1678. with a great deal of Ease just in the very midst of the Negotiations for the Peace at Nimeguen to save the Restoring of Ipres which the Spaniards insisted very much upon by the taking of this Place It is said that the French King had then promis'd King Charles who was Mediatour of that Peace the English being very jealous of the French Progresses so near them and the Parliament pressing the King to declare War against France that he would not push his Conquests any farther on that side and when the Spanish Ambassadour acquainted the King with the Siege of Ghendt his Majesty relied so much upon this Promise that he could not at first believe it however the Allies were surpriz'd by this Siege may be relying too much upon the Considerations which the French should have had for England in such a Conjuncture and thus neglected to provide for the Defence of the Countrey hereabouts more than they would otherwise have done to have a better Army in Brabant But to return from this short Digression Ghendt with this Inundation and Line before St. Peters and the Courtray Portes and the Line of Marykirk would have been cover'd on all sides from either Siege or Bombarding except between the Canal of Bruges and the Seheld where there was no great danger But this Design went no farther than the Inundation and the project of the Line was laid aside And may be 't was undertaken onely to give the Elector a plausible pretext to come to Ghendt in order to Execute our Designs upon the Camp of Deinse without giving any Jealousie to the French as I am now going to relate it The First of April the Elector of Bavaria lest Brussels and came April to Ghendt in order as 't was given out to see the Inundation made about it and to visit the other Frontiers of Flanders The Second his Highness took a view of the Waters which now overflow'd the flat Countrey all about Ghendt and the Third Major General Dopst Quarter-Master General of the States came there to confer with his Electoral Highness about the taking of the Field and dispositions were made for the securing of the Camp of Deinse the 10th in the mean while the Elector design'd to go to Bruges and Newport but on the 4th being inform'd that a great Patrouille of the French had been hovering about Deinse as if they had a design upon that Camp it was resolv'd immediately to secure it without any further delay and a Council of War being held thereupon orders were sent that very Night to all the Infantry in Quarters in Ghendt Bruges Ostend Damme and behind the Canals to March the next day Monsieur de Ribeaucourt was commanded out at the shutting of the Gates with 200 Spanish Horse to post himself at Petegem on the other side of the Lys opposite to Deinse at Midnight Major General la Meloniere with a Detachment of 3800 Foot of the Garrison of Ghendt march'd out of post himself in the Town of Deinse and secure that place a Bridge of Boats was likewise order'd to be made at Marykirk and another at Bellem for the passage of the Troops behind the Canal On the 5th the Electors Baggage march'd by times towards Bruges as if His Highness would follow soon after because the day before he had given out his Journey for Newport upon this day which if it had been Countermanded upon the marching out of the Spanish Detachement of Horse and of Major General la Meloniere with that of the Foot would have discover'd the Design upon Deinse whereas now it pass'd only for an Escorte to cover the Canal and hinder the French from coming near it during the Elector's Journey His Highness having notice very early in the Morning that the Posts about Deinse and Nevel were secur'd order'd his Baggage to go no farther than Marykirk only for a Blind and so to come back again and got on Horseback himself about Seven not to go Bruges but Deinse and Nevel where his Baggage follow'd and all the English Cavalry had orders to march that way immediately without Baggage under the Command of Monsieur Auerquerque only with two or three dayes Forrage The 16 Battallions in Ghendt march'd the same day and incamp'd about half a League of the Town behind the Canal within the Retrenchment of Marykirk and the 12 Battallions of Bruges with that of Damme according to the Orders they had over Night came this Day and incamp'd at Bellem being joyn'd by the Battallions of the Queen of Denmark Zeland and young Holstein which had Quarter'd upon the Countrey behind the Canal of Bruges The same day the Three Battallions in Garrison at Ostend and the Three Quarter'd in the Pays de Nort came to incamp between Bruges and Steinbrughe upon the Canal The 6th the Infantry incamp'd at Marykirk and Bellem pass'd the Canal upon the Bridges made at these two Places and came to form the Camp between Deinse and Nevel being in all 32 Battallions and the Six incamp'd at Steinbrughe march'd to Bellem and came to the Camp the 7th which was now form'd of 38 Battallions with the Right at Nevel where the Elector had his Quarter and the Left upon the Lys at the Church of Bachtem between Deinse in the Front and the Castle of Oydonck in the Rear And because the Cavalry could not yet incamp in this Season all the Battallions to fill up the Ground between Nevel and the Lys incamp'd with the Companies in half depths by which means every Battallion took up the space of two from Right to Left and this Method was observ'd in the Elector's Army