The commons, taking it for granted that the queen was disobliged at these proceedings of the upper house—which indeed implied an insult upon her ministry, if not upon herself—presented an address, declaring themselves surprised to find that when persons suspected of treasonable practices were taken into custody by her majesty’s messengers in order to be examined, the lords, in violation to the known laws of the land, had wrested them out of her hands, and arrogated the examination solely to themselves; so that a due inquiry into the evil practices and designs against her majesty’s person and government, might in a great measure be obstructed. They earnestly desired that she would suffer no diminution of the prerogative; and they assured her they would, to the utmost of their power, support her in the exercise of it at home, as well as in asserting it against all invasions whatsoever. The queen thanked them for their concern and assurances; and was not ill pleased at the nature of the address, though the charge against the peers was not strictly true; for there were many instances of their having assumed such a right of inquiry. The upper house deeply resented the accusation. They declared, that by the known laws and customs of parliament, they had an undoubted right to take examinations of persons charged with criminal matters, whether those persons were or were not in custody. They resolved, That the address of the commons was unparliamentary, groundless, without precedent, highly injurious to the house of peers, tending to interrupt the good correspondence between the two houses, to create an ill opinion in her majesty of the house of peers, of dangerous consequence to the liberties of the people, the constitution of the kingdom, and privileges of parliament. They presented a long remonstrance to the queen, justifying their own conduct, explaining the steps they had taken, recriminating upon the commons, and expressing the most fervent zeal, duty, and affection to her majesty. In her answer to this representation, which was drawn up with elegance, propriety, and precision, she professed her sorrow for the misunderstanding which had happened between the two houses of parliament, and thanked them for the concern they had expressed for the rights of the crown and the prerogative; which she should never exert so willingly as for the good of her subjects, and the protection of their liberties.
Among other persons seized on the coast of Sussex on their landing from France, was one Boucher, who had been aidecamp to the duke of Berwick. This man, when examined, denied all knowledge of any conspiracy: he said, that being weary of living so long abroad, and having made some unsuccessful attempts to obtain a pass, he had chosen rather to cast himself on the queen’s mercy than to remain longer in exile from his native country. He was tried and condemned for high treason, yet continued to declare himself ignorant of the plot. He proved that in the war of Ireland, as well as in Flanders, he had treated the English prisoners with great humanity. The lords desisted from the prosecution; he obtained a reprieve, and died in Newgate. On the twenty-ninth day of January, the earl of Nottingham told the house that the queen had commanded him to lay before them the papers containing all the particulars hitherto discovered of the conspiracy in Scotland; but that there was one circumstance which could not yet be properly communicated without running the risk of preventing a discovery of greater importance. They forthwith drew up and presented an address, desiring that all the papers might be immediately submitted to their inspection. The queen said she did not expect to be pressed in this manner immediately after the declaration she had made; but in a few days the earl of Nottingham delivered the papers, sealed, to the house, and all the lords were summoned to attend on the eighth day of February, that they might be opened and perused. Nottingham was suspected of a design to stifle the conspiracy. Complaint was made in the house of commons that he had discharged an officer belonging to the late king James, who had been seized by the governor of Berwick. A warm debate ensued, and at length ended in a resolve, That the earl of Nottingham, one of her majesty’s principal secretaries of state, for his great ability and diligence in the execution of his office, for his unquestionable fidelity to the queen and her government, and for his steady adherence to the church of England as by law established, highly merited the trust her majesty had reposed in him. They ordered the speaker to present this resolution to the queen, who said, she was glad to find them so well satisfied with the earl of Nottingham, who was trusted by her in so considerable an office. They perused the examinations of the witnesses which were laid before them, without passing judgment or offering advice on the subject; but they thanked her majesty for having communicated those particulars, as well as for her wisdom and care of the nation. When the lords proceeded with uncommon eagerness in their inquiry, the lower house, in another address, renewed their complaints against the conduct of the peers, which they still affirmed was without a precedent. But this was the language of irritated faction, by which indeed both sides were equally actuated. The select committee of the lords prosecuted the inquiry, and founded their report chiefly on the confession of sir John Maclean, who owned that the court of St. Germain’s had listened to Lovat’s proposal; that several councils had been held at the pretender’s court on the subject of an invasion; and that persons were sent over to sound some of the nobility in Scotland. But the nature of their private correspondence and negotiation could not be discovered. Keith had tampered with his uncle to disclose the whole secret; and this was the circumstance which the queen declined imparting to the lords until she should know the success of his endeavours, which proved ineffectual. The uncle stood aloof; and the ministry did not heartily engage in the inquiry. The house of lords having finished these examinations, and being warmed with violent debates, voted that there had been dangerous plots between some persons in Scotland and the courts of France and St. Germain’s; and that the encouragement for this plotting arose from the not settling the succession to the crown of Scotland in the house of Hanover. These votes were signified to the queen in an address; and they promised, that when the succession should be thus settled, they would endeavour to promote the union of the two kingdoms upon just and reasonable terms. Then they composed another representation in answer to the second address of the commons touching their proceedings. They charged the lower house with want of zeal in the whole progress of this inquiry. They produced a great number of precedents to prove that their conduct had been regular and parliamentary; and they, in their turn, accused the commons of partiality and injustice in vacating legal elections. The queen, in answer to this remonstrance, said, she looked upon any misunderstanding between the two houses as a very great misfortune to the kingdom; and that she should never omit anything in her power to prevent all occasions of them for the future.
