1708. by the 11th of November. The befiegers carried on their approaches by the fap; and, the befieged fparing their small ftock of ammunition, as well as the befiegers, the attack of that fortress was maintained with confiderable lofs. On the 13th, the confederates lodged themselves by the palisadoes of the firft covered way; and the next day they made themselves mafters of the whole counterfcarp, except two places of arms, which the enemy abandoned the 15th. The allies erected two batteries on that work, but did not design to play their artillery from thence, till they had lodged themfelves on the fecond counterfcarp. For which purpofe, they prepared a great quantity of fafcines, continued to drain the ditch, made feveral openings into it, paffed the fame the 17th in the night, and lodged themselves on the glacis of the fecond covered way, without any lofs. Four days before the prince d'Auvergne was detached from la Baffeé, to attack the fort St. Venant upon the Lys, on the frontiers of Artois, in which the enemy had pofted a hundred men, who, upon the approach of that prince, made only one difcharge, and retired towards Aire. The elector defign upon While the fiege of the citadel of Lifle was carrying on with all the vigour that is confiftent with the cautious method of fapping, both out of a juft regard for the lives of valiant men, who had already gone through incredible fatigue and innumerable dangers, and for want of fufficient stores of ammunition; the enemy thought to have taken fuch infallible meafures for diftreffing the allies, as well by their inundations. between Bruges and Newport, as by their intrenchments along the Scheld, that their public minifters in Rome and Venice boldly afferted, "That the confederate army was fo cooped up, that they would foon either be famished, or obliged to abandon Lifle." But the two great confederate generals being indefatigably intent upon their proper business, the duke of Marlborough in providing corn out of the country of Artois, and the diftricts of Furnes and Dixmuyde; and prince Eugene in managing what was fent him by the duke of Marlborough, both armies lived in parfimonious plenty; and the fiege of the citadel was carried on with all the fuccefs, that could be expected, 66 The enemy opened a new scene; their parties made inof Ravaria's curfions into the diftri&t of Boifledue, burning and ravaging Bruffels. part of the open country; and, at the fame time, the elector of Bavaria approached Bruffels with a body of ten thoufand men. But the duke of Marlborough, having concer-. ted meatures with prince Eugene to pafs the Scheld, immediately ately dispatched orders for the feveral. British and Dutch regiments to be tranfported from Oftend to Antwerp, and fent to monfieur Pafchal, the governor of Bruffels, to affure him, that he would certainly come to his relief. Upon which encouragement, the ftates deputies refolved to ftay in Bruffels ; and the vigorous measures, they took with the council of state and the governor, were very inftrumental in the prefervation of that important place. Nor were the ftates general lefs folicitous for Antwerp, whither they dispatched some of their own members, with general Frefheim, an experienced officer, and ordered troops to haften thither from Naerden, Heufden, Gavre, and other places. On the 22d of November, N. S. the elector of Bavaria invested Bruffels (o); and, the next day, fent a trumpeter, with a fummons to general Pafchal to furrender, in thefe terms: "His electoral highness "knowing, that the commandant is not in a condition to "defend himfelf with the few troops he has; if he obliges "his electoral highness to begin the attack, he shall have no "capitulation for himself or his garrifon. Let not the com"mandant flatter himself, that he can retire with his garri"fon to Antwerp, if he delays to furrender; for he is to "know, that he will foon find troops posted to hinder his "retreat." The governor, who had nine battalions and a thousand horfe under him, returned an answer by the same trumpeter: "That he was very unfortunate in not having the "honour to be known to his electoral highness; that he "durft affure him, he would do all that a man of honour "ought to do, and that he was fatisfied with the garrison." The elector was not a little furpriz'd at this resolute answer: and, on the 26th of November, in the morning, the enemy began to fire from their batteries against the city (but with little fuccefs) and in the evening, with their fmali fhot against the men in the outworks, and, about nine at night, they attacked the counterscarp with great fury, between the gates (0) Bruffels is a very fair, large, and noble city of the Low-Countries, the marquifate of the dukedom of Brabant in the quarter of Bruffels, fubject to the queen of Hungary, and the feat of her chief governor for thefe parts. It was abandoned by the French immediately after the memorable battle of Ramillies, and made its fubmiffion to the duke of D 4 Marlborough. The elector made \ of 1708. 1708. of Louvain and Namur. The fire was terrible on both fides, and lafted till five the next morning; during which time the enemy made nine attacks, and at laft lodged themfelves on the glacis of the counterfcarp. But about fix o'clock the befieged made a fally from the covered way fword in hand, with fuch fuccefs, that the enemy were driven out of their works, after a moft obftinate and bloody engagement. The action ceafed the 27th, about ten in the morning, and the allies expected to be attacked a fecond time at night; for their spies unanimously reported, that the enemy had a defign, not only to make a general affault, but would alfo fire with red-hot bullets, to excite the burghers to fedition; upon which the befieged difpofed all things as well as poffible for refifting the enemy's attacks. But in the afternoon, instead of renewing the engagement, the elector of Bavaria demanded a fufpenfion of arms, in order, as he pretended, to bury the dead, and draw off the wounded; which proved but a ftratagem to raise the fiege with lefs difadvantage. For upon the arrival of two couriers from Mons, with intelligence, that the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene had paffed the Scheld, in order to relieve Bruffels; his electoral highnefs fent away his baggage, and in the night marched off with his troops, without found of trumpet or beat of drum, and with fuch precipitation, that the enemy left in their camp twelve pieces of cannon nailed up, two large mortars, and about twenty barrels of