Licensed according to Order A True Relation or Journal OF THE Siege and Taking by Storm The Famous CITY of Belgrade BY THE Christian Army Under the Conduct of the Victorious Elector of BAVARIA On the 6 th day of September 1688. With an Account of its Scituation Fortifications c. And also of the great Victory gained by Prince Lovis of Baden over the Turkish Army Commanded by the Bassa of Bosnia LONDON Printed for Richard Baldwin And are to be Sold by most Booksellers 1688. A True Relation Of the Siege of BELGRADE With the Taking it by Storm c. BElgrade is a City of Antient standing and great Fame Situate on the Confluence of the Rivers Saw or Save and the Danube and hath gone under divers Names being at first as far as can be gathered from History called Taururum or Tauranum after that Alba Graeca by the Dutch accordingly Greichs-Wessemburg but by the French and Modern Latinists Belgrade and Belgradum a Name given to this Important place for its Beautiful Situation as being Hemm'd in upon the North with the Danube on the East with the Saw or Save and on the other parts strongly secured with Walls Bulwarks Ramports and deep Ditches anciently belonging to the Despots or Princes of Servia tho lying on the very Frontiers of Hungary and by many Attributed a City of that Kingdom and may properly be divided into City and Suburbs the Former having standing in it a very high and strong Castle incompassed with double Walls and what other Fortifications may contribute to its Defence The Latter Replenished with many goodly Fabricks and curious Buildings intermixed with pleasant Gardens and has a prospect of the Countries round it almost from Buda to Adrianople and of such Importance was it in times past That in Anno 1440. Amurath the Second Emperor of the Turks after he had wasted Hungary and seized upon Servia during the Discontents and Intestine Broils of those Countries found nevertheless a check or stop to the progress of his Arms before this City for having layn before it Seven Months and lost in the several Attacques and Sallies of the Besieged 30000 Men finding all hopes of taking it vain he in a great Rage raised the Siege and returned to Adrianople so that the place had rest till Anno 1456 at what time Mahomet the Great being Emperor of the Turks he upon the Death of George the Despot or Prince seized upon Servia which Amurath had permitted to be held by that Prince as Tributary to the Ottoman Emperor and passing on with a powerful Army all the Cities and Towns but this opening their Gates he laid Siege to it by Land and Water and brought down a great many Vessels and Gallies of War upon the Danube though at that time the great Hunniades having been Elected King of Hungary and not well brooking to have so powerful a Neighbour set out from Buda with many armed Vessels and falling suddenly upon the Turks Naval Forces Burn'd Sunk and took most of them upon notice whereof Mahomet in a great Rage gave order for a general Assault Vowing not to spare nor give Quarter to any if the City of Belgrade fell into his Hands and after Six hours obstinate Attempts in which were lost 4000. Men one whereof was Curaizis Bassa his Lieutenant in Europe who was slain with a great Shot he found himself constrained to sound the Retreat and in the End after many unsuccessful Assaults finding his Army weakened by the loss of 40000 Men he raised the Siege From which time we find nothing Memorable relating to this City till the Year 1520 at which time Solyman the Magnificent succeeding Solyman his Father in the Ottoman Throne quarreling with the Hungarians into whose Protection Belgrade was taken consign'd by the Despot of Servia to King Sigismund as best able to Maintain it in consideration of Lands and Territories more remote he laid Siege to it being but weakly Garrison'd and worse provided with Stores and Ammunition and the King of Hungary by reason of Intestine Divisions being in no Capacity to raise an Army sufficient to Relieve it the Besieged found themselves after a short Resistance constrained to deliver up the place that had so long stood the Bulwark of Christendom and has ever since been very advantageous to the Turks by being made their chiefest Magazine or Store in the Western parts of their Empire and although the Christians had many Consultations about Recovering it yet soon after Buda being seized by the same Solyman and other places of strong Importance the Turks possessed it quietly till this present year 1688 when on the Sixth of September after having sustained a Siege very Bloody and Resolute it was taken by Storm by the Imperial Forces under