The lords and commons, animated by such opposite principles, seized every opportunity of thwarting each other. An action having been brought by one Matthew Ashby against William White and the other constables of Aylesbury, for having denied him the privilege of voting in the last election, the cause was tried at the assizes, and the constables were cast with damages. But an order was given in the queen’s bench to quash all the proceedings, since no action had ever been brought on that account. The cause being moved by writ of error into the house of lords, was argued with great warmth; at length it was carried by a great majority, that the order of the queen’s bench should be set aside, and judgment pronounced according to the verdict given at the assizes. The commons considered these proceedings as encroaching on their privileges. They passed five different resolutions, importing, That the commons of England, in parliament assembled, had the sole right to examine and determine all matters relating to the right of election of their own members; that the practice of determining the qualifications of electors in any court of law would expose all mayors, bailiffs, and returning officers, to a multiplicity of vexatious suits and insupportable expenses, and subject them to different and independent jurisdictions, as well as to inconsistent determinations in the same case, without relief; that Matthew Ashby was guilty of a breach of privilege, as were all attorneys, solicitors, counsellors, and sergeants-at-law, soliciting, prosecuting, or pleading, in any case of the same nature. These resolutions, signed by the clerk, were fixed upon the gate of Westminster-hall. On the other hand, the lords appointed a committee to draw up a state of the case; and, upon their report, resolved, That every person being wilfully hindered to exercise his right of voting, might maintain an action in the queen’s courts against the officer by whom his vote should be refused, to assert his right, and recover damage for the injury; that an assertion to the contrary was destructive of the property of the subjects, against the freedom of elections, and manifestly tended to the encouragement of partiality and corruption; that the declaring of Matthew Ashby guilty of a breach of privilege of the house of commons, was an unprecedented attempt upon the judicature of parliament, and an attempt to subject the law of England to the votes of the house of commons. Copies of the case, and these resolutions, were sent by the lord-keeper to all the sheriffs of England, to be circulated through all the boroughs of their respective counties.
On the seventh day of February, the queen ordered secretary Hedges to tell the house of commons that she had remitted the arrears of the tenths to the poor clergy; that she would grant her whole revenue arising out of the first fruits and tenths, as far as it should become free from incumbrance, as an augmentation of their maintenance; that if the house of commons could find any method by which her intentions to the poor clergy might be made more effectual, it would be an advantage to the public, and acceptable to her majesty. The commons immediately brought in a bill enabling her to alienate this branch of the revenue, and create a corporation by charter, to direct the application of it to the uses proposed; they likewise repealed the statute of mortmain, so far as to allow all men to bequeath by will, or grant by deed, any sum they should think fit to give towards the augmentation of benefices. Addresses of thanks and acknowledgment from all the clergy of England were presented to the queen for her gracious bounty; but very little regard was paid to Burnet, bishop of Sarum, although the queen declared that prelate author of the project. He was generally hated, either as a Scot, a low-churchman, or a meddling partisan.
In March, an inquiry into the condition of the navy was begun in the house of lords. They desired the queen in an address to give speedy and effectual orders that a number of ships, sufficient for the home service, should be equipped and manned with all possible expedition. They resolved, that admiral Graydon’s not attacking the four French ships in the channel, had been a prejudice to the queen’s service, and a disgrace to the nation; that his pressing men in Jamaica, and his severity towards masters of merchant vessels and transports, had been a great discouragement to the inhabitants of that island, as well as prejudicial to her majesty’s service; and they presented an address against him, in consequence of which he was dismissed. They examined the accounts of the earl of Oxford, against which great clamour had been raised; and taking cognizance of the remarks made by the commissioners of the public accounts, found them false in fact, ill-grounded, and of no importance. The commons besought the queen to order a prosecution on account of ill practices in the earl of Ranelagh’s office; and they sent up to the lords a bill for continuing the commission on the public accounts. Some alterations were made in the upper house, especially in the nomination of commissioners; but these were rejected by the commons. The peers adhering to their amendments, the bill dropped, and the commission expired. No other bill of any consequence passed in this session, except an act for raising recruits, which empowered justices of the peace to impress idle persons for soldiers and marines. On the third day of April the queen went to the house of peers, and having made a short speech on the usual topics of acknowledgment, unity, and moderation, prorogued the parliament to the fourth day of July. The division still continued between the two houses of convocation; so that nothing of moment was transacted in that assembly, except their address to the queen upon her granting the first fruits and tenths for the augmentation of small benefices. At the same time, the lower house sent their prolocutor with a deputation to wait upon the speaker of the house of commons, to return their thanks to that honourable house for having espoused the interest of the clergy; and to assure them that the convocation would pursue such methods as might best conduce to the support, honour, interest, and security of the church as now by law established. They sent up to the archbishop and prelates divers representations, containing complaints, and proposing canons and articles of reformation; but very little regard was paid to their remonstrances.
