The campaign of 1704 closed with the Siege of Landau, the Greys forming
part of the army covering the siege. In September, when the King of the
Romans visited the British camp, the Duke of Marlborough placed himself
at the head of the "Royal Scots Dragoons" to receive his Majesty.
The interesting incident is thus entered by Hare in his Journal:
"On 2nd of October the King of the Romans came from before Landau,
to take a view of the Army commanded by his Grace at Weissembourg.
His Grace sent Colonel Cadogan to conduct His Majesty to the left
of the Army which was drawn out in two lines for this purpose. His
Grace there received and saluted His Majesty at the head of Lord
John Hayes' regiment of Dragoons, and afterwards accompanied His
Majesty along the lines, which appeared extremely fine and gave
great satisfaction to his Majesty."
In November they marched back to Holland for the winter, and in
Guelderland were joined by another remount from Scotland.
They were withdrawn from their cantonments early in May of 1705, and
after traversing Limburg, encamped near the banks of the river Maese,
where the Duke of Marlborough assembled the army for the purpose of
proceeding up the Moselle. After a halt of two days, the cavalry
crossed the Maese, and marched to Coblenz, and thence to Juliers. After
leaving this, they crossed a barren country to Triersweiler, where
the troops encamped on May 26th. Thence the Moselle and the Saar were
crossed, and plans made for offensive warfare. This was all frustrated
by Austrian delays and German commanders' jealousies. The Duke of
Marlborough resolved therefore to return.
At midnight on June 17th the troops decamped in the midst of a heavy
rain, and the Royal Scots Dragoons, with several other regiments,
formed up to cover the retreat through a long and narrow defile. No
enemy, however, appeared to interrupt the army, and retracing their
former steps by forced marches, the Greys reached the vicinity of
Maestricht on June 30th; when the French forces in the Netherlands
instantly ceased acting on the offensive, and took refuge behind their
lines.
[Illustration: "+Signatures of Colonel Agnew's Troop, for receipt of
Bountie monie, for Campaigne of 1704.+"]
After several changes of position, the Greys and other corps were
ordered to be ready to march immediately after dark on the evening
of July 17th; and the regiment was formed on this occasion as usual
in brigade with the Royal Irish Dragoons under the command of
Brigadier-General Lord John Hay. The French lines to be taken were very
formidable, for besides the height of the rampart, and the largeness of
the ditch, they were further defended by the difficulties of the ground
over which they were to be approached; and by the river Geet, which
could not be crossed without laying bridges over it, and which was near
enough to the lines to be defended by the fire from the parapet. Our
troops continued their march throughout the night, which was extremely
dark, and at four in the morning surprised the French guards and
took the position. Scarcely had the Greys and Irish Dragoons, with a
few squadrons of horse, passed the lines, when the Marquis d'Allegre
appeared with twenty battalions of infantry and fifty squadrons of
cavalry. The Duke of Marlborough led his horse and dragoons forward,
and by an impetuous charge, broke the enemy's ranks. A short but fiery
conflict followed with varied success, and the Greys displayed their
usual spirit. Finally the enemy's squadrons were dispersed, their
standards and kettledrums were captured, and many officers and men were
taken prisoners. The enemy's infantry also suffered severely; a few
battalions however retired in a square in admirable order.
The campaign closed, and the Scots Greys marched to Dutch Brabant,
where they spent the winter.
