ramilies, battle of.—between the english and allies, commanded by marlborough, on the one side, and the french, commanded by the elector of bavaria and the marshal de villeroy. the french, having no confidence in their commander, were soon seized with a panic, and a general rout ensued. about 4000 of the allied army were slain. fought on whitsunday, may 26th, 1706.
“the year following the victory of blenheim was, for the most part, wasted in the struggles of marlborough with his enemies at home, and with the dilatory and uncertain course of the allies of england abroad. he succeeded in forcing the french lines in flanders; but the fruits of this great achievement were snatched from him by the constant backwardness of the dutch generals, who opposed every measure which was urged by him. so grieved was he by their continual opposition, that on one occasion, when the opportunity of a brilliant success was thus lost, he exclaimed, “i feel at this moment ten years older than i was four years ago.” in fact, towards the end of what he had hoped to make a glorious campaign, but which through this opposition had been lost in disputes, he fell seriously ill, and was obliged to retire for a time from active employment.
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meanwhile, the imperial government had begun to show signs of jealousy and uneasiness that this great general should be employed in flanders, and in the defence of holland, instead of recovering the austrian possessions on the rhine, and liberating lorraine. pressing applications were made that the duke, instead of prosecuting the war in belgium, would return to the moselle, and co-operate with the imperial forces in that quarter. taking his departure from the army at the end of october, 1705, marlborough set out for vienna, which he reached on the 12th of november. here the emperor joseph created him a prince of the empire, and conferred on him the lordship of mindelheim. but which gave him far more satisfaction, he succeeded in reconciling all differences, and in cementing the alliance, which seemed in danger of dissolution, between austria, prussia, and the netherlands, against the ambitious designs of france. he then returned to the hague, which he reached on the 11th of december, proceeding thence to london, which he reached early in the new year.
on the 25th of april, 1706, he again arrived at the hague for the active duties of the approaching campaign. this year’s warfare began at an earlier period than the previous ones, for the french general, with commendable zeal and activity, took the field in the spring, forced the german lines on the motter, reduced dreisenheim and hagenau, and threatened the palatinate. the duke, therefore, left the hague on the 9th may, the dutch being now anxious to retain him with them, and offering him uncontrolled power over their forces. accompanied by overkirk, he passed through rimemont, and reached maestricht on the 12th. here he reviewed the dutch troops, and began to take measures for an attack on namur. but villeroy received orders from paris rather to risk a battle than to give up this important place. hence, in the third week in may, the two armies began to approach each other.
villeroy and the elector of bavaria passed the dyle, and approached tirlemont. their combined forces amounted to about 62,000 men. the duke, with his english, joined the dutch at bilsen on the 20th of may, and on the 22nd he had intelligence of the arrival of the danish contingent, which raised the strength of his army to about 60,000 men. his first desire, now, was to learn the position of the enemy, and how best to come in contact with them. the field of battle ultimately proved to be in an elevated part of the plain of brabant, lying between maestricht, louvain, and namur. the village of ramilies itself is but a few miles to the east of wavre, the position of marshal blucher on the morning of the day of waterloo.
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on the 23rd of may, then, in 1706, the english, dutch, and danish army, commencing their march early in the morning, came in sight, about eight o’clock, of the franco-bavarian outposts. a fog for some time made everything obscure, but about ten o’clock the two armies stood in presence of each other. the french commander had formed his order of battle with the skill which experience generally gives; but he was opposed by a greater commander, whose eye speedily detected the weaknesses of his position.
the french and bavarians were drawn up on ground which, by its nature, gave their order of battle a concave form. thus the attacking enemy would have the advantage of being able to bring his men more rapidly from one side to the other, as required. the left wing of the french, also, though strongly posted, was in a position from which it could not easily move. marlborough, therefore, was not long in forming his plan, which was, to turn the enemy’s right wing; to seize an elevated position in the rear of that wing, and from that position to outflank the whole army.
he therefore began a feigned attack, by his own right wing, upon the left of the french. villeroy immediately met this, as marlborough intended, by sending for fresh troops from his centre, and by weakening his right. pausing in his apparent attack, marlborough promptly moved to the left all the infantry that were out of sight of the french, and fell upon the enemy’s right wing, which was posted in tavieres.