About this period the earl of Nottingham, after having ineffectually pressed the queen to discard the dukes of Somerset and Devonshire, resigned the seals. The carl of Jersey and sir Edward Seymour were dismissed; the earl of Kent was appointed chamberlain, Harley secretary of state, and Henry St. John secretary of war. The discovery of the Scottish conspiracy was no sooner known in France, than Louis ordered Fraser to be imprisoned in the Bastile. In England, Lindsay being sentenced to die for having corresponded with France, was given to understand that he had no mercy to expect, unless he would discover the conspiracy, He persisted in denying all knowledge of any such conspiracy; and scorned to save his life by giving false information. In order to intimidate him into a confession, the ministry ordered him to be conveyed to Tyburn, where he still rejected life upon the terms proposed; then he was carried back to Newgate, where he remained some years; at length he was banished, and died of hunger in Holland. The ministers had been so lukewarm and languid in the investigation of the Scottish conspiracy, that the whigs loudly exclaimed against them as disguised Jacobites, and even whispered insinuations, implying, that the queen herself had a secret bias of sisterly affection for the court of St. Germain’s. What seemed to confirm this allegation was the disgrace of the duke of Queensberry, who had exerted himself with remarkable zeal in the detection; but the decline of his interest in Scotland was the real cause of his being laid aside at this juncture.
1704
The design of the court was to procure in the Scottish parliament the nomination of a successor to the crown, and a supply for the forces, which could not be obtained in the preceding session. Secretary Johnston, in concert with the marquis of Tweedale, undertook to carry these points in return for certain limitations on the successor, to which her majesty agreed. The marquis was appointed commissioner. The office of lord-register was bestowed upon Johnston; and the parliament met on the sixth day of July. The queen, in her letter, expressed her concern that these divisions should have risen to such a height, as to encourage the enemies of the nation to employ their emissaries for debauching her good subjects from their allegiance. She declared her resolution to grant whatever could in reason be demanded for quieting the minds of the people. She told them she had empowered the marquis of Tweedale to give unquestionable proofs of her determination to maintain the government in church and state, as by law established in that kingdom; to consent to such laws as should be found wanting for the further security of both, and for preventing all encroachments for the future. She earnestly exhorted them to settle the succession in the protestant line, as a step absolutely necessary for their own peace and happiness, the quiet and security of all her dominions, the reputation of her affairs abroad, and the improvement of the protestant interest through all Europe. She declared that she had authorized the commissioners to give the royal assent to whatever could be reasonably demanded, and was in her power to grant, for securing the sovereignty and liberties of that her ancient kingdom. The remaining part of the letter turned upon the necessity of their granting a supply, the discouragement of vice, the encouragement of commerce, and the usual recommendation of moderation and unanimity.
The duke of Hamilton presented a resolve, that the parliament would not name a successor to the crown, until the Scots should have concluded a previous treaty with England in relation to commerce and other concerns. This motion produced a warm debate, in the course of which Fletcher of Saltoun expatiated upon the hardships and miseries which the Scots had sustained since the union of the two crowns under one sovereign, and the impossibility of bettering their condition, unless they should take care to anticipate any design that tended to a continuation of the same calamities. Another resolve was produced by the earl of Rothes, importing, that the parliament should proceed to make such limitations and conditions of the government as might be judged proper for rectifying the constitution—for vindicating and securing the sovereignty and independency of the nation; and that then parliament would take into consideration the other resolve offered by the duke of Hamilton, for a treaty previous to the nomination of a successor. This proposal was seconded by the court party, and violent heats ensued. At length sir James Falconer of Phesdo offered an expedient, which neither party could refuse with any show of moderation. He suggested a resolve, that the parliament would not proceed to the nomination of a successor until the previous treaty with England should be discussed; and that it would make the necessary limitations and conditions of government before the successor should be nominated. This joint resolve being put to the vote, was carried by a great majority. The treaty with England was neglected, and the affair of the succession consequently postponed. The duke of Athol moved, that her majesty should be desired to send down the witnesses and all the papers relating to the conspiracy, that, after due examination, those who were unjustly accused might be vindicated, and the guilty punished according to their demerits. The commissioner declared, that he had already written, and would write again to the queen on that subject. The intention of the cavaliers was to convict the duke of Queensberry of malice and calumny in the prosecution of that affair, that they might wreak their vengeance upon him for that instance of his animosity, as well as for his having deserted them in the former session. He found means however to persuade the queen, that such an inquiry would not only protract the session, but also divert them from the settlement of the succession, and raise such a ferment as might be productive of tragical consequences. Alarmed at these suggestions, she resolved to prevent the examination, and gave no answer to the repeated applications made by her parliament and ministers. Meanwhile the duke of Queensberry appeased his enemies in Scotland, by directing all his friends to join in the opposition.
