphus, -by interpolating battalions of foot among his horse.<a name="FNanchor_343_343" id="FNanchor_343_343"></a><a href="#Footnote_343_343" class="fnanchor">[343]</a></p> - -<p>At three o'clock in the afternoon Galway opened -the attack without preliminary fire of artillery by leading -an advance of the horse on his left wing. He was -driven back at first by sheer weight of numbers; but -the Sixth and Thirty-third Foot, which were among the -interpolated battalions, came up, and by opening fire on -the left flank of the Spanish horse gave the English -squadrons time to rally and by an effective charge to -drive the Spaniards back in confusion. Meanwhile, the -rest of the English foot on the left centre fell, heedless -of numbers, straight upon the hostile infantry and -drove them back in confusion upon their second line. -The Guards and the Second Foot following up their -success broke through the second line also and pursued the -scattered fugitives to the very walls of Almanza. So far -as the Allied left was concerned the battle was going well.</p> - -<p>But meanwhile the Portuguese on the right remained -motionless; and Berwick lost no time in launching -his left wing of horse upon them. Then the first -line of Portuguese horse turned and ran, the second -line also turned and ran, and the first line of infantry -was left to bear the brunt alone. For a time the -battalions stood up gallantly enough, but the odds were -too great, and they were presently overwhelmed and -utterly dispersed. Then Berwick brought up his -French, both horse and foot, against the victorious -British on his right. The British cavalry had suffered -heavily in the first attack, all four regiments having -lost their commanding officers, and in spite of all their -efforts they were borne back and swept away by the -numbers of the French squadrons. The infantry, surrounded -on all sides, fought desperately and repeatedly -repulsed the enemy's onset, but being overpowered by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_487" id="Page_487">[487]</a></span> -numbers, were nearly all of them, English, Dutch, and -Germans, cut down or captured. By great exertions -Galway, who was himself wounded, brought off some -remnant of them in good order and retreated unpursued -to Ontiniente, some twenty miles distant. The guns -also were saved; but a party of two thousand infantry -which had been brought off the field by General -Shrimpton was surrounded on the following day and -compelled to lay down its arms.</p> - -<p>In this action, which lasted about two hours, Galway -lost about four thousand killed and wounded and -three thousand prisoners. The British alone lost -eighty-eight officers killed, and two hundred and -eighty-six captured, of whom ninety-two were -wounded. The Sixth regiment had but two officers -unhurt out of twenty-three, the Ninth but one out -of twenty-six, and other regiments<a name="FNanchor_344_344" id="FNanchor_344_344"></a><a href="#Footnote_344_344" class="fnanchor">[344]</a> suffered hardly -less severely. The simple fact was that, as the bulk -of the Portuguese would not fight, the action resolved -itself into an attack of eight thousand British, Dutch, -and Germans upon thrice their number of French and -Spaniards, in an open plain; and the defeat, though -decisive, was in no sense disgraceful except to the -Portuguese. The most singular circumstance in this -fatal day was that the French were commanded by -an Englishman, Berwick, and the English by a Frenchman, -the gallant but luckless Ruvigny. The battle -of course put an end to further operations on the -side of the Allies. Galway, with such troops as he -could collect, retired to the Catalonian frontier, and -set himself to reorganise a force to defend the lines -of the Segre and Ebro, while Berwick methodically -pursued the reduction of Valencia and in December -retired, according to rule, into winter quarters. So<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_488" id="Page_488">[488]</a></span> -swiftly did disaster follow on the first brilliant successes -in the Peninsula.</p> - -<p>Since we shall not again see Peterborough in the -field this chapter should not be closed without a -few sentences as to his peculiar methods. These -were outwardly simple enough. Good information -to discover his enemy's weak points, deception to -put him off his guard, the deepest secrecy lest that -enemy should grow suspicious, most careful thinking -out of details so that every unit of an insignificant -force should know its duty precisely and do it, exact -divination of the probable results of each successive -step, and extreme suddenness and rapidity in execution; -such were, so far as they can be set down, the secrets of -his success. In a word, his was the principle of -making war by moral rather than by physical force,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_489" id="Page_489">[489]</a></span> -by scaring men into the delusion that they were -beaten rather than by actually beating them. It is -a difficult art, of which the highest exponent was -produced by the Navy a century later in the person -of Lord Dundonald; and it is curious to note that -both men were troubled by exactly the same defects. -Peterborough was difficult, cantankerous, quarrelsome -and eaten up by exaggerated appreciation of -self. His letters were so interminably long and -tedious, containing indeed little besides abuse of his -colleagues, that they exhausted the patience even of -Marlborough. In fact, it seems to be impossible for -this type of man to work harmoniously with his -equals, however he may be adored by his subordinates. -The Duke of Wellington summed up Peterborough -as a brilliant partisan, but his contemporaries thought -more highly of him. Eugene declared that he thought -like a general, and Marlborough himself acknowledged -that he had predicted the ill consequences of the -operations which, contrary to his advice, were undertaken -in Spain. But whatever his merit as a general -and a leader, he, like all of his kind, is a man of -whom we take leave without regret, turning gladly -from the fitful, if dazzling flashes of his eccentric -genius, to the steady glowing light which illuminates -every action of the great Duke of Marlborough.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> -<a name="AU_VI" id="AU_VI"></a> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—It is well known that the exploits of Peterborough -rest principally on Carleton's <cite>Memoirs</cite>, and that the -authority of these <cite>Memoirs</cite> is disputed. Colonel Frank Russell -in his <cite>Life of Peterborough</cite> of course makes him a hero, Colonel -Arthur Parnell in his <cite>War of the Succession in Spain</cite> refuses to allow -him any merit. Mr. Stebbing in his <cite>Peterborough</cite> (Men of Action -Series) treats the controversy with strong good sense, and I have -not hesitated to follow his view. I must none the less acknowledge -my obligations to all three of these writers, and particularly to -Colonel Parnell, who has gone deeply into the history of the war, -taken immense pains to ascertain which British regiments were -engaged at every action, and has furnished a most copious list of -authorities. The <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mémoires de Berwick</cite> are most trustworthy on the -French side, and the <cite>Richards Papers</cite> (Stowe Coll. B.M.), as Colonel -Parnell says, most important.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_490" id="Page_490">[490]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_VII" id="BVI_CHAPTER_VII"></a><a href="#BVICVII">CHAPTER VII</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1707.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Almanza was a bad opening for the new year, but -worse was to follow. Throughout the winter -Marlborough had, as usual, been employed in diplomatic -negotiations, which nothing but his skill and -fascination could have carried to a successful issue. -But on one most important point the Duke was -foiled by the treachery of the Emperor, who, to -further his own selfish designs on Naples, secretly -concluded a treaty with France for the neutrality -of Italy, and thus enabled the whole of the French -garrisons in Italy to be withdrawn unmolested. The -forces thus liberated were at once brought up to -the scene of action on the Rhine and in Flanders, -and the French were enabled to bring a superior -force in the field against Marlborough. Again the -Duke had hoped to save Spain by an invasion of -France from the side of Savoy, but this project again -had been deferred until too late, owing to the -Emperor's cupidity for the possession of Naples. -Finally, though Prince Lewis of Baden had died -during the winter, he had been replaced on the Rhine -by a still more incompetent prince, the Margrave of -Bayreuth, who, far from making any diversion in the -Duke's favour, never ceased pestering him to come -to his assistance. So flagrant was this deplorable -person's incapacity that he too was superseded before -the close of the campaign, though too late for any -effective purpose. His successor, however, deserves -particular notice, being none other than the Elector<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_491" id="Page_491">[491]</a></span> -of Hanover, afterwards our own King George the -First, no genius in the field, but, as shall be seen in due -time, an extremely sensible and clear-headed soldier.</p> - -<p>The result of these complications was that Marlborough -spent the greater part of the summer -encamped, in the face of a superior French force, -at Meldert, on a branch of the Great Geete, to cover -his conquests in Flanders and Brabant. At last the -Emperor, having accomplished his desires in Naples, -made a diversion towards Provence which drew away -a part of the French force to that quarter and enabled -the Duke to move. But then bad weather intervened -to prevent any successful operations. Twice Marlborough -was within an ace of surprising Vendôme, -who had superseded Villeroy in Flanders, and twice -the marshal decamped in haste and confusion only -just in time to save his army. Even so the Duke -would have struck one heavy blow but for the -intervention of the Dutch deputies. But fortune -favoured the French; the rain came down in torrents, -and the country was poached into such a quagmire by the -cavalry that many of the infantry were fairly swallowed -up and lost.<a name="FNanchor_345_345" id="FNanchor_345_345"></a><a href="#Footnote_345_345" class="fnanchor">[345]</a> Thus tamely ended the campaign -which should have continued the work of Ramillies.<a name="FNanchor_346_346" id="FNanchor_346_346"></a><a href="#Footnote_346_346" class="fnanchor">[346]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_492" id="Page_492">[492]</a></span></p> - -<p>Returning home in November Marlborough found -difficulties almost as great as he had left behind him -in Flanders. There were quarrels in the Cabinet, -already foreboding the time when the Queen and the -people should turn against him. The Court of -France was reverting to its old methods and endeavouring -to divide England by providing the Pretender -with a force for invasion. Again the hardships of -the campaign in Flanders and the defeat of Almanza -had not only created discontent, but had enormously -increased the demand for recruits. The evil work -of the Dutch deputies and the incorrigible selfishness -and jealousy of the Empire had already prolonged the -war beyond the limit assigned by the short patience of -the English people.</p> - -<p>Happily Parliament was for the present still loyal -to the war, and voted not only the usual supplies but -money for an additional ten thousand men. Five -new battalions<a name="FNanchor_347_347" id="FNanchor_347_347"></a><a href="#Footnote_347_347" class="fnanchor">[347]</a> were raised, and three more of the -old establishment were detailed for service in Flanders.<a name="FNanchor_348_348" id="FNanchor_348_348"></a><a href="#Footnote_348_348" class="fnanchor">[348]</a> -But far more satisfactory was the fact that in 1708 -all regiments took the field with new colours, bearing -the cross of St. Andrew blended with that of St. -George, pursuant to the first article of the Treaty of -Union, passed in the previous year between England -and Scotland.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1708.<br /> -March 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -April 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The early spring of 1708 was wasted by the French -in a futile endeavour to set the Pretender afoot in -Scotland with a French force at his back; nor was -it until the 9th of April that Marlborough sailed -for the Hague, where Eugene was already awaiting -him. There the two agreed that the Duke should as -usual command in Flanders, while Eugene should -take charge of an army on the Moselle, nominally for -operations on that river, but in reality to unite with -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_493" id="Page_493">[493]</a></span> -Marlborough by a rapid march and give battle to the -French before they could call in their remoter detachments. -There was a considerable difficulty with the -Elector of Hanover, who was to command on the -Rhine, owing to his jealousy of Eugene, but this -trouble was satisfactorily settled, as were all troubles -of the time, by the intervention of Marlborough. -Thereupon the Electoral Prince, true to the quarrelsome -traditions of his family, at once insisted on -taking service with Eugene, simply for the sake of -annoying his father; thus adding one more to the -many causes of friction which, but for Marlborough, -would soon have brought the Grand Alliance to a -standstill. This Electoral Prince will become better -known to us as King George the Second.</p> - -<p>The French on their part had made extraordinary -exertions in the hope of a successful campaign. Since -Ramillies they had drawn troops from all quarters to -Flanders; and from thenceforth the tendency in every -succeeding year grew stronger for all operations to -centre in that familiar battle-ground. On the Rhine -the Elector of Bavaria held command, with Berwick, -much exalted since Almanza, to help him. The French -main army in Flanders numbered little less than a -hundred thousand men, and was under the orders of -Vendôme, with the Duke of Burgundy in supreme -command. The presence of the heir to the throne, of -his brother the Duke of Berry, and of the Chevalier de -St. George, as the Pretender called himself, all portended -an unusual effort.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">May.<br /> - -May 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -June 4</span><br /> - to<br /> -June 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 5.</span><br /> - -June 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 4.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Marching up at the end of May from their rendezvous -on the south of the Haine, the French army -moved north to the forest of Soignies. Marlborough -thereupon at once concentrated at Hal and summoned -Eugene to him with all haste. His own army numbered -but eighty thousand men, and though as usual he -showed a bold front he knew that such disparity of -numbers was serious. The French then manœuvred -towards Waterloo as if to threaten Louvain, a movement<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_494" id="Page_494">[494]</a></span> -which the Duke met by a forced march to Park -on the Dyle. Here he remained perforce inactive for a -whole month, waiting for Eugene, who was delayed by -some petty formalities which were judged by the -Imperial Court to be far more important than military -operations. Suddenly, on the night of the 4th of July, -the French broke up their camp, marched westward to -cross the Senne at Hal and detached small corps against -Bruges and Ghent. Unable to meet the Allies with the -sword, the French had substituted gold for steel and -had for some time been tampering with the new -authorities in these towns. The gold had done its -work. Within twenty-four hours Ghent and Bruges -had opened their gates, and the keys to the navigation -of the Scheldt and Lys were lost.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 5.</span><br /> - -June 25<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough, who was quite ready for a march, was -up and after the French army immediately. At two -o'clock in the morning his army was in motion, streaming -off to pass the Senne at Anderlecht. The march -was long and severe, the roads being in so bad a state -that the right wing did not reach its halting-ground -until six o'clock in the evening, nor the left wing till -two o'clock on the following morning; but this great -effort brought the Allies almost within reach of the -French army. In the night intelligence was brought to -Marlborough that the enemy was turning back to fight -him. He was in the saddle at once, to form his line of -battle; but the news was false. The French in reality -were making off as fast as they could; and before the -truth could reach Marlborough they were across the -Dender. Marlborough's cavalry was instantly on their -track, but could do no more than capture a few hundred -prisoners together with most of the French baggage. -That same day came definite information of the loss of -Ghent and Bruges, and of the investment of the citadel -of Ghent. Brussels took the alarm at once. The -French, as they feared, had for once got the better of -the Duke. The French army was encamped at Alost, -where, like a king between two pieces at draughts, it<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_495" id="Page_495">[495]</a></span> -threatened both the citadel of Ghent and Brussels; and -all was panic in the capital. The Duke was fain to -move on to Assche, midway between Alost and Brussels, -to restore the confidence of the fearful city.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Here Eugene joined him. Finding it hopeless to -arrive in time with his army, he had pushed on alone; -nor could he have arrived more opportunely, for the -Duke was so much weakened by an attack of fever that -he was hardly fit for duty. It was indeed a trying -moment. The next design of the French was evidently -aimed at Oudenarde for the recovery of the line of the -Scheldt. They were already across the Dender and -ahead of Marlborough on the road to it, and moreover -had broken down the bridges behind them; yet Marlborough -dared not move lest he should expose Brussels. -He sent orders to the Governor of Ath to collect as -many troops as he could and throw himself into Oudenarde, -which that officer punctually did; and then there -was nothing to be done but to wait. Two days sufficed -to place the citadel of Ghent in the hands of the French, -and to set their army free for further operations. Accordingly -on the 9th of July Vendôme sent forward -detachments to invest Oudenarde, and moved with the -main army up the Dender to Lessines, from which -point he intended to cover the siege. Great was his -astonishment on approaching the town on the following -day to find that Marlborough had arrived there before -him, and was not only within reach of Oudenarde but -interposed between him and his own frontier.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 10.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>For at two o'clock on the morning of the 9th of -July the Allied army had marched off in beautiful order -in five columns, and by noon had covered fifteen miles -to Herfelingen on the road to the Dender. Four -hours later Cadogan was sent forward with eight -battalions and as many squadrons to occupy Lessines -and throw bridges over the Dender; and when tattoo -beat that night the army silently entered on a march of -thirteen further miles to the same point. Before dawn -came the welcome intelligence that Cadogan had reached<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_496" id="Page_496">[496]</a></span> -his destination at midnight, laid his bridges, and made -his disposition to cover the passage of the troops. The -army tramped on, always in perfect order, crossed the -river and was taking up its camping-ground, when the -heads of the enemy's columns appeared on the distant -heights and were seen first to halt and then to retire. -Marlborough on the curve of the arc had outmarched -Vendôme on the chord.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 11.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The French, finding the whole of their plans disconcerted, -now wheeled about north-westward towards -Gavre on the Scheldt, to shelter themselves behind the -river and bar the advance of the allies on Bruges. But -the Duke had no intention to let them off so easily. -Burgundy and Vendôme were not on good terms; -their differences had already caused considerable confusion -in the army; and Marlborough was fully aware -of the fact. At dawn on the morning of the 11th the -unwearied Cadogan started off with some eleven thousand -men<a name="FNanchor_349_349" id="FNanchor_349_349"></a><a href="#Footnote_349_349" class="fnanchor">[349]</a> and twenty-four guns to prepare the roads, -construct bridges, and make dispositions to cover -the passage of the Scheldt below Oudenarde. By -half-past ten he had reached the river, just above the -village of Eyne, and on ascending the low heights above -the stream and looking westward he saw before him a -kind of shallow basin or amphitheatre, seamed by little -ditches and rivulets, and broken by hedges and enclosures. -To the south the rising ground on which he stood -swept round almost to the glacis of Oudenarde, thence -curved westward from the village of Bevere into -another broad hill called the Boser Couter to the village -of Oycke and beyond, thence round northward across -the valley of the river Norken to Huysse, whence -trending still to northward it died away in the marshes -of the Scheldt. Near Oycke two small streams rise -which, after pursuing for some way a parallel course,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_497" id="Page_497">[497]</a></span> -unite to run down into the Scheldt at Eyne; beyond -them the Norken runs beneath the heights of Huysse -in a line parallel to the Scheldt.</p> - -<p>Presently parties of French horse appeared on the -ground to the north. Vendôme's advanced-guard, -under the Marquis of Biron, had crossed the Scheldt -leisurely at Gavre, six miles farther down the river, and -was now moving across his front with foragers out, in -happy unconsciousness of the presence of an enemy. -A dash of Cadogan's squadrons upon the foragers -quickly brought Biron to Eyne and beyond it, where -he caught sight of Cadogan's detachment of scarlet and -blue battalions guarding the bridge, and presently of a -body of cavalry in the act of crossing; for Marlborough, -uneasy while his advanced-guard was still in the air, -had caught up a column of Prussian horse and galloped -forward with it in all haste. Biron at once reported -what he had seen to Vendôme, who, perceiving that the -mass of the Allied army was still on the wrong side of -the Scheldt, gave orders to take up a position parallel to -the river; the line to rest its left on the village of -Heurne and extend by Eyne and Beveren to Mooregem -on the right. In pursuance of his design he directed -seven battalions to occupy Heurne forthwith; but at -this point the Duke of Burgundy interposed. The -heights of Huysse in rear of the Norken from Asper -to Wannegem formed in his judgment a preferable -position; and there, two miles from the Scheldt, he -should form his line of battle, facing south-east. So -the army was guided to the left bank of the Norken, -while the seven battalions, obeying what they conceived -to be their orders, marched down to the village not of -Heurne but of Eyne, and backed by a few squadrons, -took up the position assigned to them by Vendôme.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile, responding to urgent messages from -Marlborough, the main body of the Allies was hurrying -forward, and by two o'clock the head of the infantry -had reached the Scheldt. Part of the cavalry passed -through Oudenarde to take advantage of the town<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_498" id="Page_498">[498]</a></span> -bridge; the foot began to cross by the pontoons, and -Cadogan, whose eye had marked the march of the -French into Eyne, at once summoned the whole of his -advanced-guard across to the left bank. Sabine's -brigade supported by the other two crossed the rivulet -against Eyne, while the Hanoverian cavalry moved up -to the rear of the village and cut off all hope of retreat. -Presently Sabine's British were hotly engaged; but the -French made but a poor resistance. It is the weakness -of the French soldier that he apprehends too quickly -when his officers have not given him a fair chance. -Three battalions out of the seven were captured entire, -the remaining four were killed or taken piecemeal in -their flight. The cavalry, flushed by their success, -then advanced under Prince George against the few -French squadrons in rear of the village, charged them, -routed them, and drove them across the Norken. The -Prince had his horse shot under him in this encounter, -for his family has never wanted for courage, and he -remembered the day of Oudenarde to the end of his life.</p> - -<p>The Duke of Burgundy now made up his mind to a -general action, and made every preparation for defence of -the position behind the Norken. But when four o'clock -came and the Allied army was not yet in order of battle, -he changed his plan, pushed a body of cavalry from his -right across the stream, and set the whole of his centre -and right in motion to advance likewise. Marlborough, -perceiving the movement, judged that the attack would -be directed against his left, in the hope that Cadogan's -battalions about Eyne would be left isolated and open -to be crushed by an advance of the French left. Two -of Cadogan's regiments, Prussians, which had been -pushed forward half a mile beyond Eyne to Groenewald -were at once reinforced by twelve more of the advanced -guard; the British cavalry was formed up on the -heights at Bevere, and the Prussian horse further to the -Allied right near Heurne. No more could be done -until the rest of the army should gradually cross the -river which divided it from the battlefield.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_499" id="Page_499">[499]</a></span></p> - -<p>At length about five o'clock thirty French battalions -debouched upon Groenewald, which was as yet held -only by Cadogan's two advanced regiments, and began -the attack. The Prussians stuck to their post gallantly -and held their own among the hedges, until presently -Cadogan's reinforcement, and later on twenty more -battalions under the Duke of Argyll,<a name="FNanchor_350_350" id="FNanchor_350_350"></a><a href="#Footnote_350_350" class="fnanchor">[350]</a> came up to their -assistance. Forming in succession on the left of the -Prussians as they reached the fighting line, these regiments -extended the field of action as far south as -Schaerken; and the combat was carried on with great -spirit. The ground was so strongly enclosed that the -fight resolved itself into duels of battalions, the cream -of the infantry on both sides being engaged. At one -moment the French outflanked the left of the Allies -and drove them back, but fresh battalions of Marlborough's -army kept constantly streaming into action, -which recovered the lost ground and prolonged the line -of fire always further to the south.</p> - -<p>Marlborough and Eugene, who had hitherto remained -together, now parted, and the Duke handing over -eighteen battalions to the Prince entrusted him with the -command of the right. This accession of strength -enabled Eugene to relieve Cadogan's corps, which had -been forced to give way before Groenewald, and even to -pierce through the first line of the enemy's infantry. -General Natzmar thereupon seized the moment to throw -the Prussian cavalry against the second line. His -squadrons were received with a biting fire from the -hedges as they advanced; and the French Household -Cavalry watching the favourable moment for a charge -drove back the Prussians with very heavy loss.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile Marlborough with the Hanoverian and -Dutch infantry was pressing forward slowly on his left, -the French fighting with great stubbornness and gallantry, -and contesting every inch of ground from hedge to -hedge. At last the enemy being forced back to Diepenbeck, -a few hundred yards in rear of Schaerken, stood<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_500" id="Page_500">[500]</a></span> -fast, and refused despite all the Duke's efforts to give -way for another foot. But Marlborough had still twenty -battalions of Dutch and Danes with almost the entire -cavalry of the left at his disposal, and he had noticed -that the French right flank rested on the air. He now -directed Marshal Overkirk to lead these troops under -cover of the Boser Couter round the French right and -to fall with them upon their rear. The gallant old -Dutchman, though infirm and sick unto death, joyfully -obeyed. Two brigades were thrown at once on the -flank of the troops that were so stoutly opposing -Marlborough; while the cavalry advanced quickly on -the reverse slope of the Boser Couter,<a name="FNanchor_351_351" id="FNanchor_351_351"></a><a href="#Footnote_351_351" class="fnanchor">[351]</a> and then wheeling -to the right fell on the rear of the unsuspecting French. -A part of the Household Cavalry and some squadrons of -dragoons tried bravely to stand their ground, but they -were borne back and swept away. Overkirk's troops -pressed rapidly on; and the French right was fairly -surrounded on all sides.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_500fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 500</em></p> -OUDENARDE<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">June 30<sup>th</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">July 11<sup>th</sup></span> -</span> 1708.<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>Now at last an effort was made to bring forward the -French left, which through Burgundy's perversity or -for some inscrutable reason, had been left motionless on -the other side of the Norken; but it was too late. The -infantry, though led by Vendôme himself, failed to -make the slightest impression, and the cavalry dared not -advance. The ground before them was intricate and -swampy, and the whole of the British cavalry, withdrawn -from their first position by Eugene, stood waiting to -plunge down upon them directly they should move. The -daylight faded and the night came on, but the musketry -flashed out incessantly in an ever narrowing girdle of -fire, as the Allies wound themselves closer and closer -round the enveloped French right. At length at nine -o'clock Marlborough and Eugene, fearful lest their -own troops should engage each other in the darkness, -with some difficulty enforced the order to halt and -cease firing. Vast numbers of the French seized the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_501" id="Page_501">[501]</a></span> -moment to escape, but presently all the drums of the -Allies began with one accord to beat the French retreat, -while the Huguenot officers shouted "A moi, Picardie! -A moi, Roussillon!" to gather the relics of the scattered -regiments of the enemy around them. In this way -some thousands of prisoners were gleaned, but the -harvest which would have been reaped in another hour -of daylight was lost. In the French army all was -confusion. Vendôme tried in vain to keep the troops -together till the morning, but Burgundy gave the word -for retreat; and the whole ran off in disorder towards -Ghent.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">1</span> - <span class="blka over">12</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2-3</span> - <span class="blka over">13-14</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>So ended the battle of Oudenarde, presenting on -one side a feature rare in these days, namely, a general -engagement without an order of battle.<a name="FNanchor_352_352" id="FNanchor_352_352"></a><a href="#Footnote_352_352" class="fnanchor">[352]</a> It was undoubtedly -the most hazardous action that Marlborough -ever fought. His troops were much harassed by forced -marches. They had started at two o'clock on Monday -morning and had covered fifty miles, including the -passage of two rivers, when they came into action at -two o'clock on Wednesday afternoon. It would be -reckoned no small feat in these days to move eighty -thousand men over fifty miles in sixty hours, but in -those days of bad roads and heavy packs the effort -must have been enormous. Finally, the army had to -pass the Scheldt in the face of the enemy, and ran no -small risk of being destroyed in detail. Yet the hazard -was probably less than it now seems to us, and generals -in our own day have not hesitated to risk similar peril -with success. The French commanders were at variance; -the less competent of them, being heir-apparent, -was likely to be toadied by officers and supported by -them against their better judgment; and finally the -whole French army was very much afraid of Marlborough. -Notwithstanding their slight success in -Ghent and Bruges, their elation had evaporated speedily -when they found Marlborough before them at Lessines.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_502" id="Page_502">[502]</a></span> -All this Marlborough knew well, and knew also that if -an impromptu action, if one may use the term, must be -fought, there was not a man on the other side who had -an eye for a battlefield comparable to Eugene's and his -own. The event justified his calculations; for the -victory was one of men who knew their own minds over -men who did not. Another hour of daylight, so -Marlborough declared, would have enabled him to -finish the war. The total loss of the Allies in the -battle was about three thousand killed and wounded, -the British infantry though early engaged suffering but -little, while the cavalry, being employed to watch the -inactive French left, hardly suffered at all.<a name="FNanchor_353_353" id="FNanchor_353_353"></a><a href="#Footnote_353_353" class="fnanchor">[353]</a> The French -lost six thousand killed and wounded and nine thousand -prisoners only, but they were thoroughly shaken and -demoralised for the remainder of the campaign. The -wearied army of the Allies lay on its arms in the battlefield, -while Marlborough and Eugene waited impatiently -for the dawn. As soon as it was light forty squadrons, -for the most part British, were sent forward in pursuit, -while Eugene returned to his own army to hasten its -march and to collect material for a siege. The main -army halted to rest for two days where it lay, during -which time the intelligence came that Berwick had been -summoned with his army from the Moselle, and was -marching with all haste to occupy certain lines constructed -by the French to cover their frontier from -Ypres to the Lys. At midnight fifty squadrons and -thirty battalions under Count Lottum, a distinguished -Prussian officer, started for these lines; the whole army -followed at daybreak, and while on the march the -Duke received the satisfactory news that Lottum had -captured the lines without difficulty. Next day the -whole of Marlborough's army was encamped along the -Lys between Menin and Commines, within the actual -territory of France.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">July.</div> - -<p>Detached columns were at once sent out to forage<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_503" id="Page_503">[503]</a></span> -and levy contributions. The suburbs of Arras were -burnt, and no effort was spared to bring home to the -French that war was hammering at their own gates. -But the Allies were still doubtful as to the operations -that they should next undertake. So long as the -French held Bruges and Ghent they held also the -navigation of the Scheldt and Lys, so that it was of -vital importance to tempt Vendôme, if possible, to -evacuate them. The British Government was preparing -a force<a name="FNanchor_354_354" id="FNanchor_354_354"></a><a href="#Footnote_354_354" class="fnanchor">[354]</a> under General Erie for a descent upon -Normandy by sea, and Marlborough was for co-operating -with this expedition, masking the fortress of Lille, -and penetrating straight into France—a plan which -the reader should, if possible, bear in mind. But the -proposal was too adventurous to meet with the approval -of the Dutch, and was judged impracticable even by -Eugene unless Lille were first captured as a place of -arms. Ultimately it was decided, notwithstanding the -closing of the Scheldt and Lys, to undertake the siege -of Lille; and all the energies of the Allies were turned -to the collection of sixteen thousand horses to haul the -siege-train overland from Brussels.</p> - -<p>During the enforced inaction of the army for the -next few weeks, the monotony was broken only by the -arrival of a distinguished visitor, Augustus the Strong, -Elector of Saxony and King of Poland, together with -one of his three hundred and sixty-four bastards, a -little boy of twelve named Maurice, who had run away -from school to join the army. We shall meet with -this boy again as a man of fifty, under the name of -Marshal Saxe, at a village some twenty miles distant -called Fontenoy.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">1</span> - <span class="blka over">12</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>At length the preparations for the siege were complete, -and the huge convoy set out from Brussels for -its long march. Now, if ever, was the time for the -French to strike a blow. Vendôme in the north at<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_504" id="Page_504">[504]</a></span> -Ghent and Berwick in the south at Douay had, between -them, one hundred and ten thousand men: the distance -to be traversed by the convoy was seventy-five miles, -and the way was barred by the Dender and the Scheldt. -Such, however, was the skill with which the march was -conducted that the French never succeeded even in -threatening the vast, unwieldy columns, which duly -reached their destination without the loss even of a single -waggon. Of all the achievements of Marlborough -and Eugene, this seems to have been judged by contemporary -military men to be the greatest.<a name="FNanchor_355_355" id="FNanchor_355_355"></a><a href="#Footnote_355_355" class="fnanchor">[355]</a></p> - -<p>Lille, the capital of French Flanders, was one of the -early conquests of Lewis the Fourteenth, and, if the -expression may be allowed, the darling town of the -Court of Versailles. Situated in a swampy plain and -watered by two rivers, the Deule and Marque, its -natural position presented difficulties of no ordinary -kind to a besieging force, and, in addition, it had been -fortified by Vauban with his utmost skill. The -garrison, which had been strengthened by Berwick, -amounted to fifteen thousand men, under the command -of brave old Marshal Boufflers, who had solicited the -honour of defending the fortress. To the north, as -we have seen, lay Vendôme, and to the south Berwick, -with a joint force now amounting to about ninety-four -thousand men.<a name="FNanchor_356_356" id="FNanchor_356_356"></a><a href="#Footnote_356_356" class="fnanchor">[356]</a> It was for Marlborough and Eugene -with an inferior strength of eighty-four thousand men<a name="FNanchor_357_357" id="FNanchor_357_357"></a><a href="#Footnote_357_357" class="fnanchor">[357]</a> -to hold them at bay and to take one of the strongest -fortresses in the world before their eyes.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2</span> - <span class="blka over">13</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>A detailed account even of so famous a siege would -be wearisome, the more so since the proportion of -British troops detailed for regular work in the trenches -was but five battalions,<a name="FNanchor_358_358" id="FNanchor_358_358"></a><a href="#Footnote_358_358" class="fnanchor">[358]</a> but there are a few salient -features which cannot be omitted. The point selected -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_505" id="Page_505">[505]</a></span> -for attack was the north side, the first advance to -which was opened by a single English soldier, Sergeant -Littler of the First Guards,<a name="FNanchor_359_359" id="FNanchor_359_359"></a><a href="#Footnote_359_359" class="fnanchor">[359]</a> who swam across the -Marquette to a French post which commanded the -passage of the stream and let down the drawbridge. -Two days later the town was fully invested, and Marlborough -took post with the covering army at Helchin -on the Scheldt.</p> - -<p>The investment had not been accomplished for -more than a fortnight when the Duke was informed -that Berwick and Vendôme were advancing towards -the Dender to unite their forces at Lessines. After -manœuvring at first to hinder the junction Marlborough -finally decided to let it come to pass, being -satisfied that, if the French designed to relieve Lille, -they could not break through in the face of his army -on the east side, but must go round and approach -it from the south. In this case, as both armies would -move in concentric circles around Lille as a centre, -Marlborough being nearer to that centre could be certain -of reaching any given point on the way to it before the -French. Moreover, the removal of the enemy from the -east to the south would free the convoys from Brussels -from all annoyance on their march to the siege.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 22<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 2.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>As he had expected, the French moved south to -Tournay, and then wheeling northward entered the -plain of Lille, where they found Marlborough and -Eugene drawn up ready to receive them.<a name="FNanchor_360_360" id="FNanchor_360_360"></a><a href="#Footnote_360_360" class="fnanchor">[360]</a> Vendôme -and Berwick had positive orders to risk a battle; and -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_506" id="Page_506">[506]</a></span> -there had been much big talk of annihilating the -Allies. Yet face to face with their redoubtable enemies -they hesitated. Finally, after a week's delay, which -enabled Marlborough greatly to strengthen his position -by entrenchment, they advanced as if to attack in -earnest, but withdrew ignominiously after a useless -cannonade without accepting battle. Had not Marlborough -and Eugene been restrained by the Dutch -deputies, the marshals would have had a battle forced -on them whether they liked it or not, but, as things -were, they were permitted to retire. To such depth -of humiliation had Marlborough reduced the proud -and gallant French army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 27-28<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 7-8.</span><br /> - -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka"><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: '19-20'">9-10</ins></span> - <span class="blka over">20-21</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The retreat left Eugene free to press the siege -with vigour; but a great assault, which cost him -three thousand men,<a name="FNanchor_361_361" id="FNanchor_361_361"></a><a href="#Footnote_361_361" class="fnanchor">[361]</a> failed to give him the advantage -for which he had hoped, and a week later Marlborough -was called in from the covering army to give assistance. -For the next assault, on the counterscarp, -the Duke lent the Prince five thousand English, -and it is said that English and French never fought -more worthily of their reputation than on that day; -but the assault was thrice repelled, and it was only -through the exertions of Eugene himself that a portion -of the works was at last captured after a desperate -effort and at frightful cost of life. Altogether the -siege was not going well. The engineers had made -blunders; a vast number of men had been thrown -away to no purpose; and ammunition and stores -were beginning to run short. Lastly, Boufflers maintained -always a very grand and extremely able defence.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">27</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Vendôme and Berwick could now think of no -better expedient than to throw themselves into strong -positions along the Scarpe and Scheldt, from Douay -to Ghent, in order to cut off all convoys from Brussels. -But Marlborough was prepared for this, and had not<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_507" id="Page_507">[507]</a></span> -captured Ostend after Ramillies for nothing. England -held command of the sea; and Erle's expedition, -which had effected little or nothing on the coast of -Normandy, was at hand to help in the transport of -supplies from the new base. Erle, who had considerable -talent for organisation, soon set Ostend in order, -seized two passages over the Newport Canal at -Leffinghe and Oudenburg and prepared to send off -his first convoy. As its arrival was of vital importance -to the maintenance of the siege, the French were -as anxious to intercept as the English to forward it. -Vendôme accordingly sent off Count de la Mothe -with twenty-two thousand men to attack it on its -way, while Marlborough despatched twelve battalions -and fifteen hundred horse to Ostend itself, twelve -battalions more under General Webb to Thourout, and -eighteen squadrons under Cadogan to Roulers, at two -different points on the road, to help it to its destination.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> - -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The convoy started at night, and in the morning -Cadogan sent forward Count Lottum with a hundred -and fifty horse to meet it. At noon Lottum returned -to Thourout with the intelligence that he had struck -against the advanced-guard of a French force at -Ichtegem, two miles beyond Wynendale and some four -miles from Thourout on the road to Ostend. Webb -at once collected every battalion within his reach, -twenty-two in all, and marched with all speed for -Ichtegem, with Lottum's squadron in advance. The -horse, however, on emerging from the defile of -Wynendale, found the enemy advancing towards them -into the plains that lay beyond it. Lottum retired -slowly, skirmishing, while Webb pushed on and posted -his men in two lines at the entrance to the defile. The -strait was bounded on either hand by a wood, and in each -of these woods Webb stationed a battalion of Germans -to take the French in flank. The dispositions were -hardly complete when the enemy came up and opened -fire from nineteen pieces of artillery. Lottum and his -handful of horse then retired, while just in the nick of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_508" id="Page_508">[508]</a></span> -time three more battalions reach Webb from the rear -and formed his third line.</p> - -<p>The French cannonade was prolonged for nearly -two hours, but with little effect, for Webb had ordered -his men to lie down. At length at five o'clock the -French advanced in four lines of infantry backed by as -many of horse and dragoons. They came on with -great steadiness and entered the space between the two -woods, their flank almost brushing the covert as they -passed, serenely unconscious of the peril that awaited -them. Then from right and left a staggering volley -crashed into them from the battalions concealed in the -woods. Both flanks shrank back from the fire, and -huddled themselves in confusion upon their centre. De -la Mothe sent forward some dragoons in support; and -the foot, recovering themselves, pressed on against the -lines before them. So vigorous was their attack that -they broke through two battalions of the first line, but -the gap being instantly filled from the second, they -were forced back. Again they struggled forward, -trusting by the sheer weight of eight lines against two -to sweep their enemy away. But the eternal fire on -front and flank became unendurable, and notwithstanding -the blows and entreaties of their officers the whole -eight lines broke up in confusion, while Webb's battalions, -coolly advancing by platoons "as if they were at -exercise," poured volley after volley into them as they -retired. Cadogan, who had hastened up with a few -squadrons to the sound of the firing, was anxious to -charge the broken troops, but his force was considered -too weak; and thus after two hours of hot conflict -ended the combat of Wynendale. The French engaged -therein numbered almost double of the Allies, and lost -close on three thousand men, while the Allies lost rather -less than a thousand of all ranks. The signal incapacity -displayed by the French commander did not lessen the -credit of Webb, and Wynendale was reckoned one of -the most brilliant little affairs of the whole war.