Munro's first care, when he found that the Imperialists had retreated
in the direction of Colberg, was to send out some horsemen to discover
whether the Swedes were in a position to cover that town. The men
returned in two hours with the report that Field Marshal Horn, with the
Swedish troops from Stettin, had joined Kniphausen and Hepburn, and were
guarding the passage between the enemy and Colberg.
Two days later a message arrived to the effect that Sir Donald Mackay,
who had now been created Lord Reay, had arrived to take the command of
his regiment, and that Nigel Graheme's company was to march and join
him; while Munro with the rest of his command was to continue to hold
the Castle of Schiefelbrune.
Shortly afterwards General Bauditzen arrived with 4000 men and 18 pieces
of cannon to press the siege of Colberg, which was one of the strongest
fortresses in North Germany. On the 13th of November the news arrived
that Montecuculi was again advancing to raise the siege; and Lord Reay
with his half regiment, Hepburn with half his regiment, and a regiment
of Swedish infantry marched out to meet him, Kniphausen being in
command. They took up a position in a little village a few miles from
the town; and here, at four o'clock in the morning, they were attacked
by the Imperialists, 7000 strong. The Swedish infantry fled almost
without firing a shot, but the Scottish musketeers of Hepburn and Reay
stood their ground.
For a time a desperate conflict raged. In the darkness it was utterly
impossible to distinguish friend from foe, and numbers on both sides
were mown down by the volleys of their own party. In the streets and
gardens of the little village men fought desperately with pikes and
clubbed muskets. Unable to act in the darkness, and losing many men from
the storm of bullets which swept over the village, the Swedish cavalry
who had accompanied the column turned and fled; and being unable to
resist so vast a superiority of force, Kniphausen gave the word, and the
Scotch fell slowly back under cover of the heavy mist which rose with
the first breath of day, leaving 500 men, nearly half their force, dead
behind them.
Nigel Graheme's company had suffered severely; he himself was badly
wounded. A lieutenant and one of the ensigns were killed, with thirty of
the men, and many others were wounded with pike or bullet. Malcolm had
had his share of the fighting. Several times he and the men immediately
round him had been charged by the Imperialists, but their long pikes had
each time repulsed the assaults.
Malcolm had before this come to the conclusion, from the anecdotes he
heard from the officers who had served through several campaigns, that
the first quality of an officer is coolness, and that this is even more
valuable than is reckless bravery. He had therefore set before himself
that his first duty in action was to be perfectly calm, to speak without
hurry or excitement in a quiet and natural tone.
In his first fight at Schiefelbrune he had endeavoured to carry this
out, but although he gained much commendation from Nigel and the other
officers of the company for his coolness on that occasion, he had by no
means satisfied himself; but upon the present occasion he succeeded
much better in keeping his natural feelings in check, forcing himself to
speak in a quiet and deliberate way without flurry or excitement, and in
a tone of voice in no way raised above the ordinary. The effect had been
excellent, and the soldiers, in talking over the affair next day, were
loud in their praise of the conduct of the young ensign.
“The lad was as cool as an old soldier,” one of the sergeants said, “and
cooler. Just as the Austrian column was coming on for the third time,
shouting, and cheering, and sending their bullets in a hail, he said to
me as quietly as if he was giving an order about his dinner, 'I think,
Donald, it would be as well to keep the men out of fire until the last
moment. Some one might get hurt, you see, before the enemy get close
enough to use the pikes.' And then when they came close he said, 'Now,
sergeant, I think it is time to move out and stop them.' When they came
upon us he was fighting with his half pike with the best of us. And when
the Austrians fell back and began to fire again, and we took shelter
behind the houses, he walked about on the road, stooping down over those
who had fallen, to see if all were killed, and finding two were alive he
called out, 'Will one of you just come and help me carry these men under
shelter? They may get hit again if they remain here.' I went out to him,
but I can tell you I didn't like it, for the bullets were coming along
the road in a shower. His helmet was knocked off by one, and one of the
men we were carrying in was struck by two more bullets and killed, and
the lad seemed to mind it no more than if it had been a rainstorm in the
hills at home. I thought when we left Nithsdale that the captain was in
the wrong to make so young a boy an officer, but I don't think so now.
Munro himself could not have been cooler. If he lives he will make a
great soldier.”