the Command of the Victorious Elector of Bavaria A True and Impartial Account of which take as followeth The Duke of Lorain by reason of his Indisposition not being capable to take the Field so early as the occasion of business required his Electoral Highness of Bavaria offered his Service to the Emperor to lead the Army which being accepted and approved after the Forces were drawn out of their Winter Quarters and united the Elector Arrived at Vienna and there making a short stay proceeded to his Command when in a Council of War it was resolved That seeing Buda was already reduced and Heaven signally favour'd the Christian Arms it was not convenient to omit the opportunity of Besieging so Important a place the Infidels held viz. Belgrade whereupon the Army had order to March towards the Saw or Save so that on the Fourth of August New Stile they set forward from Salankamen to Zemon where they stayed the next day and the Sixth Encamped at Semlyn on the Seventh they came within Sight of the River where it makes the considerable Islands of Zingari when coming to the hither Bank they perceived by reason of the Works the Turks had cast up in the Islands where Teckely was said to be in Person and on the further Shore it was a matter of great difficulty if not impossible to pass there as had been before designed being much broader than it had been Represented so that some time being spent about viewing and further consulting what was to be done another place was fixed upon and accordingly the next day a great number of Boats that had been brought thither upon Wheels were put into the Water and the Regiment of Staremberg the Electors Guards and four Thousand Men Detached out of other Bodies were ordered to Waft over under the Command of the Valiant and truly Heroick Count Serini General of the Bavarian Forces when about Nine at Night the Drums and Hautboys of the Janizaries were heard in the Camp as seeming to approach the place of passage but it so little discouraged the Imperialists that about Eleven at Night the Foot were Embarqued and the Elector directed that 500 Men under the Command of a Lieutenant Colonel should Land first to
and thereupon General Carraffa who had it in charge to carry the Proposals made by the Turks was Commanded to take charge of him and Guard him to Newstadt The greatest Prizes that were gained in the Sack of this Important Place fell to the share of the Christian Slaves who knew where their Masters had hid their Treasure during the Siege of which there were found about Six Hundred the greater part of them Austrians who had at sumdry times been taken by Turkish Parties and brought or Sold to the Turks Inhabitants of the City and now found their delivery from a long and cruel Bondage by the prevailing Arms of their fellow Christians here were found likewise Seventy Pieces of Canon great and small and although the Town and Castle was extreamly defaced by Fire yet the Houses being many of them ruinous before and the greater part built with Timber will upon their Rebuilding render them more Famous which will not long be wanting by reason of its Commodious Scituation for Trade and confluence of People that are soon expected thither from their Neighbouring Parts This Action lasted Four hours with much Blood-shed and Slaughter on both Sides most of the Turkish Garrison Soldiers being Killed a Thousand dead Bodies being afterward found and thrown into the River and Three Thousand made Prisoners nor was the number of the Christians slain in the Assault inconsiderable among whom of more particular Note in relation to their Characters and Quality fell Lieutenant General Count D' Schariffenburg the Count Emanuel d' Frustemburg Colonel of Foot and the Young Count d'Staremberg so unto the Governor of Vienna many likewise of Note were Wounded amongst whom the Elector of Bavaria himself slightly in the Cheek as he exposed his Person in places of danger to Incourage the Assailants and give necessary Orders And thus in the space of Twenty Two days the Famous City of Belgrade fell into the Hands of the Christians and by its Reduction opened them a way into all the Turkish Dominions that are considerable in Europe there being no Place of great Importance between it and Constantinople the Metropolis of the Ottoman Empire which if the Intestine Commotions of the Christian Princes hinder not may undoubtedly in a short time follow the Fortune of this strong City as also their other places got and unjustly detained from the European Christians to the shaking if not the Overthrow of that Bloody Empire which for upward of Two Hundred