Master-pieces of a Captain are to make a Retreat to take a fortified place Four Master-pieces of a Great Captain and to defend one Of the first I shall speak in this of the other two in the two following Chapters Here I am not to speak of those petty Retreats which parties of Horse and Foot make purposely dissembling fear to make an unwary Enemy follow too eagerly till he be brought to that Ambush prepar'd to intrap him as is frequently practis'd in skirmish when two Armies face each other or in Battel when they fight or when either an Army or a strong party faceth a Town whether it be block'd up or not But this discourse is of the Retreat of an Army from the Post it once undertook to maintain from the Countrey through which it once intended to march or from the Town Castle or Fort which it once intended to besiege or block up The occasions of Retreats may be these Pestilence Flux or other contagious Occasions and Reasons of Retreats Diseases in the Army want of Provisions and Munitions the approach of an unexpected or a strong Enemy some Disorders Discontents or Mutinies or just apprehensions of them the couragious or sometimes obstinate holding out of a fortified place contrary to expectation the sudden diminution of the Army by some accident of War not foreseen or to joyn with those Forces who are coming to strengthen the Army which conjunction without such a Retreat might be hinder'd by an active Enemy Or though none of those be yet he who commands an Army often retires for reasons known only to himself or when he thinks it not conducible for his Masters service to hazard Battel with an Enemy though no stronger perhaps not so strong as himself To make a Retreat from an advancing Enemy or from Armies whose conjunction cannot be hinder'd is not at all difficult if he who is to make it Retreats should be made in time have so good Intelligence as he may begin it in time but if it be bad or uncertain or that his Scouts and Parties disappoint him nothing is more difficult and in this place I refer you to my Discourse of Intelligence when an Enemy is near orders are given and obeyed with so great haste and confusion that the March looks rather like a flight than a retreat and this hath ruined many Armies and loaded their Generals with dishonour and disgrace If for want of good intelligence an enemy comes unlooked for or that a General have fought with loss in both these cases the retreat should begin in the night It is true all Retreats infuse fear in an Army which is augmented by the darkness and horror of the night and therefore the common Souldiers should be encouraged and told by their several Officers that the Retreat will be but of a short continuance and that if an Enemy follow they will face about and fight him but withal very strict and severe Discipline should be kept that none straggle for in such occasions they are very apt to run away and indeed at some times and in some places it is better to hazzard a Battle than to offer to retire for if an Army must be lost it is done To begin a Retreat in the Night with more honour by the first than by the last But if an Enemy be near and a Retreat is resolved on it should I say begin in the night because in the day time it will be seen and then it is not to be supposed that an Enemy will be so supinely negligent as not to follow the Rear immediately but though one Enemy know of anothers dislodging yet he will be very cautious to pursue him in the night time having just reasons to fear Ambushes and other stratagems and if a retiring Army get the advantage of one nights march he who commands it may next day possess himself of some fortified place or Pass and thereby be able to force him who follows to stand and then he may advise whether In some cases better Fight than Retire it will be more convenient for his affairs to continue his retreat or to fight and many times this last succeeds well but sometimes it succeeds ill but I say still better fight than still retire when the retreat cannot probably be made without the loss of all or most of the Army A Champaine or a long Heath a numerous Cavalry of a pursuing Enemy the weariness of both Men and Horses of the retiring Army hunger and want of sleep very often render the fighting a Battle more feasible than a Retreat Cornelius Arvina a Roman Dictator perceiving the Sabines would storm his Camp not yet well fortified left his fires all burning and retired in the dead time of the night Instances with all imaginable silence and diligence but being overtaken next morning and seeing he could not make his Retreat good without a visible loss faced about and fought with success Cneius Scipio sped not so well because he fought not in time This Consul perceiving three Armies against him in Spain retired in the night time next day the Enemies Cavalry was in his Rear with whom he only skirmished but that retarded his March so much that the Câ—rthaginian Infantry reached him at night before he could entrench himself he fought them but was beaten and killed but if he had faced about in the day time with his whole Army and fought the Enemies Cavalry he knew not what effects it might have produced Philip of Macedon being worsted by the Romans retired in the night time to the Mountains and thereafter presented them Battle Let us briefly summ up some of Hannibals Retreats from the Romans and theirs from him for they will very aptly shew the benefit and safety of Night-Retreats After this great Carthaginian had fought Marcellus at Numistrâ— with equal Hannibals Retreats from the Romans and theirs from him fortune knowing his own wants he dislodged in the Night and retired Marcellus knew it but durst not follow him for fear of his Ambushes Next Year Marcellus sought out his redoubted Enemy found him at Canusium fought with him and was beaten but fought the next day and did beat Hannibal into his Camp out of which he retired that same night Marcellus not daring to follow him In the Bruâ—ian Country the Consul Sempronius is worsted by Hannibal and gets him to his Camp and in the Night with great silence retires and joins with the Proconsul Licinius returns fights the Carthaginian and defeats him and he in the Night retired with safety to Croton Julius Caesar intending to march away from Pompey to Appollâ—nia sent away his sick men and Baggage in the beginning of the Night well guarded with a Caesar's Retrâ—â—â— from Pompey Legion at the fourth Watch he sent away the rest of his Army except two Legions and the Cavalry so soon as they were gone to save a punctilio of honour he caused a March to be sounded
Bodies in the Field as they are by him in Paper When the Phalanx presented their Pikes by half Files to Front and Rear the Greeks called it in that posture Amphistomus When the General commanded the Wings of the Phalange to advance and the Body to make a Bow or Crescent and in that posture to receive the charge of a Wedge Battel then it was called Antistomus And when by facing either by the Right or Left hand about the Rear was made the Front then the Phalange was called Peristomus And so of others needless to rehearse It may be I mistake in the Greek names as having indeed but very little knowledge in that Language CHAP. IX Of the Grecian March Baggage Encamping Guards and of their Paean ALL these belong to the Art of War of any Nation and none will doubt but the Grecians had set rules and orders for them all and every one of them which they did not alter but according to the circumstances of things and emergency of affairs on which depend most of Military actions Aelian gives us little light or indeed none at all in any of these particulars Most of them forgot by Aelian but leaves us to glean what we can out of History and thereon to build our own conjectures It had been convenient for us to have known the manner of their marching where or how the Horse the heavy and light armed and how far every day all of them were obliged to march as also whether the Chiliarchies which were Regiments of Foot and the Hipparchies which were Regiments of March Horse changed day about or if they march'd constantly in one place according to their Antiquity or Precedency For there is no doubt but their Ephipparchies which were Brigades of Horse and their Myriarchies which were Brigades of Foot might have chang'd Van and Rear every day by turns as easily as our Brigades do But since we are left by our leader Aelian in the dark I shall be of the opinion that being there were by Aelians account four Ephipparchies in the Cavalry and four Phalangarchies in the Phalange of the heavy armed Foot they chang'd day about and each of them had the Van every fourth day as also I think it was most consentaneous to Reason that there being four Chiliarchies in every Phalangarchy and four Talentinarchies in every Ephipparchy they likewise daily changed so that every Talentinarchy had the Van in the Ephipparchy every fourth day as every Chiliarchy had in the Phalangarchy I shall likewise believe that the Cavalry march'd either before behind or on the Flanks of the Foot Phalange according to the Enemies motions and so did the light armed Foot By these conjectures I do not offer to impose on any mans belief but leave him that liberty that I have taken to guess as probably as he can How far the heavy armed Phalange was bound to march in one day as I can assert nothing so I may only guess that they could be bound to march but twenty or five and twenty miles as the Roman Legionaries were and therefore I can hardly believe Polianus who saith Philip made his Phalange march in one day three hundred Stadia or Furlongs which make thirty seven Italian miles and a half you will think this the more incredible when you hear immediately what Baggage they carried Concerning the Baggage of a Grecian Army our Author gives us this account first that it was necessary to appoint a judicious and active person to have the conduct of it he saith well Next he tells us that sometimes the Baggage march'd in the Van of the Army and so I think it should if the Baggage Enemy were in the Rear Sometimes saith he it march'd in the Rear when the Army advanc'd towards an Enemy and good reason it should be so Sometimes saith he it march'd in the middle of the Army and there may be strong enough Reasons for that too But sometimes he saith it was order'd to march in the Flanks of the Army and so it might provided it had good Guards on the Flanks of it And lastly he avers the Grecians sent their Baggage sometimes before their Army when they were to enter iuto a declared Enemies Countrey And here I profess I do not at all understand the mystery of this Stratagem of War But I wish Aelian had clear'd us in this whether the Souldiers or Companies of Horse or Foot had Waggons Carts Beasts of Carriage Drudges and Slaves allow'd them to carry their Meat and Drink and Fardles or if they were obliged to carry all themselves for in my next Essay of the Roman Militia I shall let you see a Legionary carry three Magazines on his Head Back and Shoulders the first of Arms Stakes or Pallisadoes the second of Meat and Clothes and the third of Utensils for a Kitchin If of all these three the Greek was only obliged to carry his Arms he had a great advantage of the Roman in all marches and expeditions Yet I suppose my Reader may hazard with me to believe that before Philip of Macedons time the Grecian Souldiers carried no other burthens than their Arms but had The Grecian Souldiers carry'd no Baggage either Carriage-Beasts or Drudges allow'd them for carrying their Victuals and other necessaries and this conjecture I ground upon what I have read in Thucydides who tells us that at Syracusa after the unfortunate Athenians had lost their Navy in which were all or most of their provisions and that they were to march away by Land from the Siege of that potent City to seek new fortunes their Souldiers were necessitated to carry their meat themselves because saith the Historian they had mostly lost their Slaves and Drudges who were accustom'd to carry it and some few whose Slaves had stay'd still with them durst not trust them with so precious a thing as meat then was lest in that sad disaster they should run away with it and so starve them If then their Slaves ran away from Till Philip of Macedons time them then Slaves were allow'd them And it seems King Philip abrogated this custome for he caus'd all his Foot Souldiers to carry their Meat and Baggage themselves allowing only one Soujat to carry a Hand-mill for the use of ten Souldiers and a Drudge to every Horse-man this caus'd the other Grecians to call the Philippians Jumenta Philippi Philips Beasts of Carriage But for all that I have not Faith enough to believe Frontinus who saith that the same Philip caus'd his Foot to carry at one time Triginta dierum farinam meal for thirty days And if his Son Alexander kept up that custome as it is like he did then his Phalangites needed not to have yielded to the Roman Legionaries for heavy burthens in both long and wearisome marches which you will easily grant to be true if you will consider the indefatigable expeditions of that magnanimous King through Persia and India It seems Aelian hath not
the true God to have been in that Idolatrous age wherein he lived as very an Atheist as Machiavelli was when he wrote his Discourses on Livy and his Book Di Prencipe I shall not determine but leave those who accuse him of that crime and his Translator Casaubon who defends him from that imputation to debate the matter between them Ninthly Their horrible and bloody Civil Wars enough to have destroy'd Ninth ten other Nations as that between Sylla and Marius Father and Son and that between Caesar and the Pompeys and that of the Triumvirate In all which how much the Roman State was at a loss may be conjectur'd by one review the Dictator Caesar made of the Roman Citizens even before he had made an end of the War wherein he found the number to be less by one hundred thousand men than when he began that one Civil War which had continued not full four years But there were other difficulties wherewith the Roman State had to wrestle and those made up likewise an inward disease which came unexpected and unlook'd for and not being foreseen could not well be prevented and those difficulties are most proper for this discourse because of a Military Subject and those were the frequent and terrible Mutinies of the Roman Legions Mutinies in the Roman Armies or Armies Indeed these laid them open to the Attempts and Invasione of all their Enemies and maligning Neighbours and have left beside especially when unpunish'd an eternal blemish on their Discipline of War so much cry'd up by all Nations and in all Ages the like of which Mutinies either for number or danger I do not read to have fallen out in any Army of the World if you except those infamous ones made by the King of Spains Forces in the Netherlands about twenty or thirty years or more after the beginning of the Intestine Wars of those Countreys whereof John Petit Strada and Bentivoglio with other Historians of those times may give the curious Reader a full account Of the Roman Mutinies some whereof were punish'd some never I shall give you these following Instances When Caesar the greatest Captain that ever was made War in Spain against Against Caesar Pompeys Legates because he would not fight when his Legions would they Mutini'd and told him they would not fight when he desir'd them He pacified them with good words as knowing it was not time to use force At Placentia his ninth Legion Mutini'd and â—efus'd to go to Africk with him but desir'd to be dismiss'd and he accordingly disbanded them When Lucullus Against Luculius had gain'd a Victory against Mithridates and Tigranes he could not get it pursued for the Mutâ—â—â— of his Army which would neither be entreated nor commanded to march alledging they had serv'd out their time The Leons which were lest at Corfiniuns by the Senate and Pompey to whom they had sworn Fidelity Mutini'd against their Governour Domitius and deliver'd Against Domitius Against Aâ—â—â—nus both him and the Town to Caesar Aulus Posthumius Albinus a Legat and an Admiral upon a false suspicion of Treachery was barbarously murder'd by his own Army Caius Fimbria with the help of his Mutinous Souldiers murder'd the Consul Valerius Flaccus and thereafter justly fearing Against â—laccus the same measure entreated one of his own Slaves to do him the courtesie to kill him The Consul Cinna because he would have had his Legions to fight Against Ciâ—â—a against Sylla at that time a declar'd Enemy to the State is murder'd by them Lucius Scipio being to fight with the same Sylla is deserted by his Mutinous Against Luciâ—s Sâ—ipio Souldiers who went all over to the Enemy nor were ever any of those Mutinies or Murders punish'd or look'd after But because it may be said most of all these were acted in time of Civil Wars when Authority was â—â—od under foot and every man did that which seemed good in his own eyes I will tell you of some Mutinies and those of the deepest dye that fell out when the Ancient Roman Discipline was in its vigour and was said to be executed with the greatest severity and strictness I shall not speak of the Commons leaving the City and going to Mon's Sacer or the Holy Hill when they were brought back by the witty Parable of Menenius Agrippa that being a Sedition or Secession of the people rather than a Mutiny of the Souldiers But sure those Legions who without Against the Senate liberty given came out of the Fields to the Apennine Hill and made their demands to the Senate in Arms was a Mutiny but so far from being punish'd that the Mutiniers got what they demanded Consul Câ—so Fabius beat the Against Câ—sâ— Fabius Aequians out of the Field with his Cavalry but could not perswade his Legioâ—s to advance or mend their pace or make so much as a shew of pursuit but on the contrary they march'd back to their Tents and offer'd rather their Throats to be cut by the Enemy if he had turn'd head than obey their Consul nor was ever this pernicious and dangerous Mutiny punish'd When Appius Claudius had marshall'd his Legions against the Volscians Against Appâ—us Claudius they Mutini'd refus'd to fight and fled back to their Camp and though many of them were kill'd in the Rear yet neither Honour Duty or which is more Self-preservation could move them to turn their faces to the Enemy their wickedness and obstinacy continued next day when the Consul marching homewards the Volscians again attack'd him and made a carnage of the Rear of his men without any opposition for none would fight but all ran and fled insomuch that the Enemy might have made the whole Roman Army his prey if he could have made use of so favourable an opportunity It is true Appius found his time to punish the execrable Mutiniers and did it to some purpose by whipping first and then beheading all the Centurions as also all the Ensign-bearers that had lost their Colours and the Souldiers that had cast away their Arms all the rest â—e decimated and beheaded every tenth man saith Livy bastinadoed saith Florus What manner of death this bastinadoing was shall be told you in the twenty fourth Chapter of these Discourses A Legion of four thousand Romans was sent to Rhegium to keep Against the State it for the State they Mutiny kill the principal Citizens and keep the Town for themselves full ten years at last being forc'd to yield all that were taken alive were well whip'd and beheaded in the great Market-place of Rome Posthumius a Military Tribune with Consular authority fought fortunately Against Posthumius with the Aequians observe in all these that the Roman Empire was but yet in its Cradle is call'd back to the City in his absence his Army Mutinies against his Treasurer beats him and wounds him The Tribune returns in haste and indeed he made more haste than good
of the Author but since I intend not in this Treatise to present my Reader with any figures of my own I shall not trouble him with any that belong to another CHAP. XVIII Of several Figures of Armies used by the Ancients in their Battels IF a General or Commander in chief have not the choice of the ground where he is to fight he must marshall his army according to the advantages or difficulties of it But if he may make choice of the place of Battel then no doubt he may model his forces as he pleaseth without tying himself to any other prescripts or precedents of others Notwithstanding which he must be very wary not to cast his army in such a figure as carries along with it intricacy such as may make both the ordering and observing it difficult and more especially he was to be very shie of changing the Figure of his army in the time of action Dangerous to alter the Figure of an Army in time of action in regard that the bulk of an army is composed of such members as are for most part rude gross and of so dull understandings that they are not able in an instant to apprehend the reasons of sudden alterations or to dive into the designs of their great Commanders and therefore a change of the form of a Battel after an army is engaged may cast it into confusion which may quickly render it a prey to an attentive and vigilant enemy The Figures of Armies used by the Ancients not only Grecians and Romans but even of those Nations likewise whom both these were pleased to qualifie Five Figures of Batallions with the title of Barbarians were for most part of five kinds These were the Quadrate or Square the Wedg the Tenaille or Tongs the Saw and the Globe The Quadrate or Square they subdivided into three sorts to wit the Turrite the Lying Lateritial and the Simple Lateritial The Turrite was that Battel Quadrate Turrite whose height or depth was much greater than its front As draw up a thousand men six deep let them face either to the right hand or left you shall see them but six in front and a hundred sixty six deep it is the Quadrate Turrite so called because its height or depth makes it look like a Tower it was but seldom used and indeed it is very useless The Simple Latrice is where all the Latera or sides of the Battel that is front Simple Lâ—teritial Quadrate reer and both flanks are of a like extent One hundred men drawn up ten deep gives you the Simple lateritial Quadrate because it is a Battel equal on all sides it is also called the Aequilateral quadrate of this form were the ancient Egyptian Battels as I have told you in the Grecian Art of War ten thousand of their men Marshall'd a 100 deep made them a 100 in front a 100 in reer and a 100 in each flank so that face them any way you please still they were a 100 in front The lying Lateritial square or quadrate is a Battel in which the front is of a Lying Lateritial Quadrate greater extent than the flank or where there are a great many more men in the rank than in the file as 16000 men after the Grecian way Marshall'd 16 deep gives you a front of 1000 men and the flank but of 16. And this was usually both the Grecian and Roman way of Embattelling and continues so still in our Modern armies So when you read in story that an army march'd in a Quadrate form as Livy speaks both in his Second and Thirteenth Books and Salust also says that Marius marched against Jugurtha with a Quadrate army you are to understand it that they marched in order of Battel ready to fight and that the form of their Batallions was Quadrate but do not imagin they were Aequilateral or Simple lateritial It is from the Quadrate form which the Romans call'd lying lateritial consisting of four angles that our word Squadron hath its denomination a word used now for any thing I know in all Europaean Languages By what I have said it appears that though it were granted to Terduzzi as it is not that the Romans drew up their Foot twelve deep yet that will not conclude their Terduzzi nicely curious Batallions whether lesser Bodies or greater to have been Aequilateral quadrate as he would have them to be for in their Maniples drawn up as he would have them twelve deep since every one of them consisted of an hundred and twenty men they could make but ten Files now ten in front and twelve in file makes no more an Aequilateral Batallion than a hundred twenty men Marshall'd ten deep and twelve in front can represent that figure This lying lateritial quadrate whereof I now speak is that form of Battel whereof Vegetius is to be understood when he speaks of a quadrate army with a long front The Wedg I have spoke of in my discourses of the Grecian Militia but I would not have my Reader to imagin that these Wedg-battels spoken so much of in ancient Histories were such as are painted to us beginning with one man then Wedg-figure two next three and so to the end of the Chapter though that method might be well enough observed in a small body either of Horse or Foot but they were Batallions condensed and at close order the point consisting of a good many men yet pointed because the Body grew broader and broader till you came to the Reer where it was broadest for to imagin that in the heat of the fight any Batallion of the most experienced Soldiers can be suddenly cast into so punctual a form as first one then two by the readiest General that ever was is a Speculation never reduced or reducible to practice And so you are to understand the Wedg in which the Theban Epaminondas cast some of his Infantry at the Battel of Mantinea whereby he broke the Laconians was not a flim-flam of one two three and four he had no time to tell straws but a good massie body of men perhaps of fifty sixty seventy or a hundred in front growing greater till it came to the end This Wedg-battel consisted of three angles the foremost point making one and the broad end furnisht the other two and indeed it is a Triangle but not an aequilateral one I told you in another place out of Livius how the Celtiberians had well near routed the Praetor Fulvius by their Wedg-battel till he defeated them with a desperate Charge of unbridled Horses He who thinks that this Wedg-battel of these Spaniards How it is rightly to be understood began with one man at the point and by equal degrees came to a great many at the end of the Wedg hath a strong imagination Livy in his twenty second Book calls that Batallion of Macedonians who stood ranged in Battel within the Walls of Cenchrea to receive the Assailants when the Roman
shrill and continued without interruption it was interpreted to be a certain sign of Victory but if it was dead cold and unequal often begun and often interrupted it bewray'd fear and discouragement and portended ruine and destruction It was used by all Nations as well as the Romans and the word Baritus whereby Historians express it was borrowed from the Ancient Germans whose cry they say sounded like the pronunciation of that word They cryed no more after they came to the medley else it would have hinder'd them from hearing the Commands of their Officers either by word of mouth or the Trumpet Though the loud noise of Cannon and Musket in our Modern Wars may seem reason enough to suppress this ancient custome of shouting yet it neither ought to be nor yet is it banish'd out of our Armies The Germans French Danes and Swedes in their advance and before they give Fire have their ca ca oâ— And no doubt with an advance a stroâ—t heats and inflames the Blood and helps to encourage The late Usurper and his Armies made but too good use of it These things were previous to a Battel First The Purple Coat of Arms at the Consuls Pavillion Secondly The Exhortation or Harangâ—e Thirdly The Marshalling the Army Fourthly The Word or Teâ—â—â—â—a Fifthly The Classiâ—â—â— And Lastly This Shout or Baritus Of the first five that were ordinarily practis'd Caesar speaks in the Second Book of his Gallick War as necessary for when he was almost surpriz'd by the Nervians he writes thus Caesar saith he of himself had all things to do at once the Standard to be set up that is the Scarlet Coat his Army to marshal his Souldiers to exhort to cause the sign to be given by the Trumpet and to give the Sign this last Sign signifieth the Tessera otherwise the words had been superfluous of which that great man cannot be taxed As to this last Sign which was the Word the Ancients found that same difficulty with which all Armies are still troubled and that was that by the often requiring and giving it the Enemy came to the knowledge of it and then it was useless Lipsâ—â—â— tells us that he reads in Pâ—liâ—â—nus that one Aâ—ues an Arcadian A pretty story Captain being to fall on the Lacedâ—monians in the night time or as we now call it to beat up their quarters instead of a Word he commanded his Army to require no Word at all but to use all those who sought a Word as Enemies so that the demanding the Tessora bewray'd the demander to be a Lacedaemonian who at that time receiv'd a notable overthrow The Roman Consul when Classicum a sign of Battel he was to fall on caus'd the Classicum to sound which was seconded by the nearest and immediately by all the Trumpets Horns and Horn-pipes of the Army And now the Battel begins concerning which an old question is not yet perhaps decided Whether it was better to give or receive the charge The A question whether to give or receive the charge Roman Dictator Cossus as Levy hath it in his sixth Book being to joyn Battel with a powerful Army of the Volscians commanded all his Foot to stand still and fix their Javelines in the ground and so receive the Enemies charge which being violent put them out of breath and then the Legionaries clos'd with them and routed them Great Pompey gave the like order at Pharsalia but not with the like success for he was totally beaten But Machiavelli with Machiavelli's opinion his accustomed confidence to give it no worse name in the fourth Book of his Art of War takes upon him to give the definitive sentence and awards the Victory to him who receives the charge And saith also that most Captains chuse rather to receive than give it yet he instances only one of the Fabii who by receiving the charge of the Sanonites and Gauls was Victorious But we must listen to a greater Captain than any he hath named and himself to boot and that is Julius Caesar who by giving the charge in the Thessalian Plains gain'd the Soveraignty of the Roman Empire and blames Pompey for following the bad advice of Triarius to wait till Caesar charged him His words whereby he seems to void this difference you have in the third Book of his Civil War which are these in English But on the contrary says he I think this was done Caesar's judgement of it by Pompey without any shew of reason meaning his keeping his Souldiers from advancing to the charge because there is saith he I know not what galant vigour and natural inclination to courage born in all men which Captains ought rather to cherish stir up and augment than any way mollifie or restrain Thus far Great Caesar But on the other hand if an Army be drawn up in an advantageous ground suppose a Hill or fenced with Marish River To keep advantages or Rock the quitting of which may prove prejudicial as the loss of all advantages especially in matters of War doth it alters clearly the case and those who have done it either in Ancient or Modern Wars to the irrecoverable loss of their Masters have much mistaken Caesar who never practised it and assuredly those who do it had need of good fortune otherwise they may be sure to be branded in true Histories with either perfidy or inexcusable folly and even in Romances with too much generosity In the time of Battel all both Commanders and Souldiers did their duties by punctually obeying the commands of their Generals though to the certain and inevitable loss of their lives if not they were sure to incur those punishments whereof I shall speak hereafter Nor were they obliged to obey the commands given them before the Battel only but all those orders and signs that were given them in the time of Battel These Vegetius in the fifth Chapter of his third Book calls Signs and divides them into three Signs in time of Battel sorts Vocal Semi-vocal and Dumb. The Vocal were the verbal commands of the Officers especially the Consul and Tribunes The Semi-vocal were the several sounds of Classicums Trumpets and Horns as March Charge Retire The Dumb signs were the Ensigns Standards and Eagles as also the elevation of the Hand of a Colours or a Lance or the shaking of a Spear by a Consul or General But these were agreed on before the fight began and were either given to the whole Army or but to a part of it as when you see such a thing done then you are to do so and so These Dumb signs would not do much good in our Battels where the smoak of Powder would render many of them imperceptible And now the Battel is ended and the Romans are either Victorious or have lost the day If the first they were to pursue the Enemy to his Camp To pursue a Victory or clearly out of the Field and not only so but to follow him
so close that he might have no time to rally and to force him out of his strong holds before he recover'd breath to gather strength But we shall find not only Hannibal defective in this so important a Duty of a Great Captain but many of the Romans themselves even against this Carthaginian Arch-enemy of theirs Livy informs us in his twenty seventh Book that at Canusiâ—m Marcellus beats Not always practis'd by the Romans him Hannibal gets to his Camp and in the night time marches out of it Marcellus not pursuing him got work enough to do with him afterward The same Author tells us in his twenty ninth Book that the Consul Sempronius and Pro-consul Licinius fought with the same Hannibal in the Brâ—tian Countrey and defeated him but they not pursuing he got the rest of his Army safely to Croton next day In his thirty first Book he says Philip of Macedon was worsted by the Romans in two Horse fights but not being pursued by the Consul and leaving great Fires in the Camp he escap'd to the Mountains Caesar defies all his Enemies to challenge or charge him with this oversight for he never Never omitted by Caesar beat one of them in the Field which he did very often but he was sure to be Master of his Camp before he slept But you may read all along in Livy when the Roman State was but beginning to grow that when their Dictators or Consuls had beaten any of their Neighbours Tuscans Veians Volscians Samnites or Latines for most part they made no more ado but march'd back to the City which I suppose the ambition of a Triumph frequently led them to But if these very often Victorious Romans receiv'd the foil as sometimes they did they did even that which many more ancient people did before them and many younger have done since and that is they either fled or retir'd If they fled downright without taking notice of their Camp either their speed carried them away or they saved their lives by submitting to such conditions as themselves often imposed upon those who by the chance of War came to be their Captives of which I shall speak in my discourse of Prisoners Of what advantage or disadvantage flying or retiring to a Camp was Of a Retreat to a Camp shall be touched when I come to view Lipsius his comparison of the Ancient and Modern Militia In this place I shall only say that the Romans did not always leave their Camps fortified and mann'd when they went out to Battel At Ciminia the Consul Fabius made his Baggage-men demolish the fortification of his Camp and fill up the Ditches while he put his Army in Battel array in which he issued out fought the Enemy and beat him as you have it in Livy's ninth Book And it is in that same Book where he tell you that the Dictator Q. Fabius order'd C. â—abius to fall upon the Samnites with his new levied Army while the Dictator himself at another quarter sallied out of his Camp with his whole Army and did not only not leave any to defend the Camp but order'd likewise all his Tents and Baggage to be burnt that by taking away all hopes of a Retreat he might force his Souldiers to fight couragiously both for the safety of their lives and the recovery of their goods or the equivalence of them by the plunder of the Enemies Camp all which came to pass The â—â—â—salus victis nullam sperare salutem like of this action of the Roman Dictator History tells us hath been practis'd by others particularly by William the Conquerour when he invaded England who after his landing caus'd them to burn all his Ships which were not so few as eight hundred CHAP. XX. Of the March of a Consular Army SUpposing that which very often fell out that the Romans gain'd the Victory in their last Battel and had again nestled themselves in their Camp let us see in what order they march'd out of it either to pursue an old Enemy or to find out a new one In this point of the Roman Militia Lipsius puts himself Liâ—sius officious to some needless trouble to comment on Polybius for I think he is so clear in it that Lisius doth him dis-service in offering him his help where he needs it not at all I shall therefore tell you how Polybius ordereth the march of a Consular Army without staying for Lipsius his tedious explications At the first sound of the Trumpets and Horns every man gather'd his Preparations to a March. Baggage Burthens and Fardels together and had them ready to truss up if they were Officers on their Pack and Sumpter horses if common Souldiers on their own Backs At the second sound they loaded either themselves or their Beasts And at the third sound they marched Now though Polybius mentions it not nor Lipsius who will comment on him yet we are to believe that all Consuls were so discreet that they made no great Interval of time between the second and third sound because it could not be very pleasing to either Man or Beast standing under heavy burthens to lose any of that time which they might have sav'd in making their Journey After the third sound they marched in this order First marched the Extraordinaries Order of the Roman March. of the Allies as being nearest the Consuls Pavilion and near to the Praetorian Port. These were followâ—d by the first Legion of the Allies and after it the Baggage of the Extraordinaries and of that first Legion In the third place march'd the first Legion of the Romans and its Baggage after it Fourthly The second Roman Legion followed by both its Baggage and the Baggage of the second Legion of the Allies Which in the fifth place was follow'd by the second Legion of the Allies that was in the Rear of the Infantry The place where the Cavalry was to march was uncertain sometimes both Extraordinary and Ordinary Horse march'd all in the Van sometimes in the Rear sometimes on both the Flanks without the Baggage according as the General resolv'd to make use of them taking up his measures by the nearness of an Enemy in either Van Rear or Flank And sometimes the Cavalry march'd divided into Van and Rear Polybius shews us also that if there were ground enough and great suspicion of an Enemy then the Baggage of the Hastati of every Legion was sent before them which they followed themselves after them came the Baggage of the Principas and then themselves followed in the third place by the Baggage of the Triarii which themselves follow'd If an Enemy appear'd in the Van the Baggage of the Hastati was immediately turn'd to a side and the place where it had been was possess'd by the Hastati themselves the same was done by the Principes and Triarii And we may suppose that if an Enemy appear'd in the Rear the Baggage of the Triarii was turn'd aside and its place possess'd
We cannot tell how the Vâ—lites march'd leave us again to our conjectures Certainly if the whole sixth Book of Polybius his History be extant and if some parcels of it are not lost as I shrewdly suspect there are he forgot himself when he forgot to tell us where and how the Roman light armed who made up more than the fourth part of the Infantry marched for to tell us as Lipsius doth that they marched where the Consul appointed them is to tell us just nothing for neither heavy armed Foot nor Horse marched where they pleased but where the General ordered them Yet it is a probable and a very rational conjecture that the Velites marched nearest that place where the Enemy was whether that was in the Van Rear or Flank of the Army since they were by their skirmishes to begin the Fight But I fear in the next Chapter we shall have more groping before we find the quarter where they lodged Observe that the Legions of both the Romans and Socii did change Van and Rear daily by turns I have told you before the Roman ambulatory March was twenty Italian miles in four hours and the cursory twenty five But I suppose without Baggage and with it twenty miles was Vnius diei justum iter The just march of an Army for one day CHAP. XXI Of the Quartering Encamping and Castrametation of a Consular Army AFter a long and it may be a hard and tedious March it will be time to Quartering iâ— Towns and Villages lodge our Consular Army and lodged it must be in Towns and Villages or in the Fields If in the first they had nothing to demand from their Hosts but Bed and Lodging and were to pay for all they spent in meat drink or fire In the time of the Emperours the Legates and Presidents of Provinces caused them to furnish the Armies as they marched through their jurisdictions out of the publick Magazines which was discounted from their wages by the Treasurers or caused the Countrey people to bring in provisions of all kinds as to open Markets where they were sold to the Souldiers for ready money at the ordinary rates of the Countreys in which the Armies chanced to be the contraveners and disobeyers of orders being severely punished The way in which Officers and Souldiers used to be quartered in Houses to avoid strife between them and their Hosts was this The whole house was as equally divided as might be into three parts whereof the Master of the house chose the first the Souldiers the second and the third and last returned to the host who by this means had two thirds When the Army was to be quartered in the Field which we call Encamping Souldiers hard labour in Encamping and which consisteth of two parts Castrametation and Fortification the common Souldiers had a harder labour than in their days March in regard beside the measuring the ground they were to Fortifie the Camp with Ditch Rampart and Pallisado and to pitch the Tents of all their Commanders and cleanse their quarters before they got leave to take notice of their own Tents or Huts In the matter of Castrametation which is one part of Encamping after the Roman way we are to borrow all our light from Polybius and our own conjectures for Vegetius speaks but very little of it and that little is in very general terms But for the Fortification of the Camp we are more obliged to Vegetius than Polybius The first spends five full Chapters on Encamping to wit the twenty first twenty second twenty third twenty fourth and twenty fifth of his first Book and either for fear that he had forgot something in all these Chapters or else according to his custome to refresh his own or our memories he falls again to his Castrametation in the eighth Chapter of his third Book The summ of all he saith on that Subject will amount to this Summ of what Vegetius saith of Castrametation He laments that in his time the ancient custome of fortifying Camps was worn out for want whereof says he we have known many Roman Armies afflicted by the sudden incursions of the barbarous Nations Besides saith he if they be worsted in any Battel having no Camp to retire to they fall by the edge of the Sword unrevenged like brutes neither doth the Enemy make an end of killing them till he is weary of pursuing them He says The Army is to Encamp where it may have store of Fuel Wood Water and Fodder where the air is wholsome and free from Marishes and if it be to stay any time it must be well looked to that no Hill be near from whence an Enemy may infest it and that the place be not subject to inundations of Waters The Camp is to be of such an extent that neither Men Beasts nor Baggage be pinched for want of room nor must it be so large but that the Fortifications of it in all its circumference may be sufficiently defended by the men that are within it This is all he says of Castrametation As to the Fortification of the Camp he tells us one and the same thing of it in the twenty fourth Chapter of his first Book and in the eighth Chapter of his third Book and it is shortly this That there were three several sorts or ways of fortifying a Camp First if there was but little danger the Rampart should be made but three foot high suppose above the line and this Rampart was to be made of Turf cut out of the place where the Ditch should be and the And of fortifying the Camp loose earth of the same the which Ditch should be nine foot broad and seven deep and this was called Fossa tumultuaria or a Ditch suddenly cast up and it seems was used when the Army was to stay but a night or two and no enemy near it Thus far Vegetius is clear but in describing the other two ways of fortifying he is extreamly confused both in his first and third Book But if I guess right at his meaning he intends to tell us that the second way of fortification was when an imminent danger of an enemy appeared then the Ditch was nine foot deep and twelve broad and the Rampâ—rt above the line four foot high â—â—d thirdly when they found themselves in the greatest hazard the Rampart was planted about with these Stakes and Palisado s which the Soldiers were obligeâ— to carry about with them So that reckoning from the top of the Rampart to the bottom of the Ditch it was thirteen foot high and the Ditch it self twelve foot broad I would he had said either eleven or thirteen for then he had not contradicted himself for he told us before that in Fortification the Romans were accustom'd to observe an odd number The Turf whereof the Rampart was made used to be half a foot deep one foot broad and one foot and a half long Thus far Vegetius concerning the Fortification of the Roman
every Company of Foot d'en Pasvolants whereof six belong'd to the Captain two for the Lieutenant and two for the Ensign Every one of these had the allowance of half a Rix-dollar every ten days but this custom wore out and there was reason for it because many Captains notwithstanding that Indulgence endeavour'd still to keep void places in their Companies as a mean to make their Purses full These Muster-masters by the Dutch Danes and Swedes are called Commissaries Commissaries over whom the Commissary General of the Army hath the superintendance This difference there is that those Commissaries keep the Purse and so are Pay-masters but our Muster-masters are not so the paying belonging to our Treasurers as among the Romans it belong'd to the Questors They have power to muster as oft as they please acquainting him first who commands in chief either in Field or Garrison And indeed in those Countreys they muster oftner than they pay After the first Muster the Troops and Companies get their Standards and Ensigns and then take the Military Oath which we call to Swear to the Colours I have spoken of the Roman Military Sacrament This Oath we now speak of is the same for Officers Troopers and Souldiers swear with hands lifted up to Heaven To be faithful and loyal to their Prince or his Generals Military Oath never to desert or leave the Service without permission of their Superiors to be stout in time of Battel Rencounter Skirmish or Assault and rather to chuse to dye than desert their Standards or Colours never to turn their backs on an Enemy and to reveal all Conspiracies Treasons and Mutinies intended against the Prince or State or their Generals and other Commanders So help them God in the great day If this Oath were punctually kept all Battels would be so well fought that there would not be such a thing as the slight of an Army to be seen or heard of in the World After this Oath the Articles and Laws of War should be publickly and distinctly read that they may know what punishments for most Articles speak more of them than of rewards they may expect if they commit such crimes as are there mention'd This is a thing most necessary to be done that none may pretend Ignorance for where there is no Law there can be no Transgression Of these Articles I shall speak in the next Chapter Being that most men who follow the Wars over all the World receive wages they justly deserve the name of Mercenaries but if you will consider how their wages are paid I suppose you will rather think them Voluntaries at least very generous for doing the greatest part of their service for nothing It is said of the Switzers that they will not fight unless they be paid duly If other Nations were of their humour Princes and States would be necessitated to agree better than they do because seldome would their Armies fight for them because seldome they are paid by them The Baptist insinuates that Souldiers should be paid their wages because he bids them be contented with their wages and do violence to no man But few or no Evangelick Precepts are obeyed and this as little as any Souldiers get not their wages and violence is done to many men At the first view it would seem strange why Princes pay their Souldiery very well and duly in the time of Peace when they have little or nothing to do with them and very ill and very seldome in the time of War when they have most to do with them But the reason is soon found they need far greater numbers in time of War than Peace and many are not paid with so little money as a few are In the Wars of Europe these last fourscore years and upwards wherein his Majesties Dominions were free except in the late unhappy Civil War we find that the Estates of the Vnited Provinces have payed their Armies better than any other Prince or State this makes the Mercenary Souldier run to their Service and capacitates them to make great levies in a very short time The effects of the bad payment of the Spaniards appeared when their King stood most in need of their service seventy Armies universally ill paid years ago and a little upwards and many times since for that gave a rise to those terrible Mutinies in which they possess'd themselves of Towns and treated with their Generals and Superiours as if they had been Free Estates This incapacitated the Spanish Ministers to prosecute the War against the new Estates in which time it is not to be thought that either they or the Prince of Orange were idle Spectators The most considerable Army the Sweeds had in the year after the death of their Victorious King Gustavus Adolphus lay idle at Donaverth losing the time of Action and treating for their pay Boccalini informs us that once the Gardiners complain'd to Apollo that they Boccalini his Râ—ggâ—aglâ— had no Instruments to make all the weeds of their Gardens run and dance after them as Princes and Free States who could make all the idle and unprofitable members of their Principalities go out of the Gardens of their Common-wealths with the rattling of a Drum and the sound of a Trumpet But I think Princes and States are to be much more admired for another secret art of their own whereby they get these Drones to do them both laborious and hazardous service for very little Money and at a low expence The Pay and Wages for Officers and Souldiers of both Horse and Foot are different according to the establishments of several Princes and States I shall speak a little of some of them for to speak of all though I could were needless The German Emperours establishment during the time of the long War was German Emperour his Pay fair enough for there was promised to every Colonel of Horse 300 Dollars to a Lieutenant-Colonel one hundred and eighty to a Major one hundred and twenty to a Ritmaster one hundred to a Lieutenant sixty to a Cornet fifty besides allowances of fodderage for so many Horses proportionably according to their qualities monthly To a Quartermaster twenty four Dollars to a Corporal twenty two to a Clerk fifteen to a Trumpeter as much and to an Einspanneer or Trooper twelve The Pay for the Officers and Souldiers of Foot was much less But they got not three months Pay of twelve in a whole year But Bockler tells us that in the year 1658. at Frankford on the Maine Pay of the Confederated German Princes An. 1658. the Electors and Princes of the Empire who had joyn'd in a League whereof there are many made in that Countrey had unanimously agreed upon a Pay to be given to their forces so long as the League continued most of their Leagues are broke in shorter time than they are a making and it was this A Rit-master was to have for himself every month sixty Dollars and allowance for six
for the relief of the besieged Queen and City of Buda and that Soliman himself by speedy marches was hastning thither could not be mov'd or perswaded by any intreaties or remonstrances of the principal Commanders of his army to raise the Siege vowing and protesting that he neither could nor would do it without an express warrant from his Master King Ferdinand but before that could come he and his misfortunate Army were both irrecoverably ruin'd The sad History of all these three Armies you may read at length in Paolo Giovio Be pleased to take another instance of a later date In the year 1657 Charles Gustavus King of Sweden invaded the Dutchy of Holstein with a very inconsiderable army his Horsemen and his Soldiers were almost naked and all beaten Actions of two Kings compar'd with a long march from Pole nor was it so strong as eleven thousand of all Frederick the third King of Denmark intrusts a well appointed army of sixteen thousand Horse and Foot to a Feltmarshal and stays at Copâ—nhagen himself by the perswasions of his Privy Council The Swede being in person on the head of his harass'd army prevail'd every where ruined the Danish army without one blow and besieged the reliques of it in Frederichsode a strong Town stormed it and took it with the slaughter of the Danish Feltmarshal and most of his men and got in it above one hundred Brass-guns and much Ammunition After this a vehement Frost being commanded from Heaven to favour him with a Bridg he stept over the Ice from Isle to Isle on the Belt where he forced the Dane to accept of such conditions as he imposed which were both dishonourable and disadvantageous Sure if the King of Denmark had been personally present with his forces he had at least once fought for it To make War in person seems to be one of the essential Duties of a King or Soveraign Prince this was one of those reasons which the people of God gave for their desire to have a King to rule over them To do justice among our selves Kings of Israel and Judah made War iâ— person and to lead out our armies to battel against our enemies and they add after the manner of other Nations So then it is clear that Kings at that time went to the field in person So did Saul the first King of Israel and so did David and most of all his Successors Kings of Judah and Israel And if it be objected that David made Joab his Captain General I give two answers first Joab's authority ceased when David was present which he was almost constantly with his forces The objection of Joab answer'd till he was established King of Israel For Joab's employment where he commanded in chief if I have observed right was first against the Rebel Absalom and this was a Civil War and then against the Ammonites and that was a foreign War both these had their rise from sudden Emergencies In the last the Kings presence till the latter part of it was not necessary and in the first not at all convenient But secondly I answer that David did often repent him of the large Commission he had given to Joab who thereby made himself so strong that the King durst not hazard to punish him for his misdemeanors which he often insinuated in those words You are too strong for me you Sons of Zâ—rviah That oâ— Benajah answer'd As to Solomons making Benajah Captain General it signified but little since there was no War in his time and the Captain of the Host was almost constantly beside him If any War had fallen out probably Solomon would have conducted his forces himself But his reign was peaceable as being the Type of the Prince of Peace yet he might have repented it if he had confer'd that high trust on Jeroboam who if he had been Captain General probably would not have fled to Egypt for fear of King Solomon for his actions against Rehoboam declared afterward that the heart of a Rebel was within his breast whatever his exterior deportment was in the time of that peaceable King But to what I have said That Soveraign Princes should conduct their armies Objections against what hath been said First in person it will be objected That an Infant King cannot manage a War To which I answer that then the Prince nearest in blood should do it as well as he should govern in Civil affairs And if it be said he may usurp I answer Better he do so than a fellow subject who may play the like prank if he be invested with the like power But it is known that many Infant Kings have been carried Answer'd about with their armies to encourage them so great an influence hath the presence of Soveraign power though in a Child over the spirits of Military persons Observe what Henry the sixth of England's valiant Uncles did for him and how faithful they were to him during his Minority Observe also that Roxanâ— her being with Child to the Great Alexander made his ambitious Captains after his death smother their foaring thoughts till time should discover to them whether their Soveraign was in her belly or not that accordingly they might know how to take up their measures In the second place it will be askt what shall an old decrepit or Valetudinary The Second King do who is not able to go to the field Truly I shall not desire him to do as that King of Morocco did who in the Battel he fought with Sebastian King of Portugal caused himself to be carried in a Litter whereby he gain'd the Victory though with the loss of his own life in the field But I say such a King Answer'd may intrust as many of his subjects as are able and capable to lead armies but he should put the managing the great bulk of the War principally in the hands of the heir of the Crown to command over all and if he be not of age fit for it then that great trust should be given to the next Prince of the blood who is capable of it When the Imperial and Spanish forces Invaded France in the year 1635 the French King made his Brother Gaston Generalissimo who chac'd the enemy out of the Kingdom After the Emperour Ferdinand the Second had suffer'd many losses at last he made his own Son the Hungarian King Generalissimo over all his armies who at his very first Encounter with the Swedes routed two of their armies at Nordling in the year 1634 and in the space of two months made them lose more ground than they had gain'd in two whole years before Thirdly it will be said a Soveraign Queen cannot lead armies and therefore The Third cannot manage the War in person I shall not answer that many Princesses have done it gloriously and successfully both in ancient and modern times and therefore all should imitate them But I shall say that she can imploy no better nor