the attack succeeded, and tavieres was carried. villeroy, finding out his mistake, hurried his squadron of dragoons to the succour of his right wing; but these squadrons were met by the danish cavalry emerging from tavieres, and they were all cut to pieces, or driven into the mehaigne.
and now ramilies itself, in the centre, became the object of attack. the duke ordered up from his own right wing every available squadron, and exposed himself much in leading the attack. he was, at one moment, thrown from his horse, and in danger of being made prisoner. while he was remounting, a cannon-ball killed his equerry, captain bingfield, who was assisting him.
but now the allied cavalry had reached the height of ottomond, in the rear of the french position, and the success of the attack was secured. the french were in utter confusion in all parts of the field, and ramilies itself was carried. there remained only the left wing of villeroy’s army; and this, attacked now by the reserves on marlborough’s right,[262] and by the victorious troops which had cleared ramilies, gave way as evening drew on, rushed in crowds down the descent behind their position, and fled for judoigne. the cannon and baggage fell into the hands of the victors, who pursued the flying french and bavarians until two o’clock in the morning. the allied army did not halt in its pursuit till past midnight, when it had advanced to meldert, five leagues from the field of battle, and two from louvian.
this battle cost the franco-bavarian army 13,000 men, in killed, wounded, and prisoners: among whom were the princes of soubise and rohan, and a son of marshal tallard. the spoils of the day consisted of 80 colours and standards taken from the french; nearly all their artillery, and all the baggage which was in the field. the loss of the allies was 1066 killed, and 2567 wounded. the vast difference between this, and the loss sustained at blenheim, shows that the victory of ramilies was gained by the duke’s masterly man?uvres; and was not owing merely to the courage of the soldiers.
the results of the battle of ramilies were very great. louvain instantly surrendered; brussels received the duke with open arms on the 28th. mechlin, alost, and lierre, quickly followed. all brabant was gained by this one victory. nor was this all. flanders caught the infection. ghent opened its gates on the 1st of june; and antwerp surrendered a few days afterwards. ostend fell on the 6th of july; and in its harbour were taken two men-of-war, and 45 smaller vessels.”
rathmines, battle of.—in ireland.—colonel jones, governor of dublin castle, made a sally, august 2nd, 1649, and routed the marquis of ormond, killed 4000 men and took 2517 prisoners, with their cannon, baggage and ammunition. this battle, and other successes, completely discomfited the rebels in this part of ireland.
ravenna, battle of.—fought, april 11th, 1512, between the french, under the great gaston de foix, duke of nemours, and nephew of louis xii, and the spanish and papal armies. de foix, gained this memorable battle, but perished in the moment of victory, and the french fortunes in italy were thus closed. the confederate army was cut to pieces. the duke had performed prodigies of valor, but being too eager in his pursuit of the spaniards, who were retiring in good order, he was slain.
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revolution.—the great revolution which overturned the old monarchy of france occurred at the close of the last century. the 2nd, the one here described sent charles x into exile and was somewhat like that of 1848 which also exiled louis philippe.
second french revolution.
“the political history of 1830 commenced on march 2nd, by a speech from the throne, announcing war against algiers for the insults offered to the french flag, and a wish for a reconciliation with the bragazana family.
this caused great dissatisfaction; the funds fell, the chamber of deputies were against the measure, and on the 19th were convoked till august 3rd, and several fires took place, evidently the work of incendiaries.
on the 25th july, polignac addressed a report to the king on “legitimate power,” and which formed the ground-work of three memorable ordinances, which were signed on that day by charles, and countersigned by the ministers.
the first ordinance abolished the freedom of the press; the second dissolved the chamber of deputies; and the third abrogated the most important rights of the elective franchise.
on the publication of the moniteur on the following morning, all paris was astounded by the mystifying report of the ministers of charles x and the king’s arbitrary decrees. the rentes fell, and the bank stopped payment.