Years has been so terrible to Christendom Three B 's of which Two are already won Will Crown the Glory of the Work begun Buda Belgrade Bizantum once obtain'd The rest will be but sport and quickly gain'd POSTSCRIPT SInce the Rendition of this Important Place more particular News came of the Defeat of the Bassa of Bosnia which for the extraordinary and unexpected success of the Christians I conceived might be acceptable and not improper to be added Prince Lovis of Baden on the Fourth of Septemb. having notice that four or five Thousand Turks were Encamped about Six Miles from Brod he Marched to Encounter them with 3000 Horse and Dragoons Marching with great diligence all Night but in the Morning to his no small Surprize he found himself greatly mis-inform'das to the Number which amounted to Fifteen Thousand Horse and Foot under the Command of the Bassa however calling the Officers about him he told them it was to no purpose to think of Retreating as being too late by reason of their too far Engagement amongst the Enemy but that they must now fight for their Lives and Victory which was chearfully consented to but before they had well put themselves into a Posture to Fight the Turks had surrounded them and vigorously charged four or five times which was sustained with so much Bravery and such vigorous Returns that the Enemies Horse perceiving themselves over-set fell first into Disorder and then to open Flight leaving the Foot to shift for themselves whose Ranks being forced by the Imperial Horse breaking in upon them they were miserably Beaten down and Slain those that Fled crying out for Quarter so the Prince becoming entirely Master of the Field 5000 of the Turks were found kill'd 2000 taken Prisoners 36 Colours taken and all the Baggage for which extraordinary Success in which the hand of God so signally appear'd Thanks were sent up to Heaven in most of the Capital Cities of the Empire We are further assured that of the 1000 Boats that fled from Belgrade before and after it was Invested not above 200 of them Arrived in places of Safety the rest being either Stranded bedded in the Mudd for want of Water or Deserted by such as were in them out of a fear they were Pursued and by that means most of the Deserters with their Baggage fell into the hands of the Country people or such parties as were abroad to scowre the Coast and gather the Spoil FINIS
and carried the Inhabitants to Nissa continuing his Retreat in great disorder towards Sofia The Fourteenth of August the Enemies Cannon Played suriously and they threw a great many Granado's and Bombs but did no considerable Execution and after that made another Sally though with no better success than the former and the same day a Detachment of the Garrison of Temesware got by the help of Boats into the Castle on that part that stands to the River Danube though the number was not considerable The Fifteenth of August the Besieged had finished a Battery of three Mortars and shot a great many Carcasses and Bombs into the place doing considerable Execution and the Elector ordered that a Lieutenant General a Serjeant-Major and Two Colonels with 800 Horse and 3000 Foot should Nightly Guard the Trenches where the better to Incourage the Workmen His Electoral Highness continued frequently till One or Two in the Morning On the Sixteenth the Duke of Mantua arrived and made his Entrance into the Camp with a numerous Train and splendid Equipage having with him above 500 Men on Horse-back including his Guards 40 lead Horses 24 Mules and 25 Waggons with Baggage and a Coach of State drawn by Six Horses and followed by many other Coaches and a great many Servants in Liveries and upon his approach was met by the Elector of Bavaria accompanied by the Chief Officers about a Mile from the Camp and thence conducted to the Head Quarters where they Dined together and afterward went to visit the Trenches when in the mean time his Tents to the number of 104 some of them very Rich were pitched between the Electors Quarters and that of General Caprara and in the Evening the Besieged made a Sally with a greater Body than formerly but found the Trenches so strongly Guarded that they were obliged to Retreat with a considerable loss On the Seventeenth by break of day the Besiegers began to Batter the Walls of the Castle with Six Pieces of Canon and understood by a Deserter that the Enemy were hard at work in their Mines and in the Evening General Caprara being with his Electoral Highness in the Trenches to give necessary directions and encourage those that were working a Musquet-shot passed through his Hat and Peruke