recruits on that side sent three fresh Battalions to support his own as likewise to guard the plain that was behind the Hedges But the two first Regiments basely quitted their Post upon the first approach of the Enemy so that the other three Regiments that were sent to their assistance having not sufficient time to adjust themselves and seeing the two first Battalions run away betook themselves to their Heels and breaking into their own Squadrons that stood there to cover them occasioned an extraordinary confusion Upon this the French Cavalry coming to advance and being supported by the Infantry that made perpetual firing the Prince's Squadrons were beaten back but they did not go far and soon rallied again and poured so vigorously upon the French that they made them fly in their their turn In the mean time the Enemy's Foot being advanced above and having possessed the Hedges where the Prince's men were posted before they cou'd not possibly make a long resistance nor hinder the rest of the Foot from being attacked in the Flank as well as the Front So that the Foot after they had done their duty extremely well saw themselves obliged to quit their post and the Prince repassing the Rivet retir'd in very good order to Steenword and from thence to Poperdingue the Enemy having been so rudely handled by Count Waldeck who commanded the Prince's Right Wing that they had no desire to pursue him And this was the issue of the battel at Mont cassel The Prince having retired in this manner as we have related it the French King pursued the Siege of the Cittadel of Cambray with all imaginable vigor and it fell out very unfortunately for the besieged that a Bomb set fire on one of their Magazines where the Granadoes and other warlike Provisions lay and utterly consumed it However the besieged continued to defend themselves bravely and recompenced their loss in some manner by the death of the Marquess de Renel one of the French King's Lieutenant Generals who was slain by a Cannon-shot from the Castle But at last the French having made several breaches and the Governour of the Cittadel being wounded they were constrained to yield to the great number and continual attacks of the Enemy and to surrender the Castle which was done on very honorable conditions To return to the Duke of Orleans altho victorious he was so afraid lest the Prince should once more attempt to throw relief into St Omers that he durst not quit the field where the battle was fought but kept himself upon his guard for eight days successively But when he received the News that his Highness had passed the Canal of Ghent with all his Forces he returned before the Town which he besieged with his whole Army and after a gallant resistance which cost him several of his best Officers they were forced against their will to surrender upon good terms After the taking of these places the French heat began to be somewhat abated and those that were so forward to attack others were now content to act on the defensive all the rest of the Summer and durst never put it to the hazard of a battle altho it was often presented to them So that after several tedious marches and counter-marches on both sides and the Confederates ineffectual laying Siege to Charleroy which for several weighty considerations they thought expedient to raise the Prince returned to the Hague being accompanied by the Earl of Ossory Don Carlos the Duke of Albemarle and several other Persons of Quality After he had given the States General an account of the last Campaign with the reasons that obliged him to raise the Siege of Charleroy and not to attack the Enemy who were not only superior to him in number but posted to the greatest advantage Their High and Mightinesses thanked him for his conduct and indefatigable pains humbly beseeching him still to continue his zeal for the public Interest A little after his return to the Hague several of the English Nobility arrived at the Prince's Court who in an Assembly of the States General gave them to understand that his Unkle the King of Great Britain earnestly desired him to make a Voyage into England in hopes that his presence there would not a little contribute to the Peace then in agitation which would be of such mighty advantage to the Republic Thus his Highness took his leave of the States and of all theColledges on the 17th of October and being accompany'd by the Earl of Ossory Monsieur d' Odyk the Count de Nassau and several other persons of condition he embarqued at Hellevoetsluys in one of his Majesties Yatchs and arrived at Harwich on the 19th about ten in the morning where the Duke of Albemarle and the Master of the Ceremonies attended him in the King's Coaches and conducted him the same evening to the King and his Royal Highness at Ipswich who received him with all the testimonies of a particular kindness and affection On the 23d he arrived with the two Royal Brothers at Whitehall and was lodged in the Duke of York's apartment who retired to St. Iames's What was at first nothing but a bare surmize was soon after confirmed by the King himself For on the first of November his Majesty acquainted the Council with his design to marry the Prince of Orange to his Royal Highness's eldest Daughter declaring that he hoped this Alliance would facilitate the accomplishment of a General Peace which his Majesty was resolved to advance as far as the Interest of his Kingdoms did engage him After this the whole Council went in a body to compliment the Princess and afterwards the Prince the rest of the Nobility did the same after their example The Prince of Orange acquainted the States with it by an Express giving them to understand that after he had maturely weigh'd the reasons which might incline him to marry he thought he could not make a better choice than the Princess Mary that he had already demanded her in Marriage of the King and his Royal Highness her Father who immediately gave their consent that he judged it advisable to inform them of it expecting their approbation of the Match with all speed that he might the sooner repair to them for the service of his Country Hereupon the States General were assembled and seriously considering the reasons of State upon which this Marriage was founded with the great advantages it might produce as for instance a confirmation of that strict Union that was between the King of Great Britain and the States of the United Provinces the establishment of the ancient House of Orange and the conclusion of the Peace so earnestly desired I say after they had seriously considered all this but especially the happy choice his Highness had made of a Princess who besides her natural sweetness possessed all the virtues that a Husband could desire testified their approbation by a public Edict in terms full of joy and satisfaction declaring
different interests and parties demanded to be satisfied was not to be so speedily concluded as those persons who impatiently wished for it did imagine The very preliminaries of this numerous Assembly at Nimeguen cou'd not be regulated in the compass of one winter and notwithstanding all the instances and application of the King of Great Britain those that reasoned solidly saw well enough that the Peace was in no great readiness Nor were their conjectures vain for no sooner was the year 1677 begun but tho it was the depth of winter the French marched directly into the Spanish Netherlands so that in a short time all the places about Valenciennes Cambray and St. Omers were covered with the Enemies Troops and these three Cities were in a manner blocked up at a distance The French openly boasting that they wou'd make themselves Masters of two important places before the Spaniards were in a condition to take the Field Valenciennes was the first place that was invested with a Army of 50 or 60 thousand men under the command of the Duke of Luxemburg and the Count de Montal and four days after the King himself arrived in person in the Camp There was in the City a Garrison of 2000 Spanish Walloon and Italian Foot with about 1000 Horse and Dragoons commanded by the Marquis de Risburg Brother to Prince d'Epinoy TheKing after his arrival view'd the posts gave orders for the Trenches to be opened and set up Batteries In fine the siege was so vigorously pushed on in a few days that the French were advanced as far as the Glacis of the Counterscrap and a Horn work that was one of the best defences the City had But the King not being willing to lose time in taking all the Out-works regularly order'd an Assault to be made on the Horn-work in four different places all at once by eight in the morning and to facilitate this enterprize alarmed the Besieged all the night with throwing of Bombs Granadoes and Carcasses which had the desired effect For after a short dispute the French enter'd the Town losing no more in this expedition than only Count de Barlemont a Collonel of the Regiment of Picardy three Musqueteers six Granadiers and some Souldiers The King having thus carried Valenciennes sate down before Cambray with part of his Army commanded by the Duke of Luxemburg and order'd the Mareschal d'Humieres to invest St. Omers with another part Cambray is one of the oldest Cities in the Low Countries built ever since the time of Servius Hostilius but the Castle was built by Charles the Fifth upon which account the Spaniards took great care to preserve it There were in Garrison fourteen hundred Horse four Regiments of Foot besides two Companies of old Spanish Souldiers under the command of Don Pedro de Laval the Governour The Cathedral was in so great veneration for the beauty of the structure that the Canons came out of the Town and presented a Petition to the King wherein they requested him not to fire at the Church which he freely granted The lines of Circumvallation were no sooner finished but the King commanded an Assault to be made on the two Half-moons on the Castle side which the French having soon made themselves Masters of they immediately began to undermine the Ramparts this put the Besieged into such a consternation that they desired to Capitulate and surrendred the Town on very honourable Conditions But tho the Town was lost the Castle held â—…ut still for the Governour taking advantage of the Cessation of Arms gave orders in the mean time to have some Cannon and other necessary provisions got ready commanded all the Horses to be slain only reserving ten for each Company and thus retired into the Castle with all his Souldiers before the French had the least suspicion of it being resolved to sell the Castle dearer than he had done the City The King was obliged to cease for some time not only because the French Pioneers were repulsed by the Besieged in a Sally they had made to prevent their approach but also because he was informed that the Prince of Orange was marching to the relief of St. Omers he sent the Duke of Luxemburg with a great part of his Army to reinforce his Brother the Duke of Orleance who had set Siege to that City and had already finished his Batteries For the news of the great success which the French King had at Valenciennes and Cambray and the Siege of St. Omers had so mightily alarmed the United Provinces that the Prince of Orange was forced to take the Field before the rest of the Confederates were ready to joyn him He assigned