of 10000 men making square Battels and therefore their 10000 men were drawn up a 100 in rank and a 100 in file and a 100 times a 100 makes 10000. And so their Batallion was square of men and might have been also of ground if they allow'd no greater Intervals of ranks than of files which hardly they could do being they were all offensively arm'd with Pikes both long and strong But our Author saith that Cyrus was glad of this wishing Croesus's whole army had been marshal'd a thousand deep for then he had sooner destroy'd it as I have told you in the second Chapter of my Discourses of the Grecian Art of War Yet Xenophon tells us that these Aegyptians fought best of any of Croesus his army yea so long till they had fair quarter given them And withal he informs us that Cyrus his own army his Foot I suppose he means were marshal'd 24 deep and that was eight more than the depth of the Macedonian Phalanx CHAP. XVII Of the Modern way of Embatteling and Marshalling Armies AS all Armies are marshal'd according to the pleasure of those who command them so their pleasure often is and ever should be over ruled by the circumstances of time the posture of the enemy they have to do with the Weather the Sun the Wind and the ground on which they are to fight if the General find by his foreparties or Vancouriers that his enemy is before him drawn up in Battel ready to receive him he will do himself an injury to march forward for it is not to be fancied that his adversary will be so courteous as to permit him to marshal his army but will take his advantage and fall upon him before he can draw up his Van especially if his march have been thorough any close or strait Country and in such a condition as that a Generals A General should have a ready wit own ready wit and resolution must serve him for Counsellors for there will be no time given him to call a Council of War But we speak now of Embatteling Armies when Generals have half the choice of the ground The manner was in many places and still is in some to marshal Armies in three distinct Bodies one behind another the first was called the Vanguard the second the Battel the third the Reer-guard But several times every one Armies marshall'd in three distinct Bodies of those consisted of three Bodies likewise these were two wings of Horse and one Body of Foot and when they march'd these three great Bodies were called the Van Battel and Reer Their proper Title was to be called so when they marched for many times when they drew up in order of Battels it was in one Breast and then the Horse were divided in two wings and the Foot made the Battel This was done when the ground was very spacious and to prevent surrounding otherwise Armies seldom fight but in two Battels if not in three But as I said time ground the power of an enemy minister occasions to a Commander of an Army to alter the ordinary custom and frame a new method of his own to serve him for that opportunity I shall give you one instance and that of a mighty army marshal'd as few before it have been and I believe none since It was that which Charles the fifth and his Brother King Ferdinand had at Vienna when they lookt for Sultan Soliman the ground was very spacious and though their numbers were very great yet those of the Turk were How the mighty Army of the Emperour Charâ—es the Fifth was marshal'd at Vienna very much beyond them and they fear'd to be out-wing'd by his numerous Horse The order of their Battel was to be this if they had fought They had sixty thousand arm'd with Pikes Halberts Partisans and other long Staves these were divided in three great Batallions each of twenty thousand on the right hand stood one of them on the left hand the second and the third in the middle There were about six or seven thousand Harquebusiers on foot to attend each of these great Batallions of Pikes who were to have several little Intervals thorough which these Harquebusiers were to salley and fire incessantly before the grand Batallions till they should be necessitated to retire through these same Intervals to the Reer and then the Pikes were immediately to close and fill up those void places These three great Batallions separated one from another made two great Intervals in each of which stood fifteen thousand Horse Here then you see upon the matter one of the bravest Armies of Christians that ever was marshal'd in one front without reserve only some thousands of men were order'd to guard the Baggage and Munitions scarce read of before or since Here you see the Pikemen make the Wings whereas both before and since they made the Body Here you see the Firemen marshal'd behind and ordain'd to fally from their station and do their service in the Van and then to retire to their place according to the custom of the ancient Grâ—cian and Roman Velites and not marshal'd on the wings of the Pikes And here you see the Horse who before that time and since made the wings of an army make now the Body of it strongly flanked with Pikes this being the inversion of former Ordinances of War was then thought necessary to prevent the surrounding and the impetuosity of the Turks numerous Cavalry Armies for most part now are marshal'd in two distinct Bodies the Vanguard and the Arreer-guard which are commonly called Battel and Reserve But it is not only difficult but purely impossible for any the most experienced General to set down any one certain rule or order whereby he may constantly Battel and Reserve keep one manner of marshalling or one form of Battel as it is called forma aciei though he could be assur'd that his Regiments or Brigades of both Horse and Foot should constantly continue of one strength since the place situation Houses Villages Castles Hills Valleys rising heights hollow grounds Waters Woods Bushes Trees and Marshes do occasion such alterations as make the form or mould of an Army cast in one place change so much as you shall not know the face of it on another piece of ground perhaps not above one or two hours march from the former And in this as I said before the General is to act his part and take such advantages as he may and readily possess himself of such places which being in the enemies power might do him prejudice One of his great cares in Embatteling would be to secure both his Flanks of an Army to be well secur'd in â—attel flanks which are called the right and left hand of his Army with some River Brook Ditch Dike or Retrenchment if these cannot be so readily got then he may do it with the Waggons or Baggage of his Army for in time of-Battel it is almost impossible for a Batallion or
Body either of Horse or Foot to stand when it is charg'd both in front and flank and this is ordinarily done by overwinging so that the strongest in number hath the advantage which the weaker should endeavour to counterballance by art policy and stratagem This makes me wonder how Charles the Fifth a great Warrior in his Instructions to his Son Philip the Second asserts that thirty thousand Foot and Numbers a great advantage if they be well order'd four thousand Horse is a sufficient Army against any enemy how strong soever provided it be still kept at that strength and fresh men put in their places who are either put in Garrisons or are kill'd or dead because saith he hardly shall you find any ground capable to contain more without encumbrances But himself found ground to marshal one hundred and ten thousand men at Vienna almost all in â—ront and if he find ground to marshal these thirty four thousand men certainly it will be necessary to have a Reserve of twenty thousand And assuredly greater numbers have the advantage of smaller if they be well order'd to second one another whether the ground be spacious or narrow Reserves being rightly placed Many are of opinion and it is grounded on reason enough that Horse and Foot fight best together but they differ in the way for some would have one Horse and Foot together Regiment of Horse with two Regiments of Foot or if the Cavalry be so strong a Regiment of Horse for every Regiment of Foot and marshal'd alternately as first a Regiment of Horse and then one of Foot and so with the rest Others like not this so well but like better to fortifie their Squadrons with Plottons of Musqueteers who give their Vollies incessantly before the Plottons of Musqueteers with Horse Horse come to their Charge and this assuredly doth exceedingly disorder and damnifie Bodies of Horse before they can come to make use of their Pistol or Lance â—or the Lance is not yet out of fashion with the Polonians Hungarians Trarsylvanians and Walachians besides those of more Easterly Nations Of this manner of mixing Foot with Horse Gustavus Adolphus made good use in his Wars with Pole and in Germany too especially at the Battel of Leipsick But that great Prince was not the first that invented it it was used in the world many ages before him among the ancient Grâ—cians Romans and Germans too as I have already shewn you Coligni the famous Admiral of France had ordinarily Harquebusiers of Foot mixt with his Horsemen and truly as I think Musqueteers have done and can do good service against Horse before they come to the Charge so I conceive in the Charge Pikemen well arm'd for the defensive would notably assist Horsemen if they were interlin'd with them But it seems Generals think not so because they do not use it But in the marshalling Armies there is great difference of opinions concerning the Intervals between the greater Bodies whether these be Regiments or Brigades Some allow but 24 foot of ground between them and they say if they be greater the enemy may easily get into these void places and so fall upon Narrow Intervals between great Bodies the flanks of the several Bodies and ruin them a consideration that carries much reason with it But truly this order is good if the Army be drawn up in one front without any Reserve But if it have a Reserve these narrow Intervals in the Battel render it useless nay they may help to ruin it My reason is this a Reserve is appointed to advance against an enemy at one of these three occasions which are when the Battel is weary when it is in danger and when it is beaten Now in none of these three can the Reserve be steedable if there be not ground for it to advance to draw up and to fight but who can imagin that a Brigade of three hundred men in front in the reserve can advance draw up and fight on a spot of ground twenty four foot broad or yet on a plot of ground three Obstructs help from the Reserve hundred foot broad for there they should only have ground to stand on but no room to handle their arms especially their Musquets But it will be yet worse if the Brigades of the Battel be flying and these of the Reserve advanceing for there shall be in that case such a medley and an Embarras that they shall ruin one another without the help of an enemy I suppose for these or the like reasons others allow as much Interval between two Brigades marshal'd in the Battel as can contain a Brigade drawn up behind it Large Intervals of better use in the Reserve all the Brigades being supposed to be of a like strength and number And thereby whether the Battel â—eel faint or fly the Reserve may come up to the shock with an enemy without any empeachment given to it by the flying Brigades of the Battel and thereby a fair opportunity given to those who fled or retir'd to rally on the ground whereon the Reserve stood which was the order the ancient Romans kept in their three Batallions of Hastati Principes and Triarii as I have at length shewn you in my Discourses of their Art of War And it seems in the days of Charles the Fifth about a hundred and twenty years ago the Intervals between Batallions were so narrow that the Charles the Fifth his Complainâ— Reserves could give them little or no assistance whereof he complains in his Instructions to his Son for he saith they were all drawn up in direct lines these are his words that if you beat saith he the formost Bodies they fall back upon the rest who are directly behind them and so bring them in disorder and consusion which hurtful error of marshalling that Emperour saith he intended to rectifie and to that purpose refers the King his Son to his written Notes upon that Subject Now what better way is there to rectifie this evil than not to draw up any Batallion of the Reserve directly behind a Batallion of the Battel but in a direct line behind the Interval that is between two Batalions of the Battel and this is the Romans way who drew up the three Bodies of their several Legions one behind another Chequerwise And here the Objection mention'd before that an enemy may easily enter at these wide Intervals and charge the flanks of the Brigades in Battel must be answer'd Intervals defended by Ordnance that these Intervals are defended with greater and smaller pieces of Ordnance suppose every one of them with four greater and lesser Pieces or with three according as the Train is great or small and if that does not the deed or that any of the Brigades of the Battel begin to shrink or reel then that Brigade of the Reserve that is behind the Interval in danger should be order'd speedily to advance and possess it It would seem that the
will be or the way narrower as for most part it chanceth to be you may see I say how many miles may be between your Front and your Reer And indeed though the Train of Artillery by the sticking of great Guns and Pot-pieces in deep dirty or clay ground give no retardment to the march as frequently it doth or that an Army meet with no extraordinary encumbrances as happily it may yet it will be no marvel to see the Van at the head quarter before the Reer-guard be march'd out of their last nights Leaguer though the march be fourteen or fifteen English miles long and therefore there is good reason to allow as little distance or Interval between several bodies or batallions as may be and to A close march the best and securest divide an Army into two three or more bodies and march several ways to make the greater expedition when it may be done safely and without danger of an enemy and if he be in your Reer and that you intend not to fight dividing so you keep good order facilitates your Retreat The two Princes of Orange Maurice and Henry both of them excellent Captains order'd that in a march when one Regiment was divided into two great Partitions there should be no more but fifty foot of distance between them and only eighty foot between one Regiment and another These Princes caused their Armies to march according to ancient custom in three great Bodies Van guard Battel and Reer-guard and those they called Tercias or Tersos a Spanish word which signifies Thirds and so the Spaniards called their Regiments of old and for any thing I know they do so still These Tersos of the Princes of Orange were indeed grand Brigades and these had Maâ—â—rs who were call'd Majors of the Brigades besides Majors of Regiments And in a march the Princes allowed no greater distance between these great bodies but an hundred or a hundred and twenty foot at most And herein they did not quadrate with the opinion of some of our modern Captains who will have as great a distance between Brigades as the longitude of a Brigade is which we may suppose to be very many times a thousand foot though sometimes less and consequently if there be ten such Brigades of Foot the very nine Intervals between the ten Brigades takes up nine thousand foot near two Italian miles and therefore if the way be not very broad there will be several miles between the Van and the Reer of the Infantry but the reasons brought by those that are of this judgment may be demonstrated to be but weak by a visible practice When an Army is to go over a Pass a Water or a Bridg the whole To march over a Pass or a Strait Bodies of it should be order'd to march very close losing something of their ordinary distances that one Brigade or Batallion being past another may immediately follow without intermission Captain Rud the late Kings Engineer a very worthy person says at the passing a strait an Army should make an halt and draw up in battel and then pass over so many in breast as the place will permit and when they are all over draw up again before And not lose time they march For the last part I shall agree with him for no sooner should any Forlorn-hope Troop Company or Regiment be over a Pass but they should draw up in Battel till some others be over and if there be not ground enough they should advance by little and little till they find a more spacious field where they may draw up in breast and expect the rest or if he mean that every particular Regiment or Brigade should draw on that side of the strait which it is to pass till the Reer of that Regiment or Brigade come up and then begin their march over I shall yet agree with him but for a Van of an Army to stay till the Reer come up before it begin to pass a strait is a great loss of time which in the march of an Army is very precious for in an Army but of an indifferent strength that halt shall be the space of at least four hours and this furnisheth an opportunity to an enemy to oppose the passage or wait his advantages on the other side of the strait with more force policy and deliberation CHAP. XX. Of Quartering Encamping and Modern Castrametation Of the Quarter-master General and of the Quarter-master of the General Staff THE day is far spent and the Army hath march'd far Quarter must be made somewhere and it must be either in Towns Villages or the fields If the Army be dispersed in several Villages or Hamlets it is done that it may To Quarter in Villages be refreshed for some short time and when there is no danger of an enemy If it be to lodg for one night and an enemy is near then both Horse and Foot stand in the field all night with strong Guards Forlorn-hopes Rounds and Patrovilles If an enemy be not near ordinarily the Head quarter is in some little Town or Village and the Cavalry quarter'd round about in Hamlets the Infantry is encamped close by the Head-quarter and if it be but to stay a night or two it doth not usually Entrench but as the old Grecians did Encamps on some place something fortified by nature as on a hill or some defensible ascent or where a river may be on one hand and a marsh on the other and where the place iâ— defective they must help it with Spade and Mattock if danger is apprehended Or if the Foot must lodg in a Champagn their Waggons To Quarter in the Field drawn about them will be an excellent good shelter against sudden Infalls and this the Germans call a Wagonburg that is a Fortification of Waggons and it is better than the Roman Fossa Tumultuaria in ancient times Where ever this Night-leaguer chanceth to be he who commands in chief must be careful to chuse such a place as wants for neither wood water nor foderage An Alarm-place should be appointed for the Horse in case their Quarters happen to be beat up in the night as also a place of Rendezvouz at which the whole Army is to meet next day if it be all in one Body and at such an hour as the General shall appoint The Encamping of an Army for some considerable time requires an orderly To Encamp and fortifie for a long time Castrametation and Fortification and though it be not very ordinary yet it hath been and may be occasion'd by several accidents and emergements such as these When an enemy comes unexpectedly whose strength and designs are not known when a Prince or his General thinks it not fit to hazard a Battel Reasons for it when he would preserve the Country behind him whether it belong to the Prince himself or to his friends or that he hath won it from his enemy When the Pestilence or other
where ordinarily Clocks do not strike nor Bells ring then the Caporals are to have allowance of Match which they call Passelunt whereby they regulate Passelunts themselves to relieve their Sentinels when six seven eight or nine Inches of it are burnt In Camps and Garrisons Drummers are to beat Taptoo at night and in the morning Revallie This word Zapzu or Taptoo is High and and Low Dutch and Taptoo signifies no more drink to be tapp'd or sold and is not as some fancy to advertize the Guards to place their Night Sentinels but to acquaint Sutlers to sell no more drink and Souldiers to go home to their Lodgings and who is found out of their quarters after it ought to be punish'd It should be â—eat constantly at one hour Summer and Winter and ten a clock at night is a proper time for it But By-Guards as they are call'd and Night Sentinels are to be put to their Night Sentinels and By-guards Posts when day-light is well near spent and this in Winter will be about four and in Summer about ten a Clock at night neither ought the last Night Sentinels to leave their Posts till the Dian or Revallie beat which cannot be done at one constant hour as the Taptoo for in Winter it may be eight and in Summer three or four in the morning and beat it should not till the Captain of the Watch gives order for it and he is not to take up his measures by day-light Dian Travaille or Revallie but by the clearness darkness or mistiness of the morning the Night Sentinels being to continue on their duty till they can discover all the Fields about them When by order of the Colonel or Captain of the Watch the Dian is beaten at the Head Watch all the Drummers of the rest of the Guards ought immediately to beat and then the Night Watches and Sentinels come to their several Guards It is then also that the Souldiers who have been in their quarters or huts all night and either Towns-men or Countrey people who are ordered to work at the Fortification either of Town or Camp are to go to their work and therefore this beating of the Drum in the morning I think is more properly called Travaille than Revallie CHAP. XXII Of things previous to a Battel of a Battel it self and of things after a Battel OF all Martial Acts to fight a Battel well and gain the Victory is of the highest importance and makes the Prince or his General most renown'd It is this and neither Retreats nor taking Towns though both these shew the qualifications of an excellent Captain that crowns them with Laurel By the winning of Battels sometimes one sometimes more Kingdoms are gain'd by one party and lost by another Let us then take a view of those things that should be adverted to before so great a hazard be made Most men are of opinion that he who hath the conduct of an Army should never Generals should not be forcâ—d to fight if they can chuse suffer himself to be forc'd to fight I say so too if he can help it and what is the meaning of this but that his Intelligence should be so good that if he intend not to fight he should either quickly get himself out of the way or strongly entrench his Army in a place where he cannot want provisions But when he hath done either of the two he may be forc'd to fight for who can save his Army without fighting if his Enemy storms his Retrenchment or in his Retreat pursues him fiercely and powerfully To force an Enemy to fight To force an Enemy to Battel succeeds sometimes well hath a doubtful event for many times it succeeds well as it did with Alexander at Arbela against Darius with Scipio against Hannibal at Zama with his Brother against Antiochus in Asia with Charles the Fifth against the King of France at Pavia and Gustavus his Army against Wallenstein at Lutsen Yet peruse History you will find that many more have lost than ever gain'd by it take a few instances Edward the Black Prince was forc'd to fight at Poiâ—tiers so was Henry the Fifth of England at Agencourt yet both gain'd glorious Victories Harold when he might have protracted the War being Master of all England forc'd William of Normandy to fight and thereby lost both his Crown and his life Edward the Second of England forc'd Robert Bruce Sometimes very ill King of Scotland to fight at Bannockburne but lost the honour of the day and most of his numerous Army Julius Caesar made himself constantly master of his own dyet either by Entrenching or Retiring so that he was never forc'd to fight but when he pleas'd But when he forc'd Pompey he try'd both Fortunes At Dirrhachium he was beaten off with loss and was glad to retire which indeed he did with admirable Prudence and Courage At Pharsalia he brav'd the same Pompey to Battel which so soon as he accepted Caesar got the Victory Yet it seems most agreeable to reason that men should fight well when they are forc'd to fight Despair whetting their Courage and for this reason many Captains take away all means of escape from their own Armies to make them sensible their safety is in their hands and not in their feet and withal they leave an open way for their Enemy to run away and hence is the common Maxime in War That a Bridge of Gold should be made for a Flying A Golden Bridge Enemy Before a Battel it is fit to view an Enemies countenance and try his Courage by frequent Skirmishes and these very oft each Army sending help to their own parties draw on a Battel insensibly Good Intelligence if possible Intelligence should be had of his numbers of Horse Foot and Artillery and in which of these his greatest strength lyes but I will repeat nothing in this place of what I have said in my Discourse of Intelligence In the next place our General should view if he have time and opportunity for it the situation of the Field Situation of the Field where both his own and his Enemies Army are to fight that accordingly he may either lay ambushes or shun them This was one of Hannibal's Master-pieces he should take notice how the Wind blows that accordingly by the The Wind. ordering his Batallions he may take the advantage of it He should cast up his account how the Sun will shine if it be a fair day at such hours when he The Sun conceives the fight will begin that thereby he may oâ—der his affairs If his Intelligence be good within his Enemies Army he should endeavour to stir up jealousies divisions and dissentions in it and in the time of these if his To make an Enemy jealous Friends give him the sign fall upon him After his Army is marshall'd if he have tiâ—e he should ride along the Front of all his Brigades and by short
hand of the Battel Before the Battel begin there use to be fore-parties of both Horse and Forlorn Hopes Foot sent out to skirmish these are called Forlorn Hopes and Enfans Perdues Those of the Foot should advance one hundred paces before the Body those of the Horse further But I find at the Battels fought both at Dreux and St. Dennis between the Protestants and Roman Catholicks of France none of those Forlorn Hopes were made use of at all and as few were used at Lutsen where Gustavus Adolphus lost his life When an Enemy is marshalling his Army your Artillery should incessantly To advance on an Enemy play upon him to hinder him all you may to order his affairs and if your Battel be already marshall'd under the shelter of your Ordnance you should advance and take your advantage of him before his Batallions or Squadrons be drawn up but in so good order that the Scene be not changed that by your precipitation you give not him an opportunity to take advantage of you Your advance on an Enemy in what posture soever he be should be with a constant firm and steady pace the Musketeers whether they be on the Flanks or interlin'd with either the Horse or the Pikes firing all the while but when you come within Pistol-shot you should double your pace till your Pikes closely serr'd together charge these whether Horse or Foot whom they find before them It is true the business very oft comes not to push of Pike but it hath and may come oft to it and then Pike-men are very serviceable If a misfortune fall out that a Brigade Regiment or other part of an Army be beat or begin to run and quit the Field this should be conceal'd from the rest of the Army and the Souldiers told that the Enemy in other places is beaten and if they fight but a little the Victory will be instantly theirs I shall not speak here of what advantage a large Front is having done it so often before but if a General perceive that the business may be quickly decided To marshal the Foot in three Rankâ— I think he should double the Front of his Foot and make but three Ranks where formerly they were six and so being able to out-wing his Enemy he may fall on his Flank for at no extraordinary march an Army may be brought to push of Pike before three Ranks of Musketeers have fired successively if they do not begin to fire till they be within distance less than Musket-shot and after they have given their three Volleys then they may give the fourth which will signifie as much if not more than all the three by kneeling stooping and standing whereof I have spoke in the eleventh and twelfth Chapters When any Regiment or Brigade runs or offers to quit the Field the Reserve behind should be order'd immediately to advance and encounter the Victorious Enemy who will hardly be able to withstand that fresh charge for it may be almost received as a Maxime That a Troop Regiment or Brigade A good Rule but not Infallible how strong soever it be which hath fought with and beaten that Body of equal number that stood against it may be easily routed by a Troop Regiment or Brigade that hath not fought though far inferiour in number If any part of an Army get the Victory of those who stand against it he who commands that part ought to send some Troops in pursuit of the routed Enemy and Not to fall on the Flank of an Enemy a great neglect with the rest fall on the Flank of that Batallion which stands next him and yet keeps ground The neglect of this duty lost the famous General Count Tili the Battel of Leipsick for himself being on the Right hand of the Imperial Army beat the Duke of Saxe and his Army out of the Field whom Tili hotly pursuing did not fall on the Left Flank of the Swedish Army left naked Inflanced by the flight of the Saxons But at that same time the King of Sweden who was on the Right hand of his own Army had routed Count Pappenheim who The doing it contributes to the Victory commanded the Left Wing of the Imperialists upon which that martial King did not fail to charge the Flank of the Imperial Battel which was left naked by Pappenheim's Flight and this help'd to procure the Victory to the Sweed As I told you in another place Banier's Right Wing was well near beaten at Woodstock nor did the Reserve come so soon to his succours About that same Instanced time Lieutenant General King had routed the Right Wing of the Imperial Army and with it bore down the Right hand of their Reserve and â—â—ll on the Right Flank of their Battel which yet disputed their ground with Felt-Marshal Leslie who thereupon cast down their Arms and yielded the Victory to the Swedes And the mentioning this Victory puts me in mind to advertize all Officers of Foot not to teach their Musketeers to neglect the use of their Rammers a lesson too often taught and practis'd for at this Bartel I speak of the Imperial Foot were on a Hill up which Leslie advanced with his Infantry but neither his nor the Imperial Musketers made use of Rammers only as the common custome is when they charg'd with Ball they knock'd the Buts of their Muskets at their Right foot by which means most of the Bullets of the Imperial and Saxish Fire-men fell out at the mouths of their Musket when they presented them down the Hill upon the Sweeds whose Bullets could not run that fortune being presented upward And for this reason it was observ'd that few of the Sweedish Foot fell When a Reserve or a part of it advanceth those who fled have a fair opportunity to rally and in a short time to second the Reserve and though To rally rallying at so near a distance is not frequently seen yet it is not banish'd out of the Modern Wars or Armies At Dreux both Armies rallied twice or thrice with various success the Generals of both Armies being both made Prisoners And at Lutsen both Armies rallied often for they fought from morning till night most of the Imperial Cannon being twice taken was as oft retaken Fresh succours in time of Battel discourage an Enemy Some Great Captains have thought it fit in time of Battel to make a show of their Waggon-men Carters and Baggage-men at a distance as if they were succours newly arrived and certainly nothing terrifies an Army more in time of equal sight than an unexpected Enemy as Robert Duke of Normandy's fortunate arrival in the time of Battel between Godfrey of Bouillâ—n and Instance the Saracens in the Holy Land deliver'd the Victory to the Christians But these feigned Musters of Baggage-men and Carriage-horses produce not always False shews sometimes happy the wished effects Sulpitius a Roman Dictator being to fight with the Gauls order'd
all that attended the Baggage of his Army to mount upon Mules and Sumpter-Horses and hide themselves in some near Hills and Woods and in the time of fight to make a show as if they would cut off the Gauls pass to their Camp which the Muleteers doing upon a sign from the Dictator the Gauls immediately fled Such a Stratagein did King Robert Bruce happily use against Edward the Second of England in the Battel nâ—ar Sterling But Not always the like being practis'd by the French at Agencourt against Henry the Fifth King of England had an issue contrary to the thing intended It hath been always and ever will be a rule of War Thaâ— no man offer to plunder or look for booty till the Enemy be totally routed and chac'd No plunder till an Enemy be totally routed out of the Field but for most part it is ill observed When Parmenio at Arbela sent word to his Master Alexander that the Perstans were fallen on the Baggage which was but slenderly guarded it was well answer'd of that great Prince Let saith he the Enemy be master of all the goods that belong to my Army so I over master him for then I shall recover my own and get his to boot The not observing this rule lost the Christians the Victory against the Turk at Agria At the Battel of Janquo in Bohemia in the year 1644. if I mistake Instanceâ— not the Imperialists were well near masters of the Field in so far that several Brigades of the Swedes had run away and very many of their Officers were taken Prisoners but they fell too soon to the plunder of the Swedish Waggons which Torstensone Christina's Felt-Marshal did not offer to rescue though his own Lady was taken with them but took the advantage of the Enemies disorder and with fresh and couragious Troops pluck'd the Victory out of his hand beat them out of the Field recover'd his Lady all his Prisoners and Baggage and made himself master of all the Imperial Coaches and Waggons took numbers of Prisoners and among them him who commanded in chief the Count of Hatsfeld I know not how the proposition of some will relish with our great Captains that some lusty strong men should be arm'd with Head-pieces and Corslet and long and large Targets all Musket-proof and a Rank of these serr'd together order'd to march before every Batallion of Pikes and so protect them from shot till they be within two Pikes length of the Enemy that they can make use of their own Weapons But whether this be approv'd or not I think it would be of no great charge to the Prince or State who manageth the War to order every Pike man to have at his girdle a Pistol with a Barrel two foot long whereof the three first Ranks may make use before they present their Pikes and the other three fire over the heads of those who are before them in the time they are charging Now the Battel is done and if it fall out that it hath been so well fought Things to be done after the Battel that none of the Armies can boast of Victory but that both have left the place of Combate as it were by mutual consent or that they are parted by night then either both prepare to fight next day or the one finding those wants of which the other hath no knowledge takes the advantage of darkness and retires to some place of security where he may provide for his hurt men be furnish'd with what he wants recruit his Forces and so give a stop to his Enemies further progress and this no doubt is a tacite acknowledgement that he yields the honour of the day to him who keeps the Field But this was never laid in ballance by any prudent Captain with the preservation of his Army the loss whereof may lose the Prince his Master more than such a Punctilio of Honour which at a more fortunate Rencounter may quickly be recover'd But if both resolve to try their fortunes next day then both prepare for it the wounded are sent away Ammunition is given out and those who are sound are refresh'd and encourag'd This falls out but seldome though sometimes it hath happen'd The Victory is pronounc'd to be his Badge of Victory who remains master of the ground where both fought and in ancient times he acknowledg'd himself to be vanquish'd who desired liberty to bury his dead Bernard Duke of Saxon Weymar having besieged Reinfeld and two Imperial Armies coming to raise the Siege he fought both till night parted the fray but with this difference that the Imperialists got between him and the besieged Town and so succour'd it upon which the Duke retired and left his Enemy the badges of Victory but with a resolution to return and throw the Dye of War once more as he did as you shall hear anon When an entire Victory is obtain'd he who hath lost the day should not lose What a Vanquish'd General should do his Courage too but ought to gather up his Shipwrack rally his dispers'd and broken Troops get new recruits dissemble his losses encourage his party and draw to a head again these are things practis'd by all intelligent Generals withal he should with all convenient diligence send a Trumpeter to the Victorious General to demand a list of his Prisoners which when he hath got he should make all the haste he can to get them ransom'd or exchang'd and this is a duty he owes to Prudence Honour and Conscience On the other hand he who hath gain'd the Victory may lose himself if he be What a Victorious General should do secure for a resolute enemy may soon take him napping As that same Duke of Weymar did the Imperial Army that had beaten him for having got together the rest of his Forces that were not with him at his late overthrow he return'd and gave Battel to the Imperialists who dream'd of no such thing and obtain'd so compleat a Victory over them that he made all the general persons his Prisoners who were led into Paris in triumph Duc de Savelli an Italian was one of them who escap'd afterward out of Prison but the deep contemplation of the sudden change of fortune in his Military imployments mov'd him to make an exchange of his Helmet with a Cardinals Cap. It is for that that he who commands a Victorious Army should not in sloth pass away his time but improve his Victory to the greatest advantage of his Master and not be guilty of that whereof one of the greatest Captains among the Ancients Hannibal was taxed that he knew not how to use Victory whereof two others one before him and another after him could never be accused and those were the Great Alexander and the Great Julius Caesar CHAP. XXIII Of Retreats TO Retire after a Battel or a brisk Rencounter leads me to speak of Retreats Next the sighting well and winning of a Battel the three great
and got him away with all possible speed and made his retreat good notwithstanding Pompey's pursuit at the River Genuso with his Horse mixt with Foot But I find that for the space of four days he retired still sending his Baggage constantly before and following with his Army in the night and what stands he made to face the Enemy behind him were all in the day time Nor have Princes and great Captains in our Modern Wars thought it dishonourable to follow the example of that famous Carthaginian and those illustrous Charles the fifth from the Duke of Saxe Romans in making their Retreats in the Night-time whereof I shall not weary you with more instances than three The victorious Emperor Charles the fifth finding himself not in a capacity to fight Maurice Duke of Saxe who was got very near him before he had any knowledge of his march retired with great silence in the Night time from Inspruck for hast leaving some of his Houshold-stuff behind him Francis the first of France having Victualled the besieged Town of Landrecy in view of both the Imperial and English Francis the first from Charles the fifth Armies marched twelve Leagues baâ—k to Guise where he stayed till the Emperor came in person who marched with a puissant Army to give the King Battle But Francis being sensible of the danger of an ingagement left some Tents and Baggage and many fires and in the Night without Drum or Trumpet retired to places of safâ—ty This was looked upon as one of the bravest actions that ever was done by that Martial King yet some blame him perhaps with reason for staying the Emperors coming after he had relieved the Town which was his only errand Wallenstein Duke of Friedland fought the Sweedish Army at Wallenstein from the Duke of Weymar Lutsen till night parted them and though he knew the King was killed and that his own Forces were more numerous than the Duke of Weymars yet knowing his own wants he resolved to retire and did it that same night without noise of Trumpet or Drum and left some Cannon behind him and though he staid next day at Leipsick yet the night after he got him away and made but short stay at any place till he came to Prague where he put himself in a posture to meet and fight that Enemy from whom he thought it then fit to retire But many who have preferred a vain punctilio of honour to the safety of their Armies have lost both their Armies and their honours Whereof take only two instances After Lautrec Captain General of the French Army had obstinately continued the Siege of Naples notwithstanding that a pestilentious Disease had consumed the best part of his Army and made the rest unserviceable whereof he dyed himself The Marquess of Salusses who succeeded him in the command with the advice of the other prime Officers resolve to quit the Siege and retire to Anversa where a French Garrison lay three Leagues from the Camp in pursuance whereof knowing their danger since the Imperialists were very strong within the City commanded by two great Captains the Prince of Orange and Davalo Marquess of Guast they divide their infirm and sickly Army equally into three parts Foot and Horse mixing the one with the other and with every Batallion appointed three Falconets leaving all the rest of their Artillery and Baggage in their Leaguer as a prey to the Enemy At break of day they march without Drum or Trumpet and a tempestuous Rain falling in the mean time hindered the Imperial Sentinels and Guards for a great while to take notice of the French Retreat yet for all that they are overtaken by 500. Horse and some Harquebusiers on foot and though the last Batallion of the French fired and fought right well yet did the Imperial Horse increasing in numbers fiercely charge them and rout them and immediately after the second Batallion likewise killing and taking all Those Error in the Fâ—ench retreat from Naples of the first Batallion by a speedy march got to Anversa and saved themselves till the Prince of Orange came and made them render on discretion Now it is very clear that if the Marquess had begun his Retreat in the beginning of the night or at midnight for it was in Autumn he had undoubtedly brought his Army safe to Anversa for his Rear would have been sooner by that account at that place than his Van was which came safely though it began not to march till break of day and by the bargain he had saved his own life for there he got his mortal wounds whereof he dyed The second instance is of Piter Strozzi a Florentine who commanded in chief over an Army of French under Henry the second near to Sienna within which Marshal Monluc was Governour An Army of Spaniards under the command of James of Medici stronger by far than Strozzi lay close by him Strozzi resolves to retire to Lusignan but would needs do it in the day time and consulted the matter by Letters with Monluc who disswaded him from it with many reasons and particularly by the fresh example of the late King of France his retreat in the night-time from Guise and so prevailed with him to retire in the Night-time And so soon as day was spent he sent away two Pieces of Ordnance to Lusignan intending to follow with the Army But the haughty Florentine looking upon it as a dishonourable thing for him to show his Error in Strozzi his retreat from Sienna back in the night-time to Medici to whose Family he carried an inveterate hatred would needs make his Retreat in spight of him in the day time and the issue was his Army was routed and himself hardly escaped But that which Monluc writes of this is very observable That he no sooner understood that Strozzi had resolved to retire in the day-time but foreseeing the event of so frantick a resolution he instantly conveened the Podesta the Magistrates and principal Citizens of Sienna and assured them the Army in which they trusted at that very time and hour in which he was speaking to them was defeated and therefore advised them without delay to prepare for a Siege and the event shewed he spoke truly if not Prophetically for that day was the French Army beaten and next day the City was invested by the victorious Army It is true two of King Ferdinands Generals Cazzianer and Rocandolf Retreats should be made in time each whereof lost an Army to their Master of 24000 or 30000. brave Germans retired the first from Esecchio the last from Buda both in the night-time but they did it not soon enough and lost their Armies deservedly because they obstinately continued at these places against all reason and the advice of their principal Officers when they had certain intelligence of the daily march and approach of the Turks I never said nor thought that a Retreat in the Night would infallibly save an Army I
have been an eye-witness of the contrary but I ever said and still think that when an Enemy is near a Retreat is much more proper to be begun in the Night than in the day The timely and orderly breaking up and retiring of Armies from the Sieges of Towns hath saved many of them whereof it will be more proper to speak in the next Chapter when I discourse of the Sieges of Towns and Fortified places The manner of Retreats whether they be made by day or by night useth The manner of a Retreat to be this 1. The whole Train of Artillery except some Field-pieces which should stay in the Rear with the Generals Coaches Chancery and principal Secretary are sent away with a strong Convoy of Foot and some Horse then all the sick and wounded men next to them the Baggage of the whole Army next to it a party of Horse behind whom comes the whole Brigades of Foot and after them the Cavalry and in the Rear of it all the Dragoons with as many commanded Musketeers out of the several Foot-Regiments as the Commander in chief thinks fitting and as many of them mounted on Horses as can be and behind them a select party of Horse and Foot for present service which are to be relieved by turns by those who are before them one Party still facing the Enemy till the Party that was behind them be past This is to be observed if the whole Army march one way but if it can divide and go several wayes the expedition will be the greater the time and place being named the last whereof should be a Pass or fortified place by the General where all shall meet so that he who is first shall stay for the rest unless some command be given afterward to the contrary The same order in retiring is to be kept by several grand Divisions or Wings of the Army as if it marched in one Body But the truth is the Baggage of an Army makes so long a train that it retards Waggons and Carts rather to be left behind in the highways than to be burnt in a close Countrey the Retreat exceedingly especially where there are enclosures and hedges and thefore I wonder that in all Retreats order is not given to leave all Waggons and Carts behind for in a close Country that will be a great deal more advantagious than to burn them and every man should take his best and most precious things out of them leaving all trash and luggage of small value in them which will likewise retard the pursuing Enemy and these goods the officers should cast upon one Horse or two at the most and upon the rest of the Baggage-Horses either sick men should be mounted or Musketeers for service and this should be seen done by the Colonels themselves under pain of Iâ—famy and no less do they deserve who will prefer a little paultry stuff to either the welfare of the whole Army or the safety and preservation of any one sick or wounded member of it yet this is not done so oft as occasion requires it should be which gross oversight can be imputed to none so much and indeed I think to none else but to the General In all Retreats great care should be taken that none get leave to fall behind to prevent which not only all the Superiour and Inferiour Officers of Regiments should do their duties but the General Marshals should severely execute their power against Delinquents and here if at any time it is lawful to shoot those who will not keep Rank and File I told you that some light Field-pieces should be left in the Rear for there they may be serviceable and the loss is not great if they be taken for if he who commands the Army see he cannot with any probability â—ace about and fight nor can retire in that order that I have spoke of being hardly pursued by a powerful and prevalent Enemy he should rather bury or if he cannot do that break and spring his great Ordnance Ordnance to be broke or sprung in sudden Retreats than lose his Army by a hopeless hazarding it to preserve his Artillery and rather leave his Foot to fight for good quarters than lose both it and his Cavalry for the rule never fails That it is better to save some than lose all yet all means should be try'd before either Infantry or Artillery be deserted I have heard that the staying two or three hours for a Mortar which was a great one and bemired in deep and dirty way occasion'd the loss of Prince Palatine and Lieutenant General King 's little Armies in their Retreat from Lemgaw to Vlotho When a party of either Horse or Foot or of both perceives they are neither able to fight nor retire in a Body it hath been and may be practis'd to disband the party he who leads it bidding every man that belongs to it to go what way he pleaseth or shall find most safe or convenient for him and to meet at such a place as he then names so soon as possibly they can That famous Retreat which the two Felt-Marshals Banier and Leslie made in the year 1637. from Turgaw in Saxony made a great noise in the World It was indeed a noble action and the matter was shortly this Banier had besieged Banier and Leslie s Retreat from Tâ—rgaw Leipsick which kept out gallantly against him he makes some breaches and prepares to storm it in that very time come Letters from Leslie shewing that he was forc'd to retire from the River Saal and march towards him Count Gots with an Imperial Army being much too strong for him Banier immediately gave over the storm and the Siege too sends away his Artillery Baggage and Foot and follows with his Cavalry and joyns Leslie at Turgaw this Town they fortifie and bring in a world of provisions both for Man and Horse and resolve to make it the seat of War against all the Imperial and Saxish Armies joyn'd together at that time to the number of fourscore thousand fighting men under the command of Count Gallas for the destruction of the Swede whereof the two Swedish Felt-Marshals had good enough Intelligence yet persisted in their resolution till the Imperialists were come very near them and then they began to cast up another account and found they had lost by their stay there a third of their Forces and therefore though a little too late they resolve to march to Pomerania and so broke up and got over the River of Oder at Landsberg in spite of all opposition and maugre all the Enemies they had about them joyn'd with Felt-Marshal Wrangle without loss of either Infantry or Cavalry A very gallant and memorable action yet it cannot be denied but they should have begun their Retreat sooner and so have sav'd that third part of their Army which they lost Next year Banier made Gallas retire with a quicker pace than he had made when Gallas
made useless by Countermures and Retrenchments but Mines are more imperceptible yet they are dangerous works for them that are in them because of Countermines which when the Mine-master finds he is to divert his course Countermines to the Right or Left hand or sink his Mine deeper and if the Counterminers be under him he had need make haste and take his advantage by piercing holes and chacing them away with scalding Water But take a few general Rules for Mines The entrance should be seven foot high and five foot broad say some four foot and a half high and four broad say others This last and indeed perhaps no Mine is for a fat corpulent man The Mine all along General Rules for Mining must be lin'd on both sides and cover'd above with boards and underpropt for keeping up the Earth The mouth of the Mine should be carefully conceal'd from the besieged Philip King of Macedon who was afterwards beaten by the Roman Consul Flaminius did not ill to cause a great heap of Earth to be laid on the other side of a besieged Town there where his real Mines were and so deluded the besieged The heighth and breadth of the Mine should decrease and grow less by little and little from the entry till it arrive at the place which should be undermined so that the mouth of the Furn should be no wider than to receive the Vessels wherein the Powder is whether these be Barrels or Troughs Some will have this Powder Chamber to be six or seven foot high four or five broad and five or six long others say only four foot and a half high the breadth four or three foot and a half But I think assuredly it should be proportion'd to the quantity of the Powder and the number of the Vessels that are ordain'd to be put into it These Furns should be closely and strongly stopp'd that the Powder get no vent but that which naturally it seeks upwards The train whereby the Powder in the Furn is to be fired The Train should be so well order'd that it be not too long a firing for that disappoints them who are to storm making them apprehensive of danger of they know not what And this occasion'd the death of two French Marshals within these forty years who admiring why the Mine did not spring after they had order'd the train to be fired went into the Mine to know the cause where they both dyed the Mine at their being there working its effect Nor must it fire too soon lest he who fires the train be buried in the ruins of the Mine Besides Countermining What hinders Mines to spring several things hinder the effectual operation of a Mine such are the ill stopping the Powder-Chamber the weakness of the sides occasion'd by Countermines Caves Caverns and hollow grounds as also the failing of the train in its duty by reason of its wetness moisture or some bad contrivance and the placing the Powder too low in the Furn. When a Mine hath sprung if it cast the Wall outwards towards the Besiegers it makes the entrance very difficult for the assailants if the Defendants act their part with Courage and it is just so with a breach after a Battery which Charles the Fifth and his General the Duke of Alva experimented at the memorable Siege of Metz. When large Breaches are made by furious Batteries and that Mines have Assaults operated happily then an universal Assault should be given by the whole besieged Army each part of it being to storm at its assigned Post These Assaults being given resolutely and continued obstinately though the first or second may perhaps be beat off will probably reduce the place And then it will be a noble part of the Victorious General to order fair Fair quarter to be giveâ— quarter to be given or if the besieged have with too much obstinacy and upon weak grounds by holding out too long and by making him spend too much of his time provok'd him to wrath and revenge to make examples of them to others he should order no hurt to be done to women old men and children and in one word to kill none but those who are found in Arms But a promiscuous putting all to the Sword sparing neither sex nor agâ— is too often practis'd for the Pillage the Ancients used after the expugnation of Towns to bring it all to the Treasurers Lodging who sold it and distributed the money as he was appointed by the General sometimes all of it to the Army sometimes a part of it and sometimes none of it The like hath been often practis'd in the Modern Wars but the custome is almost worn out the Plunder belonging to those who can take it which is Capiat qui capere potest and this is truly a very unequal partition for those who stay in Arms upon the Wall or perhaps in the Market-place to make them good against any opposition may arise from hidden Reserves of the Enemy share not so well as those who so soon as they Plunder enter run presently to the Plunder Some Princes and Generals give the Pillage of Towns taken by storm to their Armies for so many hours sometimes for a day for two days or three days It is commonly thought the Prisoners and their ransomes belong to those who took them and so it is commonly practis'd unless they be great Officers and those should be deliver'd to the General yet that General should be so generous as to bestow some handsome Present or gift on those who took them which some do but many do not The Ordnance and all that belong to it all publick Magazines of Provisions Munitions and Arms belong to the Prince or State who manageth the War But if all Assaults be beat off and all the Besiegers have done hath prov'd successless or that the besieging Army is wasted as no doubt it will diminish Beasons to leave a Siege and retire every day or that a numerous and fresh succourse be expected or other unhappy accidents fall out then a wise General will raise his Siege in time and rather march away than be chac'd away and he should go where he may refresh and recruit and be wise by the examples of those otherwise renown'd Princes and Generals who have obstinately continued Sieges to their irreparable Obstinacy in continuing them loseth Armies loss and danger So did Lautrec a great Captain continue the Siege of Naples fighting against a redoubted and couragious Enemy within the City and a contagious disease which rag'd within the bowels of his own Army which occasion'd first the loss of his own life secondly the ignominious rout Instances and destruction of all his Forces and thirdly the utter undoing of the French Interest in that Kingdom to this very hour So Charles the Fifth a fortunate and waâ—like Emperour and his General the Duke of Alva a renowned Captain continued the Siege of Metz which was
