Ave and able plan of attack, was naturally and reafonably expected. Having thus given fuch a general view of this fevere engagement as a mind not converfant with military manœuvres and actions may comprehend without difficulty, we fhall add fome farther particulars, worthy of notice.

The column, under general Dundas, directed against Warmenhuyfen and Schoreldam, having Alkmaer on their right, (a circumfance which is neceffary, as will presently appear, to be mentioned), was accompanied by the duke of York, in perfon, who endeavoured, as much as he could, to quicken its march. It was, however, neceffarily very flow, the enemy having defroyed all the roads, and the troops being obliged to pafs, as well as they could, across the fields, where every furrow was a wide ditch, over which it was neceffary to form communications, or even to throw bridges. Notwithstanding the greateft exertions, and although Warmenhuyfen had been carried between fix and feven in the morning, they could not arrive before Schoreldam until nine o'clock: when this entrenched poft was attacked, on the fide of Warmenhuyfen, by the corps of general Dundas; and towards Scholer, by the brigade of general Manners, and carried. Before any fupport could be given, to the attack made by the Ruffians, it was necellary to attack the canal of Alkmaer. The nemy had deftroyed the bridge, but before ten o'clock means were found to repair it, and part of the troops immediately crofled the ranal, and marched to Scholer. At this moment intelligence was brought to his royal highnefs, by

VOL. XLI.

captain Taylor, his aid-de-camp, the only English officer who had accompanied the Ruffian column, of what had happened at Bergen. Soon after he had the mortification to fee, that the Ruffians continued their retreat towards the Zype, and had pafled Schorel, which the purfuing enemy had already enter ed. His royal highnefs then adopt ed the only measure that could repair the diforder of the Ruffians, and renew the engagement. He im mediately attacked the village of Schorel with general Manners's brigade, fupported by three battalions of Ruffians, by the firft brigade of guards, and the thirty-fifth regiment, commanded by prince Wil liam. Schorel was carried, and the enemy was ftopped in their purfuit. This advantage might have changed the face of affairs, and decided the day in favour of the allies, if the Ruffians could have been prevailed on to difcontinue their retreat, and to form on the fand-hills, on the right of the English. But general Effen could not refcue them from the disorder and difcouragement into which they had fallen; and was obliged to fuffer them to continue their retreat, to get to their former pofition, in the Zype, where they arrived between eleven o'clock and midnight. On a confideration of the complete though difficult fuccefs that attended the other three columns, it cannot be doubled, that if the Ruffians had fhewn, on this occafion, that spirit of difcipline and obedience, for which, as well as for intrepidity. they were renowned, and had general Herman been able to keep poffeffion of the long but narrow extent of ground, fo rapidly gained, until it fliould have been poffible [X]

for

for the generals Dundas and Manners to come to his affiftance, the event of that day would have juftified the plan of the duke of York; and, as much as circumftances could have allowed, forwarded the object of the expedition. A great part of general Herman's divifion was killed or taken, and the general himfelf was among the prifoners. The lofs of the English was about one hundred and twenty killed; four hundred wounded; and, when the returns were made up, about five hundred mifling. The French ftated their lofs at only fifty killed and three hundred wounded.

The duke of York was not intimidated by the adverse events of the nineteenth of September, from a defign of renewing the attack on the enemy with all poffible expedition. Animated at once by all the hereditary courage of his family, and the generofity of the caule in which he was embarked, and trained up in the elements of war, under a prince, who rofe with an elaftic force under misfortune, he determined not to relax in the moft vigorous efforts for bringing the British enterprize, in favour of the United Provinces, and the great commonwealth of European ftates and nations to a happy conclufion. Nor were feveral important confiderations wanting, to fortify the inclinations of the will, by the authority of the understanding. The expedition, in a military point of view, was wifely planned. The co-operation of the fleet had been attended, and was in a fair way of being till farther attended with the moft profperous fuccefs; fuccours might be expected, with certainty, from the two greatest powers of Europe; and a juft refentiment and

The

indignation, it was not extravagant to fuppofe, would be roused at last by the profpect of deliverance from their oppreffive invaders. fpirit of the British troops was high and unbroken; and the Ruffians manifefted a defign to wafh out the ftain, with which, they conceived, their arms had been fullied.

In the fame degree, as the good difpofition of the troops allowed the duke of York to rely on the fuccefs of an attempt to reflore victory, every confideration prefcribed to him the neceffity of hastening it as much as poffible. He had received intelligence, on which he could rely, that great part of the reinforcements, expected by general Brune, were not yet near arriving. The fuperiority of numbers, which was ftill on the fide of the allies, and the decifive advantage which they had obtained, on every point, excepting one, in the affair of the nineteenth, could not fail to keep alive a degree of confidence in the minds of the well-intentioned Dutch, and fome hopes might confequently be yet entertained of their eventual affiftance. His royal highnefs therefore thought, on the whole, that it was not yet, perhaps, too late to give a fuccefsful turn to the enterprize, and was unremit tingly occupied in enabling himfelt to direct another attack against the enemy. He acquired new means of fuccefs, by the arrival of a third Ruffian divifion, commanded by major-general Emmé, which difembarked at the Helder, on the twenty-fifth, and joined the army on the twenty-fixth. This reil forcement, together with that of a company of chaleurs of the fixtieth regiinent, and three troops of the fifteenth ligh-dragoons, filled up the

roid, which the battle of the nineteenth had occafioned in the ranks of the allies.

