the next day at eleven o'clock, after hearing that our convoy were paffing Rouffelaer. We remained on the field of battle till two o'clock the next morning, having first carried off all our wounded, and feveral of the enemy. This victory is the more furprising, that, by reason of feveral detachments, we had not above fix thoufand in the action; whereas the enemy, by their own accounts, had no less than twenty-four thousand men. 1708. at Menin, The count de la Motte, being obliged to retire, gave the The convoy convoy an opportunity to arrive the fame night unmolefted arrives fafe at Rouffelaer, and the next day at Menin: and, as this cri- Sept. 29. tical action was chiefly owing to general Webb's conduct N. S, and military abilities, fo that eminent fervice was defervedly acknowledged, both by the unanimous thanks of the commons of Great-Britain, and, in a particular manner, by the king of Pruffia, who conferred on that general the noble order of Generofity (m). cuted. On the 30th of September, prince Eugene being reco- Siege of vered of his wound, vifited the trenches, to the inexpreffible Life profejoy of the confederate troops. The next day the trenches were relieved by the prince of Holftein-Beck, major-general Sacken, and Sir Richard Temple, with five battalions on the right, and feven on the left; and that evening they at-" tacked and made a lodgment on the counterscarp, before the great breach on the right, the enemy retiring behind the traverfes on the left. On the 3d, a difpofition was made for attacking the ravelin on the right; and three hundred grenadiers were detached from the duke of Marlborough's army to join the troops for that fervice. The attack began about noon, and fucceeded fo well, that, by half an hour after one, they made a lodgment on the ravelin, and forced the enemy behind the traverses to leap into the water, where moft of them were killed or drowned; fo that the befiegers were now mafters of both the counter-guards and the ravelin. On the 7th, the befiegers continued to finish the batteries on the counterscarp, to ruin the batteries of the 1708. enemy on the courtine, and beat down the bridge of communication, which they had from a place of arms to the ravelin. They carried on two mines on the left attack, towards the faliant angle of the counterfcarp, over-against the breach; and the miners difcovered two mines of the enemy, from which they took out the powder. On the 8th in the evening, the enemy fallied out, and overturned feveral gabions about our places of arms at the left attack; and the next day was partly spent about repairing the works, and fetting up the gabions again, which the enemy had overturned the night before. On the 12th, the befiegers continued to inlarge the place of arms for the general affault, and finished two defcents into the ditch on the right. But on the left, the enemy returned behind two traverses of the covered way, behind the courtine, which hindered the advancement of the work on that fide. On the 13th, the befiegers fprung a mine under the place of arms, which blew up feveral of the enemy's men; and, in the evening. thirty grenadiers attacked the enemy behind the two traverfes on the left, and overfet the boat, by which they would have retired; fo that, of a lieutenant, a ferjeant, and twenty men, three only were made prifoners, the reft being. either killed or drowned. The 15th, the befiegers sprung four mines in the place of arms on the right, where the enemy had caft up an intrenchment, inlarged the places of arms for the general affault, and on the left made fome progrefs in the lodgment in the covered way. The 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th, the befiegers made all the neceffary preparations for a general ftorm, by continuing to drain the ditch, making apertures in the walls, working on the galleries, filling up the ditch, perfecting their lodgments and places of arms, and finifhing their batteries, which confifted of fortyfive pieces of cannon and fifty-five mortars; to fupply which a new convoy of twenty-thousand weight of powder, with a great number of bombs, cannon-balls, and hand-grenados, arrived at the ficge from Oftend. The French The duke of Vendofme, exafperated at count de la Motte's attack Lef- fhameful defeat at Wynendale, marched in perfon to Oufinghen. denburg, with the best part of the French army, and ordered the dykes between Bruges and Newport to be cut in feveral places, in order to lay the country under water, and hinder the communication between Oftend and the duke of Marlborough's army. But, notwithstanding the great inundation, major-general Cadogan, favoured by the British troops at Leffinghen, found means to carry through the water confiderable fiderable quantities of ammunition and other neceffaries. Hereupon the duke of Vendofme bent his efforts against the village of Leffinghen, with feven or eight thousand of his men (n). They intrenched themfelves, and threw up batteries against the place, as if it had been one of the most regular fortifications in the world. On the 19th of October, the enemy fired the whole day from one of their batteries with red-hot bullets against the houfes, wherein about four hundred barrels of powder were lodged; but, to prevent mischief, that ammunition was ordered to be laid under water, preferving only as much as was thought necessary for maintaining that poft. On the 20th, upon advice that the duke of Vendofme was to be that night in the trenches, it was refolved to attack the enemy on the other side of the canal; and fifty grenadiers of the Dutch regiment of Vanderbeck, commanded by captain Moor, and the fame number of the regiment of Caris, commanded by captain Clare, the whole supported by two hundred English, were ordered for that service. Four grenadiers were fent before, who, pretending to be deferters, amused the enemy, whilft the reft of the troops came up, who, charging the French with great bravery, drove them from that post to a second intrenchment, and seized their battery, where they continued for fome time. The enemy loft an hundred men in this attack, bèfides forty taken prifoners, among whom were a captain and the chevalier de Croiffi Colbert, a major general and engineer, who offered the foldier that took him, two hundred piftoles and a commiffion for his liberty, which he generoufly refused. On the confederates fide, captain Clare was killed, and captain Moor received a mortal wound through his body with a bayonet; befides which, two fubalterns were wounded, and fifteen private men killed or wounded. On the 15th, early in the morning, the French attacked a church-yard, wherein colonel Caulfield, who commanded in Leffinghen, had pofted an hundred and fifty men, who made but little refiftance, and retired into a redoubt near the canal. At laft a great body of the enemy, confifting of fifty companies of grenadiers, fupported by ten thousand foot, poffeffed themselves of the village, and obliged colonel Caul (n) Leffinghen is an inconfiderable village in the neighbourhood of Oftend, where a body of the confederate troops were pofted, in order to keep open a communication with the grand" army of the allies, to the be- D 2 field, 1708. 