those who have Articles The first Class we may sub-divide into those who have quarter verbally promis'd them and those who submit to the mercy of the Victor Of all these and each of these I shall say one word in general that though quarter be promis'd by inferiour Officers or Souldiers or that the vanquish'd hoping for mercy yield without any such promise he who commands in chief provided he be on the place may put all those Prisoners to the Sword for quarter given by the Inferiour signifies nothing till it be confirm'd by him who commands on the place and then the Prisoners have quarter That chief Commander may order them all to be kill'd without any imputation of breach of Faith or Justice as not being tyed by any promise his inferiour hath made and this he may do by the Law of War and that is grounded on the law and custome of Nations and if you will believe Cyrus and the Ahtenians it is grounded on the Law of Nature by which Prisoners of War may be used as the Victor pleaseth And Grotius says In Captivos quicquam impune fieri and Captivi Jure Belli occidi possunt What a General may do with Prisoners of War Suppose still that no quarter hath been promis'd by him who commands in chief on the place But though I say a General may do this by the Law of War yet he cannot do it without the imputation of horrible cruelty and inhumanity except in some cases And though Jure Belli they may be kill'd yet without invincible reasons to kill men in cold blood is not the part of a man for they cast up their account that the bitterness of death is past and therefore they should not be put to death unless he who inflicts it can produce as good a warrant for it as he could who hewed the King of the Amalekites in pieces after Saul had given him quarter The Heathen Tacitus could say Trucidare deditos saevum It is cruelty to kill those who submit Yet you will Cruelty to kill Prisoners in cold blood see anon that Christian Prisoners of War have been put to death in cold blood by Christian Princes and Generals without any other Authority for their so doing than what the Law of War gave them But after Quarter is confirmed or granted by the General the question is Whether upon the emergency of three several accidents they may not be put to the Sword The first is if an Enemy rally after a Battle is won and make Whether Prisoners may not be killed after Quarter given them by the General In three cases or offer to make a fierce onset the victorious Army not being so strong to oppose the charge and guard the Prisoners from whom also danger is to be expected This was Henry the fifth of Englands case at Agencourt where for the same reasons 6000 French Prisoners by his order were in an instant put to the Sword Froissard passionately relates to us the sad fate of about one thousand French men who were taken Prisoners and had fair quarter given them by John King of Portugal in a battle that he fought with one of his own name King of Castile the story was briefly this The King of Castile having a just pretence to the Crown of Portugal to which in hatred of the Castillans the Portugueses had advanced a Bastard invades Portugal with a great Army in which were many French Auxiliaries The Portuguese King being reinforced with a considerable number of English Archers resolves to fight The French would needs have the point which was given them with much indignation by the Castillans who lag'd behind them at a very great distance These French valiantly fighting are routed and most of the thousand I spoke of are taken thereafter the Castillans advanced with a resolution to fight the Portuguese seeing he was to fight a new Battle commanded under pain of Death every man to kill his Prisoner which was instantly performed with much pity and compassion and not without the sad tears of those who massacred them The second case is when an Army is retiring and a powerful Enemy fiercely pursuing it will be dangerous to leave your Prisoners behind you and forward you can hardly bring them And the third is When you are reduced to great penury and want of meat whether you had not better kill your Prisoners than let them starve for if you maintain them they insensibly cut your throat by eating your bread All these three cases Grotius comprehends in these words Si Captivorum multitudo oneri aut periculo sit If sayes he the multitude of your Prisoners be dangerous or burthensome in these cases he adviseth rather to dismiss them than kill them I think he speaks like a good Christian but I am afraid that they who lead Armies will think by such mercies they will prove cruel to themselves and treacherous to their Prince and when in any of these cases they are put to death often their numbers occasion their destruction which in other cases the same Gâ—otius would have to be the cause of their safety But the Prince or Generals promise of fair quarter admits â—a salvo for notorious To whom Quarter ought not to be given Thieves Robbers Murtherers such as have deserted their service and run over to the Enemy or have broke their Oath of fidelity ought not to be comprehended in this promise nor can it save them from the stroke of Justice Indeed if they get Articles signed for their lives these Articles should be religiously observed for faith should be kept to the worst of men Neither can the promise of Quarter secure Rebels from that death Rebellion deserves for nothing can save them but the mercy of the Sovereign Prince or State against whom the crime is committed Yet my humble opinion should be That when What to be done with Rebels Rebellion is come to that growth that she is not ashamed to take her mask off and that the success of Rebels hath clothed them with usurped Authority Princes and States should rather suffer Quarter though without Articles to be kept to those of them who are taken Prisoners than provoke them to shed the blood of loyal persons on Scaffolds as hath been done too oft for it is not to be doubted but Rebels will both by their Paper and leaden Bullets vindicate themselves and maintain their Authority to be lawful and roar out these distinctions which yet make our Ears tingle of the Prince his virtual and personal power of his legal and personal capacity Having told you who hath power to give Quarter and having spoken of Prisoners who yield on discretion Prisoners who yield upon promise of Quarter let us speak next of those who submit to the Victors discretion and have no promise of Quarter who certainly may be put to the edge of the Sword without any imputation of breach of Faith or promise yet not without the
Vera Effigies Jacobi Turner Equitis Aurati Printed for R. Chiswell at the Rose and Crowne in S. t Pauls Church Yard PALLAS ARMATA Military Essayes Of the ANCIENT GRECIAN ROMAN AND MODERN ART of WAR Written in the Years 1670 and 1671. By Sir JAMES TURNER Knight LONDON Printed by M. W. for Richard Chiswell at the Rose and Crown in S. Paul's Church-yard MDCLXXXIII TO HIS Royal Highness JAMES Duke of ALBANY and YORK His MAJESTIES only Brother May it please your Royal Highness THE Dedication of Books hath been so old and still is so universal a custome that to disallow it would be perhaps look'd upon as affecting Singularity a little too much yet I could never learn any convincing reason for that Practice The greatest Monarch that ever liv'd could not protect Books from Censure and I think it were against reason they should for except in matters of Faith and State and not in them neither where the Almighty and his Vicegerents have set no limits no restraint should be laid on Men to hinder their embracing and enjoying their own Opinions and arguing against those of others Wherefore I shall not be guilty of so high a presumption as to beg from your Royal Highness the Patrociny of this Work of mine in which I have not the Vanity to doubt but that there may be many more Errors than I can well help Nor shall I carry my Presumption to so extravagant a pitch as to desire your Royal Highness to cast your Princely Eye on any thing contain'd in this Treatise You have given the World too publick demonstrations how great a Master you are in the Art of War to go to those Schools again especially to learn from such as I am And now in this happy calm under his Majesties most merciful Government You are giving signal proofs of your great desire of Peace notwithstanding your abilities and skill in War I could enlarge my self much on this Head without coming within the suspicion of Flattery a sordid Vice in all Men more especially in those who profess Arms. But my only design in this Humble Address is with most submissive thankfulness to acknowledge the Princely favours you have so Nobly but I am afraid undeservedly bestowed upon me and to declare how ready I am to venture what remains of a Life now almost worn out in making all those dutiful returns that become May it please your Royal Highness Your most Humble most Faithful and most Obedient Servant JAMES TURNER TO THE Generous Reader IF the Subjects of Great Britain and Ireland live in so profound a repose that they scarce hear the woful crys of their Neighboâ—rs harass'd and opprest by that dreadful Monster War that great Boar of the Forest which makes desolate Cities and Provinces so that their Sleep is not broke by the unseasonable sound of Trumpets and the rattling of Drums nor are they frighted out of their Houses I had almost said out of their Wits by the sudden Infalls and Attacks of a fierce Enemy they have good reason to bless and praise the God of Peace for so great a happiness and with a thankful acknowledgement pray for his Vicegerent the King underr whose auspicious raign they enjoy these Halcyon days and under whose Government if they cannot sit under their own Fig-trees and Vines at least they may eat the Fruit of the one and drink the Juice of the other in Peace and Quiet Yet let them remember that War follows Peace as naturally as Night does follow Day and that after a sweet calm a dreadful storm is to be looked for against which the wary Pilot carefully provides If you think I do hereby invite all Gallant Spirits in time of Peace to provide themselves for War you are not at all deceiv'd I do indeed desire that when War comes unexpectedly as often it does it may not find brave men surpriz'd and to need instruction in those necessary Military things which they might have learn'd before at full leisure If you be one of those who either already knows or imagines you do know all the rules of the Ancient and Modern Art of War Or if you be one of those who desire to know neither of them I shall advise you to save your self the Money to buy and the trouble to read this trifle of mine It is with none of you that it seeks acquaintance it walks in another Stage It is to you Young Lords and Gentlemen it makes its humble address It is to you Generous Souls that it offers its service And it is from you whose birth entitles you to Martial Exercises that it expects a fair welcome and entertainment Most or many of you will not learn these Peaceable Arts and Sciences without which no Principality or Republick can well or long subsist and all of you cannot be admitted to the Stern of Government or permitted to sit at the Kings Council-board It will be therefore for you to consider how you can serve your Prince and Countrey but by Arms. The ancientest of you all derive your Pedegree from those who bore Arms It is by Arms you had your Honour and it is by Arms you are bound now to maintain it I shall not bid you look to those of your own rank and quality in France who glory to learn the Military Art from them and yet their example deserves imitation but I shall entreat you to follow the footsteps of your Martial Ancestors and account it more honour for you by Warlike Exploits to shew you are their Worthy Successors than to pretend to it only by a vain muster of their old Charters Patents and Commissions If this prevail not with you then set before your eyes but at a very great distance the Most Illustrious Prince James Duke of Albany and York no mortal can boast of a higher Birth and Extraction yet that did not hinder him in his younger years to learn the true Art to fight Battels both at Sea and Land which hath made him now so famous all the World over Nor do I desire you to rest satisfied when you know indifferently well to exercise Companies Troops or Regiments of Horse and Foot though that be both good and necessary let there be a plus ultra with you and endeavour to know all that belongs to a compleat Souldier for you are indeed the stock out of which our Soveraign should chuse his Military Commanders and then there will be the less need of such persons as I am whom the World nick-names Souldiers of Fortune Remember it is not your Native Courage and Valour though that be an essential part though every one of you were as stout as ever Hector was said to be that will serve your turn it is knowledge in Martial affairs that you are to learn and though the Art of War be a Practical one yet the Theory is so needful that without it you may be Common Souldiers good enough but not good Commanders you are to know more than
he making alt they all take up their several distances behind him till he who is File-leader turn himself about on that same ground he stood on and then all turn likewise so that all the File faceth to the Rear in that same order that before the Counter-march it fac'd to the Van by this means the Body loseth ground in the Rear and therefore our Modern Drillers when they command the Macedonian counter-march they say By the Right or Left hand Countermarch and lose ground in the Rear or gain ground in the Van which is all one thing The Laconian is when the Batallion is commanded to take up as much ground in the Rear as it possess'd before and is done thus The File-leader Lacedemonian turns just where he stands and marcheth as many foot behind the Rear-man as the Body at its due distance should possess all who follow him turn not about till their Leaders go by them and so the Bringer up doth only turn himself without any further motion The Modern word of Command for this is Counter-march to the Right and Left hand and gain ground in the Rear The Persian is when the Batallion keeps the same ground it had but with this difference that the Leader stands where the Bringer up was and the Persian Rear-man where the Leader stood It is done thus The Leader advanceth three steps and then turns and marcheth to the Rear and all who follow him turn not till they come to that place to which he advanced and then they face about and take up the same ground they formerly possest The word of Command for this is Counter-march to the Right or Left hand and keep your ground It is also called the Chorâ—an Counter-march because Oâ— Choraean as the Chorus useth to sing and dance all together so here all the Ranks move at once and keeping that same measure and distance in turning resembles a Dance But indeed all these Counter-marches as most of all evolutions are better and sooner illustrated nay demonstrated by a Body of Souldiers in the Field than they can be either by words or figures on Paper Philip King of Macedon Father of the Great Alexander put down the first of these Counter-marches which was his own Countrey one and with good reason for it hath a show of flying at least of retiring being a Body of sixteen deep as the Macedonian Phalanx was by that Counter-march lost in the Rear where the Enemy is suppos'd to be one hundred and twelve foot of ground one foot being allowed for every Rank to stand on and six All three of small use foot of distance between the Ranks at least it loseth one hundred and six foot And truly I think the hazard were small if all the three several Counter-marches were for ever banish'd out of all Armies except those of our Enemies It is true I never saw any of them used in sight of an Enemy for if they be practis'd then I am confident confusion would follow them which is but too ready to appear in any Army though never so well order'd when it is unexpectedly attack'd by an Enemy in the Rear If the Grecians had been acquainted with our great Guns nay even with our Muskets which kill at a greater distance by far than Darts or Arrows and against which their Defensive Arms would not have been proof they would have found that an Enemy a good way from their Rear would have render'd their best Counter-marches both unfeasible and dangerous All the good I suppose that is intended by a Counter-march is to place the very same men and Ranks with their faces to the Rear in that very same order they were with their faces to the Front And truly if Captains be careful to place their best men in the Front their next best in the Rear and make middle men of the third and rank every man according to his worth and dignity as they should do but too many of them are negligent in this it will be needless to hazard a Counter-march but with much ease and with one word of Command and that is By the Right or Left hand about an Enemy may be fac'd in the Rear without danger of any confusion or disorder I have seen some very punctual Officers and Drill-masters who have taken much pains to teach new beginners all these three sorts of Counter-marches and have made them practise their lessons very exactly yet for all that I could never in my own Judgement have a better opinion of Counter-marches than they say some Physicians have of Cucumbers which they first order to be well corrected and prepar'd with Vinegar Oyl Pepper and I know not what else and then advise to throw them out of doors or over the Windows In exercising Bodies the first care is to make Ranks and Files keep that distance that is allowed by the Prince or General who commands the Army for he may do in that according to his pleasure The Grecian Foot had a three-fold distance the first was of six foot and this Aelian will have to be in exercisings and marches between File and File as well as Rank and Rank but assuredly there was not so good reason for the one as there was for the other in regard all the heavy arm'd Foot cartying long Pikes required six foot in their march between Rank and Rank for the conveniency of their Pikes but there was no need of so much between File and File as Distances of the Foot any man at first view may easily comprehend The second distance was of three foot between Rank and Rank as also between File and File and this was when they were drawn up and stood in Battel with their Pikes order'd and their posture at this distance was called Densatio The third was of one foot and a half between both Files and Ranks and that was when they were either to give or receive a charge and it was call'd Constipatiâ— In that posture having presented their Pikes with their left foot formost their Targets touch'd one another and so their Phalange look'd like a Brazen Wall as Lucius Aemilius the Roman Consul spoke of that wherewith King Persâ—â—s fac'd him at the Battel of Pidna where they fought for the Soveraignty of the Kingdom of Macedon The Grecian Horse were marshall'd in several figures and of their distance I can say nothing nor doth Aelian help me in it at all Of these several figures of Horse Troops I shall speak in the next Chapter but one And Of the Horse then my Reader will perhaps believe with me that the Square Battels probably kept that distance that Troops have done since and that both the Rhombus and the Wedge required a greater distance when they were commanded by a motion either to the Right or Left hand to change the posture or the place wherein they stood and I conceive when either of them was to charge the Horse men were obliged to â—err
hinder either Prince or State to appoint the depth of their Batallions to be twelve ten eight or six deep as they think fit though by some of them the Bodies cannot be subdivided till they come to one File or one Rank for it was never seen nor do I fansie it can be imagin'd that ever such an emergency of War will fall out that can move a General unless he be to File his Army along a very narrow Bridge or a very narrow way to marshal all his Foot either in one Rank or one File So I conceive the first reason is no reason at all A second Reason is In time of Action an Enemy may charge the Second reason for 16 deep Rear to rencounter whom the Dimaritâ— or Middle-men are commanded with the Half-Files that follow them to face about but without countermarch and sustain the charge By the way observe that in such an occasion the Bringer up or Rear-man hath the command of the Half-File and consequently of the Dimarite or Middle-man himself to whom Aelian gave it before But to the reason it self I give two answers First a Reserve which Aelians Phalange admits not would prevent that danger Secondly I say if they were but twelve in File nay but ten in File they might withstand Answered the charge of an Enemy in both Van and Rear as well as being sixteen deep which I make appear out of Aelian himself thus The Grecian Pikes were all eighteen Foot long except the Macedonians which were twenty one We shall speak of the longest Next Aelian allows one foot and a half of distance between Ranks when they fought which distance he or his Interpreter calls Constipatio Thirdly the same Author allows three foot of the Pikes length for his hands who presents it These grounds being laid which are the Authors own I say that only four Ranks of the Grecian Pikes and five of the Macedonian could do an Enemy any hurt and but hardly so either because between five Ranks there are four distances and for those you are to allow six foot at Aelians account of closest distance next you are by his rule likewise to allow fifteen foot of the Pikes of the fifth Rank to be abated from their length which fifteen being added to six make one and twenty for three foot of the Pikes length of the first Rank being allowed for their hands who hold them you must of necessity grant the like proportion for the rest And so the Macedonian Sarissa did not much advance its point from the fifth Rank beyond the first Rank and therefore the rest behind these five Ranks seem useless But an Enemy attacks the Rear to oppose whom let five Ranks face about and present for if five be sufficient to resist the shock in the Van certainly five may do the same in the Rear And if you will consider it well you will think the points of the Pikes of five Ranks sufficient to give or receive a charge if all the Files be â—err'd together as the Grecians were and as all should be that no interval be given an Enemy to enter between them If then ten Ranks were enough to resist an Enemy in Front and Rear I presume the other six might have been dispos'd of two ways first they might have been bestow'd on the Front and so have extended it to a far greater length which would have brought more hands to fight and not only sav'd the Phalange from being out-wing'd but have put it in a capacity to out-wing the Enemy Secondly these six Ranks might very advantagiously have compos'd a Body apart in the Rear and that should have been a Reserve and then no danger of an Enemy to have troubled the Battel behind But I am afraid you may think I am making up a Grecian Militia of my own unknown to the famous Warriours of that renowned Nation I shall tell you truly and ingenuously my quarrel is only with Aelian because he hath not told us so much as he knew and so much as he was oblig'd to tell us which in this particular is that I am now to tell you and it consists in two things one that Phalanges were not always sixteen deep and secondly that they wanted not always Reserves To prove both be pleased to take the following Instances At Deâ—â—s when the Athenians fought with the Thebans and other Boeotians the Phalanges were all of them eight dâ—â—p and all Phalanges eight deep of them had Reserves At Leuctra Epaminondas his Foot Batallions were all marshall'd in eight Ranks At Siracusa when the Athenian General Niciaâ— was to fight he plac'd his Auxiliaries in the two Wings his Athenians he divided into two great Bodies the half whereof he marshall'd in the Battel between the two Wings the other half he plac'd behind at a distance with And had Reserves command to succour either the Wings or the Battel as they saw them or any of them stand in need of their help and this was a perfect Reserve And observe that his Wings Battel and Reserve were all marshall'd eight deep Take Thucydides a noble Historian and a good Captain for my Author But you will say these were not Macedonian Phalanges true but they were Grecian ones though and the Commanders of them without all peradventure did well enough foresee in what danger their Phalanges of eight deep might be by a sudden charge of an Enemy in the Rear which no question they would have oppos'd by making the last four Ranks face about if their Reserves serv'd not their turn neither could the fourth Rank extend its Pikes being three foot shorter than the Macedonian ones much beyond the first Rank But to take the Objection more fully let us come nearer and view the Great Alexanders Army at Arbela and we shall see he was not at all limited by Aelians rules of a Macedonian Phalange though by it they say he conquer'd the Persian Monarchy Sir Walter Raleigh saith right that in this place Alexander drew up his Forces so that they fac'd to Van Rear and both Flanks but this is not to be understood so that he made his heavy armed Phalange front four several ways for then it should have been immovable and only apt to resist but not to advance which had been both against the intentions of that brave Prince and his actions of that day for he charg'd the Persian Batallions both with his Horse and Foot But the meaning must be that he order'd some Horse and Foot at a distance from his main Battel to face to the Rear for preventing any misfortune there and the like he did on both his Flanks but all these when his main Battel mov'd fac'd to the Van and advanced with it and when it stood they took up their former distances and fac'd as they were appointed And all this was done lest his Army small in comparison of that with Darius should be surrounded If the Army he was afraid to
thought Castrametation a subject pertinent to his Castrametation Treatise for he speaks nothing of it and yet it is a very considerable part of the Art of War I find the Grecians did not put their Souldiers to so much fatigue as to fortifie their Camp every night as the Romans did They chose their Castrametation to be in places of advantage on Heights Hills or Rising grounds or where they might have a River or Water as their Back or one of their Flanks and if they had these or any of these they used to cast up but a slight Retrenchment unless they were to encamp some long time Sometimes the Figure of the Grecian Camp was Oval sometimes equilateral Square sometimes Oblong and I have read that Lycurgus appointed his Spartan Camps to be round if they could have none of those advantages I spoke of the defect of that Figure is that it wants Flanks which should not be wanting in any Fortification but it had the advantage of other Figures that it could contain more than any of them because Rotunda est omnium Figurarum capacissima If it be true what some say that the Romans learn'd their Art of Encamping from Pyrrhus King of Epirus then we shall know what his or the Grecian manner was when I come to speak of the Castrametation of the Romans where we shall see if he was their Master he needed not be asham'd of such Scholars This Pyrrhus was Brother-in-law to Demetrius Son to Antigonus who was a great Captain under a far greater Captain the famous Alexander who no question understood the Art of Encamping very well We read that the very day he fought his last Battel with Darius at Arbela upon sight of that numerous Alexanders Camp at Arbela Army he had to deal with he became doubtful how to carry himself in so great an exigent and therefore withdrew his Army to an Hill which Mazeus the Persian had deserted plac'd his Camp on it and order'd it to be fortified which was immediately done for we read in Curtius that after he had caus'd to put up his Pavillion review'd the Enemies Forces and resolv'd to give Battel he commanded the Retrenchment to be cast down that his Batallions might march out in Breast All this being done in a very short time shows that his Army was well acquainted with both Castrametation and Fortifidation To know how the Grecians kept their Watches and Guards we must expect no light from Aelian who speaks nothing at all of that affair Perhaps he hath been of one opinion with that Anabaptist Minister who preaching on that Text Watch and Pray told his Audience He would not trouble them with the various Interpretations of the word Watch for he would assure them in few words that Watch was as much as to say Watch. But because I have not read of any essential differences between the Roman Guards and Watches and those of the ancient Grecians I shall refer my Reader to my discourse of both in the twenty second Chapter of my Essays of the Roman Art of War where I shall inform him of any observable thing concerning them mention'd by Aeneas in those fragments of his which all-devouring time hath left us and those are but few Before the Grecians began their Battels they sung their Paean which was Paean a Hymn to Apollo a Hymn to Apollo after which they had their shout or cry which the Romans with a barbarous word called Baritus If they gain'd the Victory they sung another Paean or Hymn to that same Deity Then they loudly cryed to the God Mars Alala Alala doubling and re-doubling that word Alalâ— â— cry to Mars very often Neither was this custome peculiar to the Greeks for we read in the First Chapter of the Seventh Book of Xenophon that Cyrus the Persian used the very same thing when he fought that great Battel with Croesus wherein he was Victorious for we read not of any Paean any of them sung if they were beaten thinking belike they were not oblig'd to thank their Gods for any misfortune that befel them By what I have said you may easily perceive how little I think we have learn'd of the most essential points of the Ancient Grecian Militia from this great and so much talk'd of Master of the Art of War Aelian And if any say he only undertook to acquaint the Emperour Adrian with the marshalling Grecian Battels I shall say first that he hath but very ill acquitted himself of that undertaking and next that he might have done that great Prince as great a favour to have inform'd hiâ—â—â—â—f all those points of War which he hath neglected as of the manner how to marshal a Phalange and all the several parts of it CHAP. X. One of our Modern Armies compared with the Macedonian Phalanx OUR Batallions of Pikes in the Modern Wars would resemble the Grecian heavy armed Phalange of Foot if they were as well arm'd for the defensive as they should be and as they were one hundred years ago Our Modern Infantry resembles the Grecian one Musquets Harquebusses Fire-locks and Fusees give us an uncontroverted advantage over their light armed or yet the Roman Velites whatever Lipsius say to the contrary as shall be shown in the last Chapter of my Essays of the Modern Art of War A Swedish Company as it was in the time of the Great Gustavus and since being of one hundred twenty six men resembled the Grecian Centuriate which consisted of one hundred twenty eight men And a Swedish Regiment wherein are one thousand and eight men comes very near to the Grecian Chiliarchy wherein according to Aelian there were one thousand twenty four men Since the time that the Switzer Cantons confederated so strongly and Switzers fought with their Masters so fortunately that they got themselves declar'd Free States their great Batallions of ten sometimes twelve sometimes sixteen thousand all arm'd for the Offensive with long and strong Pikes and having their Heads Necks Backs Breasts Bellies and Arms and Thighs well defended with Iron and Steel resembled perfectly a Macedonian Phalange of heavy armed Foot And what great Victories they gain'd with those Batallions shall be spoke of hereafter en passant But one hundred years ago and before that they came short of the Grecians for their Velites for we read not that then they made use of any Musqueâ— or Harquebuâ—s though other Nations did But not long after that time they began to follow the custome of the Germans who then and long after made up their Bodies of Foot of two thirds of Pikes and one third of Fire-men For to arm two parts of a Company of Foot with Musquets and one part with Pikes is a custome of a far later date But of this more in another place Upon the whole matter I say that our Infantry of Musqueteers and Pike-men if they be well arm'd for the Defensive resembles the Grecian heavy and light armed Foot and so
speed and endeavouring to punish the Mutiniers is himself ston'd to death by them nor was this highest insolence and baseness ever punish'd as both in Justice and Honour it should have been Sulpitius a Dictator thinking to use the Fabian Against Sulpâ—tius way and protract the War against the Gauls is forc'd by his Mutinous Army to fight nor did he ever punish any of the Mutiniers perhaps because he was successful in beating the Enemy yet did not this savour so much of that Roman severity for which they desir'd to be so much cryed up At Capua before Hannibal entred Italy some Roman Legions hatched a dreadful and monstrous Mutiny which portended no less than the ruine and dissolution of the State it self they came to a head at Lentulâ— fortified their Camp and Against the Common-wealth took Titus Quintius who had been a Military Tribune out of his Countrey-House and forced him to be their General Neither was this most dangerous Mutiny appeased by the Authority of either the Senate or the Dictator Valerius but to the advantage of the Mutiniers in so far that the Horse-mens pay was diminished at the instance of the Mutiniers who were all of the infantry and all because the Horse had refused to joyn with the Foot in that detestable design of ruining the Common-wealth So you see the custome of punishing honest men and rewarding knaves is not of a new date Great Scipio the African a person of great authority if ever Rome bred any being Against Scipio the African in Spain eight thousand of his Army lay at a place called Sucro a great way from him they Mutiny chase away their Tribunes and choose Captains of their own before two of whom were carried Axes and bundles of Rods the badges of Soveraign power Scipio by policy and good words making fair weather with them brought them to the rest of the Army and then suddenly laid hold upon thirty five of the Ring-leaders these he whips and beheads the rest he pardons The same Scipio had a Legat one Pleminius who lay at Lâ—ori in Italy his Souldiers and those of some other Tribunes go Against Plâ—minius together by the ears Pleminius composeth the matter but because the Tribunes had not done their duty in parting the fray he will have them whipp'd with Rods their Souldiers Mutiny beat Pleminius and cut off his Nose Scipio hearing of the disorder hastens thither acquits his Legat as having done his duty and for satisfaction to his Noseless face orders the Tribunes to be sent in Fetters to Rome there to receive their punishment and so goes away But when Pleminius put his hand to his Face and missed his Nose he could not be satisfied with the Consuls arbitration and therefore resolved to cut out his own Revenge which he performed with a very bloody Knife for he put all the Tribunes to death with most exquisite torments Let those Modern Writers who so much cry up the Ancient Roman Discipline Not so great disorders in the Modern Wars of War and which of them all doth it not and complain of the slackness of the Modern one tell me of greater Insolencies Mutinies or Contempt of Authority in any age since the decadency of the Roman Empire than these I have mentioned all or most whereof fell out when the Military Laws of Rome were thought to be most strictly observed nor can it be said that the Ancient Discipline was worn out for at the latest of these Mutinies at Locri the Romans were but young Lords being Masters of little more than the half of Italy in one of the best corners whereof Hannibal their sworn Enemy made yet his abode and would have done so longer if his unhappy Countrey-men had not first withdrawn their assistance from him and at length called him home to Africk to support their now decaying and tottering State Notwithstanding all these inward Maladies enough to have consumed the vitals of any State the Romans in time prevailed over all those with whom they made either a just or an unjust War for as the all-powerful God had pre-ordained them to be a mighty people so he had qualified them with parts abilities and endowments to attain to that greatness These were True Fortitude Prudence Abstinence Temperance Equity either real or Roman Vertues pretended Patience with an admirable Toleration of all manner of wants and difficulties inuring their Souldiers to all manner of toyl and fatigue and above all with Magnanimity as never succumbing or yielding to adversity but in their greatest affliction and lowest condition shewing greatest Courage and Confidence which those Senators well witness'd who would needs dye in their Robes with the Ensigns of Majesty when the Gauls had taken and burnt their City And after their total rout at Cannae when Hannibal sent Embassadours with overtures of Peace to them they sent out and discharg'd his Messengers to approach the City And after that when that Great Captain came a little too late indeed and sac'd their City with his Victorious Army they sold that piece of ground on which his Pavilion was erected publickly by the Drum at an over-rate and to shew him that this was not a rant one of their Consuls offer'd him Battel two several days but that great hazzard was hinder'd by fearful Tempâ—sts from Heaven With these and other abilities were the famous Romans fitted for the performance of that which the Almighty had order'd for them and that was to over-master the most part of the then known World and to govern and rule all other Nations with a Rod of Iron They who desire to know perfectly the Ancient Roman Ordinances and Constitutions Most of the Roman Tacticks lost of War have reason to wish that those Authors mention'd by Vegetius were yet extant which were the Treatises of the Emperours Augustus Adrian and Trajan but most of all that of Marcus Porcius Cato who was not only a great Senator and an eloquent States-man but an excellent Captain whereof bear witness his prudent Conduct of Armies his Victories and his Triumphs all yet on Record And yet he professed that he thought he had done the Roman Republick the greatest service in preserving their Military Art from Oblivion and transmitting it to posterity by his Writings There is no question but that Treatise of his if it had not been lost had clear'd us of many of those doubts and difficulties which none that are extant do or ever will do All that is left to give us a glimpse of light in the Roman Art of War are some fragments of Polybius and a Book of Flavius Renatus Vegetius De re Militari Both of them Noble Authors and eminent persons in their several times For the last he is so much cry'd up by most and thought to be understood by all that I do confess it must be my dulness that makes me not understand him in many places wherein I think Vegetius his Defects him so obscure
Fathers Master made use of one of them at Gaza and Curtiâ—s in his Second Book says that Alexander had one of them at the Siege of Mazacus in India which seem'd so wonderful to the Barbarians that they thought some Deity or more than humane strength did assist that Magnanimous Prince One of these Towers which Julius Caesar erected against a Town of the Nervians if I mistake not wrought a contrary effect for the Defendants laugh'd and flouted at it as a thing made to no purpose since it could not hurt them at such a distance till they saw it begin to move towards their Walls and then they began to have other thoughts All these Machines were ordinarily made in the place where they were to be used but if the Generals conceiv'd that at the Towns they intended to besiege they could not be accommodated with things requisite for these Fabricks then they carried all the materials along with them on Camels Mules Horses Carts and Waggons As the Great Turk carrieth his Metal with him till he come where he intendeth to make use of Ordnance and there he causeth them to be founded Besides all these ways spoken of for expugnation of Towns the Ancients made frequent use of Mines this the Romans call'd Cuniculos agere because Mines resemble the digging of Rabbets neither did the Besieged in those Mines times want the knowledge to find out Mines and provide Counter-mines against them The way of Mining they used and we still do is all one except that they wanted the springing of Mines by Gun-powder and therefore the use they made of Mines produced a two-fold effect First The Mine First effect of the Ancients Mine being brought within the Town without taking notice of the Walls Souldiers suddenly issued out and run to the Ports to open them and so make way for the Besiegers to enter and at that time ordinarily Alarms were given to all quarters that the Besiegers might be diverted and not suffer'd to observe the Sally of those who were enter'd the Town by the Mine Such a Mine and the effect of it Hannibal had at Saguntum Secondly When they had made large Second effect Chambers in the Walls they under-propt them with logs of dry Timber and having laid store of combustible matter beside them so soon as the Army was ready to storm Fire was put to the Train and the supporters being burnt the Wall immediately fell over the ruines whereof the Besiegers enter'd And this effect had the Great Alexanders Mine at Gaza Aeneas tells us of a Mines how discovered Shield of Brass used in his time to discover Mines â—or if it were plac'd directly above the place where the Miners were working it would utter a sound later times have found a Drum and Dice upon it or a Basin of Pease or Beans serve the turn as well The same Aeneas an old Grecian Tactick adviseth against all manner of Aeneas his Sails the Ancient approaches to Besieged places to hang up great Sails within the Walls which he will have to serve for three uses First For Blinds that what is done within may not be seen by those without a thing ordinarily practis'd in our Modern Wars Secondly That all the Darts and Arrows that are cast or shot even from the Moving Towers may be receiv'd in these Sails where sticking all the day long they can do no hurt and at night may be taken out and thrown or shot back to the Enemy This would be useless against our Bullets Thirdly They were notable Defences against Fiery Arrows shot ordinarily to fire Houses thatch'd with Straw or Reeds But indeed there is no such solid or sure defence against all manner of Approaches and Mines against all Machines and Engines of the Ancients and Batteries of Modern Artillery as that which the same Author Aeneas speaks of and that is a Double Wall and a Double Ditch For the first being long and well defended the second imposeth a necessity on the Besiegers to begin new Approaches new Batteries and new Mines But if the place be Countermures or Retrenchments not doubly fortified then he adviseth the Besieged to make a Counter-mure within that part of the Wall against which the Assailants make their Battery The same is done still or should be done in all besieged places It is that we call a Retrenchment and the Germans an Absuerd It was by this the Plataeans kept out the long Siege of their Town against the Lacedaemonians till hunger made them yield to their merciless Enemy And hereby did the Samians frustrate all the means the Roman Consul used for the expugnation of their City with Catapults Rams and Moving Towers till Famine forc'd them to submit to his cruel pleasure Concerning Mines Countermures or Retrenchments you may see a little more in the twenty fourth Discourse of the Modern Art of War CHAP. V. Of the Military Exercises Duties Burthens Marches and Works of the Roman Souldiers THE Roman Souldiers being Levied and Armed and having sworn Fidelity we are in the fourth place to see how they were Train'd and Exercised And First We will take all the help Vegetiâ—s vouchsafeth to give us And assuredly you will think he speaks very fully of all manner of Exercise The summ of what Vegetius saith of Exercise when I tell you that he hath bestow'd upon that affair alone eleven full Chapters of his First Book to wit the 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 and 19 Chapters wherein oftener than once he tells us one thing twice over And as if he had forgot that he spent so much Time and Ink on that subject in his First Book he falls to it de novo in the twenty third Chapter of his Second Book which he entitles De Exercitatiâ—ne Militum But for all this he hath not done the third part of the work that might in reason have been expected from him which you will believe to be true when I have told you all he saith of that matter and all I inform you of concerning it out of other Authors That which Vegetius saith of the Roman Exercises in all those Chapters is briefly this That the Latine word Exâ—rcitus an Army is deriv'd ab exercendo from Exercising That the Tyrones or raw Souldiers were Train'd in the Campus Martius Mars his Field which lay near the Tiber in which when they were weary of their Land exercises they wash'd themselves and learn'd to Swim a thing very incumbent for a Souldier to practise because saith Swimming he Armies have not always the conveniency of Bridges and must in that case when they either follow or retire from an Enemy swim Rivers Before Vegetius go further I must remember him of two things First that Campus Martius got but that name after the Tarqâ—â—nes were banish'd out of Rome for it belong'd to them in propriety and at the time of their leaving the City was a Corn-field as Livy tells us Now
certainly the Romans had their Military Exercises the whole time of the Reigns of their seven Kings Secondly I say as Swimming is fit to be learned by all young men especially Souldiers so I think an Army is in a desperate condition when the men who compose it are put to swim for their safety from a pursuing Enemy for by that shift hardly will the tenth man escape nor needs a retiring Army fear much hurt from an Enemy who cannot overtake it but by Swimming over Lakes and Rivers But our Author proceeds and tells us that an Army must be taught to march in Rank and File that an Enemy may take no advantage by finding it in disorder The Romans had two kinds of a March the Ambulatory Two kinds of March and the Cursory By the first they were if so required to march twenty Italian miles in five hours and by the second twenty five in four hours with their full Arms Baggage and Burthens Thirdly He informs us that the Foot Souldier was Train'd at a Stake or Pallisado of Wood six foot long Exercises of the Foot fixed fast in the ground he had a Target of Oâ—â—ers and a Club or Battoon of Wood both of them double the weight of the Shield and Sword he was to make use of in earnest With these he was taught to strike aâ— the Pale or Stake as if it had been an Enemy to make sents and foynâ— at several parts of it as if it had had Head Body Legs and Arms but more especially the Roman Souldier was taught to thrust and stab with hiâ— Sword for they found that by that manner of fence they had the advantage of those Enemies who used â—lashing and cutting Swords And at the same stake they were to cast their Pilâ— or Javelines But at other marks namely Sheaves of Corn or Grass the Velites were taught to shoot and cast their missile Weapons whether these were Stones or Lead out of Slings and Baâ—â—oon-Slings Arrows out of Bows or Darts out of their Hands Fourthly The Foot were taught at these Exercises to carry burthens of sixty pound that being habituated they might thereafter more easily carry their own Arms Provisions Baggage or what else they were commanded to bear Fifthly The Horse men were taught to mount Wooden Horses in the Fields if it Of the Horse was Summer but in Winter in Houses made purposely for that use and thereafter to mount living Horses at first without Arms but after they were expert they were to get on Horse back with full Arms either at the Right or Left side of the Horse and as you will find hereafter without Stirrups and with drawn Swords or Maces in their hands Thrice a month saith Vegetius by the constitutions of Augustus and Adrian the Veteran Armies were to be Exercised and to march ten miles out of their Camp and back again that day And he saith that Souldiers were taught to run leap Ditches and to make Ditches and Ramparts This is the substance of all that Vegâ—tius delivers to us in those mention'd eleven Chapters of his First Book Now in the twenty third Chapter of his Second Book he troubles himself and his Reader with the repetition of most of this only he adds that the young Souldiers or Tyrones were Exercised twice a day morning and evening the Veterans once a day and this was done without intermission So it seems what he speaks here is meant of Training particular Souldiers or Companies once or twice a day and what he said before was of Exercising the whole Army once a month Thus far and no further we have the help of Vegetius in the matter of Training drilling or Exercising Before I inform you further of the several kinds of the Roman Exercises I Burthens must see what Burthens the Roman Souldiers were obliged to carry in their Marches whether those were Ambulatory or Cursory And first I believe that the weight of sixty pound which Vegetius saith they were bound to carry was meant only of their Arms Defensive and Offensive And I suppose you may be of my opinion if you consider their heavy Head Back and Breast-pieces their Greeves Taslets Target and an Iron Boot a Javeline or two and a Sword and it may be a Dagger too And if these weighed sixty pound what shall we say of their Fardles their Provisions the Stakes and Pallisadoes they were bound to carry and of some utensils to make ready their meat and these perhaps were carried alternatively by those that belong'd to one Contubernium for if I conjecture right Beasts of Carriage were only allowed for carrying their Tents and Hand-mills Quintiâ—â— Cincinnatus being chosen Dictator to lead an Army against the Aequiaâ—s caus'd every Legionary of his Army besides his Arms and Baggage to carry five Exceedingly heavy days meat and twelve Pallisadoes It is true his march was but short the Territory of Rome being then of no great extent And yet you will think the Romans have been but at that time raw Boys if you observe what follows Scipio Africanus the Younger who destroy'd Carthage caus'd every one of his Foot Souldiers to carry provisions for thirty days and seven Stakes wherewith to Pallisado his Camp Câ—sar saith that Afranius Poâ—pâ—ys Legat in Spain caus'd his Souldiers to carry meat for twenty five days besides Stakes The Famous Consul Marius intending a Reformation of the Roman Discipline in his time corrupted thereby to make himself more able to overcome the Cimbrians and Teutones who had invaded the Roman Empire with a Deluge of men made his Souldiers march with such excessive Burthens as if they had been Asses and thereby got them the name of Marius his Mules Muli Mâ—riâ—nâ— To march at a running pace or trot twenty five miles in four hours so heavily loaded is truly admirable and if you will consider what I have said in the Ninth Chapter of the Grecian Militia what Burthens Philip's Macedonians carried and how far they marched and observe what I say here of the Romans you cannot but be ready to suspend your belief And such marches under such heavy burthens not being now practis'd I shall not blame you to think them well near incredible as Louis dâ— Montgomery seem'd to do when Louis de Montgomery he saith in his French Militia that such Souldiers not being now to be found any where he thinks according to Pythagoras his Transmigration they were converted into the Mules and Asses of Aâ—vâ—rgne And indeed our Modern Armies whose heavy arm'd are scarce so well arm'd for Defence as the Roman Velites were do not march twenty Italian miles in one day but with a very great loss in the Rear whereas the Romans march'd further in five hours Marches almost incredible which was practis'd by Câ—sar when he march'd after and overtook the Eduans who had deserted them He march'd with all his Cavalry and four Legions of his Foot It is true his Souldiers carried no Baggage with them
for that was left in the Camp with his Legate who stay'd behind with two Legions to maintain the Siege of Gargovia It is written of Galba who was afterwards Emperour that when he was Legate in France he run on foot at the Emperour Caius his Chariot the whole time that his Army march'd their Cursion which as I have said was twenty five miles in the space of four hours Galba being then forty six years old Vegetius saith a Roman Army marched ordinarily twenty Italian miles in one day and this is verified by Caesar who calls it Vnius Diâ—â— justum Iter The just march of one day But The just March of one day if the ground were rocky Woody full of Marishes or otherwise of ill passage then they were necessitated accordingly to take their measures as well as other Nations were In Thessaly four thousand Romans who were sent but as a fore-party and were not troubled with Baggage by the Consul Martius Philippus had much ado to march fifteen miles in two days saith Livy in his Forty fourth Book But Souldiers were undoubtedly â—as'd of those insupportable burthens when this very strict Discipline became neglected and corrupted and that there were almost as many Soujats Drudges or Slaves in the Roman Armies as there were Souldiers in them As when the afterward Emperour Vespasian march'd with sixty thousand men against the Rebellious Jews Being perfectly wearied of those terrible Burthens I return to the exercises of the Roman Souldiers and these I find divided into three kinds The first is of those who were peculiarly and properly called Military Exercises the second of those duties the Souldiers owed to their Superiour Officers and the third of their work and fatigue The Exercises properly called Military were of seven sorts First To march First kind of Military Exercises or run in full Arms twenty or twenty five miles in four or five hours time Secondly To leap over Ditches Thirdly To swim Rivers at which Julius Câ—sar was excellent Fourthly to skirmish or fight with Sword and with Target heavier than ordinary ones Fifthly To lance and throw Darts and Javelines Sixthly To throw Stones at a mark either with the Hand Sling or Batton-Sling Seventhly To mount or dismount a Horse on any side in full Arms with Swords or Maces in their hands and without a Stirrup The last Vegetius forgot yet of all these sorts he hath made mention The Second kind of Exercises was of those Duties and Services the Souldiers Second kind owed and payed to their Officers and Commanders beside the publick duties they owed to the State These were to set up their Tents and Pavillions to make convenient places for their Servants Necessaries and Baggage and sometimes to empale them round about to keep all places about their Lodgings and the Streets likewise clean from mire dirt or dust and if they were to encamp for any time to lay the ground with Sand and much more of this nature These services all Souldiers were bound to perform except such who for some reasons were exempted and freed from all publick duties and were only bound to fight and wait on the Consuls Those who had no exemption were called Munifices Duty-doers There are some who say that the Triarii were free from these duties and particular services to Officers and full well it might be so since they were bound to look to the Horses of the Cavalry and therefore in Encamping were constantly quarter'd beside them as you will see in my discourse of their Castrametation But from other publick works they were not free for they fortified the Camp which both Paulus Aemilius and Câ—sar testified when they made the Triarii fortifie with Spade and Mattock while they fac'd the Enemy with the Hastati and Principes The third kind of a Roman Souldiers Exercise was work and labour which Third kind in our Modern Armies is not so unusual as Lipsius would make it as shall be demonstrated against him in its proper place Indeed there were not such creatures as Pioneers known in the old Roman Armies all was wrought by the Souldiers themselves yea some write that their Velites were not admitted to work as unworthy to be imployed in a service of so much reputation and so it seems it was a Maxime with them diametrically contrary to ours which was The greater Fatigue the greater Honour Of these publick works there were many kinds these were the Cutting Carrying and Squaring Turf and Sods Stakes and Pallisadoes for their Camps Castles Towns Forts and Sconces the fortifying all of these working and digging at the Approaches and expugnation of Forts and Towns the making and managing great Engines Mining Countermining making Retrenchments or Countermures cutting deep Ditches and Channels of a very great length building Magazines Amphitheatres and other huge and vast Edifices and all these with many more not only in time of War but of the calmest Peace when no necessity could be pretended for them and those not so much for the ornament of Countries and Provinces though that was likewise taken into consideration as to inure the Souldiers to toil and to keep them habituated to it that when they were necessitated to fatigue in earnest they might find it easie as that which was no new thing to them and they found that this labour procur'd to the Souldiery both health and strength Suetonius says that Galba before he was Emperour Veteranum Tyronem militem assiduo â—pere corroboravit He strengthen'd both his old and raw Souldiers with daily work and labour And Scipio the lesser kept his Army constantly at hard work at the Siege of Great fatigue Numantia where he frequently told his Souldiers That he who would bathe his hands in the blood of his Enemies must first soil them with dirt and mire It must be observ'd that the Romans fortified their Camps with their Swords at their sides as we read in Sacred History Nehemiah did and made the Jews do when they re-built the Walls of Jerusalem We read that Corbulo a great Captain and Reformer of decay'd discipline put two of his Souldiers Severe Discipline to death because he found them working at a Rampart the one without either Sword or Dagger the other with a Dagger but without a Sword The same Corbulo being commanded by his Tyrannical Master Nero to make Peace with the Germans lest his Army should languish with idleness caus'd them to cut a Ditch three and twenty Italian miles long between the Rivers of the Maes and the Rhine for it was a rule with them That labour hardens and corroborates whereas idleness weakens and effeminates the truth whereof is taught us by experience But truly who will rightly consider the stupendous works of the Romans made by a few men and in a short time may as one observeth say they were those Gyants who as the Poets feign cast one Mountain on another so to climb up to Heaven For not to speak of their
