lacolle mill, battle of.—operations were commenced early in the spring of 1814. an american army, commanded by general wilkinson, and amounting to upwards of 3000 men, entered lower canada on the western shore of lake champlain. they attacked and completely invested lacolle mill, which was defended by major handcock, of the 13th regiment, and about 180 men. they were vigorously repulsed from this little fortress and driven back to the united states.
la hogue, battle of.—between the english and dutch combined fleets under admirals russel and rooke, and the french under tourville. the allies gained a complete victory, burning thirteen ships of the french, and destroying eight more, and forcing the rest to fly, and so preventing the threatened invasion of england, may 19th, 1692.
la rothière, battle of.—between the french, commanded by napoleon, and the prussian and russian armies, which were defeated after a desperate engagement with the loss of some thousands slain, and 3000 prisoners and 30 pieces of cannon, february 1st, 1814. this was about one of the last victories of napoleon.
la vendée, war of.—many battles in this war were fought between the french royalists of la vendée and the republican armies in 1793–4. the war terminated january 10th, 1800.
lakes champlain, erie, and ontario.—these lakes were the scene of many engagements between the english and american[184] colonists in the war of independence, and also in the war of 1812–15, the chief of which was the capture of the british fleet by the americans after a severe action, september 11th, 1813.
landen, battle of.—between the allies and french, in which william iii of england commanded. owing chiefly to the cowardice of the dutch horse, this sanguinary engagement ended in the defeat of the allies, july 19, 1693. the duke of berwick, illegitimate son of james ii, who was fighting on the side of france, was taken prisoner in this battle by brigadier churchill, afterwards the great duke of marlborough.
langside, battle of.—fought, may 13th, 1568, between the forces of queen mary of scotland and the regent. “many powerful barons called their vassals to their banners, and hastened to support the queen. in a few days her camp at hamilton contained 6000 men. the regent had with difficulty mustered 4000, but he determined to bring the queen’s army to battle at once. she broke up her camp at hamilton, and marched towards dumbarton. the village of langside lay on her line of march, and her troops must pass through a narrow lane leading up the face of the hill on which the village stood. moray posted his hag-butters, or matchlock-men, among the cottages, and lined with them the garden-hedges on both sides of the lane. the queen took her station on an eminence half a mile distant, from which she had the battle full in sight. she saw her troops press up the hill, and endeavour to force the passage of the lane. she saw them reel under the close and deadly fire of the hagbut-men who lined the hedges. she saw them come on again stoutly, and meet the shock of moray’s spearmen. she saw the mass of combatants swaying to and fro in doubtful conflict. and then she saw her troops swept down the hill, broken and scattered, the regent’s men fiercely pursuing and spearing the wretched fugitives.”
laon, battle of.—in france.—between the allies, chiefly the prussian army, and the french. this battle or rather succession of actions, was fought under the walls of the town, and ended, after a sanguinary and obstinate contest in the defeat of the latter with great loss, march 9th, 1814.
largs, battle of.—fought between the ancient inhabitants of scotland and the northmen. a bloody battle, fought 30th september,[185] 1263. the following description is from the pen of an eminent scottish modern writer:
“it was about the middle of august when the fleet of haco, which counted 160 ships, rounded the mull of cantyre and entered the frith of clyde. time is everything in war. haco should have landed immediately. every day was bringing the storms of autumn nearer, and every day was giving time to the king of scotland to increase his forces. haco was a veteran who had been king of norway forty-six winters. alexander was a young man who had lived fewer than half the years that haco had reigned. but the youth fairly outwitted the veteran. he sent an embassy of barefooted friars on board of haco’s ship to propose terms of peace. the barefooted envoys came and went between the two kings, and the time was spun out in negociations till the weather began to break; the fleet was running short of provisions, and the scots in formidable numbers were assembling on the shore.
“it was now the last day of september. at night there came on a storm so sudden and so wild that the norwegians believed it to have been raised by the spells of the scotch witches. the ships were torn from their anchors and ran ashore, or dashed against each other in the pitchy darkness. haco ordered the attendance of his priests, took to his boat, and landed on the island of cumbrae, where, amid the howling of the storm, he had mass performed. in stranger circumstances, surely, mass was never said or sung. unluckily for haco, the strong-winged tempest heeded it not. it continued with unabated fury all night and all the next day. the fleet drove up the channel, scattering the sea with wreck, and the shore with stranded vessels. the heights above the coast were covered by a multitude of armed peasants, who watched their opportunity and rushed down to attack the stranded ships.
