pendicularly (en potence) with the left wing, extended to the farm of Nivergies, the right to the infantry, and the front facing the wood of Laniere. The British, Prussian, and Hanoverian cavalry were posted in the rear of their respective infantry, and the 18 battalions of Eugene; so that this whole corps formed four lines, in front of Blaregnies. In the morning the corps of Eugene arriving, prolonged the right of the army, already posted, by forming two lines of cavalry in rear of Sart, and in front of the windmill next the infantry; and at the extreme right the rest of the cavalry extended to beyond the farm of Flegnies, near Frameries.

At break of day the commanders in chief and generals of corps went out to reconnoitre, and were surprised to observe the defences which the enemy had thrown up since the preceding afternoon. The result of this survey induced Eugene to represent to the council of war which ensued * the necessity of waiting the arrival of the detachment from Tournay; while Marlborough recommended an immediate. attack †, before the enemy had rendered their intrenchments complete. But the advice of the prince, supported by the Dutch deputies, prevailed, and the remainder of the day was spent in arranging the dispositions. Orders were sent

for Schulemburg, Lottum, and Wood to join the main army, leaving the detachment under Withers to follow with the utmost speed. The commander of each division received specific instructions for his guidance in the conflict, the substance of which will indicate the plan of the chiefs. The onset was to commence on the right of the centre, and the left of the right, where 22 battalions under Lottum, and 40 under Schulemburg, each in three lines, were to attack the two flanks of the intrenchments in the woods of Taisniere

* There is some confusion among the accounts of these councils of war; but from the alteration of circumstances, the formidable appearance of the intrenchments, the delay of the detachment marching from Tournay, and the absence of the deputy Rantwyck, I have no doubt that two if not three were held between the passage of the Haine and the battle.

† Rousset, who was in the engagement, positively asserts that the Duke proposed to attack on the 10th; but though it is not improbable, I can find no proof of it in the Duke's letters, or in any other authentic writer. Lediard, vol. iii. p. 542.

and Sart. Half an hour after, 31 battalions of the left wing, consisting principally of Dutch infantry, sustained by the 19 battalions drawn from Tournay, under General Withers, were to form in several bodies, and advance against the grenadiers, who covered the right flank of the enemy. Lord Orkney, with 15 battalions in a single line, was to act defensively, at some distance, in front of the opening of the plain, and to move forwards as soon as Lottum and Schulemburg had succeeded. Finally, a corps of 1900 men from the blockading army near Mons, was to traverse Sart, from the source of the marshy rivulet, and aid the general attack, by pressing on the flank and rear of the hostile intrenchments.

To sustain these operations, the prince of Hesse was directed, with 21 squadrons of the Dutch first line, to follow the prince of Orange in two lines, between the woods of Laniere and Tiry; and 30 squadrons of the second line of Dutch horse, led on by the prince of Auvergne, were to draw up in the rear of Lord Orkney's infantry. The British, Prussian, and Hanoverian cavalry, who were formed according to circumstances, received orders to cover Count Lottum; and the whole of Eugene's cavalry to draw up in two lines, for a similar purpose, in the rear of Schulemburg. They were generally instructed to keep out of the reach of grape shot, yet to be sufficiently forward to sustain the infantry. When the intrenchment on the plain was carried, they were to rush forward, to form on the farther side of the lines, to charge the hostile squadrons, and drive them from the field. The infantry were enjoined not to penetrate beyond the intrenchments, woods, and obstacles of ground, but to occupy them in force, and afford protection to the cavalry. The heavy artillery was to be distributed in several batteries, 28 pieces in front of the left, 40 in the centre, and the rest, with the field-pieces, to accompany the several brigades, as passages should be effected in the woods. Their fire was ordered to be directed against the intrenchments and opposing batteries; and the signal of attack was a volley from the grand battery in the centre.

But the commanders, as they proceeded in their survey, observed that the intrenchments opposite the left were of the most formidable nature, and they learnt that all the troops from Tournay could not reach the field of battle till

next morning. They accordingly decided on converting the attack on the left into a feint; and to shorten the march of the expected detachment, General Withers was directed not to join the army, but to leave three battalions and four squadrons about Paturages, and to march with the remainder between the woods of l'Eveque and Montroeul, for the purpose of turning all the intrenchments raised on the plain behind, and penetrating between Trieu Jean Sart and the wood by La Folie, into the rear of the enemy's

The day was now far advanced, when Villars began to reflect that the measures he had hitherto pursued might fail of the desired effect. He found that he could not discover the situation and movements of his opponent's right, which could attack him on the left, while the opposite flank was masked by the wood of Tiry.* He therefore ordered a new line of intrenchments to be formed, extending from the hamlet of Malplaquet, quite across the plain, to the farm of La Louviere. The cavalry were employed during the whole night in carrying fascines to the spot, but the evening approached before the undertaking could be completed. In the same evening, or during the night, Lottum, Schulemburg, and Wood, reached the confederate army, and resumed their respective commands; and, before day-light, Withers drew to his station near La Folie, with the corps from Tournay under his orders.

CHAP. LXXXII. BATTLE OF MALPLAQUET.†-1709.

As the morning of the eventful 11th of September began to dawn, a mist overspread the woods, and concealed the armies from each other.