and there attended the Consuls further pleasure Yet if you look on any Figure of a Legion you shall ordinarily see the Velites drawn up in three distinct Bodies behind the three several Batallions of the Legionaries which might have been done when they were marshall'd before the Fight began but for the reason I have spoke of could not be after they had fought and retir'd They fought a la disbandad How they fought keeping no Rank or File nor had they peculiar Officers as the Grecian light armed Foot had Several fansie nay positively affirm they were to obey the commands of the Centurions of those heavy arm'd Maniples behind whom they were order'd to stand when the Army was marshall'd It is not pity that neither Polybius nor Vegetius would clear us of these doubts considerable enough since they concern so considerable a member of the Ancient Roman Armies And since Lipsius Terduzzi and the Lord Preissaâ— magisterially take By whom Commanded upon them to marshal them in three distinct Bodies and to be commanded by the Centurions that stood in the Van of the Maniples of these Legionaries drawn up before them is it fair dealing in them not to tell us who commanded these Velites when they were skirmishing and fighting in the Van of the Hastati and when all the Centurions of the heavy armed were obliged to stay behind and attend their charges in their several Maniples and Cohorts The Body of the heavy armed Infantry was compos'd of three several Classes those were the Hastati the Principes and the Triarii The first Class was of the Hastati who were as I told you before the Hastati youngest in the election and for most part Novitiates I find no difference of their Arms from those of the Principes and what those were I have told you in the third Chapter to which henceforward I constantly remit you as to the matter of Arms. But I conceive they had their name of Hastati ab Hastâ that is a Spear which probably they have carried in the Reigns of some of their Kings and though afterward they came to change their Weapon yet they still retain'd their name These Hastati made the first Batallion whatever Vegetius say to the contrary as shall be sufficiently demonstrated when I come to examine his Legion The second Class was of the Principes Principes who were the strongest and lustiest men and had most of them serv'd formerly and were in the strength of their age and had their denomination peradventure because they were the principal men for strength and vigour these made the second Batallion of the Legion The third Class was of the Triarii Lipsius thinks they were called so quasi Tertiarii because they made the third Triarii Batallion I think the Etymology is far fought but it is fit I admit it because I cannot give a better Yet it is certain that their more ancient name was Pilani and their whole Body or Squadron was called Pilus no doubt Called Pilan from Pilum the Javeline and if so then it is more than probable that in older times neither the Hastati nor the Principes carried Javelines because both of them in History are called Antepilani In Polybius his time the Triarii carried no Javeline at all and yet even then they kept their old name of Pilani All the difference of Arms that I find between them and the other two Classes both before and in Polybius's time is that the Triarii carried a short Spear which they call'd Hastile of nine foot long and I have told you in the Carried short Spears third Chapter that the Pilum or Javeline by Polybius his own description was near seven foot long Why these short Spears were given them instead of Javelines Authors tell us not Lipsius makes a conjecture which in my opinion is a very sorry one He saith the Triarii being plac'd in the Rear of the other two Batallions their Javelines could have done them no service against an Enemy at so great a distance What a pitiful Reason is this For the Triarii were not bound to fight with either Javeline short Spear or any other Weapon till either the Principes and Hastati retir'd to them or that they themselves were brought up to the Van and in any of these two cases Javelines would have serv'd them to as good purpose as they did the two Batallions marshall'd before them And if these short Spears serv'd the Triarii better when they came to fight than the Javelines then they should likewise have serv'd the other two Classes better than the Javeline and so the Pilum or Javeline should have been laid aside as useless And therefore I think Lipsius here hath not hit the mark To me it would rather seem that in a Why they carried not Javelines medley when perchance an Enemy vigorously pursued the Principes the Triarii could not without wronging their Friends who were retiring cast their Javelines with so much advantage as they could manage these short Spears In the Countrey now called Lombardy then Gallia Cisulyiâ—â— the Roman Consuls Furius and Flaminius met with a numerous Army of the Cisalpine Gauls these carried terrible long and heavy Swords to avoid the fury whereof the Romans thought it fit to take the short Spears from the Triarii and give them to the Hastati that either with them they might keep the Enemy at a distance or while the Gauls were slashing at those short Spears and that their Swords for their weight not very manageable were at the ground the Hastati with their short Swords might get within them and this succeeding as it was projected gain'd the Romans the Victory as Polybius in his Second Book tells us I would he had told us too whether these Hastati made use both of their own Javelines and the short Spears of the Triarii which is not improbable or if they exchang'd Weapons for that day But here give me leave to ask Polybius Vegetius Lâ—psius Terduzzi and all others Observation who tenaciously prefer the Roman Arms to all others of the World Whether a long Grecian Spear of eighteen foot would not have done better service against the Gauls than either a Javeline or a short Spear Or if a Macâ—donian Phalange strongly arm'd carrying Pikes of one and twenty foot long would have much valued or feared the long and heavy Swords of these Cisalpine Barbarians These Triarii were the eldest and most experimented of the Roman Foot and therefore were kept for the last Reserve not at all fighting if the other two Bodies beat the Enemy but if those were beaten or order'd to retire as sometimes they were then they arose and made a fresh and furious onset and if that prevail'd not the safety of the Army depended either on their Flight or on a fair and orderly Retreat Hence in desperate cases they us'd to say Vsque ad Triariâ—s perventum est History tells us that while
others were fighting the Triarii rested themselves till the Consul or General gave Triarii rest them either an Order or a Sign to rise But in what posture they rested whether they kneel'd or sate or if they kneel'd whether they did it on one knee or both or if on one knee whether on the Right or the Left is not to me very clear Vegetius in the twentieth Chapter of his first Book seems to say on But how is a question both knees genibus posuâ—s are his words and indeed this was the easiest way In the sixteenth Chapter of his second Book he makes them kneel but on one knee and this I believe is the truest But in the fourteenth Chapter of his third Book to my thinking he makes them fit which I suppose could not be true at all for at that posture they could not with any conveniency make a Pent-house of their Shields which both he and Polybius say and which Reason teacheth they were bound to do to save themselves from the Enemies missiles There is no doubt the Triarii did often recover the honour of the day when it was well near lost When Lucius Furius was well beaten by the Volscians Ordinarily the Triarii kept for the last Reserve at Satricum Livy tells us in his sixth Book that Furius â—amillus advanc'd seasonably with his Triarii charg'd gallantly and obtain'd the Victory The Latines after an obstinate fight at Vâ—suvius had fair hopes of Victory when they had wholly defeated the Lest Wing of the Roman Army and in it kill'd the Conâ—ul Decius and forc'd both the Hastaâ—â— and Principes to give ground on the Right hand But Manlius with his Triarii fell freshly upon them and recover'd the Battel Polybius in his Second Book says The Triarii were not only kept for the last Reserve on the Land but at Sea likewise in their Naval Battels Yet were they not always left for the last for at or near Capua the Consul Petilius perceiving by the extent of the Samnites Army that they intended to out-wing him a danger to which most of the Roman Armies were obnoxious did not stay till the Hastati and Principes had fought but presently call'd up both the Principes and Triarii to the Van and of them making a large But not always Front by a furions charge of all his three Bodies marshall'd in Breast routed his Enemy Neither do I make any doubt but those six Cohorts which Caesar call'd up to the Front of his Army at Pharsalia were Triarii for he says he call'd them ex terâ—iâ— agmine out of the third Batallion He did it to assist his Horse against Pompey's Cavalry which far surpass'd his in number and to these Cohorts himself attributeth the Victory And if he had nor call'd them up before the fight begun but delay'd according to the ordinary custome till his Hastati and Principes had retir'd perhaps he should have made use of them too late but he fore-saw the danger of that well enough and prevented it Since the Hastati when over-power'd were to retire to the Principes and both of them when over-master'd to the Triarii there is no question but in each of these Bodies there were distances and intervals prepar'd wherein to receive one another whether by the Retreat of the first to the second or of both first and second to the third or by the advance of the second and the third to the first That these Intervals were is granted by all but what measure or podisme of ground for any of them is not at all punctually set down by any for any thing I know an inexcusable oversight tâ— but I shall speak of them all in my Discourse of Intervals Here I shall only take notice of two things First That Machiavel errs when he says in the Third Book of his Aâ—t of War that the Error of Machiavelli Hastati had no Interval but fought in one Body Spossi fâ—rmi Thick and close For if so the Principel could not advance to their assistance or yet conveniently and feasibly receive them when they retir'd within their Intervals if they had not been marshaâ—l'd in smaller Bodies I suppose this fancy had its birth only in Machiavel's Brain whose Head no doubt was full of more hurtful notions The second thing I am to acquâ—int you with in this place is that whatever distance was allow'd between the Maniples or Cohorts of the Principes for receiving the Haâ—â—â—ti the double proportion of distance must have been given between the Maniples or Cohorts of the Triarii in regard they were to receive both the Hastati and Principes Polyâ—â—â—s in his fifth Book avers that though the number of the Hastati and Principes might vary and be greater or lesser according to the strength or weakness of the Legion yet the number of the Triarii never alter'd but they were constantly six hundred Now in his time the number of the Principes was twelve hâ—ndred and that of the Hastati as many Achilleâ— Terâ—â—â—zzi not adverting to what I have said of A mistake of Terduzzi distances concludes first that the two formost Batellions were marshall'd twelve deep which I will not grant him and next that the Triarii were drawn up but six deep which I would not fail to deny him though I had granted him the first His reason for the last assertion is that the Triarii being but half the number of the other two Batallions could not make an equal Front with the other two unless they were drawn up but half their depth But he doth not take heed that if they had made an equal Front of men with the other two they could not have receiv'd both the other two in their Intervals but only one of them and then they had not done that for which purposely they stood in the third Batallion And if he had adverted that the Intervals between the Maniples of the Triarii must have been double that which was allow'd to the other two Classes that stood before them he would have marshall'd six hundred as deep as he did twelve hundred for the double distance between the several Bodies of six hundred made six hundred of equal Front of ground with the twelve hundred before them so you may easily consider that notwithstanding the disparity of their numbers the difference of the several Intervals made the Front equal as to the ground of all the three Batallions of Hastati Principes and Triarii The Reason and the only Reason why we must believe that the Triarii Triarii but 600 in every Legion were constantly six hundred is because Polybius said it was so but I shall suppose it was neither so before his time nor yet after his time nor doth he offer to give any reason why it was so in his time Lipsius who is very ready for such things offers to give two Reasons for it the first whereof is stark naught and it is this That the
cannot be appropriated to the Roman Cavalry But he concludes at eight deep eight hundred Horse would take up in Persian Horse eight deep front one hundred and twenty five Paces which is one Furlong and consequently eight thousand Horse needed to have for their Front twelve hundred and fifty paces that is ten Furlongs And therefore Darius his thirty thousand Horse being eight deep would in Front have possess'd of ground four thousand six hundred eighty six paces more than thirty seven Stadia or Furlongs and these will make more than four Italian miles and a half and as much ground Calisthenes must have allowed to his Mercenaries Observe here that Polybius allows for one hundred Horse in Front one hundred twenty five paces which is more than six foot for a Horse-man to stand on and for distance between him and his side-man But if Polybius his meaning be that the Roman Horse were marshall'd eight We know not how deep the Roman Horse were deep then Vegetius his thirty two Riders will do better than Polybius his thirty in a Troop because thirty two will make four Files compleatly whereas thirty makes but three Files of eight and a broken one of six In such a mist do these two great Masters of the Roman Art of War leave us out of which neither accurate Lipsius or any other of my reading hath offer'd to guide us I conceive according to thirty in a Troop ten deep might havâ— done well and who can tell but Polybius meant so when he appoints three Decurions to be File-leaders and three Agminis or Turma Coactores to be Bringers up But that was indeed too many it making the Longitude or Front so small as render'd it very easie to be environ'd or surrounded In these very ancient times many Nations fought on Horses neither Unbridled Unsaddled Horses Bridled nor Saddled and some had Saddles but no Bridles hence we read that the Africans especially the Numidians divided their Cavalry in Fraenatos Infranatos equos into Bridled and Unbridled Horses And it is a wonder to read in Livy with what dexterity and agility these unbridled Horses were rul'd and manag'd by the Hand the Foot or Rod of a Rider Some again had Bridles for their Horses but no Saddles so had the Germans who laugh'd at the Romans as soft and effeminate for riding on Saddles and yet these very Saddles which the Romans used were nothing but a covering made of some piece of Cloath or Stuff rich or mean according to the quality of the Rider or at best of some bundle ty'd together for the ease of the Horse-man without either Iron or Timber in it as our Saddles have neither had any of them Saddles not ancient any Stirrups to ease the Riders Legs for these came first in fashion in Nero's time if Lipsius his observation holds Any thing of that nature that was used before was but a Ladder of Cords Wood or Iron to help the Horse-man to mount his Horse if he were aged indisposed sick or lame and so soon as he was on Horse-back the Ladder was remov'd perhaps not unlike to those Iron Ladders of two or three steps high used over all the Netherlands for Passengers to get up to their Waggons History tells us that Masinissa King of Numidia when he was fourscore years old or near that age could mount his Horse without the help of any Stirrup or Ladder And certainly not only the Romans but all other Nations were taught to get on Horse-back without any of them as now youths are taught in Academies and did ride inur'd to it by custome with as much ease without Stirrups as we do now with them The Romans sometimes caus'd their Cavalry to unbridle their Horses to To charge with Unbridled Horses make a furious charge which often succeeded well Livy in his eighth Book says it was practis'd against the Volscians with success And in his fortieth Book he gives us the relation of a Battel the Celtiberians fought in Spain against the Roman Praetor Fulvius wherein the Romans were very near worsted the Enemy having cast himself in a Wedge at which manner of fight he was thought almost invincible bore down all before him till the Praetor told his Horse-men that charging desperately on unbridled Horses might recover the Victory for said he formerly such a practice hath produced good effects The Cavalry obey'd his order and by a furious charge with Lances routed the Celtiberians Such a command in our time would be accounted both unpracticable and ridiculous yet we may believe that Horses were so taught and manag'd then that they would obey their Masters without Bridles and this we may suppose not to be impossible the Rider making use of his hands but truly I think it something strange to read that Julius Caesar could ride great Julius Caesar an expert Horse-man Horses without a Bridle at the full gallop with his hands clasped together behind his back Sometimes the Roman Generals when they saw an Enemy prevailing have brought their Cavalry or a part of it to the place of danger and caus'd them to alight from their Horses and fight afoot with their Swords This both reinforced the Battel and mightily encourag'd the Foot by seeing that those who might have sav'd themselves by flight resolv'd to live and dye with them Authors do not inform us how they dispos'd of their Horses when they came to the Foot Combate but I shall imagine they did not let them go whither they pleas'd but either appointed their servants if they had any or some of their own number to look after them and I suppose also they alighted before they came to the place where they were to fight for shunning confusion and putting their own Foot in disorder Caesar before he began his Battel with the Switzers made all his Horse-men dismount and appointed them their Horse-men fight on Fooâ— stations where they were to fight afoot and to shew them a good example he alighted first himself and sent away all the Horses a good way from his Army thereby to encourage his Legionary Foot and make his Horse-men know that their safety depended only on their own valour But I believe he gave order that the Horses should be brought back so soon as the Enemy was perceiv'd to fly for we find he and his Cavalry were soon remounted and follow'd the chace very far And I know no reason why it may not be believ'd also that he kept some on Horse-back by him to carry all the Directions he gave to the several Bodies of his Army in time of the Battel which himself fighting on foot could not perform Gracchus betrayed by his Host being environ'd by an ambush of Hannibalians alighted and fought well for his life though he lost it But I think he should rather have hazarded to break through on Horse-back to get to his own party which was not far off since death would still have been
sold by the Treasurer and then proportionably divided among all according to every A good order mans quality a Centurion receiving double that which a Souldier got a Horse-man triple and a Tribune quadruple So that they who fought in the Field and they who stay'd for the defence of the Camp they who storm'd a Town and they who stood in Reserve shared all alike in the Booty The Romans gave all their Proviant to their Armies in Corn and did not trouble themselves to make it either into Meal or Bread and in their strict discipline Bakers were all banish'd from their Camps and the Souldiers order'd to grind their Corn themselves Hand mills or Querns being allow'd them for that use and thereafter to bake their own Bread Many times they took not the pains to do either the one nor the other but boil'd their Wheat with a little Salt and so eat it up for Pottage They used to carry with them Their ordinary Meat And Drink Lard or Bacon or some other fat wherewith they smear'd their Bread A little Bottle with Vinegar they bore also about with them with a very small quantity whereof they gave a rellish to their Water which was their ordinary drink though Wine was not forbidden them for Mahomet had then not intoxicated the World with his Doctrine nor discharged the use of the juice of the Grape which cherisheth the heart of God and Man The Roman Souldiers then drank Wine for it was allow'd them when conveniently it could be got though Drunkenness was a crime seldome heard of among them There were also sometimes Oxen Sheep and Beeves divided among them for preparing and making ready whereof in the strictest time of their Discipline the Souldiers were permitted to carry a Brass Pot a Spit and a Drinking Cup but I suppose one of every kind of these utensils were not allowed to every one of the Souldiers but to a Contubernium Utensils or Tent-full of them whether that consisted of ten eleven or twelve It was not permitted to them to dine or sup when they pleased but it being known by the Classicum when the Consul went to Table the Tribunes went to theirs and so both Centurions and common Souldiers went to dinner with sound of Trumpet May not a man say that here was a great deal of more state than good fare Those Generals who exercis'd strict discipline appointed their Souldiers to take their dinner standing marry They Dâ—n'd standing and Supp'd sitting they permitted them to sit at Supper and I conceive this was but a very sober courtesie to suffer a man who was weary with toil the whole day to sit down to his Supper at night Besides all this the Roman Souldiery had reason to expect a Donative from Donatives at Triumphs their Victorious Generals when they enter'd the Imperial City in Triumph This custome was very commendable for the Largess given to them incited others to carry themselves gallantly against an Enemy since they saw that in some measure they would be sharers with the chief Commander both in Honour and Profit What was given at that time to the common Souldier was a rule to the Officer for a Centurion got double a Horse-man triple and a Tribune quadruple Scipio the African at his magnificent entry into Rome gave four hundred Asses to every Souldier some say but forty if the first it was noble enough and no more neither for it would have amounted but to twenty five shillings Sterling if the last it was contemptible for it signified but half a Crown Lucius Aemilius who subverted the Macedonian Monarchy gave at his Triumph to every Souldier one hundred Sesterces which might be about fifteen or sixteen shillings Sterling and proportionably to the Centurions Horse-men and Tribunes But besides the evil effects which many of the Consuls avarice produc'd their ambition to bring in great summs of Gold and Silver to the Treasury and their vanity to give their Armies Donatives at their Triumphs set them on to the committing many Insolencies perfidious unjust and disavowable Plunders and Cruelties which makes the names of some of the bravest of them infamous to posterity Take one instance instar omnium of that same Aemilius I just now spake of The desire he had to bring the vast Treasure of King Perseus and all he had scrap'd together in Macedon into the Roman Treasury and withal to give a Donative to his Army at A detestable action his Triumph tempted him and the temptation prevail'd with him to plunder the whole Towns of Epirus the people whereof were no Enemies nor ever had wrong'd the Roman State And this execrable act he did under trust the Inhabitants imagining no such usage nor was plundering all the mischief he did them for he sold their persons to the number of one hundred and fifty thousand of both Sexes for Slaves and with the Money of that sale he gave the Donative we spake of to his Army An action so full of baseness inhumanity persidy and injustice that Sir Walter Raleigh saith If any History spoke but one word to the contrary no man would believe it could be true You may read the story of it in the last Book of Titus Livius The half of the Donatives were ordinarily deposited at the Standards Half of Donatives deposited and Ensigns to be kept there for the use of the Souldiers till their dismission lest they should idly or vainly spend it This reason was sufficient and strong enough but there was another and it was this that the Souldiers knowing a part of their stock and substance to be beside the Colours they should never desert them but manfully fight for the defence of that in the preservation whereof they were so deeply concern'd Though this was certainly a very prudent order yet I cannot consent to what Vegetius saith of it in the twentieth Chapter of his second Book that it was ab Antiquis divinitus institutum For he should have remember'd that he wrote of the Heathen Romans and himself having the knowledge of the true God he knew likewise that the best of their Ordinances were but of Humane and not Divine Institution In that same Chapter Vegetius says that every Legion had ten bags for the keeping this moyety of the Donatives that is a bag for every Cohort and an eleventh bag there was in which every Souldier cast something once a month and that was reserv'd for the Burial of those Souldiers who were able to leave nothing for their Interment A very laudable custome for the Burial of the Dead was ever in all Nations in high request Burial of the Dead Truce for some days or hours to Inter the slain was seldome or never refus'd by the most imbitter'd Enemy Hannibal bestow'd Burial on his Enemy Marcellus And his Brother Asdrubal at the desire of Scipio buried those Roman Tribunes whom he had kill'd in Battel And Justin in his sixth Book tells us that when
Officer'd Marshall'd Encamped and Disciplin'd according to the Roman custom only with this difference that those who commanded Roman Legions were called Tribunes but those who commanded the Legions of the Allies were called Prafecti I conceive the reason of the difference of the title was this the Tribune was elected for most part by the Tribes whence he had his name Tribunus but those of the Roman Consuls power over the Allies Allies were nominated by the Roman Consuls for the Allies had no power to appoint or Commissionate their own Praefecti that had intrencht too much upon the Lordly power the Romans still kept in their own hands and were bound most strongly to obey that Consul with whom they join'd So we see how little difference the haughty Romans made between their Confederated friends and their vassals which I hinted in the beginning of this Chapter and in this point the Consuls had more power over the Allies than over the Romans themselves for the Roman people for most part chose the Roman Tribunes and not the Consuls CHAP. XVI Of a Roman Consular army and some Mistakes concerning it I Know not from whence this denomination of a Consular Army is come unless it be that Polybius in his Sixth Book saith that ordinarily every year four Legions were levied for the States service two for every Consul and this Livy doth witness to have been done often But neither the one nor the other hath asserted that a Consul never had more or fewer Legions in his Army than two Polybius means that a Consular Army consisted for most part of two Roman Legions six hundred Horse with two Legions of Allies and twelve hundred Horse But he never said that it was constantly so for then he had contradicted his own History in many places But I rather conceive Authors call that a Consular Army which had in it the above specified number of Horse and Foot by the authority and upon the word of Vegetius who describes both a Pretorian and a Consular Army in the first Chapter of his Third Book I shall Vegetius describes a Pretorian and a Consular army faithfully English his words thus The Ancients saith he having by exrerience learned to obviate difficulties chused rather to have skilful than numerous Armies â— therefore they thought in Wars of lesser moment one Legion with the Auxiliaries that is ten thousand Foot and two thousand Horse might suffice which the Praetors as lesser Chieftans often led in Expeditions But if the enemy was reported to be strong then a Consular power with twenty thousand Foot and four thousand Horse was sent with a greater Captain But if an infinite multitude of the fiercest Nations did rebell then too great necessity forcing them two Chieftans with two Armies were sent with this command that either the one Consul or both should look to it that the Commonwealth should receive no damage In fine saith he since the Roman people was to make War almost And contradicts himself every year in several Countries against divers enemies they thought these forces might suffice because they judged it was not so profitable to entertain great Armies as those that were well exercised and trained in Armes Thus far Vegetius let us take his Discourse in pieces and examine it according to his own writings and no mans else First In the sixth Chapter of his second Book he avers there should be no First in the Pretorian army fewer in a Legion than six thousand one hundred Foot and seven hundred twenty six Horse in this place he saith a Praetorian Army wherein there should be a Legion of Romans and another of Allies should have ten thousand Foot and two thousand Horse the Foot two thousand two hundred fewer than in his own account there should be in two Legions and the Horse five hundred forty eight more than himself allows to the Cavalry of two Legions And to let us see that he will keep a proportionable way in contradicting Secondly in a Consular army himself he says against a strong Enemy a Consul was sent with twenty thousand Foot and four thousand Horse and that is as he explains himself in the fourth Chapter of his second Book two Legions of Romans with the help of the Allies now I beseech you hear him speak for himself and first in the sixth Chapter of his second Book he says that the Legion must consist of six thousand one hundred Foot and seven hundred twenty six Horse Secondly In this first Chapter of his third Book he makes four Legions of the Roman and Allies Foot to be but twenty thousand which by his own rule should have been twenty four thousand four hundred for his words formerly were that no Legion should be under six thousand one hundred and those heavy armed too and whereas by his own appointment in the sixth Chapter of his second Book every Legion should have had seven hundred twenty six Horse more than any other Author allow'd In this Chapter he increased their number to one thousand for he orders the Horse of four Legions to be full four thousand the Foot of a Consular Army four thousand four hundred below and the Horse one thousand ninety six above his own allowance You see how Vegetius clasheth with Vegetius it is not I that quarrel with him In the second place he saith if an infinite multitude of fierce Nations rebelled Rebelled against whom Certainly he means against the Romans but how could they rebel before they profest to be subject Assuredly these fierce Nations he speaks of swore neither fealty nor homage to Romulus nor Rome when His inadvertency he first founded it If they defended themselves so long as they could from the dominion of strangers they did what nature commanded them and were no Rebels He will find Spain it self after long and bloody Wars never reduced to a Province till Augustus's time You see what words his Inadvertency prompts him to utter In this case of a great Rebellion he says two Consuls with the Armies were joyn'd together with a command to look to it that the Common-wealth suffer'd no damage But this command was given many times when two Consuls did not nor needed not bring their forces together Thirdly You have heard him aver that in the great wars which the Roman State manag'd their greatest Army consisted of twenty thousand Foot and four thousand Horse twenty four thousand in all and that two of those Armies joyn'd together making of both forty eight thousand Combatants did suffice in the greatest danger Truly Vegetius if Hannibal had been alive His contradiction of Roman story when you wrote this he could have inform'd you that he forc'd your Masters the Romans to joyn two such Armies and more before ever they had to do with those fierce Nations you speak of except a few Spaniards and the Cisalpine or Italian Gauls unless you take the Sicilians and Carthaginians to be those fierce Nations with the
first whereof they quarrel'd and invaded them and with the second broke Peace without either regard to Justice or sense of Honour But tell me had the two Consuls at Cannae no more but forty eight thousand Romans and Allies read Polybius his fourth Book you will see they had eight Legions of Romans and as many Allies at five thousand Foot each Legion and three hundred Horse and these extended to eighty thousand Foot and seven thousand two hundred Horse reckoning the Allies Cavalry double that of the Romans Read Livy's twenty second Book you will see Hannibal kill'd at that same Battel forty five thousand Roman Foot and two thousand seven hundred Horse besides Allies and the same Historian will tell you in plain language that the Roman Army at that place consisted of fourscore and seven thousand fighting men And before Hannibal enter'd Italy had the Romans no stronger Armies against the Gauls than forty eight thousand men Yes both Polybius and Livy will tell you of far greater numbers read in other Histories whether Marius had but forty eight thousand Romans against the fierce Nations of the Cimbrians and the Teutones How vain a thing it is then for an Author of Vegetius his reputation to aver that against the mightiest Enemy two Consular Armies each of twenty four thousand men were sufficient against the current of History Fourthly He lays it down for an unquestionable truth that one Consul A bold assertion of Vegetius had never more than two Legions of Romans and as many of the Allies against the most powerful Enemy Be pleas'd to hear his own words in the fourth Chapter of his Second Book In omnibus Auctoribus invenitur singulos Consules adversus Hostes copiâ—sissimos non amplius quam binas duxisse Legiones additis auxiliis seciorum In all Authors saith he it is found that every Consul never led more against the most numerous Enemies than two Legions with the assistance of the Allies And that it should not be said he had writ so manifest an untruth without a reason he adds Tanta in illis erat exercitatio tanta fiducia ut cuivis bello dua legiones crederentur sufficere They were so well train'd and had so great confidence that two Legions were thought to be sufficient for any War Did ever man write so If two Legions were sufficient in any War why were four Legions and two Consuls imployed against the fierce Nations he just now spoke of But I will come nearer him and tell him that it is very often found in Authors that one Consul or General had the Conduct of more than two Legions and therefore Vegetius his words that I cited last must either be false or those Authors whom I shall cite do grossly abuse us I shall not repeat the business of Canna but be pleas'd to take these other Instances When Caesar heard of the dreadful preparations of the Helvetians to stop Instances of later times to the contrary Of Caesar that inundation he posts to Italy and raises two new Legions joyns them with three Veterans brought them to France and with one he had there already he made six in all and with these fought the Helvetians and thereafter Ariovistus all in one Summer This he writes in the second Book of the Gallick War Here were more than two Legions yet but one Consul In his fifth Book he says he invaded England with five Legions besides a vast number of Gauls Numidians and Balearians having left his Legate Labienus in Gaule with 3 Legions and three thousand Horse here a Consuls Legate commanded more Legions than two The most part of the time Caesar stay'd in Gaule he had ten Legions till Pompey and the Senate cheated him of two of them Petreius and Petreius and Afranius Pompey Afranius had seven Legions in Spain Pompey had eleven at Pharsalia besides a world of Auxiliaries and there Caesar had eight and at Brundusium when he was in pursuit of the flying Senate he had twelve Legions Thus we see that Great Caesar the most daring Consul that ever was thought not two Legions sufficient against any Enemy or in any War Before his time the two Consuls Marius and Scipio joyn'd their Armies together against the Cimbrians and Marius and Scipio as Florus tells us lost in the Battel eighty thousand Romans and forty thousand Servants and Baggage-men Sure in these two Consular Armies there were four Legions four times told And the same Author says that Mark Anthony the Triumvir entered Media with eighteen Legions and sixteen thousand Horse all these Consuls and their Legates liv'd long before Vegetius and I doubt not but he hath read all their stories but I shall lead him up to those times when his Of more ancient times Romans were not so powerful as to raise so numerous Legions and yet in them we shall see that the Consuls were not stinted to two Legions a piece as he hath very confidently declared they were Polybius saith that before the second Before the second Punick War Punick War the Romans had several hundred thousands in arms I hope then no man except our Author will say that every Consul had but two Legions allotted him In the Consulship of young Camillus the City being environed Young Camillus with enemies ten Legions were levied two of them were left for defence of Rome four were given to the Prator and Camillus took four to himself each consisting of 4 thousand two hundred Foot and three hundred Horse Thus we see not only that a Consular Army had four Roman Legions in it a thing denied by Vegetius but a Pretorian one had four to which our Author allows but one You may read this in Livy's Seventh Book and in that same place he tells us that the Consul Popilius Lenus marched with four full Legions against the enemy Popilius Lenus leaving a considerable army at Rome to wait on all hazards In his Sixth Book he saith old Camillus who defeated the Gauls marched with four Legions against Old Camillus the Volscians One instance more which may serve to decide the question if there were any the same Historian in his Second Book informs us that the Dictator Marcus Valerius levied and enrolled ten Legions whereof he gave Marcus Valerius three to every Consul and kept four to himself Observe that at that time the Latines were Allies and levied their proportions as many Foot as the Romans did and twice as many Horse if not more of both the one and the other Observe also that in those times the Roman Seignory was of no large extent for Livy speaking of these Levies of Valerius says so many Legions were never levied before he means never at one time These are sufficient enough to prove Vegetius to have been too confident when he said that never Roman Consul conducted more than two Roman Legions even against the most numerous Enemies But he is in no danger for all
this because he is supported by one who by his other writings hath made himself well enough known and that is Nicâ—l Machiavelli who in the third Book of his Art of War very magisterially tells Machiavelli his assertion us that the Allies Foot never exceeded that of the Romans but their Horse were some more I have spoken to both these in the last Chapter But he adds that the Romans in their greatest necessity never used more than two Consular Armies and that each of them consisted of twenty four thousand Combatants I hope the instances I have used against Vegetius in this same cause may serve sufficiently to confute Machiavelli But here I must observe the Florentines presumption in the modelling his Roman Consular Army First He makes every Legion to consist of five thousand five hundred Foot a thing we never heard from any other Author nor he from Vegetius who is constantly for six thousand one hundred Foot Next he makes the Cavalry of the Allies to be seven hundred for every Legion contrary to most Authors who make them but six But we shall let that pass with him that thereby he may make up his Consular Army of twenty four thousand men thus Two Confuted Roman Legions eleven thousand Foot Allies Foot as many these amount to twenty two thousand then six hundred Roman Horse and fourteen hundred of the Allies are two thousand Horse in all twenty four thousand Let this I say be given but not granted him why concludes he positively that two Consular Armies consisted of fifty thousand fighting men Where did the Secretary of Florence learn this Arithmetick to make fifty the aggregate of twice twenty four Yet if he be not guilty of more dangerous errors we may pardon him this But to return to Vegetius he gives me too oft just occasion to think that Lipsius wrong'd him not much when he said of him that he was Veterum rerum parum firmiter sciens Not throughly acquainted with ancient matters CHAP. XVII Of a Consular Army Marshall'd in the Field and of some general Officers belonging to it IN so important an affair upon the right or wrong managing of which depended the conservation or ruine not only of the Roman Armies but of the State Polybius affords us no more light than what he hath done in marshalling the Legionary Foot and if he be right in that we are to look for little or no help from Vegetius whose ordering of a Legion we have rejected only we admit what he says in the fifteenth Chapter of his second Book though thereby he contradicts himself that Equites locantur in cornibus The Horse are placed in the Wings But having in the several fore-going Chapters shown you how as far as any Authors have given us light the Foot were marshall'd of what number both they and the Horse were and how they were drawn up of what number the Allies were and how they were divided I suppose our business now is how to joyn them in one Body or Army and when it comes to a battel to observe what customes were used by the Romans and other Ancients Though as either occasion offer'd emergency required or necessity forced the Roman Captains used several figures and forms of Battels yet that which was most ordinary and most used was the quadrate or square but I do not at all mean an equilateral one as Terduzzi would gladly have it to be to which purpose he puts himself to more trouble than he needs and in doing so he shews Terduzzi over nice himself more an Engineer as I believe he was to Basta the Emperour Rodolph the Second's Captain General in Transilvania than a Marshal of a Field needs to be But I mean such a Quadrate or Square as the General of the Roman Army imagined that either the ground the posture of the Enemy or his own designs did or might prompt him to make But in regard we can say but little to Marshalling till we condescend of what and how many members ordinarily the Roman Armies were composed and though the numbers of both Roman and Allies Legions varied oft yet because for most part the Legion consisted of four thousand two hundred Foot and the Horse were three hundred and that ordinarily two Legions and six hundred Horse were sent to the Field with a Consul and that also for most part the Foot of the Allies was equal to that of the Romans and almost constantly they were double their number in Horse let us follow Polybius and say the Consular army consisted of sixteen thousand eight hundred Foot and eighteen hundred Horse in all eighteen thousand six hundred Neither do I think I can tell you better how a Roman Army was Marshall'd when it was to fight than to inform you how Scipio the Great or the African Roman Army Marshall'd by Scipio drew up his Army when he was to fight against Syphax and Asdrubal and that out of the Fourteenth Book of Polybius There the Historian tells us that the Roman Consul drew up his Foot in the Body or Battel first his Hastati next his Principes and thirdly his Triarii on the right wing were his Roman Horse and on the left his Numidians And here our Author in one word and once for all tells us that it was the constant custom of the Romans to Marshall their Armies in that fashion His words are Et in hoc Romanae Militiae consuetudinem simpliciter servavit And when the same Scipio fought against his redoubted enemy Hannibal he did the very like only with this alteration that he commanded his Legate Lâ—lius to command the Roman Cavalry on the left wing and set King Masanissa with his Numidian Horse on the right This one example may teach us how the Roman Armies were ordinarily Embatteled But here is no word of the Allies I suppose if Scipio had any as likely he had their Horse were join'd with the Roman Horse in one of the wings in both those Battels since the other wing at both times was given to the Auxiliary Numidians But where an Army was purely composed of Romans and Allies they Army of Romans and Allies Marshal'd together in the Field were Marshalled as we may gather out of Polybius his Sixth Book and other Authors in this manner the Roman six hundred Horse were placed on the right wing upon their left-hand the first Legion of the Allies Foot consisting of three thousand four hundred for eight hundred of it was taken out for Extraordinaries upon the left-hand of the Allies first Legion stood the first Roman Legion and next it the second and upon the left-hand of it was Marshalled the second Legion of the Allies and upon the left-wing stood the Confederates Cavalry to the number of eight hundred for four hundred of their twelve hundred were cull'd out for Extraordinaries Now those eight hundred Horse of the Allies were divided into twenty Turmes or Troops as the Roman six hundred Horse were
Physicians who were ordain'd for their cure He had the oversight of the Chariots Carts Waggons and Pack-horses of all the Mechanick Instruments for cutting and preparing Timber and Wood and Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance other matter for making Warlike Machines and the Engines themselves All this seems to make this Officer to be the Lieutenant-General of the Roman Artillery The Praefectus Fabrorum was he who most resembled our Modern Master of Praefectus Fabrorum or General of the Artillery the Ordnance or General of the Artillery for it was he who had the prime care of the Armamentarium or Magazine in which was ordinarily not only store of all kind of Arms and Engines for Expugnation and Propugnation of Towns and strong Holds but also of all kind of Instruments and Materials for making them and more particularly for the making up and defending their Hibernâ— or Winter-quarters in which were Shops for making all manner of Arms and Weapons both for offence and defence and under his Conduct were also all manner of Materials for making Bridges for which purpose little Boats were carried along with their Armies with Smiths Carpenters Joiners and other Artificers with those who had skill to work in Mines for though the Soldiers not only helpt but also perfected most of those works yet there were some deputed who had skill both to work themselves and to direct others Neither will this prove that the Roman Armies carried Pioniers along with them for these were the Soldiers but only that some Companies were deputed to whose more special care all these works were recommended and these were of a very old Institution in the reign of Serviâ—â— Tulliuâ— King of Rome for he appointed two Companies of Carpenters and Smiths for that purpose We read also frequently of Legates in Roman Armies at the first Institution there was but one and he was sent with the Consul to represent the Senate and people by whom he was chosen and sometime the Consul had power to â—huse his own â—â—gate He sat in Council with the Consul and gave his advice but neither he nor the whole Council might impose on the Consul who constantly kept a Negative voice and the Soveraign command over all In the Consuls absence the Legate commanded absolutely and before him went fix Lictors or Serjeants with Axes and Rods. But when the Consul returned the Legates command ceased In process of time there were two Legates ordain'd Legates for each Army and thereafter as many Legates as there were Legions over which they had the command according as Lipsius in the Second Book of his Commentary declares in which I shall not oppose him though I find no such thing in History I am sure neither Pompey nor Caesar had so many Legates as they had Legions either when they were present themselves or when they were absent Pompey had seven Legions in Spain and with them but two Legates these were Petreius and Aâ—ranius When Caesar was in England he had but one Legate with three Legions and a great Cavalry in Gaul and that was Labienus Nor do I find that either of those two great Captains had a Legate for each Legion that fought at Pharsalia In the time of the Emperours and perhaps in the reign of Augustus there was a Legate for every Province and it may be a Legate or more for every army besides In every Army there was a Questor he was the Treasurer kept the Casâ—â— Questor or Treasurer paid the Army distributed the Wheat to the Men and the Barley to the Hoâ—ses To him was delivered all the Pillage that was taken from the enemy eitherin Villages Towns or Camps He sold it all and out of the money gave either the Army their Wages or Donatives according as he had order from the Consul whose directions he was bound punctually to obey Though the power and command of a Dictator was uncontroulable in matters Dictator both of Peace and War yet in the fields his Authority was no greater than that of a Consul but yet there was this difference the first could not be call'd in question afterwards whereas the second might Where a Dictator was he chose his own Master of the Horse and though this title seems to import Master of the Horse that he who had it had no power over the Foot yet it was not so for under the Dictator he commanded both Horse and Foot and was in effect his Lieutenant-General Thus you have in this Discourse and in those of the Infantry and Cavalry a full account of all the Officers that I have read of in any Author that belonged to a Roman Army Though the Army which we have described in this and the foregoing Chapter had the name of a Consular Army and that Vegetius makes a Praetorian Army to be but half the number of the Consular one yet it is needless to bring Instances from History to prove that greater arâ—â—es than these consisting of four Legions have been commanded not only by Confuls but by â—roâ—â—â—â—uls Prâ—tors and Proprators in several of the Roman Wars The chief Commander of the army when he was to march from the City The Consuls state when he went to any Expedition was obliged to sacrifice in the Capitol and there to take his Auspices the foreboding Omens or as Philemon Holland calls them the Osses of his good fortune in that Expedition and then he rode out of the City in great state and splendor Paludatus in a glorious and rich Embroidered Coat of Arms convoyed by a gallant company of his choicest friends with his Lictors or Serjeants before him with Axes and bundles of Rods the ordinary number whereof if the General was a Consul was twelve These solemn Rites Ceremonies and Customs might not be neglected if they were the Generals had neither the prayers and good wishes of the people nor the willing obedience of their armies Caius Claudius going to Illyria went from Rome in the night-time without any solemnity but so soon as he came to his army he found his Soldiers in a mutiny which though he punisht severely enough yet he found himself necessitated not only to go back to Aquileia but to return to Rome it self there to make his Vows sacrifice and go out of the City in pomp according to the accustomed manner But for all we have said of Roman armies we see not yet where the Velites Velites neglected were marshall'd nor how they fought we must believe that which is most probable that they were marshall'd behind the Triarii and that they marched through the Intervals of the heavy armed to the Van and fought there till they did either beat the enemy or were beaten by him back to the Reer If any desire to see the figure of a Consular army he may meet with one of them in Terduzzi his Book of the ancient and modern Machines and another in Lipsius his Commentary on Polybius each after the fancy
Consul was to storm a Wedg and yet it was a Phalange condensed only smaller at the point than at the rest of its dimensions And he might have call'd it a Testudâ— or Tortoise if he had pleased for they stood all covered with their Shields and great Targets which representing the Tortoise covered with its shell gave that figure of Battel its denomination The Globe-battel was a Batallion that appear'd to be of a round figure and Globe or Ring-figure if it was perfectly round the English have worded it well in calling it a Ring I find it oftner mention'd in modern than in ancient stories I should think those who use it were on the defensive for men standing in a perfect Globefigure can neither pursue nor run away without breaking their order and figure of their Battel and so unglobe or unring themselves Mr. Elton gives us its figure and tells us right ingeniously how it is made but sure it is not feasible for great bodies to cast themselves into that figure I incline to their opinion who think it was but a Wedg of a lesser body and being smaller seem'd more Circular And I the rather think so because Caesar in his Books of the Alexandrinâ— War says that Domitius one of his Legates sav'd a Legion by casting it in a Ring when the rest of his Army was routed at Nicopâ—lis by Pharnaces for if that Legion had been in a perfect round figure it could not have retir'd as it did from him who by his victory was master of the Field The Tenaille Tongs or Shears was nothing but the reverse of the Wedg Tenaille or â—ongs and was to be used only against it for whereas the Wedg was sharp at the point to pierce any Batallion that stood against it so the Tenaille open'd its arms to receive and embrace the Wedg having its bulk notwithstanding behind to oppose it if it could not be broke by the arms of the Tenaille And a Squadron may very soon cast it self in a Tenaille either by advancing its two flanks the Body standing â—ied ferme or yet by making the middle part against which the point of the Wedg prepares retire a little both the flanks standing still either the one or the other way makes the Squadron a Tenaille The Saw was a great Batallion composed of several Squadrons all marshalled The Saw in the form of Wedges the angular points of which Wedges represented the teeth of the Saw and the Bodies of the several Wedges standing in a direct line represented the body of the Saw Some have writ that the several Maniples of a Roman Legion did represent the Saw taking the Bodies of the Maniples for the Teeth and the Intervals for the body of the Saw But how could that be for the Bodies of the Maniples and the several Intervals between these Bodies were all of one equal front and so are not the teeth and body of a Saw and unless these Maniples had been made a little sharper at the front than of either ten or twelve men the resemblance would not have holden We do not read that the Romans used it at all CHAP. XIX Of some Customes used by the Romans and other Ancient Nations before in the time of and after their Battels THe Grâ—cians sung a Hymn and a Paan both before and after their Battels but before they begun unless they were surprized they offer'd Sacrifices Sacrifices to such of their Gods and Goddesses as either they hoped would be for them or feared might be against them The inspection of the Entrails of the sacrificed Beasts was an ordinary thing with the Greeks as all their Historians tell us nor was this custome peculiar to them for the Enemy of Mankind was worshipp'd by the Romans and other Nations as well as by the Grecâ—ans Before the Romans came to the Battel they were somewhat nice in observing how the Sacred Pullets did eat their allowance which furnish'd a fair occasion to the Chicken-masters to usurp a power to perswade or disswade the Consuls from fighting when they pleased Instead of these in our Modern Wars before the Battel the Turk with great devotion attends the sight of the new Moon and both he and other Mahometans howl loud enough to their Impostor who is otherwise so taken up that he hath no leisure to hear their habblings Christiaâ—s either humbly offer or should humbly offer the Sacrifices of their Prayers to the True God who gives Victory to whom he pleaseth In the Primitive times they sung a Paan and a Hymn Crux Vâ—cit After the Heathens thought they had made their Deities propitious their Chieftains labdured to encourage their Armies with good Words Speeches Orations and Promises of Rewards Their Speeches were sometimes premeditated and sometimes extemporary The Roman Generals used to harangue Harangues their Armies when they were to promalgate new Ordinances to punish grievous Crimes or to fight with an Enemy sometimes in the Camp and sometimes in the Field And all this was also done by other Nations though it may be not so well When the Roman Generals resolv'd either to fight or offer Battel they caus'd The Scarlet â—r Purple Coat of Arms. a Scarlet or Purple Coat of Arms to be hung upon the point of a long Spear at their Praetorium or Pavilion and this was Signum Pugna the sign of Battel and then every one prepar'd himself for his proper work But before that for most part the Souldiers had direction to refresh themselves with Sleep and Meat and this indeed was well done of them but they were not the only Refreshment men who did it other Nations used it particularly we read that Hannibal practis'd it at Treâ—ia for there he order'd his Army the night before he fought to take their rest and refreshment and next morning set upon the Romans when they were fasting to which Livy in his twenty first Book mostly attributes his Victory After these things the Army was marshall'd in the Field whereof I have already spoken sufficiently Being ready to come to the shock the Tessera or Word was given which The Tessera or Word all both Officers and Common Souldiers received that by it they might know one another and so discern an Enemy The Tessera was either one Word or one Sentence as Foelicitas Libertas Venus Genetrix one of Julius Caesar's Optima Mater given by Nero The worst of Sons Among the Emperours after their conversion to the Faith Deus Nobiscum God with us was ordinary and so it continues to be often used among the German Danish and Swedish Armies Next to the Word was the Shout and this either was not or should not be raised till the Armies were at that distance that they could immediately come to blows This was done to encourage their own men Baritus or shout and terrifie their Enemies Livius in his fourth Book informs us that where this cry or shout was very loud