Ipres for the general Rendezvous of his Army which was composed of Dutch and some other Troops drawn out of the Spanish Garrisons and began his March on the 7th of April and on the 9th arrived at St. Mary Capel where he was informed that the D. of Orleans lay encamped on the great road to St. Omers and had only left a few Regiments in the Trenches to keep the City blocked up The straitness of the ways which he was to pass made his March very tedious so that after he had marched all the next day he advanced no farther than a small River called Pene on the other side of which he perceived the Enemy drawn up in battle The Prince having consulted his Guides and those that knew the Country they all assured him that there was no other passage than this to go to Bacque which they looked upon to be the only place by which St. Omers might be reliev'd Upon this consideration he resolved to pass the River and set upon the Enemy and having ordered some new Bridges to be made and repaired those that the French had broke down he accordingly passed it on the 11th of April by break of day so that all were got over before the Enemy was aware of them But when he had passed it with his Troops he was very much surprized to find that there was another River still between the French and him encumbred with Trees and Hedges altho those that were acquainted with the Country had assured him of the contrary so that he found himself strangely embarass'd as not having in the least expcteed this second Obstacle But this did not hinder him from making himself Master of the Abby de Pienes but in the mean time the Enemy having received a reinforcement of fifteen Thousand men came to attack the Abby where the Prince's Dragoons were posted who being supported by some Regiments of Foot received them so warmly that they were forced to retire After this the Prince set fire to the Abby least the Enemy should post themselves there At the same time the French advanced slowly with the right Wing of their Army to charge the Prince's left Wing in the Flank which was covered with abundance of Hedges where were likewise posted two Battalions The Prince perceiving that the Enemy had received some new
absolutely Commanded half the Roman Legions who governed all the World With these great forces and advantages they entred upon the Stage made their first Victories the fore-runners to the next pursued their blow and one overthrew the Empire of the Persians and the other the Roman Commonwealth But Prince William has equall'd the Glory of these great Conquerors by attaquing the formidable Power of King Philip of Spain without any Army or Forces and by maintaining himself many years against him His Courage was always greater than his Misfortunes and when all the World thought him ruin'd and he was driven out of the Netherlands he entred 'em again immediately at the Head of a new Army and by his great Conduct laid the foundations of a Commonwealth that covers the Ocean with its Fleets and over-matches all Europe in the number and strength of its Naval Forces His Enemies had no other way to ruin him but by a base Treachery which he might have avoided if he had reposed less confidence in the love of the People who served him instead of Guards and considered him as the Father and Tutelar God of their Country After having reflected on all the Illustrious Persons that have lived before him I can meet with no one that equall'd his profound Wisdom heroick Courage and Constancy under all his Adversities but Gaspar de Coligny Lord of Chastillon Admiral of France so great a Man that D'Avila his Enemy was forc'd to own that he was more talk'd of in Europe than the King of France himself This Admiral after the loss of four Battles was so far from being broken or ruin'd and continued still so powerfull that his Enemies were oblig'd to grant him a Peace and had it not been for a Treachery whose Memory will be eternally abhorr'd by all good Men he might have ended his days in Peace and done great service to his Country by the Conquest of the Low-Countries which he propos'd at so favourable a conjuncture that we might easily have made our selves masters of ' em But the ill maxims of those Divines who would conform all Religion to the humours and passions of Princes and the Doctrine That no Faith ought to be kept with Rebels and Hereticks and that 't is lawfull to do a small evil to bring about a greater good added to the powerfull Motive of Revenge prevail'd over all the Ties of Honour and Faith which ought always to be sacred and inviolable William of Nassaw Prince of Orange was Born in the Year 1533 at the Castle of Dillembourgh in the County of Nassaw He was Nine years Page of Honour to the Emperour Charles the Fifth who continually admired his extraordinary good sense and modesty This great Prince took delight to communicate his most important affairs to him and instruct him and has often declar'd to those he was most familiar with That this young Prince furnish'd him with Expedients and Counsels that surpriz'd him and which otherwise he had never thought of When he gave private Audience to Foreign Princes and Ministers and Prince William was about to retire with the rest of the Company he usually bid him stay All the World was surpriz'd to see this great and wife Monarch esteem him above all those that were about him and trust him at so tender an Age with all the secrets of his Empire the management of Affairs and the weightiest Negotiations He was scarce Twenty years old when Charles the Fifth chose him out among all the great Lords of his Court to carry the Imperial Crown which he resign'd to his Brother Ferdinand An Office which he discharged with much unwillingness assuring his good Master That 't was an unwelcome Task he had imposed on him of carrying that Crown to another which his Uncle Henry Count of Nassaw had put upon his Head And for a proof that Charles the Fifth set on less a value on his Courage than his Prudence when Philibert Emanuel Duke of Savoy was obliged by his own private affairs to be absent some time from the Netherlands tho' the Prince was but 22 years old and was in Breda at that time Charles the Fifth of his own accord against the advice of all his Counsel made him Generalissimo to the prejudice of so many experienc'd Captains and among the rest of Count Egmont who was Twelve years older at a time when he had to deal with two great Generals Mounsieur de Nevers and the Admiral of France But the Prince was so far from receiving any blow that Campagn that he built Charlemont and Philipville in sight of the French Armies I do not pretend to relate all the Actions of the Prince of Orange which would require a Volume and which so many Historians have done in several Languages 'T would be a strange itch of writing and a manifest robbery to publish what may be met with in particular Books My design is only to make some Reflections and Observations on this great Prince and acquaint the World with some particulars of his Life which I learn'd from my Father and other eminent Men of that Age. But in order to make my History more intelligible and agreeable to those who have not read his Life I was engaged contrary to my former intentions by an Illustrious Person to whom I have too many Obligations to refuse him any thing to make a short Abridgment of his Life enough to give a general Idea of him as Geographers present us at one view all the Old and New World in a little Map not doubting but a Narrow Portraicture of so extraordinary a Man will cause these Particulars I know of his Life to be read with greater pleasure and besides will show to all the World upon what foundations this Prince has erected the powerfull Commonwealth of the United Provinces Besides the esteem the Emperour had for his Vertue there was no Man at his Court whom he lov'd so tenderly as the Prince of Orange Which he made appear to the last moment of his Administration For at the famous Assembly at Brussels A. D. 1555 when the Emperour resign'd all his Kingdoms to his Son Philip 't was remarkable that in so considerable an Action he was supported by the Prince of Orange All these marks of Confidence and professions of Friendship which the Emperour made him were the cause of his Misfortunes For tho' at his departure into Spain the Emperour recommended him particularly to the King his Son the Spaniards who govern'd him for he had been bred always in Spain being jealous of the growing Greatness and good Fortune of this young Prince made the King entertain such suspicions of him that his most innocent words and actions had an ill interpretation put upon 'em and the refusel which the States made of complying with the demands of the King was laid to his charge He easily perceived by the cold receptions of the King that his Enemies had ruin'd him in his good opinion But he was confirm'd in his
Orange entred into Brabant But the Duke who would not stake the Netherlands upon the Success of a Battle against a fresh Army and stronger than his own having fortifyed all the Towns and covering himself with Rivers and posting himself very advantageously laughed at the Prince of Orange who presented him Battle every day For after the Prince had made Twenty nine Incampments without being able to draw the Duke to an Engagement being received into no City contrary to his hopes and pressed by Famine in a little Country uncapable of supplying longer so numerous an Army and his Souldiers mutinying and demanding their Pay in one of which Mutinies some Officers were killed in his sight and he himself had been shot if the Pistol bullet had not lighted on the Pommel of his Sword he was forced to disband his Army which refused to follow him into France to the Assistance of the Huguenots the greatest part of the Officers telling him That they promised to serve only against Spain not France He paid the Army with the little ready Money he had with his Plate and the Money which the Sale of his Artillery and his Baggage yielded him engaging to the principal Commanders his Principality of Orange and his other Lordships for the Security of what he ow'd them The extraordinary prudence and firmness of the Duke of Alva can never be enough admired who found out an excellent way of beating his Enemies without fighting whereas other Victories are usually won by bloody and hazardous Battles He swore to the Messenger who came from his eldest Son Frederick de Toledo and Chiapin Vitelli Marquess of Celone his Mareschal de Camp to press him to give the Enemies Battle That 't was a strange thing they would not suffer him to manage the War as he pleased and that if any durst talk to him of fighting again he should never return alive This Marquess of Vitelli was a brave Captain and had done such great Services to the Duke of Tuscany in his Wars that King Philip demanded him of the Duke to Command his Army under the Duke of Alva He behaved himself extreamly well in Flanders and died in the time of the Commendador de Requisons who succeeded the Duke of Alva in the Government of the Low Countries He was so prodigiously Fat that he was forced to gird up his Belly to be able to walk As he was a great Eater and reckoned an Atheist after his Death the Gueux made this Epitaph on him O Deus omnipotens crassi miserere Vitelli Quem Mors praeveniens non sinit esse bovem Corpus