The duke of Hamilton again moved, that the parliament should proceed to the limitations, and name commissioners to treat with England previous to all other business, except an act for a land tax of two months necessary for the immediate subsistence of the forces. The earl of Marchmont proposed an act to exclude all popish successors; but this was warmly opposed, as unseasonable, by Hamilton and his party, A bill of supply being offered by the lord justice Clerk, the cavaliers tacked to it great part of the act of security, to which the royal assent had been refused in the former session. Violent debates arose; so that the house was filled with rage and tumult. The national spirit of independence had been wrought up to a dangerous pitch of enthusiasm. The streets were crowded with people of all ranks, exclaiming against English influence, and threatening to sacrifice as traitors to their country all who should embrace measures that seemed to favour a foreign interest. The commissioner and his friends were confounded and appalled. Finding it impossible to stem the torrent, he, with the concurrence of the other ministers, wrote a letter to the queen, representing the uncomfortable situation of affairs, and advising her majesty to pass the bill encumbered as it was with the act of security. Lord Godolphin, on whose council she chiefly relied, found himself involved in great perplexity. The tories had devoted him to destruction. He foresaw that the queen’s concession to the Scots in an affair of such consequence, would furnish his enemies with a plausible pretence to arraign the conduct of her minister; but he chose to run that risk rather than see the army disbanded for want of a supply, and the kingdom left exposed to an invasion. He therefore seconded the advice of the Scottish ministers; and the queen authorized the commissioner to pass the bill that was depending. The act provided, that in case of the queen’s dying without issue a parliament should immediately meet and declare the successor to the crown, different from the person possessing the throne of England, unless before that period a settlement should be made in parliament of the rights and liberties of the nation, independent of English councils; by another clause they were empowered to arm and train the subjects, so as to put them in a posture of defence. The Scottish parliament having, by a laudable exertion of spirit, obtained this act of security, granted the supply without further hesitation; but not yet satisfied with this sacrifice, they engaged in debates about the conspiracy, and the proceedings of the house of lords in England, which they termed an officious intermeddling in their concerns, and an encroachment upon the sovereignty and independency of the nation, They drew up an address to the queen, desiring that the evidence and papers relating to the plot might be subjected to their examination in the next session. Meanwhile, the commissioner, dreading the further progress of such an ungovernable ferocity, prorogued the parliament to the seventh day of October. The act of security being transmitted to England, copies of it were circulated by the enemies of Godolphin, who represented it as a measure of that minister; and the kingdom was filled with murmurs and discontent. People openly declared, that the two kingdoms were now separated by law so as never to be rejoined. Reports were spread that great quantities of arms had been conveyed to Scotland, and that the natives were employed in preparations to invade England. All the blame of these transactions was imputed to lord Godolphin, whom the tories determined to attack, while the other party resolved to exert their whole influence for his preservation; yet, in all probability, he owed his immediate support to the success of his friend the duke of Marlborough.
Nothing could be more deplorable than the situation to which the emperor was reduced in the beginning of the season. The malcontents in Hungary had rendered themselves formidable by their success; the elector of Bavaria possessed all the places on the Danube as far as Passau, and even threatened the city of Vienna, which must have been infallibly lost, had the Hungarians and Bavarians acted in concert. By the advice of prince Eugene, the emperor implored the assistance of her Britannic majesty; and the duke of Marlborough explained to her the necessity of undertaking his relief. This nobleman in the month of January had crossed the sea to Holland, and concerted a scheme with the deputies of the states-general for the operations of the ensuing campaign. They agreed that general Averquerque should lie upon the defensive with a small body of troops in the Netherlands, while the main army of the allies should act upon the Rhine, under the command of the duke of Marlborough. Such was the pretext under which this consummate general concealed another plan, which was communicated to a few only in whose discretion he could confide. It was approved by the pensionary and some leading men, who secured its favourable reception with the states-general when it became necessary to impart the secret to that numerous assembly. In the meantime, the preparations were made on pretence of carrying the war to the banks of the Moselle.