<a name="FNanchor_362_362" id="FNanchor_362_362"></a><a href="#Footnote_362_362" class="fnanchor">[362]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_509" id="Page_509">[509]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Oct. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The safe arrival of the convoy before Lille raised -the hopes of the besiegers; and Vendôme, now fully -alive to the importance of cutting off communication -with Ostend, marched towards that side with a considerable -force, and opening the dykes laid the whole -country under water. Marlborough went quickly after -him, but the marshal would not await his coming; and -the Duke by means of high-wheeled vehicles and punts -contrived to overcome the difficulties caused by the -inundation. At last, after a siege of sixty days the -town capitulated; and the garrison retired into the -citadel, where Eugene proceeded to beleaguer it anew.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Nov. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">13</span> - <span class="blka over">24</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Nov. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Nov. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>While the new siege was going forward the Elector -of Bavaria arrived on the scene from the Rhine, from -whence the apathy of the Elector of Hanover had most -unpardonably allowed him to withdraw, and laid siege -to Brussels with fifteen thousand men. This was an -entirely new complication; and since the French held -the line of the Scheldt in force, it was difficult to see -how Marlborough could parry the blow. Fortunately -the garrison defended itself with great spirit, the English -regiments<a name="FNanchor_363_363" id="FNanchor_363_363"></a><a href="#Footnote_363_363" class="fnanchor">[363]</a> setting a fine example, and the Duke, in no -wise dismayed, laid his plans with his usual secrecy and -decision. Spreading reports, which he strengthened by -feint movements, that he was about to place his troops -in cantonments, he marched suddenly and silently eastward -on the night of the 26th of November, crossed -the Scheldt at two different points before the enemy<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_510" id="Page_510">[510]</a></span> -knew that he was near them, took a thousand prisoners, -and then remitting the bulk of his force to the siege of -Lille, pushed on with a detachment of cavalry and two -battalions of English Guards to Alost. On his arrival -he learned that the Elector had raised the siege of -Brussels and marched off with precipitation. The bare -name of Marlborough had been sufficient to scare him -away.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Nov. 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Meanwhile Eugene's preparations before the citadel -of Lille were in rapid progress, and Marlborough was -already maturing plans for a further design before the -close of the campaign. It had been the earnest desire -of both commanders to reduce Boufflers to unconditional -surrender; but time was an object, so on the 9th of -December the gallant old marshal and his heroic -garrison marched out with the honours of war. So -ended the memorable siege of Lille. It had cost the -garrison eight thousand men, or more than half of its -numbers, and the Allies no fewer than fourteen thousand -men. The honours of the siege rested decidedly with -Boufflers, and were paid to him by none more ungrudgingly -than Marlborough and Eugene. Yet as an -operation of war, conducted under extraordinary difficulties -in respect of transport, under the eyes of a -superior force and subject to diversions, such as that of -the Elector of Bavaria, it remains one of the highest -examples of consummate military skill.</p> - -<p>The fall of Lille was a heavy blow for France, but it -was not the last of the campaign. Within eight days -Marlborough and Eugene had invested Ghent, which -after a brief resistance surrendered with the honours of -war. The capitulation of Bruges quickly followed, and -the navigation of the Scheldt and Lys having been -regained, the two commanders at last sent their troops -into winter quarters.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">13</span> - <span class="blka over">24</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>But even this did not close the sum of English -successes for 1708, for from the Mediterranean had -come news of another conquest, due to the far-seeing -eye and far-reaching hand of Marlborough. Early in<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_511" id="Page_511">[511]</a></span> -the year Galway had withdrawn from Catalonia to -Lisbon, and the command in Catalonia had been given -at Marlborough's instance to Field-Marshal von -Staremberg, an Imperial officer of much experience -and deservedly high reputation. Staremberg, however, -could do little with but ten thousand men against the -Bourbon's army of twice his strength, so by Marlborough's -advice the troops were used to second the operations of -the Mediterranean squadron. Sardinia, the first point -aimed at, was captured almost without resistance, and -the fleet then sailed for Minorca. Here somewhat -more opposition was encountered; but after less than a -fortnight's work, creditably managed by Major-General -Stanhope, the Island was taken at a trifling cost of -life.<a name="FNanchor_364_364" id="FNanchor_364_364"></a><a href="#Footnote_364_364" class="fnanchor">[364]</a> Thus the English gained their first port in the -Mediterranean; and the news of the capture of Minorca -reached London on the same day as that of the fall -of Lille.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Note.</span>—I have been unable to discover any Order of Battle for -the campaign of 1708. The regiments that bear the name of -Oudenarde on their appointments are the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 6th, and 7th -Dragoon Guards, the 2nd Dragoons, 5th Lancers, Grenadier Guards, -Coldstream Guards, 1st, 3rd, 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, -24th, 26th, 37th Foot.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_512" id="Page_512">[512]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_VIII" id="BVI_CHAPTER_VIII"></a><a href="#BVICVIII">CHAPTER VIII</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1708.</div> - -<p class="noindent">The successes of the past campaign were sufficient to -set the British Parliament in good humour, and to prompt -it to vote a further increase of ten thousand German -mercenaries for the following year. Nevertheless political -troubles were increasing, and there were already -signs that the rule of Godolphin and Marlborough was -in danger. The death of the Prince Consort had been -a heavy blow to the Duke. Prince George may have -deserved Lord Macaulay's character for impenetrable -stupidity, but there can be little doubt that his heavy -phlegmatic character was of infinite service to steady the -weak and unstable Queen Anne.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1709.</div> - -<p>In the spring of 1709, however, it seemed reasonable -to hope that peace, which would have set all matters -right, was well-nigh assured. France, already at the -last gasp through the exhaustion caused by the war, was -weakened still further by a severe winter which had -added famine to all her other troubles; and Lewis -sought anxiously, even at the price of humiliation, for -peace. He approached Marlborough, reputed the most -avaricious and corruptible of men, with a gigantic bribe -to obtain good terms, but was unhesitatingly rebuffed. -The Duke stated the conditions which might be acceptable -to England; and had the negotiations been trusted -to him, there can be little doubt but that he would have -obtained the honourable peace which he above all men -most earnestly desired. He was, however, overruled by -instructions from home imposing terms which Lewis -could not be expected to grant; the war was continued;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_513" id="Page_513">[513]</a></span> -and Marlborough, who had striven his hardest to bring -it to an end, was of course accused of prolonging it -deliberately for his own selfish ends.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">June.<br /> -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The French, now menaced with an invasion and a -march of the Allies to Paris, had strengthened their -army enormously by withdrawing troops from all -quarters to Flanders, and had set in command their only -fortunate general, that very able soldier and incomparable -liar, Marshal Villars. To cover Arras, the northwestern -gate of France, Villars had thrown up a strong -line of entrenchments from the Scarpe at Douay to the -Lys, which were generally known, after the name of his -headquarters, as the lines of La Bassée. There he lay, -entrenched to the teeth, while Marlborough and Eugene, -after long delay owing to the lateness of the spring, -encamped with one hundred and ten thousand men to -the south of Lille, between two villages, with which the -reader will in due time make closer acquaintance, called -Lincelles and Fontenoy. Thence they moved south -straight upon Villars' lines with every apparent preparation -for a direct attack upon them and for forcing their -way into France at that point. The heavy artillery was -sent to Menin on the Lys; report was everywhere rife -of the coming assault, and Villars lost no time in -summoning the garrison of Tournay to his assistance. -On the 26th of June, at seven in the evening, Marlborough -issued his orders to strike tents and march; -and the whole army made up its mind for a bloody -action before the lines at dawn. To the general surprise, -after advancing some time in the direction of -the French, the columns received orders to change -direction to the left. After some hours' march eastward -they crossed a river, but the men did not know -that the bridge lay over the Marque and that it led -them over the battlefield of Bouvines; nor was it until -dawn that they saw the gray walls and the four spires -of Tournay before them and discovered that they had -invested the city.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 7.</span><br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"><ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: '19/23'"> - <span class="blka">19</span> - <span class="blka over">30</span></ins> -</span>.<br /> - -Aug. 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Tournay had been fortified by Vauban and was one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_514" id="Page_514">[514]</a></span> -of the strongest fortresses in France,<a name="FNanchor_365_365" id="FNanchor_365_365"></a><a href="#Footnote_365_365" class="fnanchor">[365]</a> but its garrison -had been weakened by the unsuspecting Villars, and -there was little hope for it. The heavy artillery of the -Allies, which had been sent to Menin, went down the -Lys to Ghent and up the Scheldt to the besieged city, -the trenches were opened on the 7th of July, and after -three weeks, despite the demonstrations of Villars and -of incessant heavy rain, Tournay was reduced to surrender.<a name="FNanchor_366_366" id="FNanchor_366_366"></a><a href="#Footnote_366_366" class="fnanchor">[366]</a> -Then followed the siege of the citadel, the -most desperate enterprise yet undertaken by the Allied -troops, inasmuch as the subterraneous works were more -numerous and formidable than those above ground. -The operations were, therefore, conducted by mine and -countermine, with destructive explosions and confused -combats in the darkness, which tried the nerves of the -soldiers almost beyond endurance. The men did not -object to be shot, but they dreaded to be buried alive -by the hundred together through the springing of a -single mine.<a name="FNanchor_367_367" id="FNanchor_367_367"></a><a href="#Footnote_367_367" class="fnanchor">[367]</a> Four English regiments<a name="FNanchor_368_368" id="FNanchor_368_368"></a><a href="#Footnote_368_368" class="fnanchor">[368]</a> bore their share -in this work and suffered heavily in the course of it, -until on the 3rd of September the citadel capitulated.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_515" id="Page_515">[515]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">20</span> - <span class="blka over">31</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Aug. 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Before the close of the siege Marlborough and -Eugene, leaving a sufficient force before Tournay, had -moved back with the main army before the lines at -Douay. They had long decided that the lines were far -too formidable to be forced, but they saw no reason for -communicating this opinion to Villars. On the 31st of -August Lord Orkney, with twenty squadrons and the -whole of the grenadiers of the army, marched away -silently and swiftly eastward towards St. Ghislain on the -Haine. Three days later, immediately after the capitulation -of the citadel of Tournay, the Prince of Hessen-Cassel -started at four o'clock in the afternoon in the -same direction; at nine o'clock Cadogan followed him -with forty squadrons more, and at midnight the whole -army broke up its camp and marched after them. -Twenty-six battalions alone were left before Tournay -to superintend the evacuation and to level the siege -works, with orders to watch Villars carefully and not to -move until he did.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The Prince of Hessen-Cassel soon overtook Orkney, -from whom he learned that St. Ghislain was too strongly -held to be carried by his small force. The Prince therefore -at once pushed on. Rain was falling in torrents, -and the roads were like rivers, but he continued his -advance eastward behind the woods that line the Haine -almost without a halt, till at length at two o'clock on -the morning of the 6th of September he wheeled to the -right and crossed the river at Obourg three miles to the -north-east of Mons. Before him lay the river Trouille -running down from the south through Mons, and in rear -of it a line of entrenchments, thrown up from Mons to -the Sambre during the last war to cover the province of -Hainault. A short survey showed him that the lines -were weakly guarded; and before noon he had passed -them without opposition. His force, despite the weather -and the state of the roads, had covered the fifty miles to -Obourg in fifty-six hours.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 7.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Too late Villars discovered that for the second time -he had been duped, and that Marlborough had no<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_516" id="Page_516">[516]</a></span> -intention of forcing his way into France through the -lines of La Bassée and the wet swampy country beyond -them, when he could pass the lines of the Trouille -without loss of a man. He was in a difficult position, -for Mons was but slenderly garrisoned and difficult of -access, while, if captured, it would be a valuable acquisition -to the Allies. The approach to it from the -westward was practically shut off by a kind of natural -barrier of forest, running, roughly speaking, from St. -Ghislain on the Haine on the north to Maubeuge on -the Sambre to the south. In this barrier there were -but two openings, the Trouée de Boussut between the -village of that name and the Haine, and the Trouées -d'Aulnois and de Louvière, which are practically the -same, some miles further to the south. These will be -more readily remembered, the northern entrance by the -name of Jemappes, the southern by the name of Malplaquet. -Villars no sooner knew what was going -forward than he pushed forward a detachment with all -speed upon the northern entrance, which was the nearer -to him. The detachment came too late. The Prince -of Hessen-Cassel was already astride of it, his right at -Jemappes, his left at Ciply. The French thereupon fell -back to await the approach of the main army of the Allies.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 6.</span><br /> - -Aug. 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 7.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Meanwhile that army had toiled through the sea of -mud on the northern bank of the Haine, and crossing the -river had by evening invested Mons on the eastern side. -On the following day Villars and his whole army also -arrived on the scene and encamped a couple of miles -to westward of the forest-barrier from Montreuil to -Athis. Here he was joined by old Marshal Boufflers, -who had volunteered his services at a time of such peril -to France. The arrival of the gallant veteran caused -such a tumult of rejoicing in the French camp that -Marlborough and Eugene, not knowing what the -clamour might portend, withdrew all but a fraction of -the investing force from the town, and advancing westward -into the plain of Mons caused the army to bivouac -between Ciply and Quévy in order of battle.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_517" id="Page_517">[517]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 8.</span><br /> - -Aug. 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Villars meanwhile had not moved, being adroit -enough to threaten both passages and keep the Allies -in doubt as to which he should select. While therefore -the mass of the Allied army was moved towards the -Trouée d'Aulnois, a strong detachment was sent up to -watch the Trouée de Boussut. That night Villars sent -detachments forward to occupy the southern passage, -and by midday of the morrow his whole army was -taking up its position across the opening. Marlborough -at once moved his army forward, approaching so close -that his left wing exchanged cannon shot with Villars's -right. Everything pointed to an immediate attack on -the French before they should have time to entrench -themselves. Whether the Dutch deputies intervened -to stay further movements is uncertain. All that is -known is that a council of war was held, wherein, after -much debate, it was resolved to await the arrival of the -detachment from the Trouée de Boussut and of the -troops that had been left behind at Tournay, and that -in the meanwhile eighteen battalions should be sent -north to the capture of St. Ghislain and the investment -of Mons turned into a blockade. Evidently in some -quarter there was reluctance to hazard a general action.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 10.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Villars now set himself with immense energy to -strengthen his position; and, when Marlborough and -Eugene surveyed the defences at daybreak of the -following morning, they were astonished at the formidable -appearance of the entrenchments. Marlborough -was once more for attacking without further delay, but -he was opposed by the Dutch deputies and even by -Eugene. The attack was therefore fixed for the -morrow; and another day was lost which Villars did -not fail to turn to excellent account.</p> - -<p>The entrance from the westward to the Trouée -d'Aulnois or southern entrance to the plain of Mons -is marked by the two villages of Campe du Hamlet on -the north and Malplaquet on the south. About a mile -in advance of these villages the ground rises to its -highest elevation, the opening being about three thousand<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_518" id="Page_518">[518]</a></span> -paces wide, and the ground broken and hollowed to -right and left by small rivulets. This was the point -selected by Villars for his position. It was bounded -on his right by the forest of Laignières, the greatest -length of which ran parallel to the Trouée, and on the -left by a forest, known at different points by the names -of Taisnières, <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Sart and Blangies'">Sart and Blaugies</ins>, the greatest length of -which ran at right angles to the Trouée. Villars occupied -the forest of Laignières with his extreme right, his -battalions strengthening the natural obstacles of a thick -and tangled covert by means of abattis. From the -edge of the wood he constructed a triple line of -entrenchments, which ran across the opening for full -a third of its width, when they gave way to a line of -nine redans. These redans in turn yielded place to a -swamp backed by more entrenchments, which carried -the defences across to the wood of Taisnières. Several -cannon were mounted on the entrenchments and a -battery of twenty guns before the redans. On Villars's -left the forests of Taisnières and Sart projected before -the general front, forming a salient and re-entering -angle. Entrenchments and abattis were constructed -in accordance with this configuration, and two more -batteries were erected on this side, in addition to -several guns at various points along the line, to enfilade -an advancing enemy. Feeling even thus insecure -Villars threw up more entrenchments at the villages of -Malplaquet and Chaussée du Bois in rear of the wood -of Sart, and was still hard at work on them to the last -possible moment before the action. Finally in rear of -all stood his cavalry, drawn up in several lines. The -whole of his force amounted to ninety-five thousand men.</p> - -<p>The position was most formidable, but it had its -defects. In the first place the open space before the -entrenchments was broken at about half a mile's distance -by a small coppice, called the wood of Tiry, which -could serve to mask the movements of the Allied centre. -In the second place the forest of Sart ran out beyond -the fortified angle in a long tongue, which would<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_519" id="Page_519">[519]</a></span> -effectually conceal any troops that might be directed -against the extreme left flank. Finally the French -cavalry, being massed in rear of the entrenchments, -could take no part in the action until the defences were -forced, and was therefore incapable of delivering any -counterstroke. Marlborough and Eugene accordingly -decided to make a feint attack on the French right and -a true attack on their left front and flank. Villars -would then be obliged to reinforce his left from his -centre, which would enable the defences across the open -to be carried, and the whole of the allied cavalry to -charge forward and cut the French line in twain.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. 31<br /> -<span class="over"> -Sept. 11.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The dawn of the 11th of September broke in dense -heavy mist which completely veiled the combatants -from each other. At three o'clock prayers were said -in the Allied camp, and then the artillery was moved in -position. Forty pieces were massed in a single battery -in the open ground against the French left, and were -covered with an epaulment for defence against enfilading -fire; twenty-eight more were stationed against the -French right, and the lighter pieces were distributed, -as usual, among the different brigades. Then the -columns of attack were formed. Twenty-eight battalions -under Count Lottum were directed against the eastern -face of the salient angle of the forest of Taisnières, -and forty battalions of Eugene's army under General -Schulemberg against the northern face, while a little to -the right of Schulemberg two thousand men under -General Gauvain were to press on the French left flank -in rear of their entrenchments. In rear of Schulemberg -fifteen British battalions under Lord Orkney were -drawn up in a single line on the open ground, ready to -advance against the centre as soon as Schulemberg and -Lottum should have done their work. Far away -beyond Gauvain to the French left General Withers -with five British and fourteen foreign battalions and six -squadrons was to turn the extreme French left at the -village of La Folie.</p> - -<p>For the feint against the French right thirty-one<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_520" id="Page_520">[520]</a></span> -battalions, chiefly Dutch, were massed together under -the Prince of Orange. The cavalry was detailed in -different divisions to support the infantry. The Prince -of Orange was backed by twenty-one Dutch squadrons -under the Prince of Hesse, Orkney by thirty more -under Auvergne, Lottum by the British and Hanoverian -cavalry, and Schulemberg by Eugene's horse. The -orders given to the cavalry were to sustain the foot as -closely as possible without advancing into range of -grape-shot, and as soon as the central entrenchments -were forced to press forward, form before the entrenchments -and drive the French army from the field. The -whole force of the Allies was as near as may be equal -to that of the French.</p> - -<p>At half-past seven the fog lifted and the guns of -both armies opened fire. Eugene and Marlborough -thereupon parted, the former taking charge of the right, -the latter of the left of the army. Then the divisions -of Orange and of Lottum advanced in two dense -columns up the glade. Presently the Dutch halted, -just beyond range of grape-shot, while Lottum's column -pushed on under a terrific fire to the rear of the forty-gun -battery and deployed to the right in three lines. -Then the fire of the cannon slackened for a time, till -about nine o'clock a salvo of the forty guns gave the -signal for attack. Lottum's and Schulemberg's divisions -thereupon advanced perpendicularly to each other, each -in three lines, Gauvain's men crept into the wood -unperceived, and Orkney extended his scarlet battalions -across the glade.</p> - -<p>Entering the wood Schulemberg's Austrians made the -best of their way through marshes and streams and -fallen trees, nearer and nearer to the French entrenchments. -The enemy suffered them to approach within -pistol-shot and delivered a volley which sent them -staggering back; and though the Austrians extended -their line till it joined Gauvain's detachment, yet they -could make little way against the French fire. Lottum's -attack was little more successful. Heedless of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_521" id="Page_521">[521]</a></span> -tempest of shot in their front and flank the Germans -pressed steadily on, passed a swamp and a stream under -a galling fire, and fell fiercely upon the breastwork -beyond; but being disordered by the ground and -thinned by heavy losses they were forced to fall back. -Schulemberg then resumed the attack with his second -line, but with all his exertions could not carry the face -of the angle opposed to him. Picardie, the senior -regiment of the French Line, held this post and would -not yield it to the fiercest assault. The utmost that -Schulemberg could accomplish was to sweep away the -regiments in the wood, and so uncover its flank.</p> - -<p>Lottum, too, extended his front and attacked once -more, Orkney detaching three British battalions, the -Buffs, Sixteenth, and Temple's, to his assistance, while -Marlborough took personal command of Auvergne's -cavalry in support. The Buffs on Lottum's extreme left -found a swamp between them and the entrenchments, -so deep as to be almost impassable. In they plunged, -notwithstanding, and were struggling through it when a -French officer drew out twelve battalions and moved -them down straight upon their left flank. The British -brigade would have been in a sorry plight had not -Villars caught sight of Marlborough at the head of -Auvergne's horse and instantly recalled his troops. So -the red-coats scrambled on, and turning the flank of -the entrenchment while Lottum's men attacked the -front, at length with desperate fighting and heavy loss -forced the French back into the wood. Thus exposed -to the double attack of Lottum and Schulemberg -Picardie at last fell back, but joined itself to Champagne, -the next regiment in seniority; and the two gallant -corps finding a rallying-point behind an abattis turned -and stood once more. Their comrades gave way in -disorder, but the wood was so dense that the troops on -both sides became disjointed, and the opposing lines -broke up into a succession of small parties fighting -desperately from tree to tree with no further guidance -than their own fury.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_522" id="Page_522">[522]</a></span></p> - -<p>The entrenchments on the French left had been -forced; and Villars sent urgent messages to his right -for reinforcements. But Boufflers could spare him -none. After Schulemberg and Lottum had been -engaged for half an hour, the Prince of Orange lost -patience and, without waiting for orders, opened not a -false but a real attack against the French right. On -the extreme left of Orange's division were two Highland -regiments of the Dutch service, Tullibardine's and -Hepburn's, and next to them King William's favourite -Blue Guards. These were to attack the defences in the -forest of Laignières, while the rest fell upon the entrenchments -in the open; and it was at the head of the -Highlanders and of the Blue Guards that Orange took -his place. A tremendous fire of grape and musketry -saluted them as they advanced, and within the first few -yards most of the Prince's staff were struck dead by his -side. His own horse fell dead beneath him, but he -disentangled himself and continued to lead the advance -on foot. A few minutes more brought his battalions -under the fire of a French battery on their left flank. -Whole ranks were swept away, but still the Prince was -to be seen waving his hat in front of his troops; and -Highlanders and Dutchmen pressing steadily on carried -the first entrenchment with a rush. They then halted -to deploy, but before they could advance further -Boufflers had rallied his men, and charging down upon -his assailants drove them back headlong. On Orange's -right, success as short-lived was bought at as dear a -price. The Prince still exerted himself with the utmost -gallantry, but his attack was beaten back at all points. -The loss of the Dutch amounted to six thousand killed -and wounded; the Blue Guards had been annihilated, -and the Hanoverian battalions, which had supported -them, had suffered little less severely. In fact, the -Prince's precipitation had brought about little less than -a disaster.</p> - -<p>The confusion in this part of the field called both -Marlborough and Eugene to the Allied left to restore<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_523" id="Page_523">[523]</a></span> -order. Further useless sacrifice of life was checked, for -enough and more than enough had been done to prevent -Boufflers from detaching troops to Villars. But soon -came an urgent message requiring their presence once -more on the right. Schulemberg and Lottum had -continued to push their attack as best they could; and -red-coated English, blue-coated Prussians, and white-coated -Austrians were struggling forward from tree to -tree, tripping over felled trunks, bursting through -tangled foliage, panting through quagmires, loading -and firing and cursing, guided only by the flashes -before them in the cloud of foul blinding smoke. But -now on the extreme right Withers was steadily advancing; -and his turning movement, though the Duke -and Eugene knew it not, was gradually forcing the -French out of the wood. Villars seeing the danger -called the Irish Brigade and other regiments from the -centre, and launched them full upon the British and -Prussians. Such was the impetuosity of the Irish that -they forced them back some way, until their own -formation was broken by the density of the forest. -Eugene hastened to the spot to rally the retreating -battalions and though struck by a musket ball in the -head refused to leave the field. Then up came Withers, -just when he was wanted. The Eighteenth Royal Irish -met the French Royal Regiment of Ireland, crushed it -with two volleys by sheer superiority of fire, drove it -back in disorder, and pressed on.<a name="FNanchor_369_369" id="FNanchor_369_369"></a><a href="#Footnote_369_369" class="fnanchor">[369]</a> Eugene also advanced -and was met by Villars, who at this critical -moment was bringing forward his reinforcements in -person. A musket shot struck the Marshal above the -knee. Totally unmoved the gallant man called for a -chair from which to continue to direct his troops, but -presently fainting from pain was carried insensible from -the field. The French, notwithstanding his fall, still -barred the advance of the Allies, but they had been -driven from their entrenchments and from the wood on -the left, and only held their own by the help of the troops<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_524" id="Page_524">[524]</a></span> -that had been withdrawn from the centre. The moment -for which Marlborough had waited was now come.</p> - -<p>The forty-gun battery was moved forward, and -Orkney leading his British battalions against the redans -captured them, though not without considerable loss, at -the first rush. Two Hanoverian battalions on their -left turned the flank of the adjoining entrenchments, -and Orange renewing his attack cleared the whole of -the defences in the glade. The Allied cavalry followed -close at their heels. Auvergne's Dutch were the first -to pass the entrenchments, and though charged by the -French while in the act of deploying succeeded in repelling -the first attack. But now Boufflers came up at -the head of the French Gendarmerie, and drove them -back irresistibly to the edge of the entrenchments. -Here, however, the French were checked, for Orkney -had lined the parapet with his British, and though the -Gendarmerie thrice strove gallantly to make an end of -the Dutch, they were every time driven back by the -fire of the infantry. Meanwhile the central battery, -which had been parted right and left into two divisions, -advanced and supported the infantry by a cross-fire, -and Marlborough coming up with the British and -Prussian horse fell upon the Gendarmerie in their turn. -Boufflers, however, was again ready with fresh troops, -and coming down upon Marlborough with the French -Household Cavalry crashed through his two leading lines -and threw even the third into disorder. Then Eugene -coming up with the Imperial horse threw the last -reserves into the melée and drove the French back. -Simultaneously the Prince of Hesse hurled his squadrons -against the infantry of the French right, and with the -help of the Dutch foot isolated it still further from the -centre. Then Boufflers saw that the day was lost and -ordered a general retreat to Bavay, while he could yet -keep his troops together. The movement was conducted -in admirable order, for the French though -beaten were not routed, while the Allies were too much -exhausted to pursue. So Boufflers retired unmolested,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_525" id="Page_525">[525]</a></span> -though it was not yet three o'clock, honoured alike by -friend and foe for his bravery and his skill.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_524fp.jpg" width="525" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 524</em></p> -MALPLAQUET<br /> -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">Aug. 31<sup>st</sup></span> - <span class="blka over">Sep. 11<sup>th</sup></span> -</span> 1709.<br /> -</div></div> - -<p>Thus ended the battle of Malplaquet, one of the -bloodiest ever fought by mortal men. Little is known -of the details of the fighting, these being swallowed up -in the shade of the forest of Taisnières, where no man -could see what was going forward. All that is certain -is that neither side gave quarter, and that the combat -was not only fierce but savage. The loss of the French -was about twelve thousand men, and the trophies taken -from them, against which they could show trophies of -their own, were five hundred prisoners, fifty standards -and colours and sixteen guns. The loss of the Allies -was not less than twenty thousand men killed and -wounded, due chiefly to the mad onset of the Prince of -Orange. The Dutch infantry out of thirty battalions -lost eight thousand men, or more than half of their -number; the British out of twenty battalions lost -nineteen hundred men,<a name="FNanchor_370_370" id="FNanchor_370_370"></a><a href="#Footnote_370_370" class="fnanchor">[370]</a> the heaviest sufferers being the -Coldstream Guards, Buffs, Orrery's and Temple's.<a name="FNanchor_371_371" id="FNanchor_371_371"></a><a href="#Footnote_371_371" class="fnanchor">[371]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_526" id="Page_526">[526]</a></span></p> - -<p>The more closely the battle is studied the more the -conviction grows that no action of Marlborough's was -fought less in accordance with his own plans. We -have seen that he would have preferred to fight it on -either of the two preceding days, and that he deferred -to Eugene against his own judgment in suffering it to -be postponed. Then again there was the almost -criminal folly of the Prince of Orange, which upset all -preconcerted arrangements, threw away thousands of -lives to no purpose, and not only permitted the French -to retreat unharmed at the close of the day but seriously -imperilled the success of the action at its beginning. -Nevertheless there are still not wanting men to believe -the slanders of the contemptible faction then rising to -power in England, that Marlborough fought the battle -from pure lust of slaughter.</p> - -<p>Still, in spite of all blunders, which were none of -Marlborough's, Malplaquet was a very grand action. -The French were equal in number to the Allies and -occupied a position which was described at the time as -a fortified citadel. They were commanded by an able -general, whom they liked and trusted, they were in -good heart, and they looked forward confidently to -victory. Yet they were driven back and obliged to -leave Mons to its fate; and though Villars with his -usual bluster described the victory as more disastrous -than defeat, yet French officers could not help -asking themselves whether resistance to Marlborough -and Eugene were not hopeless. Luxemburg with -seventy-five thousand men against fifty thousand had -only with difficulty succeeded in forcing the faulty -position of Landen; yet the French had failed to hold -the far more formidable lines of Malplaquet against an -army no stronger than their own. Say Villars what he -might, and beyond all doubt he fought a fine fight, the -inference could not be encouraging to France.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -Oct. 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>It was not until the third day after the fight that the -Allies returned to the investment of Mons. Eugene -was wounded, and Marlborough not only worn out by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_527" id="Page_527">[527]</a></span> -fatigue but deeply distressed over the enormous sacrifice -of life. The siege was retarded by the marshy nature -of the ground and by heavy rain; but on the 9th of -October the garrison capitulated, and therewith the -campaign came to an end. Tournay had given the -Allies firm foothold on the Upper Scheldt, and Mons -was of great value as covering the captured towns in -Flanders and Brabant. The season's operations had not -been without good fruit, despite the heavy losses at -Malplaquet.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_528" id="Page_528">[528]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_IX" id="BVI_CHAPTER_IX"></a><a href="#BVICIX">CHAPTER IX</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1708.</div> - -<p class="noindent">Once more I return to Spain, where the armies of the -Bourbons had recommenced operations in the winter -of 1708. At the end of October General d'Asfeld -having first captured Denia after a short siege had -advanced against Alicante, which was garrisoned by -eight hundred British<a name="FNanchor_372_372" id="FNanchor_372_372"></a><a href="#Footnote_372_372" class="fnanchor">[372]</a> and Huguenots, under Major-General -John Richards. The siege of Alicante is -memorable chiefly for the manner of Richards's death. -The castle was built on the solid rock, and the only -possible method of destroying its defences was by -means of mining. After three months of incessant -work d'Asfeld hewed a gallery through the rock -beneath the castle, charged it with seventy-five tons -of powder, and then summoned Richards to surrender, -inviting him at the same time to send two officers to -inspect the mine. Two officers accordingly were sent, -who returned with the report that the explosion of -the mine would doubtless be destructive, but not, in -their judgment, fatal to further defence. Richards -therefore rejected the summons, nor, though d'Asfeld -thrice repeated it, would he return any other answer.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1709.<br /> -Feb. 20<br /> -<span class="over"> -March 3.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Immediately over the gallery were two guards, each -of thirty men, which could not be withdrawn without -peril to the safety of the castle. Early in the morning -fixed for the springing of the mine, the sentries were -posted as usual, pacing up and down in the keen -morning air, when General Richards and all the -senior officers of the garrison who were off duty came<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_529" id="Page_529">[529]</a></span> -and joined them. They were come to stand by their -men in the hour of trial. A little before six a thin -column of blue smoke came curling up the rock, and -a corporal of the guard reported that the match had -been fired. Richards and his officers remained immovable, -the guard stood under arms, and the sentries -stuck to their posts. Presently the whole rock -trembled again; the ground beneath their feet was -rent into vast clefts which yawned for a moment with -a hideous hollow roar and instantly closed. When the -rumbling had ceased there were still eighteen men left -on the rock, but Richards with eleven other officers and -forty-two of their comrades had been swallowed up -like the company of Korah. Yet Richards was right, -for when Admiral Byng and General Stanhope arrived -six weeks later the garrison still remained unconquered -in the castle. But it was thought best to evacuate it, -so the little force was carried away to Mahon, leaving -Richards and his brave companions asleep in the womb -of the rock. Among the forgotten graves of British -soldiers that are sown so thickly over the world, one -at least is safe from the ravages of time, the living -tomb over which John Richards and his comrades -stood, waiting undismayed till it should open to engulf -them at Alicante.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April 26<br /> -<span class="over"> -May 7.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Shortly after the removal of the garrison from the -castle Lord Galway and the Portuguese opened the -campaign on the side of Portugal near Campo Mayor. -Their total force consisted of about fifteen thousand -men, including barely three thousand British infantry<a name="FNanchor_373_373" id="FNanchor_373_373"></a><a href="#Footnote_373_373" class="fnanchor">[373]</a> -and artillery; but its weakest point was that it was -commanded by a Portuguese officer, the Marquis de -Fronteria. Opposed to it were five thousand Spanish -horse and ten thousand Spanish foot under the Marquis -de Bay, who advanced with his cavalry only to the -plain of Gudina on the left bank of the Caya, in order -to entice Fronteria across the river. Galway entreated -Fronteria not to think of attacking Bay, but the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_530" id="Page_530">[530]</a></span> -Portuguese commander, disregarding his advice, sent the -whole of his horse together with the Fifth, Twentieth, -Thirty-ninth and Paston's regiments of British Foot -across the Caya, and drew them up, rather less than -five thousand men in all, on the plain beyond.</p> - -<p>Bay at once sent for his infantry, but without -waiting for them boldly attacked the Portuguese horse -on Fronteria's right wing. Before the Spanish cavalry -could reach them the Portuguese turned and fled, -leaving the flank of the British infantry uncovered. The -four regiments, however, stood firm, and having repulsed -three charges formed a hollow square and made -a steady and orderly retreat. Meanwhile Galway had -sent forward Brigadier Sankey with the Thirteenth, -Stanwix's and a Catalan regiment in support, but -before they could reach their comrades Bay charged -the other wing of Portuguese horse, which fled as -precipitately as the former, and turning the whole of his -force against Sankey's brigade isolated it completely -and compelled it to surrender. The whole of the loss, -as usual, fell on the British; and Galway, none too -soon, vowed that they would never fight in company -with the Portuguese again.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1710.</div> - -<p>The action on the Caya practically ended the -campaign in Portugal for 1709. The operations in -Catalonia during the same year call for little notice; -nor was it until July of the following year that Staremberg, -reinforced by British<a name="FNanchor_374_374" id="FNanchor_374_374"></a><a href="#Footnote_374_374" class="fnanchor">[374]</a> and Germans to a strength -of twenty thousand foot and five thousand horse, -was able to take the field with activity. He lay at the -time at Agramont on the Segre, the Spanish army -under Villadarias, the unsuccessful besieger of Gibraltar, -being a couple of marches to south of him at Lerida. -Staremberg resolved to take the offensive forthwith and -to carry the war into Aragon.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_531" id="Page_531">[531]</a></span></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">16</span> - <span class="blka over">27</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Crossing the Segre he sent forward General Stanhope -with a small force of dragoons and grenadiers to -seize the pass of Alfaraz, before the Spaniards could -reach it. Stanhope executed his task with his usual -diligence; and the arrival of the Spanish army a few -hours after him led to a brilliant little combat of -cavalry at Almenara. The odds against the Allies -were heavy, for they had but twenty-six squadrons -against forty-two of the enemy. Both sides, each -drawn up in two lines, observed each other inactive for -some time, Staremberg hesitating to permit Stanhope to -charge. At length, however, he let him go. The first -line, wherein all the British were posted, sprang forward -with Generals Stanhope and Carpenter at their head -against the Spanish horse, and after a sharp engagement -drove them back. The second line followed and -forced them back still further upon their infantry. -Panic set in among the Spaniards, and presently the -whole of the Spanish army was in full retreat to -Lerida. The loss of the enemy was thirteen hundred -killed and wounded; that of the Allies did not exceed -four hundred, half of whom were British.<a name="FNanchor_375_375" id="FNanchor_375_375"></a><a href="#Footnote_375_375" class="fnanchor">[375]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">7</span> - <span class="blka over">18</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>After more than a fortnight's stay at Lerida King -Philip summoned Bay to supersede Villadarias, but -finding it impossible to advance in face of Staremberg -retreated in the direction of Saragossa. Staremberg at -once started in pursuit, overtook Bay under the walls -of Saragossa and totally defeated him.