powder. They alfo left about eight hundred men wounded in the adjacent villages; and the dragoons and huflars, who, the next morning, went out in pursuit of the enemy, brought in a great many prisoners, and fome baggage. So that it was computed, that, what with their killed, wounded, prifoners, or deferters, this unfuccessful expedition coft them above three thousand men; whereas the lofs of the allies did not amount to above five or fix hundred killed or wounded. For this brave and refolute defence of the city of Bruffels, lieutenant-general Pafchal was juftly advanced by king Charles III, to the dignity of a marquis. However, it had not been poffible for that general to defend himself much longer, with a garrifon of fcarce five thousand men, in fo large and unfortified a place. The prefervation of Bruffels was therefore principally owing to the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene, who, with incredible fecrecy and expedition, paffed the Scheld the 27th of November in the morning, with very little oppofition; the French, in a panic fear, abandoning thofe lines and intrenchments, which they had been been cafting up for three months paft. This affair was managed with so much precaution, as redounded greatly to the reputation of the confederate generals. For the duke of Marlborough being early acquainted with the extremity, which the city of Bruffels was in, recalled the troops, which were in the district of Furnes, commanded by lieutenantgeneral Fagel, which joined the army at Rouffelaer on the 22d, and also the detachment, which was at Lens and la Baffeé. The fame day they received advice, that the dam which the enemy had been making near Gavre, to ftop the course of the Scheld, was broke and carried away by the rapidity of the ftream, which very much facilitated their paffing that river. The army arrived the 25th of Harlebeck, and continued there till four in the afternoon, for giving time to prince Eugene to come up to the place appointed. 1708. Scheld. The measures were concerted thus: that prince Eugene's Measures army fhould pass the river between Effenaffe and Hauterive; concerted for the duke of Marlborough and count Tilly at Kerkhoven; and paffing the count Lottum, with the earl of Orkney, between Gavre and Afperon. Major-general Cadogan, and brigadier Evans, were sent before to lay the pontoons over the Scheld, who not only performed orders, but paffed the river, and posted themselves and their detachment on the other fide, and put to flight a body of the French, which lay intrenched thereabouts. The confederate troops where therefore ordered to march with all poffible expedition, and, as they passed_the river, they formed themfelves in order of battle. Prince Eugene, having advice of these proceedings, paffed directly over the river, and joined the duke of Marlborough at Kerkhoven. Upon their conjunction, they advanced to Berchem, in order to diflodge the enemy from that poft; but monfieur Souteron, who commanded there, retired with the utmoft precipitation. The Dutch cavalry perfued them, and happened to fall in with a party of grenadiers, who had lined fome hedges and ditches, in order to secure the retreat of the reft. In this action the allies had about fixty men either killed or wounded; among the latter brigadier Baldwin, in the service of the ftates, was fhot through the body; and the earl of Albemarle, prince William of Heffe, and count Maurice of Naffau, had their horfes killed under them. The confederates pursued the enemy till it was dark, and incamped on the hills near Oudenard, to the joy of the whole army, who expected to have met with great difficulties in paffing the Scheld, and to the furprize of the generals themfelves, who could 1708. could not have imagined, that the enemy would have fo eaftly abandoned posts so advantageous to nature, and which they had fortified with fo much application and labour. In the feveral pursuits, the confederate troops took great part of the enemy's baggage, their bread-waggons, feveral colours, ftandards, and two or three pair of kettle-drums, and killed and made prisoners near a thousand men (p). The duke of Marlborough, upon his arrival at Oudenard, took the neceffary measures for advancing towards Bruffels, and, in his march, he was informed at Aloft, and the elector of Bavaria, upon the first notice of the paffage of the Scheld, had quited the fiege with great precipitation, leaving all his artillery and wounded men behind him. The duke came to Bruffels on the 29th of November in the morning, to take proper measures for fending a fupyly of ammunition and ftores to the fiege of the citadel of Lifle, and to thank the garrison of Bruffels for their vigorous defence. He was received with great acclamations of joy, and complimented by the ftates of Brabant, and the magiftrates of the city, upon their deliverance, which they justly attributed to his (p) Burnet fays, The duke of Marlborough, hearing the duke of Bavaria was going to attack Bruffels, made a fudden motion towards the Scheld: but, to deceive the enemy, it was given out, that he defigned to march directly towards Ghent, and this was believed by his whole army, and it was probably carried to the enemy; for they feemed to have no notice nor apprehenfion of his defign on the Scheld: he advanced towards it in the night, and marched with the foot very quick, leaving the horfe to come up with the artillery: the lines were fo ftrong, that it was expected, that, in the breaking through them, there muft have been a very hot action: fome of the general officers told me, that they reckoned it would have coft them at least ten thoufand men; but to their great furprize, as foon as they paffed the river, the French ran away without offering to make the least refiftance; and they had drawn off their cannon the day before. Our men were very weary with the night's march, fo they could not purfue; for the horfe were not come up, nor did the garrifon of Oudenard fally out; yet they took a thoufand prisoners. Whether the notice of the feint, that the duke of Marlborough gave out of his defign on Ghent, occafioned the French drawing off their cannon, and their being fo fecure, that they seemed to have no apprehenfions of his true defign, was not yet certainly known: but the abandoning thofe lines, on which they had been working for many weeks, was a furprize to all the world: their counfels feem'd to be weak, and the execution of them was worfe; fo they, who were fo long the terror, were now become the fcorn of the world. conduct |