in Italiâ est tenet intestina Brabantus Ast animam nemo cur quia non habuit The Prince of Orange disbanded his Army in Strasbourg where he arrived from the Netherlands through the Frontiers of Picardy Champagne and Lorrain Between le Quesnoy and Cambray the Prince cut off Eighteen Companies of Foot and three hundred Horse and made almost all the Officers Prisoners Don Rufillé Henriquus Son to the Duke of Alva with many others were killed upon the place which was some satisfaction to him for the Blow he had received in Brabant where Count Hochstrate received a mortal Wound and died not long after very much regretted by the Prince of Orange for his Valour and unmovable Fidelity to his Party Philip de Morbais Lord of Louverval was taken Prisoner in the same Action and afterwards beheaded at Brussels The Prince out of this great Army reserved to himself only a Body of Twelve hundred Horse and with his Brothers Count Lodowick and Henry joyned the Prince Palatine Wolfgang Duke of Deuxponts whom he found ready to enter France to the Succours of the Huguenots He was present at the taking of la Charité which was very happy for that Party for if the Germans had not made themselves Masters of a passage over the River Loire they could never have joyned the Admiral He was afterwards in the Battle of Roche la ville D' Avila observes that the Prince of Orange on this occasion Commanded the main Battle of the Huguenots Army with the Count de Rochefoucaut and that Count Lodowick of Nassau his Brother signalized himself in the Vanguard against Philip Strozzi Colonel of the French Infantry who advancing too forward was made Prisoner by the Huguenots The same Author assures us that 't was at Roche la ville where the King of Navarre afterwards Henry the Great began to give Proofs of the Courage which he has since made appear on so many dangerous occasions He was afterwards at the Siege of Poictiers which was fatal to the Huguenots for when they had ruined their Army before the place they were forced to raise the Siege to relieve Chatelleraut At last he quitted the Camp at Foy la Binese near Richelieu disguised like a Peasant with four Men in his Company and after having crossed Tourrain and Berry with great difficulty he arrived at la Charité and then Montbeliard from whence he retired into his County of Nassau to raise new Forces His Brother Count Lodowick was afterwards at the Battle of Moncountour whence he saved himself in Company of the Admiral de Chatillon and a Body of the Huguenot Horse This year the Admiral advised the Prince of Orange to give out Commissions for Commands at Sea to several Persons of Quality who had been driven out of the Low Countries by the Duke of Alva who after having put to Death a vast number of Men forced all People to pay the Tenth penny for the Sale of their Moveables the Twentieth for immoveables and the Hundreth penny for all they possessed The Admiral assured the Prince that if he could once set Footing in Holland or in Zealand Countries very strongly situated 't would be difficult to force him out because he was so well beloved by the People who would never fail him at his need William Lord of Lumay descended from the Count de la Mare was the chief of these Refugees He and his Associates were called the Sea Gueux by way of distinction from the Land Gueux This advice of the Admiral was very useful to the Prince of Orange and was a sort of Prophecy of his Establishment in those Provinces for by this means he possessed himself of all Holland and Zealand and was as Successful and Victorious at Sea as he had been unfortunate at Land for 't was observed that in Ten years continual War the Spaniards were always beaten by the Hollanders at Sea In the Year 1570. Peace being concluded with the Huguenots the Court of France the better to amuse and over-reach the Huguenots made a shew of employing them against the Netherlands under the conduct of the Duke of Alenzon Admiral Colligny and Count Lodowick of Nassau The Court pretended to be dissatisfied with the King of Spain for poysoning Isabella of France his Wife whose Death the French gave out they would revenge and the Murders of the French that had been
Infanta of Portugal Mother to Don Carlos That he murthered his own Son for speakiing in Favour of the Low-Countries and poisoned his third Wife Isabella of France Daughter to Henry the II. King of France in whose Life-time he publickly kept Donna Eufratia whom he forced the Prince of Ascoti to marry when she was big with Child by him that his Bastard might inherit the great Estate of this Prince who died of Grief if not says the Prince of a Morsel more easy to swallow than digest That afterwards he was not ashamed to commit publick Incest in marrying his own Niece Daughter to Maximilian the Emperor and his Sister But says the King I had a Dispensation Ay says the Prince only from the God on Earth for the God of Heaven would never have granted it These are the very Words of the Prince That it was as strange as insupportable that a Man blacken'd with Adultery Poisoning Incest and Parricide should make a Crime of a Marriage approved of by Monsieur de Montpensier his Father-in-law a more zealous Catholick than the Spaniards are with all their Grimaces and Preterisions That if his Wife had made Vows in her tender Age which is contrary to the Canons and Decrees according to the Opinion of the ablest Men And though she had never made any Protestations against it He was not so little vers'd in the Holy Scriptures but He knew that all Bonds and Engagements entred into meerly upon the Score of Interest had no Force before God To that Article where the King calls him a Stranger he answers That his Ancestors had possessed for many Ages Counties and Baronies in Luxemburg Brabant Holland and Flanders and that those who have Estates in the Provinces have still been reckoned Natives That the King is a Stranger as well as himself being born in Spain a Country which bears a natural Aversion to the Low-Countries and he in Germany a neighbouring Country and Friend of the Provinces But says the Prince they 'll say he is King to which he answers Then let him be King in Castile Arragon Naples the Indies and Ierusalem and in Africk and Asia if he please that for his part he will acknowledge but a Duke and a Count whose Power is limited by the Privileges of the Provinces which the King has sworn to ob serve That he must let the Spaniards know if they are not acquainted with it already that the Barons of Brabant when their Princes go beyond Bounds have often shown them what their Power was He ended this Discourse by saying That 't was strange that they had the Impudence to charge him with being a Stranger in regard his Predecessors were Dukes of Gueldres and Owners of great Possessions in the Provinces when the King's Ancestors were only Counts of Hapsburg living in Switzerland and their Family was not known in the World The Prince maintains that the Design of the Spaniards was always to enslave the Netherlands and erect a tyrannical Government as they have done in the Indies Naples Sicily and Milan That the Emperor Charles the V. being acquainted with it represented to King Philip in his Presence and the old Count of Bossut and many others That if he did not curb the Pride of the Spaniards he would be the Ruin of the Netherlands But that neither the paternal Authority nor the Interest of his Affairs nor Justice nor his Oath which is sacred among the Barbarians could bridle his unbounded Passion of Tyrannizing That the Country granted a considerable Supply of Money with which and the Courage of the Nobility of these Provinces having won two famous Battles and taken a great number of Prisoners of the highest Quality in France he concluded a Peace at Cambray as Profitable to himself as Disadvantageous to his Enemies That if the King had any Gratitude remaining he could not deny but that he was one of the principal Instruments in bringing it about having managed it in particular with the Constable de Montmorency and the Mareschal de St. Andre by the King's Orders who assured him that he could not do a more grateful piece of Service to him than by effecting a Peace at a time when he was resolved to go into Spain upon any Terms But these Supplies of Money and this great Success obtained by the Blood of their Nobility were reckoned Crimes of High-Treason because nothing would be granted but on Condition the States-General should meet and the promis'd Subsidies pass through the Hands of Commissaries of the Provinces to clip the Wings of these Harpies Barlaymont and others like him And these as he assures are the two great Crimes which created that implacable Hatred in the King and Council to the Low-Countries The first of these Crimes was the Demand of an Assembly of the States-General who are as much hated by bad Princes for bridling their Tyranny as they are loved and reverenced by good Kings the true Fathers of their Country who consider them as the most sure Foundation of a State and the true support of Soveraigns The second is the Demand they made of having Commissioners of the Provinces for managing the Subsidies the Prince affirming that these Devourers of the People reckon their Robberies and Cheatings a better Revenue than that of their Lands That seeing themselves out of Condition any longer to enrich themselves at the Expence of the publick with Indempnity they look out for all Pretences by flattering their Princes to incense them and set them at odds with their Subjects He concluded this Article by assuring the States-General to whom he addresses himself all along that he has seen their Actions heard their Discourses and been Witness of those Counsels whereby they designed to make a general Massacre of them as they had practised in the Indies where they had destroyed thirty times more People than are in the Low-Countries To that part of the Charge where the King accuses him of gaining the Hearts of all those who desired Innovation particularly those who were suspected of the Reformed Religion by his private Intrigues and of being the Author of the Request against the Inquisition He owns that he was always of the Reformed Religion in his Heart which had been established by his Father William Count of Nassaw in his Dominions That he heard the King of France Henry the II. say when he was Hostage in France that the Duke of Alva was then treating with him to root out all the Protestants of France the Low-Countries and all Christendom besides That they had resolved to establish the merciless Inquisition the Severity of which was such that the looking a squint upon an Image was Crime enough to deserve burning That he could not suffer that so many good Men and Lords of his Acquaintance should be design'd for the Slaughter which made him firmly resolve utterly to extirpate this cursed Race of Men and that if he had been well seconded in so just and generous a Design there would have been
