AN ACCOUNT OF THE Imperial Proceedings Against the TURKS With an exact DIARY of the Siege of Newheusel And its Taking As also a Relation of all the noted Performances of the Imperialists in all Parts from the beginning of this Summers Campagne till the 27th of August As it was taken by Mr. Travestin an English Gentleman who was all the while Resident in the Army at Newheusel and now in the Imperial Army and by him sent by way of Letter to a Person of Honour of this Kingdom With an exact MAP of the Town and the Works of the Besiegers This may be Printed Sept. 15. 1685. R. L. S. LONDON Printed for Sam. Crouch at the Flower-de-luce in Cornhil and John Lawrence at the Angel in the Poultry over against the Compter 1685. Explanation of the Letters Figures A. The works begun and carried on by e Impertalists B. The works carried on by the Lunenburghers C. The works and entrenchments of the Bavarians D. Severall of the first raised Batterys E. The Bastion cheifly attackt by e Imperialists H. The bridge Curtain heaven the Bastion E and the Bastion 27. g. h.i.k l to w.w. are Severall trenches Batterys of the Christians X. A little plain on east side the Town where anetable battle was fought Z. The other Cheif attackt Bastion by the Lunenburghers 1.2.3 Severall Redoubts and Batterys 4. the left hand Northren Bastion near 〈◊〉 they let water out of the Ditch 5.6 Entrenchments and Batterys of the Bavarians 7. Severall Gallerys made over the ditch in order to place the Miners 10.18 the Canall that carried the water out of ditch 11. A Batterie of 16 peices of Cannon 17.18.19 the 3 Southern Bastions attackt by the Bavarians 13. The 2 bridges and gates 14. 3 Trees on which were heads of Christians 15. The River Hewtra 16. Severall gardens on the East side the town 20. Draw bridges NEWHEUSELL as it was beseiged by the IMPERIALISTS Iuly 7. 1685. And taken by assault Aug. 1685. AN ACCOUNT OF The Siege of Newheusel c. Honoured Sir I Have received your last wherein you were pleased to command me to give you an exact account of the Proceedings against the Turks and the Siege of Newheusel my ambition to serve your Honour had put me upon it before though the sence of my weakness for such a Performance made me proceed with a great deal of caution and fear especially it being to be presented to your Honour who has so admirable an insight into all Warlike Affairs but your Commands gave new life to my Proceedings not questioning but your Native Goodness would pardon those Faults your Commands were the occasion of I therefore humbly present these my rude Observations to you being an account of the Siege the manner of its taking with a Map of the place and the Besiegers Entrenchments as performed In my last June I acquainted you of the Imperial Armies Encampment between Newheusel and Barkan and of the Duke of Lorrain's arrival at the Camp on the 13th of June after which having called a Council of War they began to think of a method for their Proceedings and at first it was resolved to attack Novigrad to cut off by that means the Communication between Buda and Newheusel and afterwards formally to besiege Newheusel On the 17th Col. Heusler venturing as far as Pest with 1000 Horse met a Party of Turks of about 500 Horse who upon sight of him retired in great haste and disorder The Duke of Lorrain could not yet proceed to action for want of the Artillery and the great Carriage of Provisions which he expected every day In the mean time the command of the Army was thus ordered the Duke of Lorrain being General and having absolute power to proceed in the War as he pleased Prince Waldeck was made Commander of the Foot as Mareschal de Camp General and had under him the Duke de Croy who was constituted General of the Artillery the Prince of Newbourg Great Master of the Teutonick Order the Count de Souches and the Count de Scherffenberg to be in quality of Major-Generals The Count de Caprara to command the Horse as Mareschal de Camp General and under him Prince Louis of Baden one General of the Horse and the Count de Dunewaldt as another the Count de Palfi to be Lieutenant-General Count Taff the Baron de Mercy the Count de Lodron and the Count de Stiram Major-Generals The Prince de Salms to command the Cavalry in Croatia and the Marquess de Lavergne the Infantry under General Leslie The Emperours Forces that are in Vpper Hungary to act against the Rebels are commanded by General Schultz We had an account at the Camp that a Party of Hussars being abroad towards Buda had met 200 Janizaries whom they defeated killing the greatest part of them upon the place and taking the rest with the Aga that commanded them Prisoners That this Officer had Letters from the Visier of Buda to the Bassa of Newheusel wherein he exhorted the said Bassa in case he be attacked to defend the place to the last and assured him of Relief We had also an account that General Schultz had made himself Master of the Fortress of Casnahauka and that most of the Hungarians of that Garrison