“when the second morning broke, and the violence of the tempest had somewhat abated, haco, by means of his boats, landed with a large force to protect his stranded vessels from the armed peasantry, and if possible to tow them off. while the norwegians were engaged in the operation of floating off their ships, the sun rose, and his level rays caught the surrounding hills. through the grey sheet of morning mist which covered the landscape, flashes as of fire were seen. it was the sun’s rays glancing upon the polished armour of the scottish army. they advanced rapidly, and the norwegians could soon discern their pennons and banners waving above their wood of spears, and the knights and leaders, blazing in complete steel, marshalling the line. they were commanded by king alexander in person.
[186]
“they attacked with fury, and drove back the advanced body of the norwegians. it seemed as if the whole force of the enemy was about to be swept into the sea before the fierce onset of the scots. but the norsemen, who fought entirely on foot, threw themselves into a circle with their long spears pointing out to the foe, like a huge hedgehog with prickles of steel. all day long the battle raged around this ring of spears. the storm had renewed its violence, so that it was impossible to send help on shore. again and again the scottish horse repeated their furious charge. the circle of steel was slowly forced back along the shore, but it could not be broken. a scottish knight, sir piers de curry, rode round and round it brandishing his spear and challenging any norse captain to single combat. he wore a helmet inlaid with gold and set with precious stones; his mail was gold-embossed; his sword-belt studded with jewels. a leader of the northmen accepted his challenge, and stepped out from the circle of spears. the scottish knight spurred his horse and rushed down upon him with levelled lance. the norseman with his great sword parried the spear-thrust, and as the knight passed him in his career, smote him with his whole strength upon the thigh. the sword cut sheer into the saddle through steel and bone, so that the limb was separated from the body, and the proud knight fell dead beneath his horse.
“a re-inforcement from the ships at length succeeded in landing through the surf; and with the aid of these fresh troops the norwegians bore back the scots from the shore. night fell upon the weary combatants, and under cover of the darkness the norwegians got on board their ships.”
laybach, congress of.—attended by the sovereigns of russia, prussia, and austria, and resulting in two circulars, stating that naples should be occupied with the austrian troops, may 6th, 1821.
leghorn.—entered by the french revolutionary army, july 27th, 1796, but the immense amount of british property in the city had been previously removed. evacuated by the french in 1799, and retaken the next year. the austrian took the city may 12th, 1849.
legion.—a roman body of soldiers, about 6000 men. the 10th legion was a favourite one with c?sar. ancient britain was generally protected by three legions.
[187]
leipsic, battle of.—this battle fought, october 16th, 17th, and 18th, 1813, between the allied army of russia, prussia, and austria on the one side, and napoleon on the other, was one of the greatest, bloodiest, and most decisive of modern times. the french numbered 160,000 men, and the allies 260,000 strong. this great battle was lost by the french, chiefly owing to the seventeen german battalions, then saxon allies, turning upon them in the heat of the action; 80,000 perished on the field, of whom more than 40,000 were french, who also lost sixty-five pieces of cannon and many standards. this victory of the allied army was followed by that of the capture of leipsic, and the rear guard of the french army next day. the king of saxony and his family were also made prisoners.
lepanto, battle of.—the great naval battle between the combined fleets of spain, venice, and pius v, and the whole maritime force of the turks. don john of austria commanded the allied fleet, which consisted of 206 galleys and 30,000 men. the turks had 200 galleys. after a dreadful engagement they lost 150 galleys, and 30,000 men in killed and prisoners. fought, october 7th, 1571.
leuctra, battle of.—one of the most famous in ancient history, fought july 8th, 371 b.c. in this battle 4000 spartans, with their king, were slain, and not more than 300 thebans. after this battle the spartans lost their position in greece, which they had held for 500 years.
lewes, battle of.—between henry iii of england and montfort, earl of leicester. fought, may 14th, 1264. the royal army was overthrown, and the king, his brother and son prince edward, were taken prisoners.
lexington, battle of.—the first battle fought between great britain and her revolted colonies of america; gained by the british, who destroyed the stores of the colonists, but they lost in battle 273 men killed and wounded. fought, april 19th, 1775.
leyden, siege of.—a memorable siege sustained against the armies of spain; 6000 of the inhabitants died during the siege, of famine and pestilence, a.d. 1574. a university was afterwards founded in commemoration of this event.