the ordinary Souldiers but even the Guards of the deceased Prince should take an Oath of Fidelity to the States of Holland This was unanimously carry'd notwithstanding all the representations made by the Princess his Mother who ineffectually labored to preserve him in those Offices which her Husband possessed and before him the other Princes of Orange the Royal Family of Great Britain from whom principally she could expect any assistance being at that time under an Eclipse through the wicked Machinations of those execrable Parricides who after they had barbarously Murder'd their lawful Soveraing King Charles I. of Blessed Memory by a train of Hypocrisy and other Villanies peculiar to their Party shared the Soveraignty between themselves Our Prince who like Hercules was to encounter Snakes in his Cradle suffer'd a great deal from the intreagues and contrivances of Barnevelt's Party now re-established in the Persons of the Messieurs De Witt. But he bore all with incredible moderation still waiting for a favorable opportunity to be restor'd to those dignities and great Employments he had been deprived of by a publick decree obtained by a predominant Faction immediately after the death of his Father It must be confessed that France in some measure contributed to his re-establishment altho without the least design to favour the Prince Heaven so ordering it that that mighty Monarch should ravage and almost destroy this flourishing Republic to convince the world at the same time that only the Family of the Founders of this Republic was capable to repair its Ruines and restore it to its former Grandeur The Reader can scarce imagine with what a prodigions torrent the King of France over-ran and surprized all the United Provinces obliging the greatest part of the Frontier Towns and other Capital Cities to surrender themselves Amongst the rest Utrecht and Zutphen open'd their Gates at the first approach of the Enemy for altho there were large Garrisons in both those places yet being composed of Burghers and commanded by Officers of little or no experience they were frighted at the sight of a well disciplin'd couragious army that knew how to make the best advantage of the victory and the fright they had put their enemies in These calamities which had been foreseen long before by some of the most prudent persons of these Provinces as they occasioned a general consternation so they gave the people subject to complain of the ill conduct of the Mrs de Wit who at that time had all the authority of the Government in their hands and by this means furnished the friends of the House of Nassau with a favourable opportunity to speak their thoughts upon what passed at that time Which they did by way of advice to the People giving them to understand that the Princes of Orange were probably the only Persons that were able to support their tottering State and to defend them against their most puissant Enemies Adding that as these illustrious Princes had formerly deliver'd them from the tyranny of the Spaniards so they alone could stop the fury and career of the French The Princess Dowager Grand mother to his Highness a Lady of incomparable prudence and of a courage above her Sex did not contribute a little by her address to awaken those Persons that were in her interests and who were not inconsiderable for their number These at last not being able to see themselves any longer despised or that all the great Offices of State shou'd be thrown away upon Persons that were not worthy of them and at the same time making use of the fury of the people who justly alarm'd to see a victorious Army in the bowels of their Country spoke of nothing but Sacrificing the De Witts managed their affairs so dexterouslâ—… that they attained their designs for after the Prince had made a Journey towards the beginning of the Year 1672 to visit the fortifications of some Places the States of Holland and West-Frizeland being assembled it was unanimously agreed that he should be chose General of their Army which was notified next day to the States General and on the 24th of February the Prince having accepted their offer took the Oaths before them with the accustomed Ceremonies It is very remarkable that the Peasants of West-Frizeland who make excellent Souldiers wou'd not take up Arms but with this condition that they should swear to be true to the Republic and to obey the States and his Highness the Prince of Orange The immoderate ambition of some Persons had formerly occasion'd two fatal Factions who to fortify their own particular interests weakned the Nerves of the public security which made those who had the greatest Credit with the People commit the greatest Solecism's in matter of Policy that any Party can be guilty of For these short-sighted Statesmen imagining that after the Peace of Munster there was nothing left them to fear and that no body cou'd hurt them in their Pretensions but the too great power of the House of Nassau by reason of its Alliances with France and particularly with England they casheer'd their Troops composed of old Soldiers and experienced Captains who had preserved the Country but were looked upon to be intirely devoted to the Prince of Orange and at the same time gave the greatest Posts in their Army and in their Garrisons to the Sons of Burgher Masters and Deputies of Cities People who however brave they might be in their own Persons were for the most part of little or no experience as having never seen a Battle and this was the reason that when they came to be surprized by a vigorous Enemy whole Cities altho they had in Garrison five thousand Foot and eight hundred Horse surrendred at discretion without discharging one Gun at the first sight and appearance of the Enemy Thus Faction and Interest that are commonly the destruction of the most flourishing Kingdoms having reduced the States General to the brink of despair they were constrained to have recourse to their last Asylum the Prince of Orange in order to avoid their approaching ruine and to place the little hope that was remaining in the hands of one person whom the prevailing party had formerly rejected with a great deal of ingratitude and who indeed did not deserve such a hard destiny for in fine Children ought not to be responsible for the actions of their Fathers when they have by no means justified them The Prince had no sooner accepted the high Charge of General of the Armies which was presented to him from the part of the States by Monsieur de Beverning Iohn de Wit and Gaspar Fagel but he immediately repaired to the Army which was then posted near Nieu Rop where all he couâ—…d do against the united forces of the French commanded by the King in person was to keep his post And this he performed with so much conduct that the Enemy as powerful as he was cou'd have no advantage over him on that side On the other hand thinking
to him to poison or kill the Prince of Orange after examination of the matter the Baoliff was apprehended and put in Prison and altho he denied what was laid to his charge by throwing back the same crime upon his Accuser in order to justifie himself to the Prince and People nevertheless being confronted with the Chyrurgeon who still persisted in his Accusation which he confirmed by a promise that he said the Bailiff had made him of 300000 Franks for a recompence and of six Ducatoons which he had given him in hand and by several other circumstances usual in affairs of this nature the Court of Holland after they had maturely considered the report made by the Advocate General condemned Cornelius to be divested of all his dignities and employments and to be perpetually banished out of the Territories of Holland and Friezeland But the people seeing the States had pushed on the matter so far and imagining that a Criminal who was treated with so much severity wou'd have received a greater punishment if the Judges had not favoured him began to murmur at the Sentence as too mild and gentle and immediately ran towards the Prison with weapons in their hands It hapned at this moment that Iohn de Wit came in his Coach to take his Brother out of Prison when one of the Burghers dropping these words amongst the people Now the two Traytors are together and it is our fault if they scape us This was enough to animate the Mobb who were heated enough before but another thing happen'd that helped to exasperate them more which was that whilst the people were waiting for the coming out of the two Brothers some body or other had maliciously spread a report that above a thousand Peasants and Fishermen were marching towards the Hague to plunder it Upon which another Burgher saying Come along Gentlemen let us make these Traytors come out follow me and I will show you the way These words inflamed them to the highest degree so they immediately burnt the Prison-gates drew out the two Brothers by main violence dragg'd them about the streets murder'd them and cut them to pieces crying aloud Behold the Traytors that have betray'd their Country Thus fell Cornelius and Iohn de Witt two sworn Enemies of the House of Orange 'T is commonly pretended that Iohn was Author of these politic resolutions viz. the exclusion of his Royal Highness from all his Offices of the perpetual Edict and of the Qualities requisite for a Stadt-holder Min Heer Fagel succeeded the Pensioner in his place the Prince of Orange having approved his election The Elector of Brandenburgh writ a Letter to the States in favour of the Prince telling them that since he heard his R. Highness was re-established in the dignities of his Ancestors he did not doubt but Heaven would prosper a resolution so advantageous to the public especially since he knew the Prince inherited all the Vertues of his Glorious Predecessors protesting besides that he found himself obliged since his Elevation to contribute all that lay in his power to assist the Prince to recover and preserve what his Ancestors had acquired at the expence of their own blood with so much reputation to themselves About this time the Prince being resolved to dislodge the advanced Guards of the French made a Detachment of Horse and Foot and with them gives an Alarm to the Enemy whom he chased as far as their trenches before Utrecht disheartened with the loss of their own men before Cronemburgh While both Parties were thus busied in the Feild there was great changing of the Magistrates in most of the Cities to the great satisfaction of the Inhabitants who now hoped to see their Country enjoy its ancient Tranquillity His Highness not being any longer able to suffer the corruption of Military Discipline which had been so fatal to the Republic in general ordered several Officers to be punished for their Cowardice and Treachery But nothing touched him so sensibly as to see the Season almost past without any considerable action which made him resolve to attack Narden For this purpose he commands Coll. Zulestein and Count Horn to advance the first to take his quarters between Utrecht and Narden and the other to intrench himself at Polanen on the Mill side His Highness intrenched on that part near Bodegrave with four Regiments The Duke of Luxemburgh made all imaginable haste to relieve the besieged and with about eight or nine thousand men fell upon the quarter of Coll. Zulestein but was repulsed with loss and forced to retire The Town was afterwards batter'd in a very furious manner and reduced to such extremities that they sent Deputies to capitulate But in this interval the Duke of Luxemburgh having received a new reinforcement marched by a way full of water by the help of some Peasants who served him as Guides he once more attacqued when they least expected him the