From the archives of the Regiment:--
"Early in 1705 the sheriff (_i.e._, Sir James Agnew) parted with
his eldest son (Andrew), who at seventeen joined the army in
Flanders as a volunteer. Pleased at the idea of the boy's winning
his own spurs, he supplied him with a moderately well-filled purse,
while his mother, along with her blessing, furnished him with an
introduction to the Duke of Marlborough, as well as other letters
of introduction. Thus furnished, the youth embarked, and reached
the camp in February in safety, where he attached himself to the
'Royal Grey Dragoons.' At the mess of this distinguished corps he
met many friends from Galloway. His brother-in-law, Colonel Agnew,
was Major, whose brother Thomas was also a Captain in the regiment;
and among the subs. were the young Laird of Mochrun, George Dunbar,
as well as John Dunbar, his youngest brother. Within a few weeks
of his arrival he received, to his no small gratification, a
commission signed by the Duke of Marlborough in camp at Rastad on
the 11th of May, 1705, appointing Andrew Agnew to be cornet of that
troop in Her Majesty's Royal Regiment of Scotts Dragoons, commanded
by the Right Honourable John Hay, whereof Major Andrew Agnew is
Captain."
Then come three pages of the adventures of the Greys in the campaign in
which the said Andrew took his part. He was afterwards the famous Sir
Andrew who fought in the Rebellion of 1745, and specially noted for his
defence of Blair Castle at that time.
"Lord Mahon's History of England, Vol. I., chapter 5, page 155,
edition Murray, 1853.
"1715.
"Meanwhile the Duke of Argyle had arrived in Scotland about the
middle of September, and hastened to the camp at Stirling. He had
brought with him not a single battalion of troops, not one piece of
artillery. He had found under his command no more than 1,000 foot,
and a body of Dragoons, partly from that excellent regiment the
Scots Greys, but altogether of only 500 men."
Sir Walter Scott, in his note on Sinclair's MS., page 304, wrote:--
"The Dragoons called the Scots Greys, for many years maintained a
character greatly superior to that of an ordinary regiment. They
never gave a bounty exceeding a crown, and were recruited from
a class of persons greatly superior to those who usually enter
the army, such as the sons of decent farmers and tradesmen, who
felt a vocation for the army. No ignominious punishment was ever
inflicted, and a criminal who had merited such was previously
transferred to another regiment."
[Illustration: "+Field Marshal John Dalrymple, Second Earl of Stair,
K.T.+"
+Born, 1673. Died, 1747.+
_From the Painting at Lochinch._]
Early in May, 1706, they left their winter quarters, and after crossing
the plains of Limburg and the rich valleys of Liege, they on May
20th joined the army encamped at Bilsen, and afterwards marched to
Borchloen. On May 23rd a detachment of the Greys, and several squadrons
of horse, were ordered to march towards Mont St. André, and were soon
after followed by the army in eight columns. There was a thick fog,
but the cavalry pushed on until they gained the heights near Mierdorp,
when through the misty dawn they espied a few of the enemy's cavalry
crossing the plains of St. André, and soon the fog lifting, the French
army was discovered in position at Ramillies. Advancing into the plains
of Tandrinœuil, the Allies prepared for action, the Queen's Horse, the
Greys, and the Royal Irish Dragoons, with Churchill's and Mordaunt's
regiments of infantry, being posted on the heights of Foulz on the
right of the line. About 1·30 in the afternoon the Allies began heavy
artillery fire, which was quickly answered by the enemy, and the action
became general. For some time the troops on the heights on the right
were only spectators, but Marlborough, seeing that an attack made by
the Dutch and Danish cavalry on the French Household regiments, Gens
D'Armes, Gardes du Corps, and others, was not succeeding, ordered his
right wing to advance. Churchill's and Mordaunt's regiments descended
first, and meeting three battalions of French infantry, drove them into
a morass, where most of them were killed or captured. At the same time
the Queen's Horse, the Greys, and the Irish Dragoons galloped through
the morass, crossed the high ground beyond it, and attacking the
enemy's left, routed the French cavalry, and cut several battalions of
infantry to pieces. The Greys charged into the village of Autreglize,
overthrew and sabred the infantry in the streets. Coming out of the
village, they encountered the famous French regiment du Roi, which
at once surrendered and delivered up its colours and arms to the
victorious Dragoons.
