Chronological Epitome of the Wars in the Low Countries from the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659, to that of Paris in 1815; with reflections, military and political

Front matter

London : Printed by C. Roworih, Bell Yard, Temple Bar. OF THE WA R S IN THE LOW COUNTRIES, FROM THE PEACE OF THE PYRENEES IN 1659, TO THAT OF PARIS IN 1815; WITH REFLECTIONS, MILITARY AND POLITICAL. BV Colonel Sir JAMES CARMICHAEL-SMYTH, Bart. LIEUTENANT COLONEL IN THE CORPS OF ROYAL ENGINEERS, C.B. K.M.T. E.S.W* AND AIDE-DE-CAMP TO HIS MAJESTY. Did magnum inter mortalis certamen suit, vi ne corporis, an virtute animi, Res Mi litaris magis procederet. Postea vero quam in Europjt, Galli cæpere urbes, atque nationes subigere ; lubidinem dominandi, causam belli habere j maxumam gloriam in maxumo imperio putare ; turn demum periculis, atque negotiis compertum est, in bello plurimum ingenium posse. — Sallustii Helium Catilinarium. LONDON: PRINTED FOR T. EGERTON, BOOKSELLER TO THE ORDNANCE, MILITARY LIBRARY, WHITEHALL. 1825.

Ill FIELD-MARSHAL HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF YORK, COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF OF ALL HIS MAJESTY'S FORCES, K.G. G. C.B. G. C. H. &C. &C. &C. Sir, Every effort, however humble, which can, by possibility, be of service to the British array, being certain to meet with the approbation and protection of your Royal Highness, I am encouraged to presume, with the utmost deference, to lay before your Royal Highness the following pages ; wherein I have endeavoured to give a concise, yet clear, account of the martial achievements of our ancestors, as Avell as of more recent transactions, in the Low Countries ; and have attempted, for the convenience of military men, to put that in- VI DEDICATION. formation into one volume, which, othenvise, could only be acquired by studying a variety of books, and by gleaning from the works of numerous authors.

I have the honour to be, With the utmost respect and most unfeigned gratitude, Sir, Your Royal Highness's Most obedient, most faithful, and most devoted humble servant, J. CARMICHAEL-SMYTH. Nutwood, Riegate, Jan. 25, 1825.

Preface

. ________ ARLY in the year 1814, a British army had its head-quarters at Brussels; and the British government, in consequence of a convention with its allies, took charge of that frontier of the Netherlands opposed to France, from the sea to the Meuse, until final arrangements should be made, as to the ultimate disposal of these fine provinces ; which, it had been decided upon, were not, under any circumstances, to revert to France. A period of twenty years had elapsed since a British soldier had been seen in the Low Countries. Not only every thing was new to us ; but, from the circumstance of our having been shut out from the continent, during such a length of time, we were almost forgotten. It

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. was the interest of the French to undervalue us as soldiers ; and our former triumphs in Flanders, which could not be denied, were attributed to the imbecility and weakness of the French generals of the ancienne regime ; not to the skill and talents of a King William or a Marlborough. The author of the following pages had, at the time alluded to, the honour of holding the important appointment of Commanding Engineer with the British army in the Low Countries. Called upon, from his official situation, suddenly, and Avithout any further previous knoAvledge of Flanders than Avhat he had acquired by general reading, to visit, examine, and report upon this interesting frontier, and to place the most important points in a state of defence, his duty naturally led him, more than perhaps any other officer, to ascertain not only Avhat had been done on former occasions, but the relative situations of the contending armies, and other circumstances which must, at various periods, have influenced the selection of particular positions, or the site of different fortresses. In the pursuit of this information, he ex-

PREFACE.

. IX perienced considerable difficulties from the want of some such work as he now offers to his brother officers and the public. There are plenty of historians and writers of me moirs relative to the different campaigns which have taken place in the Low Countries; but these works are, in general, not only very diffuse, but confined to the narrative of par ticular periods, or the history of individual fortresses. A connected view of the whole of the campaigns, in succession, and of the consequent political changes in the Nether lands, a country in which their ancestors, as well as they themselves, have acquired so much credit, cannot be uninteresting to Bri tish military readers. The British public, also, who are now more acquainted with military matters than formerly ; and who, from the very circumstance of that additional knoAvledge, have lost the foolish jealousy and dislike to their army Avhich was formerly entertained ; and are now sensible that a good soldier must be a good citizen ; and that he will be a better soldier in proportion as he is well-informed as a man ; will not, it is hoped, turn from an Epitome of the Wars X

PREFACE.

. in the Low Countries with frigid indifference. Could we ensure a state of constant peace and tranquillity, a contempt for military his tory might be pardonable ; but, as from the inherent nature of man, the powerful will prey upon the weak, the ambitious will en croach upon his neighbour, some acquaint ance with military subjects ought certainly to be cultivated by every British gentleman who aspires to a seat in the councils of the country, and is anxious to contribute his efforts to augment her prosperity. The author of the folloAving pages has the advantage of being tolerably well acquainted with the Low Countries, and with the dif ferent fortresses and positions referred to in his work ; as also of having visited almost every field of battle he has described. He is not conscious that he has advanced a single fact or opinion, but upon positive conviction of its truth.