If the territory of the United Provinces affords many advantages for defenfive war to the poffeflors, it offers fome allo to powerful maritime invaders. The contiguous diftricts of North Holland and Weft Friefland are deeply peninfulated by the Haerlemmeer, the ZuyderSea, and the German Ocean: and, by thefe means, a way is opened to an irrefiftible naval force, a great way into South Holland, where the land is every where lower than the fea, and croffed by the mouths of the Rhine and the Meufe, by feveral fmall rivers, and a great number of canals. The harbour and arfenal of the Helder were already reduced. The poffeffion of one other point of land, together with the dominion of the adjacent and nearly furrounding waters, would give the command of the peninfula, juft described, and prefent many advantages and opportunities for concerting meafures and co-operating with the friends of the ftadtholder, in Amfterdam, Haerlem, Leyden, and other cities. That point is the narrow ifthmus at Beverwick; the importance of which does not efcape a military eye, as will by and by appear, in the courfe of this narrative.

admiral Mitchel, confifting of the lighter fhips of war, and having on board a proper military force and apparatus, proceeded to make captures at fea, and defcents on the fhore. On the twelfth of September, captain Portlock, of the floop Arrow, and captain Bolton, of the Wolverene, near the Fly Ifland, or Vlie, Ifland, fituated at the mouth of the Zuyder-Zee, a few miles from the Texel, took a Dutch hip and brig of fuperior force. They had to turn to windward, towards the enemy, against a strong lee tide, during which time they were exposed to the raking fire of the ship, which they afterwards found to be the Batavian republican guard-fhip, De Draak, mounting twenty-nine guns. They anchored at the FlyIfland on the fifteenth, when captain Portlock, the first in command, fent captain Bolton to take poffeffion of the Batavian republican fhip; the Dolphin, riding at anchor close to the town of the Fly. The fhip, on the approach of the English, hoifted the Orange colours; and the fame ftep was taken in the island. A perfon came from the municipality, with a request to captain Bolton, to furrender the place to the government of the prince of Orange; which request, by the authority of admiral Mitchel, was, without hefitation, complied with.

On the twenty-firft, admiral Mitchel, with a fquadron of frigates, and other armed fhips and bombveffels, came to anchor off Enchuyfen; when a boat came off, from

ades: in confequence of which, the admiral went on fhore, attended by the captains: they were received by the inhabitants with every teftimony of joy, at their deliverance [X2]

from

from their former tyranical government, and the higheft expreffions of loyalty and attachment to the houfe of Orange. The admiral proceeded to the ftadthoufe, and fummoning all the old and faithful burgomafters, who had not taken the oath to the Batavian republic, reinstated them in the magiftracy, until inftructions fhould be received from the prince of Orange. At the diffolution of the municipality, and the reinstatement of the old magiftrates, the inhabitants, furrounding the ftadthoufe, expreffed their joy, by loud acclamations. A party of them, at the fame time, cut down the tree of liberty, which they inftantly burned. All this was done in the most quiet regular manner. Meidenblick, Lemmer, and other towns, obferved the fame conduct, and expreffed the fame difpofitions, with thofe of Enchuyfen.

The British caufe was farther ftrengthened and encouraged by a reinforcement of Ruffians, confifting of upwards of four thoufand men, which landed at the Helder, on the morning of the twenty-fixth of September, and immediately marched forward to join the main

army.

The inclemency of the weather, the fole caufe of fufpended operation, having, in fome measure, fub. fided, the British army was again put in motion, and, on the morning of the fecond of October, an attack commenced on the whole of the enemy's line. A fevere and obftinate action enfued, which lasted from fix in the morning until the fame hour at night. The right wing of the British army was commanded by fir Ralph Abercrombie, the centre divifion, by general Dundas,

and the left wing, by major-gene ral Burrard. This lag divifion remained for the protection of the pofition under lieutenant-general fir James Pultney, who was farther deftined to engage the enemy's at tention at Ouds Scarpel by a feint attack. The first impreffion was made on the adverfe line, by the centre of our army; and the next by the right, and lastly, the left wing alfo overcame all refiftance. The enemy being entirely defeated, retired in the night from the pofition which they had occupied on the Lang-Dyke, the Koe-Dyke, at Bergen, and on the extenfive range of fand-hills between this last place and Egmont-op-Zee.

On the night after the battle the British troops lay on their arms; and, on the third of October, moved forward and occupied the pofitions of the Lang-Dyke, Alkmaer, Bergen, Egmont-op-Hoof, and Egmont-op-Zee. The enemy's force was computed to be about twentyfive thousand men, of which by far the greater part were French. The duke of York, in the account he gives of the action of the fecond of October, beftows warm and liberal praife on the whole army under his command. Under the Divine Providence,' fays his royal highness,

this fignal victory, obtained over the enemy, is to be afcribed to the animated and perfevering exertions, which have been, at all times, the characteristics of the British foldier, and which, on no occafion, were ever more eminently displayed: nor has it often fallen to the lot of any general, to have fuch juft caufe of acknowledgement for diftinguished fupport. I cannot, in fufficient terms, exprefs the obligations I owe to general fir Ralph Abercrombie,

and