52 1708. field, with the reft of his troops, to furrender themselves prifoners at difcretion. The confe This eafy conqueft was not an equivalent for the great lofs derates take which the enemy fuftained two days after by the surrender of poffeffion of the town of the town of Lifle. For the batteries of the befiegers, conLifle. fifting of about fifty pieces of cannon and twenty-five mor- . tars, began to fire on the 21ft of October, with fo much fuccefs, that, on the 22d, the garrison beat a parley, and offered to capitulate for the town. Whereupon hoftages were exchanged, and it was agreed that marshal Boufflers fhould capitulate for whatever related to the garrifon, with prince Eugene of Savoy; and that the magiftrates and council of the town fhould propofe their own terms for themselves and the caftellary of Lifle, and agree about the fame with the field-deputies of the ftates-general; which was done accordingly. The 23d in the morning, the capitulation was concluded and figned, containing in fubftance, "That the French "fhould that afternoon, furrender the Magdalen-Gate, and "all magazines of provifions and ammunition in the town. "That all their fick and wounded should either be transport"el to Doway, or remain in Lifle till their recovery, at their σε own charge. That the horfe, who had entered the town "fince the fiege, might be fent to Doway, with the wives "and families of the officers and foldiers, &c. That all prifoners 'taken during the fiege be restored on "both fides: and that the troops of the allies fhould not en"ter the town before tha 25th of October; by which time "the French garrifon was to withdraw into the citadel.” Thefe articles being agreed on, and all things disposed for the performance of the capitulation, the cavalry, which got into the place, under the command of the chevalier de Luxemburg, marched out the 25th for Doway, with the other perfons that were allowed by the capitulation; and, at the fame time, the prince of Holftein-Beck, who was appointed to be governor of the town, marched in with two English and thirteen other battalions, and a detachment of horfe. It is difficult to determine the lofs on either fide, from the r3th of Auguft, N. S. when Lifle was invested, to the 23d of October, the day on which the town furrendered. But, according to the French account, they had twelve thoufand men in garrison, when the confederates broke ground against them, befides three thoufand burghers, who did conftant duty with the regular troops; of which four thousand five hundred only retired with marhal Boufflers into the citadel; and it is computed that about two thousand more were fick and wounded 53 wounded at the time of the capitulation; fo that the French loft betwixt fix and feven thoufand men, upon a reasonable computation, and the allies near eight thoufand. 1708 of Lifle pro The ceffation of all acts of hoftility between the town and The fiege of the citadel, which was to expire the 26th, according to the the citadel articles of capitulation, was continued till the 29th; during fecuted. which time the inhabitants, who were very much afraid that the French would not have so much regard to their houfes as the allies had, ufed their utmoft endeavours to perfuade Boufflers to capitulate. The enemy made extravagant demands of money, and pretended to march out with all their cannon; and that the allies fhould fet at liberty marfhal Tallard, with some other unreasonable pretenfions, which the allies rejected, with scorn. Thefe negociations being broke off, the hoftilities began at five o'clock; but during the ceflation, the befiegers had caft up intrenchments, and drawn a parallel from one end of the efplanade to the other. They had alfo made feveral coupures on the wall near the citadel, to the right and left. The hereditary prince of Heffe-Caffel pofted himself at la Baffeé, and orders were given to fortify that. place. The duke of Marlborough continued at Rousselaer, for the more easy fubfiftance of the confederate troops. From thence he detached the earl of Stair, to provide corn for the army in the diftricts of Furnes and Dixmuyde. That detachment had the good fortune to furprize four companies of French grenadiers, at the bridge between Dixmuyde and Newport. On the other hand, they met with the great mortification to have four of their fquadrons undergo the fame fate. Thofe troops were all Pruffians, and defended themfelves for fome time with great bravery; but finding, that all the avenues were clofed, and that there was no poffibility of forcing their way through the enemy's troops, they were obliged to furrender themfelves prifoners of war. Monfieur While these matters were tranfacted, the brave veldtmarshal Auverquerque departed this life on the 18th, in his Auverquerquarters at Rouffelaer, in the 67th year of his age; where- que dies. by the command of the Dutch troops fell of courfe to the count de Tilly, as the eldeft general in the fervice of the ftates. On the 29th, about five in the afternoon, the befieged in the citadel of Lifle began hoftilities, by the difcharge of five pieces of cannon, which they continued to fire the rest of the evening, without doing the befiegers any confiderable damage. On the other hand, the allies contrated the lines of circumvallation, and erected batteries of cannon and mortars, which they were ready to fire upon the citadel |