<a name="FNanchor_376_376" id="FNanchor_376_376"></a><a href="#Footnote_376_376" class="fnanchor">[376]</a> Contrary to -his own better judgment he then marched for Madrid, -and led the Archduke Charles for the second time into -his capital. The bulk of the army was quartered in -the suburbs, but a strong detachment was sent away -under Stanhope to occupy Toledo, and, this done, to -follow the Tagus to the bridge of Almaraz, where it -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_532" id="Page_532">[532]</a></span> -should join hands with a force that was to advance -from Portugal.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">Sept.</div> - -<p>The plan was hardly formed before it was broken to -pieces. On receiving the news of the defeat at Saragossa -Lewis the Fourteenth at once formed an army of -his garrisons on the frontier and sent it southward -under the command of Vendôme. By the end of -September he had united his force with Bay's at Aranda -on the Douro and was drawing in fresh troops from all -sides. The whole population being in his favour kept him -well supplied with intelligence. Before either Stanhope -or the Portuguese could reach Almaraz, Vendôme had -pounced upon it and destroyed the bridge. Stanhope -perforce retired to Toledo, and Vendôme, having by -this time collected a force superior to that of the Allies, -moved up the Tagus and encamped on the historic field -of Talavera.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Nov. 22<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 3.</span><br /> - -Nov. 25<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 6.</span><br /> - -Nov. 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 8.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Staremberg now found it necessary to evacuate -Madrid. The Archduke Charles had been coldly -received, supplies were failing, and the army was much -weakened by sickness. Recalling Stanhope, therefore, -from Toledo, he retired up the left bank of the Tajuña; -the army, for convenience of forage and supplies, marching -in five columns of different nations—Germans, Dutch, -Spanish, Portuguese, and British. The third day's -march brought the first four columns to Cifuentes, the -British who formed the rearguard diverging across the -river to Brihuega some fourteen miles from the rest. -Stanhope had observed a large body of horse following -close at his heels during the march, and had reported -the fact to Staremberg, but none the less received -orders to halt for another day and to collect provisions. -Next morning the enemy's horse appeared on the -hill in force, and was joined after a few hours, to the -great astonishment of Stanhope, by its infantry. His -efforts to obtain intelligence had been foiled by the -hostility of the peasants, and neither he nor Staremberg -had the faintest idea that there was any infantry within -fifty miles of them. In truth this body of foot had,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_533" id="Page_533">[533]</a></span> -under Vendôme's direction, covered one hundred and -seventy miles in seven days, a march of incredible speed, -which, in Stanhope's own words, was his undoing. By -five o'clock in the evening Brihuega was fully invested -by nine thousand men, and the escape of the British -was impossible.</p> - -<p>Stanhope's position was desperate. He had but -eight battalions and eight squadrons, all so much weakened -as to number together but two thousand five -hundred men. The town, which was of considerable -extent, had no defences but an old Moorish wall, too -narrow in most places to afford a banquette for musketeers. -Further, the streets were narrow and commanded -on all sides by hills within range of artillery and even of -musketry. Nevertheless he might hold out till Staremberg -came to his relief; so rejecting the summons to -surrender, he barricaded the gates, threw up entrenchments -as well as he could, and at nightfall sent away his -aide-de-camp, who at great risk passed through the -enemy's lines, to Staremberg's camp.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Nov. 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>At midnight King Philip and Vendôme arrived with -the rest of the army, horse, foot, and artillery, increasing -the investing force to over twenty thousand men. -Before morning two batteries had already been erected, -which opened fire at nine o'clock. Two breaches were -speedily made in the wall, which the British could not -repair except under fire, and a mine was dug to make a -third. At three o'clock in the afternoon an assault was -delivered at both breaches, and was met by a vigorous -resistance. While the combat was raging around them, -the mine was fired and a third breach was formed, -through which large bodies of the enemy effected an -entrance before they were perceived. The British however -turned upon them and beat them out again. -Finally, the first attack was totally repulsed; and the -French entrenched themselves in the breaches to await -reinforcements. Again the assault was renewed and -again it was driven back with heavy loss by the deadly -English fire. Ammunition now began to fail, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_534" id="Page_534">[534]</a></span> -the little garrison held its own with the bayonet, contesting -every inch of ground, horse and dragoons -fighting dismounted by the side of the foot, and every -man doing his utmost. Forced back at length from -their entrenchments the British set fire to the houses -which had been gained by the enemy, and after four -hours of hard fighting still held the best part of the -town. But their ammunition by this time was almost -exhausted, and there was no sign of Staremberg's -appearance; so at seven o'clock Stanhope, unwilling uselessly -to sacrifice the lives of his men, capitulated, and -he and his gallant little force became prisoners of war. -Never did British troops fight better than at Brihuega; -but even where all were so much distinguished -Stanhope could not refrain from giving special praise to -the Scots Guards. The total loss of the British was six -hundred killed and wounded. That of the enemy was -nearly three times as great.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Nov. 29<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 10.</span><br /> - -Nov. 30<br /> -<span class="over"> -Dec. 9.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>It was not until the morning of the next day that -Staremberg approached Brihuega, and meeting the -advanced squadrons of Vendôme's, drew up his army -for battle in the plains of Villa Viciosa. He had but -thirteen thousand men against twenty thousand, but he -made skilful dispositions, posting his left behind a deep -ravine and strengthening his right, which lay on the -open plain, by interlacing the battalions with his few -feeble squadrons of horse. The British troops present, -Lepell's dragoons, Dubourgay's and Richard's foot, -were stationed on the left. The action opened with a -long cannonade, after which Vendôme's horse of the -right crossed the ravine, and coming down with great -spirit and in overwhelming numbers on Staremberg's -left swept it after a short resistance completely away. -The English dragoons were very heavily punished and -the two battalions were cut to pieces. The centre also -was broken; and the victorious Spaniards at once fell on -the baggage beyond it and began to plunder. But the -right of the Allies had held its own, and Staremberg, -taking advantage of the disorder among the Spaniards,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_535" id="Page_535">[535]</a></span> -contrived with great coolness and skill to convert the -action into a drawn battle. The whole engagement, -indeed, reproduces curiously the features of the early -battles of our own Civil War. On the next day, -however, Staremberg was compelled to retreat, leaving -his artillery to the enemy; and though Barcelona, -Tarragona, and Balaguer were still kept for the Austrian -side, the campaign closed with the loss to the Allies -of the whole of Spain.</p> - -<p>I shall not trouble the reader with the petty operations -of the following year, for the war in the Peninsula -was practically closed by the battles of Brihuega and -Villa Viciosa. The spasmodic nature of the operations -has made them difficult and, I fear, wearisome to the -reader to follow, quite apart from the dissatisfaction that -necessarily attends a long tale of failure. Disunion of -purpose and the extreme inefficiency of the Portuguese -were the principal infirmities of the Allies throughout -the war; the long distance from their true bases at Portsmouth -and at Brill their principal disadvantage. Again -and again the French were able to retrieve a defeat by -sending their garrisons from the frontier-towns across -the Pyrenees. Too late, on the appointment of Staremberg, -the Allies decided that it would be better to fight -the war in the Peninsula with Germans, who could march -over Italy and cross the Mediterranean to Catalonia, instead -of with English and Dutch, who must make the -long and dangerous passage across the Bay of Biscay and -through the Straits. But the true secret of the success -of the Bourbons, as Lord Macaulay long ago pointed -out, lay in the fact that the general sentiment of Spain -was on their side, a force which, after another century, -shall be seen working to make the fame of a great -English commander in another and greater Peninsular -war.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately the disasters of the year 1710 were -not confined to Spain. Up to the autumn of 1709 it -seemed that England was still bent on prosecuting the -war till the ends of the Grand Alliance should have been<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_536" id="Page_536">[536]</a></span> -attained. Seven new regiments<a name="FNanchor_377_377" id="FNanchor_377_377"></a><a href="#Footnote_377_377" class="fnanchor">[377]</a> at any rate had been -formed during the year, which might be taken as an -earnest of serious intentions. But ever since 1707 -Robert Harley, who will be remembered as the proposer -of the imbecile motion for disbandment which nearly -drove King William from England, had been working -with all the resources of a weak, crafty, and dishonest -nature to undermine the Government that had so far -carried the country triumphantly through the struggle. -It was the misfortune of Great Britain at this time to lie -at the mercy principally of three women, Queen Anne, -the Duchess of Marlborough, and Mrs. Masham. Of these -the Duchess alone had any ability, which ability, however, -was greatly discounted by her meddlesome and imperious -disposition. So long as she retained her ascendency -over Anne, things went unpleasantly for the Queen but -on the whole well for the country; when her ungovernable -temper drove Anne into the arms of Mrs. Masham, -the Queen led a quieter life, but the country suffered. -Marlborough, who was aware of his wife's waning influence -and foresaw the consequences, tried hard on his -return from the campaign of 1709 to assure himself a -permanent station of power by asking to be <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'made commanner-in-chief'">made commander-in-chief</ins> -for life. The request was tactless as -well as unprecedented. Anne, greatly offended, replied -by a positive refusal, which Marlborough, for once -forgetting his usual serenity, received with culpably -ill grace.</p> - -<p>So far the Queen was undoubtedly right and Marlborough -undoubtedly wrong; but at the beginning of -the new year the situation was reversed. The colonelcy -of a regiment fell vacant and was filled up by the Queen -on the nomination not of the commander-in-chief but -of Mrs. Masham by the appointment of her brother, -Colonel Hill. Marlborough naturally resolved to -resign at once, while the wise and sagacious Somers<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_537" id="Page_537">[537]</a></span> -remonstrated most strongly with the Queen against this -foolish step, as subversive of all discipline and injurious -to the army. Unfortunately the Duke, instead of -insisting that either he or Mrs. Masham must go, was -persuaded to consent to a compromise, which the Queen -regarded as a victory for herself and rejoiced over with -all the fervour of a weak nature. In the intense -personal bitterness of the struggle no one but Somers, -outside the military profession, paused for a moment to -reflect on its consequences to the Army.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">11</span> - <span class="blka over">22</span> -</span>.<br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> - -Aug. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>The next object of the opposing faction was to get -Marlborough out of England to the Low Countries as -soon as possible, which was duly effected, at Harley's -instance, by ordering him to take a part in the negotiations -for a peace. These negotiations coming to naught, -he opened the campaign in April by a rapid movement, -which brought him safely over the lines of La Bassée, -and laid siege to Douay. The town made a firm defence -for two months, but fell on the 26th of June; and -Marlborough now proposed to himself either to invest -Arras or to advance further into France and cross the -Somme. Villars, however, though he had failed to -relieve Douay, had made excellent dispositions for the -defence of the frontier, and was lying unassailable -behind a new series of lines, which he had drawn, as he -said later, to be the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ne plus ultra</i> of Marlborough. The -Duke therefore turned to the siege of Bethune, which -surrendered on the 28th of August, and thereafter to -the sieges of Aire and St. Venant on the Upper Lys, -which closed the campaign. Each one of these fortresses -was strong and made a spirited resistance, costing the -Allies altogether some fifteen thousand men killed and -wounded. The operations, though less brilliant than -those of other campaigns, completed the communication -with Lille, opened the whole line of the Lys, and -increased the facilities for joint action with an expedition -by sea, landing at Calais or Abbeville. Another such -blow as Ramillies would have gone near to bring the -Allies before the walls of Paris. Throughout the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_538" id="Page_538">[538]</a></span> -campaign, however, Marlborough acted always with -extreme caution, abandoning the plans which he had -once favoured for concerted operations with the fleet. -He knew that the slightest failure would lay him open -to overwhelming attack from his enemies at home, -whose triumph would mean not only his own fall but, -what he dreaded much more, the ascendency of unscrupulous -politicians who would sacrifice the whole -fruits of the war to factious ends, and bring disgrace, -perhaps ruin, upon England.</p> - -<p>Meanwhile the Queen, with all the pettiness of a weak -nature, kept parading her power by foolish interference -with matters which she <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'did not undestand'">did not understand</ins>. Marlborough -had submitted a list of colonels for promotion to general's -rank, but as the name of Colonel Hill was not among -them she insisted on promoting every colonel of this year, -regardless of expense, propriety, justice, or discipline, -merely for the sake of including him. In August came -a heavier blow in the dismissal of Godolphin and the -appointment of Harley as Lord Keeper in his place, -which accomplished the long-threatened downfall of the -Government. By a refinement of insult the Duke's -Secretary-at-War, Adam Cardonnel, was also removed -and replaced, without the slightest reference to Marlborough, -by Mr. Granville. Finally, shortly after his -return from the campaign the Queen, despite his -entreaties, definitely dismissed the Duchess from all her -posts, and even went the length of ordering the Duke -to forbid the moving of any vote of thanks for his -services by Parliament.</p> - -<p>The example thus set in high places was quickly -followed. A few even of the Duke's own officers, such -as the Duke of Argyll, to the huge disgust and contempt -of the Army, turned against him. The mouth of every -libeller and slanderer was opened. Swift and St. John, -the only two Englishmen whose intellect entitled them -to be named in the same breath with Marlborough, vied -with each other in blackening his character. Nothing -was too vile nor too extravagant to be insinuated against<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_539" id="Page_539">[539]</a></span> -the greatest soldier, statesman, and diplomatist in -Europe. He was prolonging the war for his own ends; -he could make peace if he would, but he would not; -he delighted in the wanton sacrifice of life; finally, he -had neither personal courage nor military talent. "I -suppose," wrote Marlborough bitterly, "that I must -every summer venture my life in battle, and be found -fault with in the winter for not bringing home peace, -though I wish for it with all my heart and soul."</p> - -<p>He would fain have resigned but for the remonstrances -of Godolphin and Eugene, who entreated him -to hold the Grand Alliance together for yet a little -while, and gain for Europe a permanent peace. They -might have spared their prayers had they known the -secrets of the Cabinet, for Harley and his gang were -already opening the secret negotiations with Lewis -which were to dissolve the Alliance and grant to France -all that Europe had fought for ten years to withhold -from her. For these men, who accused Marlborough of -wilful squandering of life, thought nothing of sending -brave soldiers forth to lose their lives for a cause which -they had made up their minds to betray. But it is idle -to waste comment on such creatures, long dead albeit -unhanged; though the fact must not be forgotten in -the history of the relations of the House of Commons -towards the Army. It will be more profitable to -accompany the great Duke to his last campaign.</p> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_540" id="Page_540">[540]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_X" id="BVI_CHAPTER_X"></a><a href="#BVICX">CHAPTER X</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1711.</div> - -<p class="noindent">The French, fully aware of the political changes in -England, had during the winter made extraordinary -exertions to prolong the war for yet one more campaign, -and to that end had covered the northern frontier with -a fortified barrier on a gigantic scale. Starting from -the coast of Picardy the lines followed the course of the -river Canche almost to its source. From thence across -to the Gy or southern fork of the Upper Scarpe ran a -line of earthworks, extending from Oppy to Montenancourt. -From the latter point the Gy and the Scarpe -were dammed so as to form inundations as far as Biache, -at which place a canal led the line of defence from the -Scarpe to the Sensée. Here more inundations between -the two rivers carried the barrier to Bouchain, whence -it followed the Scheldt to Valenciennes. From thence -more earthworks prolonged the lines to the Sambre, -which carried them at last to their end at Namur.</p> - -<p>This was a formidable obstacle to the advance of the -Allies, but no lines had sufficed to stop Marlborough -yet, and with Eugene by his side the Duke did not -despair. Before he could start for the campaign, -however, the news came that the Emperor Joseph was -dead of smallpox, an event which signified the almost -certain accession of the Archduke Charles to the Imperial -crown and the consequent withdrawal of his candidature -for the throne of Spain. Eugene was consequently -detained at home; and worse than this, a fine opportunity -was afforded for making a breach in the Grand -Alliance. To render the Duke's difficulties still greater,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_541" id="Page_541">[541]</a></span> -though his force was already weakened by the necessity -of finding garrisons for the towns captured in the -previous year, the English Government had withdrawn -from him five battalions<a name="FNanchor_378_378" id="FNanchor_378_378"></a><a href="#Footnote_378_378" class="fnanchor">[378]</a> for an useless expedition to -Newfoundland under the command of Mrs. Masham's -brother, General Hill; an expedition which may be -dismissed for the present without further mention than -that it was dogged by misfortune from first to last, -suffered heavy loss through shipwreck, and accomplished -literally nothing.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -April 20<br /> -<span class="over"> -May 1.</span><br /> - -June -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">3</span> - <span class="blka over">14</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Nevertheless the Imperial army was present, though -without Eugene. The whole of the forces were -assembled a little to the south of Lille at Orchies, and -on the 1st of May Marlborough moved forward to a -position parallel to that of Villars, who lay in rear of -the river Sensée with his left at Oisy and his right at -Bouchain. There both armies remained stationary and -inactive for six weeks. Eugene came, but presently -received orders to return and to bring his army with -him. On the 14th of June Marlborough moved away -one march westward to the plain of Lens in order to -conceal this enforced diminution of his army. The -position invited a battle, but Villars only moved down -within his lines parallel to the Duke; and once more -both armies remained inactive for five weeks. After -the departure of Eugene the French commander -detached a portion of his force to the Rhine, but -even so he had one hundred and thirty-one battalions -against ninety-four, and one hundred and eighty-seven -squadrons against one hundred and forty-five of the -Allies.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 25<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 6.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>We now approach what is perhaps the most remarkable -and certainly the most entertaining feat of the -Duke during the whole war. Villars, bound by his -instructions, would not come out and fight; his lines -could not be forced by an army of inferior strength,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_542" id="Page_542">[542]</a></span> -and they could therefore be passed only by stratagem. -The inundation on the Sensée between Arras and -Bouchain could be traversed only by two causeways, -the larger of which was defended by a strong fort at -Arleux, the other being covered by a redoubt at -Aubigny half a mile below it. Marlborough knew that -he could take the fort at Arleux at any time and -demolish it, but he knew also that Villars would -certainly retake it and rebuild as soon as his back was -turned. He therefore set himself to induce Villars to -demolish it himself. With this view he detached a -strong force under General Rantzau to capture the fort, -which was done without difficulty. The Duke then -gave orders that the captured works should be greatly -strengthened, and for their further protection posted a -large force under the Prussian General Hompesch on -the glacis of Douay, some three miles distant from the -fort.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -June 28<br /> -<span class="over"> -July 9.</span><br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">10</span> - <span class="blka over">21</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>As fate ordained it Hompesch, thinking himself -secure under the guns of Douay, neglected his outposts -and even his sentries, and was surprised two days later -by a sudden attack from Villars, which was only repulsed -with considerable difficulty and not a little -shame. Villars was in ecstasies over his success, and -Marlborough displayed considerable annoyance. However, -the Duke reinforced Hompesch, as if to show the -value which he attached to Arleux, and pushed forward -the new works with the greatest vigour. Finally, when -all was completed, he threw a weak garrison into the -fort and led the rest of the army away two marches -westward, encamping opposite the lines between the -Canche and the Scarpe. Villars likewise moved westward -parallel to him; but before he started he detached -a force to attack Arleux. The commander of the fort -sent a message to Marlborough that he could not -possibly hold it, and the Duke at once despatched -Cadogan with a strong force to relieve it. It was noticed, -however, that Cadogan made no such haste as the -urgency of the occasion would have seemed to require;<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_543" id="Page_543">[543]</a></span> -and indeed before he had gone half way he returned -with the intelligence that Arleux had surrendered.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">15</span> - <span class="blka over">26</span> -</span>.<br /> - -July -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">17</span> - <span class="blka over">28</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>Villars was elated beyond measure; and Marlborough -for the first time in his life seemed to be -greatly distressed and cast down. Throwing off his -usual serenity he declared in public with much passion -that he would be even with Villars yet, and would -attack him, come what might of it, where he lay. -Then came the news that Villars had razed the whole -works of Arleux, over which he had spent such pains, -entirely to the ground. This increased the Duke's ill-temper. -He vowed that he would avenge this insult -to his army, and renewed his menace of a direct attack -on the entrenchments. Villars now detached a force to -make a diversion in Brabant; and this step seemed to -drive Marlborough distracted. Vowing that he would -check its march he sent off ten thousand men under -Lord Albemarle to Bethune, and the whole of his -baggage and heavy artillery to Douay. Having thus -weakened an army already inferior to that of the -French, he repaired the roads that led towards the -enemy's entrenchments, and with much display of -vindictiveness, sulkiness, and general vexation advanced -one march nearer to the lines. His army watched his -proceedings with amazement, for it had never expected -such proceedings from Corporal John.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 22<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 2.</span><br /> - -July 23<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 3.</span><br /> - -July 24<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 4.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Villars meanwhile was in a transport of delight. -He drew every man not only from all parts of the lines -but also from the neighbouring garrisons towards the -threatened point, and asked nothing better than that -Marlborough should attack. In the height of exultation -he actually wrote to Versailles that he had brought -the Duke to his <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ne plus ultra</i>. Marlborough's strange -manner still remained the same. On the 2nd of -August he advanced to within a league of the lines, and -during that day and the next set the whole of his -cavalry to work to collect fascines. At nightfall of the -3rd he sent away all his light artillery, together with -every wheeled vehicle, under escort of a strong detachment,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_544" id="Page_544">[544]</a></span> -and next morning rode forward with most of his -generals to reconnoitre the lines. Captain Parker of -the Eighteenth Royal Irish, who had obtained permission -to ride with the Staff, was amazed at the Duke's -behaviour. He had now thrown off all his ill-temper -and was calm and cool as usual, indicating this point -and that to his officers. "Your brigade, General, will -attack here, such and such brigades will be on your -right and left, such another in support, and you will -be careful of this, that, and other." The generals -listened and stared; they understood the instructions -clearly enough, but they could not help regarding them -as madness. So the reconnaissance proceeded, drearily -enough, and was just concluding when General Cadogan -turned his horse, unnoticed, out of the crowd, struck in -his spurs and galloped back to camp at the top of his -speed. Presently the Duke also turned, and riding -back very slowly issued orders to prepare for a general -attack on the morrow.</p> - -<p>At this all ranks of the army, from the general to -the drummer, fell into the deepest depression. Not a -man could fail to see that direct attack on the lines was -a hopeless enterprise at the best of times, and doubly -hopeless now that half of the army and the whole of the -artillery had been detached for other service. Again -the violent and unprecedented outburst of surliness and -ill-temper was difficult to explain; and the only possible -explanation was that the Duke, rendered desperate by -failure and misfortunes, had thrown prudence to the -winds and did not care what he did. A few only clung -faintly to the hope that the chief who had led them so -often to victory might still have some surprise in store -for them; but the most part gave themselves up for -lost, and lamented loudly that they should ever have -lived to see such a change come over the Old Corporal.</p> - -<p>So passed the afternoon among the tents of the -Allies; but meanwhile Cadogan with forty hussars at -his heels had long started from the camp and was -galloping hard across the plain of Lens to Douay, five<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_545" id="Page_545">[545]</a></span> -leagues away. There he found Hompesch ready with -his garrison, now strengthened by detachments from -Bethune and elsewhere to twelve thousand foot and two -thousand horse, and told him that the time was come. -Hompesch thereupon issued his orders for the troops -to be ready to march that night. Still the main army -under Marlborough knew nothing of this, and passed -the day in dismal apprehension till the sun went down, -and the drummers came forward to beat tattoo. Then -a column of cavalry trotted out towards the Allied right, -attracting every French eye and stirring every French -brain with curiosity as to the purport of the movement. -Then the drums began to roll; and the order -ran quietly down the line to strike tents and make -ready to march immediately.</p> - -<p>Never was command more welcome. Within an -hour all was ready and the army was formed into four -columns. The cavalry having done their work of -distracting French vigilance to the wrong quarter -returned unseen by the enemy; and at nine o'clock -the whole army faced to its left and marched off eastward -in utter silence, with Marlborough himself at the -head of the vanguard.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 24-25<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 4-5.</span><br /> - -July 25<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 5.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The night was fine, and under the radiant moonlight -the men swung forward bravely hour after hour -over the plain of Lens. The moon paled; the dawn -crept up into the east throwing its ghastly light on -the host of weary, sleepless faces; and presently the -columns reached the Scarpe. So far the march had -lasted eight hours, and fifteen miles had been passed. -Pontoon-bridges were already laid across the river, -and on the further bank, punctual to appointment, -stood Brigadier Sutton with the field-artillery. The -river was passed, and presently a messenger came -spurring from the east with a despatch for the Duke -of Marlborough. He read it; and words were passed -down the columns of march which filled them with -new life. "Generals Cadogan and Hompesch" (such -was their purport) "crossed the causeway at Arleux<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_546" id="Page_546">[546]</a></span> -unopposed at three o'clock this morning, and are in -possession of the enemy's lines. The Duke desires that -the infantry will step out." The right wing of horse -halted to form the rearguard and bring up stragglers, -while a cloud of dust in the van told that the Duke -and fifty squadrons with him were pushing forward at -the trot. Then the infantry shook themselves up and -stepped out with a will.</p> - -<p>Villars had received intelligence of Marlborough's -march only two hours after he had started, but he was -so thoroughly bewildered by the Duke's intricate -manœuvres that he did not awake to the true position -until three hours later. Then, quite distracted, he -put himself at the head of the Household Cavalry and -galloped off at full speed. So furiously rode he that -he wore down all but a hundred of his troopers and -pushed on with these alone. But even so Marlborough -was before him. At eight o'clock he crossed the lower -causeway at Aubanchoeuil-au-bac and passing his -cavalry over the Scarpe barred the road from the west -by the village of Oisy. Presently Villars, advancing -reckless of all precautions, blundered into the middle -of the outposts. Before he could retire his whole -escort was captured, and he himself only by miracle -escaped the same fate.</p> - -<p>The Marshal now looked anxiously for the arrival -of his main body of horse; but the Allied infantry had -caught sight of them on the other side of the Sensée, -and weary though they were had braced themselves -to race them for the goal. But now the severity of -the march and the burden of their packs began to tell -heavily on the foot. Hundreds dropped down unconscious -and many died there and then, but they -were left where they lay to await the arrival of the -rearguard; for no halt was called, and each regiment -pushed on as cheerfully as possible with such men as -still survived. Thus they were still ahead of the -French when they turned off to the causeway at Arleux, -and, Marlborough having thrown additional bridges<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_547" id="Page_547">[547]</a></span> -over the Scarpe, they came quickly into their positions. -The right wing of infantry crossed the river about four -o'clock in the afternoon, having covered close on forty -miles in eighteen hours; and by five o'clock the whole -force was drawn up between Oisy and the Scheldt -within striking distance of Arras, Cambrai, and Bouchain. -So vanished the <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">ne plus ultra</i> of Villars, a warning to -all generals who put their sole trust in fortified lines.</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -July 27<br /> -<span class="over"> -August 7.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>Marlborough halted for the next day to give his -troops rest and to allow the stragglers to come in. -Fully half the men of the infantry had fallen out, and -there were many who did not rejoin the army until the -third day. Villars on his side moved forward and -offered Marlborough battle under the walls of Cambrai; -but the Duke would not accept it, though the Dutch -deputies, perverse and treacherous to the last, tried -hard to persuade him. Had the deputies marched in -the ranks of the infantry with muskets on their shoulders -and a kit of fifty pounds' weight on their backs, they -would have been less eager for the fray. Marlborough's -own design, long matured in his own mind, was the -capture of Bouchain, and his only fear was lest Villars -should cross the Scheldt before him and prevent it. -Then the deputies, who had been so anxious to hurry -the army into an engagement under every possible -disadvantage, shrank from the peril of a siege carried -on by an inferior under the eyes of a superior force. -But Marlborough, even if he had not been able to -adduce Lille as a precedent, was determined to have -his own way, and carried his point. At noon on the -7th of August he marched down almost within cannon-shot -of Cambrai, ready to fall on Villars should he -attempt to cross the Scheldt, halted until his pontoon-bridges -had been laid a few miles further down the -stream, and then gradually withdrawing his troops -passed the whole of them across the river unmolested.</p> - -<p>It is hardly credible that a vast number of foolish -civilians, Dutch, Austrian, and even English, blamed -Marlborough for declining battle before Cambrai, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_548" id="Page_548">[548]</a></span> -that he was actually obliged to explain why he refused -to sacrifice the fruit of his manœuvres by attacking a -superior force in a strong position with an army not -only smaller in numbers at its best, but much thinned -by a forced march and exhausted by fatigue. "I -despair of being ever able to please all men," he wrote. -"Those who are capable of judging will be satisfied -with my endeavours: others I leave to their own -reflections, and go on with the discharge of my duty."</p> - -<div class="sidenote"> -Sept. -<span class="blkb"> - <span class="blka">2</span> - <span class="blka over">13</span> -</span>.<br /> -</div> - -<p>It is possible that Villars only refrained from -hindering Marlborough's passage of the Scheldt in -deference to orders from Versailles, of which the Duke -was as well aware as himself; but it is more than -doubtful whether he ever intended him to capture -Bouchain. Though inferior in numbers, however, -Marlborough covered himself so skilfully with entrenchments -that Villars could not hinder him, and met all -attempts at diversion so readily that not one of them -succeeded. Finally, the garrison surrendered as prisoners -of war under the very eyes of Villars. The Duke -would have followed up his success by the siege of -Quesnoi, the town before which English troops first -came under the fire of cannon in the year of Creçy; but -by this time Lewis, with the help of the contemptible -Harley, had succeeded in detaching England from -the Grand Alliance. Though, therefore, the English -ministers continued to encourage Marlborough in his -operations in order to conceal their own infamous -conduct from the Allies, yet they took good care that -those operations should proceed no further. So with -the capture of Bouchain the last and not the least -remarkable of Marlborough's campaigns came, always -victoriously, to an end.</p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_b_548fp.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs70"><em>To face page 548</em></p> -THE CAMPAIGN OF 1711. -</div></div> - -<p>The most brilliant manifestation of military skill -was, however, powerless to help him against the -virulence of faction in England. The passage of the -lines was described as the crossing of the kennel, and -the siege of Bouchain as a waste of lives. In May the -House of Commons had addressed the Queen for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_549" id="Page_549">[549]</a></span> -inquiry into abuses in the public expenditure, and -when the Duke arrived at the Hague in November he -found himself charged with fraud, extortion, and -embezzlement. The ground of the accusation was -that he had received in regular payment from the -bread-contractors during his command sums amounting -to £63,000. Marlborough proved conclusively that -this was a perquisite regularly allowed to the commander-in-chief -in Flanders as a fund for secret service, -and he added of his own accord that he had also -received a deduction of two and a half per cent from -the pay of the foreign troops, which had been applied -to the same object. But this defence, though absolutely -valid and sound, could avail him little. His reasons -were disregarded, and on the 31st of December he -was dismissed from all public employment.</p> - -<div class="sidenote">1712.</div> - -<p>Three weeks later the House of Commons voted that -his acceptance of these two perquisites was unwarrantable -and illegal, and directed that he should be prosecuted -by the Attorney-General. This done, the Ministry -appointed the Duke of Ormonde to be commander-in-chief -in Marlborough's place, and confirmed to him -the very perquisites which the House had just declared -to be unwarrantable and illegal. Effrontery and -folly such as this are nothing new in representative -assemblies, but it is significant of the general attitude -of English civilians towards English soldiers, that not -one of Harley's gang seems to have realised that this -vindictive persecution of Marlborough was an insult -to a brave army as well as a shameful injustice to a -great man, nor to have foreseen that the insult might -be resented by the means that always lie ready to -the hand of armed and disciplined men.</p> - -<p>It is not necessary to dwell on the operations, if -such they may be called, of the Duke of Ormonde. -He did indeed take the field with Eugene, but under -instructions to engage neither in a battle nor a siege, -but virtually to open communications with Villars. -By July the subservience of the British Ministry to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_550" id="Page_550">[550]</a></span> -Lewis the Fourteenth had been so far matured that -Ormonde was directed to suspend hostilities for two -months, and to withdraw his forces from Eugene. -Then the troubles began. The auxiliary troops -in the pay of England flatly refused to obey the -order to leave Eugene, and Ormonde was compelled to -march away with the British troops only. Even so -the feelings of anger ran so high that a dangerous -riot was only with difficulty averted. The British and -the auxiliaries were not permitted to speak to each -other, lest recrimination should lead either to a refusal -of the British to leave their old comrades or to a free -fight on both sides. The parting was one of the most -remarkable scenes ever witnessed. The British fell -in, silent, shamefaced, and miserable; the auxiliaries -gathered in knots opposite to them, and both parties -gazed at each other mournfully without saying a -word. Then the drums beat the march and regiment -after regiment tramped away with full hearts and -downcast eyes, till at length the whole column was -under way, and the mass of scarlet grew slowly less and -less till it vanished out of sight.</p> - -<p>At the end of the first day's march Ormonde -announced the suspension of hostilities with France at -the head of each regiment. He had expected the news -to be received with cheers: to his infinite disgust -it was greeted with one continuous storm of hisses -and groans. Finally, when the men were dismissed -they lost all self-control. They tore their hair and -rent their clothes with impotent rage, cursing Ormonde -with an energy only possible in an army that had -learned to swear in the heat of fifty actions. The officers -retired to their tents, ashamed to show themselves to -their men. Many transferred themselves to foreign -regiments, many more resigned their commissions; -and it is said, doubtless with truth, that they fairly -cried when they thought of Corporal John.</p> - -<p>More serious consequences followed. The march -was troublesome, for the Dutch would not permit<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_551" id="Page_551">[551]</a></span> -the retiring British to pass through their towns, and -the troops were consequently obliged to cross every -river that barred their way on their own pontoons. -Again, all the old contracts for bread had been upset -by Harley and his followers through their prosecution -of Marlborough: it was nothing to them that an -army should be ill-fed, so long as they gained power -and place. St. John, it must be noted, was a principal -accomplice in this rascality—St. John, who alone of -living Englishmen had intellect sufficient to measure -the gigantic genius of Marlborough; who, moreover, -as Secretary-at-War during the greatest of the Duke's -campaigns, had gained some insight into those prosaic -details of supplies and transport which are all in all -to the organisation of victory. Ormonde, a thoroughly -mediocre officer, was not a man to grapple with such -difficulties. Bad bread heightened the ill-feeling of -the soldiers towards him. Agitators insinuated to -the worst characters in the army that they would lose -all the arrears of pay that were due to them; and the -story found ready and reasonable credence from -recollection of the scandals that had followed the -Peace of Ryswick. The good soldiers, then as always -a great majority, refused to have anything to do with -a movement so discreditable, and reported what was -going forward to their officers; but either their tale -was disbelieved or, as is more likely, apathy and general -disorganisation prevented the nipping of the evil in -the bud. Finally, three thousand malcontents slipped -away from the camp, barricaded themselves in a -defensive position, and sent a threatening message -to the commander-in-chief demanding good bread -and payment of arrears. Then discipline speedily -reasserted itself. The mutineers were surrounded -and compelled to surrender. A court-martial was -held; ten of the ringleaders were executed on the -spot and the mutiny was quelled once for all. Fortunate -it was that the outbreak took place while the troops -were still abroad, or the House of Commons might<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_552" id="Page_552">[552]</a></span> -have learned by a second bitter experience that the -patience of the British soldier, though very great, is -not inexhaustible.<a name="FNanchor_379_379" id="FNanchor_379_379"></a><a href="#Footnote_379_379" class="fnanchor">[379]</a></p> - -<div class="sidenote">1713.<br /> -March 31<br /> -<span class="over"> -April 11.</span><br /> -</div> - -<p>The negotiations so infamously begun with King -Lewis shortly after found as infamous an end in the -Peace of Utrecht, which not only sacrificed every -object for which the war had been fought, but branded -England with indelible disgrace. Five months earlier -Marlborough had left England, to all intent a banished -man. Before his departure he had endured incredible -insults in the House of Lords, the worst and falsest -of them from one of his own officers, the Duke of -Argyll. The defection and ingratitude of Argyll, however, -only brought out the more strongly the general -loyalty of the Army towards its great chief. Marlborough's -most prominent officers were of course -subjected to the same degradation as himself. Cadogan, -for instance, was removed from the Lieutenancy of -the Tower to make room for Brigadier Hill; and -even the Duke's humble secretary, Adam Cardonnel, -was not too small an object for the malignant spite -of the House of Commons. But honourable men, -such as Lord Stair, the colonel of the Scots Greys, -threw up their commissions in disgust; and plain, -honest officers, such as Kane and Parker, have left -on record the immense contempt wherein Argyll, brave -soldier though he was, was held in the Army. The -Dutch also rose, though too late, to the occasion. -When Marlborough sailed into Ostend at the end -of November, 1712, the whole garrison was under -arms to receive him, and when he left it, it was under -a salute of artillery. At Antwerp, in spite of his -protests, his reception was the same; the cannon -thundered in his honour, and all ranks of the people<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_553" id="Page_553">[553]</a></span> -turned out to meet him with joyful acclamations. He -took the most secluded road to Maestricht, but go -whither he would, fresh parties of horse always appeared -to escort him. Above all, he was comforted by the -unchanging confidence and sympathy of Eugene.</p> - -<p>There for the present we must leave him till the -time, not far distant, shall come to tell of his restoration. -That the welcome given to him by the Dutch may have -been a consolation to him we can hardly doubt, and yet -he cannot but have felt that these same Dutch had -been his undoing. For, despite the shameful perfidy of -the English politicians who drove Marlborough from -England and concluded the Treaty of Utrecht, the -main responsibility for the catastrophe rests not with -them but with those unspeakable Dutch deputies who, -by wrecking the Duke's earlier campaigns, prolonged -beyond the limits of the patience of the House of -Commons the War of the Spanish Succession.