Immediately after the action at the Falls of Montmorenci, general Wolfe had despatched an officer to England, with a detail of that disaster, written with such elegance and accuracy, as would not have disgraced the pen of a Caesar. Though the public acquiesced in his conduct, they were exceedingly mortified at his miscarriage; and this mortification was the greater, as he seemed to despair of being able to strike any other stroke of importance for the accomplishment of their hope, which had aspired at the absolute conquest of Canada. The first transports of their chagrin were not yet subsided, when colonel Hale arrived in the ship Alcide, with an account of the victory and surrender of Quebec; which was immediately communicated to the people in an Extraordinary Gazette. The joy which this excited among the populace rose in proportion to the despondence which the former had produced: all was rapture and riot; all was triumph and exultation, mingled with the praise of the all-accomplished Wolfe, which they exalted even to a ridiculous degree of hyperbole. The king expressed his satisfaction by conferring the honour of knighthood upon captain Douglas, whose ship brought the first tidings of this success; and gratified him and colonel Hale with considerable presents. A day of solemn thanksgiving was appointed by proclamation through all the dominions of Great Britain. The city of London, the universities, and many other corporations of the kingdom, presented congratulatory addresses to his majesty. The parliament was no sooner assembled, than the secretary of state, in the house of commons, expatiated upon the successes of the campaign, the transcendent merit of the deceased general, the conduct and courage of the admirals and officers who assisted in the conquest of Quebec. In consequence of this harangue, and the motion by which it was succeeded, the house unanimously resolved to present an address, desiring his majesty would order a monument to be erected in Westminster-abbey to the memory of major-general Wolfe; at the same time they passed another resolution, that the thanks of the house should be given to the surviving generals and admirals employed in the glorious and successful expedition to Quebec. Testimonies of this kind, while they reflect honour upon the character of the nation, never fail to animate individuals to a spirited exertion of their talents in the service of the public. The people of England were so elevated by the astonishing success of this campaign, which was also prosperous on the continent of Europe, that, far from expressing the least sense of the enormous burdens which they bore, they, with a spirit peculiar to the British nation, voluntarily raised large contributions to purchase warm jackets, stockings, shoes, coats, and blankets, for the soldiers who were exposed to the rigours of an inclement sky in Germany and America. But they displayed a more noble proof of unrestrained benevolence, extended even to foes. The French ministry, straitened in their finances, which were found scarce sufficient to maintain the war, had sacrificed their duty to their king, and every sentiment of compassion for his unhappy subjects, to a thirst of vengeance, and sanguinary views of ambition. They had withdrawn the usual allowance from their subjects who were detained prisoners in England; and those wretched creatures, amounting in number to near twenty thousand, were left to the mercy of those enemies whom their sovereign had taken such pains to exasperate. The allowance with which they were indulged by the British government effectually secured them from the horrors of famine; but still they remained destitute of other conveniences, and particularly exposed to the miseries of cold and nakedness. The generous English beheld these forlorn captives with sentiments of sympathy and compassion; they considered them as their fellow-creatures and brethren in humanity, and forgot their country while they beheld their distress. A considerable subscription was raised in their behalf; and in a few weeks they were completely clothed by the charity of their British benefactors. This beneficent exertion was certainly one of the noblest triumphs of the human mind, which even the most inveterate enemies of Great Britain cannot but regard with reverence and admiration.—The city of Quebec being reduced, together with great part of the circumjacent country, brigadier Townshend, who had accepted his commission with the express proviso that he should return to England at the end of the campaign, left a garrison of five thousand effective men, victualled from the fleet, under the command of brigadier Murray; and, embarking with admiral Saunders, arrived in Great Britain about the beginning of winter. As for brigadier Monckton, he was conveyed to New York, where he happily recovered of his wound.



CHAPTER XVIII.

Siege of Madras..... Colonel Forde defeats the Marquis de Conflans near Gola-pool..... Captain Knox takes Rajamundry and Narsipore..... Colonel Forde takes Masulipatam..... Surat taken by the English..... Unsuccessful Attack upon Wandewash..... Admiral Pococke defeats Monsieur d'Apehe..... Hostilities of the Dutch on the River of Bengal..... Colonel Coote takes Wandewash..... Defeats General Lally..... and conquers the Province of Arcot..... State of the Belligerent Powers in Europe..... Frankfort seized by the French..... Progress of the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick..... Prince Ferdinand attacks the French at Bergen..... The British Ministry appoint an Inspector General of the Forage..... Prince Ferdinand retreats before the French Army..... Animosity between the General of the Allied Army and the Commander of the British Forces..... The French encamp at Min-den..... and are defeated by the Allies..... Duke de Brissac routed by the Hereditary Prince of Brunswick..... General Imhoff takes Munster from the French..... who retreat before Prince Ferdinand..... The Hereditary Prince beats up the Duke of Wirtemberg's Quarters at Fulda..... A Body of Prussians make an incursion into Poland..... Prince Henry penetrates into Bohemia..... He enters Franconia, and obliges the Imperial Army to retire..... King of Prussia vindicates his Conduct with respect to his Prisoners..... The Prussian General Wedel defeated by the Russians at Zullichau..... The King of Prussia takes the Command of General Wedel's Corps..... Battle of Cunersdorf..... Advantages gained by the Prussians in Saxony..... Prince Henry surprises General Vehla..... General Finck, with his whole Corps of Prussians, surrounded and taken by the Austrian General..... Disaster of the Prussian General Diercke..... Conclusion of the Campaign..... Arret of the Evangelical Body at Ratisbon..... The French Ministry stop Payment..... The States-General send over Deputies to England..... Memorial presented to the States by Major-General Yorke..... A counter Memorial presented by the French Minister..... Death of the King of Spain..... He is succeeded by his brother Don Carlos, who makes a remarkable Settlement..... Detection and Punishment of the Conspirators at Lisbon..... Session opened in England..... Substance of the Addresses..... Supplies granted..... Ways and Means, Annuities, &c....... Bills for granting several Duties on Malt, &c...... Petitions for and against the Prohibition of the Malt Distillery..... Opposition to the Bill for preventing the excessive Use of Spirituous Liquors..... Bill for continuing the Importation of Irish Beef..... Attempt to establish a Militia in Scotland..... Further Regulations relative to the Militia of England..... Bill for removing the Powder Magazine from Greenwich..... Act for improving the Streets of London..... Bill relative to the Sale of Fish in London and Westminster..... New Act for ascertaining the Qualifications of Members of Parliament..... Act for consolidating the Annuities granted in 1759..... Bill for securing the Payment of Prize and Bounty Money appropriated for the Use of Greenwich Hospital..... Act in Favour of George Keith, late Earl Marshal of Scotland..... Session closed



SIEGE OF MADRAS.

