and, as

for the generals Dundas and Manners to come to his affiftance, the event of that day would have juftified the plan of the duke of York; much as circumstances could have allowed, forwarded the object of the expedition. A great part of general Herman's divifion was killed or taken, and the general himself was among the prifoners. The lofs of the English was about one hundred and twenty killed; four hundred wounded'; and, when the returns were made up, about five hundred miffing. The French fiated their lofs at only fifty killed and three hundred wounded.

The duke of York was not intimidated by the adverfe events of the nineteenth of September, from a defign of renewing the attack on the enemy with all poffible expedition. Animated at once by all the hereditary courage of his family, and the generofity of the caule in which he was embarked, and trained up in the elements of war, under a prince, who rofe with an elaftic force under misfortune, he determined not to relax in the moft vigorous efforts for bringing the British enterprize, in favour of the United Provinces, and the great commonwealth of European ftates and nations to a happy conclufion. Nor were feveral important confiderations wanting, to fortify the inclinations of the will, by the authority of the understanding. The expedition, in a military point of view, was wifely planned. The co-operation of the fleet had been attended, and was in a fair way of being ftill farther attended with the moft profperous fuccefs; fuccours might be expected, with certainty, from the two greateft powers of Europe; and a juft relentment and

The

indignation, it was not extravagant to fuppofe, would be roufed at laft by the profpect of deliverance from their oppreffive invaders. fpirit of the British troops was high and unbroken; and the Ruffians manifefted a defign to wash out the ftain, with which, they conceived, their arms had been fullied.

In the fame degree, as the good difpofition of the troops allowed the duke of York to rely on the fuccefs of an attempt to restore victory, every confideration prefcribed to him the neceffity of haftening it as much as poffible. He had received intelligence, on which he could rely, that great part of the reinforcements, expected by general Brune, were not yet near arriving, The fuperiority of numbers, which was fill on the fide of the allies, and the decifive advantage which they had obtained, on every point, excepting one, in the affair of the nineteenth, could not fail to keep alive a degree of confidence in the minds of the well-intentioned Dutch, and fome hopes might confequently be yet entertained of their eventual affiftanee. His royal highness therefore thought, on the whole, that it was not yet, perhaps, too late to give a fuccessful turn to the enterprize, and was unremittingly occupied in enabling himfell to direct another attack againft the enemy. He acquired new means of fuccefs, by the arrival of a third Ruffian divifion, commanded by major-general Emmé, which difembarked at the Helder, on the twenty-fifth, and joined the army on the twenty-fixth. This reinforcement, together with that of a company of chaffeurs of the fixtiethregiment, and three troops of the fifteenth ligh-dragoons, filled up the

void, which the battle of the nineteenth had occafioned in the ranks of the allies.

If the territory of the United Provinces affords many advantages for defenfive war to the poffeflors, it offers fome allo to powerful maritime invaders. The contiguous diftricts of North Holland and Weft Friefland are deeply peninfulated by the Haerlemmeer, the ZuyderSea, and the German Ocean: and, by these means, a way is opened to an irrefiftible naval force, a great way into South Holland, where the land is every where lower than the fea, and croffed by the mouths of the Rhine and the Meufe, by feveral fmall rivers, and a great number of canals. The harbour and arsenal of the Helder were already reduced. The poffeffion of one other point of land, together with the dominion of the adjacent and nearly furrounding waters, would give the command of the peninfula, juft defcribed, and prefent many advantages and opportunities for concerting measures and co-operating with the friends of the stadtholder, in Amfterdam, Haerlem, Leyden, and other cities. That point is the narrow ifthmus at Beverwick; the importance of which does not efcape a military eye, as will by and by appear, in

the courfe of this narrative.

The nature of the country, interfected by navigable rivers, lakes, and arms of the fea, occafioned a resemblance between the mode in which Great Britain made war on the coaft of Holland, and that which takes place in the Baltic, the Archipelago, and other narrow feas, where the Ruffan, Swedish, Turkih, and other flotillas attack their adverfaries, fometimes at sea, fometimes at land. The fleet, under

admiral Mitchel, confifting of the lighter fhips of war, and having on board a proper military force and apparatus, proceeded to make captures at fea, and defcents on the fhore. On the twelfth of September, captain Portlock, of the floop Arrow, and captain Bolton, of the Wolverene, near the Fly Island, or Vlie Ifland, fituated at the mouth of the Zuyder-Zee, a few miles from the Texel, took a Dutch fhip and brig of fuperior force. They had to turn to windward, towards the enemy, against a strong lee tide, during which time they were expofed to the raking fire of the fhip, which they afterwards found to be the Batavian republican guard-fhip, De Draak, mounting twenty-nine guns. They anchored at the FlyIfland on the fifteenth, when captain Portlock, the first in command, fent captain Bolton to take poffeffion of the Batavian republican fhip; the Dolphin, riding at anchor close to the town of the Fly. The hip, on the approach of the English, hoifted the Orange colours; and the fame ftep was taken in the island. A perlon came from the municipality, with a request to captain Bolton, to furrender the place to the government of the prince of Orange; which requeft, by the authority of admiral Mitchel, was, without hefitation, complied with.