</p> - -<div class="blockquot"> - -<p><span class="smcap">Authorities.</span>—The literature of the War of the Spanish Succession -is, as may be guessed, not slender. On the English side there -are the lives of Marlborough by Lediard and Coxe, as well as the -French life, in three volumes, which was written by Napoleon's -order. There are also the journals of Archdeacon Hare for the campaign -of Blenheim, and a valuable letter from him respecting Oudenarde; -the narratives of General Stearne, of Kane, Parker, and Sergeant -Millner, all unfortunately of one regiment, the 18th Royal Irish; -and, for the campaign of 1708 only, the journal of Private John -Deane of the 1st Guards (privately printed 1846). Dumont's -<cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire Militaire</cite> gives admirable maps and plans. Many curious -items are also to be found in Lamberti. I have not failed to study -the archives of the War Office preserved at the Record Office, -with results that will be seen in the next chapter, and I have been -carefully through the contemporary newspapers. Minor authorities, -such as Tindal's <cite>History</cite> and the like, are hardly worth mention. -Marlborough's <cite>Despatches</cite>, though decried by Lord Mahon (Preface -to <cite>History of England</cite>), I have found most valuable. On the -French side Quincy remains the chief authority, together with the -<cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Archives Militaires</cite> in the printed collection. The <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Mémoires</cite> of St. -Simon, Villars, Millot, and others have also been consulted, and good -and pertinent comment is always to be found in Feuquières.</p> - -<p>For the war in Spain see at the <a href="#AU_VI">close of Chapter VI</a>.</p></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<hr class="chap" /> -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_554" id="Page_554">[554]</a></span></p> -<h3><a name="BVI_CHAPTER_XI" id="BVI_CHAPTER_XI"></a><a href="#BVICXI">CHAPTER XI</a></h3> - </div> - -<div class="sidenote">1702-1713</div> - -<p class="noindent">Although the narrative of the War of the Spanish -Succession has not infrequently been interrupted in order -to give the reader an occasional glimpse of the progress -and difficulties of the military administration at home, -yet much has been of necessity omitted, lest the strand, -enwoven of too many and too distinct threads, should -snap with the burden of its own weight and unravel -itself into an inextricable tangle. I propose therefore at -this point to summarise the orders, regulations, and -enactments of the War Office and of the House of -Commons during the reign of Queen Anne to the -Peace of Utrecht, so as, if possible, to convey some -notion of the legacies, other than those of glory and -prestige, that were bequeathed to the Army by this long -and exhausting war.</p> - -<p>The reader will, I think, have gathered at least that -the extension of operations and the consequent increase -of the British forces during the war was almost portentously -rapid. A few figures will make this more -apparent. In 1702 and 1703 Flanders was practically the -only scene of active operations, the raid on Cadiz being -of too short duration and too little account to be worthy -of serious mention. In both of these years the British -troops with Marlborough were set down at eighteen -thousand men. In 1704 to 1706 they rose to twenty-two -thousand, and in 1708 to 1709 to twenty-five -thousand men, reverting once again to twenty-two -thousand from 1711 to 1712. Concurrently with the -first increase of 1704 came the first despatch of eight<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_555" id="Page_555">[555]</a></span> -thousand troops to the Peninsula, rising to nine thousand -in 1705, ten thousand in 1706, and twenty-six thousand<a name="FNanchor_380_380" id="FNanchor_380_380"></a><a href="#Footnote_380_380" class="fnanchor">[380]</a> -from 1707 to 1709, relapsing between 1710 and 1712 -to rather over twenty thousand. The total number -of forces borne on the list of the British Army at its -greatest was six troops of Household Cavalry, eleven -regiments of horse, sixteen of dragoons, and seventy-five -of foot, comprehending in all seventy-nine battalions.<a name="FNanchor_381_381" id="FNanchor_381_381"></a><a href="#Footnote_381_381" class="fnanchor">[381]</a> -The nominal war strength of a battalion in Flanders -was, as a rule, in round numbers nine hundred and forty -of all ranks, in the Peninsula from seven hundred and -fifty to eight hundred and eighty, a diversity of -establishments which gave rise to much trouble and -confusion. It would not be safe to reckon the British -infantry at any period during the war as exceeding fifty -thousand men. The regiments of dragoons again varied -from a normal strength of four hundred to four hundred -and fifty, rising in occasional instances to six hundred; -but they cannot reasonably be calculated at a higher -figure than six thousand men. The regiments of horse -were subject to similar variations, but their total strength, -even including the six strong troops of Household -Cavalry, cannot be counted as more than seven thousand -men. There then remains the artillery, of which, from -want of data as well as from vagueness of organisation, -it is impossible to make any accurate calculation. Speaking -generally, the highest strength actually attained by -British troops at home and abroad during the war may -be set down at seventy thousand men.<a name="FNanchor_382_382" id="FNanchor_382_382"></a><a href="#Footnote_382_382" class="fnanchor">[382]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_556" id="Page_556">[556]</a></span></p> - -<p>The defect that will seem most flagrant, according to -modern ideas, in the scheme above sketched is the -multiplicity of distinct units that go to make up so small -a force. The French had long abandoned the system -of single battalions, and indeed given to their regiments -the name of brigades. In the British Army the Guards -and the Royal Scots alone had two battalions; and -though we know by actual information that, in the case -of the former, the battalions at home were used to feed -those abroad, yet it is indubitable that both battalions -of the Royal Scots took the field and kept it from -beginning to end of the war. For this, however, -the principles that then governed the conduct of -a war and the maintenance of an army sufficiently -account. The year was divided for military purposes -into two parts—the campaigning season, which -lasted roughly from the 1st of April to the 1st of -October, and the recruiting season, which covered the -months that remained over. Directly the campaign was -ended and the troops distributed into winter quarters, a -sufficient number of officers returned home to raise for -each regiment the recruits that were needed. In strictness -no officer enlisted a man except for his own corps; -and it was only occasionally that a regiment, having -enlisted more recruits than were required for its own -wants, transferred its superabundance to another.</p> - -<p>But apart from this, we find throughout the reign of -Queen Anne a resolute and healthy opposition to the -principle of completing one regiment by drafts from<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_557" id="Page_557">[557]</a></span> -another. At the beginning of the war the ranks of the -Army were, thanks to the wanton imbecility of the -House of Commons, so empty that it was impossible -to send any appreciable number of regiments abroad -without depletion of those that were left at home. As -an exceptional favour therefore the first troops sent to -Spain and to the West Indies were completed by drafts; -but at that point the practice was checked.<a name="FNanchor_383_383" id="FNanchor_383_383"></a><a href="#Footnote_383_383" class="fnanchor">[383]</a> Marlborough -had early set his face against so vicious a -system, and although once, under pressure of orders -from the Queen herself, he directed it to be enforced, -yet it is sufficiently clear from his language and from his -ready deference to the protest of the officer concerned, -that he fully recognised the magnitude of its evil.<a name="FNanchor_384_384" id="FNanchor_384_384"></a><a href="#Footnote_384_384" class="fnanchor">[384]</a> -After the disaster of Almanza the War Office appears -to have been urged in many quarters to resort to -drafting, but St. John told the House of Commons -outright that the practice had been found ruinous to -the service, prejudicial alike to the corps that furnished -and that received the draft. As Marlborough's influence -declined, the mischievous system seems to have -been revived, and although in more than one case -colonels flatly declined to part with their men,<a name="FNanchor_385_385" id="FNanchor_385_385"></a><a href="#Footnote_385_385" class="fnanchor">[385]</a> yet at -the close of the war we find garrisons denuded by -drafts to an extent that was positively dangerous.<a name="FNanchor_386_386" id="FNanchor_386_386"></a><a href="#Footnote_386_386" class="fnanchor">[386]</a> The -same objectionable practice, as is well known, is still -rampant among us; would that the authority of Marlborough -could help to break it down.</p> - -<p>There remains the question why, instead of raising -new regiments, the authorities did not raise additional -battalions to existing regiments? The reply is that -they doubtless knew their own business, and adopted -the best plan that lay open to them. Englishmen have -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_558" id="Page_558">[558]</a></span>a passion for independent command. To this day, as -the history of the volunteers shows, there are many -men who, though unwilling to serve in any existing -corps, would cheerfully expend ten times the care, -trouble, and expense on a regiment, or even on a troop -or company, of their own. It must be remembered, -too, that a regiment in those days was not only a -command but a property, that it afforded to officers -opportunities for good and for evil such as are now -undreamed of, that, lastly, it was in the vast majority -of cases called by its colonel's name.</p> - -<p>Let us now, before examining the measures taken -for the supply of recruits, glance briefly at the principal -centres and causes of consumption and of demand. -The inquiry must not be considered superfluous, for -the primary force in the maintenance of a voluntary -army is attraction, and it is only after full knowledge -of the elements of repulsion which work counter to it -that the failure of the attractive force, and the necessity -for substituting coercion in its place, can be rightly -understood. The theatres of war claim first attention, -and of these Flanders claims the precedence. It is well -known that sickness or fatigue are more destructive in -war than bullet and sword, and Marlborough's campaigns -can have been no exception to the rule. Yet it is -remarkable that the British were never so much thinned -as after the campaign of Blenheim, wherein they bore -the brunt of two severe actions. The march to the -Danube was of course severe, but the men stood it well; -nor do we hear of extraordinary sickness on the return -march. All that we know is that when the British -regiments reached the Rhine they were too weak to be -fit for further work. We never hear the like in subsequent -campaigns, in spite of severe marching and sieges. -Yet the capture of one of Vauban's fortresses was always -a long and murderous piece of work, while, if the -trenches were flooded by heavy rain or the natural -oozing of marshy ground, an epidemic of dysentery -was sure to follow. We have no returns of the losses<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_559" id="Page_559">[559]</a></span> -from sickness in Flanders, but it is certain that the -operations in that field were by no means the most -deadly to the troops, nor the most exhausting to -England. This must be ascribed almost entirely to the -care and forethought of the great Duke. Marlborough -knew the peculiar weaknesses as well as the peculiar -value of his own countrymen, and was careful to keep -them always well fed. In the second place, and this was -most important, the theatre of war was but a few hours -distant from England, so that a force once fairly set on -foot could be maintained with comparative ease. Recruits, -too, did not feel that they were going to another -part of the world, and would never return home. -Moreover, a bounty had been granted for Blenheim, -there was some prospect of plunder,<a name="FNanchor_387_387" id="FNanchor_387_387"></a><a href="#Footnote_387_387" class="fnanchor">[387]</a> and there was the -glory of marching to certain victory with Corporal John.</p> - -<p>It was far otherwise in the Peninsula. There a -campaign was broken not only by winter-quarters, but -also by summer-quarters in the hot months of July and -August. Again, the voyage to Lisbon, and still more -to Catalonia, to say nothing of the risk of storm and -shipwreck, occupied days and weeks, whereas the passage -to Flanders was reckoned by hours. The transport-service, -too, had a bad name. Although after 1702 the -official complaints of bad and insufficient food ceased, -yet the mortality on board the troop-ships sent to the -Peninsula shows that the sickness and misery must -have been appalling. The reinforcements despatched -to Lisbon in the summer of 1706 with a total strength -of eight thousand men were reduced to little more than -half of their numbers when they landed in Valencia in -February 1707. They had suffered from bad weather -and long confinement, it is true, but theirs was no -exceptional case.<a name="FNanchor_388_388" id="FNanchor_388_388"></a><a href="#Footnote_388_388" class="fnanchor">[388]</a> In 1710, of a detachment of three -hundred men that were landed, only a hundred ever -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_560" id="Page_560">[560]</a></span>reached their regiments.<a name="FNanchor_389_389" id="FNanchor_389_389"></a><a href="#Footnote_389_389" class="fnanchor">[389]</a> In 1711 five weak regiments -lost sixty men dead, and two hundred disabled from -sickness in a voyage of ten days.<a name="FNanchor_390_390" id="FNanchor_390_390"></a><a href="#Footnote_390_390" class="fnanchor">[390]</a> A private of the -First Guards summed up his experience of a month in -a transport as "continual destruction in the foretop, -the pox above board, the plague between decks, hell in -the forecastle, and the devil at the helm."<a name="FNanchor_391_391" id="FNanchor_391_391"></a><a href="#Footnote_391_391" class="fnanchor">[391]</a></p> - -<p>This was one great discouragement to recruits; and -others became quickly known to them. The Peninsula -was ill-supplied, transport was difficult, the quarters of -the troops were very unhealthy, and the Portuguese unfriendly -even to brutality.<a name="FNanchor_392_392" id="FNanchor_392_392"></a><a href="#Footnote_392_392" class="fnanchor">[392]</a> Altogether, though steel and -lead played their part in the destruction of the British in -the Peninsula, the havoc that they wrought was trifling -compared with that of privation and disease. Prisoners -of course were never lost for long, as Marlborough had -always abundance of French to give in exchange for -them; but in spite of this, the waste in Portugal and -Spain was terrible, and the service proportionately -unpopular.</p> - -<p>So much for the two theatres of war; but the sphere -of foreign service was not bounded by these. New -York, Bermuda, and Newfoundland each possessed a -small garrison; and the West Indies, as we have seen, -claimed from four to six battalions. This colonial -service was undoubtedly the most unpopular of all. -When the single company that defended Newfoundland -left England in 1701, their destination was carefully -concealed from the men lest they should desert. The -most hardened criminal could hope for pardon if he -enlisted for Jamaica. Once shipped off to the West -Indies, the men seem to have been totally forgotten. -No proper provision was made for paying them; -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_561" id="Page_561">[561]</a></span>colonels who cared for their men were compelled to -borrow money to save them from starvation; colonels -who did not, came home, together with many of their -officers, and left the men to shift for themselves.<a name="FNanchor_393_393" id="FNanchor_393_393"></a><a href="#Footnote_393_393" class="fnanchor">[393]</a> -Clothing, again, was entirely overlooked. The troops -in Jamaica were reduced almost to nakedness; and -when finally their clothing, already two years overdue, -was ready for them, it was delayed by a piece of -bungling such as could only have been perpetrated by -the War Office.<a name="FNanchor_394_394" id="FNanchor_394_394"></a><a href="#Footnote_394_394" class="fnanchor">[394]</a> Another great difficulty was that, -there being no regular system of reliefs, colonels never -knew whether to clothe their men for a hot or a -temperate climate. Recruits were consequently most -difficult to obtain, although owing to the unhealthiness -of the climate they were in great request. The -result was that old men and boys were sent across -the Atlantic only to be at once discharged, at great -pecuniary loss, by the officers, who were ashamed -to admit creatures of such miserable appearance into -their companies.<a name="FNanchor_395_395" id="FNanchor_395_395"></a><a href="#Footnote_395_395" class="fnanchor">[395]</a></p> - -<p>Again, during the course of the war, two new acquisitions -demanded garrisons of three or four battalions -apiece. Minorca appears to have given no very serious -trouble; but Gibraltar having been reduced virtually to -ruins by the siege was, owing to the lack of proper -habitations, a hot-bed of sickness. The authorities -seem in particular to have neglected the garrison of -Gibraltar, though they took considerable pains for the -fortification of the Rock. In 1706 more than half of -the garrison was disabled through disease brought on -by exposure,<a name="FNanchor_396_396" id="FNanchor_396_396"></a><a href="#Footnote_396_396" class="fnanchor">[396]</a> yet it was not until four years later that -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_562" id="Page_562">[562]</a></span>orders were given for the construction of barracks,<a name="FNanchor_397_397" id="FNanchor_397_397"></a><a href="#Footnote_397_397" class="fnanchor">[397]</a> -while even in 1711 the men were obliged to burn their -own miserable quarters from want of fuel.<a name="FNanchor_398_398" id="FNanchor_398_398"></a><a href="#Footnote_398_398" class="fnanchor">[398]</a></p> - -<p>These lapses in countries beyond sea might possibly -find some excuse in the plea of inexperience, though -this should not be admitted in a country which for -nearly four centuries had continually sent expeditions -across the Channel, and for more than two centuries -across the Atlantic also. Yet there were similar faults -at home which show almost incredible thoughtlessness -and neglect. Thus in 1709 many soldiers at Portsmouth -perished from want of fire and candle,<a name="FNanchor_399_399" id="FNanchor_399_399"></a><a href="#Footnote_399_399" class="fnanchor">[399]</a> while -the garrison of Upnor Castle was required to supply a -detachment of guards in the marshes three miles from -any house or shelter, where the men on duty stood up -to their knees in water.<a name="FNanchor_400_400" id="FNanchor_400_400"></a><a href="#Footnote_400_400" class="fnanchor">[400]</a> No one had thought that -they might want a guard-room or at least tents. Again, -it was not until a ship's load of men invalided from -Portugal had been turned adrift in the streets of -Penrhyn, penniless and reduced to beg for charity, that -any provision was made for the sick and wounded. -Then at last, in the fourth campaign of the war, commissioners -were appointed to make them their special -care. So far no one had been responsible for them, the -duty having been thrust provisionally upon the commissioners -of transport.<a name="FNanchor_401_401" id="FNanchor_401_401"></a><a href="#Footnote_401_401" class="fnanchor">[401]</a> In a word, no forethought nor -care was to be found beyond the reach of Marlborough's -own hand; all administration on the side of the War -Office, even under the secretaryship of so able a man as -Henry St. John, was marked by blindness and incompetence.</p> - -<p>The ground being now cleared, and the principal -obstacles in the way of recruiting being indicated, it is -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_563" id="Page_563">[563]</a></span>time to examine the means employed by Parliament to -overcome them. We may properly confine ourselves -to England, since she with her population of five and a -quarter millions was necessarily the main source for the -supply of men. Ireland was not yet the recruiting-ground -that she became at a later day, for the simple -reason that none but Protestants could be enlisted. She -had, however, her five distinctly national regiments,<a name="FNanchor_402_402" id="FNanchor_402_402"></a><a href="#Footnote_402_402" class="fnanchor">[402]</a> a -small proportion which enabled her to provide a dozen or -fifteen more in the course of the war. Protestant Ireland, -in fact, still under the spell of William of Orange, -played her part very fully and generously during these -years. Scotland, as became a country of great military -traditions, maintained a larger number of national regiments -than her sister,<a name="FNanchor_403_403" id="FNanchor_403_403"></a><a href="#Footnote_403_403" class="fnanchor">[403]</a> but being thinly populated, inaccessible -in many districts and already engaged to furnish -troops to the Dutch service, was unable to provide more -than three additional battalions. The greatest stress -therefore fell, and fell rightly, upon England.</p> - -<p>Transporting ourselves therefore for a moment to -the opening of the war, when the Army was still -smarting under its shameful treatment by Parliament -after the Peace of Ryswick, we find without surprise -that the strain of providing recruits made itself felt very -early. The Mutiny Act of 1703 shows this by a -clause empowering the Queen to order the delivery -from gaol of capital offenders who had been pardoned -on condition of enlistment. This enactment was of -course something like a reversion to the methods of -Elizabeth; but although this class of recruit does not -sound desirable, yet the competition for it was so keen -that a regular roster was kept to ensure that every -regiment should profit by the windfall in its turn.<a name="FNanchor_404_404" id="FNanchor_404_404"></a><a href="#Footnote_404_404" class="fnanchor">[404]</a> -It must be remembered that many a man was then condemned -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_564" id="Page_564">[564]</a></span>to death who would now be released under the -First Offenders' Act; but apart from this, criminals -were welcome to the recruiting officer, first, because -they cost nothing, and secondly, because they were often -men of fine physique.<a name="FNanchor_405_405" id="FNanchor_405_405"></a><a href="#Footnote_405_405" class="fnanchor">[405]</a> In the later years of the war -the sweepings of the gaols were in particular request, -and the multiplication of petitions from the condemned -shows that the fact was appreciated within the walls of -Newgate.</p> - -<p>In the session of 1703-4 an Act, for which there -was a precedent in the days of King William, was -passed to provide for the discharge of all insolvent -debtors from prison, who should serve or procure -another to serve in the fleet or Army. This probably -brought some useful young recruits who enlisted to -procure the release of their fathers; and there is -evidence that the bankrupt was as much sought after by -recruiting officers as the sheep-stealer. Another most -important Act of the same session was the first of a -long series of annual Recruiting Acts. Under this, a -bounty of one pound<a name="FNanchor_406_406" id="FNanchor_406_406"></a><a href="#Footnote_406_406" class="fnanchor">[406]</a> was offered for volunteers; and -justices of the peace were empowered to levy as recruits -all able-bodied men who had no visible employment or -means of subsistence, and to employ the officers of -borough and parish for the purpose. For each such -recruit a bounty of ten shillings<a name="FNanchor_407_407" id="FNanchor_407_407"></a><a href="#Footnote_407_407" class="fnanchor">[407]</a> was allowed for himself -as well as a fee of ten shillings to the parish officer. -To remove any temptation to malpractice, no officer of -the regular Army was permitted to sit as a justice under -the Act; and all voters were specially exempted from -its operation, the possession of the franchise being apparently -considered, as it probably was, a sufficiently -visible means of subsistence.</p> - -<p>This latter measure brought with it a considerable -crop of abuses. In the very next session it was found -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_565" id="Page_565">[565]</a></span>necessary to give special protection to harvest-labourers, -many having been already impressed, while -many more had hidden themselves from fear of impressment. -But this was by no means all. Voters -occasionally shared the fate of their unenfranchised -brethren, and required hasty deliverance with many -apologies to the member for their borough.<a name="FNanchor_408_408" id="FNanchor_408_408"></a><a href="#Footnote_408_408" class="fnanchor">[408]</a> The -high bounty again gave a stimulus to wrongful impressment, -fraudulent enlistment, and desertion. It -was found necessary after a few months to restrain -the zeal of parish officers, who enlisted men that -were already soldiers. Again, there were recruiting-officers -who would discharge the recruits brought to -them for a pecuniary consideration, an occurrence -which though not common was not unknown. Finally, -recruits would occasionally try to break away in a -body, which led to desperate fighting and to awkward -complications. In one instance a large number of -recruits made so determined an attempt to overpower -the guard and escape that they were not quelled until -two of them had been actually slain. The guard, -who thought with justice that they had done no -more than their duty, then found themselves threatened -with an indictment for murder; and the War Office -was obliged to call in the Attorney-General to advise -how they should be protected.<a name="FNanchor_409_409" id="FNanchor_409_409"></a><a href="#Footnote_409_409" class="fnanchor">[409]</a> Turbulent scenes -with the rural population over the arrest of deserters -and the impressment of idle fellows were by no means -infrequent. We have, for instance, accounts of the -whole town of Exminster turning out with flails and -pitchforks against an officer who claimed a deserter, -and of the mob of Abergavenny, mad for the rescue -of an impressed recruit, driving the officers from house -to house, and compelling them to fire in self-defence.<a name="FNanchor_410_410" id="FNanchor_410_410"></a><a href="#Footnote_410_410" class="fnanchor">[410]</a></p> - -<p>After the campaign of Blenheim, the heavy losses -in the field, and the resolution to send a large force -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_566" id="Page_566">[566]</a></span>to the Peninsula drove the military authorities to -desperate straits. Suggestions of course came in -from various quarters; among them a proposal from -a gentleman of Amsterdam that every one who had -two or more lacqueys should send one into the Army, -the writer having observed that members of Parliament -"abounded in that sort of person."<a name="FNanchor_411_411" id="FNanchor_411_411"></a><a href="#Footnote_411_411" class="fnanchor">[411]</a> But the -stress of the situation is shown by the fact that a Bill -was actually introduced to compel every parish and -corporation to furnish a certain number of recruits, -though it was presently dropped as being an imitation -from the French and unfit for a free country.<a name="FNanchor_412_412" id="FNanchor_412_412"></a><a href="#Footnote_412_412" class="fnanchor">[412]</a> The -authorities therefore contented themselves by ordering -stricter enforcement of the Recruiting Act, and -apparently with success.<a name="FNanchor_413_413" id="FNanchor_413_413"></a><a href="#Footnote_413_413" class="fnanchor">[413]</a> During the next two years -there was no change in the Act, excepting the addition, -in 1706, of a penalty of five pounds against parochial -officers who should neglect to execute it. But in 1707 -the measure showed signs of failing, and was hastily -patched up by increasing the bounty to two pounds<a name="FNanchor_414_414" id="FNanchor_414_414"></a><a href="#Footnote_414_414" class="fnanchor">[414]</a> -for volunteers enlisting during the recruiting season, -and to one pound for such as enlisted after the -campaign had been opened. Some effort was also -made to systematize the power granted by the Act -by convening regular meetings of justices at stated -times and places.</p> - -<p>The close of the year, however, found the -Commons face to face with the disaster of Almanza, -and with urgent need for close upon twenty thousand -recruits. The Recruiting Act now assumed a new -and drastic form. The authority to impress men of -no employment was transferred from the justices to -the commissioners of the land-tax, with full powers -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_567" id="Page_567">[567]</a></span>to employ the parochial officers. The penalty on -these officers for neglect of duty was increased to ten -pounds, while for diligent execution of the same a -reward of one pound was promised them for every -recruit, as well as sixpence a day for the expense of -keeping him until he should be made over to his -regiment. The parish likewise received three pounds -for every man thus recruited, in order to quicken -its zeal against the idle. Finally, as an entire novelty, -borrowed be it noted from the French,<a name="FNanchor_415_415" id="FNanchor_415_415"></a><a href="#Footnote_415_415" class="fnanchor">[415]</a> volunteers -were enlisted at the same high rate of bounty for a -term of three years, at the close of which they were -entitled to claim their discharge. Great results were -evidently expected from these provisions, for the -standard of height for recruits was still maintained at five -feet five inches,<a name="FNanchor_416_416" id="FNanchor_416_416"></a><a href="#Footnote_416_416" class="fnanchor">[416]</a> men below that stature being accepted -only for marines. So from this year until the close -of the war it is possible to study the first trial of -short service in England.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately abuses seemed only to multiply -under the new Act. The campaign of Oudenarde, -prolonged as it was into December, drained Marlborough's -army heavily, and the spring of 1709 -found the forces in want of yet another fifteen -thousand recruits. Moreover, from the moment -when Marlborough's power began to decline the -tone of the Army at home began to sink. The -justices again were jealous of the commissioners of -land-tax, and in some instances openly abused and -reproached them.<a name="FNanchor_417_417" id="FNanchor_417_417"></a><a href="#Footnote_417_417" class="fnanchor">[417]</a> In at least one case they were -found conniving with officers to accept money for -the discharge of impressed men.<a name="FNanchor_418_418" id="FNanchor_418_418"></a><a href="#Footnote_418_418" class="fnanchor">[418]</a> Officers on their -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_568" id="Page_568">[568]</a></span>side also began to misbehave, withholding the bounty -from recruits and subjecting them to the gantlope -if they complained, and in some instances not only -withholding the bounty but demanding large bribes -for their discharge.<a name="FNanchor_419_419" id="FNanchor_419_419"></a><a href="#Footnote_419_419" class="fnanchor">[419]</a> As the war continued, matters -grew worse and worse. Sham press-gangs established -themselves with the object of levying blackmail;<a name="FNanchor_420_420" id="FNanchor_420_420"></a><a href="#Footnote_420_420" class="fnanchor">[420]</a> and -as a climax Army and Navy began to fight for the -possession of impressed men.</p> - -<p>At the opening of 1711 the first batch of men -enlisted for three years completed their term, but -found to their surprise that their discharge did not -come to them automatically, as they had expected. -The officers had no instructions. They were unwilling -too to part with the sixty best soldiers in each regiment, -for such these men of short service had proved -to be, and could only promise to let them go as -soon as orders should arrive from home. Harley's -Secretary-at-War, with the characteristic ill faith of -the politician towards the soldier, boldly proposed to -pass an Act compelling them to serve for two years -longer; but the Attorney-General, to whom the -matter was referred, decided that the men were -beyond all question entitled to their discharge.<a name="FNanchor_421_421" id="FNanchor_421_421"></a><a href="#Footnote_421_421" class="fnanchor">[421]</a> -Thereupon, rather late in the day, the Secretary-at-War -hurriedly ordered the instant discharge of a -man whose term had expired, in order to encourage -others to enlist.<a name="FNanchor_422_422" id="FNanchor_422_422"></a><a href="#Footnote_422_422" class="fnanchor">[422]</a> Finally, in 1711 abuses increased so -rapidly under the new administration that the whole -system of recruiting broke down.<a name="FNanchor_423_423" id="FNanchor_423_423"></a><a href="#Footnote_423_423" class="fnanchor">[423]</a> The evils of -Harley's short tenure of office were by no means -bounded by the Peace of Utrecht.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_569" id="Page_569">[569]</a></span></p> - -<p>There remains a further question still to be dealt -with, that namely of desertion, which directly and -indirectly sapped the strength of the Army as much as -any campaign. Let it not be thought that this evil was -confined to England, for it was rampant in every army -in Europe, and nowhere a greater scourge than in -France. Nor let the deserter from the army in the -field be too severely judged, for his anxiety was not to -serve against his own countrymen but simply to get -back to his own home. Some of the English deserters -in Flanders were even cunning enough to pass homeward -as exchanged prisoners belonging to the fleet.<a name="FNanchor_424_424" id="FNanchor_424_424"></a><a href="#Footnote_424_424" class="fnanchor">[424]</a> -But it was before starting for the seat of war that -deserters gave most trouble, particularly if, as was often -unavoidably the case, the regiments were kept waiting -long for their transports.<a name="FNanchor_425_425" id="FNanchor_425_425"></a><a href="#Footnote_425_425" class="fnanchor">[425]</a> No punishment seemed to -deter others from abetting them.<a name="FNanchor_426_426" id="FNanchor_426_426"></a><a href="#Footnote_426_426" class="fnanchor">[426]</a> If we may judge by -the records of the next reign a thousand to fifteen -hundred lashes was no uncommon sentence on a deserter, -while not a few were actually shot in Hyde Park.<a name="FNanchor_427_427" id="FNanchor_427_427"></a><a href="#Footnote_427_427" class="fnanchor">[427]</a> -The only resource, therefore, was to check the evil as -far as possible by prevention. Thus we constantly find -large bodies of troops under orders for foreign service -quartered in the Isle of Wight, from which they could -not easily escape. This remedy was at least in one case -found worse than the disease, for the numbers of the -men being too great to be accommodated in the public -houses, very many of them perished from exposure to -the weather. Thereupon the Secretary-at-War made -inquiry as to barns and empty houses for them, according -to the traditions of his office, fatally too late.<a name="FNanchor_428_428" id="FNanchor_428_428"></a><a href="#Footnote_428_428" class="fnanchor">[428]</a></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_570" id="Page_570">[570]</a></span></p> - -<p>Another practice, which from ignorance of its origin -has been blindly followed till within the last few years, -also took its rise from the prevalence of desertion at -this period, namely that of shifting troops from quarter -to quarter of England by sea. On the same principle -men were frequently cooped up in the transport-vessels -for weeks and even months before they sailed on foreign -service, occasionally with frightful consequences. Thus -in 1705 certain troops bound for Jamaica were embarked -on transports on the 18th of May. They remained -there for two months with fever and small-pox on board, -until at last, the medical supplies being exhausted, the -case was represented to the Secretary-at-War. The -reply was that they were to receive such relief as was -possible; but they remained in the same transports until -October, when at last they were drafted off in parties of -sixty on the West Indian packets to their destination. -Forty-eight of them were lost through a storm in port -long before October, but the number that perished -from sickness is unknown, and was probably most -sedulously concealed.<a name="FNanchor_429_429" id="FNanchor_429_429"></a><a href="#Footnote_429_429" class="fnanchor">[429]</a></p> - -<p>Let us now turn to the pleasanter theme of the -changes that were wrought for the benefit of the soldier. -The first of these appears in the Mutiny Act of 1703, -and was doubtless due in part to the scandals revealed -in the office of the Paymaster-General. The rates of -pay to all ranks below the status of commissioned -officers are actually given in the Act, with express -directions, under sufficient penalties, that the subsistence -money shall be paid regularly every week, and the -balance over and above it every two months. Further, -all stoppages by the Paymaster-General, Secretary-at-War, -commissaries, and muster-masters are definitely -forbidden, and the legitimate deductions strictly limited -to the clothing-money, one day's pay to Chelsea Hospital, -and one shilling in the pound to the Queen. The -continuance of this last tax was of course a crying<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_571" id="Page_571">[571]</a></span> -injustice, but the abolition of the other irregular claims -was distinctly a gain to the British soldier, due, as it is -satisfactory to know, to the newly appointed Controllers -of Accounts. Altogether the condition of the soldier -as regards his pay seems decidedly to have improved, -Marlborough's attention to this most important matter -having evidently borne good fruit. It is true that in -Spain and the colonies, to which he had not leisure nor -opportunity to give personal attention, the neglect of -the Secretary-at-War caused great grievances and much -suffering; it is true also that even in England, when -his influence was gone, there was a recurrence of the -old scandals under the miserable administration of -Harley;<a name="FNanchor_430_430" id="FNanchor_430_430"></a><a href="#Footnote_430_430" class="fnanchor">[430]</a> yet on the whole the improvements in this -province were at once distinct and permanent.</p> - -<p>Another valuable reform in respect of clothing was -due to the direct interposition of Marlborough himself. -In 1706 the abuses in this department were, at his -instance, made the subject of inquiry by Secretary St. -John and General Charles Churchill, with the ultimate -result that the pattern and allowance of clothing and -the deduction of off-reckonings were laid down by -strict rule, while the whole business of clothing, though -still left to the colonels, was subjected to the control of a -board of six General officers, whose sanction was essential -to the validity of all contracts and to the acceptance of -all garments. Thus was established the Board of -General Officers,<a name="FNanchor_431_431" id="FNanchor_431_431"></a><a href="#Footnote_431_431" class="fnanchor">[431]</a> whose minutes are still the great -authority for the uniforms of the eighteenth century.</p> - -<p>Unfortunately these benefits could weigh but little -against the disadvantages already described. It is -certain that despite the standard laid down by Act of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_572" id="Page_572">[572]</a></span>Parliament, vast numbers of boys were enlisted as well -as men of fifty and sixty years of age, who no sooner -entered the field than they were sent back into hospital. -Good regiments, however, then as now obtained good -recruits, sometimes through the offer of extra bounty -from the officers,<a name="FNanchor_432_432" id="FNanchor_432_432"></a><a href="#Footnote_432_432" class="fnanchor">[432]</a> more often through the character -of the officers themselves. The presence of thieves, -pirates, and other criminals in the ranks must necessarily -have introduced a certain leaven of ruffianism, yet -neither in Flanders nor in the Peninsula do we find -anything approaching to the outrageous bursts of indiscipline -which were witnessed a century later at Ciudad -Rodrigo and Badajoz. There was, it is true, the mutiny -under the Duke of Ormonde, but it was of short duration -and easily suppressed; and altogether, for reasons that -shall presently be given, Marlborough's army seems to -have been better conducted than Wellington's. Unfortunately, -although two men who served in the ranks -left us journals of a whole or part of the war, we -remain still without a picture of the typical soldier of -Marlborough. The one figure that emerges with any -distinctness from the ranks is that of Christian Ross, -a woman who served as a dragoon in several actions, -was twice wounded before her sex was discovered, and -ended her career as virago, sutleress, and out-pensioner -of Chelsea Hospital.<a name="FNanchor_433_433" id="FNanchor_433_433"></a><a href="#Footnote_433_433" class="fnanchor">[433]</a> The rest, with the exception of -Sergeant Littler, Sergeant John Hall,<a name="FNanchor_434_434" id="FNanchor_434_434"></a><a href="#Footnote_434_434" class="fnanchor">[434]</a> and Private Deane -remain buried in dark oblivion, leaving a lamentable -gap that can never be filled in our military history.</p> - -<p>From the men I pass to the officers. Our information -in regard to them is curiously mixed. Certain of -the abuses that dishonoured them have already been -revealed, nor can these be said to exhaust the list. There -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_573" id="Page_573">[573]</a></span>were grave scandals in the Guards, which had the -misfortune to possess one colonel, of a distinguished -Scottish family, who revived the worst traditions of -Elizabeth and Charles the Second. Not only did he -systematically enlist thieves and other bad characters as -"faggots,"<a name="FNanchor_435_435" id="FNanchor_435_435"></a><a href="#Footnote_435_435" class="fnanchor">[435]</a> but he did not scruple to accept recruits -who offered themselves for the sake of defrauding their -creditors, to receive money from them for doing so, and -to extort more money by threatening to withhold his -protection or to ship them off to fight in Spain. These -men did no duty,<a name="FNanchor_436_436" id="FNanchor_436_436"></a><a href="#Footnote_436_436" class="fnanchor">[436]</a> wore no uniform and drew no pay, -to the great profit of the colonel and the great disgrace -of the regiment; and the evil grew to such a height -that when the House of Commons finally took the -matter in hand, the "faggots" were found to number -one-fourth of the nominal strength of the regiment.<a name="FNanchor_437_437" id="FNanchor_437_437"></a><a href="#Footnote_437_437" class="fnanchor">[437]</a> -Such cases, however, as this of the infamous Colonel -Chartres were rare; and the decrease of this particular -vice of officers in Queen Anne's time presents a -pleasing contrast to its prevalence in the time of King -William.</p> - -<p>Another habit, which sounds particularly objectionable -in modern ears, was the occasional unwillingness of -officers to accompany their regiments, and their readiness -to leave them, when employed on distasteful service. -This was especially true of regiments on colonial stations, -particularly in the West Indies,<a name="FNanchor_438_438" id="FNanchor_438_438"></a><a href="#Footnote_438_438" class="fnanchor">[438]</a> and was by no means -unknown of those actually on active service in Flanders -and the Peninsula. Sometimes the offenders had -received leave of absence, which the Secretary-at-War -would willingly grant as a matter of jobbery in the case -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_574" id="Page_574">[574]</a></span>of a friend,<a name="FNanchor_439_439" id="FNanchor_439_439"></a><a href="#Footnote_439_439" class="fnanchor">[439]</a> but more often they took leave without -asking for it, occasionally for as much as five years -together,<a name="FNanchor_440_440" id="FNanchor_440_440"></a><a href="#Footnote_440_440" class="fnanchor">[440]</a> without objection from the colonel or rebuke -from the War Office. One colonel took it as a great -grievance when Marlborough insisted that he should -sell his commission since he <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'was unwiliing to'">was unwilling to</ins> do duty;<a name="FNanchor_441_441" id="FNanchor_441_441"></a><a href="#Footnote_441_441" class="fnanchor">[441]</a> -and altogether the general connivance at shirking of -this kind rendered the offence so little discreditable that -it must not be judged by the standard of to-day. -Speaking generally, however, the officers had far more -grievances that command our pity than faults which -provoke our indignation.</p> - -<p>One hardship that bore on officers with peculiar -severity was the expense of obtaining recruits. They -received, of course, levy-money for the purpose, but -this was frequently insufficient, while no allowance was -made for recruits lost through desertion, sickness, or -other misfortunes over which they had no control. -Marlborough was most strict in discouraging, except in -extreme cases, any attempts of officers to transfer their -burdens from themselves to the State, though he freely -admitted, not without compassion, that officers had -been ruined by sheer bad luck with their recruits. We -find bitter complaints from officers in the Peninsula -that owing to the heavy mortality in the transports, -their recruits, by the time that they reached them, cost -them eight or nine pounds a head.<a name="FNanchor_442_442" id="FNanchor_442_442"></a><a href="#Footnote_442_442" class="fnanchor">[442]</a> Indeed, if one -may judge from contemporary newspapers, which are -quite borne out by scattered evidence, the sufferings -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_575" id="Page_575">[575]</a></span>of officers on account of recruiting were almost unendurable.<a name="FNanchor_443_443" id="FNanchor_443_443"></a><a href="#Footnote_443_443" class="fnanchor">[443]</a></p> - -<p>Remounts again were a heavy tax upon the officer. -An allowance of levy-money at the rate of twelve -pounds a horse<a name="FNanchor_444_444" id="FNanchor_444_444"></a><a href="#Footnote_444_444" class="fnanchor">[444]</a> was granted to officers for the purpose, -but was complained of as quite inadequate to the charge,<a name="FNanchor_445_445" id="FNanchor_445_445"></a><a href="#Footnote_445_445" class="fnanchor">[445]</a> -in consequence of heavy losses through the epidemic of -horse-sickness in Flanders. Carelessness in the hiring -and fitting of transports also caused much waste of life -among the horses,<a name="FNanchor_446_446" id="FNanchor_446_446"></a><a href="#Footnote_446_446" class="fnanchor">[446]</a> until Marlborough, as his letters -repeatedly show, took the matter into his own hands. -It is interesting to learn that Irish horses, being obtainable -for five pounds apiece,<a name="FNanchor_447_447" id="FNanchor_447_447"></a><a href="#Footnote_447_447" class="fnanchor">[447]</a> were much used in Spain, -though less in Flanders, Marlborough having a prejudice -in favour of English horses as of English men, as superior -to all others. This cheapness, however, was of little -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_576" id="Page_576">[576]</a></span>service to the officers. They were expected to pay for -the transport of their horses at a fixed rate, and though -at length in reply to their complaints free transport was -granted for twenty-six horses to a battalion, yet this privilege -was again withdrawn as soon as it was discovered -that Irish animals were to be purchased at a low price.