most part of the Campagne following The English Cavalry having march'd out of Ghendt the 5th to secure this Camp till the coming up of the Foot went back on the 7th into the Town but all the Foreign Horse upon English pay Quarter'd at Bruges the Dutch Cavalry Quarter'd upon the Canal and the English Dragoons Quarter'd between Ghendt and the Sas and about Bruges had orders to come and Cantoon in the Villages in the Rear of the Electors Army between Deinse Nevel Ghendt and the Canal from whence they were to furnish 500 Horse and Dragoons daily for the Out Guards of the Army The 8th the Prince of Nassau Sarbruck Velt Mareschal General of the States Army arriv'd at Ghendt being to Command the Army under the Elector and came the 10th to the Camp where he took his Quarter at the Castle of Oydonck The 12th the Elector with a detachment of 1200 Horse and Dragoons went to view all the Approaches to his Camp from the Pays Conquis as far as Denterghem Wouterghem Gothem Arseel Canneghem and Thilt The 11th all the Horse and Dragoons Quarter'd upon the Canal of Bruges being come to Cantoon behind the Electors Army the Battallions of Fagel and Reinardt had orders to post themselves upon this Canal between Ansbeck and Bruges and the Elector had now
except the Brigades of Dompré and Chauviré under the Command of Major-General Hubert which interlin'd with the Body of Foot upon the Left of Ingoldesby's and Belcastel's Brigades behind the Village of Ganshoren the most open passage to our Camp upon the Right being hereabouts Prince Cerclas of Tilly incamp'd upon the left with the Liege Horse and Dragoons but all the English Cavalry march'd through Brussells by the Scarbeck-porte and incamp'd on the other side of the Canal with the Right at Ever where General Auerquerque was Quarter'd and the Left at Diegom upon the way to Louvain except the Dragoons of Tiviot Rosse and Jedborough which were posted between Vilvorde and the Burnt-bridge upon the Canal of Brussells and those of Eppinger and Lloyd which were mix'd with the Foot at the Camp of Cockelbergh Anhalt's Brigade being compos'd of the three Battallions of Anhalt Scheltinga and Slabendorf lately come to Brussells from the Siege of At h and the two Battallions of Els and Essen detach'd from our Army incamp'd on the other side of Brussells before the Fort of Monterey This was the state of our Army about the Town at our first coming to this Camp where we were very conveniently posted to expect the French if they would have attack'd us and no stronger camp could have been found out to cover the Town and secure our selves at once but because we were likely to have to do with two powerful Armies joyn'd together and that too much care could not be taken for our Safety especially at our first coming that we had not as yet those considerable reinforcements which joyn'd us soon after from England and the Rhine therefore as soon as the Army began to incamp fifty men out of each Battallion were commanded to work that very Night being about 3400 men at a Retrenchment upon the Left of the Village of Berchom where was an open ground about a quarter of an English Mile over that joyn'd to the Height of Dilbeck and commanded this part of our Camp and was the weakest post we had to defend and the most dangerous inlet into our Camp in case of an attack and therefore special care was taken to Fortisie immediately this Avenue My Lord Cutts was then Major of the day and was by the King's order upon the work all Night to forward it by his Care and Presence and by the next Morning it was considerably advanc'd and in a state not to be easily carried by an Enemy This Retrenchment was a Redan or work of Salliant Angles with a large Fossè and cover'd way the Glacis of which was senc'd with an outer Ditch being stuck all over at the bottom with short Palissades or sharp wooden Spikes having their points upwards to hinder the Enemy from getting into it As His Majesty's Army came to this Camp the 13th that of the Marechal of Bouflers was at the same time upon the march from Steinkirk towards Nostredame de Halle where he incamp'd this Evening with his Right at Lembeck upon the Senne and his Left at the Brook of Pepinghen towards St. Quintin-Linneck the Head-quarter being at St. Arnelle in the Rear upon the way that goes from Halle to Enghien as soon as the Mareschal of Bouflers was come up to this Camp he immediately detach'd the Chevalier de Nesle with 150 Horse towards Anderlecht to get intelligence of our motions and whether our Army was yet got to this side of Brussells the Chevalier de Nesle advanc'd with his Party almost as far as Dilbeck this Night and met hereabouts upon the way to Halle with a Party of 30 Liege Horse commanded by a Cornet which Monsieur de Sainfal a reform'd Captain in the French Life Guards attack'd with a Squadron of 50 and defeated him killing four upon the spot and took eleven Prisoners with fifteen Horses 'T was by the meeting and defeat of this Party that the Chevalier de Nesle was inform'd of all our Armies being incamp'd on this side of Brussels between the Flanders-porte and the Canal But the Marechal of Villeroy who had march'd through the Wood of Lessines on the 12th to incamp between Castergat and Gamerage was forc'd to halt the next day the Weather having been so very bad the 11th and 12th and the ways grown so difficult that his Artillery