The defence of the Scots had been so stubborn that Montecuculi abandoned
his attempt to relieve Colberg that day, and so vigilant was the watch
which the besiegers kept that he was obliged at last to draw off his
troops and leave Colberg to its fate. The place held out to the 26th of
February, when the garrison surrendered and were allowed to march out
with the honours of war, with pikes carried, colours flying, drums
beating, matches lighted, with their baggage, and with two pieces of
cannon loaded and ready for action. They were saluted by the army as
they marched away to the nearest town held by the Austrians, and as they
passed by Schiefelbrune Munro's command were drawn up and presented
arms to the 1500 men who had for three months resisted every attempt to
capture Colberg by assault.
Nigel Graheme's wound was so severe that he was obliged for a time to
relinquish the command of his company, which he handed over to Herries.
As there had been two vacancies among the officers Malcolm would
naturally have been promoted to the duties of lieutenant, but at his
urgent request his uncle chose for the purpose a young gentleman of good
family who had fought in the ranks, and had much distinguished himself
in both the contests. Two others were also promoted to fill up the
vacancies as ensigns.
The troops after the capture of Colberg marched to Stettin, around which
town they encamped for a time, while Gustavus completed his preparations
for his march into Germany. While a portion of his army had been
besieging Colberg, Gustavus had been driving the Imperialists out of the
whole of Pomerania. Landing on the 24th of June with an army in all of
15,000 infantry, 2000 cavalry, and about 3000 artillery, he had, after
despatching troops to aid Munro and besiege Colberg, marched against the
Imperialists under Conti. These, however, retreated in great disorder
and with much loss of men, guns, and baggage, into Brandenburg; and in
a few weeks after the Swedish landing only Colberg, Greifswald, and
Demming held out. In January Gustavus concluded a treaty with France,
who agreed to pay him an annual subsidy of 400,000 thalers on the
condition that Gustavus maintained in the field an army of 30,000
infantry and 6000 cavalry, and assured to the princes and peoples whose
territory he might occupy the free exercise of their religion. England
also promised a subsidy, and the Marquis of Hamilton was to bring over
6000 infantry; but as the king did not wish openly to take part in
the war this force was not to appear as an English contingent. Another
regiment of Highlanders was brought over by Colonel John Munro of
Obstell, and also a regiment recruited in the Lowlands by Colonel Sir
James Lumsden.
Many other parties of Scotch were brought over by gentlemen of rank.
Four chosen Scottish regiments, Hepburn's regiment, Lord Reay's
regiment, Sir James Lumsden's musketeers, and Stargate's corps, were
formed into one brigade under the command of Hepburn. It was called the
Green Brigade, and the doublets, scarfs, feathers, and standards were
of that colour. The rest of the infantry were divided into the Yellow,
Blue, and White Brigades.
One evening when the officers of Reay's regiment were sitting round the
campfire Lieutenant Farquhar said to Colonel Munro:
“How is it that Sir John Hepburn has, although still so young, risen to
such high honour in the counsel of the king; how did he first make his
way?”
“He first entered the force raised by Sir Andrew Gray, who crossed from
Leith to Holland, and then uniting with a body of English troops under
Sir Horace Vere marched to join the troops of the Elector Palatine. It
was a work of danger and difficulty for so small a body of men to march
through Germany, and Spinola with a powerful force tried to intercept
them. They managed, however, to avoid him, and reached their destination
in safety.
“Vere's force consisted of 2200 men, and when he and Sir Andrew Gray
joined the Margrave of Anspach the latter had but 4000 horse and
4000 foot with him. There was a good deal of fighting, and Hepburn
so distinguished himself that although then but twenty years old he
obtained command of a company of pikemen in Sir Andrew Gray's band, and
this company was specially selected as a bodyguard for the king.
“There was one Scotchman in the band who vied even with Hepburn in the
gallantry of his deeds. He was the son of a burgess of Stirling named
Edmund, and on one occasion, laying aside his armour, he swam the Danube
at night in front of the Austrian lines, and penetrated to the very
heart of the Imperial camp. There he managed to enter the tent of the
Imperialist general, the Count de Bucquoi, gagged and bound him, carried
him to the river, swam across with him and presented him as a prisoner
to the Prince of Orange, under whose command he was then serving.