were now in the Emperours service Whilst these things were doing abroad the Duke of Lorrain every day advising with his Council of War at last changed his former resolution of attacking Novigrad thinking it to be of little advantage towards the Siege of Newheusel and that it would take up vast time being so far off Besides not hearing any certainty of the Turks being abroad in any considerable Body and finding his own Forces able to repulse a greater Army than the Turks could probably bring into the Field and continue the Siege at the same time he resolved immediately to attack Newheusel However on June the 28th the Duke of Lorrain took with him 3000 Horse and went to observe the scituation of Novigrad out of which a small Party without his Highness's order advancing too near the place they were attacked by some Janizaries who were ambuscaded in an Inclosure and several of them wounded among which were two French Voluntiers Immediately upon his return in pursuance of his foresaid Resolution he commanded the Forces that formed the Blockade to begin the Lines of Circumvallation June the 30th there was taken several Persons that came out of Newheusel and amongst the rest an Officer who in the disgnise of a Peasant was going to Buda with Letters from the Bassa of Newheusel who therein tells the Visier of Buda what distress the Garrison was in that they had eaten the Flesh of Horses Dogs c. since the beginning of the month and that they could not defend the place without a speedy Relief This day also an Officer who came from Buda with 100 men endeavoured to put himself into Newheusel but he and most with him were taken On the first of
July two Christians who got out of the Town July 1. were brought to the Duke of Lorrain who assured him that the Garrison consisted not of above 1500 men at most and that they were in want of all manner of Provisions July the 4th our Army began a slow march towards Newheusel which it had done sooner but that the Ordnance was wanting However the Lines of Circumvallation and Contravallation went on apace July the 5th the Duke of Lorrain sent Order to the several Troops to march up to us from Barkan Lewentz and Newtra July the 6th we encamped all together on the fide of a little River called Sohit that falls into the Danube near Comorra which we passed on the 7th and the same day came before Newheusel The true ancient name of this place is Oywar though the Germans call it Newheusel it is a large Fort and seituated upon a firm foundation though the Plain about it is full of Moras and Fenny Grounds which makes the Town almost inaccessible as its strength is invincible having six Bastions lined with very good Stone work without which there is a vast Ditch of about ten foot deep and twenty broad The River Newtra is on the East side not above a Pistol-shot from it On the South it has the Danube at about two furlongs distance and on the West it has the River Schit This City after a long Siege was surrendred to the Turks upon fair Terms Anno 1663 and has continued in their hands ever since In May 1683. the Duke of Lorrain being General of the Imperial Forces resolved upon the Siege of this place at that time with the approbation of the other Generals and particular assistance of Count Staremberg then Master-General of the Ordnance who thereupon venturing very far to view the scituation of the Town was in great danger of a Shot from the Turks who played very warmly upon the Imperialists However the Attack was carried on by him with so much Vigour and Success that the Imperialists made themselves Masters of part of the Subburbs and of a Building that had formerly been made use of for a Church into which Count Staremberg having ordered fifty men with a Lieutenant and Count of Herberstein Major of the Regiment of Scherffenberg bringing with him by mistake 150 filled the Church so full that they could not turn themselves in it much less use their Arms so that they were forced to break down the Benches and Seats to make room for themselves which occasioning a great Noise and Confusion it happened that some of the Imperialists that came to strengthen the Party hearing Noise and Disorder in the Church and believing the Enemy to be there made several Discharges upon their own men by one of which Captain Silberberg was killed as were several others by the Shot of the Turks In which Action Captain Craus of the Regiment of Staremberg who served as Adjutant to the General and Count Taxis were also killed and Count Kobb Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Beck wounded whereof he soon after died at Presburg The Grand Visier's coming with so numerous an Army with which he soon after besieged Vienna was the occasion of the raising of the Siege at that time But now we resolved to pursue it closer and to that end to have three Attacks one by the Imperial Troops under the Duke of Lorrain another by the Bavarian Troops commanded under the Duke of Lorrain by the Count de Serini and the third