[188]
lieutenant.—an officer who supplies the place of a superior in his absence. in military affairs the second commissioned officer in a company of infantry, cavalry or artillery. in ships of war, a lieutenant is next in rank to the captain.
ligny, battle of.—fought, june 16th, 1815, just before the celebrated battle of waterloo, between the prussians under blucher, and the french commanded by napoleon. the french gained the victory.
lincelles, battle of.—between the allied english and dutch armies and the french, in which the french were defeated august 18th, 1793. in this battle, general lake commanded the 3rd battalion of foot guards, who so much distinguished themselves. colonel bosville, of the coldstreams, was killed; the french lost 11 cannon.
lincoln, battle of.—a battle was fought at lincoln between the armies of the princess maud and king stephen of england. stephen was defeated and captured, february 2nd, 1141. another battle was fought here between the dauphin of france and henry iii of england. this was a bloody engagement, in which the french and their english adherents were completely defeated, and louis withdrew his pretensions to the english crown, may 19th, 1217.
linlithgow-bridge, battle of.—between the forces of the earl of angus, and the forces of lenox, who fought to get possession of the person of james v, then a minor. lenox was slain by sir james hamilton, 1525.
lippstadt, battle of.—one of the most bloody battles ever fought in the world. called also lutzen, which see.
lisle, siege of.—besieged by the duke of marlborough and the allies, and taken after three months, in 1708. restored at the treaty of utrecht, 1713—this siege is accounted one of the most famous in modern times. it also sustained a severe bombardment by the austrians in the revolutionary war, but they were obliged to raise the siege, october 7th, 1792.
lissa, battle of.—this battle, fought december 5th, 1757, closed the campaign, in which the king of prussia vanquished prince[189] charles of lorraine; 6000 austrians were slain. laid in ashes by the russians in 1707.
lodi, battle of the bridge of.—one of the earliest of napoleon’s victories. fought in italy, may 10th, 1796. napoleon commanded the french army, which was opposed to the austrians, under general beaulieu, and obtained a splendid victory after a bloody engagement, in which several thousands of the imperialists were slain, and many thousands made prisoners. napoleon nearly lost his life at this battle, and was wounded in the hip with a bayonet. one of his great marshals in this battle, a sergeant, saved him, and was commissioned on the spot.
londonderry, siege of.—memorable for a siege during the reign of james ii, of england. james’ army, under the french general rosene, retired with the loss of 8000 men, after having practised almost unparalleled cruelties upon the inhabitants of the surrounding villages, april 20th, 1689.
longbeards or longobards.—hence lombardy. the longobards or longbeards, who had overrun and taken possession of the great plain of the basin of the po, retained to some extent their separate independence even under the empire of germany. they had their own laws and customs, and were in the habit of crowning the emperor, or whoever else was acknowledged, as king of lombardy. hence, too, napoleon wore the iron crown of their kings. this famed symbol of kingship was deposited in the cathedral of monza; it is a broad circle of gold, set with large rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, and was secured in an ornamented cross placed over an altar, closely shut up within folding doors of gilt brass. the crown is kept in an octagonal aperture in the centre of the cross. it is composed of six equal pieces of beaten gold, joined together by close hinges, and the jewels and embossed gold ornaments are set in a ground of blue and gold enamel, interesting as exhibiting an exact resemblance to the workmanship of the enamelled part of a gold ornament now in the ashmolean museum, which once belonged to king alfred. but for those who have an appetite for relics, the most important part of this crown is a narrow iron rim, which is attached to the inside of it all round. the rim is about three-eighths of an inch broad, and a tenth of an inch thick, made out of one of the nails used in the crucifixion. the crown is said to have been presented to constantine by his mother; and the sacred iron rim, from which it has its name, was[190] to protect him in battle. and, although this iron has now been exposed more than fifteen hundred years, there is not a speck of rust upon it.
long island, battle of.—between the british troops under sir william howe and the revolted americans, who suffered a severe defeat, after a well fought action, losing 2000 men in killed and wounded and 1000 prisoners. the americans were pursued to new york, but were saved by a thick fog, which enabled them to escape. fought, august 27th, 1776.