“It was well for Hepburn that at the battle of Prague he was guarding
the king, or he also might have fallen among the hosts who died on that
disastrous day. When the elector had fled the country Sir Andrew Gray's
bands formed part of Mansfeldt's force, under whom they gained great
glory. When driven out of the Palatinate they still kept up the war
in various parts of Germany and Alsace. With the Scotch companies of
Colonel Henderson they defended Bergen when the Marquis of Spinola
besieged it. Morgan with an English brigade was with them, and right
steadily they fought. Again and again the Spaniards attempted to storm
the place, but after losing 12,000 men they were forced to withdraw on
the approach of Prince Maurice.
“The elector now made peace with the emperor, and Mansfeldt's bands
found themselves without employment. Mansfeldt in vain endeavoured to
obtain employment under one of the powers, but failing, marched into
Lorraine. There, it must be owned, they plundered and ravaged till they
were a terror to the country. At last the Dutch, being sorely pressed
by the Spaniards, offered to take them into their pay, and the bands
marched out from Lorraine in high spirits.
“They were in sore plight for fighting, for most of them had been
obliged to sell even their arms and armour to procure food. Spinola,
hearing of their approach pushed forward with a strong force to
intercept them, and so came upon them at Fleurus, eight miles from
Namur, on the 30th of August, 1622.
“The Scots were led by Hepburn, Hume, and Sir James Ramsay; the English
by Sir Charles Rich, brother to the Earl of Warwick, Sir James Hayes,
and others. The odds seemed all in favour of the Spaniards who were
much superior in numbers, and were splendidly accoutred and well
disciplined, and what was more, were well fed, while Mansfeldt's bands
were but half armed and almost wholly starving.
“It was a desperate battle, and the Spaniards in the end remained
masters of the field, but Mansfeldt with his bands had burst their
way through them, and succeeded in crossing into Holland. Here their
position was bettered; for, though there was little fighting for them to
do, and they could get no pay, they lived and grew fat in free quarters
among the Dutch. At last the force broke up altogether; the Germans
scattered to their homes, the English crossed the seas, and Hepburn led
what remained of Sir Andrew Gray's bands to Sweden, where he offered
their services to Gustavus. The Swedish king had already a large number
of Scotch in his service, and Hepburn was made a colonel, having
a strong regiment composed of his old followers inured to war and
hardship, and strengthened by a number of new arrivals. When in 1625
hostilities were renewed with Poland Hepburn's regiment formed part
of the army which invaded Polish Prussia. The first feat in which he
distinguished himself in the service of Sweden was at the relief of
Mewe, a town in Eastern Prussia, which was blockaded by King Sigismund
at the head of 30,000 Poles. The town is situated at the confluence of
the Bersa with the Vistula, which washes two sides of its walls.
“In front of the other face is a steep green eminence which the Poles
had very strongly entrenched, and had erected upon it ten batteries
of heavy cannon. As the town could only be approached on this side the
difficulties of the relieving force were enormous; but as the relief of
the town was a necessity in order to enable Gustavus to carry out the
campaign he intended, the king determined to make a desperate effort to
effect it.
“He selected 3000 of his best Scottish infantry, among whom was
Hepburn's own regiment, and 500 horse under Colonel Thurn. When they
were drawn up he gave them a short address on the desperate nature of
the service they were about to perform, namely, to cut a passage over a
strongly fortified hill defended by 30,000 men. The column, commanded
by Hepburn, started at dusk, and, unseen by the enemy, approached their
position, and working round it began to ascend the hill by a narrow
and winding path encumbered by rocks and stones, thick underwood, and
overhanging trees.
“The difficulty for troops with heavy muskets, cartridges, breastplates,
and helmets, to make their way up such a place was enormous, and the
mountain side was so steep that they were frequently obliged to haul
themselves up by the branches of the trees; nevertheless, they managed
to make their way through the enemy's outposts unobserved, and reached
the summit, where the ground was smooth and level.
“Here they fell at once upon the Poles, who were working busily at their
trenches, and for a time gained a footing there; but a deadly fire of
musketry with showers of arrows and stones, opened upon them from all
points, compelled the Scots to recoil from the trenches, when they were
instantly attacked by crowds of horsemen in mail shirts and steel caps.
Hepburn drew off his men till they reached a rock on the plateau, and
here they made their stand, the musketeers occupying the rock, the
pikemen forming in a wall around it.