<a name="FNanchor_448_448" id="FNanchor_448_448"></a><a href="#Footnote_448_448" class="fnanchor">[448]</a></p> - -<p>Again, the officers were always subject to extortion -from civilians. Parish constables, to whom the law -allowed sixpence a day for the subsistence of recruits, -declined to deliver them unless they were paid eightpence -a day.<a name="FNanchor_449_449" id="FNanchor_449_449"></a><a href="#Footnote_449_449" class="fnanchor">[449]</a> But as usual the chief delinquents were the -regimental agents. The Controllers of Accounts early -made an attack on these gentry, but with little success, -the fellows pleading that they were not public officials -but private servants of the colonel, and therefore not -bound to produce their accounts. The complaints of -the officers against them were endless, and with good -reason. Perhaps the most heartless instance of an -agent's rascality was that of one who stole the small -allowance made by a lieutenant on active service to his -wife, and refused to pay it until ordered by the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_450_450" id="FNanchor_450_450"></a><a href="#Footnote_450_450" class="fnanchor">[450]</a> -Officers clamoured that the agents should be tried by -court-martial, but this was not permitted, and perhaps -wisely, for a court-martial would probably have sentenced -a scoundrel to the gantlope, in which case the men -would not have let him escape alive.</p> - -<p>Yet another tax fell upon officers in the shape of -contribution to pensions and regimental debts. In -every regiment except those serving in Flanders a -fictitious man was allowed in the roll of each troop or -company, whose pay was taken to form a fund for the -support of officers' widows;<a name="FNanchor_451_451" id="FNanchor_451_451"></a><a href="#Footnote_451_451" class="fnanchor">[451]</a> but in Marlborough's army -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_577" id="Page_577">[577]</a></span>these widows were supported by a voluntary subscription -from the officers, without expense to the State. By -some contrivance, which seems utterly outrageous and -was presumably the work of the War Office or of the -Treasury, this voluntary fund was saddled with the -maintenance of widows who had lost their husbands in -the previous war, so that in 1709 Marlborough was -obliged to protest and to ask for the extension of -"widows' men" to some at least of his own troops.<a name="FNanchor_452_452" id="FNanchor_452_452"></a><a href="#Footnote_452_452" class="fnanchor">[452]</a> -Again, some regiments appear to have been charged with -pensions to particular individuals, though by what right -or for what service it is impossible to say.<a name="FNanchor_453_453" id="FNanchor_453_453"></a><a href="#Footnote_453_453" class="fnanchor">[453]</a> Yet again, -by misfortune, carelessness, or roguery of a colonel, or -more commonly of an agent, regiments found themselves -burdened with debts amounting to several thousand -pounds, as, for instance, through the loss of regimental -funds by shipwreck or <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'through mismangement'">through mismanagement</ins> of the -clothing. In such cases the only possible relief was the -sale, by royal permission, of the next company or -ensigncy for the liquidation of the debt.<a name="FNanchor_454_454" id="FNanchor_454_454"></a><a href="#Footnote_454_454" class="fnanchor">[454]</a></p> - -<p>Another form of pension which, though sometimes -used for worthy objects, was at least as often perverted -to purposes of jobbery, was the appointment of infant -officers. In many instances children received commissions -in a regiment wherein their fathers had commanded -and done good service, either for the relief of -the widows, if those fathers had fallen in action, or for -a reward if they were still living. Sometimes these -children actually took the field, for there is record of -one who went to active service in Flanders at the age -of twelve, "behaving with more courage and conduct -than could have been expected from one of his years," -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_578" id="Page_578">[578]</a></span>and ruined his career at sixteen by killing his man in a -duel.<a name="FNanchor_455_455" id="FNanchor_455_455"></a><a href="#Footnote_455_455" class="fnanchor">[455]</a> But beyond all doubt in many instances the -favour was granted without sufficient cause, while even -at its best it was an abuse of public money and a wrong -done to the regiment. This abuse was of course no -new thing, and did not amount to an actual grievance; -but it had fostered a feeling, that was already too -strong, of the privileges conferred on colonels by their -proprietary rights in their regiments.</p> - -<p>The grant of commissions to children was forbidden -by the Royal Regulations of 1st May 1711, a collection -of orders which had at any rate for their ostensible -object a considerable measure of reform, and therefore -demands some notice here. Hereby the grant of brevets, -which had given considerable trouble to Marlborough, -and had already been forbidden in 1708, was again -prohibited; and finally an attempt was made to limit -the sale and purchase of commissions. To this end no -sale of commissions whatever was permitted except by -royal approbation under the sign manual, and then only -to officers who had served for twenty years or had been -disabled by active service. The announcement appears -to have been treated as a joke;<a name="FNanchor_456_456" id="FNanchor_456_456"></a><a href="#Footnote_456_456" class="fnanchor">[456]</a> and within six months -the rule, in consequence of representations from Marlborough, -was considerably modified.<a name="FNanchor_457_457" id="FNanchor_457_457"></a><a href="#Footnote_457_457" class="fnanchor">[457]</a> If (so the Duke -pointed out) subalterns who have been unlucky with -their recruits may not sell their commissions, the debt -will fall on the regiment: if, again, the successors to -officers who die on service do not contribute something -towards the dead man's wife and family, many widows -and children must starve; lastly, colonels often wish to -promote officers from other regiments to their own -when they have no officer of their own fit for advancement, -which is for the good of the service but must -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_579" id="Page_579">[579]</a></span>become impracticable unless the superseded officer -receive something in compensation.<a name="FNanchor_458_458" id="FNanchor_458_458"></a><a href="#Footnote_458_458" class="fnanchor">[458]</a> His arguments -were seen to be irresistible unless the State were prepared -to incur large additional military expenditure, -and the rules were shortly afterwards amended in the -spirit of his recommendations and for the reasons that -he had adduced.<a name="FNanchor_459_459" id="FNanchor_459_459"></a><a href="#Footnote_459_459" class="fnanchor">[459]</a></p> - -<p>Thus almost the final administrative act of Marlborough -as Captain-General was to uphold the system -of purchase then existing against the hasty reforms of -civilian counsellors. Enough has been said to show -that contemporary military policy in England, with -which he was chiefly identified, tended always to make -the regiment more and more self-contained and less -dependent on the support of the State: it will be seen -before long how regiments met the charge imposed on -them by the institution of regimental funds in the -nature of insurance. The drawback of such a system -is obvious. Excess of independence in the members -can hardly but entail weakening of central control, -with incoherence and consequent waste of energy in -the action of the entire body. Regimental traditions, -regimental pride, are priceless possessions well worthy -the sacrifice of ideal unity of design and perfect assimilation -to a single pattern. But regimental isolation, -fostered and encouraged on principle to the utmost, -must inevitably bring with it a certain division of command, -a want of subordination to the supreme authority, -in a word that measure of indiscipline in high places -which distinguishes an aggregation of regiments from -an army.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_580" id="Page_580">[580]</a></span></p> - -<p>Yet who can doubt but that Marlborough acted -with his usual strong good sense as a soldier and his -usual sagacity as a statesman? He had risked his -popularity in the Army by his avowed severity towards -officers in the matter of recruits,<a name="FNanchor_460_460" id="FNanchor_460_460"></a><a href="#Footnote_460_460" class="fnanchor">[460]</a> because he knew that -the slightest attempt to shift this burden upon the State -would mean the refusal of Parliament to carry on the -war, and a wholesale disbandment of the Army. He -favoured the sale of commissions on precisely the same -principle; for, as his letter clearly shows, he foresaw the -growth of what is now called a non-effective vote, and -doubted the willingness of Parliament to endure it. -That which he dreaded has now come to pass, for -better or worse; the country is saddled with a vast -load of pensions, and the Commons grow annually -more impatient over increase of military expenditure -without corresponding increase of efficiency. Marlborough's -choice lay between an aggregation of regiments -and no army, and of two evils he chose the less. -It still remains to be proved that he was wrong.</p> - -<p>From the regimental I pass to the general administration. -Herein the first noticeable feature is the -amalgamation by the Act of Union of the English -and Scotch establishments into a single establishment -for Great Britain. Ireland of course still remained -with a separate establishment of her own, and all the -paraphernalia of Commander-in-Chief, Secretary-at-War, -and Master-General of Ordnance. There continued -always in Ireland as heretofore a different rate of pay -for all ranks, which, owing to constant transfer of -regiments from Ireland to England or abroad gave rise -to great confusion in the accounts. The chief matter -of interest in Ireland is the very reasonable jealousy of -the Irish Commons for the retention within the kingdom -of all regiments on the Irish establishment, or at least for -the substitution of other regiments in their place if they -should be withdrawn. Their intention was that Irish -revenue should be spent in Ireland, and it is satisfactory<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_581" id="Page_581">[581]</a></span> -to note that it was rigidly and conscientiously respected -by the authorities in England.<a name="FNanchor_461_461" id="FNanchor_461_461"></a><a href="#Footnote_461_461" class="fnanchor">[461]</a></p> - -<p>Another important matter was a first attempt to -settle the position of the marines, who up to the middle -of the reign were subject to a curious and embarrassing -division of control. St. John early disclaimed all -authority over them,<a name="FNanchor_462_462" id="FNanchor_462_462"></a><a href="#Footnote_462_462" class="fnanchor">[462]</a> but they were evidently subject -to the regulations of the army and suffered not a little -in consequence. The rigid rule that regiments must be -mustered before they were paid inflicted great hardship -on marines, for it could not be carried out when a -regiment was split up on half a dozen different ships, -and the result was that the men were not paid at all. -Even when ashore they were exposed to the same inconvenience -owing to the inefficiency of the commissaries,<a name="FNanchor_463_463" id="FNanchor_463_463"></a><a href="#Footnote_463_463" class="fnanchor">[463]</a> -so that some regiments actually received no -wages for eight years.<a name="FNanchor_464_464" id="FNanchor_464_464"></a><a href="#Footnote_464_464" class="fnanchor">[464]</a> The inevitable consequence -was hatred of the service and mutiny, which at one -moment threatened to be serious.<a name="FNanchor_465_465" id="FNanchor_465_465"></a><a href="#Footnote_465_465" class="fnanchor">[465]</a> Finally, on the 17th -of December 1708, the marines were definitely placed -under the jurisdiction of the Lord High Admiral.<a name="FNanchor_466_466" id="FNanchor_466_466"></a><a href="#Footnote_466_466" class="fnanchor">[466]</a></p> - -<p>I come now to the most fateful of all changes in -the administration, namely the rise to supreme importance -of the Secretary-at-War. Attention has -already been drawn to the duties and powers which -silently accumulated in the hands of this civilian official -after the death of Monk, owing to the lack of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_582" id="Page_582">[582]</a></span>efficient control by the Sovereign. The reigns of -King William and Queen Anne, in consequence of the -constant absence of the Captain-General on active -service, did nothing to restore this lost control, and -the almost unperceived change which released the -Secretary-at-War from personal attendance on the -Commander-in-Chief in the field virtually abolished -it altogether. The terms of the Secretary-at-War's -commission remained the same, "to obey such orders -as he should from time to time receive from the -Sovereign or from the General of the forces for the -time being, according to the discipline of war;"<a name="FNanchor_467_467" id="FNanchor_467_467"></a><a href="#Footnote_467_467" class="fnanchor">[467]</a> but -the situation was in reality reversed. Even in King -William's time the Secretary-at-War had countersigned -the military estimates submitted to Parliament; -from the advent of St. John he assumes charge of all -military matters in the Commons, often taking the -chair of the committee while they are under discussion. -Thus he becomes the mouthpiece of the military -administration in the House, and, since the Commander-in-Chief -is generally absent on service he ceases -to take his orders from him, but becomes, except -in the vital matter of responsibility, a Secretary-of-State, -writing in the name of the Queen or of her -consort, or finally in his own name and by his own -authority without reference to a higher power. -Lastly, his office, thus exalted to importance, becomes -the spoil of political party; Secretaries-at-War follow -each other in rapid succession,—St. John, Walpole, -Granville, Lord Lansdowne, Windham, Gwynne; and -the Army is definitely stamped as a counter in the -eternal game of faction.</p> - -<p>The power of the Secretary-at-War in Queen -Anne's time is sufficiently shown by his letter-books. -In the Queen's name he gives orders for recruiting, for<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_583" id="Page_583">[583]</a></span> -drafting, for armament, for musters, for change of -quarters, relief of garrisons, hire of transports, embarkation -of troops, patrolling of the coast, escort of -treasure, and in a word for all matters of routine. In -the Duke of Marlborough's name also he directs men -to be embarked, money to be advanced, and recruits -to be furnished, and even criticises the execution of -the orders issued by him on behalf of the Queen.<a name="FNanchor_468_468" id="FNanchor_468_468"></a><a href="#Footnote_468_468" class="fnanchor">[468]</a> -On his own authority he bids colonels to send him -muster-rolls and lists of recruiting staff and to provide -their regiments with quarters, regrets that he cannot -strengthen weak garrisons, and lays down the route -for all marches within the kingdom.<a name="FNanchor_469_469" id="FNanchor_469_469"></a><a href="#Footnote_469_469" class="fnanchor">[469]</a> He corresponds -direct with every rank of officer without the slightest -regard for discipline or dignity. We find Walpole -threatening a lieutenant with forfeiture of his commission -for absence without leave, bidding a captain -be thankful that owing to his own clemency he is -not cashiered for fraud,<a name="FNanchor_470_470" id="FNanchor_470_470"></a><a href="#Footnote_470_470" class="fnanchor">[470]</a> regretting that he cannot in -conscience excuse one subaltern from attending his -regiment on foreign service,<a name="FNanchor_471_471" id="FNanchor_471_471"></a><a href="#Footnote_471_471" class="fnanchor">[471]</a> ordering another to -pay for his quarters immediately,<a name="FNanchor_472_472" id="FNanchor_472_472"></a><a href="#Footnote_472_472" class="fnanchor">[472]</a> summoning a third -person to the War Office to account to him for -wrongful detention of a recruit. Granville promises -an officer leave of absence from foreign service, but -must first, in common decency, apply to the General -in command.<a name="FNanchor_473_473" id="FNanchor_473_473"></a><a href="#Footnote_473_473" class="fnanchor">[473]</a> Lord Lansdowne begs the Governor of -Portsmouth not to be too hard on a young regiment -in the matter of guard-duties, orders the discharge of -a soldier when three years of his service have expired, -and writes to the Irish Secretary-at-War for leave of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_584" id="Page_584">[584]</a></span>absence for a friend.<a name="FNanchor_474_474" id="FNanchor_474_474"></a><a href="#Footnote_474_474" class="fnanchor">[474]</a> Finally, all ask favours of -colonels on behalf of officers and men. One thing -only they left for a time untouched, namely the -sentences of court-martial, which St. John expressly -abjured in favour of the Judge Advocate-General; but -for the rest they issued orders, approbations, and reprimands -with all the freedom of a Commander-in-Chief.</p> - -<p>The Office of Ordnance remained as before independent -of the War Office, though of course liable to -fulfil its requisitions for arms and stores. It is remarkable -that Marlborough, like Wellington a century later, -no sooner became Master-General<a name="FNanchor_475_475" id="FNanchor_475_475"></a><a href="#Footnote_475_475" class="fnanchor">[475]</a> than he restored the -organisation of King James the Second. But the strain -imposed upon the Department by the multitude of forces -in the field was too severe for it. Two months before -Blenheim was fought the supply of firelocks and socket-bayonets -was exhausted; and in succeeding years, as -disasters grew and multiplied in Spain, the Office was -obliged frequently, and to the great indignation of -English manufacturers, to purchase arms abroad.<a name="FNanchor_476_476" id="FNanchor_476_476"></a><a href="#Footnote_476_476" class="fnanchor">[476]</a></p> - -<p>The subject of weapons leads us directly to the -progress of the Army in the matter of armament, -equipment, and training. The first point worthy of -notice is the disappearance of the time-honoured pike. -Pikes were issued to a battalion in the proportion of -one to every five muskets as late as 1703, but were -delivered back into store in the following year;<a name="FNanchor_477_477" id="FNanchor_477_477"></a><a href="#Footnote_477_477" class="fnanchor">[477]</a> and in -1706 a letter from St. John announces that pikes are -considered useless and that musket and bayonet must -be furnished to every man.<a name="FNanchor_478_478" id="FNanchor_478_478"></a><a href="#Footnote_478_478" class="fnanchor">[478]</a> The bayonet was, of -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_585" id="Page_585">[585]</a></span>course, the socket-bayonet; and the musket, being of -a new and improved model, was a weapon much -superior to that issued in the days of King William.<a name="FNanchor_479_479" id="FNanchor_479_479"></a><a href="#Footnote_479_479" class="fnanchor">[479]</a> -Partly, no doubt, owing to the efficiency of this -musket, which carried bullets of sixteen to the pound, -as against the French weapon, which was designed for -bullets of twenty-four to the pound, and still more -owing to superiority of discipline and tactics, the -fire of the British was incomparably more deadly than -that of the French.<a name="FNanchor_480_480" id="FNanchor_480_480"></a><a href="#Footnote_480_480" class="fnanchor">[480]</a> The secret, so far as concerned -tactics, lay in the fact that the British fired by platoons -according to the system of Gustavus Adolphus, whereas -the French fired by ranks; and the perfection of drill -and discipline was superbly manifested at Wynendale. -For this, as well as for the better weapon, the Army had -their great chief to thank, for the Duke knew better -than any the value of fire-discipline, as it is called, and -would put the whole army through its platoon-exercise -by signal of flag and drum before his own eye.<a name="FNanchor_481_481" id="FNanchor_481_481"></a><a href="#Footnote_481_481" class="fnanchor">[481]</a> -Nevertheless, the cool head and accurate aim for which -the British have always been famous played their part, -and a leading part, in the victories of Marlborough.</p> - -<p>Of the drill proper there is little to be said, though -some few changes are significant of coming reforms. -The number of ranks was left unfixed, being increased -or reduced according to the frontage required, but -probably seldom exceeded three and was occasionally -reduced to two. The old method of doubling ranks -was still preserved; but the men no longer fell in by -files, and the file may be said definitely to have lost its -old position as a tactical unit. A company now fell in -in single rank, was sorted off into three or more -divisions and formed into ranks, by the wheel of the -divisions from line into column, which was a complete -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_586" id="Page_586">[586]</a></span>novelty. The manual and firing exercise remained as -minute and elaborate as ever; and a single word of -command shows that the old exercise of the pike was -soon to be adopted for the bayonet.<a name="FNanchor_482_482" id="FNanchor_482_482"></a><a href="#Footnote_482_482" class="fnanchor">[482]</a> With these -exceptions there was little deviation from the old drill -of Gustavus Adolphus; but the real improvement, -which made that drill doubly efficient, was in the -matter of discipline. That the lash and the gantlope -were unsparingly used in Marlborough's army there -can be no doubt, and that they were employed even -more savagely at home can be shown by direct -evidence;<a name="FNanchor_483_483" id="FNanchor_483_483"></a><a href="#Footnote_483_483" class="fnanchor">[483]</a> but the Duke, as shall presently be shown, -understood how to make the best of his countrymen by -other means besides cutting their backs to pieces.</p> - -<p>For the cavalry, of which he was evidently very -fond, Marlborough did very signal service by committing -it definitely to action by shock. Again and -again in the course of the war the French squadrons are -found firing from the saddle with little or no effect, and -the British crashing boldly into them and sweeping -them away. There are few actions, too, in which the -Duke himself is not found in personal command of the -horse at one period or another of the battle—at Blenheim -in the great charge which won the day, at Ramillies at -the most critical moment, at Malplaquet in support of -the British infantry, and most brilliantly of all at the -passage of the lines at Landen. Yet he was too sensible -not to imitate an enemy where he could do so with -advantage. The French gendarmerie had received -pistol-proof armour in 1703;<a name="FNanchor_484_484" id="FNanchor_484_484"></a><a href="#Footnote_484_484" class="fnanchor">[484]</a> the British horse in -Flanders, at Marlborough's suggestion, received a cuirass -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_587" id="Page_587">[587]</a></span>in 1707, a reform which was copied by the Dutch and -urged upon all the rest of the Allies.<a name="FNanchor_485_485" id="FNanchor_485_485"></a><a href="#Footnote_485_485" class="fnanchor">[485]</a> It is characteristic -of the Duke's never-failing good sense that the -cuirasses consisted of breast-pieces only, so that men -should find no protection unless their faces were turned -towards the enemy.</p> - -<p>As to the artillery there is little to be said except -that the organisation by companies appears to have been -thoroughly accepted, and the efficiency of the arm -thereby greatly increased. The Duke was never greater -than as an artillerist. Every gun at Blenheim was laid -under his own eye; and the concentration of the great -central battery at Malplaquet and its subsequent advance -shows his mastership in the handling of cannon. For -the rest, the artillery came out of the war with not less, -perhaps with even more, brilliancy than the other corps -of the army; and, though no mention is made of the -fact by the historian of the regiment, it is likely that no -artillery officers ever worked more strenuously and -skilfully in the face of enormous difficulties than the -devoted men who brought their guns first down to the -south side of the Danube and then back across the river -to the battlefield of Blenheim.<a name="FNanchor_486_486" id="FNanchor_486_486"></a><a href="#Footnote_486_486" class="fnanchor">[486]</a></p> - -<p>It is impossible to quit this subject without a few -words on the great man who revived for England the -ancient glory of Creçy, Poictiers, and Agincourt, the -greatest, in the Duke of Wellington's words, who ever -appeared at the head of a British Army. There are -certain passages in his life which make it difficult sometimes -to withhold from him hard names; but allowance -should be made for one who was born in revolution, -nurtured in a court of corruption, and matured in fresh -revolution. Wellington himself admitted that he never -understood the characters of that period, nor exercised -due charity towards them, till he had observed the effects -of the French Revolution on the minds and consciences -<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_588" id="Page_588">[588]</a></span>of French statesmen and marshals. Marlborough's fall -was brought about by a faction, and his fame has -remained ever since a prey to the tender mercies of a -faction. But the prejudices of a partisan are but a -sorry standard for the measure of one whose transcendent -ability as a general, a statesman, a diplomatist, -and an administrator, guided not only England but -Europe through the War of the Spanish Succession, and -delivered them safe for a whole generation from the -craft and the ambition of France.</p> - -<p>Regarding him as a general, his fame is assured as -one of the great captains of all time; and it would not -become a civilian to add a word to the eulogy of great -soldiers who alone can comprehend the full measure of -his greatness. Yet one or two small points are worthy -of attention over and above the reforms, already -enumerated, which were introduced by him in all three -arms of the service. First, and perhaps most important, -is the blow struck by Marlborough against the whole -system, so much favoured by the French, of passive -campaigns. It was not, thanks to Dutch deputies and -German princelets, as effective as it should have been, -but it still marked a step forward in the art of war. It -must never be forgotten that we possess only the wreck -of many of Marlborough's finest combinations, shattered, -just as they were entering port, against the rocks of -Dutch stupidity and German conceit. Next, there is a -great deal said and written in these days about night -marches and the future that lies before them. It will be -well to glance also at the past that they have behind -them, and to mark with what frequency, with what -consummate skill, and what unvarying success they -were employed under far greater than modern difficulties -by Marlborough.</p> - -<p>Next let it be observed how thoroughly he understood -the British soldier. He took care to feed him -well, to pay him regularly, to give him plenty of work, -and to keep him under the strictest discipline; and -with all this he cherished a genial feeling for the men,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_589" id="Page_589">[589]</a></span> -which showed itself not only in strict injunctions to -watch over their comfort but in acts of personal kindness -kindly bestowed. The magic of his personality -made itself felt among his men far beyond the scope of -mere military duty. His soldiers, as the Recruiting -Acts can testify, were for the most part the scum of the -nation. Yet they not only marched and fought with a -steadiness beyond all praise, but actually became reformed -characters and left the army sober, self-respecting -men.<a name="FNanchor_487_487" id="FNanchor_487_487"></a><a href="#Footnote_487_487" class="fnanchor">[487]</a> Marlborough, despite his lapses into treachery -as a politician, was a man of peculiar sensitiveness and -delicacy. He had a profound distaste for licentiousness -either in language or in action, and he contrived to -instil a like distaste into his army. His force did not -swear terribly in Flanders, as King William's had before -it, and although the annual supply of recruits brought -with it necessarily an annual infusion of crime, yet the -moral tone of the army was singularly high. Marlborough's -nature was not of the hard, unbending -temper of Wellington's. The Iron Duke had a heart -so steeled by strong sense, duty, and discipline that it -but rarely sought relief in a burst of passionate emotion. -Marlborough was cast in a very different mould. He -too, like Wellington, was endowed with a strong -common sense that in itself amounted to genius, and -possessed in the most trying moments a serenity and -calm that was almost miraculous. But there was no -coldness in his serenity, nothing impassive in his calm. -He was sensitive to a fault; and though his temper -might remain unchangeably sweet and his speech unalterably -placid and courteous, his face would betray -the anxiety and worry which his tongue had power to -conceal.<a name="FNanchor_488_488" id="FNanchor_488_488"></a><a href="#Footnote_488_488" class="fnanchor">[488]</a> With such a temperament there was a bond of -humanity between him and his men that was lacking in -Wellington. Great as Wellington was, the Iron Duke's -army could never have nicknamed him the Old Corporal.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_590" id="Page_590">[590]</a></span></p> - -<p>The epithet Corporal suggests comparison with the -Little Corporal, who performed such marvels with the -French Army. Undoubtedly the name was in both cases -a mark of the boundless confidence and devotion which -the two men could evoke from their troops, and which -they could turn to such splendid account in their operations. -Marlborough could make believe that he was -meant to throw away his entire army and yet be sure -of its loyalty; Napoleon could throw away whole hosts, -desert them, and command the unaltered trust of a new -army. In both the personal fascination was an extraordinary -power; but here the resemblance ends. -Napoleon, for all his theatrical tricks, had no heart nor -tenderness in him, and could not bear the intoxication -of success. Marlborough never suffered triumph to -turn his head, to diminish his generosity towards -enemies, to tempt him from the path of sound -military practice, or to obscure his unerring insight -into the heart of things. Twice his plans were -opposed as too adventurous by Eugene, first when -he wished to hasten the battle of Malplaquet, and -secondly when he would have masked Lille and -advanced straight into France; but even assuming, as -is by no means certain, that in both instances Eugene -was right, there is no parallel here to the gambling -spirit which pervaded the latter enterprises of Napoleon. -"Marlborough," said Wellington, "was remarkable for -his clear, cool, steady understanding," and this quality -was one which never deserted him. Nevertheless, if -there be one attribute which should be chosen as -supremely characteristic of the man, it is that which -William Pitt selected as the first requisite of a statesman—patience; -"patience," as the Duke himself once wrote to -Godolphin, "which can overcome all things";<a name="FNanchor_489_489" id="FNanchor_489_489"></a><a href="#Footnote_489_489" class="fnanchor">[489]</a> patience -which, as may be seen in a hundred passages during the -war, was possessed by him in such measure that it -appears almost godlike. These are the qualities which -mark the sanity of perfect genius, that distinguish a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_591" id="Page_591">[591]</a></span> -Milton from a Shelley, a Nelson from a Dundonald, -and a Marlborough from a Peterborough; and it is in -virtue of these, indicating as they do the perfect balance -of transcendent ability, that Marlborough takes rank -with the mightiest of England's sons, with Shakespeare, -with Bacon, and with Newton, as "the greatest statesman -and the greatest general that this country or any -other country has produced."<a name="FNanchor_490_490" id="FNanchor_490_490"></a><a href="#Footnote_490_490" class="fnanchor">[490]</a></p> - - -<p class="p6" /> -<p class="center fs70">END OF VOL. I</p> - - -<p class="p6" /> -<p class="center fs70"><em>Printed by</em> <span class="smcap">R. & R. Clark, Limited</span>, <em>Edinburgh</em>.</p> - - -<div class="pg-brk"> -<a name="MAP_1" id="MAP_1"></a></div> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_c_map1.jpg" width="550" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs60">MAP I.<span class="pad40pc"><em>End of Vol. I.</em></span></p> -THE BRITISH ISLES<br /> -AND<br /> -NORTHERN FRANCE.<br /> -</div></div> - - -<div class="pg-brk"> -<a name="MAP_2" id="MAP_2"></a></div> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_c_map2.jpg" width="600" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs60">MAP II.<span class="pad40pc"><em>End of Vol. I.</em></span></p> -THE NETHERLANDS<br /> -In the 18<sup>th</sup> Century<br /> -</div></div> - - -<div class="pg-brk"> -<a name="MAP_3" id="MAP_3"></a></div> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_c_map3.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs60">MAP III.<span class="pad40pc"><em>End of Vol. I.</em></span></p> -SPAIN AND PORTUGAL<br /> -</div></div> - - -<div class="pg-brk"> -<a name="MAP_4" id="MAP_4"></a></div> -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/i_c_map4.jpg" width="650" alt="" /> -<div class="caption"> -<p class="right fs60">MAP IV.<span class="pad40pc"><em>End of Vol. I.</em></span></p> -GERMANY<br /> -1600-1765<br /> -</div></div> - - - <div class="chapter"> -<div class="footnotes"><h2>FOOTNOTES:</h2> - </div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> I must mention here that where reference is made to Mr. -Oman's <cite>Art of War</cite>, the volume alluded to is the short essay, -published in 1885, not the larger and far more important work of -the same author, which, to my great misfortune, appeared too late -for me to avail myself of it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> An alien captain of the garrison of Hereford tried in 1055 to -break through this custom. "<span lang="la" xml:lang="la">Anglos <em>contra morem</em> in equis pugnare -jussit</span>" (see Hewitt, vol. i. p. 17).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> This seems to be the simplest and likeliest solution of the -problem of the palisade, which has provoked such acrimonious -controversy (see Köhler, vol. i. p. 8).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> Oman.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> A single line of course must not be understood as a single -rank. It was a line of wedges or, as we should now say, a line of -columns.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> The coat of mail was made of rings or scales of iron sewn on -to leather.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> The habergeon was a similar but smaller coat without sleeves.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> The chaplet was an iron scull-cap without vizor.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> The wambais was a doublet padded with cotton, wool or hair, -and generally covered with leather.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> The mortality among horses and the difficulty of obtaining -remounts frequently forced the crusading knights to fight afoot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> The hauberk was a complete suit of mail, a hood joined to -a jacket with sleeves, breeches, stockings, shoes and gauntlets of -double chain-mail.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> A bill was a broad curved blade mounted at the end of a -seven-foot shaft, sometimes with a point and a hook added.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> Mr. Oman (<cite>Art of War in the Middle Ages</cite>, p. 104) holds -the opinion that to force a line of long-bowmen by a mere front -attack was a task almost as hopeless for cavalry as the breaking of -a modern square, and would have it that archers needed support -on their flanks only. With all respect I must reject this view, as -opposed alike to history and common sense.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> Barnes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> William of Ypres, who came to England in the pay of Stephen -in 1138, is reckoned the first of the <i lang="it" xml:lang="it">condottièri</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> Whence the French word <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">destrier</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> From the German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">panzer</i>, a coat of mail.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> A sleeveless coat of chain-mail.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_19_19" id="Footnote_19_19"></a><a href="#FNanchor_19_19"><span class="label">[19]</span></a> The earliest instance of uniform in modern Europe is found in the -militia of the Flemish towns at the battle of Courtrai, 1302 (Köhler).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_20_20" id="Footnote_20_20"></a><a href="#FNanchor_20_20"><span class="label">[20]</span></a> The contract price of a bow in 1341 was, unpainted 1s., -painted 1s. 6d.; of a sheaf of twenty-four arrows 1s. 2d. An -archer's pay was 3d. a day.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_21_21" id="Footnote_21_21"></a><a href="#FNanchor_21_21"><span class="label">[21]</span></a> See 1 Samuel xx. 40.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_22_22" id="Footnote_22_22"></a><a href="#FNanchor_22_22"><span class="label">[22]</span></a> As the historian of the Royal Artillery has ignored this -gentleman we may give his name, Thomas de Roldeston (see Hewitt, -vol. ii. p. 289).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_23_23" id="Footnote_23_23"></a><a href="#FNanchor_23_23"><span class="label">[23]</span></a> What since the Zulu war we have called a <em>laager</em>, forgetting -the English word that lay ready to our hand.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_24_24" id="Footnote_24_24"></a><a href="#FNanchor_24_24"><span class="label">[24]</span></a> The only authority for this is the rhymed chronicle of the -Chandos herald, but, as Köhler observes, the proceeding was so -natural, and, I may add, the invention of such a story so improbable, -that it is difficult not to accept it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_25_25" id="Footnote_25_25"></a><a href="#FNanchor_25_25"><span class="label">[25]</span></a> The sword is gone, but the scabbard remains.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_26_26" id="Footnote_26_26"></a><a href="#FNanchor_26_26"><span class="label">[26]</span></a> See for the whole scene Dean Stanley's <cite>Memorials of -Canterbury</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_27_27" id="Footnote_27_27"></a><a href="#FNanchor_27_27"><span class="label">[27]</span></a> Sir Arthur Wellesley occupied the Spanish position on his -march to Roliça (<cite>Conversations of the Duke of Wellington</cite>, p. 3).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_28_28" id="Footnote_28_28"></a><a href="#FNanchor_28_28"><span class="label">[28]</span></a> These had been recognised by a statute of 5 Henry IV., -the enactment relied on later by Charles I.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_29_29" id="Footnote_29_29"></a><a href="#FNanchor_29_29"><span class="label">[29]</span></a> More correctly Azincourt.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_30_30" id="Footnote_30_30"></a><a href="#FNanchor_30_30"><span class="label">[30]</span></a> Monstrelet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_31_31" id="Footnote_31_31"></a><a href="#FNanchor_31_31"><span class="label">[31]</span></a> See Philippe de Commines, bk. i. chap. iii. "[At the battle of -Montlhéry, 1464] the most honourable persons fought on foot -among the archers ... which order they learned of the English, -who are the best shot in the world."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_32_32" id="Footnote_32_32"></a><a href="#FNanchor_32_32"><span class="label">[32]</span></a> The reader will observe how early cavalry fell into the fault -which caused the loss of Naseby.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_33_33" id="Footnote_33_33"></a><a href="#FNanchor_33_33"><span class="label">[33]</span></a> "The same difficulty of a Lenten campaign cropped up at the -siege of Orleans a century later. It was surmounted by the -general's insisting that the papal legate, who was in the camp, -should grant a dispensation, which he very unwillingly did; whereupon -every man in the army '<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">pria Dieu fort pour M. le legat</span>'" -(Brantôme, ed. Elzev. vol. i. p. 225).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_34_34" id="Footnote_34_34"></a><a href="#FNanchor_34_34"><span class="label">[34]</span></a> He remains gibbeted, however, in the pages of Shakespeare, -which is perhaps the worst fate that could have befallen him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_35_35" id="Footnote_35_35"></a><a href="#FNanchor_35_35"><span class="label">[35]</span></a> 18 Henry VI. cap. 18.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_36_36" id="Footnote_36_36"></a><a href="#FNanchor_36_36"><span class="label">[36]</span></a> Robert Patillock.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_37_37" id="Footnote_37_37"></a><a href="#FNanchor_37_37"><span class="label">[37]</span></a> Oman's <cite>Warwick</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_38_38" id="Footnote_38_38"></a><a href="#FNanchor_38_38"><span class="label">[38]</span></a> Yet they were not all ruffians. In the <cite>Paston Letters</cite> some -professional soldiers hired for private defence are described as -gentlemanly comfortable fellows, and their employer is warned -that they must not be put to sleep more than two in a bed (vol. ii. -p. 327).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_39_39" id="Footnote_39_39"></a><a href="#FNanchor_39_39"><span class="label">[39]</span></a> The same thing has been seen at our autumn manœuvres.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_40_40" id="Footnote_40_40"></a><a href="#FNanchor_40_40"><span class="label">[40]</span></a> Allusion has already been made to the supplanting of the -sheriff's authority by the barons in raising troops, and the consequent -fashion of issuing liveries to the corps so formed. It is perhaps -worth while to note and dismiss the minute point that the garrison -of Calais, the only truly national force belonging at that moment -to England, was clothed in scarlet jackets, and were the first English -soldiers thus distinguished.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_41_41" id="Footnote_41_41"></a><a href="#FNanchor_41_41"><span class="label">[41]</span></a> Readers of <cite>Kenilworth</cite> will remember the ballad quoted by -Giles Gosling—</p> - -<div class="poetry-container"><div class="poetry"> -<p class="verseq">"He was the flower of Stoke's red field</p> -<p class="verse">Where Martin Swart on ground lay slain."</p> -</div></div> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_42_42" id="Footnote_42_42"></a><a href="#FNanchor_42_42"><span class="label">[42]</span></a> He has left us two words, howitzer and pistol, both of which -are derived from the Czech.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_43_43" id="Footnote_43_43"></a><a href="#FNanchor_43_43"><span class="label">[43]</span></a> John of Winterthur. If the reader has ever plied a long bill-hook -to cut down overhanging branches he will appreciate the -power of the halberd.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_44_44" id="Footnote_44_44"></a><a href="#FNanchor_44_44"><span class="label">[44]</span></a> "The earliest mention of the long pike occurs in an order -addressed to the burghers of Turin by Count Philip of Savoy in -1327; but whether Swiss borrowed it from Savoyards or Savoyards -from Swiss is uncertain" (Köhler).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_45_45" id="Footnote_45_45"></a><a href="#FNanchor_45_45"><span class="label">[45]</span></a> Compare the French equivalent, <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">enfans perdus</i>. <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hauf</i> was the -regular German word for any mass of soldiers, from a company to a -battalion. The English word <em>hope</em> therefore is a corruption, <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">hauf</i> -having more to do with heap than hope.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_46_46" id="Footnote_46_46"></a><a href="#FNanchor_46_46"><span class="label">[46]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Feld obrist</i>, now <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">oberst</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_47_47" id="Footnote_47_47"></a><a href="#FNanchor_47_47"><span class="label">[47]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Hauptmann.</i> The Germans wisely cling to these old titles, -and preserve them.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_48_48" id="Footnote_48_48"></a><a href="#FNanchor_48_48"><span class="label">[48]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Laufgeld.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_49_49" id="Footnote_49_49"></a><a href="#FNanchor_49_49"><span class="label">[49]</span></a> This seems to have been a reminiscence of the Roman <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">jugum</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_50_50" id="Footnote_50_50"></a><a href="#FNanchor_50_50"><span class="label">[50]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fähnlein</i>, flag or ensign.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_51_51" id="Footnote_51_51"></a><a href="#FNanchor_51_51"><span class="label">[51]</span></a> Muster is a corruption of the French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">monstre</i>, Latin <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">monstrare</i>. -So to pass muster is to pass inspection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_52_52" id="Footnote_52_52"></a><a href="#FNanchor_52_52"><span class="label">[52]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fähnlein.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_53_53" id="Footnote_53_53"></a><a href="#FNanchor_53_53"><span class="label">[53]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Stellvertreter.