all work was now abandoned, every manufactory closed, and detachments of artisans with large sticks traversed the streets. troops of gendarmes patrolled the streets at full gallop to disperse the accumulating crowds. the people were silent; and at an early hour the shops were closed. early on the 27th, troops of the royal guard and soldiers of the line came pouring in. the people looked sullen and determined. the chief points of rendezvous were the palais royal, the palais de justice, and the bourse. here were simultaneous cries of “viva la charte!”—“down with the absolute king!” but no conversation—no exchange of words with each other. the king was at the tuilleries. in the place carousel there was a station of several thousands of the military, including the lancers of the royal guard, with a great number of cannon. at the place vendome a strong guard of infantry was stationed around the column, to guard the ensigns of royalty upon it from[264] being defaced. crowds of people assembled, and several skirmishes took place.
on wednesday morning, july 28th, the shops of paris were closely shut, and the windows fastened and barred, as if the inhabitants of the city were in mourning for the dead, or in apprehension of approaching calamity. the tocsin sounded, and the people flocked in from the fauxbourgs and different quarters of the city. that determined enemy to oppression, the press, had been at work during the night. handbills were profusely distributed, containing vehement philippics against the king and his ministers, and summoning every man to arm for his country, and to aid in ejecting the bourbons. placards were constantly posted up and eagerly read. during the preceding night an organisation of the people had been arranged. all the arms that could be found at the theatres, and remaining in the shops of armourers that had not been visited the evening before, were seized and distributed. every other kind of property, however, was respected.
strong detachments guarded the different hotels of the ministers. loud cries and shouts were constantly heard, of “down with the jesuits!”—“down with the bourbons!” “death to the ministers!” each man strove to provide himself with a musket, a pistol, a sword, a pole with a knife, or some cutting instrument to form a weapon of offence. troops continually arrived from st. denis, st. cloud, and other military stations. rude barricades were hastily thrown up in different places, to prevent the attacks of cavalry. several telegraphs, including that on the church des petits peres, were dismounted. groups of the people, armed with sticks, bayonets, pikes, and muskets, removed or effaced all the insignia and emblems of royalty. a red flag was hoisted on the gate of st. denis, amidst the shouts of the people. tri-coloured flags were promenaded in the streets, and tri-coloured cockades and breast-knots were worn, not only by the french, but by the english and foreigners of all nations. the royal arms, and other ensigns of the government of charles x that were moveable, were burned in the place publique. all paris was in insurrection. every movement of the people portended a terrible conflict. the government reposed in security upon a blind and implacable dignity.
m. lafitte had an interview with polignac, who said “that the ministers could enter into no compromise or concession.” “we have, then, civil war,” said lafitte. the prince bowed, and lafitte retired.
as soon, however, as polignac’s answer was made known, that “ministers would enter into no compromise or concession,” war, and war to[265] the knife, commenced; and never were witnessed more heroic acts of personal bravery, and more generous disregard of selfish feelings, than were displayed by the citizens of paris on this memorable day and night. the drums of the national guards soon beat “to arms!” the populace answered the call amid the incessant ringing of the tocsin, and the struggle began in earnest. about two o’clock a cannon on the bridge near the marche aux fleurs raked with grape-shot the quay, while the troops were resolutely attacked by the people, and numbers of the guards led off, killed or wounded.
there was a tremendous conflict in la halle, the great market-place of the rue st. denis. the royal guard were early in possession of it. all the outlets were speedily closed by barricades, from behind which, from the corners of the various streets, and from the windows of the houses, the people fired on the guards, and there was a terrible slaughter on both sides. the hottest engagement seems to have been in the rue st. honoré, opposite the palais royal, where the military were assembled in great force, and the people resisted their assailants with desperate determination.
at the place de grêve they fiercely contended with the household troops, the swiss guards, and compelled them to fly with great loss. in the rue montmartre an attack was made by the duke of ragusa in person. during part of the day the place des victoires was occupied by some troops, among whom was a part of the fifth regiment of the line, who had gone over to the national guards established at the petits peres. about two o’clock the duke de ragusa arrived at the place at the head of fresh troops. he drew them up opposite the rues du mail, des fosses, montmartre, croix des petits champs, and neuve des petits champs. he immediately commanded a charge, and on both sides hundreds of men were killed. the marshal directed his troops down the rue du mail, and they scoured the rue montmartre without much difficulty till they reached the rue joquelet, where the people were prepared. each house was armed and guarded. the black flag was displayed on the porte st. denis and other edifices.