by conversion or facing to the Rear by themselves and the other two Batallions in that same manner were to second them What I have said of one Legion is spoken of all the four of a Consular Army the two Roman Legions and the two of the Allies But in Polybius his description of the march of a Consular Army there arise Some difficulties and doubts concerning the march of the Baggage to me some difficulties which Lipsius hath not at all clear'd nay nor spoken â—f though he speak enough of that which may be well enough understood without him As first consider how it can be imagin'd that the ground would always allow the Romans to march in the order I last spoke of that is every great Batallion of a Legion to have its Baggage in the Van of it For by such Not at all clear'd by Polybius or any other a March in a Countrey full of Hedges Ditches and Inclosures it is not possible but their Legions would be wonderfully embarass'd with their Servants Horses and Baggage neither could the three Batallions of every Legion or of all the three upon the attack of an Enemy make their evolutions from among their Baggage so dextrously and readily but they might by an active pursuer be brought to inextricable difficulties I am therefore of opinion that Time hath robb'd us of a page or two of Polybius his Writings which would have explain'd this and have made us know his own sense better than either Lipsius or Tâ—rduzzi doth The last of these two doth wonderfully please himself in affirming that an Army should always march in that very order wherein he who commands it resolves to fight Here he fights with his own shadow for I suppose none will deny that an Army should march in Batallions great Bodies Brigades and Squadrons yea all in Breast if the ground will permit it But if not then I hope Terduzzi will permit a General to march in such Bodies small or great as with conveniency he can But what if I deny to Terduzzi the thing it self for I dare aver never Roman Chieftain intended to fight an Enemy in that order as Polybius makes the Consular Army to march For who will fancy the Hastati fought with their Baggage before them or that the Principes advanced to the relief of the Hastati through their own Waggons and Carts But grant him all he says to be true what is that to the thing in question which is whether the ordering the Baggage to march between the several Batallions of a Legion was conducible to obtain the great and main end and scope of all Armies which is to overcome an Enemy And since I think it was not I am still of the opinion that Polybius his right meaning is not yet fully elucidated to us either by himself or any other person whatsoever And I will deal yet more freely I do not well or rather not at all understand Roman Souldiers carried all their own Baggage what is meant by the Baggage of the several Batallions of Hastati Principes and Triarii for what belonged to the Souldiers was carried on their own backs if all be true that we have told you formerly except their Tents and their Hand-mills and these I think might with little loss have taken their hazard in the Rear of every Legion nay of the whole Army if the Enemy was expected in the Van or they might securely enough have been sent to the Van if the Enemy was in the Rear So as still Polybius his dividing the Baggage of a Legion into three parts and putting a third before every Batallion is mysterious to me Lipsius stands gazing and admiring at the excellent order of the Roman march and crys out Mira eorum hic Providentia Dispositio Their Providence and Order here saith he was wonderful But I wonder much more that this Order of theirs did not sometime bring mischief upon them For first you are to believe that the daring Romans for most part sought their Enemies who in that case could not but be in their Van either marching to mete them or marching away from them If the Enemy marched to meet them the Roman Baggage either before the Legion it self or between the several Bodies of it could not but give them those inevitable embarasses and inconveniences whereof I have spoken If an Enemy marched from them why did so prudent a people as the Romans were make their own Baggage a hinderance to them in overtaking that Enemy in whose pursuit they marched For let any man consider it right the Great Baggage that is the Artillery Engines and Machines or the stuff whereof they were to be made their spare Arms the Shops where and Utensils wherewith they were made the Consuls Pavilions and great Baggage the Treasurers train of Moneys and Proviant and many times of Plunder would take up so much ground between the several Legions and Troops that without these hinderances a Consular Army might have joyn'd an Enemy in less time by half then it could do with them which Caesars speedy march from Gâ—rgâ—via after the Aeduans without Baggage did sufficiently demonstrate What advantages the Nervians proposed to themselves by the manner of the March of the Roman Baggage between Legions and sure these advantages had been greater if every Batallion of a Legion had had its Baggage in the Van of it will be known to any who will attentivâ—â—y read Câ—sars Second Book of the Gallick Waâ— for they having learn'd how the Romans us'd to march resolv'd to set upon his first Legion whilest its Baggage gave a stop to the â—est to come up to its assistance Câ—sar who was as happy as prudent and as prudent as fortunate learn'd their design by his Spies and presently alter'd the manner of his Countries March He commands his Cavalry to set forward and after it six Legions and after them the Baggage of his whole Army and in the Rear-guard two Legions more If he had not done so he might have receiv'd a notable yea an indelible affront from that stout and warlike Nation which as it was left him not the Field without a very bloody resistance Nor was this the only time Câ—sar did so though it is the only time mention'd by Lipsius and Terduzzi for when he advanc'd with four Legions against the Bellâ—vaci he caus'd three Legions to march first then the Baggage which his fourth Legion followed Perhaps he practis'd this more frequently though it is not often mentioned And in all his Retreats he ever sent his whole Baggage to the Van of his Army Thus you see Great Câ—sar who lived long after Polybius did not tye himself so strictly to the custome of the Roman March but he both could and did alter it according as he thought it stood with the conveniency of his affairs and so should all prudent Captains do But I cannot get one view of the Velites in all this March and here our Authors
points and especially in the last For upon the one hand I think it agrees with reason that the Praetorian Port should have been nearest the Enemy as out of which the Army was to march in quest of that Enemy and no doubt the Consul would chuse to lodge as near the Enemy as he could and on the head of that Army of his own which faced constantly towards the Enemy since he did not quarter in the middle of his Army And conform to this we find the fronts of Reasons for Lipsius the several quarters of both Horse and Foot that were lodged in the inferiour part of the Camp to face all towards the Praetorium and Via Principalis on the other side whereof were the Tribunes quartered Neither doth it seem reasonable that the Consul and his Tribunes quartered in the Rear of the Camp for so they must have done if they had lodged so far from the Praetorian Port out of which the Army was to march And all this makes for Lipsius his position of the Roman Camp Yet I must tell you that on the other hand I think Steuechius may not only alledge his own Author Vegetius to be for him but Polybius likewise Let us hear them both I shall English them faithfully Vegetius in the twenty third Chapter of his first Book says The Decuman Port is behind the Praetorium out of which the delinquent Souldiers are carried to their punishment Behind the Praetorium that is not far from Reasons for Steuechius it And this insinuates that the aspect of the Praetorium or Consuls Pavilion was towards the furthest end of the Camp where Steuechius will have the Praetorian Port to be For if Vegetius had meant that the further end of the lower part of the Camp was the place where the Decuman Port was he needed not have said it was behind the Praetorium but behind all the quarters of the Legions as Lipsius makes it to be And Polybius in his sixth Book speaking of that nameless street which traverseth the upper region of the Camp hath these words and I pray observe them Over against the Praetorium saith he there is a street which carrieth to the Postern parts of the Camp Here he seems to be very clear for Steuechius if he be not hear him once more He had been speaking of the extraordinary Horse of the Allies and he adds these words Averse from these Horses are quarter'd the Extraordinary Foot of the Allies looking to the back of the Camp Now these Extraordinaries were quarter'd in the upper part of the Camp and not far from the Praetorium and faced to the Rampart which by this place of Polybius was the back of the Camp and consequently the Port nearest it was the Decuman I shall leave it to those who understand Castrametation better than I either do or profess to do to compose the difference But all four Lipsius Du Preissac Terduzzi and Steuechius differ from their Both of them differ in some things from Polybius Master Polybius for he expressly mentions a Forum or Market place and quarters for two Legates to be all in the upper region of the Camp The Forum Lipsius hath not in his Figure though it be mention'd in his Table nor have Preissac or Terduzzi one in theirs a great oversight in all three Steuechius hath indeed the Forum on the Left hand of the Praetorium but for that he exterminates both the Legates out of his Camp to whom the other three are so hospitable as to afford Lodging and yet all four are one way or another inexcusable The Romans allowed Tents both to their Horse men and Foot in every Roman Tents Tent were ten men and those had the name of a Contubernium whereof I spoke before though Vegetius makes it to consist of eleven wherein I believe few joyn with him By this account three Tents serv'd all the Horse-men of one Troop and twelve serv'd a Maniple of Foot of one hundred and twenty Men. I find their Tents were made of Leather for holding out of rain and were carried at the publick charges Terduzzi says they were low and flat and he calls them in his Italian language Trabacche which is Booths or Shelters In this place Lipsius offers to fill up a corner of their Tent with a Vas so he calls it a Vessel or a Tub and indeed it is but the tale of a Tub to say no worse of it wherein he will have the Roman Souldiers to do the work of nature He says it is but his own conjecture and truly it is so poor a one that he might have kept it to himself and the Tub too For who will imagine except Lipsius that the Contubernals did make one of these Vessels at every nights Leaguer or else that they carried it about with them by turns the first very improbable and the second exceedingly ridiculous He might have learn'd of the Jews and all late Castrametators too to have sent them for such an errand a pretty way without the Camp The same Lipsius and to second him Terduzzi are very prolix in the commendation of the regularity form conveniency and order of this Camp of which a man is oblig'd to believe no more than what agreeth with his own reason Among other things the first of them will have us believe that no woman was suffer'd in the Roman Camps And because he foresaw that it Women in Roman Camps might be objected that Scipio the Numantine in his Reformation of Military Discipline discharged the Camp of all Whores from whence it might be inferr'd First That married Women were still kept in the Camp and Secondly That Whores had been permitted to be in it before Scipio's Reformation he boldly avers that the Latine word Scorta in that place is not taken for Whores but for Viri mulierosi Whether the word will admit that interpretation Lipsius extraâ—agant I dare not dispute with Lipsius whom Boccalini stageth in Parnassus confessing that he was nothing but a meer and a pure Grammarian But I cannot understand what he means by his Viri Mulierosi if not those whom we call Sodomites or Buggerers And if so we may infer that these were either allow'd of or conniv'd at before Scipio reform'd that sinful abuse And this perhaps gave occasion to a Poets wish Romanis utinam patuissent castra puellis Since Natures Laws must be obey'd or men will go astray Why do you women then command out of your Camps to stay And if this be Lipsius his meaning then I am sure the ancient Romans who gloried so much in the profession of moral Vertues owe him the lye I suppose he forgot here what a little before he had told us in that same Book out of Tacitus that a lascivious woman was found in carnal act with a Souldier in the principal street which was accounted Holy because their Altars were erected in it neither did the Historian complain that a woman was in the Camp or
quantity of ground was always kept by the ancient Romans and by the Castrametators in Lipsius his own days who would have laughed at this fancy of his and is still kept to this day Neither could Lipsius allow less ground for the Velites than the half of that which the heavy armed had and that was rather too little so that of necessity fifty foot must have been taken from the Alarm-place for their bad accommodation Now this cannot be done without reflecting on Polybius who if he had intended any such thing would have allowed only one hundred and fifty and not two hundred foot for the breadth of the Alarm place which the Ancients called Pomâ—rium Next how can you call that the place of Arms for the heavy armed where the light armed have taken up their lodgings and pitched their Tents Besides all this Polybius is very positive that the Extraordinaries of the Allies should lodge nearest the Rampart at the Prâ—torian Port the place of Arms being only between them and it the heavy armed Roman Foot at the Decuman and the Sâ—cii at the two side Ports which could not be if the Velites were interposed between them and these Ports and Ramparts And Lipsius might likewise have remembred that one of the reasons why Polybius would have two hundred Foot of void ground between the Rampart and the Souldiers Tents was that the Souldiers by that distance might be safe from Darts or Arrows thrown or shot in the night time by an Enemy over the Rampart Unless Lipsius thought that the Velites receiving these Darts and Arrows in their Bodies did serve as a second Retrenchment to the heavy armed So be Lipsius his conjecture right or be it wrong he may own it himself and own it indeed he must for he cannot father it on Polybius The third conjecture is of Terduzzi who will have the Velites to be quarter'd Third Conjecture without the Camp in the procâ—stria or Suburbs of it and to bear them company he sends out with them all the Merchants Victuallers and Sutâ—ers I think this the plainest language of all for within he saw it was impossible to lodge them But I admire what pretext of authority he hath out of History Conâ—â—ted for this opinion all he says is that in time of danger they were receiv'd again within the Camp but he puts us just where we were the question being still where they were quarter'd when they were receiv'd within the Camp For we read that the Romans were often besieged within their Camps for some considerable time so was the Consul L. Minutids till he was reliev'd by the Dictator A. Cincinnatus so was Cicero one of Câ—sar's Legates by Ambiorix and himself likewise forc'd by that same Enemy to keep some days within his Camp Where were the Vâ—lites lodged all this while And I pray you observe that but just now Terduzzi assur'd us that within the Camp was quarter'd the Consular Army of sixteen thousand eight hundred Foot and eighteen hundred Horse and of that number he now sends four thousand eight hundred out of the Camp for want of quarter within it not to come back till time of danger His own words are Ricevendoli dentro solo in tempo di pericolo Receiving them within says he only in time of danger Here I am either mistaken or Terduzzi besides the improbability of his conjecture foully contradicts himself Thus we see the poor Velites very ill used for if you will remember what Velites Individua Vaga I have observed of them in the preceding Chapters and in this you will think with me that they were marshall'd and fought I know not how they marched I know not when and they were quarter'd I know not where I shall not imagine for all that that they were Spirits but I think it may be disputed Problematically whether they were Individua Vaga or not And so I take my leave of them In the third place I find in this Castrametation no more place or ground allowed Thirdly Officers lodged like common Souldiers for Centurions Decurions Ensign and Standard-bearers than for the common Troopers and Souldiers and this confirms me in that opinion whereof I have oft told you that the Romans had no greater esteem of any Officer below a Tribune than we have of Corporals and Lancespesats Terduzzi affirms they had more room I wish he had told us how or where for among the Turmes and Maniples they had no more than private Souldiers and Riders for any light he or any other hath given us Now all these defects proceed from the flim flam conceit of an equilateral All these defects soon helped Square whereas all might have been very well accommodated in a Camp of an oblong Figure in adding more rows to the Latitude of the Camp and keeping the same Longitude And the not doing this I attribute to the obstinacy of these I have so often mention'd Lipsius Preissac Steuechius and Terduzzi and some others of their gang who will rather lose 4800 men than an equilateral Figure for I must advertise my Reader that their Master Polybius doth not only permit an addition to the Latitude but to the Longitude of his Camp Si magis copiosa sint Legiones pro ratâ ad Longitudinem Latitudinem Roman Camps might be of several figures adjiciunt If the Legions be more numerous accordingly they add to both the length and the breadth And Vegetius tells us in the eighth Chapter of his third Book Pro necessitate loci vel quadrata vel trigonâ— vel rotunda vel oblong a castra constitues According says he to the necessity or site of the place you may make your Camp Quadrate Triangular Round or Oblong And in another place he saith Semi-circular But for this Figure I should think it were requisite to have behind the Camp either a Fortified Town a Marish or an unfordable River and guarded with a Bridge We may imagine that the Camp of the Israelites after they had cross'd the Red Sea dry shod was the most orderly as being directed by the allâ—wise God who is the Soveraign Lord of Hosts and we find both their Exteriour and Interiour Camps were quadrangular For we read in the truest of Books that in Quartering three Tribes fac'd towards the East three towards the South three towards the West and three towards the North. And within that vast Leaguer was an inward one consisting of the Levites who encamped also en Carree facing East South West and North. These were the Guards of the Lords Ark. Yet being that the Sacred Text tells us that all these Tribes were not of equal strength and number it must follow that those who were most numerous had most ground allowed them and consequently more rows of Tents and more room for their Beasts and Baggage and therefore the form of the whole Camp could not be Square but oblong And here I shall also say that the manner of the Israelites Encamping
and Castrametation did more resemble our form whereof we shall speak in its proper place than the Roman for we find the Ark of God who was the Conductor and Great General of that Army lodged in the Center and middle of the whole Camp About it the Levites who were honoured to be its Guards and without them and about them the other Tribes as they were marshalled by Moses the man of God And as they were Encamped so we read they Marched First the Ensign of Judah and under it three Tribes Next the Ensign of Reuben and under it three Tribes After them marched the Levites in the middle of the Army and in the center of them the Ark After them came the Ensign of Ephraim under which were three Tribes and in the last place marched the Ensign of Dan and under it three Tribes The Rampart and Ditch of the Roman Camp as to both the ends of it were made and defended by the two Roman Legions and the Allies were obliged to fortifie and maintain both the sides of this Consular Camp of which I have spoken perhaps more than enough See the Figures of Lipsius Steuâ—chius and the Lord Preissac CHAP. XXII Of Guards Watches Watch-word and Rounds IF this Camp though never so strongly fortified be not carefully guarded it will be but a prey to a resolute Enemy Both the Roman and Grecjan Guards were as ours are of both Horse and Foot the difference is this they had several Guards for the day and the night ours continue twenty four hours unless some emergency alter the custome You have the Roman Guards expressed by three several words common in Authors and though all three signified Guards in some sense yet if I mistake not with submission to others these three several words signified three several things Excubiâ— Vigilia and Stationes were the three words Excubia I conceive signified the men who Excubiâ— what kept Guard and Sentinel Vigilia the several distinct times in which they were to keep Guard and Sentinel And Stationes were the places where they kept Guard and Sentinel which we call ordinarily Posts The Ancients divided the night Summer and Winter beginning at six at night and ending at six in the morning into four Vigilia or Watches allowing three hours to every Vigilia what Watch after which time the Night-guards were relieved by the day ones for we read not of any Vigilia in the day time From hence we have in all ancient stories the actions of the night season describ'd by the first second or third hour of the first second third or fourth Vigil And so the Knights of old and some yet Knighthood being a Military Order were to keep their Vigils on the Eve before they received that Order Statiâ— is a word that comes Stationâ—â— what a stando from standing and is as I said taken for a Post yet the denomination is not from the place where but the manner how they watched and the posture is said to be standing Yet it is not to be thought that all the Roman Guards stood only the Sentinel for the other three that were on a Post lay down and slept Whether their Horse-guards stood constantly their Riders being on Horse-back Authors make it not clear I suppose it was only the Sentinels yet probably it was otherwise And because it was an extream fatigue either in the heat of Summer or cold of Winter we read in Lavy's 45 Book that the Consul Lucius Aemiliâ—s in the Macedonian War order'd the Horse-guards to be relieved at noon so the day from six in the morning till six at night was equally divided by two several guards of Horse I know not whether the Foot-Guards were also changed it seems not else the Historian had mentioned it and if not that Consul hath had a more tender regard to Horse than Men. The Military word Station hath since been appropriated to all other professions yea and to all other Trades be they never so mechanick and low yea to all Magistrates and Office-bearers how high soever even to him who is vested with the Soveraign and Supreme Power So that every man in his Station is a word now proper enough The Ancients kept Guards both without and within their Camps Within Roman Guards within the Camp the Romans order'd a Maniple to watch at the Praetorium or Consuls quarters day and night Three Quaternions of Souldiers watched at the Treasury two at the Legates quarters and two for every Tribune and one was appointed to look to the quarters of every Maniple all these were of the Principes and Hastati for the Triarii kept Guards at the Horse-quarters Every hundred foot of the Rampart had a Quaternion of Souldiers to guard it The reason why these Guards were called Quaternions was because each of them consisted of four Souldiers that were ordered for one Sentinel which they kept by turns We find these Military terms of the Romans used by the Pen-men of the New Testament In the twelfth Chapter of the Acts of the Apostles it is said that Herod delivered St. Peter to be guarded by four Quaternions of Souldiers that is to four Guards each composed of four Souldiers every one of which Quaternions or Guards was to keep a Centinel upon him The Quaternio or the four Soldiers was to watch full twelve hours every one of A Quaternion what them a Vigil to wit three hours and it is to be presumed one of them stood Centinel one whole Vigil because they could not well by their Glass divide a Vigil of three hours into four several parts and truly that was too long for in four hours time a Centinel might very readily have been both weary and sleepy For any thing I yet know the Guards without the Camp were only kept in Roman Guards without their Camp the day time and before every Port of it a Cohort of Foot and a Troop of Horse watched but when an enemy was near their Stations or Guards were doubled tripled or quadrupled according as the danger seem'd to require This saith Terduzzi was an easie duty because says he there were forty Cohorts and forty Troops in the four Legions and therefore he thinks they watched but every tenth night But he did not consider how many Guards were Mistake of Terduzzi kept within the Leaguer for if he had he might have concluded that the Foot ordinarily watched every fourth night and when the Guards were doubled or tripled the Duty would come upon them every second if not every other day The Consul or General appointed the Stations or places where Guards should be kept without the Camp which in reason ought to have been so order'd that they might have had succours according to the necessity or exigence of affairs and therefore you may find that Caesar when he caused his Guards to advance nearer the enemy and further from his own Camp he still commanded fresh Troops and Cohorts to be brought out to
give Conditions and Articles which you may find in the Twenty sixth Chapter of the Modern Art of War I know not whether Amilcar Hannibals father dealt candidly when he Treated and Capitulated with Spendius and Antaritus the Ring-leaders of the Carthaginian Amilcar taxed revolted Mercenaries and made it an Article that it should be in the power of the Senate of Carthage to chuse any ten of the Rebels they pleased and to dispose of them as they thought good and when this was agreed to he immediately seized on them two as two of these ten Sure if they had thought they had been in that danger they had never sign'd a paper tending so directly to their own destruction and therefore that Article was sign'd against the intention of the Capitulators and so perhaps was void in Law Amilcar made also choice of the Ten himself and not the Senate which was against the Letter of the Capitulation The Athenian General Paches had besieged Notium and invited An execrable villany Hippias who was Commander in chief within the Town to come out and speak with him promising faithfully if they did not agree at the Treaty to send him back in safety but did not tell him when The foolish Governour came out Paches immediately storms the secure City takes it and puts most that were within it to the sword but would needs keep his word to Hippias and therefore lends him back to the Town where he was no sooner arrived but by order of the execrable Paches he is shot to death with Arrows This treachery in seeking and laying hold on occasion to break Treaties and Articles was is and ever will be a monstrous crime crying to Heaven for vengeance The Sons of Saul paid dear for their fathers breach to the Gibeonites who with mouldy bread and Joshuah his Piety clouted shooes had cunningly cheated Joshuah to treat with them and give them conditions which notwithstanding he resolved for his Oaths sake Religiously to observe But those examples of Spendius and Antaritus of Carthage and Hippias of No Commanders in chief should Parley in person Notium should teach all Generals and Commanders in chief of whatever quality they are whether in field or Town not to parley in person for if contrary to Parol promise faith Oath or Hostages they be either kill'd or made Prisoners then the Army Town or Castle which they commanded stand for a time amazed which gives a fair opportunity to the deceitful enemy who hath prepar'd himself for it to fall upon them and put them in a fearful confusion if not totally to rout them before they can recollect themselves Julius Caesar I confess had an advantage in his personal parley in Spain with Afranius and Petreius because by his presence and the justifying his cause in his own excellent language and his promises not only of fair quarter but of entertainment he debaucht most of their Army But these very reasons which made his parley with them justifiable render'd their meeting with him in presence of the Soldiers of both Armies which Caesar would needs have altogether inexcusable And indeed Pompey refused on good grounds all parley with Caesar at Dirrachium But there was no such cause of Caesars Personal parley with Ariovistus King of Germany at which I suppose he was made sensible of his error for though he thought he had made the meeting cock-sure on a little hill situated in the midst of a large Plain where no ambushes could be laid and none were to approach that Plain but himself and the barbarous King each of them accompanied with ten Caesars danger by it Horsemen and he had made choice of ten of the gallantest of his Legionaries to be with himself all mounted on good Gallick Horses but notwithstanding all these cautions the Treaty and parley was broke of not without visible signs of treachery And the same Caesar gives a Caveat to all Commanders in chief either of Armies or parts of Armies or of Cities or Castles not to parley in person when he tells us the sad story how he lost one full Legion and five Cohorts of another by the simple folly of his Legate Sabinus first in believing the Intelligence of Ambiorix a profest enemy and next in going in person with his His great loss by it principal Officers to treat and parley with the same Ambiorix upon the bare word or parol of a faithless Barbarian by whom he and his Officers were immediately kill'd and then their forces presently after put to the Sword And take take here a perfidious trick of a Roman at a Parley Comius a Gallick Prince had not been very faithful to Rome Caesars Legate Labienus appoints one Volusenus to Parley with Comius the Gaul having got the accustom'd assurances came to the place where Volusenus by order from Labienus as out of friendship took him by the hand but held it fast till one of his Centurions gave him a deep Perfidy of a Roman Legat. wound on the head but it not proving mortal Comius escaped and swore thereafter never to trust a Roman If Caesar had either cut off his Legates head or according to the Roman custom used in such cases deliver'd him over to the incensed Gauls for this treacherous act then the same Labienus had not afterward perfidiously deserted himself and run over to Pompey Sempronius Gracchus being betray'd by his Host left his command and being Proconsul went in person to Parley with some Carthaginians from the result whereof he expected Gracchus kill'd at a Parley Scipio the African question'd for his Parley with Syphax great matters but he never return'd for he was environ'd and kill'd with all his retinue Scipio the African though an accomplisht Captain no doubt forgot his duty when he left his charge in Spain and went to Africk to treat with Syphax in the midst of an Army and at that time accompanied by Asdrubal a profest enemy to the Roman name and Nation having no assurance for his safety but the word of a Prince whom Scipio himself accounted barbarous And though he escaped that hazard yet did he not escape the severe reproof of Great Fabius who to his face and in full Senate charged him with this inexcusable oversight in very rough and bitter language as you may read in Livies Thirtieth Book Nor do I look on the personal Parley between the same Scipio and the famous Hannibal before their last Battel at Zama but as an extravagant action of two such renowned Chieftains The Enterviews of Kings and Soveraign Princes have seldom prov'd fortunate or gain'd those advantages to either party that were expected But this Discourse belongs to another Chapter To conclude the apprehension of bad quarter and the fear of the breach of Promises and Articles and the suspicion of ill usage hath made many refuse Desperate ways to prevent bad Quarter all quarter reject all Treaties and distrust all Articles and Agreements and by a
to be these which follow in his observation of the advantages and disadvantages of both The Phalanx being compos'd of sixteen Ranks and of one thousand twenty First advantage of the Phalange four Files of lusty well armed men and at its closest Order or Constipation so long as it is able to preserve its â—orce it bears down all before it for at that posture every Combatant takes up but one foot and a half of ground and suppose their Pikes but eighteen foot long whereas the Sarissas were twenty one of length you may easily compute the points of the fifth Rank or if you will of the sixth Rank to extend three foot before the first Rank of all which I have spoken enough in my Discourses of the Gracian Militia Now though all the Ranks behind the sixth are useless as to the presenting their Pikes or wounding an Enemy yet by the weight and strength of their Bodies they assist the impression of the first six Ranks help the charge to be more forcible and take away all possibility from those that are before them to turn their backs upon the Enemy But this Phalange must have such a Its first disadvantage ground that it may open and close at pleasure and that ground must be plain and even without the encumbrances of Woods Trees Bushes Hedges Ditches Enclosures rising Hills and hollow grounds for any of these is sufficient to disorder it in its parts and that being once done an Enemy with little or no danger may enter at the void places of that great Body when it is disjoyned and Sword-men being once within the points of the Pikes the Pike-men are a prey to them especially to the Roman Legionaries who besides short Swords carried likewise Semispathâ— which I English Daggers Now saith Polybius such a Champaign such a Field as we have described not being to be found every where the Phalange must of necessity stay where it hath meâ— with such a ground and march from it and accept of such as time place or occasion offers as all Armies must do If the first then hath an Enemy free liberty to make himself Master of the Countrey to besiege and force Towns and take all other manner of advantages If the second and that the Field prove improper for the Phalange then the Enemy takes the advantage of the ground enters at the void places and having so dis-array'd it quickly overthrows it Next Polybius grants that the Phalange hath the advantage of the Legion in this that three foot being Its second advantage allowed between two Legionaries whereof I have spoke in my discourse of Intervals and but half so much to two Phalangites When they are both to fight it follows that every Legionary had two Phalangites in front of him and consequently twelve Pikes presented to him for it is already granted that the points of the Pikes of the sixth Rank might be extended before the first Rank so by this account there were twelve men against one an advantage in nature irresistible But on the other part the Phalangites could not fight in Maniples â—ohorts or small Bodies for being Its second disadvantage separated or divided they were quickly broken The Legionaries were so Aâ—med and that they could fight any way either in a great or small Body or Man to Man at any time or in any place let the incumbrances be what they will Let us resume all this and say in one word Polybius prefers the Legion to the Phalange because the essential propriety of the Phalange was to fight close together and so long as it was able to keep so it was able to bear down the Legion but sure it could but seldome keep in one entire body the Legion by its order and constitution being apt to fight in small or little Bodies and to divide according to opportunities and emergencies could readily enter at the void places of the Phalange whether these were in the Van Rear or Flanks and overthrow it as often it did I shall presume to add two other advantages that I think the Legion had of A Legions third advantage over the Phalange the Phalange which Polybius hath not mentioned The first The Phalange fought all in one Body the Legion in three Bodies successively one after another so that if the Hasâ—aâ—â— charged briskly they might put the great Body of the Phalange in some disorder and they retiring the Principes finding it in some discomposure might disorder it so that the Triarii coming fresh to the charge might have a very cheap market of it The second advantage which I conceive the Legion had of the Phalange A Legions fourth advantâ—ge was in its larger Front which I offer to make appear thus The great Phalange consisted of sixteen thousand three hundred eighty four heavy armed these marshall'd sixteen deep and so their Front consisted of one thousand twenty four men to whom you are to allow one thousand twenty four foot for them to stand on when they were to fight they had no more but one foot and a half allow'd between Files and therefore for one thousand twenty four Files allow one thousand twenty three distances and for these fifteen hundred thirty four foot and a half add these the aggregate is two thousand five hundred fifty eight foot and a half thus much ground and no more did the Phalange take up in its Longitude when it was to fight The Legion was composed of three Bodies who were marshall'd one behind another The Hastati had the first Batallion and were divided into ten Maniples in every one of which were one hundred and twenty men these were marshall'd ten deep and so each Maniple was twelve men in Front for whom allow twelve foot to stand on and as both Polybius and Vegetius do allow three foot between Files twelve Files have eleven distances and for them you must have thirty three foot add thirty three to twelve makes forty five so much ground did every Maniple possess in Front â—n every Batallion were ten Maniples multiply then forty five by ten the product will be four hundred and fifty You may remember that I have elsewhere demonstrated that these ten Maniples had nine Intervals and every Interval must have as much ground allowed to it as the Maniple that was forty five foot multiply forty five by nine the product is four hundred and five add four hundred and five to four hundred and fifty the aggregate is eight hundred fifty five foot and so much ground did the Hastâ—ati of one Legion possess In a Consular Army there were four Legions then you are to multiply eight hundred fifty five by four and the product will prove to be three thousand four hundred and twenty and so much ground did the Hastati of a Consular Army take up in Front Now here the Hastati are reckon'd to be but twelve hundred the Legion according to Polybius being suppos'd to be but four thousand two
how to do it First saith he let the front of your Army be Marshal'd equal with that of your Second enemy then says he let your front retire by little and little and your flanks standing still shall environ your enemy I doubt not but Machiavel thought this a squint device but it is a fancy only beseeming a Gentleman of the long robe If he had said let your Battel stand and your wings extend themselves he had spoke some sense but a front to retire is an improper speech and unintelligible in the Art of War for in strict and proper language a Front and a Reer consists but each of them of one rank whether that be of ten a hundred a thousand ten thousand or twenry thousand Men or Horse so the first rank which is the Front cannot retire further than six or three foot allowed to be between it and the second rank unless all the ranks and consequently the whole Batallion retire I grant there be some who will have the half of the ranks to be the Front and the other half the Reer as in our Foot Batallions which are six deep the three first ranks make the Front the other three the Reer but this as I think is not proper language neither will it help Machiavel for his Front of the three first ranks cannot retire till the three last ranks that are behind them retire first Besides all this I doubt if in Machiavels time Captains might well hazard more Third than now to command a Batallion of men to retire for fear they could not get them to advance again at least not so readily Justus Lipsius had reason to accuse Machiavel of gross ignorance for denying the right ordering of a Militia to be an Art and certainly his conceit to do so Fourth was very extravagant â—esides he contradicts himself for he calls his Treatise of War I sette libri del'arte della guerra di Nicolo Machiavelli Seven Books of the Art of War of Nicol Machiavell Indeed Soldiers are very little bound to him for he says neither Prince nor State should suffer any of those who profess to live by the Art of War to dwell under them nor doth saith he any vertuous or good man use it as an art and adds that those who do so must of necessity be false fraudulent treacherous and violent for they must saith this Doctor either obstruct all peace that the War continuing they may thereby be maintained or they must pill plunder and make spoil of other mens goods in the time of War that thereby they may maintain themselves in the time of peace This is bad enough if it be all true These are his goodly arguments which are but his own idle dreams for it is Fifth Observation no difficil matter to keep men who make profession of Arms within the bounds of their duty even when they but seldom receive their wages and this in this age is visible to the whole world Nor can many Instances be given where men of War obstructed that peace which their Masters desir'd or which both parties were contented to make And if after the conclusion of a peace and disbanding of Armies any exorbitancies chance to be committed by the Soldiers as seldom any such thing falls out they have been occasion'd by too great a defalcation of their pay with the half or moity whereof all Modern Soldiers will be heartily well contented so perfectly have they learn'd the Baptists Lesson in the Gospel to be content with their wages But to conclude I know not whether I shall more cry up the lowliness of spirit of those great Statesmen who are pleased to descend from their high Corollary Spheres to learn their Politicks from Machiavell or commend the generosity of those Captains who disdain to stoop so low as to receive their Lessons of the Military Art from the Town Clerk of Florence I suppose all that can be expected from me in the following Discourses is in some places to set down wherein the ordinances and customs of War in all or What the Author promiseth to do most of the several points or parts of it in divers Countries agree or disagree with the practice of the present times and when I give my own opinion it shall be sparingly and with submission neither shall I decline to go as far back in the â—nvestigation of the Customs and Constitutions of War in former times as I have either probable grounds for conjecture or any glimpse of light to conduct me Since I wrote this Chapter I have seen some Frenchmen who having been Soldiers themselves have given us an account of the present French art and order of War as De la Valiere Monsieur Louis de la Saya and some others CHAP. II. Of Levies the manner of several Nations in making them Duties of Soldiers when they are levied their age and how long they are bound to serve ARmies are properly the members of the great Body of War and men are the sinews of Armies The best choice election or levy of men is of Voluntary Levy the subjects of that Prince or State who maketh the War where the Law of the Land imposeth a necessity on men â—it for service to enroll themselves according to their several ranks and qualities And this Levy alters its nature according to the nature of the War for if that be a Defensive one the Levy is Voluntary for ordinarily men rise willingly in arms for the defence of their Country Lives Wives and Children But if the War be an Offensive one intended to invade a stranger and such as leads Natives from their Countries and Homes and carries them to foreign lands it is not universally voluntary and very oft gets the name of a Press In this kind of Levy most Nations followed the custom of Press the Grecians and Romans and chose most of their Cavalry out of the Gentlemen or the better sort and the Infantry out of the Commons but the substance of that custom is now vanished and we have scarce the shadow of it left with us The Emperours of the High Dutch Nation the German Princes and Imperial Towns by the old Constitutions of the Empire made an Election or Levy of their Subjects according to their Laws sometimes the tenth sometimes the sixth or fifth man or according to their Estates in all their Wars both since Manner of the ancient Levy in Germany the Turk became their unwelcome neighbour and before he had footing in Europe It is not above fourscore and ten years since in the raign of Maximilian the Second all that were Enrolled in the German Cavalry were by birth Gentlemen it is true they brought some of them one some two and some three with them who waited on them well horsed and armed for whom they receiv'd wages and were subject to articles of War but these were called in their language Einspanneers to distinguish them from the Masters who
custome was choice should be made of such young fellows who have had their breeding rather in the Countrey than in Towns unless they be Mechanicks that are not of a Sedentary Trade If he be to serve on Horse and that the Levy be not made by the Trumpet but where a right Election may be got only such should be chosen as are of an honest birth for their reputation will make them undergo any fatigue and a little time will inure them to toil though they have been bred with ease and plenty I have formerly shown you what years made a man capable to be enroll'd a Souldier among the Ancients I shall tell you now that though it be not generally Souldiers age look'd to by many yet I find that in our Modern Wars most Captains conceive sixteen years to be too young and if so I swear sixty is too old they need not be twenty for if they be of such Bodies as I have describ'd they may pass muster of eighteen and if they be not infirm wounded or mutilated they may well enough continue Souldiers till they be fifty and upwards though some think they should not serve after the forty sixth year of their age So upon this account of mine those who levy may enrol such as are not under eighteen nor above fifty And this may be easily observed in Countrey Elections where there is choice yet very often it is not done for which the Officers are to be blam'd But in that other Voluntary Levy made by the Drum where Souldiers are hired for Moneys the age is seldome look'd to old and young being promiscuously enroll'd which is an intrinsecal defect of that kind of Levy If men may not be enroll'd after the forty sixth or fiftieth year of their age it follows they should then have their dismission yet that is but seldome practis'd Necessity which is limited by no Law detaining them very often many years beyond that time which is no new thing having been often practis'd by the Romans and How long they should serve other Ancients as I have shown before Some limit the time of a Souldiers service from his Enrolling which is just The Sweedes order their Foot Souldiers of their own Countrey to serve twenty five years strangers fifteen but if they followed the Roman way the Horse-men should serve but half that time The French King is more gracious to Souldiers especially to strangers whom he orders to get their Dismissions if they require them after they have served four or five years But for all I have said I know not why all Kings Princes and Free States in their Election and Levy of Souldiers should not follow the example of the Great King of kings and Lord of lords who as you may read in the first Chapter of Numbers order'd his Servant Moses to muster all Males fit for the War of twenty years old and upwards and therefore we may conclude he thought all under that age unfit to go to the Wars As to the duties and qualifications of Souldiers whether of Horse or Foot there be some who make so many of them that if Princes keep none in their service but such as quadrate with all their properties they will make Duties of Souldiers but very thin musters But you may take all the duties of a Souldier as the Lacedaemonians did to be three First To give exact and perfect obedience to all the lawful commands of Superiours Secondly To endure the fatigue travel and discommodities of War whether it be in Marching or working at Trenches Approaches and Sieges Hunger thirst and cold with an exemplary patience Thirdly In time of Battel Skirmish or Assault to resolve either to overcome or dye But Reader do not you seek Not to be expected to be perfectly in any one all these in every Souldier do not seek any of these exactly in every Souldier nay nor in any Souldier for you will not find them let it be enough if they have some of them in some degree though not in perfection And why may you not comprehend the two last Duties under the first of Obedience For he who can obey his Superiour exactly will when he is commanded endure any fatigue and in any rencounter resolve to be victorious or perish And indeed Obedience is the very life of an Army A All comprehended under Obedience Lacedâ—monian in a Skirmish having overthrown an Enemy was ready to have run him through with his Sword but hearing the Trumpet sound a Retreat he left him lying and alive Being ask'd Why he did not dispatch him Answer'd He was more serviceable to his Countrey by his Obedience than by either his Valour or his Revenge The Sacred Oracles tell us that Obedience is better than Sacrifice CHAP. III. Of Armour or Defensive Arms used by several Nations both for their Cavalry and their Infantry WHat odds there is between a Man arm'd both for Offence and Defence and him who only hath Offensive Weapons may soon be understood though the practice had never been seen Why the same care is not taken now to defend mens Bodies in the time of fight as well and as much as of old there was since the Offensive Weapons of later times by the help of Fire pierce more deeply and more deadly than any of the former ages did Defensive Arms neglected before Gun-powder I suppose cannot well be told If the neglect be imputed to Great Commanders it were well done of Soveraign Princes and States by their authority to order the reformation of so hurtful an oversight But perhaps this reason will be given for it because the long and continuated marches of our Modern Armies not only for many days but for many weeks and months both in the extream heat of Summer and rainy and tempestuous weather of winter require that the Souldiers should be eased of the weight and trouble of their Defensive Arms that with less toyl they may endure and undergo those marches To which I shall answer first that The Reasons why answered we have no such Marches now adays as the Ancients especially the Romans had and if we consider that they in their Ambulatory March walk'd twenty miles in five hours and in their cursory one twenty five and what a vast deal of ground what large and long Countreys and Regions they traced in compleat Arms and burtheâ—'d otherwise as if they had been Beasts of Carriage we must either blame our selves for not imitating them or look upon most of their stories as pure Fables And if our Souldiers from the time of their first Levy were habituated to wear at their Exercises and Drillings constantly their Armour and accustom'd twice a week to march a good many miles in Arms I mean Defensive as well as Offensive suppose the first week five or six the second seven and so continue till they can march fifteen or sixteen miles in one day they would find it then an easie matter to
march every day in Armour for custome is another nature but this point of Exercising is generally neglected But Secondly I say if Ratio belli or the present necessity of affairs requires such a speedy and continuated March then such an Army as ordinarily we call a flying one should be made use of consisting of light Horse Dragoons and Musqueteers and the heavy armed Horse and Foot should be left to march after with as much haste as conveniently they can to whom the light armed in case of necessity may easily make their Retreat for to bring these heavy armed forward as I told you the Romans and Grecians did and then permit them to cast away their Defensive Arms is to denude your self of the strength of your Forces and Army Our Modern Armies as the ancient ones consist of heavy and light armed as well Horse as Foot In the Cavalry the Cuirassier is the heavy armed and the Pike-man in the Infantry The strength of all Armies ever was and is the Infantry and the strength of it is the heavy armed He who is in good Armour-fights with courage as fearing no wounds and frightens him with whom he fights that is not so well armed Pikemen then composing the Body Pike men the Body of the Infantry and it of the Army of the Infantry and the men of Arms the Body of the Cavalry should be armed so that they may appear to an Enemy when they come to the shock as a Brazen or Iron Wall It is true a Batallion of Pikes without Defensive Arms may being serr'd together hinder a Troop of Horse from getting in among them but their Heads and Bodies being naked and having nothing on either of them to resist the force of a Carabine or Pistol-ball except it be a Buff-coat and for most part not that it is not to be fancied but a Volley of shot from a Body of Horse standing without the danger of the points of Pikes will make many of the Pikemen fall which will so disorder their Body that a sudden Charge of Horse will easily break it This is a great defect of our Modern Militia of which most Nations are now guilty for though in all their Constitutions of War there is an appointment for heavy armed Horse and Foot yet when we see Batallions of Pikes we see them every where naked unless it be in the Netherlands where some and but some Companies represent the ancient Militia and we find an Universal deâ—ect in the Cavalry as to the heavy armed there being but few Curiassiers in many Armies and in very many none of them at all to be seen Since the invention of Guns we find till these latter times all Nations did allow defensive Arms to both Horse and Foot according to the nature of the service that was to be required of them The Cavalry was ordinarily divided into Curiassiers and Harquebusiers but I shall speak of that more fully afterward The first was to be compleatly armed Man and Horse and those we call Men Defensive Arms for Horsemen at Arms and the French Gens d'Arms which is the same thing The Harquebusiers had a Head-piece back and breast their Horses no arms at all But now for most part the case is alter'd and instead of Curiassiers we have Harquebusiers and instead of Harquebusiers we have Horsemen only arm'd offensively Here I must answer an Objection which is this if the armour for Horsemen be not Musket-proof either the Bullet pierceth through or beats the Iron into the Horsemans body which is equally dangerous and if it be proof it is exceeding troublesome to both man and horse but I answer that there hath been and are at this day Arms made that are proof and of no considerable weight and it is supposed a Curiassier should be of a strong body and should ride a horse that for heighth and strength should be fit for that service wherein both he and his rider are to be employed as I shall tell you afterward The heavy armed Foot-soldier or Pikeman should have a Head-piece a For Pikemen Back and Breast a Belly-piece Taslets for their Thighs and Greeves for their Arms the Armour for their Heads Breasts and Bellies should be Carrabineproof and that for their Backs Pistol-proof But we shall rarely see a Batallion of Pikes in such harness and no wonder since the Pike it self is not now used so much as it hath been and still should be of which I shall speak at length in its proper place But here it will be fit that I speak of the supine carelesness and inexcusable inadvertency of Officers and Commanders in their Levies who take no notice to make a difference of those who are to carry Muskets and Pikes distributing them promiscuously to the stronger and the weaker whereas without all question the tallest biggest and strongest should be order'd to carry Pikes that they may the better endure the weight of their defensive Arms nay which is worse I have known Muskets given to those of the biggest stature and Pikes to the unworthiest and silliest of the Company as if he who is not worthy to carry a Musket were sufficient to carry a Pike neither have I seen this abuse redressed though often complain'd of to Generals so much have I seen a Pike the Prince of Weapons disparaged Many have thought it fit to give Musketeers some defensive Arms as a Head For Musketeers Back and Breast-piece and truly I wish that custom were continued for though most of the ordinary Armour that is given them be little better than Pistol-proof if it be so good yet it encourages them who wear it and if as I said before they be exercis'd train'd and accustom'd with it it will not at all be troublesome to them either in their march or on service for we find the ancient light armed especially among the Romans pretty well arm'd for defence and from thence they had the name of light armed to distinguish them from the heavy armed Legionaries I think I may in this place reckon the Swedish Feather among the defensive Swedish Feather Arms though it doth participate of both defence and offence It is a Stake five or six foot long and about four finger thick with a piece of sharp Iron nail'd to each end of it by the one it is made fast in the ground in such a manner that the other end lyeth out so that it may meet with the breast of a Horse whereby a Body of Musketeers is defended as with a Pallisado against the rude charge of a Squadron of Horse which in the mean time they gall and disorder with their shot I have seen them made use of in Germany and before I left that War saw them likewise worn out of use When the Infantry by several Regiments or Brigades are drawn up in Battel and the Pikes and those Stakes fixed in the ground they make a delightful show representing a Wood the Pikes resembling the tall