</i> The Germans have since abandoned the -word for "<i lang="de" xml:lang="de">leutnant</i>."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_54_54" id="Footnote_54_54"></a><a href="#FNanchor_54_54"><span class="label">[54]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Feldwebel.</i> We may call him the colour-sergeant.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_55_55" id="Footnote_55_55"></a><a href="#FNanchor_55_55"><span class="label">[55]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Gemeinwebel.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_56_56" id="Footnote_56_56"></a><a href="#FNanchor_56_56"><span class="label">[56]</span></a> <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Fourier.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_57_57" id="Footnote_57_57"></a><a href="#FNanchor_57_57"><span class="label">[57]</span></a> <em>Rot.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_58_58" id="Footnote_58_58"></a><a href="#FNanchor_58_58"><span class="label">[58]</span></a> <em>Rottmeister.</em> Sir Walter Scott in the <cite>Legend of Montrose</cite> has -inexplicably confounded the word with <em>Rittmeister</em>, which is a very -different thing; a rare mistake with him.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_59_59" id="Footnote_59_59"></a><a href="#FNanchor_59_59"><span class="label">[59]</span></a> It is a curious sign of the combination of his functions, that -in every standing camp the Provost erected a gallows, which served -to mark both the extent of his authority and the site of the market-place, -or as we should call it, canteen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_60_60" id="Footnote_60_60"></a><a href="#FNanchor_60_60"><span class="label">[60]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Vergleicher.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_61_61" id="Footnote_61_61"></a><a href="#FNanchor_61_61"><span class="label">[61]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Recht der langen Spiesse.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_62_62" id="Footnote_62_62"></a><a href="#FNanchor_62_62"><span class="label">[62]</span></a> A roll on the two first beats of the bar, a single note on the -third, and silence on the fourth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_63_63" id="Footnote_63_63"></a><a href="#FNanchor_63_63"><span class="label">[63]</span></a> See the account in Paul Jove.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_64_64" id="Footnote_64_64"></a><a href="#FNanchor_64_64"><span class="label">[64]</span></a> We need not enter into the controversy whether the word -was derived from <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">columna</i> or <i lang="la" xml:lang="la">corona</i> or from neither. For a century -or more it was written indifferently colonel or coronel, to which -last the modern English pronunciation is doubtless to be traced. -Brantôme writes always <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">couronnel</i>; Milton in his famous sonnet gives -the word the dignity of the three syllables. Some say that it was -borrowed from the landsknechts, but this is a palpable error. (See -a paper by Mr. Julian Corbett, <cite>American Hist. Review</cite>, Oct. -1896, "The Colonel and his Command").</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_65_65" id="Footnote_65_65"></a><a href="#FNanchor_65_65"><span class="label">[65]</span></a> <em>French</em> enseigne; <em>Lat.</em> insigne, signum.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_66_66" id="Footnote_66_66"></a><a href="#FNanchor_66_66"><span class="label">[66]</span></a> But not until after the Seven Years' War, when Lord George -Sackville applied for a "furrier."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_67_67" id="Footnote_67_67"></a><a href="#FNanchor_67_67"><span class="label">[67]</span></a> We even find the word incarnated by French writers as the -strumpet Madame Picorée.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_68_68" id="Footnote_68_68"></a><a href="#FNanchor_68_68"><span class="label">[68]</span></a> As a matter of fact these abuses do seem to have been more -flagrant in France than elsewhere, owing no doubt to the demoralisation -caused by the religious wars. See for instance Brantôme, -and the Memoirs of Sully.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_69_69" id="Footnote_69_69"></a><a href="#FNanchor_69_69"><span class="label">[69]</span></a> See the remarkable conversation in Brantôme, ed. Elzev. -vol. i. pp. 376-382.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_70_70" id="Footnote_70_70"></a><a href="#FNanchor_70_70"><span class="label">[70]</span></a> The Marquis del Vasto, of the same family as Pescayra.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_71_71" id="Footnote_71_71"></a><a href="#FNanchor_71_71"><span class="label">[71]</span></a> For instance Roger Williams and Tavannes.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_72_72" id="Footnote_72_72"></a><a href="#FNanchor_72_72"><span class="label">[72]</span></a> In Spanish called <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">alferez</i>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_73_73" id="Footnote_73_73"></a><a href="#FNanchor_73_73"><span class="label">[73]</span></a> Brantôme.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_74_74" id="Footnote_74_74"></a><a href="#FNanchor_74_74"><span class="label">[74]</span></a> Tercio, like colonel, is a riddle which defies solution. It -means a third, but a third of what is unknown (see Mr. Julian -Corbett's paper, quoted above, p. 94).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_75_75" id="Footnote_75_75"></a><a href="#FNanchor_75_75"><span class="label">[75]</span></a> In a MS. treatise in the Record Office, of date 1570, the bore -recommended is 28 ballets to the pound. This remained the -standard bore in the French army all through the wars of Louis XIV.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_76_76" id="Footnote_76_76"></a><a href="#FNanchor_76_76"><span class="label">[76]</span></a> Musket is simply the word mosquito. Larger weapons were -called drakes, falcons, and the like, and the smaller therefore after -the lesser flying creatures.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_77_77" id="Footnote_77_77"></a><a href="#FNanchor_77_77"><span class="label">[77]</span></a> Mem. de Vieilleville.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_78_78" id="Footnote_78_78"></a><a href="#FNanchor_78_78"><span class="label">[78]</span></a> This again is a word which defies the skill of the etymologist.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_79_79" id="Footnote_79_79"></a><a href="#FNanchor_79_79"><span class="label">[79]</span></a> <em>Poitrinal</em>, so called because it was held against the chest.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_80_80" id="Footnote_80_80"></a><a href="#FNanchor_80_80"><span class="label">[80]</span></a> Mem. de La Noue.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_81_81" id="Footnote_81_81"></a><a href="#FNanchor_81_81"><span class="label">[81]</span></a> Tavannes, ed. Petitot, vol. i. p. 304.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_82_82" id="Footnote_82_82"></a><a href="#FNanchor_82_82"><span class="label">[82]</span></a> Tavannes, La Noue.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_83_83" id="Footnote_83_83"></a><a href="#FNanchor_83_83"><span class="label">[83]</span></a> It is curious to compare the parallel contest of armoured ships -and artillery at the present time.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_84_84" id="Footnote_84_84"></a><a href="#FNanchor_84_84"><span class="label">[84]</span></a> <em>Rittmeister.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_85_85" id="Footnote_85_85"></a><a href="#FNanchor_85_85"><span class="label">[85]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fähnrich.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_86_86" id="Footnote_86_86"></a><a href="#FNanchor_86_86"><span class="label">[86]</span></a> <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Fourier.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_87_87" id="Footnote_87_87"></a><a href="#FNanchor_87_87"><span class="label">[87]</span></a> <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">Wachtmeister.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_88_88" id="Footnote_88_88"></a><a href="#FNanchor_88_88"><span class="label">[88]</span></a> The particulars of the reiters' organisation are taken from -the Kriegsbuch of Leonard Fronsberger, 1566.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_89_89" id="Footnote_89_89"></a><a href="#FNanchor_89_89"><span class="label">[89]</span></a> It is just possible that Xenophon's example may have -favoured the abandonment of shock for missile tactics in cavalry.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_90_90" id="Footnote_90_90"></a><a href="#FNanchor_90_90"><span class="label">[90]</span></a> There were two kinds of soldiers, the gentleman soldier and -the yeoman soldier. Hence the name points to the enlistment of -men below the status of gentleman. The Navy still has "Yeomen -of the Signals."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_91_91" id="Footnote_91_91"></a><a href="#FNanchor_91_91"><span class="label">[91]</span></a> I must confess that this should be put forward rather as a conjecture -than an assertion; but it is remarkable that Henry VIII. -should have permitted the use of any colours to the Artillery -Company except purple and scarlet. Green and white were the -favourite Tudor colours, being used even in ribbons for the attachment -of the Great Seal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_92_92" id="Footnote_92_92"></a><a href="#FNanchor_92_92"><span class="label">[92]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> 20th November 1509.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_93_93" id="Footnote_93_93"></a><a href="#FNanchor_93_93"><span class="label">[93]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 5th July 1511.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_94_94" id="Footnote_94_94"></a><a href="#FNanchor_94_94"><span class="label">[94]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 3rd November 1509, 20th June, 1st July 1511, 8th -April 1512. Rymer, vol. xiii. p. 329.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_95_95" id="Footnote_95_95"></a><a href="#FNanchor_95_95"><span class="label">[95]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> 5th August 1512.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_96_96" id="Footnote_96_96"></a><a href="#FNanchor_96_96"><span class="label">[96]</span></a> Stow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_97_97" id="Footnote_97_97"></a><a href="#FNanchor_97_97"><span class="label">[97]</span></a> Such at least is my impression. The commander-in-chief of -a force not commanded by the King in person is styled the -lieutenant or King's lieutenant. So also the commander of the -body-guard is styled lieutenant, the King himself being captain. -Compare the title, which we shall presently see introduced, of -lord-lieutenant. But we meet also with the phrase lieutenant -(<em>i.e.</em> commanding officer) of the rearguard or other of the three -divisions in the army. The word is always used of a high office.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_98_98" id="Footnote_98_98"></a><a href="#FNanchor_98_98"><span class="label">[98]</span></a> In 1542, however, Wallop constantly speaks of ensigns (see -<em>State Papers</em>, Henry VIII. (ed. 1830, 1849), vol. ix. <em>anno</em> 1542).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_99_99" id="Footnote_99_99"></a><a href="#FNanchor_99_99"><span class="label">[99]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> 1513. 4460.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_100_100" id="Footnote_100_100"></a><a href="#FNanchor_100_100"><span class="label">[100]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 4441.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_101_101" id="Footnote_101_101"></a><a href="#FNanchor_101_101"><span class="label">[101]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> vol ii. part i., 6 Henry VIII. caps. 2, 11, 13.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_102_102" id="Footnote_102_102"></a><a href="#FNanchor_102_102"><span class="label">[102]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> vol. iii. part i. p. 402.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_103_103" id="Footnote_103_103"></a><a href="#FNanchor_103_103"><span class="label">[103]</span></a> At the meeting with Francis and Charles V. Henry took -for his device an English archer in a green coat drawing an arrow -to the head (Camden).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_104_104" id="Footnote_104_104"></a><a href="#FNanchor_104_104"><span class="label">[104]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Henry VIII., vol. iii. part i. 869.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_105_105" id="Footnote_105_105"></a><a href="#FNanchor_105_105"><span class="label">[105]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> vol. iii. part ii. 2012, 2013.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_106_106" id="Footnote_106_106"></a><a href="#FNanchor_106_106"><span class="label">[106]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 2995.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_107_107" id="Footnote_107_107"></a><a href="#FNanchor_107_107"><span class="label">[107]</span></a> In the original <em>lontes</em>. Lunt was the Scotch name for a -musket-match to the end (<cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Henry VIII., vol. iii. part i. -3494).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_108_108" id="Footnote_108_108"></a><a href="#FNanchor_108_108"><span class="label">[108]</span></a> See the armed strength of England in 1524. <em>Ibid.</em> vol. iv. -part i. 972.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_109_109" id="Footnote_109_109"></a><a href="#FNanchor_109_109"><span class="label">[109]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 2086.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_110_110" id="Footnote_110_110"></a><a href="#FNanchor_110_110"><span class="label">[110]</span></a> Six feet. A horse's length was reckoned at the same figure -a hundred years later.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_111_111" id="Footnote_111_111"></a><a href="#FNanchor_111_111"><span class="label">[111]</span></a> <cite>State Papers</cite> (ed. 1830-1849), vol. ix. pp. 523, 524.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_112_112" id="Footnote_112_112"></a><a href="#FNanchor_112_112"><span class="label">[112]</span></a> Henry in 1519 tried to procure horses from Italy, but was -informed by Alfonso of Ferrara that there, too, the breed was -decayed (<cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> vol. iii. part i. 171). Henry gave as much as -£35, a great sum, for his own horses.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_113_113" id="Footnote_113_113"></a><a href="#FNanchor_113_113"><span class="label">[113]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite> 1514. 4902.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_114_114" id="Footnote_114_114"></a><a href="#FNanchor_114_114"><span class="label">[114]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> 1513. 4375.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_115_115" id="Footnote_115_115"></a><a href="#FNanchor_115_115"><span class="label">[115]</span></a> <em>Stow.</em> Mortar is the German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">meerthier</i>, sea-beast. So other -pieces were called after reptiles and monsters and birds,—serpentines, -dragons, basilisks, falcons, culverins (couleuvrines), etc.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_116_116" id="Footnote_116_116"></a><a href="#FNanchor_116_116"><span class="label">[116]</span></a> See <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Dom., Addenda (1561-1579), pp. 78-84.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_117_117" id="Footnote_117_117"></a><a href="#FNanchor_117_117"><span class="label">[117]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Dom., Addenda (1566-1579), pp. 111-113, 115-116, -121-123, 126-127, 129.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_118_118" id="Footnote_118_118"></a><a href="#FNanchor_118_118"><span class="label">[118]</span></a> One sentence gives a clue to Henry VIII.'s long discouragement -of firearms. "Is not the safety of the country worth more -than the saving of a few wild-fowl?"</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_119_119" id="Footnote_119_119"></a><a href="#FNanchor_119_119"><span class="label">[119]</span></a> Stow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_120_120" id="Footnote_120_120"></a><a href="#FNanchor_120_120"><span class="label">[120]</span></a> The word was borrowed from the French <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">casaque</i>, the regular -term for a livery-coat. Facings were soon added. <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, -Dom. (1595), p. 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_121_121" id="Footnote_121_121"></a><a href="#FNanchor_121_121"><span class="label">[121]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S, P.</cite>, Dom. (1581-1590), p. 16.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></a><a href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Dom. (1581-1590), p. 255.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></a><a href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></a> One bitter critic avers that the expression was due to the -number of low-born captains, who, having no arms to bear on their -ensigns, were obliged to trust to distinctions of colour only.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></a><a href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></a> Collins.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></a><a href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></a> <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">Tercio Viejo.</i></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></a><a href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></a> The press-gangs were not very scrupulous. On one occasion -they took advantage of Easter Sunday to close all the church doors -in London and take a thousand men from the various congregations.—Stow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></a><a href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></a> The grandson of the victor of Pavia.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></a><a href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></a> Stow says that they fired two volleys only, which I hope is -incorrect. The passage, however, shows that the reason for the -three volleys was already unknown to many.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></a><a href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></a> That is to say a fort or intrenchment. German <i lang="de" xml:lang="de">schanze</i>. It -seems a pity that we should have allowed so useful a term to -become obsolete.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></a><a href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></a> Stow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></a><a href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P.</cite>, Dom. (1588), p. 513.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></a><a href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></a> Born 14th November 1567.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></a><a href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></a> See the English translation of the <cite>Tactics</cite>, by Captain John -Bingham, 1619.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></a><a href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></a> Hear, for instance, Tavannes, whom his writings prove to have -been in many respects an excellent soldier: "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Cette grande -invention d'exercice pratiquée en Flandre avec leurs demi-tours à -gauche et à droit—les anciens qui n'en usaient pas (!) ne laissaient -de combattre aussi bien ou mieux que maintenant" (<cite>Mémoires</cite></span>). -Tavannes began to write in 1599-1600, and died in 1629.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></a><a href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></a> Perhaps the following explanation will make this clearer:—Where -an English officer would now give the word "Form fours" -(to convert two ranks into four), the Dutch officer would have given, -"To the right hand double your files." Where the Englishman -would give the word "Front" (to reconvert four ranks into two), -the Dutchman would have said, "To the left hand double your -ranks."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></a><a href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></a> 1599.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></a><a href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></a> Its bore was of thirty bullets to the pound.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></a><a href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></a> These stoppages were known even then by the name of "off-reckonings."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></a><a href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></a> Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Gelderland, Overyssel, Frieland, -Groningen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></a><a href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></a> I have followed the narrative of Sir Clements Markham (<cite>The -Fighting Veres</cite>) in preference to that of Motley in the description -of the battle, being satisfied after careful consultation of the -authorities that his account is the more accurate.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></a><a href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></a> Hexham. This is the first instance that I have encountered -of the word parade, which is evidently of Spanish origin.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></a><a href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></a> Hexham.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></a><a href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></a> The capture of Wesel was the occasion of rejoicing; and -the details of the description leads me to infer that the <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">feu de joie</i> -was a novelty.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_144_144" id="Footnote_144_144"></a><a href="#FNanchor_144_144"><span class="label">[144]</span></a> "I was once made to stand at the Louvre Gate in Paris, being -then in the King's regiment of guards passing my prenticeship, for -sleeping in the morning when I ought to have been at my exercise. -For punishment I was made to stand from eleven before noon to -eight o'clock of the night sentry, with corselet, headpiece, braselets, -being iron to the teeth, in a hot summer's day, till I was weary of -my life."—Munro's <cite>Expedition</cite>, p. 45.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_145_145" id="Footnote_145_145"></a><a href="#FNanchor_145_145"><span class="label">[145]</span></a> But poor Dunbar and his four companies were to have little -part in it. Shortly after he again defied the whole of Tilly's army, -and after a desperate resistance the eight hundred men were -annihilated, seven or eight alone escaping to tell the tale.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_146_146" id="Footnote_146_146"></a><a href="#FNanchor_146_146"><span class="label">[146]</span></a> There were only two "orders" in the Swedish army: <em>Open -order</em> for parade, which meant six feet from man to man, outstretched -hand to outstretched hand; and <em>Battle order</em>, three feet -from man to man, elbow to elbow.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_147_147" id="Footnote_147_147"></a><a href="#FNanchor_147_147"><span class="label">[147]</span></a> A file in those days consisted, of course, of six men, not as now -of two. So a corporalship of pikes would be eighteen, and of -musketeers twenty-four men.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_148_148" id="Footnote_148_148"></a><a href="#FNanchor_148_148"><span class="label">[148]</span></a> The <em>rottmeisters</em> were fifteen in number, the six corporals -bringing up the total to the necessary twenty-one.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_149_149" id="Footnote_149_149"></a><a href="#FNanchor_149_149"><span class="label">[149]</span></a> See Monro, vol. ii. p. 65.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_150_150" id="Footnote_150_150"></a><a href="#FNanchor_150_150"><span class="label">[150]</span></a> Stress has been laid upon the fact that Gustavus always led the -cavalry in person. Doubtless he was fond of his Horse, but since at -that period cavalry was always stationed in the wings, and the right -wing was the post of honour, this does not count for very much.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_151_151" id="Footnote_151_151"></a><a href="#FNanchor_151_151"><span class="label">[151]</span></a> They were called after their inventor by the name of "Sandy's -stoups," and were used by the Scots at the battle of Newburn in -1640.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_152_152" id="Footnote_152_152"></a><a href="#FNanchor_152_152"><span class="label">[152]</span></a> Tallard fatally repeated this independent formation of two -armies at Blenheim.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_153_153" id="Footnote_153_153"></a><a href="#FNanchor_153_153"><span class="label">[153]</span></a> As I believe that this pretension is still advanced by patriotic -North Britons, it is as well to say that it is preposterous. The -true Scottish Guard enjoyed an independent existence till the -Revolution, and to claim its privileges for Hepburn's regiment is -as absurd as though a corps raised to-morrow, and officered by half -a dozen gentlemen of the Grenadier Guards, should claim precedence -of all British infantry.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_154_154" id="Footnote_154_154"></a><a href="#FNanchor_154_154"><span class="label">[154]</span></a> Dalton, vol. i. p. 234.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_155_155" id="Footnote_155_155"></a><a href="#FNanchor_155_155"><span class="label">[155]</span></a> Mr. Dalton has told the story very fully in his <cite>Life of Cecil</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_156_156" id="Footnote_156_156"></a><a href="#FNanchor_156_156"><span class="label">[156]</span></a> Ward, <cite>Animadversions of Warre</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_157_157" id="Footnote_157_157"></a><a href="#FNanchor_157_157"><span class="label">[157]</span></a> See <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Pallas Armata</cite>, by Sir T. Kellie, 1627. This writer -deserves mention as the first who introduced the system of drilling -by numbers. He talks as glibly of odd and even numbers as a -modern drill sergeant.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_158_158" id="Footnote_158_158"></a><a href="#FNanchor_158_158"><span class="label">[158]</span></a> Barriffe and Ward.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_159_159" id="Footnote_159_159"></a><a href="#FNanchor_159_159"><span class="label">[159]</span></a> The whole of the controversy may be read at large in Rushworth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_160_160" id="Footnote_160_160"></a><a href="#FNanchor_160_160"><span class="label">[160]</span></a> His name indeed appears as an ensign in the list of a company -of foot raised for service in Ireland (printed in June 1642), but -this does not count for much.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_161_161" id="Footnote_161_161"></a><a href="#FNanchor_161_161"><span class="label">[161]</span></a> I have however found an early instance of it in the French -religious wars, but have unfortunately mislaid the reference.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_162_162" id="Footnote_162_162"></a><a href="#FNanchor_162_162"><span class="label">[162]</span></a> He is said to have posted himself opposite Cromwell, but he -only took his usual place at the right of the line; he occupied the -same position at Naseby and took no pains to meet Cromwell there.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_163_163" id="Footnote_163_163"></a><a href="#FNanchor_163_163"><span class="label">[163]</span></a> All kinds of reasons have been advanced to account for the -(supposed) extraordinary fact that Cromwell's troopers at one moment -were at a disadvantage. The explanation is quite simple, being no -more than the usual swing of the pendulum in a combat of cavalry.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_164_164" id="Footnote_164_164"></a><a href="#FNanchor_164_164"><span class="label">[164]</span></a> <cite>Perfect Passages</cite>, 30th April 1645.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_165_165" id="Footnote_165_165"></a><a href="#FNanchor_165_165"><span class="label">[165]</span></a> The drum-calls were six in all: 1, Call; 2, March; 3, -Troop; 4, Preparative; 5, Battle; 6, Retreat. The trumpet-calls -were also six: 1, Butte sella, corrupted since into "Boot and -Saddle"; 2, Monte cavallo (mount); 3, Tucket (warning for -march); 4, Carga (charge); 5, Alla Standarda (to the Standard); -6, Auquet (watch-setting).—Ward, <cite>Animadversions of Warre</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_166_166" id="Footnote_166_166"></a><a href="#FNanchor_166_166"><span class="label">[166]</span></a> <cite>The Young Horseman and Honest Plain-dealing Cavalier</cite>, -by John Vernon, 1644. A short drill-book in pamphlet form, -prepared by a cavalier-officer in small compass for officers "to weare -in their pocket." This is the first soldier's pocket-book for field -service in our language. It is among the King's Pamphlets in the -British Museum.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_167_167" id="Footnote_167_167"></a><a href="#FNanchor_167_167"><span class="label">[167]</span></a> Barriffe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_168_168" id="Footnote_168_168"></a><a href="#FNanchor_168_168"><span class="label">[168]</span></a> Sometimes however the dragoons seem to have taken with -them ten extra men per company simply to hold the horses. -There are fugitive references to light dragoons even at this early -period, but no clear account of them. After a few years it was as -usual to speak of troops as of companies of dragoons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_169_169" id="Footnote_169_169"></a><a href="#FNanchor_169_169"><span class="label">[169]</span></a> Which was then called the limber.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_170_170" id="Footnote_170_170"></a><a href="#FNanchor_170_170"><span class="label">[170]</span></a> Schanzbauern. <cite lang="de" xml:lang="de">Fronsperger.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_171_171" id="Footnote_171_171"></a><a href="#FNanchor_171_171"><span class="label">[171]</span></a> They stood on much the same level in France.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_172_172" id="Footnote_172_172"></a><a href="#FNanchor_172_172"><span class="label">[172]</span></a> So in Sprigge, more properly Sergeant-Major-General.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_173_173" id="Footnote_173_173"></a><a href="#FNanchor_173_173"><span class="label">[173]</span></a> In Sprigge's list the foot take precedence of the horse; and -this was the rule in the English, though not in the French, army.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_174_174" id="Footnote_174_174"></a><a href="#FNanchor_174_174"><span class="label">[174]</span></a> This incident shows that shock-action was not yet wholly -the rule.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_175_175" id="Footnote_175_175"></a><a href="#FNanchor_175_175"><span class="label">[175]</span></a> Called by the name of a <em>tercio</em> in the contemporary plans, being -formed probably in the old Spanish formation which Tilly had used -at Leipsic.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_176_176" id="Footnote_176_176"></a><a href="#FNanchor_176_176"><span class="label">[176]</span></a> This item furnishes indirect evidence that either few pikemen -were employed, or that if employed they were stripped of defensive -armour. The pike was already falling obsolete.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_177_177" id="Footnote_177_177"></a><a href="#FNanchor_177_177"><span class="label">[177]</span></a> See the very pertinent extract from Wellington's despatches, -quoted by Mr. Gardiner—<cite>Commonwealth</cite>, vol. 1, pp. 132, 147.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_178_178" id="Footnote_178_178"></a><a href="#FNanchor_178_178"><span class="label">[178]</span></a> The pedigree of Monk's regiment is as follows: Weldon's -Regiment of the New Model became first Robert Lilburn's, and -in 1649-50 Sir A. Hazelrigg's. Lloyd's of the New Model passed -in succession to Herbert, Overton, and in 1649 to Fenwick. I am -indebted for this information to the kindness of Mr. C. H. Firth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_179_179" id="Footnote_179_179"></a><a href="#FNanchor_179_179"><span class="label">[179]</span></a> Hodgson.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_180_180" id="Footnote_180_180"></a><a href="#FNanchor_180_180"><span class="label">[180]</span></a> Hodgson.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_181_181" id="Footnote_181_181"></a><a href="#FNanchor_181_181"><span class="label">[181]</span></a> This again seems to be borrowed from the French. Vieilleville -issued medals bearing the King's effigy to his troops in 1558, with a -ribbon of his own colours (see <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Memoires de Vieilleville</cite>).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_182_182" id="Footnote_182_182"></a><a href="#FNanchor_182_182"><span class="label">[182]</span></a> The men were drawn from three Dunbar regiments: Cromwell's -own, Goff's and Ingoldsby's, not, alas! from Monk's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_183_183" id="Footnote_183_183"></a><a href="#FNanchor_183_183"><span class="label">[183]</span></a> I am indebted for the elucidation of this campaign to Mr. -Julian Corbett's <cite>Monk</cite> (Men of Action Series), an admirable sketch -of a remarkable man. Monk's letters may be read in Thurloe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_184_184" id="Footnote_184_184"></a><a href="#FNanchor_184_184"><span class="label">[184]</span></a> The best contemporary account of Henry Cromwell's -administration will be found in his own letters in Thurloe's <cite>State -Papers</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_185_185" id="Footnote_185_185"></a><a href="#FNanchor_185_185"><span class="label">[185]</span></a> St. Domingo.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_186_186" id="Footnote_186_186"></a><a href="#FNanchor_186_186"><span class="label">[186]</span></a> Fortescue's own expression. See his letters in Thurloe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_187_187" id="Footnote_187_187"></a><a href="#FNanchor_187_187"><span class="label">[187]</span></a> The story of the West Indian expedition is very fully told in -Thurloe's <cite>State Papers</cite>. There are a few supplementary papers in -<cite>Cal. S. P., Col.</cite>, and two accounts in Ogilvy's <cite>History of America</cite> -and in the <cite>Harleian Miscellany</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_188_188" id="Footnote_188_188"></a><a href="#FNanchor_188_188"><span class="label">[188]</span></a> See the pamphlet, <cite>The Bloudie Field</cite>, in King's Pamphlets, -British Museum.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_189_189" id="Footnote_189_189"></a><a href="#FNanchor_189_189"><span class="label">[189]</span></a> Thurloe, vol. vi. p. 18.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_190_190" id="Footnote_190_190"></a><a href="#FNanchor_190_190"><span class="label">[190]</span></a> Collins, <cite>State Papers</cite> (July 1603), p. 277.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_191_191" id="Footnote_191_191"></a><a href="#FNanchor_191_191"><span class="label">[191]</span></a> "<span lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Les Anglais y firent fort bien.</span>" See his letter in Thurloe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_192_192" id="Footnote_192_192"></a><a href="#FNanchor_192_192"><span class="label">[192]</span></a> It must be remembered that this was no figure of speech. -Cromwell was the first who gathered in representatives of Scotland -and Ireland to Westminster.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_193_193" id="Footnote_193_193"></a><a href="#FNanchor_193_193"><span class="label">[193]</span></a> Clarke's <cite>James II.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_194_194" id="Footnote_194_194"></a><a href="#FNanchor_194_194"><span class="label">[194]</span></a> The best English source for the account of the campaign in -Flanders is Thurloe's <cite>State Papers</cite>; there are also some curious -details in a tract in the <cite>Harleian Miscellany</cite>, which, however, I have -accepted only when confirmed by newspapers. Bussy Rabutin's -<cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Memoires</cite>, and Clarke's <cite>James II.</cite> are among other authorities.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_195_195" id="Footnote_195_195"></a><a href="#FNanchor_195_195"><span class="label">[195]</span></a> Gumble, the chaplain, from whose <cite>Life of Monk</cite> this account is taken.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_196_196" id="Footnote_196_196"></a><a href="#FNanchor_196_196"><span class="label">[196]</span></a> According to the usual establishment, 9600 men besides -officers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_197_197" id="Footnote_197_197"></a><a href="#FNanchor_197_197"><span class="label">[197]</span></a> It is not I think irrelevant in this connection to remind the -reader of the military manœuvres of the rebel angels in <cite>Paradise -Lost</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_198_198" id="Footnote_198_198"></a><a href="#FNanchor_198_198"><span class="label">[198]</span></a> "First came half-a-dozen of carbines in their leathern coats and -starved weather-beaten jades, just like so many brewers in their -jerkins made of old boots, riding to fetch in old casks; and after -them as many light horsemen with great saddles and old broken -pistols, and scarce a sword among them, just like so many fiddlers -with their fiddles in cases by their horses' sides.... In the works -at Bristol was a company of footmen with knapsacks and half pikes, -like so many tinkers with budgets at their backs, and some -musketeers with bandoliers about their necks like a company of -sow-gelders."—<cite>Newspaper.</cite> (Reference unfortunately lost.)</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_199_199" id="Footnote_199_199"></a><a href="#FNanchor_199_199"><span class="label">[199]</span></a> This is evident from the mention of the "train" in the list in -the <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, September 1651. The field-train was then -transferred to Scotland bodily, where we find it still in December -1652 and again in 1659 (April). See <cite>Commons Journals</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_200_200" id="Footnote_200_200"></a><a href="#FNanchor_200_200"><span class="label">[200]</span></a> Thurloe, vol. vii. p. 714. This is the first passage in which I have -encountered the word thus spelt: "certain buildings ... called the -barracks or Spanish quarters." But there is mention of a <i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">baraque</i> -in the besiegers' lines before Ostend in 1604. <cite>Grimeston.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_201_201" id="Footnote_201_201"></a><a href="#FNanchor_201_201"><span class="label">[201]</span></a> It is curious to note that a vote for a statue of Oliver -Cromwell was in 1895 moved by the party that proposes to undo -his work, and was defeated by the party that wishes to continue it. -The supporters of the Union deliberately refused this tardy honour -to the man who did more than any other to accomplish the Union, -and who actually was the first to summon representatives from -Scotland and Ireland to Westminster. Whether either party was -sincere may well be considered doubtful.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_202_202" id="Footnote_202_202"></a><a href="#FNanchor_202_202"><span class="label">[202]</span></a> The Duke of Gloucester died in the same year.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_203_203" id="Footnote_203_203"></a><a href="#FNanchor_203_203"><span class="label">[203]</span></a> I find no sufficient ground for assuming that the regiment was -Unton Crook's of the New Model, which had been disbanded two -months before.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_204_204" id="Footnote_204_204"></a><a href="#FNanchor_204_204"><span class="label">[204]</span></a> For the return of the Buffs to England see the <cite>Holland Papers</cite> -(Record Office), Bundles 233-235.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_205_205" id="Footnote_205_205"></a><a href="#FNanchor_205_205"><span class="label">[205]</span></a> The historian of the Second regiment of Foot has printed a -great deal of matter respecting Tangier. Details will also be found -in Clifford Walton's <cite>History of the British Standing Army</cite>, p. 22.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_206_206" id="Footnote_206_206"></a><a href="#FNanchor_206_206"><span class="label">[206]</span></a> No reader, I am confident, will blame me for leaving him -alone with his Macaulay for the account of this insurrection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_207_207" id="Footnote_207_207"></a><a href="#FNanchor_207_207"><span class="label">[207]</span></a> It is worthy of note that but two of these regiments were -raised in the districts indicated by their present titles, viz., the 11th -(North Devon) and 12th (East Suffolk).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_208_208" id="Footnote_208_208"></a><a href="#FNanchor_208_208"><span class="label">[208]</span></a> <cite>Expedition</cite>, vol. ii. pp. 37, 73.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_209_209" id="Footnote_209_209"></a><a href="#FNanchor_209_209"><span class="label">[209]</span></a> -The tune, which is in the key of G major and in -<span class="blkb fs80"> - <span class="blka">6</span> - <span class="blka over">4</span> -</span> -time, may -be found in modern editions of <cite>Tristram Shandy</cite>, at the end of -chap. iii. of the second book. It is admirably suited for fifes -and drums.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_210_210" id="Footnote_210_210"></a><a href="#FNanchor_210_210"><span class="label">[210]</span></a> It is possible that there was difficulty in finding ready writers -among the military, and still more difficulty in persuading them to -unite sword and pen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_211_211" id="Footnote_211_211"></a><a href="#FNanchor_211_211"><span class="label">[211]</span></a> But indeed I have failed to discover by what legal authority -martial law was enforced on the Parliamentary troops in the Civil -War. There seems to have been no effort to give so much as a -semblance of legality to the power of the generals.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_212_212" id="Footnote_212_212"></a><a href="#FNanchor_212_212"><span class="label">[212]</span></a> It should not be forgotten meanwhile, in justice to the clerks, -that their salaries were very irregularly paid and that they depended -chiefly on their perquisites. We do not realise, in fact, how recently -salaries have supplanted fees in the payment of officials.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_213_213" id="Footnote_213_213"></a><a href="#FNanchor_213_213"><span class="label">[213]</span></a> The warrant men and hautbois can generally be found in old -muster-rolls under the names of John Doe, Richard Roe, and -Peter Squib.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_214_214" id="Footnote_214_214"></a><a href="#FNanchor_214_214"><span class="label">[214]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite> (30th June 1666), p. 478.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_215_215" id="Footnote_215_215"></a><a href="#FNanchor_215_215"><span class="label">[215]</span></a> Which, however, was soon discarded for the hat, with or -without an iron skull-piece beneath it.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_216_216" id="Footnote_216_216"></a><a href="#FNanchor_216_216"><span class="label">[216]</span></a> Some say in 1678, but no sign of them appears in the Army -Lists or Commission Registers till 1683.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_217_217" id="Footnote_217_217"></a><a href="#FNanchor_217_217"><span class="label">[217]</span></a> Spanish <i lang="es" xml:lang="es">granada</i>, a pomegranate. Grenadiers were established -in France in 1667.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_218_218" id="Footnote_218_218"></a><a href="#FNanchor_218_218"><span class="label">[218]</span></a> The hatchet was issued for the hewing down of the palisades -at the attack of a fortified place. This is one reason why the -grenadiers were nearly always told off for the assault of a fortress.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_219_219" id="Footnote_219_219"></a><a href="#FNanchor_219_219"><span class="label">[219]</span></a> But this rank was not confined to them. The Royal Scots -at this period possessed second lieutenants in addition to ensigns.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_220_220" id="Footnote_220_220"></a><a href="#FNanchor_220_220"><span class="label">[220]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Col.</cite> (1677-1680), Nos. 397, 1141.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_221_221" id="Footnote_221_221"></a><a href="#FNanchor_221_221"><span class="label">[221]</span></a> The allowance in 1692 is fourteen per company.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_222_222" id="Footnote_222_222"></a><a href="#FNanchor_222_222"><span class="label">[222]</span></a> For the reluctance of the French to part with pikes see -Belhomme, <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L'Armée Française en 1690</cite>, pp. 24, 25. The word -<i lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">piquet</i> descends from the time when the pikemen were but a small -body in the centre of the battalion, <em>ibid.</em>, p. 42.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_223_223" id="Footnote_223_223"></a><a href="#FNanchor_223_223"><span class="label">[223]</span></a> Thus General Cadogan, when virtually commander-in-chief, -carried a half-pike at a review of the Guards in June 1722. <cite>Flying -Post</cite>, 14th June 1722 (Marlborough died 16th June 1722).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_224_224" id="Footnote_224_224"></a><a href="#FNanchor_224_224"><span class="label">[224]</span></a> -The pikemen of the <ins class="corr" title="Transcriber's Note—Original text: 'Guardes Suisses'">Gardes Suisses</ins> in France, however, -clung to the defensive armour for years after it had been discarded -by others, a curious survival of the old glory of the Swiss.