by the Troops of Lunenburg commanded by Monsieur Chauvet This day we took several Prisoners who assured us that the Garrison consisted yet of Eighteen hundred or Two thousand resolute men and that they had a great many Cannon in the place This Evening the Duke of Lorrain accompanied with divers Prince and General Officers went very near the place to observe it which the Besiege observing fired very fiercely upon them with their Cannon but to very little purpose onely a Servant of the Princes de Conti was killed who being a little distant from the rest of the Company had his head taken off by a Cannon-Bullet This night we took another Deferter who told us that the Besieged had broke one of their greatest Pieces of Ordnance which had killed John de Souches who was formerly a Christian and now their chief Cannonier with five more He told us further That they wanted Provisions and that the Bassa kept his Souldiers in heart by assuring them that the Serasquier is marching with a hundred thousand men to relieve them July the 8th the Troops of the Princes of Lunenburg commanded by Monsieur Chauvet came up to us with their Artillery these were in all about Twelve thousand men and by the Duke of Lorrain's order were encamped on a Line on the left hand the Imperialists being on the North part of the Town towards the River Newtra at B the Imperial Army designing to proceed with their Attack at A July the 9th the Bavarian Troops arrived here commanded by the Count de Serini these were in all about Ten thousand men and were by the Dukes order placed on the right side the Imperialists towards C and now having so brave an Army round the Town we could not question but we should be Masters of it in a short time our Lines of Circumvallation and Contravallation being finished we were beginning to raise several Batteries as at D and this Evening arrived in our Camp part of our Artillery from Comorra This day the besieged made a Sally of Two hundred men with a designe to hinder our Works but finding Five hundred of the Bavarians ready to receive them were forced immediately to retire and the Bavarians pursuing very desperately took three of their men without any loss on our side one of these in hopes of better usage told us that the Garrison contained yet Eighteen hundred men that there had been great want of Provisions but that the Bassa had now opened the great Magazine which he had reserved for the Siege July the 10th about eight a clock in the morning the Besieged made another Sally with Three hundred Foot and Two hundred Horse thinking to spoil the Batteries we were raising at D or to draw our men under the fire of their Ramparts upon which the Princes de Roch-sur-Yon and de Conti accompanied with several Volunteers went presently to charge them but the Count de Serini with the General Officers caused them to retire perceiving the danger by which many might have been lost The Prince de Roche-sur-Yon was in great danger a Cannon-bullet having taken off one of his Horses legs but he was presently remounted The Prince de Wirtemberg Colonel of the King of Denmark's Guards du Corps received a dangerous Wound by a Musket-bullet in the head the Prince de Commercy was wounded in the thigh and four other brave Volunteers were hurt However the Salliers were obliged without any more effect to retire the Baron de Rosencrans
made them appear there to excite our compassion and make us forbear firing This day the Prince of Conty coming out of the Trenches was lightly wounded in the head This night we attempted to fix our Miners and to that end made a Trench to the Ditch for two covered Boats to enter into it in which some persons were to pass with Planks and Rafters to the foot of the Bastion to make a Lodgment there for the Miners but one of these Boats sunk presently and the other had little better success the Lieutenant of the Miners being wounded we were fain to desist from that designe This night our Bombs and Carcasses had such success that the whole Town appeared for twenty four hours in a flame July the 24th the besieged made a Sally with five hundred men at the Eastern Gate and surprized a Redoubt at 6 where the Sieur Peickhard Lieutenant-Colonel was chief Commander of about three hundred Suabian Troops who were all cut to pieces with the Colonel and Daniel Rumlingen and Cornelius Fockius Captains We now finding the forementioned way of passing the Ditch by Boats to fix our Miners to be useless and of no effect began to think of Galleries the first of which we began at 7 they were contrived with some covering of boards for a defence against the Enemies small Shot but these proved to be very desperate and dangerous Attempts and the besieged were so fierce upon us that by this means we lost a great many men July the 25th we finished two new Batteries on the edge of the Ditch and with these dismounted all the Cannon on this side the Town that was before left We also now began to fill the Ditch with Faggots and Sacks of Wool but