The contemporary account in the "London Gazette" was as follows:
"The horse of their left wing seemed to make a stand to gain time
for their foot to retire, but were charged so quickly and with so
much bravery by the English, that they entirely abandoned the foot,
and our Dragoons pushing into the village of Autreglize, made a
terrible slaughter. The French King's Own regiment of foot called
the regiment du Roi, begged for quarter, and delivered up their
arms and colours to Lord John Hay's Dragoons (the Greys)."
In connection with the battle of Ramillies, some account must be given
of a woman, Christian Davies, or Mother Ross, who served as a trooper
in the Greys until, fighting at Ramillies, her skull was fractured, and
her sex afterwards discovered.
In 1740 appeared a book of nearly 200 pages, purporting to record her
life and adventures; also in 1893 she was included in a volume called
"Women Adventurers," published by T. Fisher Unwin. The account of her
given in the D. N. B. seems excellent. Presumably she was brave, but
she seems to have been a very coarse woman. Born in Dublin in 1667,
she married Richard Welsh. He, without her knowledge, was in some way
forced to enlist in a foot regiment, and wrote letters to his wife
which never reached her. At last she heard of his being in the army,
and so disguised herself as a soldier to go in search of him.
She enlisted in Captain Tichborne's company of foot as Christopher
Welch. In a skirmish before the battle of Landen she was wounded, and
in the next year--1694--taken prisoner by the French, but exchanged.
At her own wish she was now allowed to join the Greys, and continued
so until after the peace of Ryswick. On the renewal of war in 1701
she went back to Holland and re-enlisted in the Greys. She fought at
Niuwegen, Venloo, Bonn, and in most of the engagements of the campaign,
till at the battle of Donauwerth she received a ball in the hip,
which caused a temporary retirement into hospital. The ball was never
extracted, but Christian was again under arms in time to share in the
spoil after Blenheim. While forming one of a guard to some prisoners
taken in that battle, she again saw her husband after a separation of
thirteen years. She lost no time in revealing her identity to him; but
so enamoured was she of camp life that she extracted a promise from
Welsh that he would pass himself off as her brother. After Ramillies
she, of course, had to cease to be a trooper, but she still continued
to live in camp, and accompanied her husband as his acknowledged wife.
In 1709 Richard Welsh was killed at Malplaquet. Christian herself found
his body, and her lamentations were so extravagant as to excite the
open commiseration of a Captain Ross, whence it is said she gained the
sobriquet of Mother Ross, by which she was known for the rest of her
days. Although grieving so that for a whole week she refused to touch
food, she married Hugh Jones, a grenadier, within three months. In 1710
Jones was killed at the siege of Saint-Venant. In 1712 she returned to
England, was presented to Queen Anne, and awarded a life pension of a
shilling a day. She afterwards went to Dublin and married a soldier
named Davies. She died on July 7th, 1739, and, at her own request, her
body was interred among the pensioners in Chelsea burying ground, and
three grand volleys were fired over her grave.
After this great victory at Ramillies, on Whit Sunday, May 23rd, 1705,
the Greys were occupied in covering the successful sieges of several
fortified towns in Flanders, and in the autumn the British troops went
into quarters in Flanders, excepting the Royal Scots Greys and Irish
Dragoons, who proceeded to Holland.
Early in the spring of 1707 the Greys went to Spanish Brabant, and
encamped near the banks of the little river Sienne. In this year the
Acts of Parliament were passed for the Union of the crowns of England
and Scotland, and from that time the Greys were designated "The Royal
Regiment of North British Dragoons."
The army was assembled at Brussels, and afterwards encamped near
Weldert. The year passed off very quietly; but Richard Cannon found
some record of a sharp fight between twenty-five troopers of the Greys
sent out to cut forage and thirty French musketeers, the result alleged
being fourteen Frenchmen killed and the rest taken.
On July 11th, 1708, the Greys were engaged in the important battle of
Oudenarde, and this battle, with the story of the events preceding it,
is full of interest, but would be out of place in this record of one
particular regiment.