“They had brought with them the portable chevaux-de-frise carried by the
infantry in the Swedish service. They fixed this along in front, and
it aided the spearmen greatly in resisting the desperate charges of the
Polish horsemen. Hepburn was joined by Colonel Mostyn, an Englishman,
and Count Brahe, with 200 German arquebusiers, and this force for two
days withstood the incessant attacks of the whole of the Polish army.
“While this desperate strife was going on, and the attention of the
enemy entirely occupied, Gustavus managed to pass a strong force of men
and a store of ammunition into the town, and the Poles, seeing that
he had achieved his purpose, retired unmolested. In every battle which
Gustavus fought Hepburn bore a prominent part. He distinguished himself
at the storming of Kesmark and the defeat of the Poles who were marching
to its relief.
“He took part in the siege and capture of Marienburg and in the defeat
of the Poles at Dirschau. He was with Leslie when last year he defended
Stralsund against Wallenstein, and inflicted upon the haughty general
the first reverse he had ever met with. Truly Hepburn has won his
honours by the edge of the sword.”
“Wallenstein is the greatest of the Imperial commanders, is he not?”
Farquhar asked.
“He and Tilly,” Munro replied. “'Tis a question which is the greatest.
They are men of a very different stamp. Tilly is a soldier, and nothing
but a soldier, save that he is a fanatic in religion. He is as cruel as
he is brave, and as portentously ugly as he is cruel.
“Wallenstein is a very different man. He has enormous ambition and great
talent, and his possessions are so vast that he is a dangerous subject
for any potentate, even the most powerful. Curiously enough, he was born
of Protestant parents, but when they died, while he was yet a child, he
was committed to the care of his uncle, Albert Slavata, a Jesuit, and
was by him brought up a strict Catholic. When he had finished the course
of his study at Metz he spent some time at the University of Altdorf,
and afterwards studied at Bologna and Padua. He then travelled in Italy,
Germany, France, Spain, England, and Holland, studying the military
forces and tactics of each country.
“On his return to Bohemia he took service under the Emperor Rudolph
and joined the army of General Basta in Hungary, where he distinguished
himself greatly at the siege of Grau. When peace was made in 1606
Wallenstein returned to Bohemia, and though he was but twenty-three
years old he married a wealthy old widow, all of whose large properties
came to him at her death eight years afterwards.
“Five years later he raised at his own cost two hundred dragoons to
support Ferdinand of Gratz in his war against the Venetians. Here he
greatly distinguished himself, and was promoted to a colonelcy. He
married a second time, and again to one of the richest heiresses of
Austria. On the outbreak of the religious war of 1618 he raised a
regiment of Cuirassiers, and fought at its head. Two years later he was
made quartermaster general of the army, and marched at the head of an
independent force into Moravia, and there re-established the Imperial
authority.
“The next year he bought from the Emperor Ferdinand, for a little over
7,000,000 florins, sixty properties which the emperor had confiscated
from Protestants whom he had either executed or banished. He had been
made a count at the time of his second marriage; he was now named a
prince, which title was changed into that of the Duke of Friedland. They
say that his wealth is so vast that he obtains two millions and a half
sterling a year from his various estates.
“When in 1625 King Christian of Denmark joined in the war against the
emperor, Wallenstein raised at his own cost an army of 50,000 men
and defeated Mansfeldt's army. After that he cleared the Danes out
of Silesia, conquered Brandenburg and Mecklenburg, and laid siege to
Stralsund, and there broke his teeth against our Scottish pikes. For his
services in that war Wallenstein received the duchy of Mecklenburg.
“At present he is in retirement. The conquests which his army have
made for the emperor aroused the suspicion and jealousy of the German
princes, and it may be that the emperor himself was glad enough of an
excuse to humble his too powerful subject. At any rate, Wallenstein's
army was disbanded, and he retired to one of his castles. You may
be sure we shall hear of him again. Tilly, you know, is the Bavarian
commander, and we shall probably encounter him before long.”
New Brandenburg and several other towns were captured and strongly
garrisoned, 600 of Reay's regiment under Lieutenant Colonel Lindsay
being left in New Brandenburg. Nigel Graheme was still laid up, but his
company formed part of the force.
“This is ill fortune indeed,” Malcolm said to Lieutenant Farquhar, “thus
to be shut up here while the army are marching away to win victories in
the field.”
