ebro.—scene of a signal defeat of the spaniards, by the french, november 23rd, 1808. scene also of several movements of the allied forces during the peninsular war.
eckmuhl, battle of.—fought, april 22nd, 1809, between the main armies of france and austria. the french army was commanded by napoleon, and the austrian by the archduke charles. napoleon, by one of his masterly movements, broke through the imperial army, and completely routed them.
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edgehill, battle of.—fought, october 23rd, 1642, between the royalists and the parliament army, the first engagement of importance in the civil war. charles i was present in this battle. prince rupert commanded the royalists and the earl of essex the parliamentarians. the earl of lindsay, one of charles’ generals, who commanded the foot forces, was mortally wounded and taken prisoner. the king’s army lost 5000 men, dead on the field of battle, with vast numbers of wounded and prisoners; but the great loss on the other side prevented them from making all they could of the victory.
ensign.—a flag or banner. the lowest commissioned officer in an infantry regiment—he who carries the flag or colors—hence the name; derived from the french.
enghien, battle of.—fought, august 3rd, 1692, between the british, under william iii, and the french, under marshal luxembourg, who were victorious. william had put himself at the head of the confederate army in the netherlands, and leagued himself with the protestant powers upon the continent against the ambition of louis xiv, and in the end he triumphed.
enlistment of soldiers and seaman.—none enlisted are to be sworn in before a magistrate in less than twenty-four hours, and then they are at liberty to withdraw, upon returning enlistment or bounty money and 21s. costs. all enlistment is now voluntary.
enniskillen.—ireland.—it made an obstinate defence against the army of elizabeth; then against james ii, 1689—1500 enniskillens met general mccarty with a force of 6000 men—defeated him, with a loss of 3000 men, and took all the rest—losing only twenty men, july 1689. the enniskillen dragoons were raised here.
essling, battle of.—fought, may 22nd, 1809, between the armies of france and austria, commanded by napoleon and the archduke charles,—a dreadful conflict, which began on may 21st, and continued on the 22nd. napoleon was defeated with the loss of 30,000 men—but the austrians lost 20,000. this was the most severe check that napoleon had ever yet experienced, which rendered his army’s retreat very difficult.
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eupatoria.—crimea.—famous in the crimean war. the following is an account of its capture by the allies:
“about 25,000 turks, under omer pacha, the veterans for the most part of the army of the danube, had occupied the town, and strongly entrenched themselves, assisted by a small force of english and french, and supported by the presence of a naval squadron, under the command of captain hastings, of the cura?oa. for some days previous to the 16th of february, large bodies of russians had been observed in the vicinity; and on the morning of that day, a strong force of artillery, supported by bodies of cavalry and infantry, estimated at about 40,000 men, opened a smart fire upon the town, at a distance of 1200 yards, subsequently advancing nearer. the small squadron, under captain hastings, was enabled to do good service; the valorous pitching shells and shot among the enemy on the left; and the viper, an active little gun-boat, smartly seconding her efforts on the left. the enemy’s infantry approached to the right of the town, through the cemetery. as they advanced from the burying-ground, they were met by a vigorous fire of musketry from the entrenchments. the furious had detached a rocket-party, which coming round among the windmills to the right of the town, met the advancing russians with a succession of volleys. the enemy advanced to within twenty yards of the ditch, and then fell into confusion. selim bey, the leader of the egyptian contingent, seizing the opportunity, threw forward his brigade in a rapid charge with the bayonet upon the disordered columns, but fell mortally wounded at the head of his men. unable to stand the terrific fire to which they were exposed, and yielding before the vigorous charge of the egyptians, the russians gave way, and the repulse was complete. the artillery limbered up their guns, and with the cavalry, drew leisurely from the spot. the enemy’s loss must have been immense, considering the short time the skirmish lasted, as the ground was strewed with the bodies of the slain, who were quickly despoiled by the ever ready bashi-bazouks, and left stark naked in their blood. the loss to the defenders of the town was 101 killed, and 286 wounded. the turkish artillery suffered greatly from the enemy’s fire, nineteen men being killed in one battery. thus did omer pacha initiate his campaign in the crimea.”
eurymedon, battle of.—one of the most celebrated battles in grecian history, when cimon destroyed the fleet of the persians at cyprus, and the land forces also at the river eurymedon, b.c. 470.
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evesham, battle of.—fought, august 4th, 1265, between prince edward, afterwards edward i, and simon de montfort, earl of leicester—in which the barons were defeated, and montfort slain. this victory broke up the confederation of the barons against the king.
exeter.—when held by the danes king alfred invested and took it a.d. 894. sweyn besieged it 1003. again besieged by william the conqueror, 1067. surrendered to king stephen, 1136. besieged by sir william courtenay, 1469. lastly assaulted by perkin warbeck 1497.
expeditions of the british. principal ones.
france near port l’orient october 1, 1746
cherbourg august 7, 1758
st. malo september, 1758
ostend may, 1798
zuyder zee september, 1799
egypt march, 1801
copenhagen september, 1807
walcheren july, 1809
bergen-op-zoom march, 1814
eylau, battle of.—fought, february 8th, 1807, between the french and russians.—it was one of the most terrible and bloody in napoleon’s wars. napoleon lost 15,000 men, and the russians 20,000, in slain alone. both armies were dreadfully crippled by this battle, and both had to retire.
