1708. In the mean while the French generals were contriving means to diftrefs the confederate army in fuch a manner, as to oblige prince Eugene to raise the fiege; and, in order to this, they at laft found an opportunity of engaging fome of the inhabitants at Aeth in a confpiracy to deliver up that town; while, on the other hand, they were indefatigable in concerting measures for cutting off the convoys, of which the camp before Lifle ftood in need. The former scheme failed; for, before the confpiracy at Aeth was ripe for execution, it was difcovered: but, in the latter part of their defign, they fucceeded. For, after various motions of both armies, they began to throw up lines for fecuring the paffes of the Scheld, and worked at them fo hard, that they appeared rather like the fortifications of a town, than intrenchments thrown up in hafte, notwithstanding they were seventy miles in length. On thefe they laid cannon, and pofted the greateft part of their army upon them, fo that they did effectually ftop all communication by the Scheld. Upon which the ftates ordered all that was neceffary, both for the army and for the fiege, to be fent to Oftend. And if the French had begun their defigns, with the intercepting this way of conveyance, the fiege must have been raifed, for want of ammunition to carry it on. Bold at- The duke of Burgundy was very uneafy for want of intempt of telligence from Lifle; which put Dubois, a captain in his a French army, on one of the boldeft enterprizes, which perhaps was officer. ever undertaken by a fingle man. He determined to attempt Mil. Hift. getting into the city, notwithstanding the ftrict guards kept by the befiegers. He undreffed himself, and, having hid his cloaths, fwam over feven canals and ditches, and fo got into the town. Marfhal Boufflers having provided him with cloaths, conducted him to both the attacks, fhewed him the condition all things were in, and, having written a letter to the duke of Burgundy, he rolled it up in wax, which the captain put in his mouth. He then returned the fame way he came, with the intelligence the duke of Burgundy wanted; by which it was faid, marfhal Boufflers acquainted him, that if one of the allies convoys could be intercepted, the fiege would be raised; and that he would undertake the place thould hold out till the 6th or 10th of October. On the 12th of September, about nine in the morning, the befieged came out of the town in great numbers, with four colours, and attacked the trenches on the left in fix different places, having, at the fame time, another body of troops in the covered way, ready to fuftain them. But be fore fore they could do any other damage than the overturning a few gabions, they were engaged by the next battalions in the trenches, and obliged to retreat in great diforder, having had above fixty men killed, and among them several officers; and, of the confederates, fourteen men were killed, and near thirty wounded. Lieutenant-general Arnam continued that night in the trenches, which were relieved, the night between the 13 and 14th, by the prince of Holftein-Beck; but the works were not advanced very much, because the troops, which had joined the grand army with prince Eugene, were not returned to their respective pofts. However, they arrived the 14th, a little before break of day. The fame night the trenches were relieved by lieutenant-general Spaar, with ten battalions, as ufual; and the befiegers began to work upon fome mines, in order to fill up the ditch of the tenaille, and they placed a great many gabions on the palifadoes. On the 15th, prince Eugene thought fit to alter the former difpofitions for relieving the trenches, and ordered, that all the lieutenant-generals of his army should roll according to their turns; that one of them fhould mount the trenches every day with a major-general; that the former should take his post at the attack on the left, and the latter on the right; and that twelve battalions, instead of ten, fhould mount the trenches, five Imperialifts, Palatines, and Heffians, and feven, detached from the troops of the prince of Naffau. Accordingly, on the 17th in the evening, lieutenant-general Wilks relieved the trenches with twelve battalions; and the fame night, director du Mey attacked, with fifty grenadiers, and the like number of fufileers, a traverfe in the covered way, from which he beat the enemy with confiderable lofs. From the 17th to the 20th, the befiegers made their advances with all poffible diligence. The affault was intended to be made on the 20th in the evening; but the enemy having burnt the galleries and bridges, which were to be made use of therein, it was for this reason put off to the 21ft in the evening. About half an hour after fix, the trenches were relieved by lieutenant-general Wilks, major-general Saiken, and Sir Richard Temple, with the ufual number of battalions; the fignal being given by a general discharge from the batteries, and the mines on the right and left fprung with good fuccefs. The grenadiers marched out with great intrepidity, mounted the breach of the tenaille on the right, obliged the enemy to retire into the retrenchment of that work, and made there a good lodgment. On the left, they had ftill greater fuccefs, for they poffeffed 1708. them 1708. themfelves of a place of arms on the counterfcarp of the tenaille, and drove the enemy out of the counterfcarp before the grand