After this the Regiment formed part of the covering army, and was
employed in escorting provisions and ammunition to the troops laying
siege to Lisle, the capital of French Flanders. After Lisle had fallen
to the Allies, the Greys were sent into winter quarters in Flanders.
The winter proved extremely severe, and a considerable number of men
and horses are said to have been frozen to death.
In 1709 the Greys formed part of the troops covering the siege and fall
of Tournay; but the event of the year was the battle of Malplaquet,
fought on September 11th, 1709. The Greys were brigaded with the Royal
Irish Dragoons, under Brigadier-General Sybourg. They were posted near
the centre of the Allied Army to sustain the attacks of the infantry
and protect the artillery, and for some time were only spectators
of the fierce storm of battle which raged on all sides; at length,
however, they were ordered to file through a wood in their front, and
charge. Scarcely had the brigade emerged from among the trees before it
encountered a line of French cavalry; these squadrons were, however,
soon dispersed, but they were instantly succeeded by a new line of
champions, consisting of a number of squadrons of the French household
cavalry, clad in armour, and advancing in firm array. Richard Cannon
has described how the Greys and Irish Dragoons met these foaming
squadrons with signal bravery, but were driven from their ground by
superior numbers. The two regiments soon rallied, and being joined
by several corps of horse, returned to the charge; yet such was the
resolution displayed by the French troopers that it was not until the
third charge that they were driven from the field. The two victorious
regiments were specially thanked by the Duke of Marlborough. The Greys
lost about thirty killed and wounded.
The regiment was afterwards employed in covering the siege of Mons,
the capital of Hainault, and after the surrender of Mons marched into
winter quarters at the little town of Tiel.
Malplaquet was a desperately hard-fought battle. Not for the first or
last time in our history, an important battle was nearly lost through
the imbecile action of the authorities at home in failing to support an
able general abroad.
In Coxe's "Marlborough," large paper edition, Vol. III., page 90, we
find the following:--
"In considering the consequences of this eventful day, we cannot
but applaud the foresight of Marlborough, who before the opening of
the campaign had so earnestly pressed for a powerful augmentation
of troops. He was conscious that the French were prepared to make
their final effort in the Netherlands, and that he should have to
contend with a far greater force than he had yet encountered. The
battle proved that his calculations were well founded, and that an
additional number of 10,000 men on that eventful day would have
more contributed to the advancement of peace, than all the efforts
of the ablest negotiators in Europe. The Allies, indeed, remained
masters of the field; but the laurels of their two great commanders
were deeply tinged with blood, and the result of the campaign was
far from being commensurate with the sacrifice of so many valuable
lives."
Of the springing valour displayed by the enemy on the day of
Malplaquet there can be no question, and a distinguished French officer
wrote to a correspondent at the time:--
"The Eugenes and Marlboroughs ought to be well satisfied with us
during that day; since till then they had not met with resistance
worthy of them. They may say, with justice, that nothing can stand
before them; and, indeed, what shall be able to stem the rapid
course of these two heroes, if an army of 100,000 of the best
troops, posted between two woods trebly entrenched, and performing
their duty as well as any brave men could do, were not able to stop
them for one day? Will you not then own with me, that they surpass
all the heroes of former ages?"
Early in 1710 the regiment was joined by a remount of 100 men and
horses from Scotland, and marching from its cantonments, encamped on
high ground near Tournay. In the afternoon of April 20th it was again
on the march, and formed part of the First Division of the Allied
Army which forced the enemy's fortified lines at Pont-à-Vendin on
the 21st, and encamped at night on the plain of Lens; and afterwards
helping in covering the siege of Douay, a strong town on the river
Scarpe, and finally was stationed at Pont-à-Nache. While here, the Duke
of Marlborough, by special commission from Queen Anne, invested its
Colonel--the Earl of Stair--with the Order of the Thistle.