While the arms of Great Britain triumphed in Europe and America, her interest was not suffered to languish in other parts of the world. This was the season of ambition and activity, in which every separate armament, every distinct corps, and individual officer, seemed to exert themselves with the most eager appetite of glory. The East Indies, which in the course of the preceding year had been the theatre of operations carried on with various success, exhibited nothing now but a succession of trophies to the English commanders. The Indian transactions of the last year were interrupted at that period when the French general, Lally, was employed in making preparations for the siege of Madras. In the month of October he had marched into Arcot without opposition; and in the beginning of December, he advanced towards Madras. On the twelfth he marched over Choultry plain, in three divisions, cannonaded by the English artillery with considerable effect, and took post at Egmore and St. Thome. Colonel Laurence, who commanded the garrison of Madras, retired to the island, in order to prevent the enemy from taking possession of the island bridge; and at the same time ordered the posts to be occupied in the Blacktown, or suburbs of Madras. In the morning of the fourteenth, the enemy marched with their whole force to attack this place; the English detachments retreated into the garrison; and within the hour a grand sally was made, under the command of colonel Draper, a gallant officer, who signalized himself remarkably on this occasion. He attacked the regiment of Lorrain with great impetuosity; and in all probability would have beat them off, had they not been sustained by the arrival of a fresh brigade. After a very warm dispute, in which many officers and a great number of men were killed on each side, colonel Draper was obliged to retreat, not altogether satisfied with the conduct of his grenadiers. As the garrison of Madras was not very numerous, nothing further was attempted on their side without the works. In the meantime, the enemy used all their diligence in erecting batteries against the fort and town; which being opened on the sixth day of January, they maintained a continual discharge of shot and shells for twenty days, advancing their trenches all the time under cover of this fire, until they reached the breast of the glacis. There they erected a battery of four pieces of cannon, and opened it on the last day of the month; but for five days successively they were obliged to close their embrasures by the superior fire of the fort, and at length to abandon it entirely: nevertheless, they still maintained a severe fire from the first grand battery, which was placed at the distance of four hundred and fifty yards from the defences. This artillery was so well served, as to disable twenty-six pieces of cannon, three mortars, and effect an inconsiderable breach. Perhaps they might have had more success, had they battered in breach from the beginning; but M. Lally, in order to intimidate the inhabitants, had cruelly bombarded the town, and demolished the houses: he was, however, happily disappointed in his expectation by the wise and resolute precautions of governor Pigot; by the vigilance, conduct, and bravery of the colonels Laurence and Draper, seconded by the valour and activity of major Brereton, and the spirit of the inferior officers. The artillery of the garrison was so well managed, that from the fifth day of February, the fire of the enemy gradually decreased from twenty-three to six pieces of cannon: nevertheless, they advanced their sap along the sea-side, so as to embrace entirely the north-east angle of the covered way, from whence their musketry drove the besieged. They likewise endeavoured to open a passage into the ditch by a mine; but sprung it so injudiciously, that they could make no advantage of it, as it lay exposed to the fire of several cannon. While these preparations were carried on before the town, major Caillaud and captain Preston, with a body of sepoys, some of the country horse, and a few Europeans drawn from the English garrisons of Trichinopoly and Chingalaput, hovered at the distance of a few miles, blocking up the roads in such a manner that the enemy were obliged, four several times, to send large detachments against them, in order to open the communication: thus the progress of the siege was in a great measure retarded. On the sixteenth day of February, in the evening, the Queenborough ship of war, commanded by captain Kempenfeldt, and the company's ship the Revenge, arrived in the road of Madras, with a reinforcement of six hundred men belonging to colonel Draper's regiment, and part of them was immediately disembarked. From the beginning of the siege the enemy had discovered a backwardness in the service, very unsuitable to their national character. They were ill supplied by their commissaries and contractors: they were discouraged by the obstinate defence of the garrison, and all their hope of success vanished at the arrival of this reinforcement. After a brisk fire, they raised the siege that very night, abandoning forty pieces of cannon; and having destroyed the powder-mills at Egmore, retreated to the territory of Arcot. [515] [See note 4 A, at the end of this Vol.]

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



SUCCESS OF COLONEL FORDE.

M. Lally having weakened his forces that were at Masalipatam, under the conduct of the marquis de Conflans, in order to strengthen the army with which he undertook the siege of Madras, the rajah of Vizanapore drove the French garrison from Vizagapatam, and hoisted English colours in the place. The marquis having put his troops in motion to revenge this insult, the rajah solicited succour from colonel Clive at Calcutta; and, with the consent of the council, a body of troops was sent under the command of colonel Forde to his assistance. They consisted of five hundred Europeans, including a company of artillery, and sixteen hundred sepoys; with about fifteen pieces of cannon, one howitzer, and three mortars. The forces of Conflans were much more considerable. On the twentieth day of October colonel Forde arrived at Vizagapatam, and made an agreement with the rajah, who promised to pay the expense of the expedition, as soon as he should be put in possession of Rajamundry, a large town and fort possessed by the French. It was stipulated that he should have all the inland country belonging to the Indian powers in the French interest, and at present in arms; and that the English company should retain all the conquered sea-coast from Vizagapatam to Masulipatam. On the first of November colonel Forde proceeded on his march; and on the third joined the rajah's army, consisting of between three and four thousand men. On the third of December, they came in sight of the enemy, near the village of Golapool; but the French declining battle, the colonel determined to draw them from their advantageous situation, or march round and get between them and Rajamundry. On the seventh, before day-break, he began his march, leaving the rajah's forces on their ground; but the enemy beginning to cannonade the Indian forces, he, at the request of the rajah, returned and took them under his protection. Then they marched together to the village of Colapool, and halted on a small plain about three miles from their encampment. About nine he formed the line of battle. About ten the enemy were drawn up, and began the cannonade. The firing on both sides having continued about forty minutes, the enemy's line advanced to the charge with great resolution; and were so warmly received, that, after several spirited efforts, at eleven they gave way, and retreated in disorder towards Rajamundry. During this conflict the rajah's forces stood as idle spectators, nor could their horse be prevailed upon to pursue the fugitives. The victory cost the English forty-four Europeans killed and wounded, including two captains and three lieutenants. The French lost above three times the number, together with their whole camp-baggage, thirty-two pieces of cannon, and all their ammunition. A great number of black forces fell on both sides. The marquis de Conflans did not remain at Rajamundry, but proceeded to Masulipatam; while captain Knox, with a detachment from the English army, took possession of the fort of Rajamundry, which is the barrier and key to the country of Vizagapatam. This was delivered to the rajah on his paying the expense of the expedition; and captain Knox being detached with a battalion of sepoys, took possession of the French factory at Narsipore. This was also the fate of a small fort at Coucate, which surrendered to captain Maclean, after having made an obstinate defence. In the meantime, however, the French army of observation made shift to retake Rajamundry, where they found a considerable quantity of money, baggage and effects, belonging to English officers.

Colonel Forde advancing to the neighbourhood of Masulipatam, the marquis de Conflans with his forces retired within the place, which on the seventh day of March was invested. By the seventh day of April the ammunition of the besiegers being almost expended, colonel Forde determined to give the assault, as two breaches were already made, and made his disposition accordingly. The attack was begun in the night, and the assailants arrived at the ditch before they were discovered. But here they underwent a terrible discharge of grape-shot and musquetry; notwithstanding which they entered the breaches and drove the enemy from bastion to bastion. At length, the marquis de Conflans sent an officer to demand quarter for the garrison, which was granted as soon as he ordered his men to cease firing. Thus, with about three hundred and forty European soldiers, a handful of seamen, and seven hundred sepoys, colonel Forde took by assault the strong town of Masulipatam, garrisoned by five hundred and twenty-one Europeans, two thousand and thirty-nine Caffres, Topasses, and sepoys; and here he found above one hundred and fifty pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Salabatzing, the suba of De-can, perceiving the success of the English here as well as at Madras, being sick of his French alliance, and in dread of his brother Nizam Allee, who had set up a separate interest, and taken the field against him, made advances to the company, with which he forthwith concluded a treaty to the following effect:—"The whole of the circar of Masulipatam shall be given to the English company. Salabatzing will not suffer the French to have a settlement in this country, nor keep them in his service, nor give them any assistance. The English, on their part, will not assist nor give protection to the suba's enemies."—In a few clays after Masulipatam was reduced, two ships arrived in the road with a reinforcement of four hundred men to the marquis de Conflans; but, understanding the fate of the place, made the best of their way to Ganjam.



SURAT TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH.

The merchants residing at Surat, finding themselves exposed to numberless dangers, and every species of oppression, by the sidee who commanded the castle on one hand, by the governor of the city on the other, and by the Mahrattas, who had a claim to a certain share of the revenue, made application to the English presidency at Bombay, desiring they would equip an expedition for taking possession of the castle and tanka, and settle the government of the city upon Pharass Cawn, who had been naib or deputy-governor under Meah Atchund, and regulated the police to the satisfaction of the inhabitants. The presidency embraced the proposal: admiral Pococke spared two of his ships for this service. Eight hundred and fifty men, artillery and infantry, with fifteen hundred sepoys, under the command of captain Richard Maitland, of the royal regiment of artillery, were embarked on board the company's armed vessels commanded by captain Watson, who sailed on the ninth of February. On the fifteenth they were landed at a place called Dentiloury, about nine miles from Surat; and here they were encamped for refreshment: in two days he advanced against the French garden, in which a considerable number of the sidee's men were posted, and drove them from thence after a very obstinate dispute. Then he erected a battery, from which he battered the wall in breach: but this method appearing tedious, he called a council of war, composed of the land and sea-officers, and laid before them the plan of a general attack, which was accordingly executed next morning. The company's grab, and the bomb-ketches, being warped up the river in the night, were ranged in a line of battle opposite to the Bundar, which was the strongest fortification that the enemy possessed; and under the fire of these the troops being landed, took the Bundar by assault. The outward town being thus gained, he forthwith began to bombard the inner town and castle with such fury, that next morning they both surrendered, on condition of being allowed to inarch out with their effects; and captain Maitland took possession without further dispute. Meah Atchund was continued governor of Surat, and Pharass Cawn was appointed naib. The artillery and ammunition found in the castle were secured for the company, until the mogul's pleasure was known; and in a little time a phirmaund, or grant, arrived from Delhi, appointing the English company admiral to the mogul; so that the ships and stores belonged to them of course, as part of the tanka; and they were now declared legal possessors of the castle. This conquest, which cost about two hundred men, including a few officers, was achieved with such expedition, that captain Watson returned to Bombay by the ninth day of April.