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_225_225" id="Footnote_225_225"></a><a href="#FNanchor_225_225"><span class="label">[225]</span></a> 2nd Queen's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_226_226" id="Footnote_226_226"></a><a href="#FNanchor_226_226"><span class="label">[226]</span></a> No better instance of this can be found than in Georg von -Frundsberg, the famous landsknecht-leader, who once, being in -supreme command of an army, took the linstock from a gunner -and aimed and fired a gun himself. The "officer commanding -artillery" at once came up, cashiered the gunner, and bade Georg -look after his men and not meddle with other people's guns.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_227_227" id="Footnote_227_227"></a><a href="#FNanchor_227_227"><span class="label">[227]</span></a> 1st Battalion Royal Scots, Buffs, 7th, 21st, Collier's, Fitzpatrick's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_228_228" id="Footnote_228_228"></a><a href="#FNanchor_228_228"><span class="label">[228]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 23rd May 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_229_229" id="Footnote_229_229"></a><a href="#FNanchor_229_229"><span class="label">[229]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 10th May 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_230_230" id="Footnote_230_230"></a><a href="#FNanchor_230_230"><span class="label">[230]</span></a> "Nonchalants" is Waldeck's expression. See <cite>Cal. S. P., -Dom.</cite>, 1st June, 28th June, 18th Sept., 23rd Sept.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_231_231" id="Footnote_231_231"></a><a href="#FNanchor_231_231"><span class="label">[231]</span></a> He was cashiered for dressing his regiment in the cast clothes -of another regiment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_232_232" id="Footnote_232_232"></a><a href="#FNanchor_232_232"><span class="label">[232]</span></a> "The piousest man I ever knew." <em>Burnet.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_233_233" id="Footnote_233_233"></a><a href="#FNanchor_233_233"><span class="label">[233]</span></a> The French had introduced this improvement some time -before.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_234_234" id="Footnote_234_234"></a><a href="#FNanchor_234_234"><span class="label">[234]</span></a> <cite>Cal S. P., Dom.</cite>, Schomberg to the King, 27th August 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_235_235" id="Footnote_235_235"></a><a href="#FNanchor_235_235"><span class="label">[235]</span></a> But this was nothing uncommon in all the armies of Europe. -French ordnance would break down in the same way, and many -of the guns at Carrickfergus were Dutch. See Belhomme, <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">L'Armée -Française en 1690</cite>, p. 131; and <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 19th March -1706-7.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_236_236" id="Footnote_236_236"></a><a href="#FNanchor_236_236"><span class="label">[236]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 12th September 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_237_237" id="Footnote_237_237"></a><a href="#FNanchor_237_237"><span class="label">[237]</span></a> Authorities in Macaulay.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_238_238" id="Footnote_238_238"></a><a href="#FNanchor_238_238"><span class="label">[238]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, Schomberg to the King, 3rd October 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_239_239" id="Footnote_239_239"></a><a href="#FNanchor_239_239"><span class="label">[239]</span></a> See Rymer's <cite lang="la" xml:lang="la">Fœdera, anno</cite> 1346.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_240_240" id="Footnote_240_240"></a><a href="#FNanchor_240_240"><span class="label">[240]</span></a> Harbord's letter, <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 18th September 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_241_241" id="Footnote_241_241"></a><a href="#FNanchor_241_241"><span class="label">[241]</span></a> Schomberg's letter, <em>ibid.</em> 20th September 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_242_242" id="Footnote_242_242"></a><a href="#FNanchor_242_242"><span class="label">[242]</span></a> Schomberg's letters, <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 12th Oct., 26th December.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_243_243" id="Footnote_243_243"></a><a href="#FNanchor_243_243"><span class="label">[243]</span></a> Schomberg, 26th December 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_244_244" id="Footnote_244_244"></a><a href="#FNanchor_244_244"><span class="label">[244]</span></a> Do., 30th December 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_245_245" id="Footnote_245_245"></a><a href="#FNanchor_245_245"><span class="label">[245]</span></a> Harbord, 23rd October 1689, 9th January 1690, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_246_246" id="Footnote_246_246"></a><a href="#FNanchor_246_246"><span class="label">[246]</span></a> Schomberg, 24th December 1689, <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_247_247" id="Footnote_247_247"></a><a href="#FNanchor_247_247"><span class="label">[247]</span></a> Do. 16th October 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_248_248" id="Footnote_248_248"></a><a href="#FNanchor_248_248"><span class="label">[248]</span></a> Do. 26th December 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_249_249" id="Footnote_249_249"></a><a href="#FNanchor_249_249"><span class="label">[249]</span></a> Harbord, 23rd October 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_250_250" id="Footnote_250_250"></a><a href="#FNanchor_250_250"><span class="label">[250]</span></a> Schomberg, 30th December 1689, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_251_251" id="Footnote_251_251"></a><a href="#FNanchor_251_251"><span class="label">[251]</span></a> Further details as to this Irish campaign will be found, with -all authorities, in Clifford Walton's <cite>History of the Standing Army</cite>, -pp. 70 <em>sqq.</em> Some details are also in Macaulay. Several of Schomberg's -letters are printed complete in Dalrymple's <cite>Memoirs</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_252_252" id="Footnote_252_252"></a><a href="#FNanchor_252_252"><span class="label">[252]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 8th November 1689.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_253_253" id="Footnote_253_253"></a><a href="#FNanchor_253_253"><span class="label">[253]</span></a> Schomberg, 10th February 1690, <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_254_254" id="Footnote_254_254"></a><a href="#FNanchor_254_254"><span class="label">[254]</span></a> Carmarthen to the King, February 1691, <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_255_255" id="Footnote_255_255"></a><a href="#FNanchor_255_255"><span class="label">[255]</span></a> Southwell, January 1690, <em>ibid.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_256_256" id="Footnote_256_256"></a><a href="#FNanchor_256_256"><span class="label">[256]</span></a> See the very remarkable memorandum in <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite> -(1691), pp. 398-400.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_257_257" id="Footnote_257_257"></a><a href="#FNanchor_257_257"><span class="label">[257]</span></a> The Irish campaigns are treated with great fulness by Colonel -Clifford Walton, and Marlborough's part in them in particular in -Lord Wolseley's <cite>Life of Marlborough</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_258_258" id="Footnote_258_258"></a><a href="#FNanchor_258_258"><span class="label">[258]</span></a> Four troops of life guards, ten regiments of horse, five of -dragoons, forty-seven battalions of foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_259_259" id="Footnote_259_259"></a><a href="#FNanchor_259_259"><span class="label">[259]</span></a> I had almost written that France was then, as always, the first -military nation; and though Prussia wrested the position from her -under Frederick the Great and again in 1870, the lesson of history -seems to teach that she is as truly the first military, as England is -the first naval, nation.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_260_260" id="Footnote_260_260"></a><a href="#FNanchor_260_260"><span class="label">[260]</span></a> Belhomme, p. 153.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_261_261" id="Footnote_261_261"></a><a href="#FNanchor_261_261"><span class="label">[261]</span></a> Feuquières.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_262_262" id="Footnote_262_262"></a><a href="#FNanchor_262_262"><span class="label">[262]</span></a> That is to say, of land-transport. After the sad experience -of the Irish war the marine transport was entrusted to an officer -specially established for the purpose.—<cite>Commons Journals.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_263_263" id="Footnote_263_263"></a><a href="#FNanchor_263_263"><span class="label">[263]</span></a> I spell the village according to the popular fashion in England, -and according to the Flemish pronunciation. So many names in -Flanders seem to halt between the Flemish and the French that it -is difficult to know how to set them down.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_264_264" id="Footnote_264_264"></a><a href="#FNanchor_264_264"><span class="label">[264]</span></a> Fifty-three battalions of infantry and seven regiments of -dragoons.—<cite>Beaurain.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_265_265" id="Footnote_265_265"></a><a href="#FNanchor_265_265"><span class="label">[265]</span></a> No battlefield can be taken in more readily at a glance than -that of Landen. On the path alongside the railway from Landen -Station is a mound formed of earth thrown out of a cutting, from -the top of which the whole position can be seen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_266_266" id="Footnote_266_266"></a><a href="#FNanchor_266_266"><span class="label">[266]</span></a> St. Simon. With the exception of one hollow, which might -hold three or four squadrons in double rank in line, there is not the -slightest shelter in the plain wherein the French horse could find -protection.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_267_267" id="Footnote_267_267"></a><a href="#FNanchor_267_267"><span class="label">[267]</span></a> Life Guards, 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th Dragoon Guards, Galway's -Horse.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_268_268" id="Footnote_268_268"></a><a href="#FNanchor_268_268"><span class="label">[268]</span></a> This is, of course, the Talmash of <cite>Tristram Shandy</cite> and of -Macaulay's History. He signed his name, however, as I spell it -here, and I use his own spelling the more readily since it is more -easily identified with the Tollemache of to-day.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_269_269" id="Footnote_269_269"></a><a href="#FNanchor_269_269"><span class="label">[269]</span></a> Godolphin to the King, 2nd February 1691, <em>S. P., Dom.</em></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_270_270" id="Footnote_270_270"></a><a href="#FNanchor_270_270"><span class="label">[270]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 24th February, 5th March, 1693-1694. A -full account will be found in Colonel Clifford Walton, p. 483.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_271_271" id="Footnote_271_271"></a><a href="#FNanchor_271_271"><span class="label">[271]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 26th February 1693-1694.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_272_272" id="Footnote_272_272"></a><a href="#FNanchor_272_272"><span class="label">[272]</span></a> Hastings of the Thirteenth.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_273_273" id="Footnote_273_273"></a><a href="#FNanchor_273_273"><span class="label">[273]</span></a> That is to say, to meet the difference between English and -Irish pay, the rate being lower in Ireland than in England owing to -the greater cheapness of provisions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_274_274" id="Footnote_274_274"></a><a href="#FNanchor_274_274"><span class="label">[274]</span></a> See Farquhar's <cite>Trip to the Jubilee</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_275_275" id="Footnote_275_275"></a><a href="#FNanchor_275_275"><span class="label">[275]</span></a> See <cite>C. J.</cite> 19th, 25th March, 16th December 1696; 5th, -7th, 15th, 23rd January 1697; 3rd, 7th, 10th, 12th, 17th, 24th, -27th January; 7th, 9th, 14th, 15th, 16th February 1698.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_276_276" id="Footnote_276_276"></a><a href="#FNanchor_276_276"><span class="label">[276]</span></a> <cite>C. J.</cite> 8th June 1698.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_277_277" id="Footnote_277_277"></a><a href="#FNanchor_277_277"><span class="label">[277]</span></a> Burnet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_278_278" id="Footnote_278_278"></a><a href="#FNanchor_278_278"><span class="label">[278]</span></a> The following was the strength and distribution of the corps:— -</p> -<p> -<em>England.</em>—Three troops of Life Guards, and one of Horse-Grenadier -Guards, each 180 of all ranks. Two regiments of Horse -(Blues, 1st D.G.), each of nine troops, 37 officers, 353 non-commissioned -officers and men. Five regiments of Horse (3rd, 5th, -6th, 7th D.G., Macclesfield's), each of six troops, 24 officers, 244 -non-commissioned officers and men. Three regiments of Dragoons -(Royals, 3rd and 4th Hussars), each of six troops, 24 officers, 259 -non-commissioned officers and men. First Guards and Coldstream -Guards, each of fourteen companies, 139 officers, 1826 non-commissioned -officers and men. 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Foot, each of ten -companies, 34 officers, 411 men. -</p> -<p> -<em>Ireland.</em>—Two regiments of Horse (2nd D.G. and 4th D.G.). -Three regiments of Dragoons (5th and 6th D., 8th H.). Twenty-one -battalions of Foot, 1st Royals (2 battalions), 5th, 6th, 8th, 9th, -10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 20th, -22nd, 23rd, 24th, 27th. The establishments were on much the -same scale as in England. -</p> -<p> -<em>Scotland.</em>—One troop of Horse Guards. Two regiments of -Dragoons (Greys and 7th H.). Scots Guards, Collier's, 21st, -25th, 26th, George Hamilton's, Strathnaver's. -</p> -<p> -I may add that I have found the greatest difficulty in the compilation -of this note. The proclamation regarding England is to be -found in the British Museum; that for Ireland is neither in the -Museum nor the Record Office, but the list was after much searching -disinterred from an Entry Book (<cite>H. O. Mil. Entry Book</cite>, vol. iii. -pp. 374-386). The Scotch establishment I have made up as best -I could from various sources, but I cannot vouch for its accuracy.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_279_279" id="Footnote_279_279"></a><a href="#FNanchor_279_279"><span class="label">[279]</span></a> <cite>H.O. Mil. Entry Book</cite>, vol. iii. p. 327, May 1698.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_280_280" id="Footnote_280_280"></a><a href="#FNanchor_280_280"><span class="label">[280]</span></a> Burnet. Even prior to the disbandment one Irish regiment -of horse numbered 103 commissioned officers in a total of 490 of -all ranks.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_281_281" id="Footnote_281_281"></a><a href="#FNanchor_281_281"><span class="label">[281]</span></a> See the petition of men disbanded from Macclesfield's Horse. -<cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 18th April, 3rd May 1699.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_282_282" id="Footnote_282_282"></a><a href="#FNanchor_282_282"><span class="label">[282]</span></a> Petition of Richard Nichols and others of the First Guards. -<cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 6th December 1699.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_283_283" id="Footnote_283_283"></a><a href="#FNanchor_283_283"><span class="label">[283]</span></a> Petition of John Dorrell, <em>ibid.</em> 9th December 1699. The case -had been investigated and dismissed in the previous Parliament.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_284_284" id="Footnote_284_284"></a><a href="#FNanchor_284_284"><span class="label">[284]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 9th January 1699-1700.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_285_285" id="Footnote_285_285"></a><a href="#FNanchor_285_285"><span class="label">[285]</span></a> <cite>Cal. S. P., Dom.</cite>, 1691, pp. 241, 393.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_286_286" id="Footnote_286_286"></a><a href="#FNanchor_286_286"><span class="label">[286]</span></a> Here is one instance. It was the rule that clothing should be -provided for a regiment according to its establishment on paper, -whether the muster-rolls were full or not; the allowance in payment -for the same (which was deducted from the pay of the men) -being granted to the colonels on the same basis at the close of the -financial year. The colonels provided the clothing accordingly -early in 1697. In December many regiments were disbanded, and -all were much reduced by the Act of Disbandment, when, by the -King's just order, all disbanded men were allowed to take away -their clothing with them. In April 1698 the colonels applied for -the allowance, but were told that the rule had been altered, and -that no money would be issued to them except for men actually on -the rolls at the time of reduction or disbandment. The colonels, -thus defrauded of a large portion of their allowance, were unable to -pay for the clothing, and were, of course, sued by the clothiers. It is -added that the clothiers would accept in ready-money just half the -price which they demanded in treasury-tallies. See the petition of -the colonels to the House of Commons in <cite>Journals</cite>, 28th May and -4th June 1701.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_287_287" id="Footnote_287_287"></a><a href="#FNanchor_287_287"><span class="label">[287]</span></a></p> - -<div class="screenonly center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="10"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Philip III., d. 1621.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="13"> </td><td class="tdc bl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc bl bt" colspan="7"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Philip IV., d. 1665.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc bl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="1"> </td><td class="tdc bl bt" colspan="5"> </td><td class="tdc bl bt" colspan="7"> </td><td class="tdc bl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3">Charles II.,<br />d. 1700.</td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Maria Theresa,<br />m. Louis XIV.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Margaret,<br />m. Leopold I.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc bl" colspan="7"> </td><td class="tdc bl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Louis, Dauphin,<br />d. 1711.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Electress of<br />Bavaria.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc bl" colspan="7"> </td><td class="tdc bl"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> Philip,<br />Duke of Anjou<br />(Philip V.).</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Joseph,<br />Electoral Prince,<br />d. 1699.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="handonly center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td> - <td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td><td class="tdc wd5"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="10"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Philip III., d. 1621.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="13"> </td><td class="tdc"> |</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">–|</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Philip IV., d. 1665.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="1"> </td><td class="tdc">|—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td> - <td class="tdc">|</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—</td><td class="tdc">—|</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3">Charles II.,<br />d. 1700.</td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Maria Theresa,<br />m. Louis XIV.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Margaret,<br />m. Leopold I.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|</td><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6">Louis, Dauphin,<br />d. 1711.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Electress of<br />Bavaria.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|</td><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> </td><td class="tdc">|</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc" colspan="3"> </td><td class="tdc" colspan="6"> Philip,<br />Duke of Anjou<br />(Philip V.).</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="7">Joseph,<br />Electoral Prince,<br />d. 1699.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_288_288" id="Footnote_288_288"></a><a href="#FNanchor_288_288"><span class="label">[288]</span></a> Namur, Luxemburg, Mons, Charleroi, Ath, Oudenarde, Nieuport, -Ostend.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_289_289" id="Footnote_289_289"></a><a href="#FNanchor_289_289"><span class="label">[289]</span></a> 12th, 22nd, 27th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_290_290" id="Footnote_290_290"></a><a href="#FNanchor_290_290"><span class="label">[290]</span></a> 1st batt. First Guards, 1st Royals (2 batts.), 8th, 9th, 10th, -13th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 23rd, 24th. The Guards had been -substituted (after careful explanation to Parliament) by William's -own direction in lieu of the 9th Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_291_291" id="Footnote_291_291"></a><a href="#FNanchor_291_291"><span class="label">[291]</span></a> Seven regiments of horse and dragoons, fourteen battalions of -foot, fifty-six guns.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_292_292" id="Footnote_292_292"></a><a href="#FNanchor_292_292"><span class="label">[292]</span></a> Coxe, vol. i. p. 182.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_293_293" id="Footnote_293_293"></a><a href="#FNanchor_293_293"><span class="label">[293]</span></a> So Quincy. Coxe gives August 25-September 5 as the date, -but the difference depends merely on the interpretation of the -word investment.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_294_294" id="Footnote_294_294"></a><a href="#FNanchor_294_294"><span class="label">[294]</span></a> See the description in Kane.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_295_295" id="Footnote_295_295"></a><a href="#FNanchor_295_295"><span class="label">[295]</span></a> Burnet, Somerville, Tindall.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_296_296" id="Footnote_296_296"></a><a href="#FNanchor_296_296"><span class="label">[296]</span></a> 180 battalions. At this period a battalion is generally taken -at 500, and a squadron at 120 men.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_297_297" id="Footnote_297_297"></a><a href="#FNanchor_297_297"><span class="label">[297]</span></a> Marlborough's <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. i. p. 105.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_298_298" id="Footnote_298_298"></a><a href="#FNanchor_298_298"><span class="label">[298]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Campaign of 1703.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Right Wing only.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Left.</td><td class="tdlz" colspan="3"></td><td class="tdc">Right.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Hamilton's<br />Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Withers's<br />Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Wood's<br />Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Ross's<br />Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">8th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">1st Royal Dragoons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Foreign Regiments.</td><td class="tdlz">17th "</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">33rd "</td><td class="tdlz">15th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">Scots Greys.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">20th "</td><td class="tdlz">24th "</td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">A Foreign Regiment.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">13th "</td><td class="tdlz">23rd Royal Welsh.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">9th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">2nd Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz pad2" colspan="2">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz pad2" colspan="2">16th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">Foreign</td><td class="tdlz pad2" colspan="2">26th Cameronians.</td><td class="tdlz">Foreign</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz pad5" colspan="2">Regiments.</td><td class="tdlz pad2" colspan="2">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td><td class="tdlz pad2">Cavalry.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz pad2" colspan="2">10th Foot.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2"><cite>Daily Courant</cite>, June 2, 1703.</p> -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_299_299" id="Footnote_299_299"></a><a href="#FNanchor_299_299"><span class="label">[299]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. i. p. 198.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_300_300" id="Footnote_300_300"></a><a href="#FNanchor_300_300"><span class="label">[300]</span></a> Royal Dragoons; 2nd, 9th, 11th, 13th, 17th, 33rd Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_301_301" id="Footnote_301_301"></a><a href="#FNanchor_301_301"><span class="label">[301]</span></a> Erle's Dragoons. Rooke's, Paston's, Deloraine's, Inchiquin's, -Ikerryn's, Dungannon's, and Orrery's Foot. All the foot, except -the two first, were raised in Ireland.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_302_302" id="Footnote_302_302"></a><a href="#FNanchor_302_302"><span class="label">[302]</span></a> Quincy, vol. iv. p. 245. It is said that of seventeen battalions -only 1500 men reached the Elector of Bavaria at Donaueschingen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_303_303" id="Footnote_303_303"></a><a href="#FNanchor_303_303"><span class="label">[303]</span></a> Thirty-four English field-pieces and four howitzers took part -in the famous march to the Danube. There were 2500 horses in -all in the train.—<cite>Postman</cite>, 18th May.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_304_304" id="Footnote_304_304"></a><a href="#FNanchor_304_304"><span class="label">[304]</span></a> Hare's Journal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_305_305" id="Footnote_305_305"></a><a href="#FNanchor_305_305"><span class="label">[305]</span></a> The British cavalry (seven regiments) formed the extreme left -of the left wing in the line of battle, with ten British battalions -immediately to their right. Four more British battalions formed -the extreme left of the infantry of the second line. See p. 445.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_306_306" id="Footnote_306_306"></a><a href="#FNanchor_306_306"><span class="label">[306]</span></a> These would appear to have been the 1st Guards, 1st Royals -(2 batts.), 23rd, and perhaps the 37th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_307_307" id="Footnote_307_307"></a><a href="#FNanchor_307_307"><span class="label">[307]</span></a> Their strength would be 1820 men; 130 men from each of -fourteen battalions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_308_308" id="Footnote_308_308"></a><a href="#FNanchor_308_308"><span class="label">[308]</span></a> 29 officers, 407 men killed; 86 officers, 1031 men wounded. -Several details, with a full list of the casualties, will be found in -the <cite>Postman</cite> of July 13, 1704. It is from this source that I draw -the account of Mordaunt and Munden.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_309_309" id="Footnote_309_309"></a><a href="#FNanchor_309_309"><span class="label">[309]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. i. p. 381.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_310_310" id="Footnote_310_310"></a><a href="#FNanchor_310_310"><span class="label">[310]</span></a> Feuquières.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_311_311" id="Footnote_311_311"></a><a href="#FNanchor_311_311"><span class="label">[311]</span></a> Kane.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_312_312" id="Footnote_312_312"></a><a href="#FNanchor_312_312"><span class="label">[312]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Campaign of 1704.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Left Wing only.</span> <span class="pad30pc">Right.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Hamilton's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Row's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Four Foreign Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">Thirty-two Foreign Squadrons in three Brigades.</td><td class="tdlz">8th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">10th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Foreign Battalions.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">5th Royal Irish Dragoons.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">20th "</td><td class="tdlz">23 Royal Welsh.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Scots Grey's, 1 squadron.</td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">16th "</td><td class="tdlz">24th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards, 1 squadron.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Buffs.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards, 3 squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">2nd Line</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Ferguson's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">Foreign Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">15th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">Foreign Battalions.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">37th "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">26th Cameronians.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2">From Dumont's <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Histoire Militaire</cite>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_313_313" id="Footnote_313_313"></a><a href="#FNanchor_313_313"><span class="label">[313]</span></a> 2nd Dragoon Guards, Royal Dragoons, 2nd, 9th, 11th, 13th, -17th, 33rd Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_314_314" id="Footnote_314_314"></a><a href="#FNanchor_314_314"><span class="label">[314]</span></a> Detachments of the 1st and Coldstream Guards, 13th and -35th of the Line.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_315_315" id="Footnote_315_315"></a><a href="#FNanchor_315_315"><span class="label">[315]</span></a> The 4th Foot. It had taken its marineship in exchange from -another corps.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_316_316" id="Footnote_316_316"></a><a href="#FNanchor_316_316"><span class="label">[316]</span></a> St. Simon gives a curious account of Lewis's difficulty in -arriving at the truth, owing to the general unwillingness to tell him -bad news.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_317_317" id="Footnote_317_317"></a><a href="#FNanchor_317_317"><span class="label">[317]</span></a> It is stated in <cite>Records and Badges of the Army</cite> that Lillingston's -was formed in 1702. But Narcissus Luttrell, Millar, and the -Military Entry Books all give the date as 25th March (New Year's -Day) 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_318_318" id="Footnote_318_318"></a><a href="#FNanchor_318_318"><span class="label">[318]</span></a> Quincy's account of this portion of the campaign is, so far as -concerns Marlborough, full of falsehoods.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_319_319" id="Footnote_319_319"></a><a href="#FNanchor_319_319"><span class="label">[319]</span></a> Four British regiments were of this detachment. Two -battalions of the 1st Royals, the 3rd Buffs, and the 10th Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_320_320" id="Footnote_320_320"></a><a href="#FNanchor_320_320"><span class="label">[320]</span></a> Narcissus Luttrell.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_321_321" id="Footnote_321_321"></a><a href="#FNanchor_321_321"><span class="label">[321]</span></a> It is worth noting that this was the first campaign in which -Marlborough and the British took the post of honour at the extreme -right of the Allied order of battle.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_322_322" id="Footnote_322_322"></a><a href="#FNanchor_322_322"><span class="label">[322]</span></a> His camp thus lay across the whole of Wellington's position -at Waterloo, from east to west and considerably beyond it to westward, -but fronted in the reverse direction.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_323_323" id="Footnote_323_323"></a><a href="#FNanchor_323_323"><span class="label">[323]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Campaign of 1705.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Right Wing only.</span> <span class="pad30pc">Right.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Foreign Troops.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Buffs.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards, 3 Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">Scots Greys, 3 squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards, 2 Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoons, 3 Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">37th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">18th Royal Irish.</td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards, 2 Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Macartney's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">23rd Royal Welsh.</td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards, 2 Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Evan's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">28th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards, 2 Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">24th "</td><td class="tdlz">Stringer's Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">15th "</td><td class="tdlz">26th Cameronians.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">16th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">2nd Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="3">Extreme Right of Centre.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">10th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="3">Temple's Foot. <span class="pad30pc">Foreign troops.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">29th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">8th "</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2"><cite>Newspaper.</cite></p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_324_324" id="Footnote_324_324"></a><a href="#FNanchor_324_324"><span class="label">[324]</span></a> 2nd Dragoon Guards, 2nd, 9th (exchanged against the -prisoners of Blenheim), 17th, 33rd, and Brudenell's Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_325_325" id="Footnote_325_325"></a><a href="#FNanchor_325_325"><span class="label">[325]</span></a> It is somewhat singular that the first regiment which signally -distinguished itself in this first Peninsular War was the 33rd (Duke -of Wellington's), which covered itself with honour at the storm of -Valenza.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_326_326" id="Footnote_326_326"></a><a href="#FNanchor_326_326"><span class="label">[326]</span></a> 6th, 34th, 36th, Elliott's, J. Caulfield's (late Pearce's), Gorges's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_327_327" id="Footnote_327_327"></a><a href="#FNanchor_327_327"><span class="label">[327]</span></a> Guards (mixed battalion of the 1st and Coldstream), 13th, -35th, Mountjoy's, and four of Marines.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_328_328" id="Footnote_328_328"></a><a href="#FNanchor_328_328"><span class="label">[328]</span></a> Carleton.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_329_329" id="Footnote_329_329"></a><a href="#FNanchor_329_329"><span class="label">[329]</span></a> Peterborough's Dragoons; Mark Kerr's, Stanwix's, Lovelace's, -Townsend's, Tunbridge's, Bradshaw's, Sybourg's, Price's Foot. -Sybourg's was made up of Huguenots.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_330_330" id="Footnote_330_330"></a><a href="#FNanchor_330_330"><span class="label">[330]</span></a> Marlborough's <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. ii. p. 262.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_331_331" id="Footnote_331_331"></a><a href="#FNanchor_331_331"><span class="label">[331]</span></a> This is the story told in Lamberti.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_332_332" id="Footnote_332_332"></a><a href="#FNanchor_332_332"><span class="label">[332]</span></a> The ground, though now drained, is still very wet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_333_333" id="Footnote_333_333"></a><a href="#FNanchor_333_333"><span class="label">[333]</span></a> I have described the field at some length, since the map given -by Coxe is most misleading.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_334_334" id="Footnote_334_334"></a><a href="#FNanchor_334_334"><span class="label">[334]</span></a> Coxe, by a singular error, makes the left consist exclusively of -infantry, in face of Quincy, Feuquières, the <cite>London Gazette</cite> and -other authorities, thereby missing almost unaccountably an important -feature in the action.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_335_335" id="Footnote_335_335"></a><a href="#FNanchor_335_335"><span class="label">[335]</span></a> Apparently the whole of Meredith's brigade, viz.: 1st, 18th, -29th, 37th, 24th, and 10th regiments. The place is still easily -identifiable.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_336_336" id="Footnote_336_336"></a><a href="#FNanchor_336_336"><span class="label">[336]</span></a> Molesworth escaped and was rewarded four years later, at the -age of twenty-two, with a regiment of foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_337_337" id="Footnote_337_337"></a><a href="#FNanchor_337_337"><span class="label">[337]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Ramillies, 12th-23rd May 1706.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Right Wing only.</span> <span class="pad30pc">Right.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Foreign Infantry.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Buffs.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">Scots Greys.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Royal Irish Dragoons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Evans's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">16th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Macartney's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">26th Cameronians.</td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Stringer's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">28th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">15th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">23rd Royal Welsh.</td><td class="tdlz">Eighteen Dutch Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">8th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">2nd Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz pad5" colspan="2">Foreign Infantry.</td><td class="tdlz">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz pad4" colspan="2">Foreign Cavalry.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz">18th Royal Irish.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz">29th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz">37th "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz">24th "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="2"></td><td class="tdlz">10th "</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2">From Kane's <cite>Campaigns</cite>.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_338_338" id="Footnote_338_338"></a><a href="#FNanchor_338_338"><span class="label">[338]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. ii. p. 554.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_339_339" id="Footnote_339_339"></a><a href="#FNanchor_339_339"><span class="label">[339]</span></a> The British regiments regularly employed in the besieging -army were the 8th, 10th, and 18th, and Evans's Foot; the Scots -Greys, 3rd and 6th Dragoon Guards. The total loss of the Allies -was 32 officers and 551 men killed, 83 officers and 1941 men -wounded. The 18th Royal Irish lost 15 officers alone, and in one -attack over 100 men in half an hour.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_340_340" id="Footnote_340_340"></a><a href="#FNanchor_340_340"><span class="label">[340]</span></a> 8th Dragoons (now Hussars), 30th and 34th Foot; two Dutch -and two Neapolitan battalions.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_341_341" id="Footnote_341_341"></a><a href="#FNanchor_341_341"><span class="label">[341]</span></a> 2200 of them British, 2nd Dragoon Guards, 2nd, 9th, 17th, -33rd, and Brudenell's Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_342_342" id="Footnote_342_342"></a><a href="#FNanchor_342_342"><span class="label">[342]</span></a> The total force comprehended 6900 men. Two squadrons -each of the 3rd and 4th Dragoons (now Hussars) and seven -squadrons of foreigners; the 28th, 29th, Hill's, Watkins's, Mark -Kerr's, Macartney's Foot, two battalions of Marines, one of Germans -and six of Huguenots.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_343_343" id="Footnote_343_343"></a><a href="#FNanchor_343_343"><span class="label">[343]</span></a> Colonel Parnell calls this a novelty and approves it; Colonel -Frank Russell condemns it. The practice was not proscribed, but -it was recognised as extremely hazardous (see Kane's <cite>Campaigns</cite>, ed. -1757, pp. 69-70), and received its final condemnation at the hands -of Napoleon. <cite lang="fr" xml:lang="fr">Campagnes de Turenne.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_344_344" id="Footnote_344_344"></a><a href="#FNanchor_344_344"><span class="label">[344]</span></a> The British regiments present were the Queen's Bays, 3rd, -4th, and 8th Dragoons (now Hussars), Peterborough's and Pearce's -Dragoons, Guards (mixed battalion); 2nd, 6th, 9th, 11th, 17th, -28th, 33rd, 35th, 36th, Mountjoy's, Macartney's, Breton's, Bowles's, -Mark Kerr's Foot. List of casualties of officers will be found in -the <cite>Postboy</cite>, 26th June 1707. See order of battle on next page.</p> - -<div class="center fs80"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Almanza.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Left Wing only.</span> <span class="pad30pc">Right.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Wade's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc"></td><td class="tdc">Macartney's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Guiscard's Dragoons</td><td class="tdlz">Mountjoy's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Four Dutch regiments of horse.</td><td class="tdlz">Mordaunt's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Two Dutch Brigades.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Essex's Dragoons (4th Hussars).</td><td class="tdlz">17th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Queen's Bays.</td><td class="tdlz">Macartney's Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoons (Hussars).</td><td class="tdlz">Peterborough's Dragoons.</td><td class="tdlz">Two regiments of Dutch horse.</td><td class="tdlz">35th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Royal Dragoons.</td><td class="tdlz">8th Dragoons (Hussars).</td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. English Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">33rd Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">6th "</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">2nd Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Hill's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Four</td><td class="tdlz">11th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Four</td><td class="tdlz">Bowles's.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Squadrons</td><td class="tdlz">Mark Kerr's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Portuguese</td><td class="tdlz">Nassau's.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Portuguese</td><td class="tdlz">Three Portuguese Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">Squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">Bretton's.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Dragoons.</td><td class="tdlz">36th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">2nd Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">9th "</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2"><cite>Postboy</cite>, 5th-7th June 1707.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_345_345" id="Footnote_345_345"></a><a href="#FNanchor_345_345"><span class="label">[345]</span></a> Parker.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_346_346" id="Footnote_346_346"></a><a href="#FNanchor_346_346"><span class="label">[346]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80 padr2"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Campaign of 1707.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Right Wing only.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc">Lord North and<br />Grey's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Temple's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Meredith's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">3rd Buffs.</td><td class="tdlz">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">Orrery's Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td><td class="tdlz">18th Royal Irish.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">Evans's Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">37th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Temple's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">16th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Foreign horse.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">26th Cameronians.</td><td class="tdlz">24th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">23rd Royal Welsh.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">15th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">10th "</td><td class="tdlz">8th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Gore's "</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="center fs80 pad8"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc" colspan="2">Right.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdc">Palmer's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Stair's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">Scots Greys.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Royal Irish Dragoons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad4">No British in the Second Line.</p> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2"><cite>Postboy</cite>, 26th June 1707.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_347_347" id="Footnote_347_347"></a><a href="#FNanchor_347_347"><span class="label">[347]</span></a> Slane's, Brazier's, Delaune's, Jones's, Carles's, all raised in -September.