On May 10th the enemy made a sudden sally from Fort Scarpe to take
the bread waggons going to the Allies; but reaching Pont-à-Nache,
their career was suddenly stopped by a squadron of the Greys, and two
squadrons of the Royal Irish Dragoons, who came sweeping up the plain
at full gallop, and routing the enemy in an instant, chased them with
heavy loss under the cannon of the fort. Lieutenant-Colonel Caldwell,
of the Royal Irish Dragoons, who commanded the three squadrons, was
wounded in the pursuit.
After the fall of Douay, the Greys crossed the country of Artois to the
banks of the river Bietres; and encamped before Bethune, which was at
once besieged. They were subsequently occupied in escorting military
stores up the country, and after the taking of Bethune, they were
occupied with the sieges of Aire and Saint-Venant. The surrender of
Aire ended the campaign.
Early in May, 1711, the army assembled in French Flanders, and
encamped, first at Warde, and next on the plain of Lens. After
manœuvring skilfully, Marlborough succeeded in forcing the enemy's
lines by the causeway at Arleux, crossed the Scheldt, and besieged
Bouchain. In all this the Greys took part. After the fall of Bouchain,
the army retired into winter quarters.
In 1712 the French sued for peace, and the Greys marched from the
frontiers of Picardy into Flanders, staying there until the signing of
the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. They then returned to England at the
close of eleven years of hard war service.
A satisfactory change now took place in the official status of the
Greys. In 1694, when many English, Irish, and Scots regiments were
serving in the Netherlands, King William commanded a board of general
officers to assemble and decide upon the rank of the several corps.
This board gave precedence to the English regiments, and the Scots
and Irish were only allowed to take rank in the English army from the
date of their first arrival in England, or from the date when they
were first placed on the English establishment. There being three
regiments of English Dragoons raised previous to 1688, when the Royal
Scots Dragoons were first placed upon the English establishment, this
regiment consequently obtained rank as Fourth Dragoons only.
But in 1713, when Queen Anne had ordered another board of general
officers to assemble to decide upon the rank of several newly-raised
regiments, proof was adduced that the Royal Scots Dragoon crossed the
Border and entered England in June, 1685, when there was only one
regiment of Dragoons on the English establishment.
This was taken into consideration, and after some delay the Scots Greys
obtained the rank of Second Dragoons.
Regiments were not, however, distinguished by numerical titles before
the reign of George the Second.
In 1713 the regiment was increased to nine troops.
The Greys were next occupied in quelling the Rebellion of the Old
Pretender, and here they won special distinction.
In 1719 the Jacobites, aided by Spain, made another attempt on
Scotland, but were routed on June 10th at Strachell. Three troops of
the Greys under Major Robinson were engaged.
[Illustration: +Grenadier Cap of the Scots Greys+, 1743.
Preserved in the Museum of the United Service Institution.]
[Illustration: +Farm Buildings--Lochinch, Castle Kennedy, Wigtonshire.+
The Farm Buildings used as Barracks by the Scots Greys under command of
John Earl of Stair. The Terraces at Lochinch were constructed by him
during the period the Greys were quartered there, and it is recorded
that the men of the regiment did the work.]
In April, 1721, reduced on account of peace to 207 men, the regiment
left Scotland, and was placed in cantonments in the northern counties
of England. In 1723 it returned to Scotland, and in 1725 marched into
quarters in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire.
Early in 1727 the Regiment was again increased to nine troops, and it
was ordered to be ready for foreign service, but no embarkation took
place. The nine troops were marched into quarters near Hounslow, and
on October 28th were reviewed on the heath by King George the Second.
They afterwards marched into quarters in Yorkshire, where the three
augmentation troops were reduced, and the numbers of the establishment
of the Regiment fixed at 309 officers and men.
In 1730 the Regiment was again in Scotland.
In 1737 it came back to England, and was chiefly busy on the Kentish
coast suppressing smugglers.
In April, 1738, the regiment marched into Dorset and Wilts, to suppress
popular riots.
In September, 1739, the Regiment was increased to 435 officers and men.