and Wheel Baggage could not come up to march the 13th being to pass through the desiles of the Wood of Lessines but on the 14th this Army march'd and came to incamp with the Right beyond Goick towards St. Quintin-Linneck within three Quarters of a League of Bouflers Left and the Left towards the Dender beyond Strithem the Head-quarter being at this last place And if the French had at first any design upon Brussells and our Army it was this halting of Villeroy's Army that prevented it and gave us time to Fortifie our Camp before the Town and receive considerable reinforcements for the Marechal of Bouflers was not strong enough to pretend to attack us himself and therefore could not march up to us on the 14th before we had sufficiently Fortified our Camp and Villeroy coming but this day to the Neighbourhood of St. Quintin-Linneck the two Marechals could not joyn together till the 15th and consequently could not attack us well till the 16th in the morning when we could not be in a condition to apprehend their coming therefore the French were oblig'd to think of nothing else at present but the subsisting of these two great Armies in the Countrey between the Senne and the Dender where they reach'd almost from the one River to the other being upwards of three Leagues distance and here I shall leave them to return to His Majesties Camp near Brussells The 14th the King and Prince went out very early to see the Retrenchment we had work'd upon in the Night and the avenues to the Height of Dillebeck where having heard of the defeat of our Party of Liege Horse the overnight so near our Camp all the out-posts were thereupon order'd to be reinforc'd in all the Villages before the Camp as in the Villages of Berchom Ganshoren Jette and Laacken and the Abbey of Dilleghem and Castle of Riviere these two last places commanding a pass in the bottom over the Rivulet of Zellich the first on one side towards Wemmel and the last on the other towards Brussells a Field Officer with two or 300 men was posted in the Abbey before our Right and in the Villages of Dilbeck and Anderlecht before our Left and that the Retrenchment we were working upon since the overnight to stop up the passage into our Camp from the Height of Dillebeck might be finish'd with all Expedition 30 Men more were commanded out of every Battallion being now between five and 6000 persons to work upon it and His Majesty in his Riding out this morning saw the Marechal of Boufler's Army incamp'd at Halle In the Evening Lieutenant General Ohr having receiv'd an Express from His Majesty at Tirlemont
Harsolt Dona and La Mothe All these Regiments were soon after dispers'd to Cantoon up and down in the Neighbourhood of the Towns that were to be restor'd by the French in order to Garrison there except those two or three Regiments which were to Quarter in the Holland Flanders My Lord of Athlone's Camp at Judoigne was the last to break up either to subsist the Dutch Cavalry upon the Countrey hereabouts as long as was possible or else to provide for the security of the Meuse whilst Harcourt was on the other side with a considerable Army to Forrage the Pays de Liege and did not go into Quarters but between the middle and latter end of October when Tiffin's and Belcastel's Brigades were order'd to march into Flanders to quarter in Ghendt and Bruges with the rest of our English Forces The Elector continued all this while with His Majesty at Loo and Dieren sometimes at the one and sometimes at the other where among their Divertisements they settled the Routes and Marches of the Allies out of the Spanish Netherlands and his Highness did not come back to Brussells till the 13th of October by which time all the Confederate Forces had clear'd the Countrey except His Majesties National Troops which were to pass over into England Scotland or Ireland with as much expedition as the Season would permit and the Danes which did not begin their March homewards till the November following But the King still remain'd sometimes at Loo and sometimes at Dieren where His Majesty had pass'd the time in Hunting and such other Countrey Divertisements from his first leaving of the Army to this time except two or three dayes that His Majesty went to Soestdyke to have an Interview with the Czar of Muscovy at Vtrecht which was on the first of September His Majesty coming to the Czars Lodgings was first Harangu'd by the Muscovite Embassy to express the great Esteem and Value their Master had for his Person and how much he admir d the great reputation of his Government the fame whereof had fill'd all Russia and Muscovy and had brought the powerful Monarch of those vast Countreys to visit a Prince so renown'd for his undaunted Valour and Courage joyn'd with a most profound and consummated Prudence and who has gone through so many Dangers and expos'd himself to the greatest hazards for the Defence and Liberties of all Europe which none but himself could keep and secure from becoming a Prey to an overgrown formidable Power And to convince the King that all these Protestations of the Czars Esteem and Admiration of so great a Monarch were no formal Complements they acquainted His Majesty that the Czar their Master was in the next Room himself having come so far out of his Dominions to assure His Majesty of it in Person After which they introduc'd the King into the Czar's Chamber where