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_348_348" id="Footnote_348_348"></a><a href="#FNanchor_348_348"><span class="label">[348]</span></a> Mixed battalion of Guards, 19th Foot, Prendergast's (late -Orrery's).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_349_349" id="Footnote_349_349"></a><a href="#FNanchor_349_349"><span class="label">[349]</span></a> 16 battalions and 30 squadrons. In these were included the -brigades of Sabine, viz., 8th, 18th, 23rd, 37th; of Evans, viz., -Orrery's, Evans's and two foreign battalions; and of Plattenberg, -which included the Scotch regiments of the Dutch service.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_350_350" id="Footnote_350_350"></a><a href="#FNanchor_350_350"><span class="label">[350]</span></a> Among them the Royal Scots and Buffs.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_351_351" id="Footnote_351_351"></a><a href="#FNanchor_351_351"><span class="label">[351]</span></a> That is to say, on the western side of the road from Oudenarde -to Deynze.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_352_352" id="Footnote_352_352"></a><a href="#FNanchor_352_352"><span class="label">[352]</span></a> The ground, though drained and built over about Bevere, seems -to have lost little of its original character, and is worth a visit.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_353_353" id="Footnote_353_353"></a><a href="#FNanchor_353_353"><span class="label">[353]</span></a> British losses: 4 officers and 49 men killed, 17 officers and -160 men wounded.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_354_354" id="Footnote_354_354"></a><a href="#FNanchor_354_354"><span class="label">[354]</span></a> The force consisted of detachments of the 3rd and 4th -Dragoons (now Hussars), 12th, 29th, Hamilton's, Dormer's, -Johnson's, Moore's, Caulfield's, Townsend's, Wynne's Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_355_355" id="Footnote_355_355"></a><a href="#FNanchor_355_355"><span class="label">[355]</span></a> See, for instance, the commendations of Feuquières.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_356_356" id="Footnote_356_356"></a><a href="#FNanchor_356_356"><span class="label">[356]</span></a> 135 battalions, 260 squadrons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_357_357" id="Footnote_357_357"></a><a href="#FNanchor_357_357"><span class="label">[357]</span></a> 122 battalions, 230 squadrons.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_358_358" id="Footnote_358_358"></a><a href="#FNanchor_358_358"><span class="label">[358]</span></a> These were, according to a contemporary plan (Fricx), the -16th, 18th, 21st, 23rd, 24th Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_359_359" id="Footnote_359_359"></a><a href="#FNanchor_359_359"><span class="label">[359]</span></a> He is claimed as a Guardsman by General Hamilton (<cite>Hist. -Grenadier Guards</cite>), though Millner assigns him to the 16th Foot. -This is the only name of a man below the rank of a commissioned -officer that I have encountered in any of the books on the wars of -Marlborough, not excluding the works of Sergeants Deane and -Millner. Littler was deservedly rewarded with a commission.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_360_360" id="Footnote_360_360"></a><a href="#FNanchor_360_360"><span class="label">[360]</span></a> The Allied order of battle was peculiar. The artillery was -all drawn up in front, in rear of it came a first line of 100 squadrons, -then a second line of 80 squadrons, then a third line of 104 -battalions, with wings of 14 squadrons more thrown out to the -right and left rear. <cite>Daily Courant</cite>, 6th September 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_361_361" id="Footnote_361_361"></a><a href="#FNanchor_361_361"><span class="label">[361]</span></a> The five English regiments lost about 350 killed and wounded -in this assault. This would mean probably from a fifth to a sixth -of their numbers. <cite>Daily Courant</cite>, 6th September 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_362_362" id="Footnote_362_362"></a><a href="#FNanchor_362_362"><span class="label">[362]</span></a> I have failed, in spite of much search, to identify the British -regiments present, excepting one battalion of the 1st Royals. -Marlborough, as Thackeray has reminded us by a famous scene in -<cite>Esmond</cite>, attributed the credit of the action in his first despatch to -Cadogan. Another letter, however, which appeared in the <cite>Gazette</cite> -three days later (23rd September), does full justice to Webb, as does -also a letter from the Duke to Lord Sunderland of 18th-29th -September (<cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. iv. p. 243). Webb's own version of the -affair appeared in the <cite>Gazette</cite> of 9th October, but does not mention -the regiments engaged. Webb became a celebrated bore with his -stories of Wynendale, but the story of his grievance against Marlborough -would have been forgotten but for Thackeray, who either -ignored or was unaware of the second despatch.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_363_363" id="Footnote_363_363"></a><a href="#FNanchor_363_363"><span class="label">[363]</span></a> Notably Prendergast's. <cite>Gazette</cite>, 25th November.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_364_364" id="Footnote_364_364"></a><a href="#FNanchor_364_364"><span class="label">[364]</span></a> The British troops employed were the 6th Foot, 600 marines, -and a battalion of seamen.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_365_365" id="Footnote_365_365"></a><a href="#FNanchor_365_365"><span class="label">[365]</span></a> There are still some remains of the old walls of Tournay -on the south side of the town, and the ruins of Vauban's citadel close -by, from which the extent of the works may be judged.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_366_366" id="Footnote_366_366"></a><a href="#FNanchor_366_366"><span class="label">[366]</span></a> The British regiments employed in the siege were the 1st -Royals (2 battalions), 3rd Buffs, 37th, Temple's, Evans's and -Prendergast's Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_367_367" id="Footnote_367_367"></a><a href="#FNanchor_367_367"><span class="label">[367]</span></a> The following description written from the trenches gives some -idea of the work: "Now as to our fighting underground, blowing -up like kites in the air, not being sure of a foot of ground we stand -on while in the trenches. Our miners and the enemy very often -meet each other, when they have sharp combats till one side gives way. -We have got into three or four of the enemy's great galleries, -which are thirty or forty feet underground and lead to several of -their chambers; and in these we fight in armour by lanthorn and -candle, they disputing every inch of the gallery with us to hinder -our finding out their great mines. Yesternight we found one which -was placed just under our bomb batteries, in which were eighteen -hundredweight of powder besides many bombs: and if we had not -been so lucky as to find it, in a very few hours our batteries and -some hundreds of men had taken a flight into the air." <cite>Daily -Courant</cite>, 20th August.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_368_368" id="Footnote_368_368"></a><a href="#FNanchor_368_368"><span class="label">[368]</span></a> 8th, 10th, 15th, 16th.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_369_369" id="Footnote_369_369"></a><a href="#FNanchor_369_369"><span class="label">[369]</span></a> Parker.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_370_370" id="Footnote_370_370"></a><a href="#FNanchor_370_370"><span class="label">[370]</span></a> A nominal list in the <cite>Postboy</cite> of 1st October gives 36 -officers killed and 46 wounded. An earlier list of 17th September -gives 40 officers and 511 men killed, 66 officers and 1020 men -wounded; but this is admittedly imperfect.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote pg-brk"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_371_371" id="Footnote_371_371"></a><a href="#FNanchor_371_371"><span class="label">[371]</span></a></p> - -<div class="center fs80 padr2"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="tdc smcap" colspan="5">Order of Battle. Campaign of 1709.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="5">Left. <span class="pad30pc smcap">Right Wing only.</span></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">1st Line.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">8th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">3rd Buffs.</td><td class="tdlz">2nd Batt. Royal Scots.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. 1st Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">24th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Temple's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">23rd Royal Welsh.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Coldstream Guards.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">21st Royal Scots Fusiliers.</td><td class="tdlz">Evans's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">Orrery's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">1 Batt. Royal Scots.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">18th Royal Irish.</td><td class="tdlz">16th Foot.</td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">37th Foot.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">10th Foot.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<div class="center fs80 pad4"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz" colspan="3"></td><td class="tdlz pad4">Right.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdc">Two Foreign Brigadiers.</td><td class="tdc">Orrery's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Kelburn's Brigade.</td><td class="tdc">Sybourg's Brigade.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="bll bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt br"></td><td class="bl bt brr"></td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz">Twenty-seven squadrons</td><td class="tdlz">26th Cameronians.</td><td class="tdlz">1st Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">Scots Greys, 3 Squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"> of foreign dragoons.</td><td class="tdlz">Two foreign battalions.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td><td class="tdlz">5th Royal Irish Dragoons, 2 squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">Prendergast's Foot.</td><td class="tdlz">7th Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">6th Dragoon Guards, 1 squadron.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz"></td><td class="tdlz">3rd Dragoon Guards, 2 squadrons.</td></tr> -</table></div> - -<p class="p1 fs80 pad2">No British troops in the second line; but the 15th and 19th Foot were -also present at the action of Malplaquet.</p> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_372_372" id="Footnote_372_372"></a><a href="#FNanchor_372_372"><span class="label">[372]</span></a> Hotham's regiment and artillery.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_373_373" id="Footnote_373_373"></a><a href="#FNanchor_373_373"><span class="label">[373]</span></a> 5th, 13th, 20th, 39th, Paston's, Stanwix's.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_374_374" id="Footnote_374_374"></a><a href="#FNanchor_374_374"><span class="label">[374]</span></a> 2nd Dragoon Guards, Royal Dragoons, 8th Hussars, Nassau's -and Rochford's Dragoons. Scots Guards, 6th, 33rd, Bowles's, -Dormer's, Munden's, Dalzell's, Gore's. Together 4200 men, -under General Stanhope.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_375_375" id="Footnote_375_375"></a><a href="#FNanchor_375_375"><span class="label">[375]</span></a> 2 brigadiers, 5 other officers and 73 men killed. 2 lieutenant-generals, -12 other officers and 113 men wounded.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_376_376" id="Footnote_376_376"></a><a href="#FNanchor_376_376"><span class="label">[376]</span></a> Having failed to ascertain the share of the British in this -action, I omit it altogether. All that is sure is that they did their -duty and that the cavalry suffered severely.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_377_377" id="Footnote_377_377"></a><a href="#FNanchor_377_377"><span class="label">[377]</span></a> Desbordes's, Gually's, Sarlandes's, Magny's, Assa's dragoons, all -composed of Huguenots but borne on the English establishment; -Dalzell's and Wittewrong's foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_378_378" id="Footnote_378_378"></a><a href="#FNanchor_378_378"><span class="label">[378]</span></a> 11th, 37th, Kane's, Clayton's, and one foreign battalion of -foot. The losses of the expedition were 29 officers and 676 men -drowned.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_379_379" id="Footnote_379_379"></a><a href="#FNanchor_379_379"><span class="label">[379]</span></a> Strangely enough it was in these very weeks (13th July) that -Richard Cromwell, the ex-protector, died, at the age of eighty-seven; -one of the very few men who had seen the rise of the New -Model, the culmination of Oliver Cromwell's military work in the -hands of Marlborough, and the fall of Marlborough himself.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_380_380" id="Footnote_380_380"></a><a href="#FNanchor_380_380"><span class="label">[380]</span></a> Nominally 30,000, but 4000 are deducted for Huguenot -regiments.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_381_381" id="Footnote_381_381"></a><a href="#FNanchor_381_381"><span class="label">[381]</span></a> Including Huguenot regiments the numbers would be 22 -regiments of dragoons and 81 of foot. The three regiments of -Guards, though varying greatly in strength, may be reckoned -practically at two battalions apiece; the Royal Scots had also two -battalions, both on active service.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_382_382" id="Footnote_382_382"></a><a href="#FNanchor_382_382"><span class="label">[382]</span></a> These figures are based principally on the estimates submitted -to the House of Commons, which are printed in the journals, but -can only be approximately accurate. The confusion in the statement -is worthy of the War Office. First, there is the establishment -for England (after 1707 for Great Britain), including colonial -garrisons. Next, establishment for Flanders and augmentation for -Flanders; establishment for Portugal and augmentation for Portugal; -establishment for Catalonia and augmentation for Catalonia, making, -with Ireland, eight different establishments, involving transfers and -changes and explanations without end. The House of Commons -(see Journals, January 1708) was puzzled and dissatisfied, but obtained -small satisfaction. Probably the Treasury was partly to blame as -well as the War Office. -</p> -<p> -The estimates for 1709 provide for 69,000 men, exclusive of -the Irish establishment and of Artillery. <cite>Commons Journals.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_383_383" id="Footnote_383_383"></a><a href="#FNanchor_383_383"><span class="label">[383]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 3rd and 18th February 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_384_384" id="Footnote_384_384"></a><a href="#FNanchor_384_384"><span class="label">[384]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. ii. p. 460.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_385_385" id="Footnote_385_385"></a><a href="#FNanchor_385_385"><span class="label">[385]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 26th May 1709. <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, -vol. xvii. p. 85.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_386_386" id="Footnote_386_386"></a><a href="#FNanchor_386_386"><span class="label">[386]</span></a> Thus in August 1710 the garrison of Portsmouth was reduced -by drafts to 360 men. <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. xvii. p. 19.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_387_387" id="Footnote_387_387"></a><a href="#FNanchor_387_387"><span class="label">[387]</span></a> The men, as is plain from the pages of Parker, Kane, and -Millner, looked forward to a wealth of spoil as soon as they should -penetrate into the heart of France.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_388_388" id="Footnote_388_388"></a><a href="#FNanchor_388_388"><span class="label">[388]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 18th February 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_389_389" id="Footnote_389_389"></a><a href="#FNanchor_389_389"><span class="label">[389]</span></a> <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 18th November 1710.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_390_390" id="Footnote_390_390"></a><a href="#FNanchor_390_390"><span class="label">[390]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. xviii. p. 116.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_391_391" id="Footnote_391_391"></a><a href="#FNanchor_391_391"><span class="label">[391]</span></a> Deane.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_392_392" id="Footnote_392_392"></a><a href="#FNanchor_392_392"><span class="label">[392]</span></a> There is nothing more remarkable than the mortality among -the British troops, in what town soever quartered, in the Peninsula. -The complaints against the Portuguese will be found very bitter in -the letters of Colonel Albert Borgard of the Artillery. <cite>S. P. Spain.</cite></p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_393_393" id="Footnote_393_393"></a><a href="#FNanchor_393_393"><span class="label">[393]</span></a> <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 18th June and 18th November 1706.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_394_394" id="Footnote_394_394"></a><a href="#FNanchor_394_394"><span class="label">[394]</span></a> The regiment being in the Irish establishment the clothing -was ordered in Ireland. When, after long delay, the clothing -arrived at Bristol, it was discovered that, being of Irish manufacture, -it could not be discharged without the Treasurer's warrant; which, -of course, entailed the delay, appreciable enough in those days, of a -journey to London and back.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_395_395" id="Footnote_395_395"></a><a href="#FNanchor_395_395"><span class="label">[395]</span></a> <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 18th November 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_396_396" id="Footnote_396_396"></a><a href="#FNanchor_396_396"><span class="label">[396]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. viii. 81.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_397_397" id="Footnote_397_397"></a><a href="#FNanchor_397_397"><span class="label">[397]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. xvi. 92.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_398_398" id="Footnote_398_398"></a><a href="#FNanchor_398_398"><span class="label">[398]</span></a> <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 15th August 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_399_399" id="Footnote_399_399"></a><a href="#FNanchor_399_399"><span class="label">[399]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 12th October 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_400_400" id="Footnote_400_400"></a><a href="#FNanchor_400_400"><span class="label">[400]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 20th September and -December 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_401_401" id="Footnote_401_401"></a><a href="#FNanchor_401_401"><span class="label">[401]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite> (12th March 1711), vol. xix. 21.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_402_402" id="Footnote_402_402"></a><a href="#FNanchor_402_402"><span class="label">[402]</span></a> 5th, 6th, 8th Dragoons; 18th, 27th Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_403_403" id="Footnote_403_403"></a><a href="#FNanchor_403_403"><span class="label">[403]</span></a> Two troops Household Cavalry, Scots Greys and 7th -Dragoons, Scots Guards, and 1st Royals (each two battalions), -21st, 25th, 26th Foot.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_404_404" id="Footnote_404_404"></a><a href="#FNanchor_404_404"><span class="label">[404]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 22nd May 1704.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_405_405" id="Footnote_405_405"></a><a href="#FNanchor_405_405"><span class="label">[405]</span></a> Not always, however, for among the capital offenders -pardoned I find a boy of ten.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_406_406" id="Footnote_406_406"></a><a href="#FNanchor_406_406"><span class="label">[406]</span></a> Levy money of £2, of which one moiety for the recruit.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_407_407" id="Footnote_407_407"></a><a href="#FNanchor_407_407"><span class="label">[407]</span></a> Levy money of £1.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_408_408" id="Footnote_408_408"></a><a href="#FNanchor_408_408"><span class="label">[408]</span></a> Abundant instances in the <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_409_409" id="Footnote_409_409"></a><a href="#FNanchor_409_409"><span class="label">[409]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 13th March 1704.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_410_410" id="Footnote_410_410"></a><a href="#FNanchor_410_410"><span class="label">[410]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. v. 135; vol. ix. 75.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_411_411" id="Footnote_411_411"></a><a href="#FNanchor_411_411"><span class="label">[411]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. v. 128.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_412_412" id="Footnote_412_412"></a><a href="#FNanchor_412_412"><span class="label">[412]</span></a> Tindal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_413_413" id="Footnote_413_413"></a><a href="#FNanchor_413_413"><span class="label">[413]</span></a> A curious and, I imagine, illegal stretch of the Royal prerogative -appears in the shape of a Royal warrant for the impressment -of fifes, drums, and hautbois. <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, 1st Jan. 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_414_414" id="Footnote_414_414"></a><a href="#FNanchor_414_414"><span class="label">[414]</span></a> The levy-money was £4 per man, of which it seems that -half was bounty, and half for expenses of the recruiting officer.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_415_415" id="Footnote_415_415"></a><a href="#FNanchor_415_415"><span class="label">[415]</span></a> The system was introduced by Lewis XIV. in the autumn -of 1703. The still earlier suggestion of a short-service system in -the sixteenth century has already been related.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_416_416" id="Footnote_416_416"></a><a href="#FNanchor_416_416"><span class="label">[416]</span></a> The number of volunteers enlisted in March 1708 for the -regiments in the Peninsula was something over 800, of which -London and Middlesex supplied just twenty-three.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_417_417" id="Footnote_417_417"></a><a href="#FNanchor_417_417"><span class="label">[417]</span></a> Newspapers, 13th March 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_418_418" id="Footnote_418_418"></a><a href="#FNanchor_418_418"><span class="label">[418]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite> (15th September 1708), vol. xiv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_419_419" id="Footnote_419_419"></a><a href="#FNanchor_419_419"><span class="label">[419]</span></a> <cite>E.g., Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 21st September and -23rd December 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_420_420" id="Footnote_420_420"></a><a href="#FNanchor_420_420"><span class="label">[420]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, (undated), vol. x.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_421_421" id="Footnote_421_421"></a><a href="#FNanchor_421_421"><span class="label">[421]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> (20th February 1711), vol. xviii.; (14th April 1712), vol. -xxii.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_422_422" id="Footnote_422_422"></a><a href="#FNanchor_422_422"><span class="label">[422]</span></a> Lord Lansdowne. <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 12th -March 1712. The question had originally been brought up a -year before.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_423_423" id="Footnote_423_423"></a><a href="#FNanchor_423_423"><span class="label">[423]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 23rd April 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_424_424" id="Footnote_424_424"></a><a href="#FNanchor_424_424"><span class="label">[424]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 6th July 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_425_425" id="Footnote_425_425"></a><a href="#FNanchor_425_425"><span class="label">[425]</span></a> Four regiments destined for the Peninsula in 1711 were kept -waiting three months for their ships at Cork. In that time they -lost 500 men by desertion, probably not much less than a fourth of -their numbers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_426_426" id="Footnote_426_426"></a><a href="#FNanchor_426_426"><span class="label">[426]</span></a> A clause against concealment of deserters was inserted in the -Mutiny Act of 1708-9.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_427_427" id="Footnote_427_427"></a><a href="#FNanchor_427_427"><span class="label">[427]</span></a> Abundant instances in <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_428_428" id="Footnote_428_428"></a><a href="#FNanchor_428_428"><span class="label">[428]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 18th October 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_429_429" id="Footnote_429_429"></a><a href="#FNanchor_429_429"><span class="label">[429]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 25th, 27th July; 17th -August; October 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_430_430" id="Footnote_430_430"></a><a href="#FNanchor_430_430"><span class="label">[430]</span></a> See, for instance, the complaint of a regiment which had been -paid in unsaleable tallies. Several officers had been arrested for -debts contracted by their men for want of their pay. <cite>Secretary's -Common Letter Book</cite>, 18th April 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_431_431" id="Footnote_431_431"></a><a href="#FNanchor_431_431"><span class="label">[431]</span></a> Such a Board, or rather intermittent meeting of Generals, had -been established in January 1706. For the report of St. John and -Churchill and the new regulations, see <cite>Miscellaneous Orders</cite>, 4th -February 1706; 14th January 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_432_432" id="Footnote_432_432"></a><a href="#FNanchor_432_432"><span class="label">[432]</span></a> I can adduce only one instance in proof, that of the Duke -of Schomberg, who offered £2 a man to old soldiers to join his -regiment of dragoons (Newspaper Advertisement, 27th July -1705), but the fact is indubitable.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_433_433" id="Footnote_433_433"></a><a href="#FNanchor_433_433"><span class="label">[433]</span></a> There are two or three memoirs of her, attributed to Defoe -and others.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_434_434" id="Footnote_434_434"></a><a href="#FNanchor_434_434"><span class="label">[434]</span></a> See Steele's <cite>Tatler</cite> (No. 87), 29th Oct. 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_435_435" id="Footnote_435_435"></a><a href="#FNanchor_435_435"><span class="label">[435]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite> (11th September 1705), vol. vi.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_436_436" id="Footnote_436_436"></a><a href="#FNanchor_436_436"><span class="label">[436]</span></a> They went on guard once and were put in the guard-room -once, that their names might appear on the list of prisoners.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_437_437" id="Footnote_437_437"></a><a href="#FNanchor_437_437"><span class="label">[437]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 5th, 13th, 22nd February; 8th, 26th -May 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_438_438" id="Footnote_438_438"></a><a href="#FNanchor_438_438"><span class="label">[438]</span></a> See the case of Lillingston's regiment in Antigua, <cite>Cal. Treas. -Papers</cite>, 18th November 1707: for the Mediterranean garrisons and -Peninsula, <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite> (December 1705), vol. vii.; (19th June -1709), vol. xiv.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_439_439" id="Footnote_439_439"></a><a href="#FNanchor_439_439"><span class="label">[439]</span></a> <cite>E.g. Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 22nd December 1710.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_440_440" id="Footnote_440_440"></a><a href="#FNanchor_440_440"><span class="label">[440]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 22nd December 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_441_441" id="Footnote_441_441"></a><a href="#FNanchor_441_441"><span class="label">[441]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. v. pp. 21, 241. This colonel, Bennett by -name, was an admirable officer at his work, and had done excellent -service at Gibraltar.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_442_442" id="Footnote_442_442"></a><a href="#FNanchor_442_442"><span class="label">[442]</span></a> <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 18th November 1710, 6th January 1711. -Recruits were practically bought and sold at from £2 to £3 a -head at ordinary times, colonels receiving so much a man when -they furnished drafts. In strictness one officer took a recruit from -another, and paid to him the expenses of raising a substitute. See -<cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 8th May 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_443_443" id="Footnote_443_443"></a><a href="#FNanchor_443_443"><span class="label">[443]</span></a> See <cite>Humours of a Coffee House</cite> (a dialogue), 26th December -1707. <em>Guzzle.</em>—How go on your recruits this winter? <em>Levy</em> (an -officer).—Very poorly. I am almost broke; they cost us so much -to raise them, and run away so fast afterwards that, without the -Government will consider us, we shall be undone, and the service -will suffer into the bargain.... Some of us were forced to live on -five shillings weekly; the rest was stopped by the Colonel for the -charge we had been at in raising recruits; and after all they -deserted from us and the service wanted what the nation paid -for.... What recruits stayed with us, we were no better, for being -most of them boys, they fell sick as soon as we got into the field.... -If our regiments were only complete as they ought to be, -you would hear something to surprise you in a campaign. -</p> -<p> -See also <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 23rd April 1711, -wherein the Generals report that under the present system of -mustering, recruiting is impossible, and recommend that if any men -die, desert, or are discharged, their names may be kept on the rolls -for the next two musters; and see Coxe's <cite>Marlborough</cite>, vol. vi. -pp. 232, 233.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_444_444" id="Footnote_444_444"></a><a href="#FNanchor_444_444"><span class="label">[444]</span></a> <cite>Miscellaneous Orders</cite> (<cite>Guards and Garrisons</cite>), 17th May 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_445_445" id="Footnote_445_445"></a><a href="#FNanchor_445_445"><span class="label">[445]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> (<cite>Forces Abroad</cite>), 5th March 1706.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_446_446" id="Footnote_446_446"></a><a href="#FNanchor_446_446"><span class="label">[446]</span></a> Conyngham's regiment (8th Hussars) lost on passage to -Portugal 27 chargers out of 70, and 141 troop horses out of 216, -owing to the use of two such transports. The animals were beaten -to pieces and stifled for want of room.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_447_447" id="Footnote_447_447"></a><a href="#FNanchor_447_447"><span class="label">[447]</span></a> "Good squat dragoon horses," <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, 27th February, -10th August 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_448_448" id="Footnote_448_448"></a><a href="#FNanchor_448_448"><span class="label">[448]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 27th February, 10th August -1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_449_449" id="Footnote_449_449"></a><a href="#FNanchor_449_449"><span class="label">[449]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 19th February 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_450_450" id="Footnote_450_450"></a><a href="#FNanchor_450_450"><span class="label">[450]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 15th February 1712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_451_451" id="Footnote_451_451"></a><a href="#FNanchor_451_451"><span class="label">[451]</span></a> Hence the expression, once very common, of a widow's man. -Readers of Marrayat will remember that when Peter Simple was -searching the ship for Cheeks the marine, he was informed that -Cheeks was a widow's man.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_452_452" id="Footnote_452_452"></a><a href="#FNanchor_452_452"><span class="label">[452]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. v. pp. 356, 412. A scale of widows' pensions -from £50 a year for a colonel's to £16 for a cornet's or ensign's -was fixed by regulation, 23rd August 1708. <cite>Miscellaneous Orders -(<em>Guards and Garrisons</em>)</cite>, under date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_453_453" id="Footnote_453_453"></a><a href="#FNanchor_453_453"><span class="label">[453]</span></a> E.g., Cadogan's regiment (5th Dragoon Guards). Marlborough -tried to obtain relief for it. <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 5th -April 1705.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_454_454" id="Footnote_454_454"></a><a href="#FNanchor_454_454"><span class="label">[454]</span></a> W. O. <cite>Miscellaneous Orders</cite>. 17th April 1712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_455_455" id="Footnote_455_455"></a><a href="#FNanchor_455_455"><span class="label">[455]</span></a> See account of Captain Richard Hill. <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, Anne, -vol. x. (undated).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_456_456" id="Footnote_456_456"></a><a href="#FNanchor_456_456"><span class="label">[456]</span></a> <cite>Miscellaneous Orders (<em>Guards and Garrisons</em>)</cite>, 19th October -1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_457_457" id="Footnote_457_457"></a><a href="#FNanchor_457_457"><span class="label">[457]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em> (<cite>Forces Abroad</cite>), 1st May 1711.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_458_458" id="Footnote_458_458"></a><a href="#FNanchor_458_458"><span class="label">[458]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. v. p. 412. Amended regulations, <cite>Miscellaneous -Orders (<em>Forces Abroad</em>)</cite>, 7th September 1712. In the -same letter Marlborough pleaded for the abolition of the 5 per -cent purchase money paid to Chelsea Hospital, which was done by -Order of 1st April 1712. <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, under date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_459_459" id="Footnote_459_459"></a><a href="#FNanchor_459_459"><span class="label">[459]</span></a> Even as things were, officers were occasionally obliged to -accept a Chelsea pension; a captain of horse being admitted on -the footing of a corporal of horse. <cite>Secretary's Common Letter -Book</cite>, 10th January 1712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_460_460" id="Footnote_460_460"></a><a href="#FNanchor_460_460"><span class="label">[460]</span></a> Coxe's <cite>Marlborough</cite>, vol vi. p. 232, 233.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_461_461" id="Footnote_461_461"></a><a href="#FNanchor_461_461"><span class="label">[461]</span></a> Journals of Irish House of Commons. Speeches from the -throne, 1703, 1707, 1710, 1713.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_462_462" id="Footnote_462_462"></a><a href="#FNanchor_462_462"><span class="label">[462]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 21st August 1704. "The -marines are entirely under the Prince's (George of Denmark's) -direction. You must apply to his secretary."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_463_463" id="Footnote_463_463"></a><a href="#FNanchor_463_463"><span class="label">[463]</span></a> The Commissary of the Musters at Portsmouth was "a -superannuated old man who was rolled about in a wheel-barrow." -<cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite>, 15th November 1703.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_464_464" id="Footnote_464_464"></a><a href="#FNanchor_464_464"><span class="label">[464]</span></a> <em>E.g.</em>, Caermarthen's and Shovell's, <em>ibid.</em>, 7th November 1706.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_465_465" id="Footnote_465_465"></a><a href="#FNanchor_465_465"><span class="label">[465]</span></a> <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite> (29th March 1709), vol. xiv. Thirty-eight -mutineers marched on London from Portsmouth in order to lay -down their arms publicly at Whitehall. They were stopped at -Putney. See also <cite>Cal. Treas. Papers</cite> of same date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_466_466" id="Footnote_466_466"></a><a href="#FNanchor_466_466"><span class="label">[466]</span></a> <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, under date.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_467_467" id="Footnote_467_467"></a><a href="#FNanchor_467_467"><span class="label">[467]</span></a> <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, St. John's Commission, 20th April 1704, -8th June 1707; Walpole's, 23rd February 1708; Granville's, -17th October 1710; Windham's, 28th June 1712; Francis -Gwynne's, 31st August 1713.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_468_468" id="Footnote_468_468"></a><a href="#FNanchor_468_468"><span class="label">[468]</span></a> Compare the Duke of Wellington's evidence in 1837: "The -Commander-in-Chief cannot at this moment move a corporal's -guard (four men) from hence to Windsor without going to a civil -department for authority."</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_469_469" id="Footnote_469_469"></a><a href="#FNanchor_469_469"><span class="label">[469]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 22nd December 1708.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_470_470" id="Footnote_470_470"></a><a href="#FNanchor_470_470"><span class="label">[470]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 29th January 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_471_471" id="Footnote_471_471"></a><a href="#FNanchor_471_471"><span class="label">[471]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 7th March 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_472_472" id="Footnote_472_472"></a><a href="#FNanchor_472_472"><span class="label">[472]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 14th May 1709.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_473_473" id="Footnote_473_473"></a><a href="#FNanchor_473_473"><span class="label">[473]</span></a> <em>Ibid.</em>, 22nd December 1710.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_474_474" id="Footnote_474_474"></a><a href="#FNanchor_474_474"><span class="label">[474]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 1st and 3rd March, 24th -May 1712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_475_475" id="Footnote_475_475"></a><a href="#FNanchor_475_475"><span class="label">[475]</span></a> <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, 30th June 1702. Marlborough was -appointed Master-General on 26th March.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_476_476" id="Footnote_476_476"></a><a href="#FNanchor_476_476"><span class="label">[476]</span></a> <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, 29th March 1707. The cost of Dutch -muskets was £8000, and of English £11,000 per 10,000; but -great superiority was claimed for the English.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_477_477" id="Footnote_477_477"></a><a href="#FNanchor_477_477"><span class="label">[477]</span></a> <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, 16th April 1703. April 1704 (arms of -Evans's regiment).</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_478_478" id="Footnote_478_478"></a><a href="#FNanchor_478_478"><span class="label">[478]</span></a> <cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 12th June 1706.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_479_479" id="Footnote_479_479"></a><a href="#FNanchor_479_479"><span class="label">[479]</span></a> <cite>H. O. M. E. B.</cite>, 14th October 1704. <cite>Commons Journals</cite>, -19th March 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_480_480" id="Footnote_480_480"></a><a href="#FNanchor_480_480"><span class="label">[480]</span></a> Parker. See the account of the meeting between the Royal -Irish of England and of France at Malplaquet.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_481_481" id="Footnote_481_481"></a><a href="#FNanchor_481_481"><span class="label">[481]</span></a> Millner. 30th May, 1707.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_482_482" id="Footnote_482_482"></a><a href="#FNanchor_482_482"><span class="label">[482]</span></a> The Duke of Marlborough's new exercise of firelocks and -bayonets, by an officer in the Foot Guards. London, N.D.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_483_483" id="Footnote_483_483"></a><a href="#FNanchor_483_483"><span class="label">[483]</span></a> The most appalling sentence was that given to a guardsman at -home who had slaughtered his colonel's horse for lucre of the hide—seven -distinct floggings of eighteen hundred lashes apiece, or twelve -thousand six hundred lashes in all. His life was despaired of after -the first flogging, and the Queen remitted the remaining six. -<cite>Secretary's Common Letter Book</cite>, 12th Jan. 1712.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_484_484" id="Footnote_484_484"></a><a href="#FNanchor_484_484"><span class="label">[484]</span></a> Newspapers, 3rd March 1703.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_485_485" id="Footnote_485_485"></a><a href="#FNanchor_485_485"><span class="label">[485]</span></a> <cite>Despatches</cite>, vol. iii. pp. 309, 335, 461; <cite>S. P., Dom.</cite>, vol. xix. 23.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_486_486" id="Footnote_486_486"></a><a href="#FNanchor_486_486"><span class="label">[486]</span></a> The testimony to these exertions is to be found only in -Hare's Journal, but it is emphatic.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_487_487" id="Footnote_487_487"></a><a href="#FNanchor_487_487"><span class="label">[487]</span></a> Lediard.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_488_488" id="Footnote_488_488"></a><a href="#FNanchor_488_488"><span class="label">[488]</span></a> "The Duke does not say much, but no one's countenance -speaks more." Hare's Journal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_489_489" id="Footnote_489_489"></a><a href="#FNanchor_489_489"><span class="label">[489]</span></a> Mahon, <cite>Hist. of England</cite>, vol. iii. p. 368.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"> - -<p><a name="Footnote_490_490" id="Footnote_490_490"></a><a href="#FNanchor_490_490"><span class="label">[490]</span></a> St. John.</p></div></div> - - -<div class="transnote pg-brk"> -<a name="TN" id="TN"></a> -<p><strong>TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE</strong></p> - -<p>Seven Footnotes (<a href="#Footnote_298_298">298</a>, <a href="#Footnote_312_312">312</a>, <a href="#Footnote_323_323">323</a>, -<a href="#Footnote_337_337">337</a>, <a href="#Footnote_344_344">344</a>, -<a href="#Footnote_346_346">346</a>, <a href="#Footnote_371_371">371</a>) with Tables -describing the <span class="smcap">'Order of Battle'</span> had many elements printed sideways -in the original text. These have been made horizontal in the etext, -with the regiments listed in each column deployed from right to left.</p> - -<p>The original text had two dots under the date superscripts 'th', -'st', 'nd' and 'rd'; these dots have been removed in the etext.</p> - -<p>A frequent abbreviation in the Footnotes is 'Cal. S. P. Dom.'; this -stands for 'Calendar of State Papers, Domestic'. Also 'H. O. M. E. B.' -stands for 'Home Office Military Entry Book'.</p> - -<p>Obvious typographical errors and punctuation errors have been -corrected after careful comparison with other occurrences within -the text and consultation of external sources.</p> - -<p>Except for those changes noted below, all misspellings in the text, -and inconsistent or archaic usage, have been retained. For example, -firearms, fire-arms; bodyguard, body-guard; footmen, foot-men; -renascence; intestine; blent; mulcted; jobbery; doggrel.</p> - -<p> -<a href="#Page_xxi">Pg xxi</a>, 'Action at Edghill' replaced by 'Action at Edgehill'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_xxvi">Pg xxvi</a>, page number '251' replaced by '351'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_107">Pg 107</a>, 'Lickenau's memorial' replaced by 'Liebenau's memorial'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_125">Pg 125</a>, 'for an arequebus' replaced by 'for an arquebus'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_248">Pg 248</a>, 'sixteeen of horse' replaced by 'sixteen of horse'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_263">Pg 263</a>, 'Neverthless after six' replaced by 'Nevertheless after six'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_306">Pg 306</a>, 'Churchhill, Grafton' replaced by 'Churchill, Grafton'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_347">Pg 347</a>, 'Of fourteeen' replaced by 'Of fourteen'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_445">Pg 445</a>, 'wholly ontwitted' replaced by 'wholly outwitted'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_506">Pg 506</a>, sidenote date range '19-20' replaced by '9-10'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_513">Pg 513</a>, sidenote date range '19/23' replaced by '19/30'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_518">Pg 518</a>, 'Sart and Blangies' replaced by 'Sart and Blaugies'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_536">Pg 536</a>, 'made commanner-in-chief' replaced by 'made commander-in-chief'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_538">Pg 538</a>, 'did not undestand' replaced by 'did not understand'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_574">Pg 574</a>, 'was unwiliing to' replaced by 'was unwilling to'.<br /> -<a href="#Page_577">Pg 577</a>, 'through mismangement' replaced by 'through mismanagement'.<br /> -<a href="#Footnote_224_224">Footnote [224]</a>, 'Guardes Suisses' replaced by 'Gardes Suisses'.<br /> -</p> -</div> - - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of A History of the British Army, Vol. 1, by -J. 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