Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton. Daniel Defoe

it might rather deserve that of a confus'd Skirmish; all Things having been forcibly carried on without Regularity, or even Design enough to allow it any higher Denomination: For, as I have said before, notwithstanding I was advantagiously stationed for Observation, I found it very often impossible to distinguish one Party from another. And this was more remarkably evident on the Part of the Prince of Orange, whose Valour and Vigour having led him into the Middle of the Enemy, and being then sensible of his Error, by a peculiar Presence of Mind, gave the Word of Command in French, which he spoke perfectly well. But the French Soldiers, who took him for one of their own Generals, making Answer, that their Powder was all spent, it afforded Matter of Instruction to him to persist in his Attack; at the same Time, that it gave him a Lesson of Caution, to withdraw himself, as soon as he could, to his own Troops.

      However, the Day after the Prince of Orange thought proper to march to Quarignan, a Village within a League of Mons; where he remain'd some Days, till he could be supply'd from Brussells with those Necessaries which his Army stood in need of.

      From thence we march'd to Valenciennes, where we again encamp'd, till we could receive Things proper for a Siege. Upon the Arrival whereof, the Prince gave Orders to decamp, and march'd his Army with a Design to besiege Aeth. But having Intelligence on our March, that the Mareschal De Humiers had reinforc'd that Garrison, we march'd directly to Oudenard, and immediately invested it.

      This Siege was carried on with such Application and Success, that the Besiegers were in a few Days ready for a Storm; but the Prince of Condé prevented them, by coming up to its Relief. Upon which the Prince of Orange, pursuant to the Resolution of a Council of War the Night before, drew off his Forces in order to give him Battle; and to that purpose, after the laborious Work of filling up our Lines of Contravallation, that the Horse might pass more freely, we lay upon our Arms all Night. Next Morning we expected the Imperial General, Count Souches, to join us; but instead of that, he sent back some very frivolous Excuses, of the Inconveniency of the Ground for a Battle; and after that, instead of joining the Prince, marched off quite another way; the Prince of Orange, with the Dutch and Spanish Troops, marched directly for Ghent; exclaiming publickly against the Chicanery of Souches, and openly declaring, That he had been advertis'd of a Conference between a French Capuchin and that General, the Night before. Certain it is, that that General lay under the Displeasure of his Master, the Emperor, for that Piece of Management; and the Count de Sporck was immediately appointed General in his Place.

      The Prince of Orange was hereupon leaving the Army in great Disgust, till prevail'd upon by the Count de Montery, for the general Safety, to recede from that Resolution. However, seeing no likelihood of any Thing further to be done, while Souches was in Command, he resolv'd upon a Post of more Action, though more dangerous; wherefore ordering ten Thousand Men to march before, he himself soon after foliow'd to the Siege of Grave.

      The Grave, a strong Place, and of the first Moment to the Hollanders, had been block'd up by the Dutch Forces all the Summer; the Prince of Orange therefore leaving the main Army under Prince Waldeck at Ghent, follow'd the Detachment he had made for the Siege of that important Place, resolving to purchase it at any Rate. On his Arrival before it, Things began to find new Motion; and as they were carried on with the utmost Application and Fury, the Besieged found themselves, in a little Time, oblig'd to change their haughty Summer Note for one more suitable to the Season.

      The Prince, from his first coming, having kept those within hotly ply'd with Ball, both from Cannon and Mortars, Monsieur Chamilly, the Governor, after a few Days, being weary of such warm Work, desired to capitulate; upon which Hostages were exchanged, and Articles agreed on next Morning. Pursuant to which, the Garrison march'd out with Drums beating and Colours flying, two Days after, and were conducted to Charleroy.