The main body of the English forces, which had been centered at Madras, for the preservation of that important settlement, took the field after the siege was raised, and possessed themselves of Conjeveram, a place of great consequence; which, with the fort of Schengelpel, commanded all the adjacent country, and secured the British possessions to the northward. M. Lally, sensible of the importance of the post, took the same route in order to dislodge them; but finding all his attempts ineffectual, he retired towards Wandewash, where his troops were put into quarters of cantonment. No other operations ensued till the month of September; when major Brere-ton, who commanded the English forces, being joined by major Gordon with three hundred men of colonel Coote's battalion, resolved to attack the enemy in his turn. On the fourteenth day of the month he began his march from Conjeveram for Wandewash, at the head of four hundred Europeans, seven thousand sepoys, seventy European and three hundred black horse, with fourteen pieces of artillery. In his march he invested and took the fort of Trivitar; from whence he proceeded to the village of Wandewash, where the French, to the number of one thousand, were strongly encamped under the guns of a fort, commanded by a rajah, mounting twenty cannon, under the direction of a French gunner. On the thirteenth day of September, at two in the morning, the English attacked the village in three different places, and drove them from it after a very obstinate dispute; but this advantage they were not able to maintain. The black pioneers ran away during the attack, so that proper traverses could not be made in the streets; and at day-break the fort poured in upon them a prodigious discharge of grape-shot with considerable effect. The enemy had retired to a dry ditch, which served as an intrenchment, from whence they made furious sallies; and a body of three hundred European horse were already in motion, to fall upon and complete their confusion. In this emergency, they retired in disorder; and might have been entirely ruined, had not the body of reserve effectually covered their retreat: yet this could not be effected without the loss of several officers, and above three hundred men killed and wounded. After this mortifying check, they encamped a few days in sight of the fort, and, the rainy season setting in, returned to Conjeveram. The fort of Wandewash was afterwards garrisoned by French and sepoys; and the other forces of the enemy were assembled by brigadier-general de Bussy, at Arcot.



ADMIRAL POCOCKE DEFEATS MONSIEUR D'APCHE.

During these transactions by land, the superiority at sea was still disputed between the English and French admirals. On the first day of September, vice-admiral Pococke sailed from Madras to the southward, in quest of the enemy, and next day descried the French fleet, consisting of fifteen sail, standing to the northward. He forthwith threw out the signal for a general chase, and stood towards them with all the sail he could carry; but the wind abating, he could not approach near enough to engage. During the three succeeding days, he used his utmost endeavours to bring them to a battle, which they still declined, and at last they disappeared. He then directed his course to Pondicherry, on the supposition that they were bound to that harbour; and on the eighth day of the month perceived them standing to the southward: but he could not bring them to an engagement till the tenth, when M. d'Apche, about two in the afternoon, made the signal for battle, and the cannonading began without further delay. The British squadron did not exceed nine ships of the line; the enemy's fleet consisted of eleven; but they had still a greater advantage in number of men and artillery. Both squadrons fought with great impetuosity till about ten minutes after four, when the enemy's rear began to give way: this example was soon followed by their centre; and finally the van, with the whole squadron, bore to the south-south-east, with all the canvass they could spread. The British squadron was so much damaged in their masts and rigging, that they could not pursue; so that M. d'Apche retreated at his leisure unmolested. On the fifteenth, admiral Pococke returned to Madras, where his squadron being repaired by the twenty-sixth, he sailed again to Pondicherry, and in the road saw the enemy lying at anchor in line of battle. The wind being off shore, he made the line of battle a-head, and for some time continued in this situation. At length the French admiral weighed anchor, and came forth; but instead of bearing down upon the English squadron, which had fallen to leeward, he kept close to the wind, and stretched away to the southward. Admiral Pococke finding him averse to another engagement, and his own squadron being in no condition to pursue, he, with the advice of his captains, desisted, and measured back his course to Madras. On the side of the English, above three hundred men were killed in the engagement, including captain Miche, who commanded the Newcastle, captain Gore of the marines, two lieutenants, a master gunner, and boatswain: the captains Somerset and Brereton, with about two hundred and fifty men, were wounded; and many of the ships considerably damaged. The loss of the enemy must have been much more considerable, because the English in battle always fire at the body of the ship; because the French squadron was crowded with men; because they gave way, and declined a second engagement; and, finally, because they now made the best of their way to the island of Mauritius, in order to be refitted, having on board general Lally and some other officers. Thus they left the English masters of the Indian coast; superiority still more confirmed by the arrival of rear-admiral Cornish, with four ships of the line, who had set sail from England in the beginning of the year, and joined admiral Pococke at Madras on the eighteenth day of October.



HOSTILITIES OF THE DUTCH.

The French were not the only enemies with whom the English had to cope in the East Indies. The great extension of their trade in the kingdom of Bengal, had excited the envy and avarice of the Dutch factory, who possessed a strong fort at Chinchura, on the river of Bengal; and resolved, if possible, to engross the whole saltpetre branch of commerce. They had, without doubt, tampered with the new suba, who lay under such obligations to the English, and probably secured his connivance. Their scheme was approved by the governor of Batavia, who charged himself with the execution of it; and, for that purpose, chose the opportunity when the British squadron had retired to the coast of Malabar. On pretence of reinforcing the Dutch garrisons in Bengal, he equipped an armament of seven ships, having on board five hundred European troops, and six hundred Malayese, under the command of colonel Russel. This armament having touched at Negapatam, proceeded up the bay, and arrived in the river of Bengal about the beginning of October. Colonel Clive, who then resided at Calcutta, had received information of their design, which he was resolved, at all events, to defeat. He complained to the suba; who, upon such application, could not decently refuse an order to the director and council of Hughley, implying that this armament should not proceed up the river. The colonel, at the same time, sent a letter to the Dutch commodore, intimating that, as he had received intimation of their design, he could not allow them to land forces, and march to Chinchura. In answer to this declaration, the Dutch commodore, whose whole fleet had not yet arrived, assured the English commander that he had no intention to send any forces to Chinchura; and begged liberty to land some of his troops for refreshment—a favour that was granted, on condition that they should not advance. Notwithstanding the suba's order, and his own engagement to this effect, the rest of the ships were no sooner arrived, than he proceeded up the river to the neighbourhood of Tannah-fort, where his forces being disembarked, began their march to Chinchura. In the meantime, by way of retaliating the affront he pretended to have sustained in being denied a passage to their own factory, he took several small vessels on the river belonging to the English company; and the Calcutta Indiaman, commanded by captain Wilson, homeward-bound, sailing down the river, the Dutchman gave him to understand, that if he presumed to pass he would sink him without further ceremony. The English captain seeing them run out their guns as if really resolved to put their threats in execution, returned to Calcutta, where two other India ships lay at anchor, and reported his adventure to colonel Clive, who forthwith ordered the three ships to prepare for battle, and attack the Dutch armament. The ships being properly manned, and their sides lined with saltpetre, they fell down the river, and found the Dutch squadron drawn up in a line of battle, in order to give them a warm reception, for which indeed they seemed well prepared; for three of them were mounted with thirty-six guns each, three of them with twenty-six, and the seventh carried sixteen. The duke of Dorset, commanded by captain Forrester, being the first that approached them, dropped anchor close to their line, and began the engagement with a broadside, which was immediately returned. A dead calm unfortunately intervening, this single ship was for a considerable time exposed to the whole fire of the enemy; but a small breeze springing up, the Calcutta and the Hard wick advanced to her assistance, and a severe fire was maintained on both sides, till two of the Dutch ships, slipping their cables, bore away, and a third was driven ashore. Their commodore, thus weakened, after a few broadsides struck his flag to captain Wilson, and the other three followed his example. The victory being thus obtained, without the loss of one man on the side of the English, captain Wilson took possession of the prizes, the decks of which were strewed with carnage, and sent the prisoners to colonel Clive at Calcutta. The detachment of troops which they had landed, to the number of eleven hundred men, was not more fortunate in their progress. Colonel Clive no sooner received intelligence that they were in full march to Chinchura, than he detached colonel Forde with five hundred men from Calcutta, in order to oppose and put a stop to their march at the French gardens. He accordingly advanced to the northward, and entered the town of Chandernagore, where he sustained the fire of a Dutch party sent out from Chinchura to join and conduct the expected reinforcement. These being routed and dispersed, after a short action, colonel Forde in the morning proceeded to a plain in the neighbourhood of Chinchura, where he found the enemy prepared to give him battle on the twenty-fifth day of November. They even advanced to the charge with great resolution and activity; but found the fire of the English artillery and battalion so intolerably hot, that they soon gave way, and were totally defeated. A considerable number were killed, and the greater part of those who survived the action were taken prisoners. During this contest, the nabob, at the head of a considerable army, observed a suspicious neutrality; and in all likelihood would have declared for the Dutch had they proved victorious, as he had reason to believe they would, from their great superiority in number. But fortune no sooner determined in favour of the English, than he made a tender of his service to the victor, and even offered to reduce Chinchura with his own army. In the meantime, proposals of accommodation being sent to him by the directors and council of the Dutch factory at Chinchura, a negotiation ensued, and a treaty was concluded to the satisfaction of all parties. Above three hundred of the prisoners entered into the service of Great Britain; the rest embarked on board their ships, which were restored as soon as the peace was ratified, and set out on their return for Batavia. After all, perhaps, the Dutch company meant nothing more than to put their factory of Chinchura on a more respectable footing; and, by acquiring greater weight and consequence among the people of the country than they formerly possessed, the more easily extend their commerce in that part of the world. At any rate, it will admit of a dispute among those who profess the law of nature and nations, whether the Dutch company could be justly debarred the privilege of sending a reinforcement to their own garrisons. Be that as it will, the ships were not restored until the factory at Chinchura had given security to indemnify the English for the damage they had sustained on this occasion.