As, however, it by no means follows that things will appear to others in the same point of view as to himself, he is far from pretending to assert that his opi nions are correct — he only vouches for their honesty. He has undertaken this work, fully

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. XI conscious of its importance ; and, if he should be found to have failed, he will, at any rate, derive consolation from the reflection of the poet — - " Quem si non tenuit, magnis tamen excidit ausis." TABLE OF PRINCIPAL CONTENTS. Page Introduction 1 Particulars of the Peace of the Pyrenees in 1659 . 11 Invasion of the Spanish Netherlands by Lewis XIV. in 1667 18 Peace of Ai.x-la-Chapelle, in 1668 21 Invasion of Holland by Lewis XIV. in 1672 ... 28 Elevation of the Prince of Orange (afterwards King William) to the Stadtholdership in 1673 ... 31 Battle of Seneffe, in 1674 39 Death of Turenne, in 1675 46 Marriage of the Prince of Orange with the Princess Mary, in 1677 . 57 Return of the English Regiments from the service of Lewis XIV. in 1678 61 Particulars of the Peace of Nimeguen, in 1678 . . ib.

Appointment of three Sovereign Courts by Lewis XIV. to investigate into his Claims for various Territories in Franche-Comte, Alsace, and the Low Countries, in 1680 64 Lewis XIV. takes possession of Strasbourg, in 1680 65 The French besiege Luxembourg, in 1684 ... 66 Truce of Ratisbon, in 1684 68 League of Augsburg, in 1686 70 Lewis XIV. invades Germany in 1688 CONTENTS. Page England declares War to France in 1689 .... 74 Battle of Walcourt, in 1689 75 Battle of Fleurus, in 1690 78 Lewis XIV. besieges Mons in 1691 80 Siege of Namur, by the French, in 1692 .... 84 Battle of Steenkirk, in 1692 87 Battle of Landen, in 1693 92 Siege of Namur, by King William, in 1695 . . . 103 Peace of Ryswyk, in 1697 107 Explanation of the different Claims to the Crown of Spain, at the death of Charles II. in 1700 . 109 Death of King William, in 1702 117 Commencement of the War of the Spanish Succession, in 1702 ib.

Battle of Eckeren, in 1703 130 Marlborough's March to the Danube, in 1704 . . 137 Battle of Blenheim, in 1704 143 French Lines between the Gette and the Meuse forced, in 1705 150 Battle of Ramilies, in 1706 156 Death of Vauban, in 1707 170 Battle of Oudenarde . . . -. /" . . 175 Siege of Lille / J . . 178 Battle of Wynendale . . . Y in 1708j . . 185 Death of Marshal Overkerque ) {. . . 193 Siege of Tournai . . . . ~l ( . . 195 Battle of Malplaquet . . . > in 1709 "S . . 196 Siege of Mons 3 ' 198 The French behind the Canche, in 1710 .... 203 Siege of Bouchain, in 1711 207 The English Army separated from that of the Allies, 1712 210 Battle of Denain, in 1712 CONTENTS.

XV Page Particulars of the Peace of Utrecht, in 1713 . . 215 Barrier-Treaty, in 1715 216 Reasons which occasioned the War of the Austrian Succession 221 Invasion of the Austrian Netherlands by Lewis XV. in 1744 222 Battle of Fontenoy, in 1745 228 Capture of Brussels, in 1746, by Marshal Saxe . . 241 Battle of Rocour, in ditto 250 Battle of Lawfeldt, in 1747 254 Siege of Bergenopzoom, in ditto 257 Siege of Maestricht, in 1748 260 Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, in ditto 263 The Dutch Garrisons withdrawn from the Barrier- Fortresses, in 1782 267 Treaty of Fontainebleau, in 1785 270 The Prussian Army, commanded by the Duke of Brunswick, enters Holland, in 1787 274 Insurrection in the Netherlands, against the Austrian Government, in 1789 279 Death of the Emperor Joseph II. in 1790 . . . 282 Convention of the Hague, on the 10th December, 1790 284 Invasion of the Austrian Netherlands by the French, in 1792 286 Second Invasion of the Netherlands, in 1792, by the French under Dumourier 290 Battle of Jemappe, in 1792 293 Dumourier's plan to invade Holland, in 1793 . . 296 Battle of Neerwinden, in 1793 303 The French evacuate the Netherlands, in 1793 . . 306 Siege of Valenciennes, in 1793 312 Attempt upon Dunkirk, in 1793 CONTENTS.

Page Battle of Catteau-Cambresis, in 1794 324 Battle c. Tournai, in 1794 327 Battle of Fleurus, in 1794 330 Austrians evacuate the Netherlands, in 1794 . . 331 The French enter Holland, in 1795 338 Expedition to North Holland, in 1799 ..... 341 Expedition to Walcheren, in 1 809 346 British Troops sent to Holland, in 18 13 .... 355 Assault upon Bergenopzoom, in 1814 360 Peace of Paris, in 1814 365 Measures adopted in the Netherlands, in consequence of the apparent probability of a renewal of Hostilities in 1815 366 French Army assembled at Beaumont _ 370 Battle of Ligny j i 377 Battle of Quatre-bras f I 381 Battle of Waterloo >in 1815^ Capitulation of Paris I I 408 Treaty of Peace signed at Paris . . ■"* 409 General Reflections CHRONOLOGICAL EPITOME or THE WARS IN THE LOW COUNTRIES.