Richard Cannon pictures the regiment spending the following summer
encamped among the ancient oaks in Windsor Forest. In October it
marched into Yorkshire, but soon came south again and was quartered in
Berkshire.
Charles the Sixth, Emperor of Germany, died in 1740, and England was a
party to the Pragmatic Sanction by which the crown was guaranteed to
his daughter Maria Theresa as Queen of Hungary and Bohemia.
On the other hand, the Elector of Bavaria, as descendant of Ferdinand
the First, claimed these countries, and was supported by the French
King, Louis the Fourteenth.
On June 19th, 1742, the Greys were reviewed by King George the Second
on Kew Green, and three days later marched for Dover. A publication
called "The Champion" records:--
"On Tuesday, General Campbell's fine regiment of Scots Greys
arrived in the Borough of Southwark on their march to Dover, where
they are to embark for Flanders. They are fine hardy fellows, and
want no seasoning, and made an appearance agreeable to all but the
innkeepers."
For the two great campaigns that now followed I copy from the archives
preserved by the Regiment a
"+Note from the British Military Library or Journal,
published 1799.+
* * * * *
"This regiment frequently distinguished itself in the wars of King
William and Queen Anne, and in many actions by its own individual
prowess might justly be said to have inclined the balance in favour
of the British arms, nor was it less active in the Rebellion of
1715.
"In the battles of Dettingen and Fontenoy, the cool, intrepid and
invincible courage of this corps was eminently conspicuous.
"In the battle of Dettingen, the French were commanded by the
celebrated Marshal de Noailles, and the Allied Army by his late
Majesty King George the Second and the great Duke of Cumberland.
The French had nearly effected the utter ruin of the Allies, by
surrounding them, in order to cut off all supplies, in which case
the whole must have been reduced to the disagreeable necessity of
surrendering at the mercy of the enemy, nor could anything short
of the most unexampled heroism rescue them from the impending
danger--that heroism was not wanting. The combined troops, animated
by the presence and example of the King and Prince, little regarded
the enemy's vast superiority of numbers, while the Earl of Stair
made a vigorous charge with the cavalry, among whom were the Scots
Greys, then under the command of Sir James Campbell, an officer of
high talents in his profession, and who signalised himself on this
occasion in a manner which proved him truly worthy the command.
Unfortunately for his country and the service this meritorious
officer fell by a cannon shot the succeeding year, at the battle of
Fontenoy in 1744.
"In this battle, fought on the 30th of April, than which few have
been more bloody, the laurel was snatched from the enemy by this
corps and three others, who covered the British and Hanoverian
Infantry, under General Lord Ligonier, and that in so gallant a
manner as to render wholly abortive one of the greatest objects of
the French commander, for the timid Dutch had retreated, leaving a
wing of the Allied Army exposed to the enemy, and this, although
supported by two British battalions.
"The hazard was great and the moment more critical inasmuch as
its brave Colonel was killed and his post left defective for a
considerable time until His Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland
ordered some pieces of cannon to be brought up, at the head of the
Foot Guards, which soon silenced the enemy's guns, and by exciting
universal admiration at the General's presence of mind in the midst
of such danger, the troops were roused to unusual exertions and
actually took possession of some of their batteries, although, to
effect this, they were necessarily exposed to a most terrible and
incessant cannonade. Perhaps the page of history could not produce
a parallel to the bravery of the British troops in this engagement,
who, after having stood for upwards of three hours the incessant
fire of three strong batteries, could drive the French, their
superiors in point of number, from their lines into their Camp;
who when thinned in their ranks, tired with slaughter and almost
sinking beneath their wounds, could break the same host of troops,
drive them back a second time, and at length make good a safe
retreat, at the moment when the enemy was reinforced by seven fresh
battalions."
At the risk of seeming lengthy, I must here add, without pretending to
edit it, a paragraph from Cannon's very scarce record:--
"A tremendous cannonade was followed by volleys of musketry and
charges of cavalry. The Greys supported the infantry for some
time; but at length they were led forward by their Colonel, the
chivalrous and daring Lieutenant-General James Campbell, against a
line of French Cuirassiers. Their grey horses and grenadier caps
rendered them conspicuous--their noble bearing excited admiration.
