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A51199 The commentaries of Messire Blaize de Montluc, mareschal of France wherein are describ'd all the combats, rencounters, skirmishes, battels, sieges, assaults, scalado's, the taking and surprizes of towns and fortresses, as also the defences of the assaulted and besieg'd : with several other signal and remarkable feats of war, wherein this great and renowned warriour was personally engag'd, in the space of fifty or threescore years that he bore arms under several kings of France : together with divers instructions, that such ought not to be ignorant of, as propose to themselves by the practice of arms to arrive at any eminent degree of honor, and prudently to carry on all the exploits of war.; Commentaires de messire Blaise de Monluc. English. 1674 Monluc, Blaise, seigneur de, 1500?-1577.; Cotton, Charles, 1630-1687. 1674 (1674) Wing M2506; ESTC R37642 835,371 442

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too late to say I should never have thought it You shall execute many things in your heat which if you give your selves leisure to consider of you will think of it thrice before you once attempt it Push home then venture and do not give your Enemies leisure to consult together for one will encourage another Being return'd to the Fort of Outrea● there was hardly a day past that the English did not come to tickle us upon the descent towards the Sea and would commonly brave our people up to our very Canon which was within ten or twelve paces of the Fort and we were all abus'd by what we had heard our Predecessors say that one English man would always beat two French men and that the English would never run away nor never yield I had retain'd something of the Camisado of Bullen and of the business of Oye and therefore said one day to Mousieur de Tais that I would discover to him the mystery of the English and wherefore they were reputed so hardy which was that they all carried arms of little reach and therefore were necessitated to come up close to us to loose their arrows which otherwise would do no execution whereas we who were accustomed to fire our Harquebuzes at a great distance seeing the Enemy use another manner of sight thought these near approaches of theirs very strange imputing their running on at this confident rate to absolute bravery but I will lay them an Ambuscado and then you shall see if I am in the right or no and whether a Gascon be not as good as an English-man In antient time their Fathers and ours were neighbours I then chose out sixscore men Harquebuzeers and Pikes with some Halberts amongst them and lodg'd them in a hollow which the water had made lying below on the right hand of the Fort and sent Captain Chaux at the time when it was low water straight to some little houses which were upon the Banks of the River almost over against the Town to skirmish with them with instructions that so soon as he should see them pass the River he should begin to retire and give them leave to make a charge Which he accordingly did but it fortun'd so that he was wounded in one of his arms with a Hurquebuz shot and the Soldiers took him and carried him back to the Fort so that the skirmish remained without a head The English were soon aware of it and gave them a very brisk charge driving them on fighting up to the very Canon Seeing then our men so ill handled I start up out of my Ambuscado sooner then I should have done running on full drive directly up to them commanding the Soldiers not to shoot till they came within the distance of their arrows They were two or three hundred men having some Italian Harquebuzeers amongst them which made me heartily repent that I had made my Ambuscado no stronger but it was now past remedy and so soon as they saw me coming towards them they left the pursuit of the others and came to charge upon me We marcht straight up to them and so soon as they were come up within arrow shot our Harquebuzeers gave their volley all at once and then clapt their hands to their swords as I had commanded and we ran on to come to blows but so soon as we came within two or three pikes length they turn'd their backs with as great facility as any Nation that ever I saw and we pursued them as far as the River close by the Town and there were four or five of our Soldiers who followed them to the other side I then made a halt at the ruins of the little houses where I rally'd my people together again some of whom were left by the way behind who were not able to run so fast as the rest Monsieur de Tais had seen all and was sally'd out of the Fort to relieve the Artillery to whom so soon as I came up to him I said Look you did I not tell you how it would be We must either conclude that the English of former times were more valiant then those of this present age or that we are better men than our forefathers I know not which of the two it is In good earnest said Monsieur de Tais these people retreat in very great hast I shall never again have so good an opinion of the English as I have had heretofore No Sir said I you must know that the English who antiently us'd to ●eat the French were half Gascons for they married into Gascony and so bred good Soldiers but now that race is worn out and they are no more the same men they were From that time forwards our people had no more the same opinion nor the same fear of the English that before Therefore Captains as much as you can keep your Soldiers from apprehending an Enemy for if they once conceive an extraordinary opinion of their valour they ever go on to fight in fear of being defeated You are neither to despise your Enemy neither should your Soldiers think them to be more valiant than themselves Ever after this charge I observ'd our men alwayes to go on more chearfully to ●●●aque the English and came still up closer to them and let any one remember when the Mareschal de Biez fought them betwixt the Fort of Andelot and the Town whether our people needed to be intreated to fall on The said Sieur de Biez there perform'd the part of a very valiant Gentleman for when his Cavalry were all run off the Field he came alone to put himself in the head of our Battallion and alighted taking a Pike in his hand to go on to the fight from whence he came off with very great honor I my self was not there and therefore shall say nothing of it for two or three months after our return out of the County of Oye I had askt leave of Monsieur do Tais to go to Court but the Historians in the mean time are very unjust to conceal such brave actions and that was a very remarkable one in this old Cavalier Being at Court I prevail'd so far with the Admiral that he procur'd me a dismission from the King for as much as I had reassum'd the office of Camp-Master upon no other terms but only to command in the first Expedition that the Admiral should go upon and having remain'd a month at Court attending the King in the quality of one of his Gentlemen Waiters who was now grown old and melancholic and did not caress men as he had wont to do only once he talkt with me about the Battail of Serisoles being at Fountain-Bleau I took my leave of his Majesty and never saw him after I then return'd into Gascony from whence I never stirr'd till King Henry by the death of his Father was become King having all that while been opprest with troubles and sickness And that is the reason why I can give you no account of the surrender of Bullen which the King of England by the obstinacy of Francis the first was constrain'd to quit for some consideration in mony A little after he died and our King stay'd but a very little behind him We must all die but this Surrender of Bullen hapened in the reign of King Henry my good Master who succeeded his