COLONEL COOTE TAKES WANDEWASH.

The success of the English army was still more conspicuous on the coast of Coromandel. The governor and council of Madras having received information that the French general, Lally, had sent a detachment of his army to the southward, taking Syringham, and threatened Trichinopoly with a siege, it was determined that colonel Coote, who had lately arrived from England, should take the field, and endeavour to make a diversion to the southward. He accordingly began his march at the head of seventeen hundred Europeans, including cavalry, and three thousand blacks, with fourteen pieces of cannon and one howitzer. On the twenty-seventh day of November, he invested the fort of Wandewash: having made a practicable breach, the garrison, consisting of near nine hundred men, surrendered prisoners of war; and he found in the place forty-nine pieces of cannon, with a great quantity of ammunition. Then he undertook the siege of Carangoly, a fortress commanded by colonel O'Kennely, at the head of one hundred Europeans, and five hundred sepoys. In a few days he dismounted the greater part of their guns; and they submitted, on condition that the Europeans should be allowed to march out with the honours of war, but the sepoys were disarmed and dismissed.

General Lally, alarmed at the progress of this brave, vigilant, and enterprising officer, assembled all his forces at Arcot, to the number of two thousand two hundred Europeans, including horse; three hundred Caffres, and ten thousand black troops, or sepoys; with five-and-twenty pieces of cannon. Of these he assumed the command in person; and on the tenth day of January began his march in order to recover Wandewash. Colonel Coote, having received intelligence on the twelfth that he had taken possession of Conjeveram, endeavoured by a forced march to save the place, which they accordingly abandoned at his approach, and pursuing their march to Wandewash, invested the fort without delay. The English commander passed the river Palla, in order to follow the same route; and, on the twenty-first day of the month, understanding that a breach was already made, resolved to give them battle without further delay. The cavalry being formed, and supported by five companies of sepoys, he advanced against the enemy's horse, which being at the same time galled by two pieces of cannon, retired with precipitation. Then colonel Coote, having taken possession of a tank which they had occupied, returned to the line, which was by this time formed in order of battle. Seeing the men in high spirits, and eager to engage, he ordered the whole army to advance; and by nine in the morning they were within two miles of the enemy's camp, where they halted about half an hour. During this interval, the colonel reconnoitred the situation of the French forces, who were very advantageously posted; and made a movement to the right, which obliged them to alter their disposition. They now advanced, in their turn, within three quarters of a mile of the English line, and the cannonading began with great fury on both sides. About noon their European cavalry coming up with a resolute air to charge the left of the English, colonel Coote brought up some companies of sepoys, and two pieces of cannon, to sustain the horse, which were ordered to oppose them; and these advancing on their flank, disturbed them so much that they broke, and were driven by the English cavalry above a mile from the left, upon the rear of their own army. Meanwhile, both lines continued advancing to each other; and about one o'clock the firing with small-arms began with great vivacity. One of the French tumbrils being blown up by an accidental shot, the English commander took immediate advantage of their confusion. He ordered major Brere-ton to wheel Draper's regiment to the left, and fall upon the enemy's flank. This service was performed with such resolution and success, that the left wing of the French was completely routed and fell upon their centre, now closely engaged with the left of the English. About two in the afternoon their whole line gave way, and fled towards their own camp; which, perceiving themselves closely pursued, they precipitately abandoned, together with twenty-two pieces of cannon. In this engagement they lost about eight hundred men killed and wounded, besides about fifty prisoners, including brigadier-general de Bussy, the chevalier Godeville, quarter-master-general, lieutenant-colonel Murphy, three captains, five lieutenants, and some other officers. On the side of the English two hundred and sixty-two were killed or wounded, and among the former the gallant and accomplished major Brereton, whose death was a real loss to his country.



COLONEL COOTE CONQUERS ARCOT.

General Lally having retreated with his broken troops to Pondicherry, the baron de Vasserot was detached towards the same place, with a thousand horse and three hundred sepoys, to ravage and lay waste the French territory. In the meantime, the indefatigable colonel Coote undertook the siege of Chilliput, which in two days was surrendered by the chevalier de Tilly; himself and his garrison remaining prisoners of war. Such also was the fate of fort Timmery; which being reduced, the colonel prosecuted his march to Arcot, the capital of the province, against the fort of which he opened his batteries on the fifth day of February. When he had carried on his approaches within sixty yards of the crest of the glacis, the garrison, consisting of two hundred and fifty Europeans, and near three hundred sepoys, surrendered as prisoners of war; and here the English commander found two-and-twenty pieces of cannon, four mortars, and a great quantity of all kinds of military stores. Thus the campaign was gloriously finished with the conquest of Arcot; after the French army had been routed and ruined by the diligence of colonel Coote, whose courage, conduct, and activity, cannot be sufficiently admired. The reader will perceive, that, rather than interrupt the thread of such an interesting narration, we have ventured to encroach upon the annals of the year one thousand seven hundred and sixty.



STATE OF THE BELLIGERENT POWERS IN EUROPE.

