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A15466
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A briefe discourse of vvarre. VVritten by Sir Roger VVilliams Knight; vvith his opinion concerning some parts of the martiall discipline. Newly perused
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Williams, Roger, Sir, 1540?-1595.
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1590
(1590)
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STC 25733; ESTC S120635
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36,291
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65
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A Briefe discourse of Warre Written by Sir Roger Williams Knight VVith his opinion concerning some parts of the Martiall Discipline Newly perused Imprinted at London by Thomas Orwin dwelling in Paternoster Row ouer against the Signe of the Checker 1590. TO THE MOST HOnorable my singular and best Lord Robert Earle of Essex and Ewe Vicount Hereford and Bourghchier Lord Ferrers of Chartley Bourghchier and Louayne Master of the Queenes Maiesties horse and Knight of the most noble Order of the Garter Roger Williams wisheth increase of all Honor and Vertue MOst honorable Lord hauing busied my self more than two yeares in writing sundrie actions that passed in our daies especiallie the great actions of the Netherlanders since the first arriuall of Duke D' alua vntill the late sieges of Sluce and Bergis hauing resolued to print and dedicate them vnto your Lordship diuers occasions perswades me to craue pardon for a time assuring your Lordship if health and libertie permits leaue to present them vnto your selfe in the French tongue hoping by those meanes to bee rightlier iudged than I haue been hethervnto In troth but for the negligence of a seruant that lost part of my discourses I would not haue printed any thing without the whole wherefore I haue taken boldnes to present your Lordship with some of my lost papers humblie desiring you to accept them as from a Souldier that hath but smal skill in writing or inditing but could I doo better assuredlie it should bee vnto your selfe and shall bee in any thing I can performe Beare with my faults be assured of my loue and command my life next vnto my sacred Soueraigne deare Countrie Your Lordships most bounden to serue Roger Williams To all men of Warre in generall NOble Souldiers of what qualitie soeuer where I discourse of the vertues and vices that aduanceth and ouerthroweth all actions all that hath their honor to lose may claime part of the vertues neither needes any to bee grieued at the vices vnlesse they condemne themselues guiltie the greatest Captaines of Europe can witnesse that I robbed neither superiour nor companion of his right much lesse hath been euer my thoughts to wrong any generall action the which all or the most of you that knowe me will beare witnesse when my Netherlanders discourses with others comes out I thinke Gonsalua was called the last graund Captaine but I perswade my selfe neither he nor any other before him had euer carried that name without the seconding of a number of braue companions The most worthiest Caesar although hee was highly ambitious notwithstanding in his Commentaries written by himselfe hee imputed part of his honour vnto his Lieftenants and Officers Wherefore should not others doo at the least the like being not worthie to be compared vnto the basest sort of his followers no honorable minds can bee free from honorable ambition but the ambitiō may be such let the minde be neuer so great if hee robbs the honor of his companions he wrongs himselfe and imbates his action Few men of iudgement but knowes it impossible for one man to conduct an Armie without Officers vnpossible for any state to knowe the worth of their Captaines without being in action with great enemies but for that triall the Parisians Gauntois Antwerpians and such would onelie place squadrons in battailes chuse grounds march in what order you would arme men in good order fortifie and discourse with other matters to the shew as though they had been great masters of Campes but when they were tried with the furie of expert executioners their warres prooued but May-games Although I perswade myselfe my Discourse bee Vnpleasant with small iudgement notwithstanding being perswaded by honourable good friends I tooke courage to print it true it is no action ought to be printed without the consent of sundrie Actors or at the least by one Principall which ought to signe his workes with his name otherwise wee finde the most Actors wronged and robbed of the most of their reputation some with enuie or malice others with glorious ambition sometimes you haue most honorable quiet Estates wronged with ambitious follies libells the which are hardlie knowne and found out but being signed by the author deserues hee well the honour is his if ill the shame shall be his Men of Warre ought to bee more open hearted more liberall and more affable than any other profession although their secrets ought to bee but vnto fewe their hearts must be open vnto the multitude and liberall to confesse good deserts as well as with their purses although their resolutions be agreed on by two or three notwithstanding the more affable they shewe themselues vnto the multitude the greater will be their voges and loues Some tearme men wise for not speaking many words true it is idle speaches are windes and a disgrace vnto the speaker but bee they to good purpose the more hee speakes the greater is his praise You must thinke to repeate great actions it requires many words to perswade the fewe expert companions to offend or defend a fewe words will serue but to animate or disswade the rude multitude the more words and the oftner the better Wee doo finde the most Conquerours were greatlie aduanced with the orations of their Orators as well amongst the seruilest sort as the rude multitude without speaches the wise can not be discerned from the foolish nor without triall of gouernement against equall enemies the perfects Captaine cannot bee knowne from the most ignorant Otherwise ignorance will condemne Generalls their followers and actions let them bee euer so great although themselues neuer carried places of reputation either in field or towne nor commanded more than ouer their owne seruants saying wee haue knowne great Potentates Campes and Courts Let no man bee so simple to iudge them worthie to condemne great actions or their actors without being imployed in their great affaires it is hard for men to gouerne themselues well harder to gouerne a few more harder to gouerne many much more a great multitude some can gouerne a houshold and cannot gouerne a towne some can gouerne a towne and not a whole countrie A man may be sufficient to conduct a priuate companie and not sufficient to command a Regiment likewise sufficient for a Coronell and not for a Generall But whether it be for policie or Armes it is an error to thinke men without triall worthie to bee compared vnto the others tried in what place soeuer great or small Diuers play Alexander on the stages but fewe or none in the field Our pleasant Tarleton would counterfeite many artes but hee was no bodie out of his mirths Many haue a vertue few hath many none haue all the most men lookes into their fellowes faults but fewe lookes into their owne beare with mine I will beare with thine loue mee I will loue thee let vs loue each other and God will loue vs all on that condition noble superiours Roger Williams wisheth to you all honour