l’orient, battle of.—lord bridport achieved a memorable victory over the french fleet, june 23rd, 1795. the british squadron actually engaged consisted of 10 ships of the line—the enemy’s, of 12 ships of the line, 11 frigates, and some smaller vessels. after an action of three hours the french got into port, leaving three sail of the line in the possession of the british. the loss of the french was severe.
losses in great battles.—the military gazette of vienna makes the following comparisons of the forces engaged in the battle of solferino and in former great battles:—“at that battle there were more than 300,000 soldiers in the field, and the losses must have amounted to at least from 30,000 to 37,000. at the battle of leipsic, which lasted for three days, the 330,000 allies had against them 260,000 french; the latter lost 30,000 prisoners and 45,000 killed and wounded, and the former 48,000 killed and wounded. after leipsic, the most sanguinary battle was that of moscow, on the 7th of september, 1812. the russians had 130,000 men and 600 pieces of cannon, the french 134,000 men and 587 cannon; the former lost 58,000 and the latter 50,000; the losses were, therefore, 40 per cent. at bautzen, on the 21st of may, 1813, there were 110,000 russians and prussians opposed to 150,000 french; the latter lost 20,000 men and the allies 15,000, and not a single cannon. at wagram, on the 5th and 6th of july, 1809, we had 137,000 men, and napoleon 170,000; we lost 20,000 men and the enemy 22,000. at esling we were 70,000 against 85,000; we had 20,000 killed and wounded, the enemy 13,000 killed; but he left in our hands 33,000 prisoners, and was obliged to send 30,000 to vienna to have their wounds attended to, so that out of the 160,000 men engaged about one-half were put hors de combat. at austerlitz there were 70,000 french, as many russians, and 13,000 austrians; the losses were 21,000 russians,[191] with 160 pieces of cannon, 5,800 austrians, and 10,000 french. at jena there were 142,000 french against 150,000 prussians. at waterloo there were 170,000 men, of whom 70,000 were french, who lost 25,000 men and 250 cannon, whilst the allies lost 31,000 men.”
the following statistics of mr. haussener will complete the account of the losses in great battles:
“the wars which have been waged from 1815 to 1864, have caused the death of 2,762,000 men, of whom 2,148,000 were europeans, and 614,000 from other quarters of the globe, which gives an average of 43,800 per annum. the figures do not include the deaths caused by epidemics resulting from war. the most sanguinary hostilities of that period are these:—the eastern war of 1856, in which 508,600 men fell in the following proportions: 256,000 russians, 98,900 turks, 107,000 french, 45,000 english, and 2600 italians. the caucusus (1829–60) 330,000 men lost their lives. the revolt in india (1857–59) cost 196,000 lives. the russo-turkish war (1820–29) 193,000. the polish insurrection (1831) 190,000. the whole of the french campaigns in africa (1830–59) 147,000. the hungarian insurrection 142,000. the italian war 129,870, of whom 96,874 died on the field or from their wounds; and 33,000 from various diseases. the total number of lives lost in europe during the wars from 1793 to 1815 amounted to 5,530,000, which gives for the twenty-three years an average of 240,434 deaths per year.”
lucknow, siege of.—memorable in the great indian mutiny. the following account of the gallant defence of a few europeans at the gateway, lucknow, where general neill fell, september 26th and 27th, 1857, is abridged from the account of dr. a. c. home, contained in “the mutinies of oude:”—
“there were present, including dr. home, nine sound men, two wounded officers, captain beecher and lieutenant swanson, and three wounded men: total, fourteen. private mcmanus kept outside the doorway, sheltering himself behind a pillar, and killed so many of the assailants that at length he had only to raise his piece to cause all the enemy to leave their loopholes. the bodies of the dead sepoys round the door were, in fact, a defence. ryan and mcmanus actually rushed out and brought in a wounded officer who lay in a dhoolie in the adjoining street, returning in safety, although the ground was torn by musket balls about them. the conduct of hallowell also was splendid. he always managed[192] to kill an enemy at a most critical moment, and at length shot the leader. finally the sepoys pushed a screen on wheels before them, to protect themselves from the minié rifle, and set the building on fire, when the gallant little band retreated in good order to a shed at a short distance, and defended themselves afresh. their cowardly assailants took this opportunity to massacre all the wounded in dhoolies near to the house first defended. this small company of heroes kept the foe at bay during the night. at daybreak, however, they heard firing, when ryan suddenly jumped up and shouted, ‘oh, boys! them’s our own chaps!’ in about three minutes captain moorsom appeared at the entrance-hole of the shed, and they were brought off in safety.”