draw it This Invention of Count Mansfield hath been assuredly as to Ordnance the best and most profitable these three by-past ages could boast of both to save expence and to further expedition But this good man tells us not how the Earl did all this only he informs us that he knew so well to boil the melted metal in the fire that though it had less thickness yet it had equal hardness with the greater Guns but I thought that not only the hardness but the thickness of the metal should resist the violence of the Powder and therefore Pieces are more fortified at the Touch-hole Trunions and Musle than at any place else But not having heard that this rare Invention was practised afterward in all these long and bloody Wars which have been in Christendom since that famous Siege nor read any thing of it in those who write of that Art I shall suspend my belief of the thing till I hear that it is approv'd by Judicious Gunners An indifferent Train of Artillery especially if there be battering Guns in it The great trouble and retardment a Train of Artillery brings to an Army their Carriages Powder and Bullets with all fitting Instruments will require very many Horses to draw it which may the more easily be conceived if we cast up an account how many one Piece will need Leâ—ns suppose this Piece to be a French Cannon or an English Demi-Cannon any of them weighing 6000 pound of metal let her Bullet be thirty pound of Iron for which she requires twenty pound of common Powder This Piece may be discharged safely ten Demonstrated by what is requisite for one piece of Cannon times in one hour and consequently in twelve hours 120 times 120 being multiplied by thirty which is the weight of the Bullet the product is 3600. You are to multiply again a 120 by 20 which is the weight of the Powder produceth 2400. Add 3600 and 2400 to 6000 the aggregate is 12000 pound In the next place let every Horse be bound to draw For one day only 272 pound weight and divide 12000 by 272 you will find the Quotient 44 with a Fraction of 32 so you see forty four Horses necessary to draw one Piece with Powder and Bullets needful for the service of one day without the addition of the Carriage or of Waggons and Carts Hence you may conclude that a numerous Train must of necessity retard the march of an Army either in pursuing or retiring In the first case all or most of it may be left with conveniency to follow but in the second there is very great difficulty and many times the endeavouring to save it hath occasion'd the loss of Armies There is no doubt but Artillery serves to good purpose to make an Enemy either remove his Camp if it be within the range of the Ordnance or come out and fight That it forceth Towns and Forts to yield we know but we must confess for all that that few Battels have been won by Artillery for as Monluc says of the Cannon Il fait plus de peur que du mal It frightens more Artillery very expensive than it hurts The loss of a Train of Artillery is of exceeding great consequence to a Prince or a State therefore the less the Train is the expence will be the less and the expedition the greater There are some who in their Writings of Trains of Artillery and other essential members of Armies instance the Princes of Orange But I say other Princes and States are not to take up their measures either in their Trains of Artillery or other points of War by the Estates of the Vnited Provinces in regard few or none of them that I know have such advantages of the Situation of their Country as those Estates have who by water for most part may transport their Ordnance their Provisions their Munitions their Instruments and sometimes their Soldiers which other Princes must carry all by land with Horses and Waggons except the men unless they have the benefit of some Navigable River which seldom falls out It is not every Army that either is or can be allowed either a full Train or yet a General of Artillery Many of these called flying Armies have no Guns at all with them and many of them have only some Field-pieces which being drawn with very few Horses need not much obstruct the speedy march of an Army I have known divers Armies at one time in Germany under Christina Queen of Sweden each one whereof had but a petty Train and that order'd by a Colonel or a Lieutenant-Colonel but there was only one General of the A great Train not necessary with every Army Artillery who had the supreme Command of all the Ordnance in all the Armies and he staid constantly with the Felt Marshal of the principal Army I knew the late King of Denmark in the year 1657 have two brave Armies tho' both unsuccessful the one ordain'd for the defence of Holstein and Jutland the other for Schonen the Train appointed for each of them was order'd by a Colonel and there was neither General nor Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance with either of them Whether it be fit for a Prince or a free State to keep one General of the Artillery to have inspection over all the Ordnance all the Munitions of War and all the Armes within that Kingdom or Republick or rather to intrust several persons with the several Magazines shall not be the subject of this Discourse But that all Princes and States should have Store-houses Arsenals and Magazines well stuft with all manner of Arms offensive and defensive with great and small Ordnance with Powder Match and Ball and all the several Materials of their Composition with Mortars Pot pieces Petards and Granado's of all kinds is as I suppose a thing which will be granted as necessary beyond all Controversie In such an Army as passeth under the name of an Army Royal which some Army Royal. think should consist of eighteen thousand Foot and six thousand Horse that takes the Field with a design to fight with any that oppose it and a resolution to do that for which it was levied whether that be to fight Battels pass Rivers or take in Towns and Forâ— in such an Army I say there should be so great a Train of Artillery as is suitable with the greatness of the attempt wherein It s Train nothing must be wanting that can help to carry on the design In it there should be Cannons for Battery Culverines of all sorts Field-pieces Mortars great abundance of Powder Match and Ball and Granado's with all Instruments and Necessaries for all manner of Ordnance for this Train are required a great many expert and ready Gunners and Constables besides the Gentlemen Captains and Conductors as also a huge number of Horses and Oxen Waggons and Carts to draw and transport it from place to place The Swedish Trains of Artillery
since their first footing in Germany have had Swedish Train of Artillery the reputation to be the most exactly composed and conducted by the most experimented Artists of any in Christendom And no doubt but their Artillery helpt them much to take so deep a footing in Germany that they have not been since expell'd out of it though that hath been much endeavour'd When the late King of Sweden invaded Poland in the year 1655 the perfidy of the Polonians was such that they deliver'd almost that whole Kingdom into his hands But after they had returned to their Duties and that the Swede was at Zamoiskie in the year 1657. it was by the help of his Artillery whereof John Casimir was destitute that the Swedish King traversed much of the length of Poland in spite of eighty thousand Polonians crost the Weichsell and join'd with Ragoski and after he was forc'd to part with the Transylvanian being invited to come nearer home by the King of Denmarks unseasonable declaration of a War against him he came out of Poland and Prussia too with a very inconsiderable ill appointed and harass'd Army without any loss at all meerly by the advantage he had of his Train of Artillery Sweden furnisheth abundance of both Copper and Iron whereof great Guns Sweden abounds in all things necessary for a Train and Hand-guns are made and by art and industry that Country hath as much Saltpeter as any Kingdom can have and it being full of Woods it cannot want Coal for making Powder whereof they make such abundance as they are able not only to serve themselves but to help their neighbours and friends They also make within the Kingdom greater store of Arms both for offence and defence than they have use for I have seen some little Towns in Sweden wherein few other Artificers were to be found but Armourers and Gunsmiths These advantages encourage them to entertain full and well appointed Trains of Artillery He who commands in chief over the Artillery is called by the English General or Master of the Ordnance by the French Grand Maistre del Artillerie Great Master of the Artillery by the Germans General fetz Eugmeister which is General Overseer and Master of the Munitions for the Field a term very proper because he hath not only the inspection of the Ordnance but of the Munitions of War such are the Guns greater and lesser all manner of Arms A General of the Artillery and Weapons all Materials belonging to Smiths and Carpenters Powder Match Bullets Granado's for Pot-pieces and to be cast by the hand store of Instruments and Utensils for Artificers Shops Bridges or Materials for them Boats or Materials for them to be made and join'd quickly for passing unfordable waters all kind of Instruments for working in Fortification or Approaches such as Spades Mattocks Pickaxes and Shovels In Scotland we call this great Officer the General of the Artillery The Ancients though they wanted Fire-guns yet they had their great Artillery those were their great Machines and Engines whereof I have formerly spoken and they had likewise a Master of their Artillery who had the inspection of it which I have also made appear in the fourth Chapter of the Roman Militia But since the Invention His Trust of Gunpowder the Charge of General of the Artillery hath been look'd on as most honourable as it indeed deserves to be and with none more than with us in Scotland and was always confer'd by our Kings on persons of eminent note and quality James the Fifth King of Scotland made the Gentleman who had married his Mother Margaret Daughter to Henry the Seventh King of England Lord of Meffen and General of the Artillery of Scotland As Lesly Bishop of Rosse that active and loyal servant to his Mistress Queen Mary tells us in the Ninth Book of his History in these words In hisce Comitiis Rex His Charge honourable in Scotland Henricum Stuartum Reginae Maritum confirmavit Dominum Meffensem ac eundem omnium bellicorum Tormentorum praefectum quod munus apud nos est longe honorificum munifice constituit The King saith he in this Parliament confirmed Henry Stuart the Queens Husband Lord Meffen and bountifully made him General of the Artillery which Charge with us is most honourable He who bears this Office in either Kingdom Republick or Army ought to His Qualifications be a person of good Endowments but if you take his description from some notional writers you may justly conclude there is not such a man below the Moon Indeed I shall tell you there are two qualifications absolutely necessary for him these are to be a good Mathematician and to be something if not right much experimented in all the points of the Gunners Art he must be of a good judgment and a very ready dispatch The rest of his parts and abilities which some require in him alone I think he may divide among those who are under his His great Command command and authority who truly are right many as the Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance two Colonels if not more Lieutenant-Colonels Captains and Gentlemen of the Ordnance Master Gunner and all inferior Gunners Conductors and Comptrollers Engineers the Clerk of the Fortification Master of the Mines and Mineers under him Master of the Artificial Fires and his Conductors and Petardeers those who have a care of the Tools for Fortification for intrenching and approaching the Master of the Pioneers in some Armies and all his Pioneers the Master of the Batteries and all under him for to the General of the Artilleries direction and inspection belongs the Entrenching the Camp the making the Approaches Redoubts Batteries Zaps Galleries and Mines and other works at Sieges of Towns and Castles He hath also his own Commissary Quarter-master Waggon-master Minister and Chyrurgeon If then you will consider that he and all those under him are to have pay and wages and what a â—ast sum of money is spent in maintenance of this Train and how much Powder match and Ball may be spent in an active War you may conclude that Achilles Terduzzi the Italian Engineer The vast expence of a Train whom I have often mention'd spoke within bounds and but modestly enough when he said he conceiv'd the fourth part of the Treasure of an Army was spent on the Train of Artillery I think it something strange to read in Bockler the German Architect that it is of late condescended on by the greatest Practitioners of Artillery in Germany that for an Army of forty thousand men whereof thirty two thousand should Thirty Pieces of Ordnance thought lately a sufficient Train for an Army of forty thousand men be foot and eight thousand Horse thirty Pieces of Ordnance are enough either to besiege a strong place or to attack an enemy though never so advantageously lodged For the last I shall be easily induced to believe it but for the first part of his affirmative I
Landtgrave's eight thousand six hundred and forty Horse to the Queens thirty three thousand six hundred the aggregate is forty four thousand two hundred and forty Add the Landtgrave's twenty two thousand six hundred and eighty Foot to the Queens seventy nine thousand three hundred and eighty both the Infantries amounted to a hundred and two thousand and sixty Now it is well known that when their Armies were Cassed they did not exceed nay nor come near the half of these numbers for if you add the number of the Infantry to that of the Cavalry the Aggregate will be a hundred forty six thousand three hundred Now I conceive thirty Colonels might have commanded all the Cavalry and thirty three Colonels all the Infantry these would have been in all but sixty three Regiments And I am very sure there were not so few Colonels as a hundred and forty So there might have been sav'd the expence of the Officers of eighty Regiments both in the time of War and at that time too when they were to give their Officers a little satisfaction-money for so it was called in lieâ— of all their Arrears when they disbanded them And truly I should think that unless some new emergency or some unlook'd Recruits better than Levies for disaster seemed to require it the constant recruiting old Troops and Companies might advance a Princes â—ervice as much and save his Treasure much more than the levying new Regiments doth which still draws both trouble and expence along with it But it is time for me to forbear for perhaps I have gone too far Since Money is generally scarce in the Wars in so much that Soldiers cannot receive their Wages duly let us see what allowance of Meat and Drink ordinarily called Proviant Princes allow their Soldiery to furnish which every Army should have a General Proviant-master and truly I conceive him to be an Officer as necessary and useful if not more in the fields where mostly our Modern Armies are entertain'd with Proviant as either a General Commissary or a Treasurer His Charge is to provide Victuals Corn Flesh Wine Bread and Beer he hath the inspection of them and should see them equally and proportionably divided to the Regiments according to their several strengths for which purpose he should have all the Rolls and Lists A Proviant-master General his Duties by him which his Secretaries should carefully keep He hath no power to sell any Proviant under what pretence soever without the Generals express Warrant All Mills where the Army comes are under his protection and he is obliged to protect them He hath the ordering of all the Magazines for Victuals and to him belongs the care of seeing the Garrisons and fortified places sufficiently provided with such Meats and Drinks as are Provisions for fortified places most fit to preserve these are Corn Grain and Meal of several kinds Stock-fish Herrings and all other Salted-fishes Salted and Hung-fleshes especially Beef and Bacon Cheese Butter Almonds Chesnuts and Hazel-nuts Wine Beer Malt Honey Vinegar Oyl Tabaco Wood and Coal for Firing and as many living Oxen Cows Sheep and Swine Hens and Turkies as can be conveniently sed for which purpose as also for Horses he is to provide Straw Hay and Oats This General Proviant-master hath under him a Lieutenant a Secretary a Clerk a Smith a Waggon-master and a Waggon-maker a Quarter-master and some Officers who are called Directors There are few Princes who have not their particular establishment for their Proviant both in Field and Garrison as well as for Money the order Allowance of Proviant whereof commonly is this they allow so much Bread Flesh Wine or Beer to every Trooper and Foot Soldier which ordinarily is alike to both then they allow to the Officers according to their dignities and charges double triple and quadruple portions as to an Ensign four times more than to a common Soldier a Colonel having commonly twelve portions allow'd him The ordinary allowance for a Soldier in the field is daily two pound of Bread one pound of Flesh or in lieu of it one pound of Cheese one pottle of Wine or in lieu of it two pottles of Beer It is enough crys the Soldiers we desire no more and it is enough in conscience But this allowance will not last very long they must be contented to maâ—ch sometimes one whole week and scarce get two pound of Bread all the while and their Officers as little as they who if they have no provisions of their own carried about with them must be satisfied with Commis-bread and cold water as well as the common Soldier unless they have money to buy better entertainment from Sutlers I have known Captains give a very great demonstration of their patience and their affection to their Masters service by satisfying their appetites with water and very coarse bread one whole Summer and part of the next winter But they will be refreshed when I tell them of free Quarter which Princes Free Quarter very burden some to a Country though never so well regulated and their Generals are many times forc'd for want of money to grant where they can Quarter their Armies in Towns and Villages and this proves oft the destruction of a Country for though no exorbitancy be committed and that every man both Officer and Soldier demand â—o other entertainment than what is allowed by the Prince or State where they serve yet when an Army cannot be Quarter'd but close and near together to prevent Infalls Anslachts and Surprisal of an Enemy it is an easie matter to imagin what a heavy burthen these places bear whom in poor mens houses six seven eight it may be fourteen or fifteen Soldiers are lodged for in such cases it is ordinary to quarter two thousand Foot or a thousand Horse in a little Town where perhaps there are not above three or four hundred houses And withal it is very hard to get Soldiers and Horsemen kept within the limits of their Duty in these Quarters after they have endured hunger thirst and other hardships in the field It is true all Princes who for preservation of their Armies from extream ruin and for want of Treasure are necessitated too often to make use of this free Quarter do not only make strict Laws and Ordinances how many times a day Officers and Soldiers are to eat and how many Dishes every one according to his quality is to call for but likewise set down the precise rates and values of the Dishes that the Host be not obliged to do beyond those limitations yet the grievance continues heavy and great The Ordinances concerning free Quarter of the Emperour the Kings of Ordinances for free Quarter Denmark and Sweden and German Princes are upon the matter with little difference all one as thus A Colonel is to have twelve dishes of meat each at the rate of the eighth part of a Dollar ten pound of Bread and ten measures of Wine A
in other places Rumor master General is more than I have learned His charge is to ride with a Guard of Horse and some Hangmen on the Van and Flanks of the Army and in a Retreat in the Reer to save all the several Quarters and Country from being pillaged or plunder'd and the Country people from being wrong'd and many times he is commanded to use Summary Justice and execution on the offenders in the place where they are taken but for most part only to apprehend them and deliver them over to the Marshal General The Laws and Articles of War of every Prince and State ought to be promulgated to all the Armies and read over to every particular Regiment Troop and Company every month or at least every quarter of a year that none may have reason to pretend ignorance In all Courts of War higher or lower Officers How the members of a Court of War give their sentence of equal quality as Major-Generals Colonels Majors Captains Serjeants and Corporals after a full examination and hearing of parties and witnesses go apart by themselves and after some debate agree upon the sentence which he who hath the Precedency among them whispers in the ear of the Clerk who after he hath written all the several sentences gives them to the Auditor whether General or Particular of a Regiment and he observing wherein most agree makes that the sentence of the Court which is sign'd by the President and so sent to the General if he have not presided himself In Regiment-Courts of War such inferior Officers suppose Serjeants and Corporals ought to be chosen â—o sit as know in some measure what it is to judg according to equity and reason for I have seen many of them in several places of the world who thought they gave their verdict like wise men and gallant fellows even when Articles of War were clear when by their sentence they refer'd an offender guilty of a Capital crime to the mercy of the Lord General or the Colonel The French Councils of War now may consist of seven Officers and in them Lieutenants sub-Lieutenants and Ensigns must only stand with their hats off but give no sentence CHAP. X. Of Exercising Drilling and Training the several Bodies of the Cavalry and the Infantry HAving levied and arm'd our Soldiers both of Horse and Foot and sufficiently entertain'd them with goodly promises of Pay Proviant Service and free Quarter and shown them under what Laws and Discipline they are to live it will be time to teach them the Duties of Soldiers and this is done by Exercising and Drilling them What kinds of Exercise Officers and Soldiers were inur'd to in ancient times hath been abundantly told you in my Discourses of the Gracian and Roman Art of War Wrestling Running Leaping Swimming all which harden and enable a mans Body and render the Soldier active and dexterous in Battel at Storms and Assaults in pursuit of his enemy and sometimes in flight to save his own life were the duties imposed in ancient times and to them properly belongs Exercises properly so called the word of Exercise But this kind of Exercise is now rather permitted than commanded The using the Spade and Mattock in making Ramparts and Ditches building Walls Sconces Forts and Castles constantly practised in time of peace by the Ancients especially the Romans is not now at all thought of till either the Siege or defence of a Town or the necessity to fortifie a Camp render it necessary and then six Soldiers not accustom'd before to that manner of Exercise are not able to work so much as one Country-fellow newly taken from the Plow The custom of shooting at Butts with Bow and Arrow in Scotland and England is much if not wholly worn out In foreign places their shooting with Firelocks and riâ—â—ed Guns at Marks every Holy-day may make them good Firemen and good Marks-men but doth not strengthen the nerves and arms of men as the Bow did But to bring these Exercises so much conducing to the health and strength of an Army in fashion again must be the work of no private person but of a Prince or State Another part of Military Exercise consists in teaching the Soldiers both Training and Drilling divided into two parts of Horse and Foot to fight orderly and readily with an Enemy and this is that which properly we call Training and Drilling It consists of two parts the first is to teach them to handle and manage their offensive Arms whatsoever they be handsomely readily and dexterously and this is ordinarily called the Postures The second is to make them when they are in a Body to cast themselves in such a figure or order as shall be commanded them and this is commonly called the Motions and Evolutions Before I speak any more on this Subject I shall say that though this Drilling and Training be not so much forgot as those other Exercises are whereof I have but just now spoken yet it is too much neglected in many places Much neglected neither do I think it is so much used in any place of Europe as in his Majesties Dominions in which the Ancients are well imitated who train'd their Armies very punctually in time of Peace as well as in time of War I wish all Companies who otherwise are well enough train'd were accustom'd to make Marches when they are exercised as I said in my Discourse of Defensive Arms. For though I do not desire they should be made to run or walk twenty or five and twenty miles in five or six hours time and in full Arms as the Romans did yet I think they would be much strengthen'd and Marching a necessary point of Military Exercisâ— made more healthful and more able to endure fatigue if they were made twice a week march in a Summer-morning seven or eight miles and back again in the afternoon and proportionably as far in the Winter This being frequently practised in time of peace would make long and speedy Marches which often are necessary in the time of War even with Defensive Arms very easie and it would accustom the Soldiers to keep their ranks and files punctually provided Officers be attentive to see them do it on that March This would be to some better purpose than for Commanders to march with Squads with half or whole Regiments a half hour it may be a whole one up and down to and again upon one spot of ground a right Mockmarch A Mockmarch whereby some Officers contrary to their intention for they think they are doing a very handsome feat make themselves ridiculous to both the spectators and their own Soldiers The Grecians and Romans in time of War drill'd their Armies in the Fields but Training is lookt upon now as an unnecessary thing not only in the Field but in Towns and Garrisons likewise This is not the Prince or States fault but is an inexcusable neglect and carelesness of Colonels who
the rest resent it as an injury done to the whole fraternity for which they will very readily make him march a whole week without a Trumpeter to sound before him None may sound a Trumpet before a Troop but he who is master of their Art and he must prove himself to be so by producing a Certificate sign'd by a certain number of Master Trumpeters with their Seals annexed to it and this in their Language they call a Lerbrief If any wanting this offer to sound before a Company of Horse the Masters may come and take him away with disgrace in spite of the Ritmaster Those who have not yet got Lerbriefs they call Boys who must serve the Master Trumpeters in all manner of drudgery though they could sound all the points of War never so well They pretend to have got these priviledges from the Emperour Charles the Fifth under his Manual Subscription and Imperial Seal Ask them where this Patent of theirs lyeth some of them will tell you at Augsburg others say at Strasburg and a third will say at Nuremburg I have not seen any of them punished by their Officers and whatever discipline of their own they have I know not but I have not heard of any of their gross misdemeaners I knew one Colonel Boy an ancient Gentleman who for many years had commanded Horse in whose Regiment no sound of Trumpet was heard for none of them would serve under him because in his younger years he had kill'd a Trumpeter with his own hand But it is well these pretended priviledges of theirs are confin'd within the bounds of the German Empire There is another Martial Instrument used with the Cavalry which they call a Kettle-drum there be two of them which hang upon the Horse before the Kettle-drum Drummers Saddle on both which he beats They are not ordinary Princes Dukes and Earls may have them with those Troops which ordinarily are called their Life-guards so may Generals and Lieutenant Generals though they be not Noble-men The Germans Danes and Sweedes permit none to have them under a Lord Baron unless they have taken them from an Enemy and in that case any Ritmaster whatever extraction he be of may make them beat beside his Trumpeters They are used also for State by the Princes of Germany when they go to meat and I have seen them ordinarily beat and Trumpets sound at the Courts of Sweden and Denmark when either of the two Kings went to Dinner or Supper Dragoons are Musketeers mounted on Horses appointed to march with the Dragoons Cavalry in regard there are not only many occasions wherein Foot can assist the Horse but that seldome there is any occasion of service against an Enemy but wherein it is both fit and necessary to joyn some Foot with the Horse Dragoons then go not only before to guard Passes as some imagine but to fight in open Field for if an Enemy rencounter with a Cavalry in a champaign or open Heath the Dragoons are obliged to alight and mix themselves with the Squads of Horse as they shall be commanded and their continuate Firing before the Horse come to the charge will no doubt be very hurtful to the Enemy If the encounter be in a close Countrey they serve well to line Hedges and possess Enclosures they serve for defending Passes and Bridges whether it be in the Advance or a Retreat of an Army and for Serve on foot beating the Enemy from them Their service is on foot and is no other than that of Musketeers but because they are mounted on Horse-back and ride with the Horse either before in the Van or behind in the Rear of an Army they are reckon'd as a part of the Cavalry and are subordinate to the Yet are part of the Cavalry General Lieutenant General or Major General of the Horse and not to those of the foot And being that sometimes they are forced to retire from a powerful and prevailing Enemy they ought to be taught to give Fire on Horse-back that in an open field they may keep an Enemy at a distance till they get the advantage of a closer Countrey a Straight a Pass a Bridge a Hedge or a Ditch and then they are bound to alight and defend that advantage that thereby though perhaps with the loss of the Dragoons themselves the Cavalry may be saved When they alight they cast their Bridle Reins over the necks of their side-mens Horses and leave them in that same order as they marched Of ten Dragoons nine fight and the tenth man keeps the ten Horses For what they have got the denomination of Dragoons Whence they have their denomination is not so easie to be told but because in all languages they are called so we may suppose they may borrow their name from Dragon because a Musketeer on Horse back with his burning Match riding at a gallop as many times he doth may something resemble that Beast which Naturalists call a Fiery Dragon Since then a Dragoon when he alights and a Musqueteer are all one I have The several services of a Musqueteer forborn hitherto to speak of the several ways how the ranks of Musqueteers fire having reserv'd it to this as a proper place Take them then thus If the enemy be upon one of your flanks that hand file fires that is nearest How he fires in the flank and falls off the danger and the next standing still to do the like that which hath fired marches thorough the rest of the files till it be beyond the furthest file of that wing of Musqueteers But if you be charg'd on both flanks then your right and left-hand files fire both and immediately march into the middle of the Body room being made for them and in such pieces of service as these Officers must be attentive dexterous and ready to see all things done orderly otherwise confusion first and immediately after a total rout will inevitably follow If your Body be retiring from an enemy who pursues you in the reer the two last How iâ— the reer ranks stand whereof one having fired it divides it self into two the one half by the right the other half by the left-hand marcheth up to the Van making ready all the while this way is much practised especially in the Low-Countries but with submission to their better judgments I should think it more easie for these ranks that have fired to march every man of them up to their Leaders and then step before them thorough these Intervals of three foot that is between files and this may be done without any trouble either to themselves or their neighbours If the service with the enemy be in the Van as mostly it is Musqueteers after firing fall off two several ways ranks may after they have fired fall off two several ways First the rank which hath fired divides it self into two and the half goes to the right hand and the other half to the left
and then they fall down to the reer and so of Leaders become Bringers-up till another rank comes behind them But I The first not at all good would have this manner of falling off banisht out of all armies for in a great Body it breeds confusion and though in drilling it may leisurely be done without any considerable disorder yet in service with an enemy where men are falling it procures a pitiful Embarras and though it did not yet it ought to The second good give way to a more easie way of falling off which is the second way I promised to tell you of and it is that I spoke of of falling down by the Intervals of ground that is between files and this I would have constantly done by turning to the left-hand after they have fired because after that Musqueteers recover their Matches and cast about their Musquets to the left-side that they may charge again which they are a doing while they fall off to the reer But But not at all to fall off is â—est there is a third way for Musqueteers to do service better than by any of these two and that is not to fall off at all but for every rank to stand still after it hath given fire and make ready again standing the second advancing immediately before the first and that having fired likewise the third advanceth before it and so all the rest do till all have fired and then the first rank begins again It is not possible that by this way of giving fire there can be the least confusion or any thing like it if Officers be but half men there is another way of firing sometimes practised that is by three ranks together the first kneeling the second stooping and the third standing these having fired the other three ranks march thorough the first three and in the same postures fire likewise But here I shall desire it to be granted to me that which indeed is undeniable Three ranks to fire at one time and then the other three that when the last three ranks have fired the first three cannot be ready to fire the second time Next firing by three ranks at a time should not be practised but when either the business seems to be desperate or that the Bodies are so near that the Pikemen are almost come to push of Pike and then no other use can be made of the Musquet but of the Butt-end of it I say then Not so good as all six ranks to fire at once that this manner of six ranks to fire at two several times is not at all to be used for if it come to extremity it will be more proper to make them all fire at once for thereby you pour as much Lead in your enemies bosom at one time as you do the other way at two several times and thereby you do them more mischief you quail daunt and astonish them three times more for one long and continuated crack of Thunder is more terrible and dreadful to mortals than ten interrupted and several ones though all and every one of the ten be as loud as the long one But that I seem not to pass my word to you for this be pleased to take the authority of Gustavus Adolphus King of Sweden who practised it at Practised at Leipsick the Battel of Leipsick where after he had fought long and that the Saxon Army on his left-hand was beaten by the Imperialists he caused the Musqueteers of some of his Brigades to fire all at once by kneeling stooping and standing which produced effects conform to his desire If you ask me how six ranks can fire all at one time and level their Musquets right I shall tell you the foremost three How to do it ranks must first be doubled by half files and then your Body consists but of three ranks and the posture of the first is kneeling of the second stooping and of the third standing and then you may command them all to fire If you command your ranks after they have fired to fall to the reer any of the two ways already spoken of though you take never so good heed you shall lose ground besides that it hath the show of a retreat but by making the ranks successively go before those which have fired you advance still and gain ground In this order should Dragoons fight in open field when they are mixed How Dragoons should fire and fall off with Horse in this order also should they fire and advance when they intend to beat an enemy from a Pass But when they are to defend a Pass a Bridg or a Strait they must then after firing fall off to the reer by marching thorough the Intervals of their several files because it may be supposed they have no ground whereon they can advance Martinet the French Marshal de Camp tells us of another manner of firing different from all these that I have mentioned as thus Of six ranks of Musqueteers he would have the first five to kneel the sixth to stand and fire first then the fifth to rise and fire next and consecutively the rest till the first rank have fired after which he will have the foremost five ranks to kneel again till the sixth discharge if the service last so long By this way you can gain no ground and I think its very fair if you keep the ground you have for I conceive you may probably lose it and which is worse the ranks which kneel before that which gives fire may be in greater fear of their friends behind them than of their enemies before them and good reason for it in regard when men are giving death to others and in expectation of the same measure from those who stand against them they are not so composed nor govern'd with so steady reason as when they are receiving leisurely lessons in cold blood how to pour Lead in their enemies bosoms But I have spoke of this in another place perhaps more than becomes a private person since I find that manner of giving fire is practised in the French Armies by order of his most Christian Majesty In the marshalling of Regiments Brigades Companies and Troops either of Horse or Foot Commanders must be very cautious when they have to do with an enemy not to charge the ordinary forms for if at that time you offer to introduce any new form wherewith your men are not acquainted you shall not fail to put them in some confusion than which an enemy cannot desire a greater New figures of Battels commendable advantage If you have a new figure of a Battel in your head be sure to accustom your Companies and Regiment very often by exercise to the practice of it before you make use of it in earnest But by this let me not seem to put a restraint on any ingenious spirit that is capable to create new figures I think they should be exceedingly cherisht by Princes and
their Generals and such of them as are approv'd by them should be practised The old Romans indeed kept themselves morosely to their ancient forms whereby they had been exceedingly prosperous and call'd all new Inventions Schematisms But we are not bound to follow them in all their opinions for I am of Lipsius his judgment Valde mihi placent nova novitia istae Inventiuncula These little new Inventions To be practised with much caution saith he please me mightily Lieutenant-Colonel Elton in his Compleat Body of the Art of War hath very many pretty figures of several Bodies of Foot all of them exceeding delightful and fit for show and some of them for use provided Officers and Souldiers be often and thoroughly accustom'd to them before they be practised in sight of an enemy And to this purpose he himself speaks very well towards the end of his Book and with his words I shall close this Chapter The substantial and solid things of War are to be precisely regarded without which an Army though of the most valiant men will be exposed to the greatest dangers and will fall into a most certain ruin Musqueteers on Horseback are called Dragoons in all Languages from the word Dragon because when they are mounted on Horses and riding with burning Matches especially in the night time they resemble fiery Dragons flying in the air but now that in some places Dragooners Musquets are converted into Carabines a change not to be despised if the Carabine can send a Bullet as far as a Musquet I conceive they may rather be called Carabineers than Dragoons In France the Lieutenant of Horse marcheth now on the left hand of the Captain or Ritmaster four or five foot nearer the Troop an Innovation as many other customs are against which I have little to say or rather just nothing An APPENDIX to the former CHAPTER HAving spoken enough of the Officers of both Horse and Foot and of those who are neither and yet both Dragoons it will not be amiss to speak a word or two to some Questions that are started concerning them I shall propose them and speak my thoughts of them for to answer and solve them to the satisfaction of all would be an undertaking purely impossible The first question shall be this which of the two Officers of equal quality both under one Prince or State the one of Horse the other of Foot shall command in chief having no Superior at that time above them supposing those who are to be commanded consist of both Foot and Horse The second Question shall be whether an Officer of an inferiour quality may upon occasion command one of a higher degree As whether a Lieutenant may command a Captain The question is subdivided into two As first whether an Officer of Horse of an inferiour quality may command an Officer of Foot of a higher degree And next whether an Officer of a King Prince State or Generals Guards ought or may have the command above an Officer of a Superiour quality in any other Regiment of the Army Suppose a Lieutenant of the Guards of Foot to command over any Captain of another Regiment of Foot and the like of the Horse there may fall out a thousand emergences and occasions for such encounters and therefore they would be obviated and provided for by necessary and punctual orders As suppose which is very ordinary there be but one general person with a part of an Army and in an Encounter he is kill'd the Colonels under him striving for the Command in chief make themselves a prey to the enemy which fell out but a very few years ago to the Danes when they unfortunately fought against the Swedes in the Isle of Rugen Next suppose a strong party of Foot and Horse commanded by a Colonel who hath under him but one Lieutenant-Colonel and one Major several Ritmasters and Foot-Captains the three Field-officers are kill'd the question is Whether the chief command belongs to the eldest Ritmaster or the eldest Captain or to him of these two who can shew the eldest Commission in that same service If the first of these Questions be well and judiciously handled and discuss'd there will need but a few words to be spoken to the rest The first Question being which of the two Officers of Horse and Foot of equal quality shall have the command there be some who take a broad axe to it and by an equal division would satisfie both parties and say that in the Fields the Officer of Horse and in Towns Castles Garrisons and fortified places the Officer of Foot should have the prime command this Arbitration would seem to give pretty good satisfaction to peaceable men but the ambition of Commanders of Horse challenges the Superiority in all places nor do I think the Officers of Foot should be so modest as to give it them in any place without the express command of the Prince or his General Assuredly this Superiority cannot in reason be challenged by either Foot or Horse unless they conceive their imployment is either more necessary more to be trusted to or more honourable than the other We shall then get some light to decide the controversie when we have examined whether the Cavalry or Infantry of an Army be most necessary or most trusted to and most honourable or all three And first as to the necessity reason and if I have any right reason common sense will evince that Horses are not absolutely necessary in the managing a War but as they say ad bene esse only needful they are for the better managing the War or to say better they are useful and convenient but the Foot are purely and absolutely necessary as without which no War ever was nor no War ever can be managed Consider that the Impugnation and defence of Towns Forts and Castles is one of the most important and most necessary points of War or of the whole Military Art yet these have been may be and for most part are maintained and defended and assaulted and taken by the Foot only without the help of Horsemen and I think they are not Paradoxical who say that Horsemen are so far from being necessary that they are not convenient within besieged places and without at Sieges as little unless an enemy with Succours be expected And in the field a well order'd and couragious well armed Batallion of Foot are not so soon trode down by a Brigade of Horse as some men fancy and when their charge is stoutly stood out I know not what the Horse can do but ride I will not say run away If we look upon the practice of Nations both ancient and modern we shall find all I have said supported and more too And though our young Gallants will be governed by no former customs yet I believe Truth it self hath bid us follow the good old way And therefore let us take a short view how little necessary many Nations have thought Horsemen to be in their
by the favour of powerful friends hath come to that charge to command over a grave and experienced Major it is the way to make Discipline of War contemptible to some and ridiculous to others I remember that in Germany one of the Swedish Lieutenant Generals â—ad the chief command of a little Army and over all the Garrisons of that Country which were not few a strong party of that Army of Horse and Foot was drawn out to attack a little Town strongly barricado'd by the enemies five hundred commanded Foot were to fall on first under the conduct of a Lieutenant Colonel He who was Lieutenant Colonel of the Lieutenant Generals Regiment which had the name of Guards pretended to the command and debated it strongly there was an elder Lieutenant Colonel than he of another Regiment who stiffly refused to yield to the Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards pretending to the command because he had been a Lieutenant Colonel in the Swedish service long before the other the Lieutenant General is consulted who presently order'd them to cast the Dice for it his own Lieutenant Colonel by lot gained the honour but lost his life by the bargain You see how this Lieutenant General was loth to give occasion of discontent by preferring an Officer of the Guards to another of that same quality but of an elder standing and yet if I had been worthy to have been Arbitrator I had awarded the command to the Lieutenant Colonel of the Guards Thus far have I hazarded to publish my opinion of this controverted point and as every thing that men write must be subject to the variable judgments of several Readers so I profess I shall be willing to alter my opinion when the reasons of others shall even but probably convince me to have been in an error I am sure to maintain either the one or the other will transgress neither Act or Statute of either Church or State Ordinances of War even of the greatest of men are not irrevocable as the Decrees of the Medes and Persians were said to be But notwithstanding any reason can be given for the maintenance of what I have said in avoiding this question this great King of France gives a Superiority of some Officers over others of that same degree and not only to those of his own Guards which are very many and those of the Queen the Dolphine and Monsieur his Brother which I look upon as tolerable but he gives the command to French Officers over strangers of a higher quality in so much that in one Chapter of his Ordinances he orders Lieutenant-Colonels who are strangers to be commanded if I remember right by a French Ensign If private men might examine the Directions of mighty Monarchs I should think this were enough to encourage all strangers to offer their service to the Capital Enemies of his most Christian Majesty CHAP. XIII Of Feltmarshals Lieutenant-Feltmarshals Lieutenant-Generals Generals of the Cavalry and Infantry Major-Generals and Adjutant-Generals OUR Modern forces being levied muster'd arm'd well exercis'd disciplin'd paid and provianted and moulded in Troops Companies and Regiments call now for General Officers that these Independent Bodies whereof I have spoken may be cast in the shape of an Army These shall not be wanting for it is but too ordinary to have more General Officers in an Army than there are Colonels in it and yet a great deal of more Colonels than are necessary Many General persons in an Army if you consider the weakness of their Regiments And truly I think it is an insupportable abuse and vanity that no sooner is a Lieutenant or Major-General sent with a part of the Army on some exploit which may require some considerable time or that upon some other occasion either for a speedy march the accommodation of the Army or the ease of the Country every one who commands apart one wing or Tertia of that Army in a very short time makes up a compleat General staff Of the General of the Artillery Commissaries Muster-masters and Proviant-masters General and of the Auditor and Provost-marshal General I have spoke in their proper places and so I shall hereafter of the Quarter-master Scout-master and Waggon-master General and now I am to give you a brief description of these General Officers mention'd in the Title of this Chapter The word Felt or Field-marshal imports nothing else but that person who Felt-marshalâ— marshals the Field and is called in French Marshal de Camp and so the Primitive institution of the Office was and so it continued till within these fifty years for the present in Germany Sweden and Denmark those who command Armies Royal consisting of Cavalry Infantry and Artillery are qualified by the Titles of Felt-marshals and have an equivalent authority to the ancient Marshals of France far above that of Marshals de Camp and those Felt-marshals have under them Lieutenant-Generals of the whole Army Generals and Major-Generals of Horse and Foot and these last are now the Marshals of the Field for they draw up the several Regiments and Brigades of both in order of Battel So upon the matter a Felt-marshal is now General or Commander in chief of the Army so were Barrier Torstensone and Wrangel successively one after another in the long German War under Christina Queen of Sweden These Felt marshals now have Generals and Trains of Artillery under them A Felt-marshals absolute command of an Army as I said before is of no old date for in my time Ilo was Felt-marshal to Wallenstein Gustavus Horne to the King of Sweden Kniphausin to the Duke of Lunenburg and as in process of time he hath insensibly attain'd to a higher and more absolute power than before so the Title of Lieutenant Felt-marshal signifies now more than it could be interpreted Lieutenant-Felt-marshal to do at its first institution and the title it self is not old When the late King of Sweden invaded Pole he gratified some of his ancient General Officers with this Title and it was then and is now where it is used look'd upon as more honourable than that of Lieutenant-General for what reason I cannot divine yet it is certainly so for a Lieutenant Felt-marshal commands Generals of Horse or Foot Count Koningsmark had commanded several Armies in chief in the long German War both prudently and successfully under the title of Lieutenant-General but thought himself honour'd seven years after the Peace of Munster with this title of Lieutenant Felt-marshal That must be most honourable that a Prince fancies to be so and there is good reason for it because he is the fountain of honour A Lieutenant General if you take the word strictly hath no command Lieutenant-General of an Army when his General is present I think it is a most proper Title for those who command Armies in chief under a Monarch or free State because they are their Lieutenants in Militaribus or if a Prince have appointed a Captain-General to command all his forces
under Charles Gustavus both Kings of Sweden and some of the Emperours Armies had them likewise Some Lieutenant-Generals of the Infantry I have likewise known but these are not in all Armies But a Major-General of the Foot is thought a necessary Commander in all Armies though they be never so weak when any of them is wanting or out of the way the oldest Colonel officiates for him The English call him Serjeant Major-General of the Foot and in some places he is order'd to be constantly President of the Council of War The name of Adjutant-General denotes his charge and office for he is a helper Adjutant-General to those General Officers of whom I have spoken in this Chapter The orders and directions he gives are not to be look'd upon as his own but the Generals and therefore his person must be known to both Officers and Soldiers of the whole Army If he have a Regiment he may of himself in some urgent occasions give such directions as he thinks warrantable and for which he knows His Duties he can be accountable otherwise whether he be a Colonel or not he must be sparing to give any other Orders than those he hath received He must be very ready active and stirring of a quick judgment to receive and of a ready utterance to deliver his commands In an Army Royal when it is encamped or lyeth in Quarters or yet when it is marching two Adjutant Generals one for the Horse and one for the Foot if they be men of active bodies and minds will be sufficient but in a Battel they are too few To supply which defect and not to increase the number of Adjutants the Commander in chief ought to have half a dozen of understanding Gentlemen well mounted and these as the General rides along the Army either to marshal or encourage it should ride with him that the whole Army may know them as such who are to be employed to carry the General 's directions which may be very many according as the many emergencies and changes of things may make him alter his commands and the fittest persons for that employment are such Reformado's as have been Majors of Horse and Foot formerly I have seen this place of Adjutant-General made very contemptible by some Generals who have fill'd it up His Charge made despicable with men whose mean understanding little experience dulness of spirit and weak intellectuals render'd them despicable and ridiculous to those to whom they pretended to bring their Orders He is or should be a great helper to the Major General whether of Horse or Foot But where there are two or three Major Generals of the Infantry and perhaps as many or more of the Cavalry I think there needs no Adjutant at all for I know no reason why every Major General should have an Adjutant General nor will men be sound to engage in a charge that is made so common unless it be such insignificant persons as these I have spoke of In France this Adjutant General is called Aidâ— de Camp and in Aide de Camp and Aide Major some Foot Regiments the Major had his Adjutant who was called Aide Major and this for most part is one of the Lieutenants who hath no allowance for it In the old English Discipline of War this Adjutant was called a Corporal of the Corporal of the Field Field and there were four of them in every Army wherein they were well known they were mounted on good and swift horses their charge and employment was the very same in all things with that of our Modern Adjutants If I have rightly described an Adjutant General I must confess I differ from Monsieur de Gaya who hath lately written a short System of the Art of War in his Nineteenth Page he would have us believe that the charge of an Adjutant General or Aide de Camp as he calls him is fit for a young man of quality and in which says he it is easie for him to learn and make himself perfect Indeed I acknowledg we are bound still to be learning what is good yet I cannot allow an Adjutant to be an Apprentice and though it becomes him to be taught by his Betters yet he should be so perfect in the Military Art that he is bound to teach others nor can I allow him to be very young since he imbraceth a charge which befits none but an experienced Soldier But Monsieur de Gaya adds he should be wise vigilant and vigorous I confess a young man may be wise but I believe wisdom here is taken for experience whereof young men of quality may be very oft destitute But Monsieur de Gaya forgot to bestow the qualification of Courageous upon his Aide de Camp which if he want being he is to carry and distribute his Orders in the time of hottest danger I will not give a rush for all his wisdom vigilancy and vigour He says also that his Aide de Camp should be always tous jours besides the General Officers to carry their Orders where they are necessary But if he be always with them how can he be from them when he carries their Orders where they are necessary certainly he must be but sometimes Quelquefois with them and sometimes from them Besides all these General persons mentioned some would have a Quartermaster General for the Horse besides the Quartermaster General of the Army because this last stays constantly at the head Quarter with the General of the Army and the other should be constantly with the Horse But I think places and offices Places should not be multiplied should not be multiplied in Armies and therefore the Quartermaster of the oldest Regiment of Horse may officiate in the Cavalry in the absence of the Quartermaster General of whose office I shall speak in my Discourse of Castrametation Though many of these General Officers of whom I have spoken may seem to be more burdensome than useful to either Prince State or Army yet this present Emperour Leopold was glad to make use of them all in his late War against the Turk to satisfie that noble desire of honour which many Princes and other persons of high and eminent quality had to serve him against the common Enemy of the Christian name I have told you of all the Duties these General persons are bound to pay in Qualifications of all these General Officers their several charges but I have not spoke of those parts vertues and qualities wherewith some who write or speak of that Subject would have them endued they will be too tedious to rehearse neither can I well do it without Tautologies But I shall tell you that the qualifications required by some Authors for a Captain General being divided between him and all the General persons under him may in my opinion serve them all sufficiently and what these are you may read in the next ensuing Chapter CHAP. XIV Of a Captain General or Generalissimo IF