Having thus followed the British banners through the glorious tracks they pursued in different parts of Asia and America, we must now convert our attention to the continent of Europe, where the English arms, in the course of this year, triumphed with equal lustre and advantage. But first it may be necessary to sketch out the situation in which the belligerent powers were found at the close of winter. The vicissitudes of fortune with which the preceding campaign had been chequered, were sufficient to convince every potentate concerned in the war, that neither side possessed such a superiority in strength or conduct as was requisite to impose terms upon the other. Battles had been fought with various success; and surprising efforts of military skill had been exhibited, without producing one event which tended to promote a general peace, or even engender the least desire of, accommodation. On the contrary, the first and most violent transports of animosity had by this time subsided into a confirmed habit of deliberate hatred; and every contending power seemed more than ever determined to protract the dispute; while the neutral states kept aloof, without expressing the least desire of interposing their mediation. Some of them were restrained by considerations of conveniency; and others waited in suspense for the death of the Spanish monarch, as an event which, they imagined, would be attended with very important consequences in the southern parts of Europe. With respect to the maintenance of the war, whatever difficulties might have arisen in settling funds to support the expense, and finding men to recruit the different armies, certain it is all these difficulties were surmounted before the opening of the campaign. The court of Vienna, though hampered by the narrowness of its finances, still found resources in the fertility of its provinces, in the number and attachment of its subjects, who more than any other people in Europe acquiesce in the dispositions of their sovereign; and, when pay cannot be afforded, willingly contribute free quarters for the subsistence of the army. The czarina, though she complained that the stipulated subsidies were ill paid, nevertheless persisted in pursuing those favourite aims which had for some time influenced her conduct; namely, her personal animosity to the king of Prussia, and her desire of obtaining a permanent interest in the German empire. Sweden still made a show of hostility against the Prussian monarch, but continued to slumber over the engagements she had contracted. France, exhausted in her finances, and abridged of her marine commerce, maintained a resolute countenance; supplied fresh armies for her operations in Westphalia; projected new schemes of conquest; and cajoled her allies with fair promises, when she had nothing more solid to bestow. The king of Prussia's dominions were generally drained, or in the hands of the enemy; but to balance these disadvantages he kept possession of Saxony; and enjoyed his annual subsidy from Great Britain, which effectually enabled him to maintain his armies on a respectable footing, and open the campaign with equal eagerness and confidence.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



FRANCKFORT SEIZED BY THE FRENCH.

The Hanoverian army, commanded by prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, was strengthened by fresh reinforcements from England, augmented with German recruits, regularly paid, and well supplied with every comfort and convenience which foresight could suggest, or money procure; yet, in spite of all the precautions that could be taken, they were cut off from some resources which the French, in the beginning of the year, opened to themselves by a flagrant stroke of perfidy, which even the extreme necessities of a campaign can hardly excuse. On the second day of January, the French regiment of Nassau presented itself before the gates of Franckfort-on-the-Maine, a neutral imperial city; and, demanding a passage, it was introduced, and conducted by a detachment of the garrison through the city as far as the gate of Saxenhausen, where it unexpectedly halted, and immediately disarmed the guards. Before the inhabitants could recover from the consternation into which they were thrown by this outrageous insult, five other French regiments entered the place; and here their general, the prince de Soubise, established his head-quarters. How deeply soever this violation of the laws of the empire might be resented by all honest Germans, who retained affection for the constitution of their country, it was a step from which the French army derived a very manifest and important advantage; for it secured to them the course of the Maine and the Upper Rhine; by which they received, without difficulty or danger, every species of supply from Mentz, Spire, Worms, and even the country of Alsace, while it maintained their communication with the chain formed by the Austrian forces and the army of the empire.



PROGRESS OF THE HEREDITARY PRINCE OF BRUNSWICK.

The scheme of operation for the ensuing campaign was already formed between the king of Prussia and prince Ferdinand of Brunswick; and before the armies took the field, several skirmishes were fought and quarters surprised. In the latter end of February, the prince of Ysembourg detached major-general Urst with four battalions and a body of horse; who, assembling in Rhotenbourg, surprised the enemy's quarters in the night between the first and second day of March, and drove them from Hirchfield, Vacha, and all the Hessian bailiwicks of which they had taken possession; but the Austrians soon returning in greater numbers, and being supported by a detachment of French troops from Franckfort, the allies fell back in their turn. In a few days, however, they themselves retreated again with great precipitation, though they did not all escape. The hereditary prince of Brunswick, with a body of Prussian hussars, fell upon them suddenly at Molrichstadt, where he routed and dispersed a regiment of Hohenzollern cuirassiers, and a battalion of the troops of Wurtzburg. He next day, which was the first of April, advanced with a body of horse and foot to Meinungen, where he found a considerable magazine, took two battalions prisoners, and surprised a third posted at Wafungen, after having defeated some Austrian troops that were on the march to its relief. While the hereditary prince was thus employed, the duke of Holstein, with another body of the confederates, dislodged the French from the post of Freyingstenau.



PRINCE FERDINAND ATTACKS THE FRENCH.

But the great object was to drive the enemy from Franckfort, before they should receive the expected reinforcements. Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick being determined upon this enterprise, assembled all his forces near Fulda, to the amount of forty thousand choice troops, and began his march on the tenth day of April. On the thirteenth he came in sight of the enemy, whom he found strongly encamped about the village of Bergen, between Franckfort and Hanau. Their general, the duke de Broglio, counted one of the best officers in France with respect to conduct and intrepidity, having received intelligence of the prince's design, occupied this post on the twelfth; the right of his army being at Bergen, and his centre and flanks secured in such a manner, that the allies could not make their attack any other way but by the village. Notwithstanding the advantage of their situation, prince Ferdinand resolved to give them battle, and made his dispositions accordingly. About ten in the morning, the grenadiers of the advanced guard began the attack on the village of Bergen with great vivacity, and sustained a most terrible fire from eight German battalions, supported by several brigades of French infantry. The grenadiers of the allied army, though reinforced by several battalions under the command of the prince of Ysembourg, far from dislodging the enemy from the village, were, after a very obstinate dispute, obliged to retreat in some disorder, but rallied again behind a body of Hessian cavalry. The allies being repulsed in three different attacks, their general made a new disposition, and brought up his artillery, with which the village, and different parts of the French line, were severely cannonaded. They were not slow in retorting an equal fire, which continued till night, when the allies retreated to Windekin, with the loss of five pieces of cannon, and about two thousand men, including the prince of Ysembourg, who fell in the action. The French, by the nature of their situation, could not suffer much; but they were so effectually amused by the artful disposition of prince Ferdinand, that instead of taking measures to harass him in his retreat, they carefully maintained their situation, apprehensive of another general attack. Indeed, they had great reason to be satisfied with the issue of this battle, without risking in any measure the advantage which they had gained. It was their business to remain quiet until their reinforcements should arrive, and this plan they invariably pursued. On the other hand, the allies, in consequence of their miscarriage, were reduced to the necessity of acting upon the defensive, and encountering a great number of difficulties and inconveniences during great part of the campaign, until the misconduct of the enemy turned the scale in their favour. In the meantime, the prince thought proper to begin his retreat in the night towards Fulda, in which his rear suffered considerably from a body of the enemy's light troops under the command of M. de Blaisel, who surprised two squadrons of dragoons and a battalion of grenadiers. The first were taken or dispersed, the last escaped with the loss of their baggage. The allied army returned to their cantonments about Munster, and the prince began to make preparations for taking the field in earnest.

While the French enjoyed plenty in the neighbourhood of Dusseldorp and Creveldt, by means of the Rhine, the allies laboured under a dearth and scarcity of every species of provisions, because the country which they occupied was already exhausted, and all the supplies were brought from an immense distance. The single article of forage occasioned such an enormous expense, as alarmed the administration of Great Britain, who, in order to prevent mismanagement and fraud for the future, nominated a member of parliament inspector-general of the forage, and sent him over to Germany in the beginning of the year, with the rank and appointments of a general officer, that the importance of his character, and the nature of his office, might be a check upon those who were suspected of iniquitous appropriations. This gentleman is said to have met with such a cold reception, and so many mortifications in the execution of his office, that he was in a very little time sick of his employment. An inquiry into the causes of his reception, and of the practices which rendered it necessary to appoint such a superintendent, may be the province of some future historian, when truth may be investigated freely, without any apprehension of pains and penalties.



RETREAT OF PRINCE FERDINAND.

While great part of the allied army remained in cantonments about Munster, the French armies on the Upper and Lower Rhine, being put in motion, joined on the third day of June near Marburgh, under the command of the mareschal de Contades, who advanced to the northward, and fixed his head-quarters at Corbach, from whence he detached a body of light troops to take possession of Cassel, which, at his approach, was abandoned by general Imhoff. The French army being encamped at Stadtberg, the duke de Broglio, who commanded the right wing, advanced from Cassel into the territories of Hanover, where he occupied Gottin-gen without opposition; while the allied army assembled in the neighbourhood of Lipstadt, and encamped about Soest and Werle. Prince Ferdinand, finding himself inferior to the united forces of the enemy, was obliged to retire as they advanced, after having left strong garrisons in Lipstadt, Retberg, Munster, and Minden. These precautions, however, seemed to produce little effect in his favour. Retberg was surprised by the duke de Broglio, who likewise took Minden by assault, and made general Zastrow, with his garrison of fifteen hundred men, prisoners of war, a misfortune considerably aggravated by the loss of an immense magazine of hay and corn, which fell into the hands of the enemy. They likewise made themselves masters of Munster, invested Lipstadt, and all their operations were hitherto crowned with success. The regency of Hanover, alarmed at their progress, resolved to provide for the worst, by sending their chancery and most valuable effects to Stade, from whence, in case of necessity, they might be conveyed by sea to England.