In the month of April, the duke, accompanied by his brother general Churchill, lieutentant-general Lumley, the earl of Orkney, and other officers of distinction, embarked for Holland, where he had a long conference with a deputation of the states concerning a proposal of sending a large army towards the Moselle. The deputies of Zealand opposed this measure of sending their troops to stich a distance so strenuously, that the duke was obliged to tell them in plain terms he had received orders to march thither with the British forces. He accordingly assembled his army at Maestricht, and on the eight day of May began his march into Germany. The French imagined his intention was to begin the campaign with the siege of Traerbach, and penetrate into France along the Moselle. In this persuasion they sent a detachment to that river, and gave out that they intended to invest Huy, a pretence to which the duke paid no regard. He continued his route by Bedburgh, Kerpenord, Kalsecken; he visited the fortifications of Bonne, where he received certain advice that the recruits and reinforcements for the French army in Bavaria had joined the elector at Villigen. He redoubled his diligence, passed the Neckar on the third of June, and halted at Ladenburgh; from thence he wrote a letter to the states-general, giving them to understand that he had the queen’s orders to march to the relief of the empire, and expressing his hope that they would approve the design, and allow their troops to share the honour of the expedition By the return of a courier he received their approbation, and full power to command their forces He then proceeded to Mildenheim, where he was visited by prince Eugene; and these two great men, whose talents were congenial, immediately contracted an intimacy of friendship, Next day prince Louis of Baden arrived in the camp at Great Hippach, He told the duke, his grace was come to save the empire, and to give him an opportunity of vindicating his honour, which he knew was at the last stake in the opinion of some people. The duke replied he was come to learn of him how to serve the empire: that they must be ignorant indeed who did not know that the prince of Baden, when his health permitted him, had preserved the empire and extended its conquests.
Those three celebrated generals agreed that the two armies should join, that the command should be alternately vested in the duke and prince Louis from day to day, and that prince Eugene should command a separate army on the Rhine, Prince Louis returned to his army on the Danube, prince Eugene set out for Philipsburgh; the duke of Marlborough being joined by the imperial army under prince Louis of Baden at Wastertellen, prosecuted his march by Elchingen, Gingen, and Landthaussen. On the first day of July he was in sight of the enemy’s entrenchments at Dillingen, and encamped with his right at Amerdighem, and his left at Onderin-gen. Understanding that the elector of Bavaria had detached the best part of his infantry to reinforce the count D’Arco, who was posted behind strong lines at Schellenberg near Donawert, he resolved to attack their entrenchments without delay On the second day of July he advanced towards the enemy, and passed the river Wermitz; about five o’clock in the afternoon the attack was begun by the English and Dutch infantry, supported by the horse and dragoons. They were very severely handled, and even obliged to give way, when prince Louis of Baden marching up at the head of the imperialists to another part of the line, made a diversion in their favour. After an obstinate resistance they forced the entrenchments, and the horse entering with the infantry, fell so furiously upon the enemy, already disordered, that they were routed with great slaughter. They fled with the utmost trepidation to Donawert and the Danube, leaving six thousand men dead on the field of battle, The confederates took sixteen pieces of cannon, thirteen pairs of colours, with all the tents and baggage. Yet the victory was dearly purchased; some thousands of the allies were slain in the attack, including many gallant officers, among whom were the generals Goor and Beinheim, and count Stirum was mortally wounded. Next day the Bavarian garrison abandoned Donawert, of which the confederates took immediate possession, while the elector passed the Danube in his march to the river Leche, lest the victors should cut off his retreat to his own country. The confederates having crossed the Danube on several bridges of pontoons, a detachment was sent to pass the Leche, and take post in the country of the elector, who had retired under the cannon of Augsburgh. The garrison of Neuburgh retiring to Ingoldstadt, the place was secured by the confederates, and the count de Frize was detached with nine battalions and fifteen squadrons to invest the town of Rain. Advice arriving from prince Eugene that the mareschals Villeroy and Tallard had passed the Rhine at Fort Kehl, with an army of five-and-forty thousand men, to succour the elector of Bavaria, the generals of the allies immediately detached prince Maximilian of Hanover with thirty squadrons of horse as a reinforcement to the prince. In a few days Rain surrendered, and Aicha was taken by assault. The emperor no sooner received a confirmation of the victory of Schellenberg, than he wrote a letter of acknowledgment to the duke of Marlborough, and ordered count Wratislau to intimate his intention of investing him with the title of prince of the empire, which the duke declined accepting until the queen interposed her authority at the desire of Leopold.