our first Parents had not rebell'd against their Creator their posterity had enjoy'd an everlasting peace and so such a person as we now speak of had been very unnecessary But I assure my self never man except Adam when he was in the state of perfection was endued with these gifts wherewith some Notional Authors wil have a Captain General to be qualified He must say A Notional description of a Captain General they be pious towards God just towards man and loyal to his Master He must be very affable very wise of a sudden and quick apprehension of a solid judgment and happy memory He must be very severe in his command and yet very merciful He must be liberal and free from all manner of Avarice painful magnanimous and couragious and in one word endued with all the Moral Vertues He ought to be an old Practitioner in the Military Art and well experimented in all its parts and duties Perhaps you may think this enough but Polybius in his Ninth Book requires more for he will have his General to be both an Astrologer and a Geometer If you will tell me where or in what region of the habitable world all these qualifications shall be found in one person Eris mihi magnus Apollo That he who is intrusted with the supreme Command of Royal Armies one or more and with the whole Militia of a State should be an accomplisht person The charge of a Generalissimo is of the highest nature and if it be possible such a one as we have describ'd will not be readily denied since it is a Command of the highest nature the greatest honour and deepest consequence that can be confer'd on any single person of what quality â—r degree soever for he is intrusted not only with the lives of those that are in Arms under his Command but with the defence of the whole Country Towns Forts and Castles with the honour welfare and standing of the Prince and State and with the lives and properties of all their Subjects The loss of his Army or Armies by his negligence inadvertency rashness or cowardice may occasion the loss of all these or make them run a very great hazard by his indiscretion much more by his treachery he may in one moment of time lose the lives and liberties of many thousands make numbers of women widows children fatherless and fathers childless he may lose the honour and beauty of a whole Province yea of a whole Kingdom all which he was bound by his office and charge to preserve The consideration of these things mov'd most of the ancient Kings and Emperours A Prince to manage his Wars in person and those of latter times likewise to manage their Wars and lead their Armies in person Those who laid the foundation of the first four Monarchies did so as in the Assâ—rian Nimrod Belus Ninus and Semiramis and when their posterity did it not their Empire was in the wain and ended with Sardanapalus who hid himself from the sight of men among his women Cyrus led his Armies himself so did some of his Successors but when others of them staid at home and sent their Lieutenants abroad the Persian Monarchy decay'd and became a prey to the Great Alexander who manag'd his Wars in person and so did those great Captains of his who cut out Kingdoms to themselves out of their Masters Conquests but their Successors lost them by sitting idle at home and employing their Generals abroad Many Roman Emperours after Augustus went to their Wars in person whereby they preserv'd their Imperial Dignity but when others imployed their Lieutenants though many of these were excellent men and often victorious the Empire was torn in pieces The Kings of Leon Navarr Castile Portugal and Arragon after the destruction of the Gothish Monarchy in Spain went to the field in person and recover'd Many Instances to prove it those Kingdoms out of the hands of the Saracens When the Kings of France of the Merovingian and Carolomannian race kept within their Palaces and suffer'd the Majors thereof to govern their Armies they lost their Kingdoms and Crowns Our Kings of Scotland and England used mostly to manage their Wars themselves the Emperour Charles the Fifth led his greatest Armies himself and for most part was always victorious for his loss at Algiers occasion'd by the visible hand of Heaven and his forced Retreats from Inspruck and the Siege of Metz were but small blemishes in the beautiful and fair Map of his victorious raign But since his time his Successors the Kings of Spain have sate at home and entrusted their Armies to their Generals and we see that their wide and far stretcht Monarchy has been since that Emperours time in a constant decadency All the Kings and Emperours of the Ottoman race went in person to the Wars till Selimus the second changed that custom and since that time none of them have done actions by their Bashas comparable to those of their Ancestors In our own days the Emperour Ferdinand the Second intrusted the managing his War against Gustavus Adolphus to his Generals Wallenstein Tily and Pappenheim all brave and great Captains yet that Martial King being in person on the head of his Armies prevailed over them all We may perceive the great odds of managing a War by a Prince in his own person and by his Captain General by taking a view of the actions of two Brothers both of them excellent Princes these were the Emperour Charles the Actions of two Brothers compar'd Fifth of whom I but just now spoke and Ferdinand the First King of the Romans Hungaria and Bohemia The first as I have already said led his most considerable Armies himself the second staid constantly at home and sent his Captain Generals to manage his Wars of greatest importance mark the issue Ferdinand lost three Royal Armies each of them composed of a well appointed Cavalry Infantry and Train of Artillery one of them at Esâ—câ—hiâ— under Cazzianer another at Buda under Rocandolf and the third at Pesth under Joachiâ—â— Marquess of Brandenburg all three were wofully and shamefully lost without fighting And if any think that the misfortune of all the three or any one of them could not have been prevented by the Princes own presence I shall answer that undoubtedly it had and my reason is this because that which lost them all was the irresolution of the Generals who durst neither fight nor retire in time as being shie and wary to hazard that which was not their owâ—â— whereas Ferdinand if he had been present would quickly have resolv'd either on the one or the other and consequently would have either retir'd in time and sav'd all his three Armies or have fought and by that means been victorious or would have been beaten with more glory to himself and mischief to his insolent enemy And this is more particularly clear in that Army commanded by Rocandolf who after multitudes of Infidels were already arrived
fitter Captain General than him who is nearest in blood to her self for he is most proper to represent the Soveraign power who is next to it I confess Queen Elizabeth of England did not so and yet was fortunate in all her Wars Answered she had very gallant and loyal Subjects neither was it in her power to make that choice I spoke of because he who was next to her in blood was a Soveraign Prince of another Kingdom And if it be objected that Christina Queen of Sweden manag'd her German War fortunately under the Conduct of several brave Captains who were not of the blood I shall answer it is true yet for all that I aver that all of them did not so much in sixteen years time after the death of Gustavus as he did alone in the space of two years And Christina at length found it necessary to give the great trust of all her armies in Germany to her nearest Cousin the Count Palatine and send him over with the Title of Generalissimo which she never bestowed on any of her Subjects Fourthly it will be said that a free State must chuse and trust a Captain The Fourth General with their forces for a State cannot go to the Field in person as little can it send one of their blood for he may be a near kinsman to two or three of the State and have no relation to the rest To which I answer that I look upon it as an intrinsecal defect in all free States whether Aristocratical or Popular Answered that a pure necessity is put upon them to intrust their armies to such a General as they in their prudence make choice of and of whom frequently All Free States jealous of their Generals they live in a perpetual jealousie fearing his usurpation almost as much as a profest enemies invasion and for that reason they do often limit his Commission with so many restrictions and give him such Committees and Councellors about him that he is forc'd many times to let slip fair occasions wherein he might have done the enemy great mischief and his Masters eminent service And in the election of their General it is no small question in a State Whether it be best to chuse a native or a stranger The Athenians imploy'd their own Athenians Citizens the Spartans their Kings who were created for no other purpose but Spartans to lead their armies for in time of peace they had no more authority than any of the other thirty Senators The Romans made use of their yearly Consuls Romans The Venetians mostly make choice of strangers and have for most part â—een happy in falling upon prudent and faithful Captains The Commonwealth of Venetians the Switzers consists in their Union among themselves against all enemies especially Switzers the House of Austria from whose subjection they emancipated themselves All the thirteen particular or Provincial Estates being independent one of another and being without a Head they are subject to Ruptures and Civil Wars as they were more especially in the time of Zuinglius for matters of Religion But their jars last not long fear of a common enemy teaching them to compose their animosities for nothing makes a Society more faithful than fear of one who hates all of them When they join unanimously at their general meetings and prosecute the results of their Counsels they are formidable and when they make a General of their forces whether it be for their own service or that of foreign Princes for very mercenary they are it is but for one expedition or for one piece of service which being ended his Command is at an end likewise and so they need not be jealous of him or of any that succeeds him The Estates of the Vnited Provinces of the Netherlands manag'd the long â—â—ited Provinces War they had with the King of Spain under the Conduct of four Princes of Orange successively one after another neither needed they ever fear the Usurpation of any of them for though their power was almost unlimited yet it could not tempt those Princes who were so eminent for vertue to whose goodness magnanimity justice and fortunate conduct these Estates under God owe their freedom yet were they jealous of the late Prince but it seems they are now desirous to witness their gratitude to that Illustrious family by making this present Prince their Captain General How remediless this inward disease is in all free States that they must intrust Free States usurp'd by their Captain Generals Lacedemon their Militia to one or two persons the ruin of some Commonwealths makes it manifest Lacedemon several times was like to lose her liberty by some of her Kings who were nothing but her Captain Generals and at last they lost it under the Tyrant Nabis The fear of Usurpation made Athens commit an inexcusable folly or rather a madness in their Ostracism whereby the people banisht the best qualified of their Citizens Rome for all her wariness in intrusting her Rome armies to Annual Consuls miss'd but little to lose her freedom in the Dictatorship of Bloody Sylla and scarce had she recover'd it after his death when she was rob'd of it for ever by Julius Caesar Castruccio Castraâ—ani usurped the Republick of Luca and so have some other petty free States of Italy been used Luca. How that Hodg podg of Oligarchie Tyranny and Anarchy the long black Oligarchie of England Parliament of England which pretended it self to be a free State was used by their Captain General Cromwell is a story well enough known and he knowing that he might be used in that same fashion would never part with the Command of the army no not after he had usurped the Soveraignty And indeed if Soveraign Princes will look back to by past ages they will find And Monarchies also it dangerous to intrust their whole Militia to one Subject unless he be a Prince of the Blood You may find in Holy Writ Abner Captain of the Host of Israel Kingdom of Israel bring the Kingdom over to David and though the same David seems to attest that Abner died not like a fool yet I believe he died like a Traytor and that was as bad and an insolent Traytor too for he told his Master to his face he would betray him And truly if Davids Political ends had not hinder'd him I think he had done as just and as generous an act to have put Abner to death as he did when he caused Baanah and Rechab to be slain for bringing him the head of their Master Ishbosheth Nor was Ishbosheth the last King of Israel who was so serv'd by his Captain General Zimri conspir'd against Elah and kill'd him with his whole family Omri Captain of the Host bandies against Zimri and forc'd him to burn himself in the Kings Palace And Tibni went fair to have done as much to Omri Jâ—hu Captain of the Host marcheth against
that thereby the Roman army might recover the honour Instances for it of ancient times of the Field well near lost and so they being bravely mounted rode among the thickest of their enemies where valiantly fighting both of them were kill'd which made Victory presently turn over to the Romans But we must not believe with Livius that the Consuls bequeathing themselves so heartily to the Devil was so acceptable a sacrifice to heaven or so supererogatory as to move the Gods to reward it with success to their party no it was that excess of valour which they shew'd in the action that encourag'd the flying Romans to turn head and follow their Generals in that desperate Charge and I doubt not but the deaths of their Consuls exasperated them and put an edge on their revenge and that procur'd them the Victory The same Author informs us that a Roman Consul one Petilius Laetus fighting bravely against the Ligurians was kill'd to revenge whose death the Romans fought so well that they chac'd their enemies out of the Field Polybius in his second Book speaks of a very remarkable Battel which two Roman Consuls fought with two Gallick Kings the two Consuls having marched with two several armies two several ways by a strange Chance met in such a manner that one of them began the skirmish with the Van of the Gauls army when the other began to attack their reer but at the first shock one of the Consuls was kill'd to revenge whose death his army charg'd and fought thorough the Gauls routed them totally kill'd on the place forty thousand and took ten thousand with one of their Kings The Theban Epaminondâ—â— got his mortal wounds at Mantinea whereof he died that night yet was his army victorious But to come nearer home and our own days Maurice Duke of Saxe in the Emperour Charles the Fifths time was kill'd in that Battel he fought with Albert Marquess of Brandenburg yet his army got the victory A little before Instances for it of later times that time the Duke of Bourbon was the first man that was kill'd at the assault of Rome which did so enrage the army whereof he was General that it never gave over storming the Walls till they enter'd them and then sackt the City The Prince of Orange who succeeded that Bourbon in the command of that same Imperial army was kill'd in a hot encounter with the Florentine General Ferrucci yet his army was Victorious The great King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus was kill'd even as the Battel of Lutzen began yet did his army fight bravely the whole day and forc'd the Imperialists to go out of the field at night I knew Feltmarshal Kniphausin a good Commander while he was marshalling the few forces he had at Hasalon in the Bishoprick of Munster against one Lâ—aersam Lieutenant General to the Elector of Colen shot dead upon which one Cratzenstein who commanded next the Feltmarshal gave the enemy so gallant a charge that Lutersams little army was defeated and himself taken And to conclude a General may lose more to his Prince by too much care to preserve his own person than by freely hazarding it Now as our General is bound to give proofs of his courage so in time of action he ought to be of an excellent temper for if at that time he be transported with vanity presumption credulity or other perturbations of soul he may either hazard too much or not hazard at all for these or any of these passions may move him to give those Orders and Commands which may easily make him lose the day and with it the service of his Master and his own Reputation for ever CHAP. XV. Of Intelligence Spies and a General Scoutmaster A Man can scarcely speak of a careful General but you will hear him say that he had always good intelligence but I can tell him that no General ever liv'd that had always good intelligence nor is it at all possible But certainly To look for Intelligence the duty of all Commanders it is the duty of all Commanders especially those who lead armies to endeavour to get Intelligence of their enemies designs counsels projects motions and marches their numbers their strength their Artillery the quality of the Soldiers whether young and raw or old and experienced but more especially of the qualifications vertues and vices of him who commands in chief And if a siege of a Town or a Castle be to be formed to know the situation of the place its manner of Fortification Bulwarks Parapets Ditches and outer works what men are within it what provisions what Munitions of War and what Artillery and what Officers particularly what a person the Governour is how the Posts are divided and what numbers of men are assign'd for keeping every one of them and many more particulars that accordingly the General may know how to â—ake his measures whether he shall presently storm it or Block it till he starve the Gaâ—â—ison out of it or if he shall make his approaches and batteries against it Almost every Soldier can tell you that in all armies Intelligence is the life of action but how to get good Intelligence to which a General or any Commander may trust is an Art yet to be found out and I say more it will never be found so long as that remains true and it will remain true till the Heavens To get true Intelligence very difficult be roll'd up like a scroll which Truth it self hath said and it is this That all men are lyars and so long as men are so what Intelligence shall men believe We are not to expect it from Angels and the Devil is a lyar from the beginning Instanced To confirm this by one instance which is unquestionable What Intelligence durst the leader of Gods people trust when ten of these twelve Intelligencers which by Gods appointment were sent to spie the Land of Promise did by their fearful and false relations make the people murmur This truth of the uncertainty of all Intelligence in Military affairs which I assert will best appear if we examine all the kinds of Intelligence that can be had and these I suppose can be no more but two publick and private Intelligence Every one of these will admit of a subdivision for both of them are of several sorts Publick Intelligence is got first by those parties whether stronger or weaker Publick Intelligence by stronger parties whether of Horse or Foot that are sent either from an army a part of it or from a Garrison to learn those things or some of them that I have mention'd in the beginning of this Chapter If the party be to go far it is to be the stronger and to divide some part of it is to stay behind at some pass or strait to secure the retreat of those who advance further Now suppose this strong party meets no opposition but returns safely the Intelligence they bring is either Very
often false from the Country people which signifies but little and for most part just nothing or else the party hath taken some Prisoners These can tell you how strong they conceive your enemy is where he was yesterday or where he was this morning but cannot tell you where he will be this night or to morrow nor can they tell you any of his designs or intentions and if any of the two either Country people or Soldiers undertake to reveal the secrets of the Enemies General to you you are unhappy if you trust them for ordinarily they speak either ignorantly or falsly and it is certain that either a Fool or a Knave may ruin you if you believe either of them The two Roman Consuls Veturius and Two Instances of it Posthumius lost a brave army at Cauâ—ium where they were shut up in the straits of Mountains till they were contented to be disarmed and pass ignominiously under the Gallows to redeem their lives from the Samnites this mishap befell them for trusting the Intelligence of the Country people or Soldiers cloth'd like Country people who assur'd them that the army of the Samnites was not within one hundred Italian miles of them You may read it at large in Livies Ninth Book Curio Caesar's Legate in Africk a good Soldier believ'd the Intelligence that some Prisoners whom he had taken from the enemy gave him which was that Juba King of Mauritania was gone home from Vtica and had taken most of his army with him but had left behind him his Lieutenant General Sabuca with some few forces upon which the Credulous Curio marcheth out of his well fortified Camp sought out the King who waited for him fought and was beaten hardly being able to make a retreat to his Leaguer where he lost his life Caesar hath it in the Ninth Book De Bello Civili When you send a smaller party for Intelligence it must not be far it is done Publick Intelligence by smaller parties not altogether to be trusted when an enemy is near these are to discover or as it is commonly called to recognosce it is ordinarily of an odd or uneven number as seven nine eleven thirteen fifteen or more If it consists of fifteen three may go before four follow to sustain them and then eight to receive the other seven Suppose they come safe back they bring you word that at such a distance they saw no enemy at all or they saw such a number in such a place or they saw their whole army marching you have reason upon this to draw up in Battel if you be not strongly encamped yet the marching army may prove Trees or Cows at best I have sometime seen the like of this fall out But this weaker party perhaps brings you a Prisoner or two if so it hath done much but what you are to trust to of a Prisoners Intelligence I have already told you And here as the Proverb goes a Tartar may be taken your party may be beaten and some of them if not all made Prisoners you will say you care not none of them can tell your intentions I believe you but if that be true then those you take from your enemy can tell as little of his But you will say upon a march sufficient Nor that of Officers Officers shall be sent with these parties which are called forlorn Hopes and so they may be called if an enemy be near and these will bring in true Intelligence yet for all their sufficiency they may bring you such news as may prejudice you if you give absolute trust to them for the best of men may be mistaken and may mistake things Take two notable examples of this Caesar Instanced in Caesar marching against the Helvetians commanded Labienus with two Legions with all possible speed to go before and possess a hill not far from the Enemies Camp this at a Cursory march he did Câ—sar marcheth with the rest of his army but sent one Considius a Tribune of great experience and approved valour before to bring him certain word in what posture the Switzers were Considius And Considius one of his Tribunes mistakes the two Legions which were with Labienus to be Helvetians and when Caesar with his army was within one Italian mile and a half of that place Considius came posting to him and assur'd him the enemy was Master of the hill Labienus should have possest and avouched he knew them by their Arms and Colours to be Helvetians and which was worse he told him he could not learn what was become of the two Legions This Intelligence made the great Caesar immediately alter his resolution which was to have fallen on the Helvetians that very day for he was in great want of Provisions Well he drew off and encamped on the next hill and when the day was well spent he came to know that Labienus and his two Legions had possest that hill as they were appointed that Considius had out of fear imagin'd the Romans to be Switzers and that the enemy was march'd away far enough Caesar steps aside to look for bread to his hungry army the foolish Helvetians thinking he had fled for fear follow'd him to their loss otherwise they had escap'd him for that time perhaps for good and all Thus Caesar by misintelligence was like to have lost a fair opportunity to fight his enemy and whom should he trust if he might not trust a Veteran Captain and as himself calls him Rei Militaris peritissimum most expert in Military affairs The second instance is when Francis the first made his Retreat from Landrecy And in Charles the fifth and Guise he encamped one night in view of the Emperour Charles the Fifth who follow'd him making show as if he intended to fight Charles the next day about break of day one Zalasar a brave and experienced Captain was And Zalasar one of his Captains sent to discover who at his return assur'd the Emperour that the French King was lying still in the same posture he was in the night before and that a Regiment of Switzers had the outer guards and several pieces of Artillery with them fair day-light made his error known the French army was got clear away those that Zalasar took for Switzers were the Emperours own guards of Germans and his Pieces of Ordnance were old Trunks of Trees This made the poor Gentleman ridiculous to that whole army in which he formerly had so much respect and did worse than that for his misintelligence lost him his Masters favour who by it lost the opportunity of taking his advantage of the reer of the French army If you ask me what shall be done in this case I answer the usual custom must be followed Intelligence must be both sought and bought for parties forlorn Yet Intelligence must still be look'd after Troops smaller bodies of Horse and sometimes of Foot must be sent out for Intelligence neither can any army
that ever he got from either friend or enemy till it was confirm'd to him from others yet I have told you that his Intelligence did fail it is true not so oft as his Legates were abus'd by theirs because he trusted not so easily When Spies are sent he who sends them must let them know none of his own designs Their miserable condition for these they may readily reveal These Spies are in a woful condition for so soon as they are suspected they are immediately search'd and if any Papers be found about them either in their Clothes the soles of their shoos their hair hats sheaths of daggers or swords they are put to torture and then all they know for most part is reveal'd and though no Papers be found with them yet are they tortur'd to tell what perhaps they know not The Roman way to How the Romans found out Spies find out Spies was by a Trumpet or a Cryer to command all to their Huts and Tents and those who were then found wandering abroad were apprehended and examin'd for Spies But I do not remember to have heard or read of a greater mischief that want of Intelligence did to any than to the two famous Carthaginian Brothers Hannibal and Asdrubal for after the last's arrival in Italy Hannibal faceth one Roman army resolving to hinder it to join with another which he knew was sent to hinder his Brother to join with him Asdrubal faceth the other Roman army Two great Captains both Brothers ruin'd for want of Intelligence under Consul Livius and provoketh him to Battel but in vain All the four armies are encamped and fortified each diligently observing the motions of his adversary Yet Claudius Nero the Consul who opposed Hannibal marcheth in the night with six thousand commanded Romans out of his Camp joins with Livius who was at least a hundred miles distant from him without the knowledg of either of the two Brothers Neither had Asdrubal any knowledg of the Conjunction but his own conjecture by the numbers of the Horses that he saw go out to watering and the two Classicums the Badges of two Consuls he retiâ—'d that night but was overtaken next day beaten and kill'd Nor did Hannibal know any thing of the whole matter till Nero was return'd in safety to the Roman Camp and that he caused Asdrubals head to be thrown before one of the Gates of Hannibals at the sight whereof the Gallant Carthaginian wept and said he now saw too well the fortune of Carthage meaning no doubt that the Heavens were not to be any more propitious to that powerful City when such two famous Warriors as himself and his valiant Brother were ruin'd for want of Intelligence For Quos vult perdere hos dementat Jupiter Jove dements whom he intends to destroy But to return to our Spies to put them to death without mercy or to The punishment of Spies very severe use them worse hath been so ancient and still is so universal a practice that to speak any thing against the injustice of it might justly make a man ridiculously singular In ancient times for most part they were tortur'd to death and little better are they used in the Modern War But do not you think the Romans used Spies more mercifully at the Siege of Capua who only cut off their hands and noses and so let them depart in peace Caesar who was merciful enough and made great use of Spies himself caused the hands of two messengers to be cut off who were taken carrying Letters from Corduba to young Pompey and in the same War he apprehended four Spies in his Camp one was a Soldier and three were Slaves the Soldier he beheaded but the Slaves he Crucified So you see Soldiers must be subject to the punishment of Spies if they suffer themselves to be imployed in their office But since Spies are made use of by all Commanders in the Wars by all Generals nay by all Princes why is there a more severe animadversion against them than against Robbers Murderers yea Parricides They are not only allowed made use of and commended but bountifully rewarded by those who imploy them why then is not there some capitulation for them or at least some greater mitigation of their punishment than to deliver them over to the cruelty of a Butcherly Hangman Spies may be lawfully used to whip torture hang spit and quarter them Certainly their Office is lawful otherwise lawful Princes would not make use of them why are they then so horribly punisht for going about their duty Yes assuredly their Office is lawful since Moses by Gods own appointment sent a dozen of them to spy the Land of Canaan one whereof was Caleb who went in and possest his share of it and another of the Twelve was Joshuah who thereafter was Captain General of the Israelitish Army Two Spies were likewise sent to Jericho who ow'd the safety of their lives to the Harlot Rachab and when they lodg'd at such a womans house had they not been sent by Gods own people might not a man have said that Knaves and Whores were well met together But to conclude if Spies escap'd without very severe punishment Camps Armies and all Fortified places would be pester'd with that base though necessary Canaille The English have a General Officer whom they qualifie with the Title of Scoutmaster General I have known none of them abroad but I hear in some Scout-master General places of Italy they have something very like him and that is Il Capitano di Spiani the Captain of the Spies I cannot believe that this Scoutmaster or this Captain hath any thing to do with that Intelligence which I called publick and is got by parties whether of Horse or Foot for the commanding these out and the keeping the Lists of their Turns or Toures belongs properly to the Major Generals and several Majors of Regiments both of the Cavalry and Infantry none whereof I conceive will suffer the Scoutmaster to usurp their Office They must then only have the regulation of the private Intelligence wherein no doubt they may ease the General of the Army very much But being that Spies are properly under their command if this Scoutmaster General or this Capitano di Spiani be taken Prisoner by the enemy whether he may be ransom'd and used as an Officer or hanged as a Spy is a question which because I cannot determine I shall leave it as a Probleme The French have lately constituted a Captain of Guides who perhaps is the Captain of Spies I speak of CHAP. XVI Embatteling by the Square-root examined and rejected THE great Apostle of the Gentiles tells us That the fashion of this world perisheth And truly I admire not at all that Embatteling Bodies of Foot and Horse by the Square-root is worn out of fashion but I admire much that Several kinds of Batallions marshal'd by the Square-root ever it was in fashion I shall not offer
left hand three Brigades of Foot drawn up directly behind the three Intervals appointed to be between the four Brigades in the Battel and on their left hand the second Brigade of Horse drawn up behind the Interval appointed to be between the two Brigades of Horse which makes the left wing of the Battel The Longitude of the Battel marshal'd as I have said you may compute thus Longitude of the Battel computed The two Brigades of Horse on the right wing each consisting of 600 Horse and consequently of 200 Leaders both of them 400 Leaders each whereof hath three foot of ground allow'd him require 1200 foot and the Interval 600 the distance between them and the Foot 24 as much you are to allow to the left wing of the Horse add these together you will find the aggregate to be 3648. Each Brigade of Foot consisting of 1800 men six deep hath 300 Leaders and so the four Brigades have 1200 Leaders each of these hath three foot allow'd him inde 3600 foot so every Brigade hath 900 foot of ground as much must every Interval have now there be three Intervals and three times 900 amounts to 2700. There must be in every Brigade two Intervals each of six foot between the Pikes and Musqueteers so 12 foot in every one and in all the four 48. Add 48 to 2700 and both of them to 3600 the aggregate is 6348. So much ground is requir'd for the Foot of the Battel Add 6348 to 3648 which was allowed to the Horse the aggregate will be 9996 which will want four foot of two Italian miles I shall neither trouble my Reader nor my self to compute the Longitude of the Reserve What I have said of two ways of Marshaling this Army of 16200 Horse and Foot is meant only in order to Intervals for it is most certain an Army may be drawn up in as many several figures and forms as there may be Generals to succeed one another in the command of it Between the Battel and Reserve there should be as great distance of ground as a Brigade of Foot possesseth in its Longitude but if the Army be marshalled in three bodies then the distance between Battel and Reer-guard must be double that distance that is between Van-guard and Battel that there be room for both to rally this was observ'd by two late Princes of Orange Maurice and Henry in drawing up their Armies following therein the practice of the Romans in their Intervals between their Hastati Principes and Triarii CHAP. XVIII Of the Women and Baggage belonging to an Army of the General Waggon-master and of his Duties OUR levied men being arm'd paid exercised disciplin'd divided into Troops Companies Regiments and Brigades with Officers belonging to them and sufficiently proyided with General Officers and a Train of Artillery and at length marshal'd in order of Battel are now ready to march but I am afraid the Baggage will disturb them unless it be put in some order The great number of Coaches Waggons Carts and Horses loaded with baggage the needless numbers of Women and Boys who follow Armies renders a march slow uneasie and troublesome And therefore the Latins gave Baggage justly called Impedimenta baggage the right name of Impedimenta hinderances But because without some baggage an Army cannot subsist it would be his eare who commands in chief to order the matter so that the baggage may be as inconsiderable and small as may be and that it march in such order that every Waggon-man Carter and Baggage-man may know his own place that so they may neither disturb one another nor yet hinder the march of the Army The place where the Baggage should march is appointed according to the knowledg the General hath of his enemy if he be in the Reer the Baggage should be sent before the Army if he be in the Van it should be in the Reer But in these places there should be Baggage should have Convoys of Horse and Foot with it a Convoy of Horse and Foot strong or weak according as occasion seems to require And of Convoys for Baggage I shall say these few things in general In them these Horsemen who are not very well mounted may well enough be employed but no men are to be set there whether of Foot or Horse that are sick lame or wounded for that were to betray both them and the Baggage to an enemy When Convoys are put to fight for defence of their Charge as many times they are for the desire of booty spurs men to desperate attempts they should if conveniently they can cast themselves within the Waggons and Carts drawn up round for that purpose from whence Musqueteers may do notable service and out of which retrenchment the Horse may as they see occasion make handsome Sallies If they cannot get this done they should be sure to put as much of the Baggage or all of it if they may between them and their own Army and themselves between the Baggage and the enemy whether he fall out to be in the Van or in the Reer Sometimes if the danger appear to be both before and behind the Baggage marches in the middle of the Infantry and though some be of the opinion that the Baggage should still follow the Artillery yet that doth not nor cannot hold in all cases and emergencies the marching of both Armies and Baggage many times depending on contingents of which no determinate rule can be given The way to regulate Baggage is to appoint under a severe penalty that no Company Troop or Regiment shall have more Waggons Carts or Baggage horses than such a set number already order'd by the Prince or his General The number of Waggons Carts and Baggage-Horses should be determined which should be as few as may be with full power to the Waggon-master General to make all that is over that number prize with an absolute command to all Colonels to assist him in case of opposition In the former Discourses we have seen that the Grecians and Romans to free themselves as much as was possible of this great Embarras of Baggage loaded their Soldiers like Mules and Asses this perhaps did suit those times better than it would do ours But most of our Modern allowances for Carriages of an Armies Baggage hath been in the other extream I shall instance four The Swedish Kings and their Generals allow ten Waggons to every Troop of Horse and two to every Company of Foot and a Sutlers Waggon to every one of them sometimes two to a Troop of Horse besides the Waggons allowed to Swedish allowance of Waggons the field and Staff-officers of Regiments Let us then suppose that the Cavalry of an Army consists of five thousand Horse and these divided into a hundred Troops and fifty Horse in a Troop were thought fair in the German War These hundred Troops had for themselves a thousand Waggons and a hundred for their Sutlers Model these hundred Troops in
as the Regiments or Brigades march If any Waggons or Baggage-horses press to be before these behind whom the Waggon-master General hath ordered them to march he may safely make prize of them owe them who will When the Waggons come to a Heath or a Champaign field the Waggon-master should order the Waggons to draw up two four or five in rank and to drive in that order so long as the ground permits them to do so and this saves time and makes dispatch and when they come to strait ground they are to fall off by the right hand in that order wherein they were before The same course he is to take with Baggage horses This Baggage-master General is allowed to have two Lieutenants so that if the Army march three several ways aâ— Waggon-master hath Deputies sometimes it doth himself and his two Deputies serve to marshal the Baggage of all the three If the Army is divided into two or the Cavalry march alone one of his Lieutenants goes along with the Horse the other stays with himself and he is constantly to be there where the General of the Army and Train of Artillery either marcheth or quartereth Many times Waggons are commanded to be burnt and destroyed sometimes all the Women and most of the Baggage are left behind at some Garrison and fortified place or with the Body of the Infantry and Artillery when expedition calls away all the Horse Dragoons and as many Foot as are able to march lustily In some of these occasions Officers go fair to lose their Waggons and some of their moveables Women following an Army divided into three Classes First Women who follow an Army may be ordered if they can be ordered in three ranks or rather in Classes one below another The first shall be of those who are Ladies and are the Wives of the General and other principal Commanders of the Army who for most part are carried in Coaches but those Coaches must drive according to the quality of them to whom the Ladies belong and as the Baggage of their Husbands is appointed to march by the Waggon-master General The second Classe is of those who ride on Horseback Second and these must ride in no other place than where the Baggage of the Regiment to whom they belong marcheth but they are very oft extravagant gadding here and there and therefore in some places they are put in Companies and have one or more to command and over-see them and these are called in Germany Hureweibles Rulers or Marshals of the Whores I have seen them ride keep Troop rank and file very well after that Captain of theirs who led them and a Banner with them which one of the Women carried The third Third Classe is of those who walk on foot and are the wives of inferiour Officers and Souldiers these must walk besides the Baggage of the several Regiments to whom they belong and over them the several Regiment Marshals have inspection As woman was created to be a helper to man so women are great helpers Women helpful to their Husbands in Armieâ— in Armies to their husbands especially those of the lower condition neither should they be rashly banisht out of Armies sent away they may be sometimes for weighty considerations they provide buy and dress their husbands meat when their husbands are on duty or newly come from it they bring in fewel for fire and wash their linnens and in such manner of employments a Souldiers wife may be helpful to others and gain money to her husband and her self especially they are useful in Camps and Leaguers being permitted which should not be refused them to go some miles from the Camp to buy Victuals and other Useful in Camps Necessaries At the long Siege of Breda made by Spinola it was observ'd that the married Souldiers fared better look'd more vigorously and were able to do more duty than the Batchellors and all the spite was done the poor women was to be called their husbands mules by those who would have been glad to have had such mules themselves Among all these kinds of Women in well order'd Armies there are none but those who are married If there be any else upon examination made by the Minister Priest or Consistory they are put away with ignominy at least should be conformable to all Articles of War But a strange story is writ by good Authors of that famous Duke of Alvâ— whose name is yet so hateful to most of the Netherlands They say at that time he marched from Italy to the Low-Countries to reduce them to the obedience of his Master the King of Spain a permission was given to Courtizans to follow his Army but they were to ride in Troops with Banners They had their several A strange story of Courtizans Capitanesses and Alfieras or she-Cornets and other Officers who kept among them an exact Discipline in all points that concern'd their profession They were divided into several Squadrons according to their quality and that was distinguisht no otherwise but by the difference of their beauties faces and features Those of the best sort were permitted only to traffick with men of the highest quality those of the second rank with Commanders of great note those of the third with Officers of a lower condition and those of the fourth degree with Officers who were of the meanest quality and Souldiers whom those of the other three ranks rejected An excellent Commonwealth where it was prohibited under all grievous pains not to suffer themselves to be Courted by any An abominable Common-Wealth either above or below the rank wherein they were placed and that was impartially done according to the Talent nature had bestowed upon them so that every common Souldier inferior person or low Officer Ensign Captain Colonel or General Commander knew to whom they might address themselves and from whom they might buy repentance A practice which I suppose never had a Precedent in either Christian or Pagan Army and which with an impudent face loudly cry'd defyance to both Religion and Moral honesty CHAP. XIX Of the March of an Army IF there be any confusion in the march of an Army or that the right ordering it be neglected by general persons in appointing every Regiment or Brigade its own place with the Train of Artillery and Baggage or that Colonels Majors and Captains be careless to obey their orders in their march A careless march the ruin of an Army and suffer their Souldiers to run straggle and lag behind it not only gives an enemy a wished advantage but is enough of it self to ruin an Army even without the help of an enemy In a march an Army may be surprized in passing a River whether that be by Foord Bridg or Boat or when it marcheth thorough marsh grounds or close Countries when it ascends or descends Hills to all these inconveniences a careful General should advert and according to the Intelligence he hath either
he is to advance his march speedily to gain a pass or advantage of ground or stop his march and encamp and fortifie and if nothing else will help he should draw up in Battel either fronting that same way as he was marching or facing about to fight the enemy whether he be in his front or reer and let God dispose of the Victory as seems good in his eyes Our Modern Armies have marched and do still march one of three several An Army may â—arch in three several manners ways these are first by dividing an Army into three several Bodies Van-guard Battel and Arrier-guard secondly by marching in two distinct Bodies as they use to fight and these are commonly called Battel and Reserve Thirdly all in one Battel whereby is meant the half of the Cavalry in the Van the other half in the Reer and the Foot between them To clear all these three ways of marching let us suppose our Army to consist of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot These are divided after the first way thus In the Van-guard First manner in three Bodies three Brigades of Horse and out of these a strong party of three or four hundred Horse to go before to search the ways and discover That party should be about one English mile before the three Brigades of Horse and out of it should be small parties sent out about half an English mile which should constantly acquaint the great party and it the Brigades behind and so from hand Van-guard to hand till the Intelligence of all they learn comes to the General After these forlorn Troops of Horse follow commanded Musqueteers with Pioneers to smooth and make plain the ways for the Artillery whether it be by cutting Trees or hedges or filling hollow grounds or Ditches After the three Brigades of Horse follow some Field-pieces suppose the half of those that are with the Army and some Waggons loaded with Ammunition immediately after them march two Brigades of Foot these are follow'd by the Baggage of the whole Van-guard and behind it a commanded party of Horse and Foot so you see this Van-guard is a petty Army of it self In the next place comes the Battel in this order First two Brigades of Foot after them the Prince or his Battel General in person attended with the Guard of his Body and Servants behind these the General or Colonel of the Artillery who is followed by the great Ordnance and whole Train of Artillery after it cometh in due order the Baggage belonging to the General Officers and to all the four Brigades which compose the Battel in the Reer whereof march two more Brigades of Foot and these sometimes are brought up by a party of Horse After the Battel comes the Reerguard of our Army and that is the Reverse of the Van-guard for first Reer-guard marcheth its Baggage with a commanded party of Horse and Foot next follow two Brigades of Foot then some Field-pieces behind them the other three Brigades of Horse who have a party behind them at the distance at least of one English mile to give them advertisement if an enemy be following And this is the first and a very commendable manner of the march of an Army But observe to make the greater expedition especially if an Army be numerous these three great Bodies may march three several ways if the Country conveniently Thâ—se three Bodies may march three several ways afford them and this makes a speedy march but in this case the Battel must have two Brigades of Horse which it had not before and consequently the Van guard and Reer-guard each of them but two whereas by our former marshalling each of them had three when they divide they are appointed to meet at such a time and place as the General shall appoint whether that be every night or every third fourth or fifth night this is done when an enemy is not near The Commander in chief marcheth and â—dgeth constantly with the Body of the Infantry and the Artillery And these great Officers who command the Van-guard and Arrier-guard have Majors attending them every day and night besides Ordinance-Horsemen to receive their Directions and bring them speedily to them in regard some new intelligence may rationally move them to alter the manner of the march or any Orders they gave concerning it The second manner of the march of an Army is in two Bodies Battel and Second manner in two Bodies Reserve You will be pleased to remember that the Army we now speak of consists of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot which I thus order In the Battel shall first march 400 commanded Horse who shall have a smaller party before them to discover next them Pioneers or Country people with a party of Musqueteers or Fire-locks to plain the ways then four Brigades of Horse Next them Field-pieces then three Brigades of Foot after them the Prince or he who commands by his authority the General or Colonel of the Artillery follows after whom comes the great Ordnance and whole Train which is followed by the Coaches and Waggons belonging to the General and all the other General Officers after them comes the Baggage belonging to all the Brigades of the Battel in that same order that the Brigades themselves march after which come two Brigades of Foot and then a party of Horse brings up the reer of the Battel The Reserve follows in this order First a Commanded party of Horse and Reserve Foot then the whole Baggage that belongs to the Reserve next to it Field-pieces with their Waggons of Ammunition after them three Brigades of Foot and then two Brigades of Horse about one English mile behind them follows the Reer-guard of Commanded Horse These two great bodies for expedition These two Bodies may march two several ways sake may likewise march two several ways if the General have no apprehension of an enemy and join when he gives order for it Observe when an enemy is in the reer the Battel is the Reserve and the Reserve is the Battel and consequently more Brigades should be in the Reer than in the Van and in the Reer at such an occasion the Commander in chief of the Army should be The third manner of an Armies march is when it neither marcheth in two Third manner in one Body nor three distinct Bodies but in one intire Body which is frequently practised let me then once more refresh your memory by telling you our Army consists of six Brigades of Horse and eight of Foot Three Brigades of Horse march first and make the Van-guard these have before them commanded Horse Pioneers and Musqueteers as the others had Then follow four Brigades of Foot the General after them next him the General of the Artillery with his whole Train after it marcheth the other four Brigades of Foot and these eight Brigades of Foot compose the Battel of the Army the other three Brigades of
Horse make the Reer-guard behind which at a miles distance follows a strong party of commanded Horse The Baggage may be in the Van or the Reer or May be divided easily into several Bodies if the General appreheâ—d danger in them both it may march immediately after the Train This great Body may be very soon divided into either two or three several ones and may march as many several ways as the General pleaseth But truly with submission to great Commanders I should be of opinion that the Baggage of an Army should never be divided unless the Army it self divides if danger be in the Van let it all stay in the Reer the proper place of Baggage if the enemy be expected in the Reer post away all the Baggage to The proper place of Baggage in a march the Van if in both necessity will force it to be in the middle of the Army But my humble opinion is that without apparent danger it should constantly be in the Reer of the whole Army for the disadvantage is but small that the Brigades or Regiments of the Van have and withal they have but their turns of it that they must wait very long at night till their Baggage come from the Reer It is but small I say if you compare it with the great prejudice the Prince or States service suffers by having the Regiments or Brigades which march in the Reer benighted being hinder'd by the Baggage that is order'd to march before them two three sometimes five hours whereas if that Baggage had not been in their way they might have reach'd their Quarter seasonably enough But there is a worse thing in it than that when upon the unexpected appearance of an enemy in the Van the Brigades that are in the Reer-guard being suddenly call'd up they are not able â—â— advance for the unavoidable Embarras of Baggage that is before them Indeed I think the middle or center of the Infantry a proper place for the great Guns and Train and the Generals Secretaries and Cabinets with his Papers and for most of his and some of the other General Officers Coaches especially if their Ladies be in them and there I think these should constantly march But my judgment is that all other Baggage whatsoever belonging to either Horse or Foot should be in the Reer according to that priority or precedency the Regiments or Brigades have themselves in the march and these should change every day that who is in the Van one day may be in the Reer the next that all may participate equally of the ease or toil of a march Where the sick and wounded should be What is spoke of the place where Baggage should march is to be understood also of the sick and wounded Soldiers who if they cannot be put in some secure or fortified place should be brought forward though Baggage-horses should be borrowed from the owners for that use and in time of danger should be sent as far from it as may be with a good Guard or Convoy When ground will permit the Brigades of an Army whether Horse or Foot to march in one breast or front there is a question what distance or interval should be kept between these Brigades There be some who theoretically argue that the distance between two Brigades both marching in breast but the one behind the other should be of as much ground as a Brigade drawn Distance between Brigades on a march should not be so great as when they are to fight up in front doth possess because say they when one Brigade is drawn up on the right hand of a large field where the whole Army is to be marshal'd the second Brigade which follows cannot draw up in full breast on the left hand of the first unless there be such an Interval between them on their march as that I just now told you of nor can the third draw up on the left hand of the second unless it have that same distance the like is to be said of all the rest To this I answer when an Army is marshal'd in Battel-order that distance is to be kept between Brigades whereof I spoke in the last Chapter and so the second will have the less difficulty to marshal it self on the left hand of the first But that cannot make me allow so much ground between Brigades on a march as I willingly do when they are to fight To the reason produced against it I say to think that a Brigade all in one breast and marching directly behind another though at never so great a distance can draw up in breast on the left The contrary opinion examin'd hand of another without some turning or wheeling is a meer speculation And I say more let a Brigade march in three Squads at as great a distance as you will the second shall not draw up on the left hand of the first without some wheeling And if a smaller body cannot do it much less can a greater And practice will shew the vanity of the other opinion to any who will be at the pains to examine it and observe it in the march of Brigades in the field as I have done oftner than once This opinion then vanisheth unless they who follow it bring a better reason for it which I have not yet heard But be pleased to take notice what an inconvenience and that no small one the observing this rule will bring along with it in a march I speak still when Brigades march all in one front one behind another at that rate there shall be such avast distance between the Van and the Reer that the last Brigade shall not get up though it run which it should not do to the place where it should be marshal'd but in a very long time which you will easily grant to be true if you will with me make this computation We have spoke of eight Brigades of foot in this Chapter to be in our Army each of them shall be no stronger than 1800 men and therefore each of them must be 300 in front allowing four foot to every Leader these 300 Leaders possess in rank 1200 foot of ground as much by this opinion which I combate must be allowed for an Interval between two Brigades marching one after another in breast now in eight Brigades there are seven Intervals seven times 1200 foot make 8400 Every one of the Brigades possess in deepness 36 foot multiply 36 by 8 which is the number of the Brigades the product is 288. Add 288 to 8400 the aggregate is 8688 foot so much distance there is from the Leaders of the first Brigade of Foot to the Bringers-up of the eight and last Take a view of our six Brigades of Horse each whereof shall consist And found inconvenient of no more than 600 being three deep each Brigade hath 200 in front allow but three foot for every Rider the front of each Brigade possesseth 600 foot of ground as much