the following is an account of havelock’s relief of lucknow:
“it was thus the 19th of september before general havelock was in a position to cross the ganges for a third time, and to advance with an efficient force to relieve the long-beleaguered garrison at lucknow. on that day the army of relief crossed the river by a bridge of boats, and encamped on the other side. general havelock’s force consisted of about 2000 european infantry, the sikh regiment of ferozepore, three batteries of field artillery, and a handful of volunteer cavalry. the rebels mustered above 40,000 strong, but their numerical superiority only served to enhance the prowess of their conquerors. the first engagement took place on the 21st of september, at the village of mungarwar, and resulted in the total defeat of the mutineers. five field-pieces and guns in position were taken, two of the former being captured by the volunteer cavalry, led on to the charge by general outram in person. from this point the army pushed on by forced marches, without encountering any organized opposition, until it arrived before the city of lucknow. skirting the suburbs of that once stately capital, general havelock forced his way through every obstacle, and, by the evening of the 25th, had relieved the heroic garrison. the relief was opportune. two mines had already been driven under the chief works, and, in a few hours more, would have been loaded and sprung. the besieged would thus have been placed at the mercy of those who knew no mercy. the city, however, had still to be subdued. from several advantageous positions the enemy continued to fire upon the fort, and were only finally dislodged after a series of determined assaults. in these operations the loss of the british was very severe. general neill, the brave and energetic saviour of benares, and the inexorable avenger of the massacre at cawnpore, was among the slain. with him fell major cooper, in command of the artillery, and[193] many other gallant spirits. even now much remained to be done. taking courage from their overwhelming numbers, the enemy soon closed again around the army of deliverance, and cut off their communications with cawnpore. encumbered with not less than 1000 women and children, and sick and wounded men, it would have been hazardous if not impossible to have attempted a march across a difficult country. under these circumstances sir james outram, who had assumed the chief command, determined on remaining at lucknow, and awaiting the arrival of re-inforcements. sir colin campbell, the commander-in-chief, left cawnpore with a strong force, on the 9th of november, to relieve lucknow. he succeeded, by a well-conceived stratagem on the 12th, in bringing away the garrison with the women and children, and marched for cawnpore. on the third day after leaving lucknow, general havelock died from the effects of dysentery, brought on by excessive fatigue and anxiety. in december, cawnpore was attacked by 25,000 rebels with fifty guns, and sir colin campbell was summoned from the neighbourhood of lucknow for its defence. he arrived in season to save the place, after a severe action with the enemy. sir colin remained at cawnpore, collecting a large force for the final siege of lucknow. during the time which was thus occupied, several actions of minor importance took place; but it was not till the 17th of march that lucknow was recovered, after a short but active siege. after its fall, the kingdom of oude, of which it was the capital, was speedily restored to obedience and comparative tranquillity.”
luneville, peace of.—between the french republic and the emperor of germany, concluded february 9th, 1801.
lutzen, battle of.—between the french, commanded by napoleon, and the combined armies of russia and prussia, commanded by general wittgenstein, may 2nd, 1813. this bloody battle opened the campaign of that year, and though each side claimed the victory, it was manifestly on the side of france. marshal duroc was mortally wounded in this battle.
lutzengen or lutzen, battle of.—gustavus adolphus, king of sweden, fought this battle against the emperor. in this sanguinary engagement gustavus was basely killed in the victory, november 6th, 1632. this gustavus was the most illustrious hero[194] of his times, and the chief support of the german protestants, and an ally to charles i of england.
luxemburg.—considered the strongest fortress in the world, taken by the french in 1543; then by the spaniards in 1544; again by the french in 1684—restored to spain in 1697. again taken by the french, in 1701, and given to the dutch, and ceded to the emperor at the peace of 1713. during last century it also sustained a long and memorable siege, june 17th, 1795. the garrison surrendered to the french, and were liberated on parole.