not without loss for the Sieur Rose a Colonel in the Bavarian Troops was killed and above a hundred more killed and wounded This day also a barrel of Powder took fire near 8 by which there was thirty men killed and wounded This day Colonel Heusler and Colonel Zabor who were sent out to observe the Enemy came back they had met with a sinall Party of Turks near Gran and had killed about thirty and taken several Prisoners They gave the Duke of Lorrain an account that the Ottoman Army commanded by the Serasquier Bassa was marching towards Gran that his Army consisted of about fifty or sixty thousand men that his resolution was if possible to relieve Newheusel and that some Prisoners they had taken informed them also that there were twelve thousand Tartars at Novigrad ready to joyn the Turks July the 26th Prince Waldeck arrived in the Camp and this day and night he and the Duke of Lorrain were almost perpetually in the Trenches giving necessary Orders and encouraging their men who were now a little dejected and proceeded with a great deal of caution having so many lately killed The chief Work was making the Gallery and filling the Ditch in which work we had this day the Count de Buckheim Lieutenant Colonel of the Regiment of Souches killed with about fifty more and near a hundred wounded July the 27th the besieged made a Sally with about three hundred men these rushing suddenly on our Workmen at 9 forced them from the Works and then had an opportunity of doing us great mischief by ruining our Works that let the water out of the Ditch but Colonel Schenick being at the next Redoubt made towards them with about six hundred upon which they soon retired into the Town though they had before killed and wounded near a hundred of our men the Works they had ruined were repaired in some few hours And they then set upon making a new Redoubt for security from any more such Sallies We fired our Cannon and cast Carcasses and Bombs all this day without intermission hoping by this means to keep the besieged from obstructing our Workmen about the Galleries these had no greater effect than that we could perpetually observe the Town on fire in one place or other but the besieged from under the Walls so pelted us with Stones and Hand-Granado's that they killed a hundred of our men and wounded many more July the 28th the besieged made another Sally and with great vigour made up to our Gallery so that they beat most of our men from it killed two Captains and sixty common Souldiers and set the Gallery on fire besides wounded near a hundred more besides this was not all the injury they did us for they fought with such desperation and courage towards what they had done before that we were perswaded they questioned not having relief very shortly and all their aim was onely to keep us out of the Town till then and for this reason whilst we battered them remotely they valued us not and so made little defence but perceiving us come so near them it was time to look to themselves they got to two of our Batteries beat our men away and disinounted several of the Cannon till the Duke of Lorrain and Prince Waldeck came up with a strong Body and forced them to retire This day the Duke of Lorrain receiving advice that the Serasquier Bassa made immediately towards Gran sent five hundred Foot under the command of Major Rummel to re-enforce that Garrison July the 29th we repaired the Batteries and the Galleries which the besieged had fired the day before and worked so briskly with our Cannon that we almost ruined the Flanks of the attackt Bastions We made a pretty good Lodgment in the Ditch and were ready to fix our Miners but the besieged with their small Shot Hand-Granado's and other artificial Fire killed and wounded vast numbers of our men This day the Elector of Bavaria arrived in the Camp and was received with the discharge of all the Cannon and Mortars against the place The Duke of Lorrain sent an Express to the Auxiliary Troops of Cologne and Franconia with Orders to hasten their March to Comorra and halt there staying for the Imperial Army which should pass the Danube there in case they went to fight the Ottoman Army This night the besieged made a Sally by a covered way which had a Communication into the Ditch near 9 and filled up part of the Canal that let the water out of the Ditch They likewise filled up some other of our Works and burnt some Galleries that we had begun to make that way at 10 being the Attack of the Troops of Brunswick and assaulted our men that defended the Work with such courage that they almost got to our Powder and Ammunition they killed us above a hundred men and wounded near two hundred July the 30th the besieged made another Sally and set fire to the Gallery which had almost quite ruined it the fire ran so swift that it got to one of our Batteries whereupon those about it retired in some disorder till the Duke of Lorrain coming there with his Sword killed one or two that were running away and set the Officers back to