HISTORY OF EUROPE. 



225 



army, composed of the national 

 guards of the Belgic provinces 

 and the nearest provinces of 

 France, was assembled in the 

 neighbourhood of Antwerp ; the 

 forts on the Scheldt were well 

 manned, and every other prepara- 

 tion made for opposing the passage 

 of both our army and navy. An 

 immense quantity of naval stores 

 deposited in the arsenal of Ant- 

 iverp was either removed or made 

 ready for speedy removal; and 

 preparations were made for con- 

 veying the ships so high up the 

 river as to be out of our power, 

 either naval or military, in case of 

 a successful attempt to force a 

 passage. 



All ideas of pushing up the 

 Scheldt for the reduction of the 

 fleet, and destroying the arsenal 

 and dock-yards of France at Ant- 

 werp and Terneuse, being neces- 

 sarily abandoned, lord Chatham, 

 with the greater number of the 

 troops under his command re- 

 turned on the I4th of September, 

 to England. It was deemed ne- 

 cessary with the remainder to keep 

 possession of the Isle of Wal- 

 cheren, for the purpose of block- 

 ading the Scheldt, and enabliog 

 our merchants to introduce Bri- 

 tish manufactures and the pro- 

 duce of our colonies into Hol- 

 land. But it appeared, that in 

 this march British troops would 

 liave been exposed, not only to 

 the fire and sword of the enemy 

 (against which, in such an insular 

 position, tliey might have been 

 enabled to defend themselves) but 

 to the rage of pestilence. To- 

 wards the middle of September, 

 when the distemper was at its 

 height, the average number of 

 deaths in our army in Walcheren 

 Vol. LT. 



was from two to three hundred a 

 week. The opinion of the British 

 government about the expediency 

 of retaining or abandoning this 

 dreadful island, was in a state of 

 fluctuation. No serious exertions 

 were made for renewing the de- 

 fences or improving the fortifica- 

 tions of Flushing till the middle 

 of September, when a requisition 

 was made for 500 of the peasantry 

 of the island to be employed in 

 thickening the parapets, and other- 

 wise strengthening the ramparts 

 of Flushing. For the same end, 

 and also the repair of the bar- 

 racks, 100 artificers arrived from 

 England with large supplies of 

 brick and lime at the end of Oc- 

 tober. Towards the middle of 

 November they began to demolish 

 the works and naval bason of 

 Flushing, as far as might be done 

 without destroying the lives and 

 property of the inhabitants. This 

 was done. And on the 23rd of 

 December the island of Walcheren 

 was completely evacuated by the 

 British army, nearly one half of 

 which, according to a return made 

 to the House of Commons, was 

 either lost or sick. This expedi- 

 tion cost twenty millions sterling, 

 imposing a burthen of one million 

 of annual taxes. 



The failure of this expedition, in 

 its main object, is beyond all doubt, 

 to be attributed not in any degree 

 to the army or navy, whose ala- 

 crity in the cause could not have 

 been exceeded, but b}' the shame- 

 ful ignorance and rashness of those 

 who planned it. It was under- 

 stood to have been digested and 

 put in the head of lord Castlereagh 

 by Sir Home Popham, to whom 

 the arrangements for the debarka- 

 tion of the army were entrusted. 



Q Th» 