ANNE, 1701—1714
The allies advanced within a league of Augsburgh, and though they found the elector of Bavaria too securely posted under the cannon of that city to be dislodged or attacked with any prospect of success, they encamped with Friedburgh in the centre, so as to cut off all communication between him and his dominions. The duke of Marlborough having reduced him to this situation, proposed very advantageous terms of peace, provided he would abandon the French interest, and join the imperialists in Italy. His subjects seeing themselves at the mercy of the allies, pressed him to comply with these offers rather than expose his country to ruin and desolation. A negotiation was begun, and he seemed ready to sign the articles, when hearing that mareschal Tallard had passed the Black Forest to join him with a great body of forces, he declared that since the king of France had made such powerful efforts to support him, he thought himself obliged in honour to continue firm in his alliance. The generals of the allies were so exasperated at this disappointment, that they sent out detachments to ravage the country of Bavaria as far as Munich: upwards of three hundred towns, villages, and castles were inhumanly destroyed, to the indelible disgrace of those who countenanced and conducted such barbarbous practices. The elector, shocked at these brutal proceedings, desired, in a letter to the duke of Marlborough, that a stop might be put to acts of violence so opposite to true glory. The answer he received implied, that it was in his own power to put an end to them by a speedy accommodation. Incensed at this reply, he declared that since they had obliged him to draw the sword, he would throw away the scabbard. The duke and prince Louis finding it impracticable to attack the elector in his strong camp, resolved to undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, and for that purpose passed the Paer near the town of Schrobbenhausen, where they encamped, with their left at Closterburgh. On the fifth day of August the elector of Bavaria marched to Biberach, where he was joined by Tallard. He resolved to pass the Danube at Lawingen to attack prince Eugene, who had followed the French army from the lines of Bichi, and lay encamped at Hochstadt. Next day, however, he made a motion that disappointed the enemy. Nevertheless, they persisted in their design of passing the Danube and encamping at Blenheim. The allies resolved that prince Louis should undertake the siege of Ingoldstadt, whilst prince Eugene and the duke should observe the elector of Bavaria. Advice being received that he had actually crossed the Danube at Lawingen, the duke of Marlborough joined the forces of prince Eugene at the camp of Munster on the eleventh day of August, prince Louis having by this time marched off towards the place he intended to besiege. Next day the duke of Marlborough and prince Eugene observed the posture of the enemy, who were advantageously posted on a hill near Hochstadt, their right being covered by the Danube and the village of Blenheim, their left by the village of Lutzengen, and their front by a rivulet, the banks of which were steep, and the bottom marshy.
Notwithstanding these difficulties, the generals resolved to attack them immediately, rather than lie inactive until their forage and provisions should be consumed. They were moreover stimulated to this hazardous enterprise by an intercepted letter to the elector of Bavaria, from mareschal Villeroy, giving him to understand that he had received orders to ravage the country of Wirtem-berg, and intercept all communication between the Rhine and the allied army. The dispositions being made for the attack, and the orders communicated to the general officers, the forces advanced into the plain on the thirteenth day of August, and were ranged in order of battle. The cannonading began about nine in the morning, and continued on both sides till one in the afternoon. The French and Bavarians amounted to about sixty thousand men, Mareschal Tallard commanded on the right, and posted twenty-seven battalions, with twelve squadrons, in the village of Blenheim, supposing that there the allies would make their chief effort: their left was conducted by the elector of Bavaria, assisted by Marsin, a French general of experience and capacity. The number of the confederates did not exceed fifty-five thousand: their right was under the direction of prince Eugene, and their left commanded by the duke of Marlborough. At noon the battle was begun by a body of English and Hessians under major-general Wilkes, who having passed the rivulet with difficulty, and filed off to the left in the face of the enemy, attacked the village of Blenheim with great vigour; but were repulsed after three successive attempts. Meanwhile the troops in the centre, and part of the right wing, passed the rivulet on planks in different places, and formed on the other side without any molestation from the enemy. At length, however, they were charged by the French horse with such impetuosity, and so terribly galled in flank by the troops posted at Blenheim, that they fell in disorder, and part of them repassed the rivulet; but a reinforcement of dragoons coming up, the French cavalry were broke in their turn, and driven to the very hedges of the village of Blenheim. The left wing of the confederates being now completely formed, ascended the hill in a firm compacted body, charged the enemy’s horse, which could no longer stand their ground, but rallied several times as they gave way. Tallard, in order to make a vigorous effort, ordered ten battalions to fill up the intervals of his cavalry. The duke, perceiving his design, sent three battalions of the troops of Zell to sustain his horse. Nevertheless, the line was a little disordered by the prodigious fire from the French infantry, and even obliged to recoil about sixty paces: but the confederates advancing to the charge with redoubled ardour, routed the French horse; and their battalions being thus abandoned, were cut in pieces. Tallard, having rallied his broken cavalry behind some tents that were still standing, resolved to draw off the troops he had posted in the village of Blenheim, and sent an aidecamp to Marsdin, who was with the elector of Bavaria on the left, to desire he would face the confederates with some troops to the right of the village of Oberklau, so as to keep them in play, and favour the retreat of the forces from Blenheim. That officer assured him he was so far from being in a condition to spare troops, that he could hardly maintain his ground. The fate of the day was now more than half decided. The French cavalry being vigorously attacked in flank, were totally defeated. Part of them endeavoured to gain the bridge which they had thrown over the