Princes or Estates then likelie they will confesse no traffique so deare as liues especiallie being in action with equall enemies It is hard to please the most masters vnpossible to content the rude multitude the least worme will mooue hauing anie life being troden vpon for my owne part I doo confesse to bee one of the least in respect of thousands not so base but euer I carried a mind rather to be buried dead than aliue I speake this for the wrongs done vnto my selfe and companions for the defence of the towne of Sluce true it is those that serues many serues no bodie I meane they shall find none that will confesse to be their masters especiallie when they should be rewarded for their seruice but the multitude will bee readie to disgrace their seruants thinking by such meanes to pay them their debts or at the least sufficient rewards to bee reconciled vnto them and pardoned for their misconstred thoughts Wherefore I would wish all men of warre and they can to bee in all strange Princes or estates debts rather than they in yours if your masters bee giuen to any machiuell humours the debts that should pay you will hire them diuers others are you in their debts you are sure not to bee wronged thinking your seruice to come paied for Although our masters the States bee for the most part honest and vertuous personages notwithstanding looke into their actions you shall finde a number of Captaines wronged besides our selues they are partlie to bee borne withall Sometimes great Captaines are so ambitions that they will deface their inferiours deedes therefore there can been no great fault in the States nor any such when we wrong one another otherwise time and fortune might make inferiours Competitors with the great ones Sometimes fortune frownes on the greatest Captaines in such sort that they can not or will not performe that the world lookes they should do then likelie had they rather burie their instruments and inferiours rather than bee touched themselues with the least disgrace Therefore you cannot blame the poore Souldier to desire the eye of his master when he hazardeth his life Subiects are vassalls vnto Princes and States and not vnto the most Generals although I neuer knewe any notwithstanding it is well knowne ambitious Generals wronged often their masters being in those humors they will bee sure to wrong their inferiours vnlesse they serue their turnes Touching our wrongs I impute it to no bodie but vnto our owne fortunes as the Spaniards said vnto Charles the 5. Adeunda salta la diecha non apreuiecha la diligencia Touching Sluce I do protest by the faith of a Souldier what I write is troth As nigh as I can remember we kept the Towne about 60. daies diuers thinkes it no time because Harlam Mastricht and others were kept longer little doo they thinke how those places were furnisht with all necessaries especiallie the lesser of both had in them at the least 6000. hands to fight and to worke Let vs be rightlie iudged I will prooue that Bouennene was the furioust siege that was in the Lowe Countries since Duke D'aluas arriuall vntill this houre the which began and ended in lesse than twentie daies notwithstanding there was more Captaines and Souldiers spoyled by sword and bullet at that siege than at Harlam which dured ten moneths Experimented Captaines will confesse the furie of all breaches are tried in fewe houres and the furie of artillerie preuented without sodaine attempts Wee were not in Sâ—uce 1600. fighting workmen and all wee had to keepe counting the two Forts aboue two miles and a halfe It is well knowne before we entred the Towne lost one Fort. If wee shewed anie valour in our entrie let Sir Henrie Palmer his Seamen with them of Zealand iudge the danger was not so little but of the vessels that carried vs in fiue were taken the next tide in comming out The third tide Sir Charles Blunt offered fiftie pounds besides the commandement his Masters and Mariners receiued at his imbarking to carrie vs our necessaries from Sir William Russell then Lord Gouernour of Vlishing who indeed was the occasion of our entrie resolution and quick dispatch who sent with vs a good quantitie of victuals and munition and to say troth without his earnest dispatches wee had not entred then the world knowes the Towne had been lost without blowes as a number of others were in those Countries farre better than Sluce The best sort doth knowe had I and my companions marchanted our liues as traffickers doth their ware wee had no neede to haue entred Sluce for our direction was but to Ostend we were battered with thirtie Cannons and eight Culuerings on S. Iacobs eeue from three of the clock in the morning vntill fiue in the afternoone they shot aboue foure thousand Cannon shot By the Dukes owne confession he neuer sawe so furious a batterie in one day wee were made saultable aboue 200. 50. paces betwixt fiue of the clock and seauen wee were aboue fiue times at the push of the pike for our breach where wee spoyled the enemies in great numbers who perceiuing our Trenches within Ouerthwart the breach quieted their furies afterwards we kept the Towne eighteene daies the enemie being lodged in our port rampier and breach aboue three hundred paces in the which time the Enemie passed through the port sixe paces to beate our Trenches within wee kept our Fort vntill wee were made saultable more than our Troupes could guard vnles wee would quite the Towne being mined wee countermined them in the which wee fought hourelie for the space of nine daies with Sword Target and Pistols at our breach port and rampiet of the Towne wee fought daylie with pikes short weapons and stones besides our shot for the said space of eighteene daies Touching our sallies let the Enemie testifie The Duke of Parma being entred asked me which was Buskeruilde standing before him I shewed him who imbraced him turning towards his Nobilitie he said there serues no Prince in Europe a brauer man Most true it is at one sallie he had the point with an hundred corslets of the best sort who charged and made to runne eight Spanish Ensignes of the Tertia Vecho and hurt their master del Campo True it is he was seconded with a number of others but himselfe principallie knowne by prisoners and his great plume of feathers Also Sir Francis Vere marked for his red Mandilion who stood alwaies in the head of the armed men at the assaults of the Fort and Towne beeing twise hurt I and other his friends requested him to retire he answered he had rather be kild ten times at a breach than once in a house Captaine Hart most valiantlie swamme in and out to shewe our Generall and States our wants and daungers the world doth know what picks there was betwixt them at that instant such that none can denie but a full resolution was taken not to enter in by