* To this little wood have been misapplied the various appellations belonging to the woods in the vicinity, Ronsart, Jean Sart, La Merte, &c.; we follow the name on the king's plan, though we doubt the existence of the wood at the present time.

For the battle of Malplaquet the following authorities have been consulted and compared: - Lediard's Life of Marlborough, 3 vols. 8vo. Leven van Marlborough, 4 vols. 8vo. Quincy, Histoire des Guerres de Louis XIV. 6 vols. 4to. Père Daniel, Histoire de France, 10 vols. 4to.

In the camp of the allies divine service was solemnly porformed at three in the morning, with the usual marks of devotion, after the example of their chief; silence and order reigned through all the ranks, as they steadily marched from the bivouac to their posts. Under cover of the fog, the pieces composing the grand battery of the centre were conveyed to the appointed spot, and covered with an epaulement, to prevent an enfilade, while the Dutch likewise moved forward their heavy guns on the left.

The grand guard of the enemy giving instant notice that the allies were making their dispositions for the attack, the French soldiers discontinued working at the intrenchments, and stood to their arms. The troops on both sides, though harassed by fatigue and want of rest, manifested no diminution of their usual spirit at the approach of this long-expected engagement. The French gave signal proofs of unbounded confidence in their new general, whom they adored, and in whose abilities they confided. Eight campaigns had been successively marked with disasters; all their former leaders had seen their laurels wither before the two great opponents and the formidable troops that now stood arrayed

Commen.

Vie de Villars, 3 vols. 12mo. Histoire de la Maison d'Austriche, par le Comte de C., 6 vols. 12mo. Histoire du Comte de Saxe, par d'Espagnac, 3 vols. 4to.; also Reveries du Comte de Saxe, 2 vols. 4to. Dumont and Rossuet, 3 vols. great folio. Vie de Marlborough, par ordre de Buonaparte, 3 vols. 8vo. Tindal's Continuation of Rapin. Lives of Marlborough and Eugene, 1 vol. 8vo., 1713; and Lives of Eugene and Marlborough, 2 vols. 12mo., 1742. Vie du Prince Eugene, 4 vols. 12mo., 1750. Leben und Thaten des Marlborough, 8vo. taires de Folard, 6 vols. 4to. Mémoires de Feuquières, 4to. Mémoires de Lamberti. Milner's Journal of Marches and Battles, 8vo. Vaderlansche Historie, 25 vols. 8vo. Brodrick's History of the late War, 8vo. Kane's Memoirs, 8vo. Dictionnaire des Sièges, et Batailles, 6 vols. 8vo. Field of Mars, Dictionary of Battles, &c., 2 vols. 4to. History of Regiments in the Military Library. Abrège de l'Histoire Générale des Provinces Unies, 3 vols. 8vo. Military History of Great Britain, 2 vols. 8vo. Life of Marshal Munioh, 8vo. (German). Biographisches Lexicon alter Preussischen Helden, 4 vols. 8vo. Barre Histoire Générale d'Allemagne, 4to. Chronologie historique et militaire, 7 vols. 4to. Relaas van den slagh bey Taisnière en Malplaquet. Burnet. President Henault. Vie du Prince Eugene, par d'Avrigni. Vie du Prince Eugene, en 5 tomes. Kort en Naukeurigh_verhaal van der lesten velttoght van Jan Willem Frise, P. v. Orange, N. V. 8vo. Père Daniel Hist. de la milice Française, 2 vols. 4to. Boyer's Reign of Queen Anne, fol.

in their front; yet no sooner was the command intrusted to this favourite chief, than their defeats were forgotten, and they resumed their national ardour, which they testified, as he rode along the ranks, by exclaiming, "Vive le Roi, vive le Maréchal de Villars!" Many of the soldiers, though ill supplied with provisions for several days, even threw away their rations of bread in their eagerness to begin the engagement. At seven Villars mounted his horse, and requested Marshal Boufflers to assume the command of the right wing, while he himself superintended the movements of the left.

66

In the allied camp the national character of the troops was more sedately expressed, by the punctuality of obedience, by the stern frown or contemptuous sarcasm, and by the general exclamation in allusion to the French intrenchments, that they were again obliged to make war upon moles." The whole army was in readiness to advance before dawn. The commanders-in-chief, with the prince royal of Prussia, and the deputy Goslinga, surveyed the execution of the preparatory dispositions in every part of the field.

The fog still lingering on the ground, protracted the moment of onset; but at half-past seven the sun broke forth, and as soon as the artillery could point with precision, the fire opened on both sides, with an animation and effect indicative of the ardour which reigned in every bosom. In a moment the French household troops in the rear of the lines had several killed and wounded, and the allied chiefs witnessed similar effects as they rode along their own ranks, although the two armies were almost concealed from each other, by the intrenchments and inequalities of the ground. Soon after the opening of the cannonade, Villars and Boufflers repaired to their respective posts; and the two confederate generals also separated, Eugene to direct the movements of the right, and Marlborough those of the centre and left.

The attack commenced on the side of the allies, against the right and centre of the French, in two dense columns, the first under the prince of Orange, and the other under Count Lottum. Suddenly the Dutch column halted, according to orders, and drew up in several lines beyond the reach of grape; while that of Lottum moved forward, regardless of the fire, to the rear of the principal allied battery,