“It is indeed, Malcolm, but I suppose that the king thinks that Tilly is
likely to try and retake these places, and so to threaten his rear as
he marches forward. He would never have placed as strong a force of his
best soldiers here if he had not thought the position a very important
one.”
The troops were quartered in the larger buildings of New Brandenburg;
the officers were billeted upon the burghers. The position of the
country people and the inhabitants of the towns of Germany during this
long and desolating war was terrible; no matter which side won, they
suffered. There were in those days no commissariat wagons bringing
up stores from depots and magazines to the armies. The troops lived
entirely upon the country through which they marched. In exceptional
cases, when the military chest happened to be well filled, the
provisions acquired might be paid for, but as a rule armies upon the
march lived by foraging. The cavalry swept in the flocks and herds
from the country round. Flour, forage, and everything else required was
seized wherever found, and the unhappy peasants and villagers thought
themselves lucky if they escaped with the loss of all they possessed,
without violence, insult, and ill treatment. The slightest resistance
to the exactions of the lawless foragers excited their fury, and
indiscriminate slaughter took place. The march of an army could be
followed by burned villages, demolished houses, crops destroyed, and
general ruin, havoc, and desolation.
In the cases of towns these generally escaped indiscriminate plunder by
sending deputies forward to meet advancing armies, when an offer would
be made to the general to supply so much food and to pay so much money
on condition that private property was respected. In these cases the
main body of the troops was generally encamped outside the town. Along
the routes frequently followed by armies the country became a desert,
the hapless people forsook their ruined homes, and took refuge in the
forests or in the heart of the hills, carrying with them their portable
property, and driving before them a cow or two and a few goats.
How great was the general slaughter and destruction may be judged by the
fact that the population of Germany decreased by half during the war,
and in Bohemia the slaughter was even greater. At the commencement of
the war the population of Bohemia consisted of 3,000,000 of people,
inhabiting 738 towns and 34,700 villages. At the end of the war there
were but 780,000 inhabitants, 230 towns, and 6000 villages. Thus three
out of four of the whole population had been slaughtered during the
struggle.
Malcolm was, with Lieutenant Farquhar, quartered upon one of the
principal burghers of New Brandenburg, and syndic of the weavers. He
received them cordially.
“I am glad,” he said, “to entertain two Scottish officers, and, to speak
frankly, your presence will be of no slight advantage, for it is only
the houses where officers are quartered which can hope to escape from
the plunder and exactions of the soldiers. My wife and I will do our
best to make you comfortable, but we cannot entertain you as we could
have done before this war began, for trade is altogether ruined. None
have money wherewith to buy goods. Even when free from the presence of
contending armies, the country is infested with parties of deserters or
disbanded soldiers, who plunder and murder all whom they meet, so that
none dare travel along the roads save in strong parties. I believe that
there is scarce a village standing within twenty miles, and many parts
have suffered much more than we have. If this war goes on, God help the
people, for I know not what will become of them. This is my house, will
you please to enter.”
Entering a wide hall, he led them into a low sitting room where his wife
and three daughters were at work. They started up with looks of alarm at
the clatter of steel in the hall.
“Wife,” the syndic said as he entered, “these are two gentlemen,
officers of the Scottish regiment; they will stay with us during the
occupation of the town. I know that you and the girls will do your best
to make their stay pleasant to them.”
As the officers removed their helmets the apprehensions of the women
calmed down on perceiving that one of their guests was a young man of
three or four and twenty, while the other was a lad, and that both had
bright pleasant faces in no way answering the terrible reputation gained
by the invincible soldiers of the Swedish king.
“I hope,” Farquhar said pleasantly, “that you will not put yourselves
out of your way for us. We are soldiers of fortune accustomed to sleep
on the ground and to live on the roughest fare, and since leaving
Scotland we have scarcely slept beneath a roof. We will be as little
trouble to you as we can, and our two soldier servants will do all that
we need.”
Farquhar spoke in German, for so large a number of Germans were serving
among the Swedes that the Scottish officers had all learned to speak
that language and Swedish, German being absolutely necessary for their
intercourse with the country people. This was the more easy as the two
languages were akin to each other, and were less broadly separated from
English in those days than they are now.
It was nearly a year since Farquhar and Malcolm had landed on the shores
of the Baltic, and living as they had done among Swedes and Germans,
they had had no difficulty in learning to speak both languages fluently.