contagious Diseases rageth so in Towns and Villages that he dares not hazard to quarter his Army in them When he supposeth he may destroy his enemy by temporizing as Fabius Maximus who used to subdue his enemy more with hunger than the sword Or as Salust says The greatest commendation of a General is to gain the victory without blood Or when ratio belli and sometimes ratio status makes him stay for more of his own forces or those of his friends and allies This oblig'd the Great Gustavus to fortifie his Leaguers and his Armies within them at Verben and at Nuremburg Or lastly when he is to besiege a Town Fort or Castle which he conceives will not very soon render and may rationally expect succours and relief Being then there are so many and may be more reasons for a fortified Louis de Montgomerie's disapprobation answered Leagure I cannot agree with Louis de Montgomerie who will only allow of Entrenched Camps in two cases when an Army is near a considerable enemy and when other lodging cannot be had And he alledgeth that the Roman Camps and their Hiberna and some of our fortified Leaguers would be only good in Arabia the Desert but not in a Country where Towns Villages and Incorporations may be had But besides the reasons I have given for Entrenched Camps I shall say to Montgomerie that it is not improbable but many of these places where the Romans kept both their Winter and Summer Quarters were then as Desert as Arabia is now and in our time it is ordinary to take in Villages Hamlets and Castles within the circuit of a fortified Camp or if a fortified Town be either behind or on the flank of a Camp it adds infinitely to the strength and conveniences of it provided there be no contagion or infectious diseases within thaâ— Town But let us suppose that which often falls out that a Leaguer is to be planted in an open field where no Town or Village is and then let us see how an Army can be conveniently quarter'd in it that it be so capacious as to contain all is ordain'd to be within it and next that there be no part or place of it redundant or useless in regard it must be fortified and the smaller circumference a fortification is of the more tenible and defensible it is and the fewer men will maintain it But before a Prince or his General form his Camp he should be observant of such considerations as these which follow First if he can chuse Some Considerations necessary before Entrenching a Camp he should not Encamp in low grounds for these are unwholsome of themselves and will quickly be made worse Next if he Encamp on a hill it should be such a one as hath a river or water running by the foot of it and such a water whose stream cannot be diverted by the enemy for a river or deep running water doth not only serve the necessities of the Camp but defends some side or part of it Thirdly he should be sure that his enemy have no fortified place or Garrison on the side or flank of his Camp much less behind it which may cut off the passes and avenues whereby his Provisions should come Fourthly he should Encamp in such a place where his Horse may not want fodder and where abundance of Hay Straw or growing Corn may be had both to feed the Beasts and for the Soldiers to cover their Huts with and to lye upon Fifthly if Woods be not near him he should lay down a way how wood may be brought to him abundantly for fire to the Guards for dressing meat for baking and washing for the use of the Artillery for Pallisado's Batteries Platforms and Bridges But observe that if a great and thick Wood be contiguous as much of it as lyeth within seven or eight hundred foot of the Camp should be cut down and two or three Sconces or Redoubts built where the Trees stood for preventing ambushes or sudden eruptions of an enemy And after the Camp is planted and entrenched the Commander in chief would order Magazines for Provisions strong Convoys both of Horse and Foot for bringing all manner of Victuals Provisions and Munitions to his Camp from these places where he hath appointed Magazines to be kept as also he should appoint Guards to Convoy the empty Carts Waggons and Horses back again and cause his Souldiers to use the Country people kindly and well and not suffer them to be outraged any manner of way that thereby they may be encouraged to return the oftner The defence of the Camp consists in two things the first is its fortification Defence of a Camp the draught whereof is the work of the Engineer by enclosing it within and without the Ditch with Bulwarks Curtains Redoubts Sconces half moons and Tenailles all which go under the General name of Trenches which word is only proper for the Fortification of a Leaguer and but borrowed for the Approaches to besieged places The second Defence of the Leaguer consists in its Guards and of these I shall speak in the next Chapter The subject of this is the orderly disposing and giving a due proportion of ground to every Regiment Troop and Company of Horse and Foot whereon to pitch their Tents or What Castrametation is build their Huts to the Generals Tents to all the General Officers to the Train of Artillery for the Proviant-master and Proviant to the Waggon-master and Waggons and finally to all that belong to the Army from the highest to the lowest and this is called Castrametation a Latin word which signifieth the Measuring the Camp for the ground must be proportionably given out by an equal measure and the doing it is the proper work of the Quarter-master General This Officer knowing the Generals pleasure is to give the several Regiments A Quartermaster General and Brigades their Towns Villages and Hamlets for their Quarters nor must any of them offer to take any other than those that are assign'd to them by him and therefore when the Army is to be quarter'd though but for one night the Regiment Quarter-masters of the whole Army are bound to wait upon him and receive his directions and if they be to Encamp in such a Leaguer as that we now speak of it is he who measures out to every Regiment its proportion of ground as shall be presently declared It is he likewise who hath the inspection of the old Fortifications and the directing new ones and for this reason the Engineers are properly under him but he is to see the working and finishing of these Fortifications He hath frequently a Lieutenant or Dâ—puty under His Office and Duties him His Office is very honourable for by it he sits in all Courts and Councils of War He should be an understanding person and a good Mathematician The oldest Colonel of the Swedish Army used to be General Quarter-master but that custom is worn out
pursued him But that same Banier was not so fortunate four or five years after in his Retreat from Arch-duke Leopold for in it he lost well near the whole Left Wing of his Cavalry commanded by Lieutenant General Wittemberg CHAP. XXIV Of several ways to take fortified places particularly of Sieges Trenches Approaches Redouts Batteries Zaps Galleries Mines Storms and Assaults THE Art to take fortified Towns and Castles hath been always and still is accounted one of the necessary endowments of a Great Captain The manner used by the Ancients and those of later times is still the same for Breaches made by the Ram and by the Cannon are still Breaches and Approaches made by the help of the Vines Tortoises and Muscles and without Three ways to take fortified places them are still Approaches Fortified places may be taken three several ways by Intelligence by Surprizal and by Siege Of these three that which loseth least time and costs least Blood is to be chosen and therefore that of Intelligence with a party within the Fort is the easiest and the safest and this without doing it wrong you may in plain English call Treachery It proceeds By Treachery principally from the villany of some within and though this be one of the most hateful vices that corrupt our depraved nature yet Princes and their Generals look upon themselves to be obliged not only to cherish it in an Enemy but to hire men to commit it at excessive rates For the price a Traytor will seek for the delivery of a Town Cittadel or Castle will seldome exceed that which the maintenance of an Army will amount to in two or three days This is Amo proditionem Whether it be lawful for men to solicite encourage yea to hire men to sin I leave to the Divines but I can assure them Military men think it very convenient to practise it This way of taking Towns Philip Father of Alexander called his Golden Key This treachery is committed either by the Governour and then the whole Town or Fort is betrayed and the hazzard which he without runs is little or none at all or it is committed by one man or one party within the Town by betraying a Port or Post or part of the Wall whereby he who commands without may quickly make himself master of the whole Fort but here he runs the hazzard of opposition from those who are not in the Conspiracy But he to whom the place should A ticklish piece be betray'd ought to take good heed that he be not cheated for it is a ticklish piece All Intelligences should not nay few Intelligences are to be trusted I have told you in my discourse of Intelligence how wary a General should be to trust those who offer to betray Forts and gave you some Instances of those who have been abused by it let me add one more out of the Duke of Roan's Memoires A Roman Catholick Gentleman one Meslay who had married a Protestant Wiâ—e A Traytor not to be trusted pretended some discontent with his own party and having a Foot Company within Montpellier watched every fourth night in the Cittadel this upon a stipulation of very advantageous conditions he offers to deliver to a Cousin of his own one Bretigni a Protestant Gentleman who serv'd in the Duke of Roan's Army After some demurr the Duke approv'd of the matter and march'd with six thousand men very near Montpellier sent fifteen hundred men with Bretigni the Architect of the design but advis'd him not to hazzard within the Cittadel till Meslay came out and put himself in his hands but credulous Bretigni neglected this so important a part of the business and enter'd with thirty seven well arm'd men the Traytor not daring to let more come in Bretigni and his Brother and sixteen more were kill'd and nineteen taken Prisoners Roan who was not far off with the gross of his Army retir'd in good order more sorry for the loss of two brave Gentlemen than the missing the Cittadel as having mistrusted the design all along The second way of taking fortified places is Surprizal whereof there By surprizal are so many kinds that they cannot all be reckon'd Sometimes Forts are surprised by Souldiers disguised like Countrey people both as men and Women with short Carabines Pistols or Daggers under their Cloths wherewith they dispatch a Guard and so are masters of a Port and immediately give the sign to them to advance who are ordained to second them Sometimes it is done by Armed men hidden in Waggons and Carts under a little Hay or Straw whereof the first stops on the draw-Bridg to hinder the drawing it up then all leap out of their Waggons and whilst some are killing the Watch others are underproping the Portcullies with Forks made purposely for hindring it to fall in the meantime they give the sign to their Friends who are not far off Sometimes a Town is surprized by an Enemies entring man by man at a Postern or hole made for evacuation or at some ruinous place of the Wall sometimes by a sudden and unforeseen scalado sometimes by petarding the Ports or Draw-bridges If any of these wayes of surprizal succed it is the next easy way to intelligence In the next Chapter you may read how Forts are defended against all these wayes of surprisal The third way to take Fortified places is by Siege and it is twofold By a Blockade either by not making approaches which is called a Blockade or by approaching and this is more properly called a Siege A Blockade is made by a General when he hath hopes to starve a Garrison as knowing that they within have either consumed their Victuals themselves or lent them to their Friends and this was Brisac's condition when the Duke of Weimar blocked it up The way to block a place is to lay Regiments and Companies of Foot and Horse at all Passes Advenues or other convenient places to hinder all persons all Provisions and all things to enter the Blockaded Fort. This way to take Forts saves blood and is of least danger provided he who blocks up the Fort be absolute Master of the Field during the whole time of the Blockade but it ordinarily loseth very much time to the Besieger for I have known a Town blocked a whole year and not taken then without a petty Battle A Siege properly so called is when an Army invests the place entrencheth By a Siege it self makes Approaches Redoubts Batteries Zaps Galleries and Mines and after all that either leaves it or takes it by surrender or assault The forming and carrying on a Siege is no small Master-piece of a General to whose own spirit conduct and prudence many circumstances must be left as to the consideration of the nature strength or weakness of the place he is to besâ—ege the season of the Year the stouâ— or weak resistance he may expect from the Garrison within of which and of the abilities
of the Governour he should have good Intelligence He should also have a serious consideration of his own Provisions Considerations before a Siege be formed Money Meat and Munitions and many more particulars of which and concerning which no definite or certain rules can be given And before he form or lay down his Siege he ought to weigh and consider well all the advantages and disadvantages that may accrue to him As whether the gaining the Town or Castle he Besiegeth will counterpoize the loss of men and that vast expence of money meat and munitions that must be hazzarded and bestowed in reducing it how long time his own Provisions will be able to hold out whether he be able with probability of success to withstand or fight any Enemy that dare adventure the relief of the Besieged place And that which concerns most both his Masters service and his own honour is to cast up his account so well that if any unexpected accident or adventure fall out such as are the change of Weather inundations of Waters a mighty and unlooked for Succourse a Pestilence or other heavy disease in his Army he may notwithstanding these and in spight of an Enemy raise his Siege and march away to places of safety and consequently make an honourable Retreat with little or no loss of Men for it is not to be thought that an Army marcheth away from a Besieged place with dishonour because ratio Bâ—lli depending on emergencies and accidents changeth as oft as ratio Status and as in this nothing is thought dishonourable that can save the State so in that nothing can be dishonourable that can save the Army I have not the vanity to prescribe or give rules for what should be done at How to begin the Siege Sieges but I prâ—sume I may be permitted to tell Novices for to them only I write what is done and ordinarlly practised at Sieges After a resolution is taken to Besiege a place diligence and expedition should be used that all Passes High-wayes and Avenues be possest by the Cavalry that no entrance to the Fort be permitted and that all Citizens or Souldiers belonging to it be seized on and made Prisoners that intelligence may be got of all affairs within Many Generals at Sieges entrench their Armies and many do not Those At some Sieges Armies are not entrench'd who do not have no apprehension of an Enemy and therefore upon intelligence of the approach of one they must be ready to march either to meet and fight that Enemy or leave both him and the Besâ—eged place for good and all both which I have known practised Those who Entrench their Armies Armies Entrenched at Sieges take the far surer way though the doing it costs a great deal of time and labour The Entrenchment must be made both against those within the Town and against any without who will hazzard to relieve it The Fortifications of the Camp are properly called the Trenches though the word be frequently taken for approaches and in that word are comprehended the lines of Communication which Lines are divided into several parts Field-sconces whole and half Bulwarks Star-works and Redouts None of these should have a Curtain between them above six or seven hundred foot long for the distance of them one from another should be less than a Musket shot They should be built of black Earth if it can be had but if the ground be sandy it must be knit together with Wit hs fascines Straw or growing Corn and without with a Ditch and Pallisado Of the same matter should the Redouts and Batteries in the approaches be built The Star-sconces having their sides 40 or 50 foot long and their points far distant are ordinarily made in hast when time will not permit better to be made If an Army be numerous enough or that there be store of Pioneers with it a General may fortify his Camp and begin his approaches both together and this will save him much time which in such occasions is very precious But if he cannot do both at once he should Entrench himself and then begin those works which are called Approaches running Trenches and by the Dutch Laâ—fgrabon In making these to break Ground without the range of a piece of To approach to a Forâ— Ordnance will be too far and within Musket shot perhaps too near yet many think 8 or 900. foot from the besieged Fort is passable At this place where the approach begins a Sconce should be made and in it a Court of Guard neither were it amiss here to make a Battery and in it to plant some Culverines and twelve pounders to beat down the nearest Parapets of the Fort from whence those who are to work in the approaches may be infested But before I approach any nearer the Fort I must tell you that I admire how Captain Rud the late Kings Engineer hath left it upon Record That the Romans were the first that used the Spade at Sieges and that Julius Captain Rudd's opinion disputed Caesar was the first that besieged Towns by circumvallation Against the first assertion though we should not speak of prophane Authors yet we find it written in the 15. verse of the 20. Chapter of the second book of Samuel That Jacob cast up a Bank saith our Translation against Abel where the Rebel Sheba was Deodati in his Italian translation calls it Bastione a Bulwark Now these could not be done without the help of a Spade or something like it and this action of Joab was done some ages before Romulus Against the second assertion I object the ten years Siege of Vâ—n which was by circumvallation and that was some Centuries of years before Caesar besieged Alexia And we read in holy Writ that Trenches were cast and Towers built against besieged Towns and that was nothing else but circumvallations and those who made them did so little know Caesar that they did not foresee that ever such a man would be in the world as Caesar But to return to our first Sconce or Battery from it a line or if you please A running Trench a running Trench which upon the matter is nothing else but a Ditch must be digged and run either to the right or left hand 3 4 or 500. foot long a little crooked and oblique for doing which Souldiers are appointed with Pickaxes Spades and Shovels one behind another at the distance of 4 or 5. foot the formost digging 3 or 4. foot deep casting the Earth up either to the right or left hand between him and the Fort and so by him who is first and them that come after him the running Trench is made 6 or 8. foot deep and at first 6. Foot broad and thereafter 10 or 12. broad sometimes more if it be necessary to make use of Waggons in the approaches which falls out sometimes At the end of this first Line a Redout is to be made this is a A Redout
gallantly defended by the Duke of Guise till the Imperial Army moulder'd away and was made despicable by the sword sickness and grievous winter weather and at length was forc'd to make a pitiful Retreat from it after which that great Prince retir'd to a Cloister and from it to another world So did that Emperours Great Grandfather Charles of Burgundy with a great deal of vanity but with a greater deal of loss continue his Siege of Nuise as it were in despight of the Roman Emperour and all the Princes of Germany till he was forc'd to sneak away from it with dammage and dishonour enough So did Rocandolf continue the Siege of Buda notwithstanding all the prayers and perswasions of all his great Officers to the contrary to the utter undoing of a rich and a gallant Army as hath been told you in another place But as in ancient times so in our late European Wars it hath been an ordinary To raise a Siege without taking the place no dishonour thing for brave Generals to raise their Sieges either upon the intelligence of the advance of a strong succourse or some other weighty consideration So did the great Gustavus raise his Siege from Ingolstadt in Bavaria The Swedish Felt-Marshal Banier from Leipsick in Saxony His Successor Torstenson from Birn in Silesia and Wrangle who succeeded him from Eggar in Bohemia So did Instances Wallenstein from the Sieges of both Magdeburg and Stralsund So did Marquess Spinola raise his Siege from Bergen op Zoom upon Count Mansfeld's conjunction with Maurice Prince of Orange and was not asham'd to bury some of his Cannon that he might make his Retreat with more expedition So did that same Prince Maurice raise the Siege he had form'd at Groll upon Spinola's advance towards him And so did his Brother Henry Prince of Orange rise from Venlo upon the approach of the Cardinal Infant But if a General be well provided and there is no sickness in his Army and if he have strong hopes to To march from a besieged Fort to fight an Enemy hazzardous carry the place he ought not to leave it unless it be to fight the succourse that is coming to it This hath been often practis'd sometimes unfortunately and sometimes successfully Take a few instances of both Count Tili left the Siege of Leipsick march'd toward the King of Sweden who came to relieve the Town and fought him but to his great loss So did the Duke of Weymar and the Suedish Felt-Marshal Gustavus Horne leave the Siege of Nordling and march'd Instances to fight the Hungarian King but with the loss of the day and their Army too But that same Duke of Weimar had afterwards better fortune when he besieg'd Brisac from the Siege whereof he rose twice and fought the Armies that were sent to relieve the Town and return'd both times to the Siege crown'd with Laurel So did the Swedish Army leave the Siege of Hameln that Town out of which they say a Piper plaid first all the Rats and next all the Children and of the last none returned and met the Imperial Army which advanc'd to relieve it and sought with Victory So did the French and English leave the Siege of Dunkirk not many years ago and fight Don Juan d'Austria and beat him But if the Besieging Army be well and strongly entrench'd against an Enemy To lye still entrench'd notwithstanding of any succourse both within and without the Town and want for no provisions he should make no such hazzard but lye still and when a succourse comes it must either look on and leave the attempt or storm the Besiegers fortified Camp If the succourse be forc'd to march back without doing his errand then the Besieger is master of the Town or Fort. So did the Duke of Alva when he besieg'd Mons in Henault keep himself within his fortified Camp and endur'd all the bravadoes of William Prince of Orange who came with an Army out of Germany to relieve the Town the Duke knowing well that the Prince for want of Money would in a short time be forc'd to disband his Army If he who comes with the succourse resolves to storm the Besiegers fortified Camp he doth it with as To storm an entrenched Camp often unsuccessful much disadvantage as an Army without shelter can fight with one that is entrench'd and seldome such attempts are successful Hannibal try'd it at the Siege of Capua and though he did it both skilfully cunningly and couragiously yet after he had storm'd the Roman Camp and was beat off he was forc'd to leave that rich and great City to be a prey to it s exasperated Enemy Count Pappenheim though a brave Captain yet gave cause to question his discretion very much when he was so lavish of his Master the Emperours Souldiers at a time when he had so much need of them against the Victorious King of Sweden as to storm the fortified Camp of Henry Prince of Orange at Maestricht where he left not so few as 1500 dead men on the place besides as many more who were wounded The Prince followed a precedent was given him by Spinola when he besieg'd Breda who kept himself within his Trenches constantly when first Maurice and then Henry Prince of Orange and Count Mansfield offered him Battel and beat off likewise some assaults more made on some places of his Camp by that same Prince Henry and Sir Horatio Vere When an Army that hath attempted the relief of a Town hath retir'd and is either baffled or beaten the Governour of the besieged place may with reputation Of rendition yield on honourable conditions which will not be so good as they would have been before but be what they will they ought to be punctually and inviolably kept but of this I shall speak in another place If a Besieger obtain a Victory over the Army that comes to relieve the besieged place some think To drive Prisoners to the Port of a besieged Town he may drive all his Prisoners to the Ports of the Town and if the Governour will not take them in he may suffer them to starve But I can find no reason why the Governour should admit them and far less why the Victorious General should have respited their lives from the Sword to put them to a more merciless Death yet I saw some part of this practis'd at that Town of Hammeln whereof I spoke but just now for after the defeat of the Imperial Army the Swedish General sent all the Prisoners who were no fewer than three thousand to the Ports of the Town but the Governour gave entrance to none of them But I conceive this was done only to frighten the Garrison out of the thoughts of further resistance and to give them within assurance that their Friends were defeated and not to starve those poor Creatures But the matter came not to the tryal for next day the Governour sought a Parley and
little from beasts woâ—â— piece and piece out of fashion yet long after Christianity shone over the World â—â— Prisoners of War were made Slaves for there be some Canons of the Church extant that forbid men to counsel Slaves to desert their Masters But by tract of time all Nations as it had been by an universal consent left off to make their Prisoners Slaves or to sell them as such because they were then better instructed in the Laws of Charity than to abstain from killing miserable Captives only out of respect of gain to themselves or at least to seem to be less cruel But three hundred years after the Great Constantine's death when Mahometanism had spread its darkness over the East slavery was Brought back by Mahomet brought back to the World and yet if you will consider right you will find this slavery and bondage of Christians is not confin'd to those Countreys only where Mahomet is adored for there are thousands of Christian Slaves to be found in the Galleys belonging to the most Christian and Catholick Kings the Great Duke of Tuscany the Venetians the Genoways the Pope and the Great Retain'd yet by some Christians Master of Malta And may we not say That many thousands of his Majesties Subjects after quarter given were made perfect Slaves and upon that account sold and sent to remote Plantations The Great Gustavus Adolphus did I think something very like this when he sent three thousand Croatians commonly called Carabats who had quarter given them for life at several places in Germany by Sea to Sueden there to work at his Iron and Copper Mines Among Christians then Prisoners of War being exempted from Slavery they are to be kept till they be either exchang'd or ransom'd or set at liberty by the Victor gratis this sometimes falls out but seldome Sometimes they are set at liberty conditionally as If you do such a thing enjoy your liberty if not Liberty granted to Prisoners conditionally return to Prison and the Prisoner is oblig'd to do either the one or the other It was the case of some Scottish Lords whom Henry the Eighth of England detain'd Prisoners He permitted them to return to Scotland and if they could procure the Marriage of his Son Prince Edward with the Infant Queen of Scots then they were to have their liberty if not they were to return they failing in the first some of them honestly perform'd the second He that takes a Prisoner may search him and all he lays hold on is his own but if the Prisoner hath reserv'd something hidden that his Taker knows not of he may make use of it to maintain himself or to help to pay his ransome for he who took him hath no right to it for Lawyers say Qui nescit nequit possidere The exchange of Prisoners of equal quality is ordinary over all the World if there By Exchange be some but no considerable disparity some Money ballanceth the matter The Ransome of a Prisoner belongs to him who took him unless he be a person of very eminent quality and then the Prince the State or their General seizeth on him giving some gratuity to those who took him The price of the Ransome useth to be estimated according to his pleasure who keeps the Prisoner By Ransome but because many times they are extravagant in their demands an agreement is frequently made between the two parties who make the War of a certain price to be paid by Officers and Common Souldiers for their Ransomes A general agreement for Ransomes ordinary according to their quality and this seldom exceeds one Months pay for any under the degree of a Colonel and this is exceeding comfortable to Prisoners when they know how much themselves or their Friends have to pay for their liberty But here is a question When a Prisoner agrees for his ransome and dyes A Question concerning ransome before it be paid whether the Heir be obliged to pay it If he dye out of Prison there is no doubt but the Heir is bound to pay it but if he dye in Prison Grotius says his Heir is not obliged to pay it because the Prisoner had not that for which he contracted and that was his liberty But if the bargain be made that the Prisoner ows the ransome immediately after the contract is made the same Grotius sayes His Heir ought to pay it because the Captive Answered was not to be looked on after the finishing of the agreement as a Prisoner but as a Pledge for his Ransome But I can tell Grotius that the Corps of many dead Prisoners are Ransomed There is another question If a Prisoner Parol Another and ingage to get such a person of the adverse party set at liberty and on that condition is set free himself if the Prisoner agreed on dye before the other can procure his liberty whether in that case the Prisoner contracting be obliged to return to Prison Grotius sayes no unless it have been particularly so agreed Answered on yet he saith he is bound to do something like the equivalent and that is to pay his own Ransome I should now speak of those Prisoners who have Articles for life it may be Cloths and Monys or any thing else they carry about with them and sometimes as much of their goods as they can carry on their backs but before I enter on it it will be fit to know what poor inferior Officers and Commanders have to Parley Treat and to Grant Sign and Seal Articles First it will be granted that none have power to Treat or Sign Articles Of the power inferior Commanders have to grant Articles but those who command in chief on the place whether it be in Town or Field Princes or their Generals cannot be every where and therefore must recommend the leading of Wings or Parts of their Armies to subordinate Commanders what ever title they may have be it Lieutenant or Major General Colonel or Brigadeer Generals they Treat and Grant Conditions and Articles to Enemies in the Field or to Enemies within Towns because the emergency or necessity of dispatch will not suffer them to advise with the Prince or State whom they serve and therefore Articles granted by them are to be as inviolably observed as if they had been Signed by the Prince himself But if either a General or any under him make a transaction with an Enemy against the known Constitutions and publick Laws of the Prince or State whom they serve then they deserve Punishment and the Prince and State are not obliged to performance and if so they ought not nor can they in justice retain what they have gained by that Capitulation whether it be Towns Forts Lands Mony or Prisoners but are obliged if they disapprove the Agreement to put all in statu quo prius Grotius maintains that a General What a General may do hath not power to dispose of Lands Territories
Inheritances and Offices and dignities except they be military without the Prince his express Warrant and there is no doubt but this assertion is grounded on just reason and yet that Prince of Orange General for the Emperour who totally routed the French in the Kingdom of Naples disposed of the inheritances of most of those who were of the French Faction to his Captains and not only so but distributed the chief Offices of the Crown among them and though his Master Charles the Fifth did much dislike of the Prince his encroaching on his Prerogative yet that wise Prince ratified all that Orange had done as knowing how dangerous it is for Soveraigns not to approve of what their Generals transact in their names For if that be not done who either dare can or will make any Capitulation with a General whose agreement be it never so authentick and solemn may be called in question and revoked by the Prince he serves What a Captain General of an Army may do in things of this nature the What â—ubaltern officers do like power have those who are subordinate to him when they command apart and are upon the head of some Wing or Brigades of the Army at a distance from the General and at such a distance that his assent and approbation cannot be got so soon as the present necessity or conveniency of the affair requires as suppose a Major General or Colonel is sent three or four miles before the Army this is no great distance to force a Pass which those within it offer to give over provided they be secur'd by Articles to march away in safety it is not time to send to the General suppose he have an Enemy in his Rear for his assent the Major General or Colonel may do it which the General is bound to ratifie Should be ratified by a General and so it is in a hundred cases more Nay further If that Subordinate or Inferiour Officer grant an agreement to an Enemy contrary to the private instructions he hath from his Prince or General yet if he have done nothing which did exceed the limits of his office and function the Prince and General are obliged to ratifie it Indeed they may punish him for his transgression to which the party with whom he capitulated did contribute nothing and therefore must not suffer for his Trespass As suppose a Major General hath a little Town yielded to him by accord whereby he permits the Garrison to march to a place of greater importance which the Prince and his General intend to besiege and have privately forbid the Major General to make any such agreement they may punish him for his presumption but are bound either to suffer the Garrison to enjoy their Articles or at worst to go back to the place where they were Let us summ up all that hath been said in this particular in one instance of Hannibal and Maharbal and it will quadrate very fitly with the subject we now speak of the story is this After the Romans werebeat at the lake Thrasimenus Hannibal sent Maharbal Maharbal's agreement with 6000 Romans to pursue the Victory seven or eight miles from the place of Battel at or near which Hannibal stay'd Maharbal finds six thousand Romans in a Body ready to accept of liberty if granted them to return to Rome otherwise to sell their lives at a dear rate The Carthaginian thought it not fit to hazzard the loss of numbers of his own men on so strong and so desperate a party and therefore agrees with them that they should deliver their Arms and then have liberty to go home Hannibal will not ratifie the agreement but makes Unworthily broke by Hannibal all the six thousand Romans Prisoners and loads them with Irons telling them Maharbal had no power without his consent who commanded in chief to grant them any immunity The worst act ever Hannibal did If Maharbal had no power to grant those Romans their liberty he had no power to grant them their lives and so Hannibal with that same Justice might have put them all to the Sword But first Maharbal commanded in chief in that place where he capitulated next he did nothing that exceeded the bounds of his Office being a great Commander in the Carthaginian Army thirdly he was at such a distance from Hannibal that he had no time to send for his assent and do his errand which was to pursue the flying Romans And therefore the Historian wrongs not Hannibal when he says Punica religione servata fides est ab Annibale Hannibal kept promise with a Punical Faith Indeed if Hannibal had been on the place he had said right and this demonstrates what I said before that any quarter given in the field where a General is signifies nothing till it be confirm'd by him and observe that Articles and Agreements made by word of mouth as this of Maharbal's was bind as strongly as those made in writing for Promises and Parolls of Princes and Captains should be sacredly kept Grotius acknowledgeth that Maharbal's agreement should not have been infringed by Hannibal and yet in that same Chapter affirms That Masanissa King of Numidia a Friend and Ally of the Romans had not power to grant the fair Sophonisbe her life I am not at all of Grotius his judgement For first So was that of Masanissa to Sophonisbe by Scipio Masanissa acted by Scipio's Commission secondly he was far from Scipio thirdly he commanded in chief where he then was fourthly Sophonisbe was not by any former publick Law exempted from pardon fifthly if Masanissa had private instructions to take her life Scipio might have punish'd him but Sophonisbe should not have suffer'd for his transgression but should either have enjoy'd her life or been sent back with all her people to the Castle where she was taken And assuredly Masanissa had power to grant her life and marry her too as he did but he preferr'd the Roman friendship to the love of his Beautiful Wife and so sent her a Cup of Poyson as the last token of his affection This that I have said may be accommodated and applied to James Duke of Duke Hamilton's death Murther Hamilton's case who had Articles granted to him and all that were with him for life which because Lambert avouched he had given the pretended Parliament of England did not deny it but said with Hannibal that Lambert being subalterne had not power to give such conditions but he had power for he exceeded not the limits of his Office and function of a Major General he commanded in chief on the place where he capitulated and we never heard that Cromwel did charge him with the transgression of any of his private instructions at that time and Cromwel was so far from Lambert then that he could not possibly send to him for his assent and if Lambert's superiours thought it not fit to approve of what he had done then in Justice which was a
so much an Admirer of a Sling that he doth not at all wonder that David kill'd Goliah with one of them Nor shall I wonder either if Lipsius can assure me that the Gyants Helmet did not cover his fore-head but if it did as probably it did and that his Head-piece was proportionable to the Coat of Mail he had on his Body as probably it was then I shall say David could David a good Slinger not kill him with Pebble-stones cast out of a Sling without a Miracle for the Stone that could pierce such a Head-piece requir'd a greater force than David and twenty of the strongest Israelites were Masters of and no doubt it was assisted from above Upon this whole business of Arms I think it was well for Lipsius that he was taken up with more grave Studies that could allow him no time to read Romances for if the Authors of those had but declared all the acts of Knight-errantry to have been done by the Ancient Romans Lipsius had undoubtedly believ'd them all to be true stories Let us hear what he says more He finds our Modern Artillery good for nothing but for battering the Walls of Towns and Forts for in Battel says he any rising ground little Bank or Breast-work being quickly cast up eludes all the hurt Artillery can do He is so far in the right that these helps whereof he speaks are very good if the General Lipsius his mistake who useth them stand still and only endeavours to keep his ground but in day of Battel unless he advances he shall not win the Field and if he advances he must quit those shelters and the suddener and quicker his march is the less hurt he shall receive from the Enemies Ordnance But I think it is very fair that Lipsius is so modest that he doth not prefer the Ancient Catapults and Balists to the Modern Artillery and I wonder much he did it hot In the fourth place he brings Embattelling or Marshalling Armies on the Fourthly Embattelling Stage and according to his custome prefers the Roman yet doth not tell us wherein the Modern is deficient and this is not so fair dealing as might have been expected from such a man as Lipsius But I am only to trace him in his own steps and that which he saith on this subject amounts to this He first says he will let us see the Velites fight and retire in whose room he marshals the Hastati they being weary go back to them succeed the Principes who not prevailing retire then the Triarii who are saith he the Veterans and the Chieftains take the work in hand and they cannot but prosper yet he who wrote this cannot but know for all this that both the Roman Velites their Hastati Principes and Triarii have been beat out of the Field oftner than once All these things have been already sufficiently spoke of But I wonder who could tell Lipsius that Modern Generals have not their Reserves as well as the Romans had sure in his own time if he had but enquir'd after it he might have learn'd that the Duke of Alva and Prince of Parma divided their Armies into Van Battel and Rear and what were the Roman three fold Batallions but the same and since Lipsius his time if great Captains for good reasons have thought they could do their business better with one Reserve than with two I suppose Lipsius if he were alive might acquiesce to it and not examine their reasons why they do not tye themselves to the Roman method But the Jest is Lipsius will have a Retreat from one Body to the second and from A ridiculous mystery that to the third to be a great secret Magnum arâ—â—num he calls it This might be a secret to him and those of his profession but to no Souldiers and yet he hath the vanity to desire all Generals Duces he calls them to consider well of his secret but I suppose few of them need thank him for revealing such secrets In the next place he crys up the Roman manner of Embattelling for placing says he their Cavalry on the Wings or Horns that their Foot should not be surrounded nor their Battel out-wing'd What folly was this in him Lipsius his inadvertency to appropriate that to the Romans which was an ordinary custome with other Ancients it may be before Rome was a City And it is strange he did not know that it was the custome of all Armies since the downfal of the Roman Empire But I must come nearer him and say That this was a defect very oft in the Roman Militia to marshal their Armies so that it could not save them from being surrounded by a numerous Enemy in regard they drew up so many Bodies one behind another and those Bodies were marshall'd so deep in File that their Armies could not especially Consular Armies have a large Front the best means in a Champaign where there are no advantages of Hills Rivers Ditches or Marshes to be expected to save an Army from being out-wing'd When Lipsius wrote this it seems he forgot that at Cannae the Roman Horse did so little hinder the Foot to be surrounded that the not Defects in the Roman manner of Embattelling adverting to it lost them the day for Asarubal having beaten Aenilius on the Right Wing fell on the Rear of the Legions while they fought in Front with Hannibal his Foot and routed them And if Lipsius distrust Livy in this relation let him look on the first Book of his own Polybius and there he will find That Xantippus the Lacedaemonian with an Army of Carthaginians who had been often beaten and baffled before and a few Mercenary Laconians routed the Roman Army where the Conâ—ul Regulus was taken only by outwinging it and falling on the Rear of their Infantry by which says the Author cogebatur factâ— conversione cum iis dimicare He was forced by facing to the Rear to fight with them that is with the Carthaginians Fifthly and lastly he compares the Ancient suppose still Roman and Modern Fifthly in Discipline which he divides into three Militia in their Discipline And this he divides into three parts Duties Exercises and Laws I shall trace him in all the three And first he subdivides Duties into three these are Private Services to Officers Watches and Publick First Duties subdivided Private serviâ—â—â— Works As to the first he says Private Services to Superiours a ither ceas'd or are voluntary He is right they are voluntary yet no Souldier now will refuse to do any honest service to his Captain or any Officer either above or under him and Lipsius knows the Roman Souldiers were no Slaves and why should Christian Souldiers be Slaves As to the second part of Duties which is Watch and Guard he confesseth there is some show of Watches them in the Modern Militia not to be contemned for so I interpret his words which are aliqua nec improba apud
with such a Carrago as Lipsius speaks of And I pray you what necessity for fortifying a Leaguer every night where there is no danger what good doth it nay how much hurt doth it To make Souldiers work the half of the night to fortifie that Camp when you are in no danger which you are to leave the next day betimes Is this any thing else but to give your Souldiers a needless fatigue Hath Lipsius never read it That the just man is merciful even to his Beast But in this Discourse our Author is very injurious to those great Captains who were Both of them ordinary in Lipsius his time coetaneous with him who were very expert in that point of War and used it more than hath been practised since Let any peruse the Histories of his time they will find that at all their Sieges which were many and frequent all their Camps were excellently well fortified with a double Circumvallation one against the Besieged place and another against those without who would attempt to relieve it If Lipsius had liv'd some years longer than I suppose he did he would have recanted when he saw Spinola's Siege of Breda in the year 1625. for there he might have seen stranger works than ever any he read of and with which Caesar's Circumvallations either when he besieg'd Alesia or when he offer'd to besiege Pompey's Army at Dirrachium could not compare For here at Breda the Spanish outward or exterâ—our Entrenchment against the Prince of Orange and all Spinola his wonderful Circumvallations at Bredaâ— his Abettors was of fifty two miles circumference and the inner or interiour against the Town of sixteen In both which were reckon'd beside the Fortification of some Villages for securing Convoys above three hundred and sixty Forts Batteries Sconces and Redouts so that he who writes the particular History of that famous Siege hath reason to say That there was such a Labyrinth of Fortifications there that none but those who saw them will have faith enough to believe it Our Author tells us here what a great benefit it was to the Romans to have a Camp to which they might retire after a Battel But he might have learned that the great Captains of the Modern Militia propose to themselves no advantage by these Retreats justly fearing their Souldiers may retire before it be half time or before they get order for it And if Lipsius had been pleas'd he might have remember'd that his own Romans made sometimes very bad use of A Retreat to a Camp dangerous retiring to their Camp As when they run to it from their Enemy in their Mutiny against Appius Claudius and at other times too as I have observed in my first Chapter of the Roman Art of War Nay some of their Consuls apprehending the danger of it took away all possibility of retiring to the Camp Take a few Instances One of the Fabii a Dictator being to fight Instances with the Samnites cast down his Entrenchment burnt his Tents fought and gain'd the Victory as you may see it in Livy's Ninth Book At Ciminia another Fabius caused his Drudges in the night-time to cast down his Ramparts and fill up the Ditch while he marshall'd his Army wherewith he march'd out and fought next morning with Success Cato the elder being to fight with the Spaniards led his Army in the night-time a great circuit even behind the Enemies Camp and next morning did shew his Souldiers where they were remonstrated to them what they had to do and that there was an impossibility to get back to their own Camp but over the Beâ—â—ies of their Enemies they â—ought and got the Victory These great Roman Captains you see were not of Lipsius his Judgement But further the Roman Senate imputed the loss of Cannae to the Retreat of their Army to the Camp and accordingly punish'd all that were taken in the Camp for that Retreat And besides that take two other Instances of the hurt their Retreats to their Camps were like to do The Consul Attilius fighting against the Samnites saw his Foot fly shamefully he instantly order'd some of his Cavalry to get between them and the Camp and by meer force drive them back this was done by the Horse and the Roman Foot desperately turning head gain'd the day see Livy's Ninth Book At that great Battel which Lucius Scipio fought with Antiochus the Left Wing of the Roman Foot being indifferently well secur'd by a River the Consul made his Left Wing of Horse the weaker which Antiochus perceiving caused a brisk charge to be given on the Horse and routed them and immediately fell on the left Flank of the Foot who not enduring it fled toward the Camp but the Tribune who was left for the defence of it issued with his Cohorts and forced the flying Legions to face about which they doing fought well and gain'd the day If this Tribune had let them enter the Camp as he might by Lipsius's consent have done in all probability the rest of the Legions had left the Field which no doubt had given Antiochus the Soveraignty of the greatest part of Asia Lipsius hath kept us long in the comparison of the first part of Discipline which consists of Duties now he comes to the second part which is compos'd as he will have it of Trainings and Exercisings these he says in the Exercises Modern Discipline are wholly omitted and neglected In answer to which I say I have spoke of great and very great neglects in this point of the Military Art in the later times But I cannot I dare not I will not believe our Author that they were either neglected or omitted in his days unless I give the lye to all the Histories of those times which witness That Flanders and Holland the first for the King of Spain the second for the Estates of the Vnited Provinces were the Military Schools where most of the Youth of Europe did learn all their Military Exercises Lastly he makes the third part of the Discipline of War to consist in Military Laws And truly if all be true he says he needs make no comparison in this point Military Laws between the Ancient and Modern Militia for he avers we have no Laws at all or very few or if any at all they are made in vain as being never put in execution Here he assumes to himself to speak what he pleaseth to the disgrace of Christian Souldiers and very little to his own reputation Listen a little to his words Adeste mei Duces date vestras Leges Quid mussatis An nullâ— An paucae Illa ipsae quae sunt irritâ— pro nullis Profecto ita vivitur libido pro lege est Jurisque locum sibi vindicat ensis Furta quis hodie punit Imo quis Raptus Câ—des Stupra Adulteria inter facinora Militaria censentur quae poscant aliquam Coronam Take it in English Come hither says he you Captains
actors and this they do either upon hear say registring the fables of vain and ignorant Solâ—â—ers who either have been or pretend to have been in the action for truths or write according to their own apprehensions of things which many times are so pitifully weak that their extravagancies put knowing Readers on the rack and force them to cast their Books away from them And indeed I have read the descriptions of some Battels in Books writ by no mean Authors wherein both Armies were Marshal'd in such order that I could not fancy it could be done by any except Aâ—adis de Gaul or the Knight of the Sun Let us except from these of Modern Historians Paolo Giovio d'Avita and the other unknown Author of the History of the Civil Wars of France Philip Noble Hisâ—orians de Comines Cardinal Bentivoglio Strada John Peâ—it Edward Philips his late History of England Chemnitius his History of the Swedish Expedition Theatrum Europâ—um these two last written in high Dutch and Di Sirâ— who hath written the History of these times very Voluminously in Italian These having either been Actors themselves or having got their relations from those Emperours Kings Princes or Generals who manag'd the Wars have given us Histories well worth the reading To these we may add Guicciardinâ— though for his prolixity he be used very scurrilously by Bocâ—alini who tells us that in Guicciardini taxed by Boccalini Parnassâ—â— a Laconian who had exprest his thoughts in three words which he might have done in two was order'd for his punishment to read Guicciardini The poor fellow beg'd rather to be fley'd alive than be tortur'd with reading an Historian who in the relation of the War between the Florâ—ntines and Pisans made longer discourses of the taking a Pigeon house than he needed to have made of the best fortified Castle Yet thus much most if not all Historians agree on when they speak of Armies they mention Van Battel and Reer which shews that the Roman method of Marshalling their Armies in three Bodies one behind another was observed by most Nations till of later years some Masters of the Military Art for some good reasons thought it convenient to reduce them to two It is pity so few since Vegetius his time have shewn themselves Tacticks that We have but few Tacticks is to teach us the Art of War used in their own time for so we should have known the Military Customs of several Nations and of several ages I have heard tâ—â—t Gonsalvo di Corduba who by his gallant Conduct recover'd the Kingdom of Naples from the French for the House of Arragon wrote in Spanish Traâ—â—ado de re Militari if it be extant it must be well worth the perusal as the work of one who by his great actions had acquir'd to himself the Title of Iâ— Gran Capitanâ— It Gran Capitano the â—reat Captain In the last year of the Reign of Henry the Fourth of France about sixty years ago Louis de Mâ—mgomery Lord of Carbâ—â—sâ—â— wrote a little Book De â—â— Louis de Mâ—â—gomery Milice Francoise of the French Militia it shows him to have been very much a Soldier but the marrow of that piece lyeth in his descriptions of some Artificial Fire-works the knowledg whereof lyes not in every mans way nor is it Preissac necessary for every Soldier though it add to his perfection The Siâ—â—r de Prâ—issaâ— wrote a little Treatise in French of Military Questions and Resolves very well Englished by Mr. Cruso an understanding Captain who I suppose wrote Captain Crusâ— Bockler himself in English a Book of Cavalry well worth the reading Bockler a German Engineer hath not many years ago written in his own language a piece wherein he gives us a pretty good account of the Military Customs of his own Country in his own time which may be from the year 1630 till the year 1664 or thereabout Lieutenant Colonel Elton his Compleat Body of the Military Lieutenant Colonel Elton Art with the Supplement added to it by Captain Rud without which it is not a Compleat Body is a piece well worth the perusal There are certainly others who have writ of this Subject whom I have neither seen nor read Some again there are who instead of informing us what method or ordinances of War Princes and States used in their time the want whereof I so much lament give us Models of their own framing either in whole or in part for Princes and States only to mould new Militia's my part I think any new mould of a Militia or the reformation of an old one is the work of a Prince or State who are able to bring together persons experienc'd in all kind of Military affairs to give their advices out of which the Prince or State may frame such Constitutions as are thought most conducible to carry on a War and then by their authority impose a necessity of obedience to those Constitutions and therefore they should not be the work of any private person Brancatiâ— an Italian peremptorily condemns the use of the Pike and in imitation of him Mr. Lâ—ptoâ— an English man writes a Book wherein he endeavours to prove the uselesness of that ancient weapon but I shall meet with his arguments in another place Machiavelli goes a greater length and presents the world with a Milice of Machiavelli his Books of War his own the birth of his own brain a hodg podg of some of the Ancient and some of the Modern Militia with a mixture of many of his own inventions In his Books of that Subject he fathers most of his notions on Fabritio Colâ—â—â—â— an excellent Captain who no doubt if ever he had seen them had rejected them as spurious Some of his mistakes I have touch'd in my Discourses of the Roman Art of War I shall only in this place trouble my Reader with two or three Animadversions that will shew his skill in Martial affairs In his fourth Book he makes it one of his Maxims that all good Captains should rather receive than give the charge of this I spoke in the Nineteenth First observation of them Chapter of my Essays of the Roman Art of War here I shall tell you the reason he gives for his opinion The first fury saith he is easily sustained by firm and experienc'd Soldiers and then it vanisheth in smoke But I ask first what if they who are charged be neither firm nor experienced for all Armies are not composed of Veterans next I ask what if they be both firm and experienc'd and yet do not sustain the charge in thosew two cases the first charge vanisheth not in smoke Pompey his Soldiers were firm and experienc'd yet did not sustain Câ—sarâ— Charge at Pharsalia but of this I spoke enough in another place In that same Fourth Book this Author shews us how an enemy may be surrounded in time of Battel and I pray you observe the Lesson he gives