Danube between Hochstadt and Blenheim, but they were so closely pursued, that those who escaped the slaughter threw themselves into the river, where they perished. Tallard, being surrounded, was taken near a mill behind the village of Sonderen, together with the marquis de Montperouz, general of horse, the major-generals de Seppeville, de Silly, de la Valiere, and many other officers of distinction. While these occurrences passed on the loft wing, Marsin’s quarters at the village of Oberklau, in the centre, were attacked by ten battalions under the prince of Holsteinbeck, who passed the rivulet with undaunted resolution; but before he could form his men on the other side, he was overpowered by numbers, mortally wounded, and taken prisoner. His battalions being supported by some Danish and Hanoverian cavalry, renewed the charge, and were again repulsed: at length the duke of Marlborough in person brought up some fresh squadrons from the body of reserve, and compelled the enemy to retire. By this time prince Eugene had obliged the left wing of the enemy to give ground, after having surmounted a great number of difficulties, sustained a very obstinate opposition, and seen his cavalry, in which his chief strength seemed to lie, three times repulsed. The duke of Marlborough had no sooner defeated the right wing, than he made a disposition to reinforce the prince, when he understood from an aidecamp that his highness had no occasion for assistance; and that the elector, with monsieur de Mar-sin, had abandoned Oberklau and Luteingen. They were pursued as far as the villages of Morselingen and Teissenhoven, from whence they retreated to Dillingen and Lawingen. The confederates being now masters of the field of battle, surrounded the village of Blenheim, in which, as we have already observed, twenty-seven battalions and twelve squadrons were posted. These troops seeing themselves cut off from all communication with the rest of their army, and despairing of being able to force their way through the allies, capitulated about eight in the evening, laid down their arms, delivered their colours and standards, and surrendered themselves prisoners of war, on condition that the officers should not be rifled. This was one of the most glorious and complete victories that ever was obtained. Ten thousand French and Bavarians were left dead on the field of battle: the greater part of thirty squadrons of horse and dragoons perished in the river Danube: thirteen thousand were made prisoners: one hundred pieces of cannon were taken, with twenty-four mortars, one hundred and twenty-nine colours, one hundred and seventy-one standards, seventeen pair of kettle-drums, three thousand six hundred tents, thirty-four coaches, three hundred laden mules, two bridges of boats, fifteen pontoons, fifteen barrels and eight casks filled with silver. Of the allies, about four thousand five hundred men were killed, and about eight thousand wounded or taken. The loss of the battle was imputed to two capital errors committed by Tallard; namely, his weakening the centre by detaching such a number of troops to the village of Blenheim, and his suffering the confederates to pass the rivulet, and form unmolested. Certain it is, these circumstances contributed to the success of the duke of Marlborough, who rode through the hottest of the fire with the calmest intrepidity, giving his orders with that presence of mind and deliberation which were so peculiar to his character. When he next day visited Tallard, he told that general he was sorry such a misfortune should happen personally to one for whom he had a profound esteem. The mareschal congratulated him on having vanquished the best troops in the world; a compliment to which the duke replied, that he thought his own the best troops in the world, seeing they had conquered those upon whom the mareschal had bestowed such an encomium.
The victorious generals having by this decisive stroke saved the house of Austria from entire ruin, and entirely changed the face of affairs in the empire, signified their opinion to prince Louis of Baden, that it would be for the advantage of the common cause to join all their forces and drive the French out of Germany, rather than lose time at the siege of Ingoldstadt, which would surrender of course. This opinion was confirmed by the conduct of the French garrison at Augsburg, who quitted that place on the sixteenth day of August. The magistrates sent a deputation, craving the protection of the duke of Marlborough, who forthwith ordered a detachment to take possession of that important city. The duke having sent mareschal de Tallard under a guard of dragoons to Frankfort, and disposed of the other prisoners of distinction in the adjacent places, encamped at Sefillingen, within half a league of Ulm. Here he held a conference with the princes Eugene and Louis of Baden, in which they agreed that, as the enemy retreated towards the Bhine, the confederate army should take the same rout, excepting three-and-twenty battalions and some squadrons to be left for the siege of Ulm, under general Thungen. They began their march on the twenty-sixth day of August, by different routes, to the general rendezvous at Bruschal near Philipsburgh. Then they resolved that prince Louis of Baden should undertake the siege of Landau, in order to secure the circle of Suabia from the incursions of that garrison. Considering the consternation that prevailed all over France, nothing could be more impolitic than this measure, which gave the enemy time for recollection, and recruiting their forces. It was a proposal on which the prince of Baden insisted with uncommon obstinacy. He was even suspected of corruption: he was jealous of the glory which the duke of Marlborough had acquired, and such a bigoted papist, that he repined at the success of an heretical general. On the twelfth day of September he marched towards Landau with the troops destined for the siege; and the duke of Marlborough, with prince Eugene, encamped at Croon Weissenburgh to cover the enterprise. By this time Ulm had surrendered to Thungen, even before the trenches were opened. Villeroy advanced with his army towards Landau, as if he had intended to attack the confederates; but retired without having made any attempt for the relief of the place, which was defended with the most obstinate valour till the twenty-third day of November, when the besiegers having lodged themselves on the counterscarp, the breaches being practicable, and the dispositions made for a general assault, the garrison capitulated upon honourable conditions. The king of the Romans had arrived in the camp, that he might have the credit of taking the place, the command of which he bestowed on the count de Frize, who had before defended it with equal courage and ability.
