706 



BRITAIN. 



Britain. 



GEORGEUI. 

 1809, 



army, under Lieutenant-General the Earl of Ros- 

 lyn, was to remain embarked until their services 

 ' should be required for the ulterior object of the 

 expedition. The commander in-chief, with the di- 

 visions of Sir John Hope and the Marquis of Hunt- 

 ly, sailed from the Downs on the morning of the 

 28th of July, and anchored in the evening off Wal- 

 cheren. Sir Eyre Coote's division sailed a day 

 later, and joined the head-quarters on the morn- 

 ing of the 30th. General Grosvenor's division, sail- 

 ing from Harwich, anchored in the channel called 

 the Roompot, (between North Beveland and Schou- 

 wen), on the 1st of August. On the same day, Sir 

 Eyre Coote's division, which had already landed on 

 Walcheren, obliged the garrison of Veere (amount- 

 ing to 519 officers and soldiers) to capitulate, and 

 established its head-quarters at Middleburgh, which 

 capitulated also. The commander, at the same 

 time, detached a corps to reduce the fort of Ram- 

 mikins. This place surrendered on the 3d of Au- 

 gust, and a way was opened to our vessels into the 

 West Scheldt. A British flotilla, in the mean time, 

 had advanced through the Sloe-passage ; so that we 

 now commanded the approach to Flushing by our 

 troops on the north, and by our naval force on the 

 east and west sides ; but the investment to the south- 

 ward was not yet effected. While Sir Eyre Coote's 

 division was thus employed, the reserve took posses- 

 sion of the island of South Beveland ; but this corps, 

 from the 2d of August, remained merely as a corps 

 of observation. In the mean time, the shores of 

 the East Scheldt having been unexpectedly found 

 defenceless, General Grosvenor's division, instead of 

 disembarking on the island of Schouwen, landed on 

 the coast of Walcheren, and proceeded to assist in 

 the operations before Flushing. The original plan 

 of attack was to reduce the place by means of bom- 

 bardment ; a mode of capturing places by no means 

 so certain in its effects as a regular and scientific 

 siege. It is also contrary to every principle of hu- 

 manity, as well as policy, to aggravate the horrors 

 of war, and excite the hatred of the people, which, 

 after the conquest of the place, may be of the most 

 serious disadvantage to ourselves. It was a part of 

 the plan, as we have seen, that the Marquis of Hunt- 

 5y should land upon the island of Cadsand, and cut 

 off the communication between Flushing and the 

 Continent. Unhappily this part of the plan was 

 frustrated, by the force of the enemy being stronger 

 than expectation. Before our smaller armed vessels 

 could intercept the communication between this island 

 and Flushing, the enemy had thrown from thence 

 into the latter garrison about three thousand men. 



The town being completely invested, some incon- 

 venience was at first apprehended from the enemy 

 cutting the dyke : our trenches were, in many parts, 

 made useless, and the platforms of some of the bat- 

 teries were partly overflowed. The batteries, how- 

 ever, with the exception of one which was called the 

 Bombard- seamen's battery, was mounted with artillery on the 

 mem of 13th of August, and, at noon, a tremendous fire 

 Flushing, commenced on the devoted town. A flotilla of bomb 

 vessels and gun boats were stationed on each side of 

 the town, under the orders of Captains Cockburn 

 and Owen, to assist in the bombardment. The ar- 

 tillery was pointed with the sole view of dertroying 



1809. 



the houses, magazines, and other buildings. The Britain. 



commanding general, (Sir Eyre Coote,) however, ' v > 



being doubtful of the success'of the bombardment, GEOnG *III. 

 and alarmed at the progress of the inundation, which 

 now began seriously to impede our operations in the 

 low ground, determined to carry forward the attack 

 along the dyk<>s on both flanks of the place. In the 

 evening, therefore, a lodgement was made on the 

 right of the line, on the sand hills, between the dyke 

 of the Nolle, and the body of the place ; and opera- 

 tions were also projected for a nearer approach on 

 the left of our position. During the whole of the 

 night, an uninterrupted fire was kept up from the 

 batteries, and, on the morning of the 14th, the sea- 

 men's battery being added to the rest, and the line of 

 battle ships being enabled to advance, the attack 

 was carried on with still greater fury. At the same 

 time, a breaching battery was marked out in such a 

 position, that had it been completed, its fire, in the 

 course of a few hours, would have laid the rampart 

 open, and exposed the enemy to an immediate assault. 

 At four in the afternoon of the 14th, the firing was 

 suspended, and the Earl of Chatham directed the 

 commanding general to make an offerof terms to the 

 garrison ; but as General Monnet refused to surren- 

 der, at nine o'clock in the evening the fire of the bat- 

 teries recommenced, and the bombardment was fu- 

 riously renewed. At one o'clock in the morning of Surrender 

 the 15th, the French made offers of a capitulation, of Flush- 

 which were immediately negotiated and signed ; the in S- 

 garrison, in number 5803 men, laid down their arms, 

 and were to be sent as prisoners to England. When 

 our army entered Flushing, the dreadful effects of the 

 bombardment were discovered ; more than 24 7 pri- 

 vate houses, and several public buildings, were in 

 ruins, many hundreds of inoffensive citizens, and wo- 

 men and children had lost their lives, and a far great- 

 er number were wounded. The French garrison had 

 suffered little. In the dock yard there were found 

 a line of battle ship, a frigate, and a brig, in a for- 

 ward state of construction. 



Before the attack on Flushing had commenced, 

 the divisions of the Earl of Roslyn and the Marquis 

 of Huntly had landed, and occupied cantonments in 

 South Beveland. From this time the Earl of Roslyn 

 took the command of the island, and established his 

 head-quarters at Ter Goes. On the 15th, a capitu- 

 lation was entered into with the islands of Schouwea 

 and Duiveland, by the Earl of Roslyn and Sir R. 

 Keats, and a detachment was sent to occupy the ca- 

 pital of the former island. On the morning of the 

 16th, ten frigates which had forced the passage of 

 the West Scheldt, anchored in front of Bathz, a 

 fortified position at the south-east extremity of the 

 isle of South Beveland, which was of the utmost im- 

 portance to the ulterior object of the expedition. 



But, however unprepared the enemy had been at our 

 first arrival, their situation and defences were soon 

 formidably improved. Large reinforcements of their 

 troops had arrived. On both banks of the Scheldt 

 batteries were erecting to prevent the farther advance 

 of our ships, and a boom chain had been already fix- 

 ed across the' river, between Forts Lillo and Liof- 

 kenshoek. Measures had been taken to cut the 

 dykes of Tholen, and thus overflow the country be- 

 tween that place and Bcrgen-op-Zoom. General 