On the twenty-first, admiral Mitchel, with a fquadron of frigates, and other armed hips and bombveffels, came to anchor off Enchuy fen; when a boat came off, from that town, wearing Orange cockades: in confequence of which, the admiral went on fhore, attended by the captains: they were received by the inhabitants with every teftimony of joy, at their deliverance [X2]

from

from their former tyranical government, and the higheft expreffions of loyalty and attachment to the houfe of Orange. The admiral proceeded to the ftadthoufe, and fummoning all the old and faithful burgomafters, who had not taken the oath to the Batavian republic, reinstated them in the magiftracy, until inftructions should be received from the prince of Orange. At the diffolution of the municipality, and the reinstatement of the old magiftrates, the inhabitants, furrounding the ftadthoufe, expreffed their joy, by loud acclamations. A party of them, at the fame time, cut down the tree of liberty, which they inftantly burned. All this was done in the most quiet regular Meidenblick, Lemmer, and other towns, obferved the fame conduct, and expreffed the fame difpofitions, with thofe of Enchuy'fen.

manner.

The British caufe was farther ftrengthened and encouraged by a reinforcement of Ruffians, confifting of upwards of four thoufand men, which landed at the Helder, on the morning of the twenty-fixth of September, and immediately marched forward to join the main

army.

The inclemency of the weather, the fole caufe of fufpended operation, having, in fome measure, fubfided, the British army was again put in motion, and, on the morning of the fecond of October, an attack commenced on the whole of the enemy's line. A fevere and obftinate action enfued, which lafted from fix in the morning until the fame hour at night. The right wing of the British army was commanded by fir Ralph Abercrombie, the centre divifion, by general Dundas,

and the left wing, by major-gene ral Burrard. This laft divifion remained for the protection of the pofition under lieutenant - general fir James Pultney, who was farther deftined to engage the enemy's attention at Ouds Scarpel by a feint attack. The firft impreffion was made on the adverfe line, by the centre of our army; and the next by the right, and laftly, the left wing alfo overcame all refiftance. The enemy being entirely defeated, retired in the night from the pofition which they had occupied on the Lang-Dyke, the Koe-Dyke, at Bergen, and on the extenfive range of fand-hills between this laft place and Egmont-op-Zee.

On the night after the battle the British troops lay on their arms; and, on the third of October, moved forward and occupied the pofitions of the Lang-Dyke, Alkmaet, Bergen, Egmont-op-Hoof, and Egmont-op-Zee. The enemy's force was computed to be about twentyfive thousand men, of which by far the greater part were French. The duke of York, in the account he gives of the action of the fecond of October, beftows warm and liberal praise on the whole army under his command. Under the Divine Providence,' fays his royal highness, this fignal victory, obtained over the enemy, is to be afcribed to the animated and perlevering exertions, which have been, at all times, the characteristics of the British foldier, and which, on no occafion, were ever more eminently displayed: nor has it often fallen to the lot of any general, to have fuch juft caufe of acknowledgement for diftinguifhed fupport. I cannot, in fufficient terms, exprefs the obligations I owe to general fir Ralph Abercrombie,

and

and lieutenant-general Dundas, for the able manner in which they conducted their refpective columns; whofe fuccefs is, in no fmall degree, to be attributed to their perfonal exertions and example: the former had two horfes fhot under him.' Very diftinguifhed praife is alfo beflowed by his highnefs on colonel Macdonald, lord Paget, major-general Coote, general fir James Pultney, and many other officers."

The lofs fuftained by the enemy exceeded four thousand men killed, about three hundred prifoners, feven pieces of cannon, and a great many tumbrils. But the victory, obtained by the British army, was dearly purchafed, by the lofs of about fifteen hundred men.

The exhaufted ftate of the troops, from the vast difficulties and fatigues they had to encounter, prevented. the British commander from taking that advantage of the enemy's retreat, which in any other country, and under any other circumftances, would have been the confequences of the operations of the fecond of October.

