1807.] Memoirs of the late Duke of Brunswick. 



5C1 



fubaltern in the French army ; but wiio 

 was dullineil afterwards to dieck liis 

 progrefs in tlie phiiiis of Champagne, at 

 the head of a numerous army, and thus 

 give a new turn to the deltinies of Franco 

 and of Europe. 



Meanwiiile Prince Ferthnand, who 

 had been obliged to act fur'fome rime on 

 the defenfive, determined at iall to com- 

 iiiLiice ert'ecfivc operations. Having on- 

 trulled the command of the troops on 

 his rieht to the Hereditary i'rinee, the 

 hitter athanced with tiie urnioii. fecrecy 

 into the heart of the enemy's quarters, 

 and endeavoured to CiU-ry Frit/.lar by 

 iiil'ault : but lie experienced a molt ob- 

 iHnate refiftance on the part of tlie gar- 

 ril'on, in coufequeuce of whieli a nitreat 

 became necelfarv. Yet, nothing daunt- 

 ed by the event, ho immediately j)ro- 

 reeded to cover the front of tlie -main 

 army, wliicli v\as now occupied in the 

 liege of CatVel. On this the Marfhal de 

 Brogho advanced with all his forces 

 ajainll hirn ; in confequence of which, a 

 column of 'iUOO men was cut o9i, and 

 captured by the Frenrii. 



Having been called olf foon after to 



reafon to expeft : for never did any general 

 better del'erve to gain a battle, than he did 

 that of Cloftcrcarap. 



'• Dumourler received every pofllble mark 

 of attention and benevolence from him j but 

 although he entreated his Highnefs, as a 

 favour, to IJend him back to tlie French camp, 

 the Prinpe perfitted in kct-pinj him along 

 with the army until it had crolied the Rhine, 

 and begun to retire, left he ihould relate 

 what he had feen. 



" After his retreat had been achieved, he 

 fent him to Wefel, elcorted by the fame 

 Baroa de Behr who had faved his life, and 

 who was a very r.miable young man ; he at 

 the fame time Iranlmitted an exceedingly 

 kind letter to the Maiquis de Caltrie;, full 

 •f the praifes of his voung pvifoner. 



The Prince did not tlan forcfee that this 

 letter, which was earet'ully tranfmitted to 

 the Marfhal de Belle-Iflc, would make the 

 fortune of this ollicer ; and that thirty-two 

 years after, this felf-fame prilbner would 

 cammaiid an army againft him in Cham- 

 pagne, and fave France by obliging him to 

 retire! However, notwithftanding all this, 

 had he even anticipated thofe events, he 

 would have acted exactly in the fame man- 

 ner. Ci-ncrofity is one of the effcntial cha- 

 rafteriftics appertaining to grcit v.- arriors ; 

 and it was eminently confpicnous in this 

 i'rinci, who was as much bulovcd in tlie 

 frcnch army as in that of which he was the 

 Achilles."— Z-i/i' cf General Dunmiritz, vol. 

 i. TJ. 



defend his own hereditary dominions, he 

 firit obliged the Pruice de boubife to re- 

 tire ; and then forced Prince Xavier of 

 Saxony, wiu) had feized on Wolfenbnt- 

 tle, and invefted Bruiifwiek, to with- 

 draw with the lofs of his cannon. 



During the campaign of 1701, tlie 

 Hereditary Prince i-eluined iiis ufual ac- 

 tivity. On tlie ;;ilt of Ans;ull, liaving 

 feized on the heights of Joannlberg, lit; 

 cntleavoured to prevent the junction of 

 the armies under the Marliial d'J'-trees 

 and tiie Prince of C'onde. On this oc» 

 cafion, tiie Frencii advanced with llxed 

 bayonets, and, after fultaiiiing three dif- 

 cliarges from die Germans, fucceeded in 

 attaining their object. His Serene lligli- 

 iicfs in vain attempted to rally his troops, 

 who appeared to be panic itruck. lie 

 hinifelf was daiigeroully wounded during 

 the action ; while his cannon, and a 

 large body of prifoners, fell into the 

 hands of the victors. XotwithihindJuij 

 llii? unfortunate allair, loon after which 

 the war clofed, the Hereditary Princa 

 began to be conlidered one of the belt 

 generals of his day; and it will be leeij 

 licreafter that he was greatly elh'eined, 

 both at home and abroad, for thole (jua* 

 litle;, the polVeflion of which arc gene- 

 rally alloived to cunltitute the liero. 



No fooner "as a treaty concluded, 

 thaw his Serene Highnefs returned home 

 to cultivate the arts of peace, Beimj 

 now unomploytd, and williing to fen!^ 

 in life, he cad his eyes around for a 

 fiiitable match, and fixed on the PritiC(.fs 

 Augufta, lifter to the prefen). King of 

 England. The marriage was accordinily 

 celebrated on the 12th (jf .fiimiary, 17()1, 

 and he foon became the father of a nu- 

 merous progeny. 



But as his Highnefs liad diftinnuiflicd 

 hiinfclf under the eye of Frederic the 

 Great, and was a general in his fervicc, 

 it became necelTary to return to IJiilin, 

 on the firlt rumour of a war. Accoid- 

 inglv, in 1779, lie again look to tli« 

 field, and was appointed tg a comma:iJ 

 in Upper Sileha. The objei't which at 

 that period engauied the attention of Eu- 

 rope was the fucceiriun of Bavaria, to 

 which the Emperor Jofeph H. fondiv 

 afpircd ; but as this acqnilition would 

 have added greatly to his power, he was 

 oi' courfe Oppofed by lue King of Prnf- 

 fia. The campaign that enfued, which 

 conlifted merely of marches and conn- 

 ten narchcs, of entrenched camps and 

 formidable pofitions, of menacing atti- 

 tudes, and holtile preparations, ended 

 without a battle, and even withotlt a 

 4 C 'J Ikiniiilh ' 