The next enterprise which the confederates undertook was the siege of Traerbach. The hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, being intrusted with the direction of the attacks, invested the castle in the beginning of November. Though it was strongly fortified and well defended, he carried on his operations with such spirit and assiduity, that in about six weeks the garrison surrendered the place on honourable terms. In the meantime the duke of Marlborough repaired to Berlin, where he negotiated for a reinforcement of eight thousand Prussians, to serve under prince Eugene in Italy during the next campaign. Thence he proceeded to the court of Hanover, where, as in all other places, he was received with particular marks of distinction. When he arrived at the Hague, he was congratulated by the states-general on his victories at Schellenberg and Blenheim, and as much considered in Holland as if he had been actually stadt-holder. He had received a second letter from the emperor couched in the warmest terms of acknowledgment, and was declared prince of the empire. In December he embarked for England, where he found the people in a transport of joy, and was welcomed as a hero who had retrieved the glory of the nation.
In Flanders nothing of moment was executed, except the bombardment of Bruges and Namur by baron Spaar, with nine thousand Dutch troops; and two attempts upon the French lines, which were actually penetrated by Auverquerque, though he was not able to maintain the footing he had gained. The elector of Bavaria, who had retired to Brussels after his defeat, formed a scheme for surprising the Dutch general at the end of the campaign, and assembled all his troops at Tirlemont: but the French court, apprehensive of his temerity, sent Villeroy to watch his conduct, and prevent his hazarding an engagement, except with a fair prospect of advantage. The mareschal finding him determined to give battle at all events, represented the improbability of succeeding against an enemy so advantageously posted; and the ill consequences of a repulse: but finding the elector deaf to all his remonstrances, he flatly refused to march, and produced the king’s order to avoid an engagement. In Italy the French met with no opposition. The duke of Savoy, being unable to face the enemy in the field, was obliged to lie inactive. He saw the duke de Vendome reduce Vercelli and Ivrea, and undertake the siege of Verac; while he posted his little army on the other side of the Po, at Crescentino, where he had a bridge of communication by which he supplied the place occasionally with fresh troops and provisions. The place held out five months against all the efforts of the French general: at length, the communication being cut off, the duke of Savoy retired to Chivas. He bore his misfortunes with great equanimity, and told the English minister that though he was abandoned by the allies, he would never abandon himself. The emperor had neglected Italy that he might act with more vigour against Ragotzki and the Hungarian malcontents, over whom he obtained several advantages; notwithstanding which they continued formidable, from their number, bravery, and resolution. The ministers of the allies pressed Leopold to enter into a negotiation for a peace with those rebels, and conferences were opened; but he was not sincerely disposed to an accommodation, and Ragotzki aimed at the principality of Transylvania, which the court of Vienna would not easily relinquish. The emperor was not a little alarmed by a revolution at the Ottoman porte, until the new sultan despatched a chiaus to Vienna, with an assurance that he would give no assistance to the malcontents of Hungary. In Poland, the diet being assembled by the cardinal-primate, Stanislaus Lezinski, palatine of Posnania, was elected and proclaimed king, and recognised by Charles of Sweden, who still maintained his army by contributions in that country, more intent upon the ruin of Augustus than upon the preservation of his own dominions; for he paid no regard to the progress of the Muscovites, who had ravaged Livonia, reduced Narva, and made incursions into Sweden. Augustus retreated into his Saxon dominions, which he impoverished in order to raise a great army with which he might return to Poland; the pope espoused the interest of this new convert, so far as to cite the cardinal-primate to appear at Rome, and give an account of the share he had in the Polish troubles. The protestants of the Cevennois, deriving courage from despair, became so troublesome to the government of France, that Louis was obliged to treat them with lenity: he sent mareschal Villars against them with a fresh reinforcement, but at the same time furnished him with instructions to treat for an accommodation. This officer immediately commenced a negotiation with Cavalier, the chief of the revolters; and a formal treaty was concluded, by which they were indulged with liberty of conscience: but these articles were very ill observed by the French ministry.