      By the taking this Place, which made the Prince of Orange the more earnest upon it, the French were wholly expell'd their last Year's astonishing Conquests in Holland. And yet there was another Consideration, that render'd the Surrender of it much more considerable. For the French being sensible of the great Strength of this Place, had there deposited all their Cannon and Ammunition, taken from their other Conquests in Holland, which they never were able to remove or carry off, with tolerable Prospect of Safety, after that Prince's Army first took the Field.

      The Enemy being march'd out, the Prince enter'd the Town, and immediately order'd public Thanksgivings for its happy Reduction. Then having appointed a Governor, and left a sufficient Garrison, he put an End to that Campaign, and return'd to the Hague, where he had not been long before he fell ill of the Small Pox. The Consternation this threw the whole Country into, is not to be express'd; Any one that had seen it would have thought, that the French had made another Inundation greater than the former. But when the Danger was over, their Joy and Satisfaction, for his Recovery, was equally beyond Expression.

      The Year 1675 yielded very little remarkable in our Army. Limburgh was besieged by the French, under the Command of the Duke of Enguien, which the Prince of Orange having Intelligence of, immediately decamp'd from his fine Camp at Bethlem, near Louvain, in order to raise the Siege. But as we were on a full March for that purpose, and had already reach'd Ruremond, Word was brought, that the Place had surrender'd the Day before. Upon which Advice, the Prince, after a short Halt, made his little Army (for it consisted not of more than thirty Thousand Men) march back to Brabant. Nothing of moment, after this, occurr'd all that Campaign.

      In the Year 1676, the Prince of Orange having, in concert with the Spaniards, resolv'd upon the important Siege of Maestrich (the only Town in the Dutch Provinces, then remaining in the Hands of the French) it was accordingly invested about the middle of June, with an Army of twenty Thousand Men, under the Command of his Highness Prince Waldeck, with the grand Army covering the Siege. It was some Time before the heavy Cannon, which we expected up the Maes, from Holland, arrived; which gave Occasion to a Piece of Raillery of Monsieur Calvo, the Governor, which was as handsomely repartec'd. That Governor, by a Messenger, intimating his Sorrow to find, we had pawn'd our Cannon for Ammunition Bread. Answer was made, That in a few Days we hoped to give him a Taste of the Loaves, which he should find would be sent him into the Town in extraordinary plenty. I remember another Piece of Raillery, which pass'd some Days after between the Rhingrave and the same Calvo. The former sending Word, that he hoped within three Weeks to salute that Governor's Mistress within the Place. Calvo reply'd, He'd give him leave to kiss her all over, if he kiss'd her any where in three Months.

      But our long expected Artillery being at last arriv'd, all this Jest and Merriment was soon converted into earnest. Our Trenches were immediately open'd towards the Dauphin Bastion, against which were planted many Cannon, in order to make a Breach; my self as a Probationer being twice put upon the forlorn Hope to facilitate that difficult Piece of Service. Nor was it long before such a Breach was effected, as was esteem'd practicable, and therefore very soon after it was ordered to be attack'd.

      The Disposition for the Attack was thus ordered; two Serjeants with twenty Grenadiers, a Captain with fifty Men, my self one of the Number; then a Party carrying Wool Sacks, and after them two Captains with one Hundred Men more; the Soldiers in the Trenches to be ready to sustain them, as Occasion should require.

      The Signal being given, we left our Trenches accordingly, having about one Hundred Yards to run, before we could reach the Breach, which we mounted with some Difficulty and Loss; all our Batteries firing at the same instant to keep our Action in countenance, and favour our Design. When we were in Possession of the Bastion, the Enemy fir'd most furiously upon us with their small Cannon through a thin brick Wall, by which, and their hand Grenadoes, we lost more Men than we did in the Attack it self.

      But well had it been had our ill Fortune stopp'd there; for as if Disaster must needs be the Concomitant of Success, we soon lost what we had thus gotten, by a small, but very odd Accident. Not being furnished with such Scoopes as our Enemies made use of, in tossing their hand Grenadoes some distance off, one of our own Soldiers aiming to throw one over