they were together above an Hour His Majesty being attended by the Earls of Albemarle and Jersey and Three or Four more Persons of Quality but the Czar who Travell'd Incognito in the Retinue of his own Embassy could not accept of the Invitation to dine with the King but went back after the Interview to Amsterdam The Czar had contriv'd this way of Travelling in the Train of his own Embassy as a private Person on purpose to see England and Holland the most flourishing and wealthy Countreys in the World and the most famous for Trade and Navigation being very desirous to improve his own Subjects that way especially now that being Master of Afoff upon the Mouth of the Tanais he had a very good Harbour open to the Black Sea by which if he could gain any Strength on those Seas he may not onely increase very much the Trade and Wealth of Muscovy but cut himself a way at the same time to the Greek Empire and become Master of Constantinople These are thoughts worthy of so great a Prince and to put himself thereupon in the best way of compassing such great ends he came with his Embassy to the Baltick Shore about the beginning of the last Summer where he imbark'd to come to Coningsberg the Capital City of the Ducal Prussia belonging to the Elector of Brandenbourg where his Electoral Highness was then with all his Court to be near Warsaw during the time of the Election for the Crown of Poland The Czar and his Embassy were nobly entertain'd here and pursued their Travels over-land afterwards through Prussia Pomerania Brandenbourg Westphalia c. to come to the Rhine and Embark there for Holland and after a considerable stay in Amsterdam the greatest Town for Trade and Navigation in the World unless this mighty Character be most deservedly due to London his Czarish Majesty is at length come himself privately to England to see our Shipping and Docks where the most stately curious and perfect Models for Building of Ships in the World are to be seen and to instruct himself in Navigation and Maritime Affairs now that he has the Sea open to him in a milder Climate than Archangel whereby he may at once make his Subjects considerable for their Trade and become a Terrour to the Turkish Empire which may one day be subdued by his power on the Black Seas and Visit the greatest and the most wealthy City in Christendom and Imperial Seat of a Great Monarch who has all the Power which the Purses of the wealthiest Nations of the World can afford without any Arts of Tyranny Oppression or Arbitrariness to have them who has had Vast Fleets at Sea and Numerous Armies in the Field and the People not oppress'd by those heavy Burdens which always attend an Absolute Power and without which even Arbitrary Power it self can never be great and who Rules the most Flourishing States in the Universe so happily and with such Justice Equity Gentleness and Wisdom that notwithstanding the vast difference of Governments one may find in the Commonwealth all the duty and respect of Subjects without any derogation to its Liberties and in the Monarchy all the Liberty of a Free People consistent with the Fealty and Allegiance due to a Sovereign These are Master peices of Government altogether peculiar to our great Monarch and which were there no other reason must raise his Name above all Princes that have Reign'd before him This Voyage of the Czar's to Holland England will make so considerable a Figure in History hereafter that I could not well pass it over without omitting one of the Chiesest Ornaments of this Account After this Interview the King went back to Loo where the D of Holstein Gottorp came to wait upon His Majesty and the Prince Vaudemont from Brussells being follow'd about a Week after by the Elector of Bavaria But notwithstanding that the Three Treaties Sign'd on the 10th of September were Ratified and Exchang'd and that the Peace had been proclaim'd upon it first at the Hague then at Paris the 13th of October and at London the 19th
what relates to the main drift of the Campagne The 27th of May His Majesty had an account of the Capitulating of At h whereupon Major General de Bay was commanded out the next day towards Binch and Herlaymont-Capelle with seven Squadrons of Horse and Dragoons to get intelligence of the Marechal of Bouflers Motions who upon the taking of At h might have march'd towards Pieton or the Sambre Colonel Lloyd of the Queens Dragoons commanded the Vanguard of this Detachment with which he defeated a party of Carabiniers of Boufler's Army took Seventeen Prisoners several Horses and one or two Subaltern Officers the rest were put to flight The 29th Brigadier Maitland was commanded to go to Brussels with his Regiment and that of Denhoff where he was joyn'd with the Danish Battallion of Prince Charles that had been there since the march from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Iseringhen to post himself between this place and Vilvorde for the defence of the Canal and especially the Fort des trois Trous The same day Captain Hunter Major of the first Brigade of Dragoons lost his Horses by the Perfidy of his Servants who brought a French Party to take them whilst they were grazing but Prince Vaudemont having inform'd the Marechal of Bouflers of the Truth of the Matter he very freely sent them back again although some of them were already Sold adding That he hop'd the same Justice would be