very same quarters of Coll. Zulestein from whence he had been beaten the night before and after a bloody resolute dispute wherein the Collonel was slain having refused quarter the Duke at last threw three thousand men by way of relief into the Town Nevertheless he was repulsed the second time by Count Horn and forced to leave his Prisoners behind him Of the French there were 2000 killed and fifty Officers who dyed of their wounds within 5 days after the engagement without reckoning those that lost their Arms and Legs upon this occasion Which caused so great a consternation amongst the French that were at Utrecht that after this time the Officers drew lots when they were go out in any Parties against the Prince of Orange Of the Hollanders were slain Six or Seven Hundred Men besides Coll. Zulestein and a Lieutenant Collonel His Highness seeing the City had received so considerable a relief retired to his own Quarters with the honor of a compleat Victory and raised the Seige without the least loss having defeated almost five entire Regiments the greatest part of their Officers being either slain or mortally wounded and having twice repulsed an old General who had never succeeded in his design had it not been for the perfidiousness of the Peasants After the unsuccessful attempt upon Narden his Highness assembled a Council of War at which the principal Officers of the Army assisted and having commanded the Horse that were quartered at Helden to hinder the English Merchandise from being transported from Rotterdam to Brabant he marched himself to Rosendael which was the place of the general Randezvous from whence with an Army composed of Twenty four Thousand Horse and Foot he took his march directly to the Country of Liege At his approach the Count de Duras who was at Moseyk retired with his Army to Vassemburgh and higher towards the River Roer 'T was believed that his Highness's principal design was to chase the French from their quarters near the Meuse and give battle to the Count de Duras who commanded the Enemy's Troops in
to see if he would not be willing to hazard a battle in open field Being therefore advanced within five or six mile of the French Camp they did all that in them lay to make him leave his strong scituation but 't was to no purpose for the Prince whether he had received orders from the King or this was his own proper sense of the affair would by no means quit it And now the Confederate Army finding that all their efforts were in vain resolved to attack some important place not doubting but the Prince would leave his post to come and relieve it and so they should bring their designs about This resolution being taken the Prince of Orange decamped from Senef and marched strait on the side of Bins The Imperialists had the Vanguard the Hollanders the Main Body and the Spaniards the Rear and because the passage was narrow the Cavalry marched on the left the Infantry in the midst and the Artillery with all the baggage on the left also and to secure their march the Prince de Vaudemont still kept behind with four Thousand Horse and some Dragoons The Prince of Conde being informed of their March and knowing perfectly well the difficulty of the ways through which the Confederates were to pass took care to range his Army in order However not thinking it safe for him to engage the whole Army of the Confederates he suffer'd the Vanguard with a considerable part of their Main Body to pass some leagues before and when he saw they were too far advanced to return soon enough he believed he might now fall upon the Rear Thus the Prince came out of his Trenches and attack'd Vaudemont's Horse who seeing himself in a Country where the Horse could do no great service by reason of the Hedges and Ditches sent presently to the Prince of Orange for two Battalions of his best Foot while he with his Horse kept the Enemy in play His Highness sent him three under the command of young Prince Maurice of Nassau who as soon as they came up were placed on the other side of Senef all before the Horse in a four square body And now the whole Army of the Prince of Conde being come out of their Trenches 't was judged convenient to send for the Troops that were on the other side of the River that runs by Senef and then they placed the three Battalions that before were posted in the Wood directly against the Bridge of Senef over which the French were to pass They were no sooner got thither but the French attack'd 'em all at once Horse Foot and Dragoons Tho they began this attack with wonderful vigor yet they were not able to force the Enemy from his Post so that they were forced to draw off and make a Bridge over the River somewhat higher Having by this means joyn'd all their forces together the Confederate Horse ranged themselves behind the Infantry but so that they might come upon occasion to their relief In the mean time the Foot fired so warmly upon the French that passed the River that abundance of them were killed but the Confederates being unhappily straitned for want of ground and the French setting upon them as they came out of the Wood on all sides their Foot was obliged to retreat being overwhelmed by the excessive number of their Enemies which was the reason that they lost several of their principal Officers Young Prince Maurice who commanded the Brigade was made a Prisoner with several Officers more and Coll. Macovits was killed As soon as the Infantry of the Confederates was retired the French fell with great vigour upon the Horse commanded by the Prince de Vaudemont and the Prince of Conde began to range his Army in form of battel commanding his Foot to march secretly under the covert of the Hedges and Bushes The Confederate Horse had orders to charge them and as they were going to do it found the way was so hollow between the Enemy and them that they were obliged to turn about to the right and joyn the rest of the Army lest the Enemy perceiving their retreat should charge them in the Flank The French observing this turn'd to the left and made so much hast to charge this body of Horse that Prince Vaudemont had only time enough to range his three Battalions to endeavour to make head against the Enemy This first onset proved unlucky to the Confederates for the three Commanders in chief of this Brigade were taken Prisoners with several other Persons of Quality as the Duke of Holstein the Prince de Solmes and Monsieur de Langerac and many more were there slain Whatever care was taken to make these four Battalions rally again it could never be effected for away they ran without making the least discharge upon the Enemy Prince Vaudemont gave convincing proofs of an extraordinary valour but all his efforts were to no purpose The Prince of Orange likewise discovered an undaunted bravery behaving himself in all respects like an Old experienced General for he got before these affrighted Troops with his Sword in his hand and endeavoured by all sorts of perswasions and by his own example to encourage them to renew the fight exposing himself frequently to the danger of being killed or made a Prisoner but he was not able to stop them till they met a body of Spanish Horse posted at the bottom of a little Hill between them and the Village of Fay. Another Party of these Runaways joyn'd themselves to sixteen Battalions commanded by the Duke de Villa Hermosa who marched at the head of his Troops to oppose the French who pursued them and did every thing that could be expected from a person of his valour and conduct in the miserable condition that things were then in The rest of the Confederates rallied togather with a body of Foot posted likewise at the Foot of the same Hill On the other side the Prince of Conde who had advanced so far in pursuing the fugitives fell with that fury upon the Spanish Horse and the Foot whom he chased that the Marquis d' Assentar was forced to send for four other Regiments from the Foot of the Hill to reinforce his Cavalry Which the Prince of Conde observing he ordered five or six Battalions to advance immediately with a Brigade of Horse and dividing his Troops on the right and the left he charged the Cavalry of the Confederates in the Front and put them in disorder The Marquess did all he could by his own example to rally his men and begin the Battel afresh till at last being wounded in seven places he was killed at the head of his own Troops The Cavalry being thus in disorder he attempted to break his way through four Battalions of Foot that were come to their relief and put them in great confusion notwithstanding the conduct of the Duke de Villa Hermosa and Prince Vaudemont who used all the means imaginable to make them rally They likewise disordered
the rest of the Infantry that were posted at the bottom of the Hill altho Count Waldeck did his best to stop their flight but seeing it was time thrown away he charged the victorious Enemy in the Flank with a fresh body of Horse that had joined him a little before And certainly there was all the reason in the world to expect a good effect of this onset under the conduct of so courageous and experienc'd a Commander if he had been but seconded but as he was overpower'd by great numbers of the Enemy he withdrew from the heat of the Action after he had slain two of the Enemy who had particularly set upon him and after he had rallied the rest of his Troops altho he was all over bloody with three wounds he had received In the heat of this Combat some Battalions of the Enemy had made themselves Masters of the Baggage belonging to the Dutch and had already pillaged part of it For the Leaders instead of fortifying and barricadoing themselves with their Waggons cut the harness of the Horses and fled away without ever looking behind them some towards Brussels and some to other places where they gave out that all was lost It must be confessed that the Prince of Conde had carried away all the advantages of victory in this Fight had he given over here but his natural impetuosity and ambition spurr'd him on to gain all or nothing which in the end proved fatal to him For after he had ranged his Guards du Corps Cuirassiers and the rest of the Army that stay'd behind in battel array he advanced towards the main body of the Confederates commanded by the Prince of Orange Prince Maurice the Rhingrave and Major General Vane At the same time General Souches who led the Vanguard and who was advanced some hours before the rest of the Army having received advice of what had passed made all the haste he could to joyn the main Body which he did at one a Clock in the Afternoon By which time his Highness had advantageously bestowed the Imperialists and the Spaniards on the left wing and his own on the right And now the Fight was renewed more furiously than ever The Duke of Luxemburgh commanded the right wing of the French and the Duke of Nouailles the left for the Marquess de Rochefort the Chevalier de Tourilles and the Count de Montal were all three wounded The first onset of the French was by far the most vehement that had been seen during the course of this war Honour Hatred Revenge Hope and Despair animated the courag of the two Parties Hope of Victory which as yet had declared her self in favour of neither side made them resolve to vanquish or dye The Prince of Orange show'd himself every where sparing nothing upon