The French general having, with great prudence, taken poft at the narrow ifthmus, above-mentioned, between Beverwick and the Zuyder-Zec, the duke of York determined, if poffible, to force him from thence, before he fhould have an opportunity of ftrengthening, by works, the fort and very defenfible line which he occupied, and to oblige him ftill farther to retire, before he could be joined by the reinforcements, which, he was informed, were upon their march. Preparatively, therefore, to a general and forward movement, he ordered the advanced pofts, which the army had taken upon the third, in front

near

of Alkmaer, and the other places already mentioned to be pushed forward; which was done accordingly, on the fourth. At firft little oppofition was fhewn, and the British fucceeded in taking poffeffion of the villages of Schermerhoorn, ArcherSloot, Limmen, Baccum, and of a pofition on the fand-hills, Wyck-op-zee. The column, confifting of the Ruffian troops, under the command of major-general d'Effen, in endeavouring to gain a height, in front of their intended advanced poft, at Baccum, (which was material to the fecurity of that point) was vigorously oppofed by a strong body of the enemy, which obliged fir Ralph Abercrombie to move up for the fupport of that column with the referve of his corps.

The enemy, on their part, advanced their whole force. The action became general along the whole line, from Limmen to the fea, and was maintained on both fides until night, when the Batavian' and French army retired, leaving the British in the field of battle. This conflict was as fevere as any of thofe that had been fought fince the arrival of our troops in Holland, and, in proportion to the numbers engaged, attended with as great lofs. Of the British, 1200 were killed, wounded, or taken; of the Ruffians, not lefs than 700. The lofs of the enemy was alfo very great in killed, wounded, and prifoners, which fell into our hands to the number of 500. The post to which the British army directed its march, was Haerlem. But intelligence being received, from the prifoners taken in this action, that the enemy, who had juft been reinforced by 6000 infantry, had ftrengthened the pofition of Beverwick, and

[X3]

thrown

thrown up very ftrong works in its rear: and it being farther known that they had ftationed a large force at Purmerend, in an almost inacceffible pofition, covered by an inundated country; the debouches from which were ftrongly fortified, and in the hands of a corps of the enemy; which corps, as our army advanced, would be placed in our rear; intelligence being received of all thefe circumftances, the British commander naturally paufed. The obilacles here enumerated might have been overcome by the perfevering courage of the troops, under his command, had not the state of the weather, the ruined condition of the roads, and the total want of the neceffary fupplies, arifing from the above caufes, prefented additional difficulties, which demanded the moft ferious confideration. The duke of York, therefore, having maturely weighed the circum ftances, in which the army under his command was thus placed, thought it adviseable, with the concurrence of general Abercromby, and the lieutenant-generals of the army, to withdraw the troops, from this advanced pofition, to their former ftation, at Schagenbrug; from whence, on the ninth of October, his royal highness difpatched his fecretary, colonel Brownrig, to London, in order to give a circumftantial account of the state of affairs in Holland, and to receive his majefty's farther instructions.

In the mean time, the enemy harraffed our line of defence at Schagenbrug, by daily, though partial, attacks; the moft ferious of which was made by general Daendels in perfon. That general, on the tenth of October, attacked the right wing of the British forces, upon an advan

ced poft near Wincle, under the command of prince William of Gloucester, with 6000 men, and fix pieces of cannon; endeavouring to force this poft by every exertion. To refift this formidable attack the prince had only 1200 men, and two pieces of cannon; yet he obliged the Dutch general to retreat, with the lofs of 200 men killed, and one French general. But general Daendels being almoft immediately reinforced by 4060 Dutch troops, the prince of Gloucester was under the neceffity of falling back to Coborn. The lofs of the English, in this action, did not exceed three killed, and about twelve wounded. The prince, during the action, had his horfe fhot under him; but he received no injury himself, though expofed to the greatest perfonal danger, under a heavy fire, being frequently in front of the line, animating the exertions of his troops by his example.

The efforts of our marine force, in the Zuyder-Zee, and other parts of the Dutch coaft, were continued, amidst thefe tranfactions on land, with unabated activity. Many gun-boats and feveral light fhips of war were taken from the enemy; and an attack, that, on the 11th of October, they made on the town of Lemmer, which had come into our poffeffion, as above related, was gallantly repulfed by the British failors and marines, under the command of captain Boorder, of the Wolverene bomb-fhip.

About this time an attempt is fuppofed to have been made to gain over to our caufe the Batavian ge, neral Daendels. That general was found to be indeed a friend to peace, but not to the Stadthol. der,

On