In the meantime they exerted all their industry in pressing men for recruiting and reinforcing the army under prince Ferdinand, who still continued to retire; and on the eleventh day of July removed his headquarters from Osnabruck to Bompte, near the Weser. Here having received advice that Minden was taken by the French, he sent forward a detachment to secure the post of Soltznau on that river, where on the fifteenth he encamped.



ANIMOSITY BETWEEN PRINCE FERDINAND AND THE BRITISH COMMANDER.

The general of the allied army had for some time exhibited marks of animosity towards lord George Sackville, the second in command, whose extensive understanding, penetrating eye, and inquisitive spirit, could neither be deceived, dazzled, nor soothed into tame acquiescence. He had opposed, with all his influence, a design of retiring towards the frontiers of Brunswick in order to cover that country. He supported his opposition by alleging, that it was the enemy's favourite object to cut off their communication with the Weser and the Elbe, in which, should they succeed, it would be found impossible to transport the British troops to their own country, which was at that time threatened with an invasion. He, therefore, insisted on the army's retreating, so as to keep the communication open with Stade, where, in case of emergency, the English troops might be embarked. By adhering tenaciously to this opinion, and exhibiting other instances of a prying disposition, he had rendered himself so disagreeable to the commander-in-chief, that, in all appearance, nothing was so eagerly desired as an opportunity of removing him from the station he filled.



THE FRENCH ENCAMP AT MINDEN.

Meanwhile the French general advancing to Minden, encamped in a strong situation; having that town on his right, a steep hill on his left, a morass in front, and a rivulet in rear. The duke de Broglio commanded a separate body between Hansbergen and Minden, on the other side of the Weser; and a third, under the duke de Brissac, consisting of eight thousand men, occupied a strong post by the village of Coveldt, to facilitate the route of the convoy's from Paderborn. Prince Ferdinand having moved his camp from Soltznau to Petershagen, detached the hereditary prince on the twenty-eighth day of July to Lubeck, from whence he drove the enemy, and proceeding to Rimsel, was joined by major-general Dreves, who had retaken Osnabruck, and cleared all that neighbourhood of the enemy's parties: then he advanced towards Hervorden, and fixed his quarters at Kirchlinneger, to hamper the enemy's convoys from Paderborn. During these transactions, prince Ferdinand marched with the allied army in three columns from Petershagen to Hille, where it encamped, having a morass on the right, the village of Fredewalde on the left, and in front those of Northemmern and Holtzenhausen. Fifteen battalions and nineteen squadrons, with a brigade of heavy artillery, were left under the command of general Wangenheim, on the left, behind the village of Dodenhausen, which was fortified with some redoubts, defended by two battalions. Colonel Luckner, with the Hanoverian hussars and a brigade of hunters, sustained by two battalions of grenadiers, was posted between Buckebourg and the Weser, to observe the body of troops commanded by the duke de Broglio on the other side of the river.

On the last day of July, the mareschal de Contades, resolving to attack the allied army, ordered the corps of Broglio to repass the river; and, advancing in eight columns, about midnight, passed the rivulet of Barta, that runs along the morass and falls into the Weser at Minden. At day-break he formed his army in order of battle: part of it fronting the corps of general Wangenheim at Dodenhausen, and part of it facing Hille; the two wings consisting of infantry, and the cavalry being stationed in the centre. At three in the morning the enemy began to cannonade the prince's quarters at Hille, from a battery of six cannon, which they had raised in the preceding evening on the dike of Rickhorst. This was probably the first intimation he received of their intention. He forthwith caused two pieces of artillery to be conveyed to Hille; and ordered the officer of the piquet-guard posted there to defend himself to the last extremity; at the same time he sent orders to general Giesen, who occupied Lubeck, to attack the enemy's post at Eickhorst; and this service was successfully performed. The prince of Anhalt, lieutenant-general for the day, took possession with the rest of the piquets of the village of Halen, where prince Ferdinand resolved to support his right. It was already in the hands of the enemy, but they soon abandoned it with precipitation. The allied army being put in motion, advanced in eight columns, and occupied the ground between Halen and Hemmern, while general Wangenheim's corps filled up the space between this last village and Dodenhausen. The enemy made their principal effort on the left, intending to force the infantry of Wangenheim's corps, and penetrate between it and the body of the allied army. For this purpose the duke de Broglio attacked them with great fury; but was severely checked by a battery of thirty cannon, prepared for his reception by the count de Buckebourg, grand master of the artillery, and served with admirable effect, under his own eye and direction. About five in the morning both armies cannonaded each other: at six the fire of musketry began with great vivacity; and the action became very hot towards the right, where six regiments of English infantry, and two battalions of Hanoverian guards, not only bore the whole brunt of the French carabineers and gendarmerie, but absolutely broke every body of horse and foot that advanced to attack them on the left and in the centre. The Hessian cavalry, with some regiments of Holstein, Prussian, and Hanoverian dragoons, posted on the left, performed good service. The cavalry on the right had no opportunity of engaging. They were destined to support the infantry of the third line: they consisted of the British and Hanoverian horse, commanded by lord George Sackville, whose second was the marquis of Granby. They were posted at a considerable distance from the first line of infantry, and divided from it by a scanty wood that bordered on a heath. Orders were sent, during the action, to bring them up; but whether these orders were contradictory, unintelligible, or imperfectly excited, they did not arrive in time to have any share in the action [521] [See note 4 B, at the end of this Vol.]; nor, indeed, were they originally intended for that purpose; nor was there the least occasion for their service; nor could they have come up in time and condition to perform effectual service, had the orders been explicit and consistent, and the commander acted with all possible expedition. Be that as it will, the enemy were repulsed in all their attacks with considerable loss; at length they gave way in every part, and, about noon, abandoning the field of battle, were pursued to the ramparts of Minden. In this action they lost a great number of men, with forty-three large cannon, and many colours and standards; whereas the loss of the allies was very inconsiderable, as it chiefly fell upon a few regiments of British infantry, commanded by the major-generals Waldegrave and Kingsley. To the extraordinary prowess of these gallant brigades, and the fire of the British artillery, which was admirably served by the captains Philips, Macbean, Drummond, and Foy, the victory was in a great measure ascribed. The same night the enemy passed the Weser and burnt the bridges over that river. Next day the garrison of Minden surrendered at discretion; and here the victors found a great number of French officers wounded.



DUKE DE BRISSAC ROUTED.

At last the mareschal de Contades seemed inclined to retreat through the defiles of Wittekendstein to Paderborn; but he was fain to change his resolution, in consequence of his having received advice, that on the very day of his own defeat the duke de Brissac was vanquished by the hereditary prince in the neighbourhood of Coveldt, so that the passage of the mountains was rendered impracticable. The duke de Brissac had been advantageously encamped, with his left to the village of Coveldt, having the Werra in his front, and his right extending to the salt-pits. In this advantageous situation he was attacked by the hereditary prince and general de Kilmanseg, with such vivacity and address that his troops were totally routed, with the loss of six cannon, and a considerable number of men killed, wounded, or taken prisoners. After the battle of Minden, colonel Freytag, at the head of the light troops, took, in the neighbourhood of Detmold, all the equipage of the mareschal de Contades, the prince of Conde, and the duke de Brissac, with part of their military chest and chancery, containing papers of the utmost consequence. [522] [See note 4 C, at the end of this Vol.]



GENEEAL IMHOFF TAKES MUNSTER.