Before them appeared the enemy's squadrons, formidable in numbers,
and bright in polished armour; but undismayed by the opposing ranks
of war, the Greys raised a loud huzza, and rushed at speed upon
their steel-clad opponents, who were overthrown and pursued to the
rear of their own lines....
"The Greys pursued their adversaries to the banks of the river,
and captured a White Standard, with which they returned in
triumph to their own lines, where they received the expression
of the approbation of their Sovereign, who had witnessed their
gallantry.... The standard was of white damask, finely embroidered
with gold and silver; a thunderbolt in the middle, upon a blue and
white ground; motto, _Sensere Gigantes_."
The following interesting 1747 record I copy from the Manuscript Papers
now preserved by the Greys:--
"Extract from the Record Book of the Enniskilling Dragoons.
"Signed, +E. M. W. Gres+, Major.
"1747. The Duke of Cumberland arrived at the Hague on the 15th of
February. The French made some hostile movements in April. The
Allied Army were encamped near to Antwerp, their right extending
to Breschater. The army of the Allies marched 30th of June in
three columns towards Lonaken, and encamped between that place and
Ghenck. The French corps of the Count de Clermont occupied the high
ground from Tongress to Tonggrebech. His Royal Highness the Duke of
Cumberland and Marshal Bathiani resolved to take possession of the
camp of Bilsen. On the 2nd of July an action was fought between
Tongress and Bilsen, near Maestricht, called the battle of Keselt
or of Lafeldt, or Vol. The British cavalry charged and broke the
enemy's first line, and afterwards when His Royal Highness was with
them, charged a second time and broke the enemy again; hereupon the
enemy made a desperate effort on the centre of the Allies; their
squadrons penetrated and divided the army.
"At this juncture the British cavalry, led on by Sir John Ligonier,
charged the French with so much success that they overthrew all
before them, but too eager in pursuit of the enemy, received a
sharp fire from the Foot, which they had posted in a hollow way and
some hedges, to favour the flight of their horse, by which they
suffered a good deal; they dispersed, however, that Foot and some
fresh squadrons which the enemy had sent down upon them, but was
all in vain whilst the army was divided in two.
"His Royal Highness, therefore, called the Cavalry off and sent
word to the Marshal that he should retire towards Maestricht, and
would move towards Velt Wesel and Lanaken to favour his Retreat.
This done, he retired the left wing slowly and in good order,
bringing off all the heavy field artillery. His Royal Highness gave
the greatest commendation to His Majesty's British and Electoral
troops, of which there was not a squadron or Battalion which did
not charge and beat the enemy more than once. The Scots Greys,
the Duke's, Rothe's, the 6th Inniskilling, and Sir Robert Rich's
Dragoons, gave the French cavalry a prodigious overthrow and took
several standards.
"The Brigade of Scotch and Irish in the French service fought
desperately, and would have taken the Duke of Cumberland prisoner,
had not Sir John Ligonier come up with a party of cavalry and
thereby saved His Royal Highness.
"The Allies took five standards and seven pair of Colours. In this
Battle the Regiment suffered severely. The allies passed to the
eastern side of the Meuse immediately after the Battle of 2nd of
July. Encamped at Gronfelt. The French laid siege to Bergen Op Zoom:
"Several sallies and skirmishes. In August the Allies moved nearer
to Liege. The French had their left towards Tongress and their
right towards Liege.
"Bergen Op Zoom taken by the French 16th September.
"In October the troops went into winter quarters on the Dutch
Frontier in the neighbourhood of Breda.
"The Duke of Cumberland and General Ligonier arrived in England
13th November.
"20th November five regiments of Foot embarked at Gravesend for
Flanders."
[The latter part of the foregoing extract is curiously worded; but I
have made no alterations.--E. A.]