Neither army moved for some few days, while the dead were being buried, the wounded cared for, and prisoners exchanged. 568 The Duke of Ormond 567 was exchanged for the Duke of Berwick. The conduct of the former while lying at Namur deserves to be mentioned. Although scarcely able to speak or move, so ill was he, he sent for the other English officers who were prisoners, urged them to take care of their men, and desired them to draw upon him for any money required to obtain comforts for the wounded or necessaries for the captives. On the twenty-third the French marched from Landen to Warem. De Luxembourg, when sending dispatches to announce the victory of Neerwinden,569 had at the same time asked for instructions as to his next step, himself advising the siege of Charleroi and at Warem he remained for several days awaiting the reply. The Allies had rallied about Louvain and Malines, and when the army marched to Wemmel on the second of August it was joined by de Wirtemberg's Division.570 On the fifth the French marched to Bonef, and thence to Sombref, in order to get between the Allies and Charleroi. After some further delay, while awaiting re-inforcements and siege material, de Luxembourg at length invested Charleroi on the first of September.569 William believing it to be hopeless to attempt the relief, quitted the army; and on the first of October Charleroi surrendered, and thus another campaign closed with decided éclat and substantial gain to the French arms. We are told that the battle of Neerwinden was known among the soldiers of the Allied Army as the battle of Fascines; 571 partly because of the fascines carried by the front ranks of the French for the purpose of filling in the ditches dug by the Allies; and partly in derision because it was said that the French might have saved themselves that trouble, for their own dead were soon numerous enough to fill up the trenches 579 (Ills. LXXV and LXXVI). 567 Berwick. 568 D'Auvergne. 569 De Beaurain. 570 De Beaurain. D'Auvergne. 571 De la Colonie. 572 Among the authorities consulted and not quoted in detail are the London Gazette, St. Simon, De Quincy, the Paris Relation of the Battle by authority, &c, CHAPTER XVII. THE WAR IN FLANDERS. CAMPAIGN OF 1694. 1694. Prospects of the campaign.-The British Contingent.-Strength of the Allies.Plans of the French.-Movements of the two armies.-Strength of the French. -The march of both armies to the Scheldt.-The arrival at the Scheldt.Capture of Huy by the Allies. [For Illustrations, see Note on p. xiii.] WHEN Napoleon Buonaparte was asked what three things he considered most necessary to a General to enable him to bring a war to a successful issue he replied; "first money, and second "Money, and third MONEY," of course implying all those accessories of warfare which money can procure. The want of money or money's worth turned the scale against the French in the campaign of 1694. For a quarter of a century had France been exhausting herself in wars, and now the Treasury was empty. It was impossible that fresh regiments should be raised, for those already serving could not be paid;573 no supplies could be stored during the winter, nor the siege and Transport trains sufficiently recruited. Other circumstances also contributed to disturb the balance of success and to confer upon the Allies a greater share of prosperity than had hitherto fallen to their lot. The French troops 574 had necessarily been cantoned during the winter between the Sambre and the Meuse, and the subsistence of so large a body of troops for seven months precluded the formation of Supply depôts in the vicinity of the new 573 Burnet. 574 Among the authorities consulted for this campaign, and not quoted in detail, are the following: De Beaurain. D'Auvergne. De la Colonie. T French frontier. Without such depôts there could be no extension of French conquests on the Meuse. The farmers of Hainault, Namur, and Brabant had been so discouraged by the ruthless consumption or destruction of their crops during the past four years that they had left off sowing corn, and their grass they took care to cut early for fear of losing it altogether. The consequent dearth of green forage at first, and of corn later, while greatly impeding the operations of the Allies, had the effect of tethering the French to their own frontier, and of preventing them from undertaking any enterprise entailing a continued sojourn in any one locality. Moreover, this season the Allies were earliest in the field. By the end of May the Allied army had assembled, and on the third of June it encamped at Meldert, having the woods which covered the front of the Parck camp of last year in rear of the present position (Ill. LXXVII). Owing to the dearth of forage the cavalry was unable to march in a body along with the rest of the army, but was distributed in cantonments in the surrounding districts as the army moved. The following is a list of the British regiments serving in this campaign: The Seventh Dragoons, which appears in this list, had been raised as Horse in Scotland during the troubles of 1689–90, and converted into Dragoons in 1691.574 The regiment had now for the first time been sent on active service. The regiment of Foot known as George Hamilton's 575 was also a Scotch regiment, and appears to have been the first regiment of 574 Scotch Parlt. Pro. 5 Octr. 1696; Petition by Officers of Lord Jedburgh's Regt. ; Had been in H. M.'s service since the Revolution, and had been converted from Horse to Dragoons in Febry. 1691. List of Colonels of Regts. 1743, states that "the 7th Dragoons was formed from five of the ten troops of Militia Horse "raised in Scotland in 1688, the other five being formed into a regt. of Dragoons "under Lord Forbes of Scotland (Broke 1697)." 575 The case of the Officers of Lt. Genl. Hamilton's late regt. of Foot; Brit. Mus. 516 m. 18, 12; Levied in Scotland 1692; brought on to the English Est. in 1694; served in Flanders till 1697; sent over to the service of the States General in 1701; broke at Bergenopzoom in 1714. Short History of the Highland Regiments, 1743. It does not appear that this Regt. wore the Highland costume. There was however an independent Foot Company of " Highland men on the Scotch Est. in 1678; Est. list, Scotch Treasury records, 1678. The following creditable list of Infantry regts. contributed to the British Army by Scotland, during the war in Flanders, may prove acceptable; "Memorandum of Scots Regiments" (Home Office records) : : In addition to these there was a troop of Horse Guards, and two regts. of Dragoons, the 2nd and 7th. See also Chap. XXIV, Note 1391a. The Scotch Forces were remodelled in 1689, and a list of the troops then disbanded, or retained, will be found in the Appendices (App. CXV). |