observ'd on our side to prevent the Villany of Servants The 31th the Army having Forag'd upon the Left along the Dyle towards Wavre and the King being present His Majesty at his return to the Camp gave the Royal Regiment of Dragoons vacant by the Death of Brigadier Matthews to my Lord Raby and the Regiment of Foot vacant by the Death of Colonel Aeneas Mackay to Colonel Robert Murray Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment of Scotch Guards Brigadier Matthew's and Colonel Mackay being dead some days before in London That Evening the Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst came to the Camp at Promelles where he gave His Majesty an account of the Siege of At h having Commanded the Dutch Forces in Garrison in this place during the Siege June the 2d Prince Cerclas of Tilly came to Brussels from the Electors June Army with the Liege Horse and Dragoons the four Battallions of Foot that were design'd to have acted in the Electors Army being still in the Liege Garrisons upon the Meuse for the Marquis de Harcourt was now upon his March towards this Countrey having left Montroyal the 31th of May after he had detach'd the Marquis de Lomaria Major General with ten Battallions and nine Squadrons to reinforce the Marechal of Choiseul upon the Rhine to march himself with six Battallions and eight Squadrons through the Countrey of Luxembourg towards the Meuse and the Sambre The French being now Masters of At h we did seem to design a third Army about Brussels to put our selves in a condition to cover the Countrey between this place and the Scheld where if our Troops appointed to form it had come sooner we could have kept the Field between Brussels and Alost and secur'd the Forage of that Countrey to our selves which the French have all consum'd in the sequel of the Campagne or if the Marechal of Bouflers had march'd towards Namur the King's Army could have taken the Camp of Fleury to cover it without hazarding of Brussels But now as our affairs were the Kings Army could not stir from the Camp of Promelles and Genap neither one way nor t'other not towards the Plain of Fleury or Corbais for fear of leaving Brussels open nor back towards Halle and St. Quintin for fear of leaving Namur expos'd to a Siege and thus we were oblig'd to continue in this Camp and wait for the motions of the French after the reduction of At h and to guide ours accordingly either for the cover of Brussels or Namur But to return to the Prince of Tilly he had been detach'd from the Elector's Army after the News of the taking of At h because now both Villeroy and Bouflers could joyn their Forces together and march towards Brussels and therefore a reinforcement was necessary here for our Brabant Army Prince Cerclas of Tilly being come to this place posted himself upon the height within the retrenchment made when the French Bombarded Brussels before the Fort of Monterey The 3d Lieutenant General Cohorne was sent to Brussels with several Ingeniers to trace out a Line before the Flanders Porte to cover Brussels from Anderlecht to the Canal Eight Battallions were expected hourly at this time from England and the Lunenbourg Munster and Hesse Troops from the Rhine but not having as yet any competent number of Forces about this Town nothing was made of this Line at present more than the Plan for want of Men to work about it which if it had been put forthwith in any tolerable posture of defence would have given the King's Army a great deal more liberty of marching for the conveniency of Camps and Forrage And indeed we have had about the middle of the Campagne a sufficient number of Troops to have put not onely Namur and Brussels but the whole Countrey in a posture of defence if they could have been brought into the Countrey at the beginning We have had 17 Battallions from the Rhine Eight from England and Three from Bavaria and these if they had been ready in the Countrey at the beginning to take the Camp of Mazy near Namur could have then been reinforc'd by seven or eight Battallions of this Garrison which could have been spar'd over and above those that came to the King's Army from thence and four Battallions of the Elector of Cologne's Forces which the Meuse being secur'd by this Army could have march'd out of the Liege Garrisons By which Computation this Army would have consisted of about 40 Battallions besides all the German Horse and what could have been detach'd from the Brabant Army where we were stronger in Horse than the French In this case Prince Vaudemont could then have march'd from Bois-Seigneur-Isaac to Ghislenghien and cover'd both At h and Audenarde too but 't is to be presum'd that the Necessity of our Affairs in relation to Money was not only the cause of the late coming of our Reinforcement from England but likewise in some measure of that of the Lunenbourg Munster and Hesse Troops and the French had the time both to take At h and to pen us up under the Walls of Brussels whilst they had the whole Country between the Canal and the Scheld to range freely in and Forrage at their pleasure as it shall appear in the Sequel of this History The Third a French Ingenier deserted over to us that had serv'd in the Siege of At h pretending to have fought a Duel which oblig'd him to fly for his Life he gave an account of the little loss there had been in this Siege the whole on both sides of kill'd and