Prince Ferdinand having garrisoned Minden, marched to Hervorden; and the hereditary prince passed the Weser at Hamelen, in order to pursue the enemy, who retreated to Cassel, and from thence by the way of Marburg as far as Giessen. In a word, they were continually harassed by that enterprising prince, who seized every opportunity of making an impression upon their army, took the greatest part of their baggage, and compelled them to abandon every place they possessed in Westphalia. The number of his prisoners amounted to fifteen hundred men, besides the garrison left at Cassel, which surrendered at discretion. He likewise surprised a whole battalion, and defeated a considerable detachment under the command of M. d'Armentieres. In the meantime, the allied army advanced in regular marches; and prince Ferdinand, having taken possession of Cassel, detached general Imhoff with a body of troops to reduce the city of Munster, which he accordingly began to bombard and cannonade; but d'Armentieres being joined by a fresh body of troops from the Lower Rhine, advanced to its relief, and compelled Imhoff to raise the siege. It was not long, however, before this general was also reinforced; then he measured back his march to Munster, and the French commander withdrew in his turn. The place was immediately shut up by a close blockade, which, however, did not prevent the introduction of supplies. The city of Munster being an object of importance, was disputed with great obstinacy. Armentieres received reinforcements, and the body commanded by Imhoff was occasionally augmented; But the siege was not formally undertaken till November, when some heavy artillery being brought from England, the place was regularly invested, and the operations carried on with such vigour, that in a few days the city surrendered on capitulation.

Prince Ferdinand having possessed himself of the town and castle of Marburg, proceeded with the army to Neidar-Weimar, and there encamped; while Contades remained at Giessen, on the south side of the river Lahn, where he was joined by a colleague in the person of the mareschal d'Etrees. By this time he was become very unpopular among the troops, on account of the defeat at Minden, which he is said to have charged on the misconduct of Broglio, who recriminated on him in his turn, and seemed to gain credit at the court of Versailles. While the two armies lay encamped in the neighbourhood of each other, nothing passed but skirmishes among the light troops, and little excursive expeditions. The French army was employed in removing their magazines, and fortifying Giessen, as if their intention was to retreat to Franckfort-on-the-Maine, after having consumed all the forage, and made a military desert between the Lahn and that river. In the beginning of November, the duke de Broglio returned from Paris, and assumed the command of the army, from whence Contades and d'Etrees immediately retired, with several other general officers that were senior to the new commander.

The duke of Wirtemberg having taken possession of Fulda, the hereditary prince of Brunswick resolved to beat up his quarters. For this purpose he selected a body of troops, and began his march from Marburg early in the morning on the twenty-eighth day of November. Next night they lay at Augerbauch, where they defeated the volunteers of Nassau; and at one o'clock in the morning of the thirtieth they marched directly to Fulda: where the duke of Wirtemberg, far from expecting such a visit, had invited all the fashionable people in Fulda to a sumptuous entertainment. The hereditary prince having reconnoitred the avenues in person, took such measures, that the troops of Wirtemberg, who were scattered in small bodies, would have been cut off if they had not hastily retired into the town, where however they found no shelter. The prince forced open the gates, and they retreated to the other side of the town, where four battalions of them were defeated and taken; while the duke himself, with the rest of his forces, filed off on the other side of the Fulda. Two pieces of cannon, two pair of colours, and all their baggage, fell into the hands of the victors; and the hereditary prince advanced as far as Rupertenrade, a place situated on the right flank of the French army. Perhaps this motion hastened the resolution of the duke de Broglio to abandon Giessen, and fall back to Friedberg, where he established his head-quarters. The allied army immediately took possession of his camp at Kleinlinnes and Heuchelam, and seemed to make preparations for the siege of Giessen.



A BODY OF PRUSSIANS MAKE AN INCURSION INTO POLAND.

While both armies remained in this position, the duke de Broglio received the staff as mareschal of France, and made an attempt to beat up the quarters of the allies. Having called in all his detachments, he marched up to them on the twenty-fifth day of December; but found them so well disposed to give him a warm reception, that he thought proper to lay aside his design, and nothing but a mutual cannonade ensued; then he returned to his former quarters. From. Kleinlinnes the allied army removed to Corsdoff, where they were cantoned till the beginning of January, when they fell back as far as Marburg, where prince Ferdinand established his head-quarters. The enemy had by this time retrieved their superiority, in consequence of the hereditary prince being detached with fifteen thousand men to join the king of Prussia at Fribourge, in Saxony. Thus, by the victory at Minden, the dominions of Hanover and Brunswick were preserved, and the enemy obliged to evacuate that part of Westphalia. Perhaps they might have been driven to the other side of the Ehine, had not the general of the allies been obliged to weaken his army for the support of the Prussian monarch, who had met with divers disasters in the course of this campaign. It was not to any relaxation or abatement of his usual vigilance and activity, that this warlike prince owed the several checks he received. Even in the middle of winter, his troops under general Manteuffel acted with great spirit against the Swedes in Pomerania. They made themselves masters of Damgarten, and several other places which the Swedes had garrisoned; and the frost setting in, those who were quartered in the isle of Useclom passed over the ice to Wolgast, which they reduced without much difficulty. They undertook the sieges of Demmen and Anclam at the same time; and the garrisons of both surrendered themselves prisoners of war, to the number of two thousand seven hundred men, including officers. In Demmen they found four-and-twenty pieces of cannon, with a large quantity of ammunition. In Anclam there was a considerable magazine, with six-and-thirty cannon, mortars, and howitzers. A large detachment under general Knobloch surprised Erfurth, and raised considerable contributions at Gotha, Isenach, and Fulda; from whence also they conveyed all the forage and provisions to Saxe-Naumberg. In the latter end of February, the Prussian major-general Wobersnow marched with a strong body of troops from Glogau in Silesia, to Poland; and, advancing by way of Lissa, attacked the castle of the prince Sulkowski, a Polish grandee, who had been very active against the interest of the Prussian monarch. After some resistance he was obliged to surrender at discretion, and was sent prisoner with his whole garrison to Silesia. From hence Wobersnow proceeded to Posna, where he made himself master of a considerable magazine, guarded by two thousand cossacks, who retired at his approach; and having destroyed several others, returned to Silesia. In April, the fort of Penamunde, in Pomerania, was surrendered to Manteuffel; and about the same time a detachment of Prussian troops bombarded Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh. Meanwhile reinforcements were sent to the Russian army in Poland, which in April began to assemble upon the Vistula. The court of Petersburgh had likewise begun to equip a large fleet, by means of which the army might be supplied with military stores and provisions; but this armament was retarded by an accidental fire at Revel, which destroyed all the magazines and materials for ship-building to an immense value.



PRINCE HENRY PENETRATES into BOHEMIA.

About the latter end of March, the king of Prussia assembled his army at Rhonstock, near Strigau; and advancing to the neighbourhood of Landshut, encamped at Bolchenhayne. On the other hand, the Austrian army, under the command of mareschal Daun, was assembled at Munchengratz, in Bohemia; and the campaign was opened by an exploit of general Beck, who surprised and made prisoners a battalion of Prussian grenadiers, posted under colonel Duringsheven, at Griefenberg, on the frontiers of Silesia. This advantage, however, was more than counterbalanced by the activity and success of prince Henry, brother to the Prussian king, who commanded the army which wintered in Saxony. About the middle of April, he marched in two columns towards Bohemia, forced the pass of Peterswalde, destroyed the Austrian magazine at Assig, burned their boats upon the Elbe, seized the forage and provisions which the enemy had left at Lowositz and Leutmeritz, and demolished a new bridge which they had built for their convenience. At the same time general Hulsen attacked the pass of Passberg, guarded by general Reynard, who was taken, with two thousand men, including fifty officers: then he advanced to Sate, in hopes of securing the Austrian magazines; but these the enemy consumed, that they might not fall into his hands, and retired towards Prague with the utmost precipitation.