this occasion that might facilitate the victory sometimes he threw himself into the midst of his Enemies to the apparent hazard of his life and the Souldiers who being encouraged by his example strove to out-do one another sustained the fury of the Enemy with a bravery greater than could be expected from them Having thus frustrated the hopes of the Prince of Conde he endeavoured to wheel about to the left But Monsieur de Farjaux Major General of the Dutch Army being sent with some Battalions and seconded by the Count de Chavagnac who commanded a Squadron of Imperial Horse to prevent this design opposed the French with so much gallantry that they were forced to retire After this the Count sent for four pieces of Cannon with which he gauled the Enemy so advantageously that Count Souches with his Forlorn Hope broke into the strongest quarter of the Enemy and gave proofs of an extraordinary courage according to his custom upon such occasions Nor did the Prince of Lorrain sit idle but was seen to fight several times at the head of the first ranks altho he lost so much blood that at last he was obliged to withdraw from the battel Prince Pio who lay with his Brigade near Senef accompanied by the Marquess de Grana and Count Staremberg after he had signalized himself by a Thousand noble actions was wounded in the thigh by a Musquet-shot The Marquess de Grana and the Sons of Count Souches behaved themselves so valiantly at the head of their Squadrons that the French Swissers were not able to gain one inch of ground upon them which did not a little contribute to the gaining of the battel for the Confederates In the mean time the Prince of Conde charged the right wing of the Confederates with his Cuirassiers and the King's Houshold but without effect only about seven in the afternoon he broke two Battalions that were posted in a meadow at a small distance from thence But Prince Maurice here performed a signal piece of service to the States in stopping the Career of the Enemy and preventing the great disorder on that side with no less conduct than courage The Rhingrave behaved himself with great bravery and we may truly say that his valor and prudence did not inconsiderably promote the good success of this battel He was nevertheless constrained to leave the field by reason of a wound he had received Major General Vane and the Sieur de Villaumdire after having given remarkable testimonies of their valour were mortally wounded and died of their wounds The two Armies fought in this manner till night with unexpressible fury on both sides tho the ground was covered with the dead and wounded while the Combatants covered with blood and sweat encouraged one another by so terrible a spectacle One might have seen whole Battalions of one and t'other side sometimes give ground and then immediately rally by the good conduct of their respective Commanders amongst whom the Prince of Orange was chief who was all along to be seen in the heat of the battle encouraging his men by his own example He had near him the young Prince of Frizeland who was not above twenty years old and always engaged where the Enemies stood thickest and doing all that could be expected from so valiant and generous a Prince Thus the first heat and fire of the French which threatned to devour every thing that stood in its way began to slacken about ten at night The Infantry great part of which they lost kept off at some distance in spight of all the Prince of Conde could do to bring them back so that the Prince fearing a greater misfortune ordered his Horse to retreat leaving but a few Squadrons behind to favor their retreat and these he commanded to move off as soon as the rest of his Army was safe leaving the Victory and the Field of battle to the Prince of Orange who two hours after the retreat of the French made his Army draw off and put them into Winter Quarters Nevertheless he left Monsieur de Farjaux all night in the Field to observe the motion of the Enemy who tho they could not well digest the rude
treatment they received the day before durst attempt nothing the Prince of Conde having only left some Dragoons in his old Quarters and got above three hours march before lest the Confederates should pursue him This was the issue of this bloody battel wherein the Confederates were beat at first altho they got the victory at last For on the Enemies side there were seven thousand men killed upon the spot without reckoning the wounded whom the Prince of Conde left in the neighbouring villages to the number of more than fifteen hundred On the side of the Confederates the whole list of those that were slain wounded made Prisoners and deserted did not amount in all to above six Thousand five Hundred besides that abundance of their men after they had been dispersed on one side and t'other in the hurry of the Engagement returned to their Colours 'T is commonly reported that a Letter of the Prince of Conde to the King of France was intercepted wherein he acquaints him that after he had made a general review of his Army he found it in a very deplorable condition that he had lost the flower of his Infantry and the better part of his Horse and in fine did not look upon himself to be strong enough to hazard a second battel In effect besides three Regiments Seven Hundred Swissers of the Guards and the Swiss Regiment of Molandin were intirely defeated An infinite number of Officers of note were slain amongst whom were the Marquess de Chanvalon de Clemerant de Bourbon and d' Iliers three Counts two Cornets of the King's Guards more than Forty Officers of the Guards du Corps Forty three Officers of the King's Regiment Fourscore Officers of the Queen's Guards Nine Collonels Eight Lieutenant Collonels and Majors and a Hundred and Sixty five Captains without reckoning the subaltern Officers So that the Prince of Conde did not without reason complain that he had lost abundance of brave Officers in this bloody dispute and a certain truth it is that if he had not had the advantage in the beginning of the Fight his Army had been entirely defeated Amongst several other Standards a white one was carried to Brussels and hung up with a great deal of solemnity in the Church belonging to the Carmelites This Standard was embroider'd with Gold and Silver bearing a Sun in the Zodiac with these proud words Nihil obstabit eunti Nothing shall stop my Course The day after the battel his Highness marched with the whole Army by the way of Mons and put them in quarters at S. Guillain where he received five Regiments of new Recruits and the Imperialists retired to Queverain where they stayed without doing any considerable action till the eleventh or twelfth of September In the mean time General Rabenhaupt undertook the Siege of Grave which was one of the most memorable Sieges that had happened for a long time as well for the scituation of the place the strength of the Garrison the great abundance of Ammunition and Provisions as for the furious attacks and assaults of the Besiegers and the vigorous resistance of the Besieged And that which renders it still more famous is that it could never be ended till the arrival of the Prince of Orange who soon determined it The Garrison consisted of Fourscore and eleven Companies of Foot who made in all four Thousand men and of Nine Troops of Horse The Sieur de S. Louis an old experienced Captain commanded the Cavalry and the Marquess de Chamilly a valiant and expert Commander was Governor of the Town where were four Hundred and fifty pieces of Cannon a Hundred of which were mounted upon the Ramparts besides an infinite quantity of Powder Corn Granadoes and all sorts of Provisions for here the French had laid up all that they carried away from those places they first conquered and afterwards abandoned General Rabenhaupt laid Siege to this place which extremely incommoded all the Neighborhood with Twenty Regiments of Foot and some Horse which were soon after reinforced with two Regiments of Foot and two Hundred Horse commanded by Don Iohn de Pimentel and a Regiment of Foot of the Prince of Courland and two Regiments of Horse of the Elector of Brandenburg under the command of General Spaen Coll. Hundebeck posted himself behind the great Dike on that side which lay nighest the Velp Coll. Golstein on the side towards Overyssel The Brandenburg Cavalry posted themselves higher towards the Est to hinder any relief from coming into the Town And the General himself approached near the Castle de Vegesak The place being thus environ'd on all sides the Siege was pushed forward with as much violence on the side of the Besiegers as it was vigorously defended by the Besieged In the mean time his Highness and the Imperialists that were quarter'd upon the Frontiers of Henault having recovered the disorder of the last battel were thinking how to perform some remarkable action Upon this consideration as soon as the Grand Convoy was arrived from Brussels with the Spanish Army consisting of eight Thousand Foot without reckoning the Horse and Dragoons the Prince of Orange decamped with the whole Army on the 12th of September and passed the River Hayne near Tournay and Aeth and marched from thence to Oudenarde In the interim two Regiments of Foot and two Thousand five Hundred Horse near Ghent were sent to break the Bridges of Deinse and Harlebike upon the River Ley with orders after that to rejoyn the Army That Evening the same Regiments brought abundance of Barges laden with all sorts of Ammunition and Provisions and five Hundred Pioneers who were ordered to advance by the way of Oudenarde and were followed by a body of two Thousand five Hundred Horse that posted themselves that evening before the Town and shut up all the passages leading to the Garrison on that side The Prince of Orange and the Count de Souches arrived at the same time and took each of them their quarters the Prince in the Abby of Ename and the Count on the other side the River at Leupegem and Elare and the Spaniards câ—…mmanded by the Duke de Villa Hermosa posted themselves at Beverem and Moregem There were in the Town four Hundred Germans six Thousand Swissers a Thousand French and four Hundred Horse commanded by the Sieur de Rosquaire The Confederates having finished all their Works made themselves Masters of the Counterscarp when the Prince of Conde having decamped from before Beaumont began to approach with his whole Army which consisted of forty Thousand men and resolved to give battel to the Confederates in case he could not otherwise relieve the place It was therefore his Highness's advice to get all things in readiness and meet the Enemy that was fatigued and spent with so tedious a March But this resolution had no effect because Count Souches was not to be found all that day and thus the Army was constrained to keep within their Trenches In the mean