breach, fo that here they made two lodgments; but on a fudden, the enemy came down in fuch numbers, that the officer who commanded this party of the allies, with a confiderable number of his men, were prefently killed, the lodgments ruined, and the reft of the grenadiers obliged to retire. Prince Eugene feeing this, and believing that his prefence would re-animate the grenadiers, came out of the trenches; and, as the French accounts fay, rallied them thrice, advancing at their head, till he received a wound by a mufket-fhot, which, grazing over his left eye, beat off his hat. The prince of Heffe-Caffel, who was near him, took his own hat, which was likewife fhot through, and put it upon prince Eugene's head, who was prevailed on to retire, in order to have his wound dreffed. This action coft the allies near a thousand men, to fupply which, the duke of Marlborough fent the next day a reinforcement of four hundred British and Pruffian grenadiers from his army to the fiege. The fame morning the duke and king Auguftus went to make prince Eugene a vifit, and, finding him ready to mount on horseback, they prevailed on him to continue a few days in his chamber, till he was perfectly recovered: during which time the duke fuftained the weight of the command, both of the fiege and his own army; for he immediately went into the trenches, vifited the works, and performed all that prince Eugene would have done, had he not been prevented by his wounds. On the 22d, major-general Cadogan fet out for Oftend, to view a confiderable number of troops, which were landed there from England, under the command of lieutenant-general Erle, and to concert the neceffary measures for fecuring a great convoy they expected from Oftend. Thefe troops had been embarked on board the fleet for fome time, made a feint of landing in Boulogne bay, and afterwards alarmed the French coaft of Normandy, to the great terror and expence of the inhabitants; and at length returning to their own coaft, the duke of Marlborough defired they might be landed at Oftend; and they proved a very feasonable reinforcement to the grand army in that critical conjuncture. The fame day the four hundred grenadiers, who were detached from the duke's army, and five and fifty fufileers, were to poft themfelves that evening in the tenaille on the left; but the grenadiers arriving too late, the attack was deferred till the next day; fo that, on the 23d, all things being in readiness, the duke of Marlborough, who was in the trenches, caufed a fignal to be given for the ftorm to begin, which was carried on with all imaginable fuccefs. The troops drove the ehemy quite from the tenaille on the left (that on the right being taken the 21ft at night) and made a great lodgment along the covered way, without any confiderable lofs, except fome engineers and officers, who were wounded. It was obferved on this occafion, that the enemy did not defend these posts with the fame vigour, which they had formerly exerted; from whence it was conjectured, that either the garrifon had been much weakened in the hot difputes which they had fuftained, or began to want ammunition, which afterwards proved very apparent. For the fiege having been protracted to an unusual length, and the garrifon having fuftained feveral affaults, and made all the while prodigious fire, marfhal Boufflers found means to acquaint the duke of Vendofme, that he had scarce ammunition fufficient for four days; which preffing neceffity obliged the enemy to venture upon a bold attempt of fupplying the place. In order to that, the duke of Vendofme detached the chavalier de Luxemberg, and under him monfieur de Tournefort, with a body of horse and dragoons, to endeavour to fupply the befieged, each man having a bag of forty pound weight of powder behind him. They advanced, the 28th at night, along the caufey from Doway to Lifle, and were met by an out-guard of one hundred horfe, commanded by count Schlick, who had been encamped at Pont a Trefn, with thirty fquadrons. This out-guard challenged them; and they declared that they belonged to the allies grand army, and were condu&ing fome prifoners to the camp. But a fubaltern officer, having a miftruft, advanced to examine them, who, thinking it impoffible to conceal themselves any longer, rode full galtop along the caufey, and got into the line of circumvallation. The guard and centinels having fired at them, the camp in general took the alarm, and feveral Palatine dragoons, getting on horfeback with the utmost expedition, fell upon the enemy, and purfued them to the barrier of the town, which the befieged were at first cautious of opening, and left their men for fome time exposed; by which means a great many were killed, and feveral returned back into the confederate camp, and endeavoured to fave themfelves by favour of the night. The infantry made feveral difcharges at them; and the powder they had in their bags taking fire, did great mischief. Thofe who made their escape, threw away their powder, which was set on fire by 1708. 1708. their horses striking against the pavement. The allies took feven officers and about forty prifoners; but what numbers were killed and blown up, could not eafily be known (k). (k) The hereditary prince of Heffe-Caffel gave the following account of this affair to the States General. High and mighty lords, Yefterday towards the evening Whilft the firft fire that fell upon their way |