Prince Henry having happily achieved these adventures, and filled all Bohemia with alarm and consternation, returned to Saxony, and distributed his troops in quarters of refreshment in the neighbourhood of Dresden. In a few days, however, they were again put in motion, and marched to Obelgeburgen; from whence he continued his route through Voightland, in order to attack the army of the empire in Franconia. He accordingly entered this country by the way of Hoff, on the seventh of May, and next day sent a detachment to attack general Macguire, who commanded a body of imperialists at Asch, and sustained the charge with great gallantry: but finding himself in danger of being overpowered by numbers, he retired in the night towards Egra. The army of the empire, commanded by the prince de Deux-Ponts, being unable to cope with the Prussian general in the field, retired from Cullembach to Bamberg, and from thence to Nuremberg, where, in all probability, they would not have been suffered to remain unmolested, had not prince Homy been recalled to Saxony. He had already taken Cronach and the castle of Rottenberg, and even advanced as far as Bamberg, when he received advice that a body of Austrians, under general Gemmingen, had penetrated into Saxony. This diversion effectually saved the army of the empire, as prince Henry immediately returned to the electorate, after having laid the bishopric of Bamberg and the marquisate of Cullembach under contribution, destroyed all the magazines provided for the imperial army, and sent fifteen hundred prisoners to Leipsic. A party of imperialists, under count Palfy, endeavoured to harass him in his retreat; but they were defeated near Hoff, with considerable slaughter: nevertheless, the imperial army, though now reduced to ten thousand men, returned to Bamberg; and as the Prussians approached the frontiers of Saxony, the Austrian general, Gemmingen, retired into Bohemia. During all these transactions, the mareschal count Daun remained with the grand Austrian army at Schurtz, in the circle of Koningsgratz; while the Prussians commanded by the king in person, continued quietly encamped between Landshut and Schweidnitz. General Fouquet commanded a large body of troops in the southern part of Silesia; but these being mostly withdrawn, in order to oppose the Russians, the Austrian general de Fille, who hovered on the frontiers of Moravia with a considerable detachment, took advantage of this circumstance; and advancing into Silesia, encamped within sight of Neiss. As mutual calumny and recriminations of all kinds were not spared on either side, during the progress of this war, the enemies of the Prussian monarch did not fail to charge him with cruelties committed at Schwerin, the capital of Mecklenburgh, which his troops had bombarded, plundered of its archives, cannon, and all its youth fit to carry arms, who were pressed into his service: he besides taxed the duchy at seven thousand men and a million of crowns, by way of contribution. He was also accused of barbarity, in issuing an order for removing all the prisoners from Berlin to Spandau; but this step he justified in a letter to his ministers at foreign courts, declaring that he had provided for all the officers that were his prisoners the best accommodation, and permitted them to reside in his capital; that some of them had grossly abused the liberty they enjoyed, by maintaining illicit correspondence, and other practices equally offensive, which had obliged him to remove them to the town of Spandau: he desired, however, that the town might not be confounded with the fortress of that name, from which it was entirely separated, and in which they would enjoy the same ease they had found at Berlin, though under more vigilant inspection. His conduct on this occasion, he said, was sufficiently authorized, not only by the law of nations, but also by the example of his enemies; inasmuch as the empress-queen had never suffered any of his officers who had fallen into her hands to reside at Vienna; and the court of Russia had sent some of them as far as Casan. He concluded with saying, that, as his enemies had let slip no opportunities of blackening his most innocent proceedings, he had thought proper to acquaint his ministers with his reasons for making this alteration with regard to his prisoners, whether French, Austrians, or Russians.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



GENERAL WEDEL DEFEATED BY THE RUSSIANS.

In the beginning of June, the king of Prussia, understanding that the Russian army had begun their march from the Vistula, ordered the several bodies of his troops, under Hulsen and Wobersnow, reinforced by detachments from his other armies, to join the forces under count Dohna, as general in chief, and march into Poland. Accordingly, they advanced to Meritz, where the count having published a declaration [523] [See note 4 D, at the end of this Vol.], he continued his march towards Posna, where he found the Russian army, under count Soltikoff, strongly encamped, having in their rear that city and the river Warta, and in their front a formidable intrenchment mounted with a great number of cannon.

Count Dohna, judging it impracticable to attack them in this situation with any prospect of success, endeavoured to intercept their convoys to the eastward; but for want of provisions, was in a little time obliged to return towards the Oder: then the Russians advanced to Zullichaw, in Silesia. The king of Prussia thinking count Dohna had been rather too cautious, considering the emergency of his affairs, gave him leave to retire for the benefit of his health, and conferred his command upon general Wedel, who resolved to give the Russians battle without delay. Thus determined, he marched against them in two columns, and on the twenty-third day of July attacked them at Kay, near Zullichaw, where, after a very obstinate engagement, he was repulsed with great loss, Wobersnow being killed and Manteuffel wounded in the action; and in a few days the Russians made themselves masters of Franckfort upon the Oder.

By this time the armies of count Daun and the king of Prussia had made several motions. The Austrians having quitted their camp at Schurtz, advanced towards Zittau in Lusatia, where having halted a few days, they resumed their march, and encamped at Gorlithayn, between Sudenberg and Mark-Dissau. His Prussian majesty, in order to observe their motions, marched by the way of Hertzberg to Lahn, and his vanguard skirmished with that of the Austrians, commanded by Laudohn, who entered Silesia by the way of Griffenberg. The Austrian general was obliged to retreat with loss; while the king penetrated into Silesia, that he might be at hand to act against the Russians, whose progress was now become the chief object of his apprehension. He no sooner received intimation that Wedel had been worsted, than he marched with a select body of ten thousand men from his camp in Silesia, in order to take upon him the command of Wedel's army, leaving the rest of his forces strongly encamped, under the direction of his brother prince Henry, who had joined him before this event. Count Daun being apprized of the king's intention, and knowing the Russians were very defective in cavalry, immediately detached a body of twelve thousand horse to join them, under the command of Laudohn, and these, penetrating in two columns through Silesia and Lusatia, with some loss, arrived in the Russian camp at a very critical juncture. Meanwhile the king of Prussia joined general Wedel on the fourth day of August, at Muhlrose, where he assumed the command of the army; but finding it greatly inferior to the enemy, he recalled general Finck, whom he had detached some time before, with a body of nine thousand men, to oppose the progress of the imperialists in Saxony; for when prince Henry joined his brother in Silesia, the army of the empire had entered that electorate. Thus reinforced, the number of the king's army at Muhlrose did not exceed fifty thousand, whereas the Russians were more numerous by thirty thousand. They had chosen a strong camp at the village of Cunersdorf, almost opposite to Franckfort upon the Oder, and increased the natural strength of their situation, by intrenchments mounted with a numerous artillery. In other circumstances it might have been deemed a rash and ridiculous enterprise, to attack such an army under such complicated disadvantages; but here was no room for hesitation. The king's affairs seemed to require a desperate effort, and perhaps he was partly impelled by self-confidence and animosity.



BATTLE OF CUNERSDORF.

Having determined to hazard an attack, he made his disposition, and on the twelfth day of August, at two in the morning, his troops were in motion. The army feeing formed in a wood, advanced towards the enemy, and about eleven the action was begun with a severe cannonade. This having produced the desired effect, he charged the left wing of the Russian army with his best troops formed in columns. After a very obstinate dispute, the enemy's intrenchments were forced with great slaughter, and seventy pieces of cannon fell into the hands of the Prussians. A narrow defile was afterwards passed, and several redoubts that covered the village of Cunersdorf were taken by assault, one after another: one-half of the task was not yet performed; the Russians made a firm stand at the village, but they were overborne by the impetuosity of the Prussians, who drove them from post to post up to the last redoubts they had to defend. As the Russians kept their ground until they were hewn down in their ranks, this success was not acquired without infinite labour, and a considerable expense of blood. After a furious contest of six hours, fortune seemed to declare so much in favour of the Prussians, that the king despatched the following billet to the queen at Berlin:—"Madam, we have driven the Russians from their intrenchments. In two hours expect to hear of a glorious victory." This intimation was premature, and subjected the writer to the ridicule of his enemies. The Russians were staggered, not routed. General Soltikoff rallied his troops, and reinforced his left wing under cover of a redoubt, which was erected on an eminence called the Jews' Burying-ground, and here they stood in order of battle, with the most resolute countenance, favoured by the situation, which was naturally difficult of access, and now rendered almost impregnable by the fortification, and a numerous artillery, still greatly superior to that of the Prussians. Had the king contented himself with the advantage already gained, all the world would have acknowledged he had fought against terrible odds with astonishing prowess, and that he judiciously desisted when he could no longer persevere, without incurring the imputation of being actuated by frenzy or despair. His troops had not only suffered severely from the enemy's fire, which was close, deliberate, and well directed; but they were fatigued by the hard service, and fainting with the heat of the day, which was excessive. His general officers are said to have