as soon as the firing ceased, the people made preparations for the next day by strengthening the barricades and increasing their number. they were assisted by women and even children. the remainder of the afternoon and evening, and the whole of the night, was spent in raising these important obstacles to the evolutions of cavalry. excellent materials were at hand in the paving-stones; they were dug up and piled across[266] the streets in walls breast high, and four or five feet thick. these walls were about fifty paces distant from each other. hundreds of the finest trees were cut down for blockades. nothing could be more effective for the defence of a large open town like paris, traversed in every direction by long narrow streets, overlooked by houses of six, seven, and eight stories, than such barriers, scientifically constructed. all the means that industry and ingenuity could devise, in so short a time, were carried into execution, for the energetic stand and assault determined to be made against the military in the morning.
at day-break on thursday the tocsin sounded “to arms;” and the people began to assemble rapidly and in great crowds. the military, whose guard-houses had been destroyed, were chiefly quartered at the louvre and the tuilleries, the swiss and the royal guards being posted in the houses of the rue st. honoré and the adjacent streets. at the same time, the students of the polytechnic school joined the citizens nearly to a man; they then separated, proceeding singly to different parts to take the command of the people, and nobly repaid the confidence reposed in them. the garden of the tuilleries was closed. in the place du carousel were three squadrons of lancers of the garde royale, a battalion of the third regiment of the guards, and a battery of six pieces, also belonging to the guards.
about one o’clock in the afternoon, a party of the royal guards and of swiss, to the number of nearly 800 men, appeared on the place de grêve. a brisk fire commenced, but the national guards not being in sufficient strength, were obliged to give ground and to suffer the royal guards to take possession of their post. the royal guards had scarcely made themselves masters of the hotel de ville, when they were assailed on all sides with a shower of bullets from the windows of the houses on the place de grêve and in the streets abutting on the quay. the royal guards resisted vigorously, but were ultimately compelled to retreat along the quay; their firing by files and by platoons succeeding each other with astonishing rapidity. they were soon joined by fresh troops of the royal guard and of swiss, including 100 cuirassiers of the guard and four pieces of artillery, each of them escorted by a dozen of artillerymen on horseback. with this terrible reinforcement they again advanced on the hotel de ville, and a frightful firing began on all sides. the artillery debouching from the quay, and their pieces charged with cannister shot, swept the place de grêve in a terrific manner. they succeeded in driving the citizens into the rues de matriot and du mouton, and entered[267] for the second time that day into their position at the hotel de ville. but their possession of it did not continue long; for they were soon again attacked with a perseverance and courage which was almost irresistible. their artillery ranged before the prefecture of the seine and the hotel de ville threatened death to thousands.
hundreds of the constitutionalists were killed by the fire of the swiss guard from the windows of this edifice. it was erected in 1600, and though it does not appear to possess any of the characteristics of strength in a military sense of the word, yet its gates, being of immense thickness, furnished a good defence from the musketry of the attacking parties. the hotel de ville was afterwards employed as the head-quarters of la fayette and the provisional government.
the rue st. honoré, for two days, was a perpetual scene of slaughter. the louvre, except the picture-gallery, was on all sides attacked and defended at the same moment, and for hours. in the court of the louvre a field-piece was planted, which commanded the pont des arts, being exactly opposite the institute. here the fighting was so dreadful and so maintained, that the front of the building of the institute was completely covered with muskets and grape shot. one cannon ball smashed a portion of the wall, and from its elevation did dreadful execution in sweeping the bridge. the attack on the tuilleries was over in two or three hours. a young man marched with a tri-coloured flag at the head of the attacking bourgeois. a thousand balls, fired from the front of the chateau, whistled by him without touching him. he continued to march with perfect sangfroid, but with, at the same time, an air of importance, up to the triumphal arch, and remained until the end of the battle.