time the French still advanced on that side where the Imperialists lay posted but Count Souches instead of ranging his men in Battel quitted his post and passed the River in so much haste that he left some pieces of Cannon behind him which his Highness had sent him and cou'd not be recover'd without extream danger By this means the Prince of Conde having an open passage entred the Town with part of his Army and he had certainly gained that Advantage as to cut off all mannâ—… of Communication between the Confederates had it not been for a great Fog that arose on the sudden and prevented his design The Prince of Orange considering the present state of his affairs was of opinion that it was the best way to draw off and so followed after the Imperialists and the Spaniards whom he joyn'd within a league of Oudenard but finding that by reason of the great opiniatrete of the former he should be able to effect nothing here he was resolved to return the same way to Grave where his presence was so necessary to carry on the Siege leaving Count Waldeck to command the Army in his absence The Prince arrived befor this place on the ninth of October with sixty Troops of Horse and tho the Besieged who were now reduced to great extremities defended themselves with great vigour and resolution till the 25th of the same month yet the Marquess de Chamilly seeing it was impossible to hold out against a general assault because of the great breaches in the works demanded a cessation of Arms for three or four hours and after Hostages on both sides the City surrendred on very honourable conditions and thus ended this Campaign The year 1675 began with the Addresses of the Burghers wherein they thanked his Highness for the mighty services he had done them in delivering them from the calamities and miseries they had suffered under the tyranny of a foreign Enemy In consideration of which they offer'd him the Soveraignty of the Dutchy of Gueldres and Earldom of Zutphen with the Titles of Duke of Gueldres and Count of Zutphen But the Prince reflecting with himself that the accepting of this offer would give matter of jealousy to some persons and give others occasion to infer that he only aimed at his own Grandeur in this war to convince the world of the sincerity of his intentions he judged it the best way to refuse these Honours but at the same time did not refuse the offer they made him of being hereditary Governour of that Province This he readily accepted and after he had taken the Oaths reformed several abuses that had got footing during the Enemy's usurpation there And now by reason of the continual alarms the People were in upon the occasion of the French King's resolutions who was to open the Campaign himself in Person in the beginningâ—… of the Spring he continually applied his thoughts upon the war and for that end always assisted at those Conferences where they debated upon their military affairs He was at Cleve to confer with the Elector of Brandenburgh who entertained him with great magnificence and soon after his arrival at the Hague fell ill of the Small-pox which news caused so much the greater consternain the United Provinces because that disease had been fatal to his Family in the Person of his Father his Mother and the Duke of Glocester but by the care and prudence of an able Physician and by the assistance of some remedies which the Elector of Brandenburgh sent him he recovered his health to the universal joy not only of Holland but all the Confederates No sooner was he perfectly recovered but he repaired to the general rendezvous at Rosendael for the King of France being now upon his march in Brabant it was necessary for the Prince to observe his motions and so much the more because Limburg which was besieged by the Marquis de Rochefort demanded a speedy relief For this reason his Highness parting with his Army from Duffel joyn'd the Dukes of Lunenburg and Lorrain at Gangelt with a resolution to raise the Siege And in all probability it had come to a Battel between the French King and the Prince since the King who was then at Maestricht having received advice of the Prince's march had repassed the Meuse at Viset to oppose his design but the City not being any longer able to sustain the great numbers of their Enemies surrendred sooner than was expected After the taking of Limbug the King of France encamped near Tillemont ravaging all the Country round about Louvain Brussels and Malines He had a mighty desire to make himself master of Louvain but his Highness and the Duke de Villa Hermosa watched him all along so narrowly that he durst not undertake it so that finding he was able to do no more content with having gained Limburg he returned to Paris leaving the Prince of Conde to observe the Prince of Orange And to say the truth both these wary Generals watched one another so carefully that they cou'd not gain the least advantage one over the other But the Prince of Conde was soon commanded to go into Alsatia after the death of the Mareschal de Turenne Our Prince therefore had now to do with a new General the Duke of Luxemburgh but who in prudence and conduct was by no means inferiour to his great Predecessor His Highness had nevertheless this advantage over him that he hindred him from ravaging the territory of Triers so that after the fatal and entire routing of Monsieur de Crequi that City fell into the hands of the Imperialists France having thus sustained two mighty losses in the death of Turenne and the Defeat of Crequi the D. of Luxemburg rather than run the hazard of receiving a third which perhaps might have proved mortal suffer'd the Prince of Orange to take Bins before his face when there were 350 men in Garrison and great store of Provisions His Highness ordered all its Fortifications to be demolished to render it unserviceable to the Enemy and finding the season now well advanced dispersed his Army and came back to the Hague The calamities of war which had for some years afflicted and depopulated the greatest part of Europe were so extremely great and deplorable that several Princes moved with compassion did deliberate of the most proper means to stop the progress of those miseries under which the people languished Tho this design was so highly advantageous to Christendom in general yet it did but slowly advance till at last the K. of Great Britain having concluded a peace with Holland resolved to offer his Mediatorship to procure an universal peace amongst all the Christian Princes which having at last been submitted to the City of Nimeguen was chosen for the place of Treaty where all the Plenipotentiaries met towards the beginning of the year 1676. This hindred neither party from making as mighty preparations to renew the War in the Spring as if there were not
with his Niece formed of himself a project of Peace which he sent to his Ambassador at Nimeguen there to be distributed amongst the other Ambassadors and Mediators by those of England The chief of these propositions were That the King of Sweden and the Duke of Gottorp should be intirely satisfied That the Prince and Bishop of Stasburg should be restored to all his Demains Goods Honours and Prerogatives and that his Brother Prince William of Furstemberg should be set at liberty That as for the Emperour he should alter nothing in the public Declarations that were made at the Treaty of Westphalia only he offer'd either to keep Philipsburg and give up Friburg or else to keep Friburg and give up Philipsburg That as for Spain he would restore Charleroy Aeth Oudenard Courtray Ghent and St. Guillain with their dependances but in recompence demanded all the Franche Comté Valenciennes Bouchain Condè Cambray Aire and St. Omers with all their dependances In a word all the Places he was in possession off except those above mentioned Besides he consented to surrender Charlemont or Dinant to the Catholic King provided the Bishop of Leige and the Emperor agreed to it That as for what concerned the States General besides the satisfaction he gave them by what he yielded up to Spain he wou'd restore Maestricht to them and continue the same treaty of Commerce they enjoy'd before And as for the Interests of the Duke of Lorrain he was willing to re-establish him according to the Pirenean Treaty or to surrender all his Territories to him except the City of Nancy but that by way of recompence he would give him Toul reserving nevertheless to himself a passage from his Frontiers into Alsatia and the Roads that would be necessary to him from France to Nancy and from Nancy to Mets Brisac and the Franche-Comte That the Confines between Spain and the Low-Countries to begin from the Sea should be the Meuse Nieuport Dixmuyde Courtrdy Oudenard Aeth Mons Charleroy and Namur and that these Confines should be secured by these Places since they had cost him some Millions to fortify and by quitting them he deprived himself of the advantage of marching up to the Gates of Brussels whenever he pleased These Conditions were liked by some but disapproved by others The States General for instance had no reason to reject them but the Ministers of the Allies in a conference at the Hague absolutely rejected them as unjust and unreasonable After several warm disputes upon this occasion the Spaniards began at last to comply and that the more because they saw both England and Holland consented to the proposals of France Besides this their Affairs grew every day worse and worse by the considerable loss of Fort Leeuw which was much about this time unfortunately surprized by the French But what served wholly to determine them was the return of the French King who besides an Army he had near Brussels had two more not far off one upon the Rhine and the other between the Meuse and the Sambre which threatned nothing less than the entire loss of the Spanish Netherlands in case the Hollanders made a Peace without them and continued Neuters after it during the course of this war to which the King of France earnestly perswaded them The Spaniards therefore being constrained to yield to the necessity of their Affairs declared they were ready to accept these Conditions of Peace Upon which the States General were very urgent with the other Allies to give their consent and upon the delay of the Ministers who amused themselves with making Memorials and Replies dispatched express Orders to their Ambassadors at Nimeguen to conclude the Treaty out of hand But they were extreamly surprized when the Plenipotentiares of France refused to sign it for they demanded that intire satisfaction should be given to the King of Sweden protesting that in case of refusal the King their master would conclude nothing This started new difficulties and gave occasion to the States General to make fresh complaints of the procedure of the King of France after they had so frankly submitted to the Conditions which he himself had proposed That King's answer was that he should come to St. Quintin where he wou'd carry six days for the Commissioners whom they should send to adjust this difference But the States thinking they had done enough on their part resolved in the presence of the Prince of Orange to send no body till the Treaty was signed The News of this difference and of the resolution of the Hollanders to continue the war unless the King of France would somewhat abate the interests of Sweden being arrived into England the Parliament who before had voted to disband the Army which the King had raised both by Sea and Land were now resolved to keep it on foot His Majesty sent part of the Army over to Flanders and made a League offensive and defensive with the United Provinces wherein a very short time was limited for the French King to sign the Treaty or declare his further pretensions This resolute conduct of the King of Great Britain put an end to this