without doing him any further damage On the Eighteenth the Enemies Cannon and Small-shot played very smartly so that Count Gallenfells a Colonel of Bavaria being in the Trenches received a Wound in the Body with a Musquet-shot and Lieutenant Colonel Count Lambert another in the Head and the young Count De Traun had his Arm shot off and under the favour of their Canon the Enemy Sallyed but were soon beaten back On the Nineteenth the Trenches were carried on with great diligence insomuch that the Workmen run them within ten paces of the Ditch though not without some considerable opposition and great loss of Men but not any of Note so that now they began to raise two new Batteries and the Elector of Bavaria Count Serini and General Caprara continuing all Night in the Trenches the better to encourage so important a Work. On the Twentieth the Besiegers possessed themselves of a Mosque or Turkish Church on the brink of the Ditch which the Besieged upon their approach abandoned and hastened to the Castle with great precipitation however one less nimble than the rest was taken who declared upon Examination there were 5000 Janizaries in the Town and Castle and that the Commanding Bassa encouraged the Garrison with assurance of Relief promising at the same time not to suffer things to come to Extremity though no great stress was laid upon this Report so that the Canon and Bombs continued to play furiously on both sides where by one of the Shells the Prince D'Comercy received a Contusion or Bruise on the Arm and the Sieur Claudio Martelli Adjutant General to the Army a Wound in the Head and although many others of lesser Note were Wounded yet but one Man was killed On the One and Twentieth two Parallel Lines were drawn on the Right and the Left to compass a greater space of Ground as well on the side of the Castle as the Town and two Redoubts made to support the Heads of them which were performed in spite of the opposition the Enemy made doing all they could with their Canon and Bombs to endamage the Workmen and hinder the Proceedings On the Twenty Second the Besiegers having perfected the Works the great Canon and Mortars Arrived from Buda upon which Orders were given to Batter the Castle from Two Batteries one of Fourteen Pieces and the other of Twelve And a Deserter that came into the Camp reported That the Bassa had caused a considerable Officer to be Hanged on the Fifteenth for offering to speak of a Surrender And that he gave for their better Incouragement a Duccate to every Man that would venture to make a Sally And about this Time other Scouts that had been sent out to observe the Motion of Yeghen Bassa returned having been as far as Sendrovia and made their Report that the Castle and Town were quite destroyed by Fire but the Walls are standing and that the Turks left Twenty Pieces of Canon behind them for hast or want of conveniency to carry them off They likewise brought with them a Christian who had made his Escape out of the Ottoman Army confirming That Yeghen Bassa was retired to Nissa about Twenty Leagues from Belgrade burning the Country and carrying the People along with him so that care was taken to fetch off the Canon left at Seudrovia And then it was Rumoured that a great many Families of Rascians had offered to Re-edifie and Inhabit that Ancient City if they might be Protected by an Imperial Garison On the Twenty Third the Besiegers batter'd the Castle very suriously which is Built after the Ancient way of Fortifying with Towers Battlements Double-Walls and considerable Ditches however the Canon made divers Breaches and beat down part of the Fortifications and although the Besieged Sallyed with an Intent to Attack the Redoubts they were beaten in again leaving a considerable number of their Party dead behind them And about this Time it was further confirmed that the Prince of Baden had routed the Bassa of Bosna and Killed 3000 Men. Moreover Debitza Jessuewitz and Gradiska being first set on Fire were Abandoned by the Turks who were retired towards Banyalucca whither the Imperialists follow'd them As also that General Veterani had Taken Carausebes and the strong Castle of Salancar And now the Canon Playing suriously from the Batteries the Engineers though they were raised as high as they could bare found some Obstruction by reason of the Ruinous Houses that had been consumed by the Fire or shatter'd by the force of the Bombs and Canon whereupon the Miners received Orders to Overthrow them in which they were so Expeditious and successful that the Besieged were laid more open to the force of Twenty Six Pieces of Canon though the