Father Our new King having peace with the Emperor and after the redelivery of Bullen being also friends with the King of England it seem'd that our arms were likely long to rust by the walls and indeed if these two Princes sit still France may be at rest After having continued some time at home the King was pleas'd to call me away and to give me the command of Camp-master and the government of Montcallier under the Prince of Malphé his Lieutenant-General in Piedmont Monsieur de Bonnevet being our Colonel he remembers me very well and if those who have govern'd since had lov'd me as well as he I had had as much riches and honour as any Gentleman that has come out of Gascony these many years I there remain'd eighteen moneths without doing any thing all the while worthy to be remembred for I will write nothing but that wherein I had some command Having obtain'd leave to retire my self to my own house I return'd into Gascony where I heard a little while after that by reason of the age and infirmness of the Prince of Malphé the King was about to send thither Monsieur de Brissac in the quality of his Lieutenant General there which was the occasion that Captain Tilladet who had also been dismist and my self went together to Court where at our coming we found that the said Seigneur had taken his leave of the King in order to his Journey We then presented our selves before his Majesty who very graciously received us and to the Constable who was return'd to Court and in greater favour than ever in the time of King Francis which many did hardly believe he would have been but the Ladies had now lost their credit and others were entred in Immediately upon our comming his said Majesty who was all this time in a little Town betwixt Melun and Paris called Ville-neufve Saint George commanded us to go to Paris and repair to Monsieur Brissac The next day after our arrival the said Sieur de Brissac departed being very glad that we were come to him and so we went as far as Suze where we found the Prince of Malphé who had put himself upon his way to come to end his life in France as also within an hour after our arrival he died Which though I serv'd some time under his command is all I shall say of him having very little opportunity to know more of him than what I have taken upon trust and it is a great misfortune to a Captain so often to change his General for before you can come to be throughly acquainted with him you are old and new friendships and new acquaintance are troublesome Monsieur de Brissac presently hereupon dispatcht away Monsieur de Forquevaux to the King with an account of all whom his Majesty sent speedily back again with the Patent of Mareschal of France which he was pleased to conferr upon him We lay idle five or six moneths without any war but it is hard for two so great Princes and so near neighbours to continue long without coming to arms and indeed soon after an occasion presented it self the King having taken upon him the protection of Duke Octavia whom the Pope and the Emperor his Father in Law would deprive of his Dukedome In order whereunto Don Ferrand de Gonzaga had laid siege to Parma wherein was Monsieur de Termes and to Miranda where Monsieur de Sansac commanded who ●ere acquir'd very great reputation for having worthily acquitted and approved himself a singular good Captain as in truth he was which he has also manifested in all places where-ever he has been He was one of the best Horse-men that ever was in France but being I can give no account of these affairs but by report only nor of what passed at these two Sieges I shall let them alone The King having intelligence that the Emperors forces were wholly taken up in Parmesan sent to the Mareschal de Brissac that he should break the Peace and upon the rupture to attempt to surprize some Town or other upon the Frontier which he did For he took Quiers and St. Damian but the attempt upon Cairas did not succeed as did the other two Monsieur de Bassé went to execute that of St. Damian which he surpriz'd betwixt break of day and Sun rise and the Mareschal himself executed that of Quiers after the manner I am going to relate and I think Monsieur le President de Birague who was there present will in this Book find that I have not much missed it in the relation Monsieur d' Ausun was chosen to goe execute the design upon Cairas who took with him the Baron de Cypi and two or three other French Companies together with Monsieur de Gental and some Italians The Scalado was given with great fury but they were as well receiv'd There died one of the Brothers of Monsieur de Charry who was gone as far as Savillan and being in their way as they marcht in the night went along with them and mounted a ladder the first man from which he was beaten down He was ill enough followed as it was said In the mean time Monsieur de Bassé took some Companies with him with which by break of day he arrived within half a mile of St. Damian they were once upon the point to return seeing they should be discover'd before they could come to the place but in the end marcht on to try their fortune The custom of St. Damian was that the Soldiers constantly opened the Gates every morning at break of day to let all the people out to work and afterwards placed some Centinels upon the wall so that the Sieur de Bassé entered with his ladders into the Graff and had rear'd them to the wall before he was discover'd The Captains mounted first and before they were espy'd by any the one half of our people were got into the Town where there was only one foot Company which retired into the Castle where there was not provision for one day and in the morning yielded up themselves By which Captains you may see of how great importance it is to be careful never to leave a wall naked of Centinels or at least to have them upon some Tower or Gate especially about break of day for that is the time of greatest danger People are weary of watching their walls but your Enemy is not weary of watching his opportunity All these three enterprizes of Cairas St. Damian and Quiers should