troublesome affair so the Treaty of Peace between France and Holland was signed on the 11th of August at midnight 'T is certain the French King had done better not to have refined so much in his Politics for it had like to have cost him the entire loss of the D. of Luxemburg's Army Mons had been a long time blocked up by the French and was now in a manner reduced to the last extremities when the Prince of Orange receiving advice that the Confederates had joined the Army of Spain and Holland which was near the Canal of Brussels he parted by night from the Hague on the 26 of Iuly Immediately after his arrival he call'd a Council of War with the Generals of the Allies where it was resolved that they should decamp and pursue the Duke of Luxemburg who marched by Mons with a design to hinder any relief from being put into the Town Thus resolved the Prince parted with the whole Army at the beginning of August and no sooner had he left Brussels but General Spaen joyned him with a reinforcement of six thousand men of the Elector of Brandenburg and the Bishop of Munster The French who had rested some days at Soignes hearing of the Prince of Orange's March suddenly decamped and the Confederate Army encamped in the very same place where the Enemy had been the day before His Highness marching from thence on the side of Rocles advanced with his left Wing as far as the Abby of St. Denys where the Duke of Luxemburg had his quarter And as this post was in a manner inaccessible by reason of the Woods the Briars and Precipices it was encompass'd with the Duke so little dreamt of being attack'd that he was at dinner when they brought him word that the Prince of Orange was coming to surprize him and so he was forced
to retire in some disorder The Prince had Castrau before his right Wing which the Duke had gained in great precipitation and it was happy for him that this place was as hard to be got to as the other he quitted In the mean time his Highness whom these difficulties did not discourage had no sooner drawn out his Army to battel but he was resolved to beat the Enemy out of his new post and sending for his Artillery ordered it to play upon the French who were posted a little higher on one side of a Cloister near St. Denys which the Duke of Luxemburg thought he might defend well enough with his Cannon But it was impossible for them to sustain the shock of the Confederate Dragoons who beat them from this Post and made themselves Masters of the Cloister while General Collier advanced on the side of the Abby and seconded by General Delwick broke through the narrow ways and mounting these horrible precipices with an invincible courage routed the Enemiy who for some time made a vigorous resistance in their lines In the midst of this engagement the Prince accompanied by the Duke of Monmouth who fought by his side all the day and encouraged with his good success cried out follow me follow me to encourage those Regimens that were to second the first Both sides were very liberal of their Powder and Ball and all the Regiments of the left Wing seconded one another till night with the same vigour and resolution Count Horn on his side approached nearer with his Cannon and ordered it to play on the French Battalions in the Valley where he caused a terrible slaughter From thence his Highness advanced with speed to Castrau which was attack'd by the Spaniards on the side of the right Wing where the Prince's Regiment of Guards led the Van under the command of Count Solmes who being seconded by the Duke of Holstein's Regiment and by the English forced the Enemies at last to quit the place The Regiment of Foot Guards continued in action with the French for the space of five hours and pursued them a quarter of a League through fields and precipices 'T is certainly a thing hardly to be believ'd that men should be capable of making such brave efforts in places so extremely disadvantageous and several persons who have viewed and examined them since say there are few places in the world naturally so strong The Earl of Ossory did wonders with his English at a small distance from the Foot Guards where the French lost abundance of Men. But the Prince in the heat of the Action advanced so far that he was in great danger of being lost had not Monsieur Onwerkerk come seasonably to his relief and killed an adventurous Captain that was just going to let fly a Pistol at him The Cavalry did nothing all this while by reason of the uneven scituation of the place so that all the execution lay upon the Infantry and Dragoons Night put an end to the dispute by the favour of which the Duke of Luxemburg made his retreat without noise and retired towards Mons and covered himself with a Wood on one side and a River on the other leaving to his Highness as marks of Victory the Field where the Battle was fought the greatest part of the wounded abundance of Tents and Baggage with a world of Powder and other Warlike Ammunition The States General receiving the News of so great a Success sent Commissioners to the Prince to congratulate him for the victory he had gained with so much Glory and Reputation and for the signal Actions by him performed in this last Battle to the great hazard of his life And to testify what a value they set upon his preservation they presented Monsieur Onwerkerk who had so generously opposed himself to the danger that threatned his Highness with a Sword whose handle was of massy gold a pair of Pistols set with gold and a whole Horse Furniture of the same metal The Prince of Orange having thus obliged the Duke of Luxemburg to retire had without question pushed his point and thrown relief into the Town but as he was consulting how to effect it word was brought him that the King of France and the States General had accommodated all differences The success of this Battle hasten'd the conclusion of the Treaty between Spain and France which was signed on the 17th of September to the great praise of the King of England who having joyn'd the terrour of his Arms to the authority of his Mediation had for his recompence the satisfaction to see the peace and general welfare of Europe given as a Portion with his Neice while the two great Alliances between France and Holland and between Spain and France were the and happy effects of the conjugal Alliance between his Highness and the Princess Mary of England The war being thus ended between France and the United Provinces his Highness had time now to breath himself after the fatigues and hurries of the last Campaigns for after the Ratification of the Peace and the Restitution of Mastricht to the States the King of France no more disturbed the Low Countries with the terrour of his Arms so that when his Highness had reformed all those innovations that had been introduced by the French when they were Masters of the Country the people began to enjoy the repose and tranquillity they had so long desired But matters were not so soon adjusted between the Kings of France and Spain By the Treaty concluded between the two Crowns it was agreed that Commissioners should meet at Cambray to regulate any disputes that might happen about the limits This was in the Year 1679. But after several tedious contests occasioned by the excessive pretentions of the French who demanded whole Provinces in the nature of dependances to be delivered into their hands the war was like to have kindled afresh till at last by the unwearied Mediation of the States General a Treaty was signed at the Hague on the 29th of Iune 1684 after which his most Christian Majesty having accommodated all differences with the Emperour by some other Articles of the same Nature a Truce of twenty years was agreed upon which being ratified tho not without some delays on the side of the Spaniards all those devastations and ravages that for the course of several years had ruin'd the finest Country in Europe began to cease In the midst of all these negotiations which the States seldom or never treated of but in the presence of the Prince of Orange whom they still consulted in the most difficult affairs his Highness show'd an extraordinary generosity for when every one was minding his particular Interests he neglected his own and preferr'd the peace and welfare of his Country to that reparation he might justly expect for the great losses he sustain'd in his own Demains For while the King of France burnt and ravaged the Low Countries in order to force the Spaniards to accept his offers a great part of the Prince's patrimony in Brabant underwent the common calamities The same thing happen'd when Luxemburg and the Franche-Comte came to change their Masters Prince d'Isenguyn supported by the authority of France exposed to Sale by sound of Trumpet all the Lands Furniture and Goods of his Highness as having been adjudged to him by a formal Decree of the Parliament of that Country The Provinces of Gueldres Zealand and Utrecht made great complaints in his Highnesses name but were not able to get satisfaction done him Nor suffer'd he less injustice in the Principality of Orange where the Walls of his Capital City were demolished the University disfranchized the Inhabitants barbarously plundered forced to send the young Students home to their Parents and forbidden to educate any of the Reformed Religion for the future all which was directly contrary to the Faith of the late Treaty But when the States represented the great injustice of this procedure the Court of France return'd them no other answer save only this viz. That they had good reasons for what they did As soon as the Truce was confirmed the States were of opinion they might now disband their supernumerary forces and the Deputies of Amsterdam wou'd without any further delay reform the recruits they had made the year before but all the members coming to this conclusion that nothing ought to be done without the advice of the Prince of Orange his Highness upon the mention of this proposal assured them that no one more earnestly desired the ease of the people than himself but however he wou'd never consent till their affairs both at home and abroad were in a better posture of security to leave the Country naked and defenceless The States were soon perswaded to follow this advice and accordingly resolved to keep their Troops as long as the necessity of their affairs demanded it And now from the conclusion of the Peace till the year 1688 when his Highness made his wonderful Expedition into England we have nothing remarkable in this Prince's History What was the success of that prodigious Descent and by what means the ensuing Revolution was carried on which has occasioned so mighty an alteration in this Western part of the World as it is sufficiently known to every English Reader So a just narration of all the surprizing incidents requires a person of more leisure and greater abilities than my self FINIS ☞ Excuse the man and don 't pronounce his doom Poor Soul he left his Calepine at Rome * According to the new Stile which I have all along followed with my Author * A great and stately City upon the Scheld built as 't is commonly pretended by the Emperour Valentinian * Sir W. Temple in his Memoirs represents this matter otherwise for there we are told that K. Ch. the 2d was so far from courting the Prince to come to visit him that he was apprehensive of his arrival