while the people and the military were combating at the place de grêve, the louvre, and the tuilleries, troops were arriving by the champs elysees. a great party of the people, and many national guards, with two pieces of cannon, were hastening along near the place louis xvi towards the barrier st. etoile, when a largo troop of dragoons arrived, made a desperate charge, and cut down the people without mercy who made a very bold stand. many of the soldiers solemnly vowed that they would not continue to obey orders to massacre their brothers and sons. their numbers were thinned, they were fatigued, disheartened, discomfited, beaten, and fled. at chaillot, a district of paris, verging on the route to st. cloud, the inhabitants, though few in number, sustained the fire of five regiments of the guards, who attempted to effect their retreat by the barrier of passy. at length, all the royal[268] troops left the capital by the way of the champs elysees, and in their retreat were fired upon by the people.
at night, part of the town was illuminated, particularly the streets of st. denis, st. martin, st. jacques, and the neighbourhood of the hotel de ville. perfect tranquillity prevailed throughout the city. strong patroles silently paraded the streets, passed gently from barricade to barricade, and disarmed individuals whom fatigue and the heat of the weather, more than wine, had rendered incapable of employing their weapons usefully.
a deputation from charles x at st. cloud, arrived at the hotel de ville early in the morning. it consisted of the marquis de rastoret, chancellor of france; m. semonville; and count d’argout, peer of france. they announced that charles had named the duke de mortemart president of the council, and that he was willing to accept a ministry chosen by him.
at eleven o’clock, the deputies and peers then in paris assembled in their respective halls, and established regular communications with each other. the duke de mortemart was introduced to the chamber of deputies, and delivered four ordinances, signed, the previous day, by charles x. one of them recalled the fatal ordinances of the 25th; another convoked the chambers on the 3rd; the third appointed the duke de mortemart president of the council, and the fourth appointed count gerard minister of war, and m. casimir-perier minister of finance. the reading of these ordinances was listened to with the greatest attention. at the termination profound silence continued;—no observation was made;—the deputies passed to other business.—the duke de mortemart returned to acquaint his master that he was no longer acknowledged as king of france. the manner in which the duke and his communications were received by the deputies, was an announcement that charles x had ceased to reign.
on the 31st, the deputies published a proclamation, declaring that they had invited the duke of orleans to become lieutenant-general of the kingdom. at noon of the same day, louis philippe d’orleans issued a proclamation, declaring that he had hastened to paris, wearing the “glorious colours” of france, to accept the invitation of the assembled deputies to become lieutenant-general of the kingdom. a proclamation of the same date appointed provisional commissaries for the different departments of government. the king, with his family, escaped to st. cloud.
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on the 3rd of august the chambers met, when the abdication of charles was announced; and on the 9th, louis philippe, having taken the prescribed oath, was created king, under the title of “king of the french.”
thus terminated this desperate struggle for popular rights, and which has no parallel in the annals of history. the parisians left their homes to fight, without organization and almost without arms, against some of the best troops in the world;—and for what? were they a rabble driven by hunger, or a rebellious nobility endeavouring to wrest new privileges from the monarch? no: they were men who, animated with an ardent desire to be free, would not suffer themselves to be stripped of their civil rights, but firmly and manfully defended them with their lives. it was in this respect a great moral revolution, and forms a brilliant epoch in the annals of the world.”
retreat of the greeks.—whoever has read the beautiful descriptions of xenophon, has read of the memorable retreat of the 10,000 greeks. it happened b.c. 401, after the battle of cunaxa; xenophon was chosen commander. he rose superior to danger, and though under continual alarms from the sudden attacks of the persians, he was enabled to cross rapid rivers, penetrate through vast deserts, gain the tops of mountains, till he could rest secure for a while, and refresh his tired companions. at last they returned home, after a retreat of 1155 parasangs or leagues, which was performed in 215 days,—and after an absence of 15 months.
ridgeway, battle of, or lime ridge.—fought, saturday, june 2nd, 1866, between the canadian volunteers of toronto and hamilton, and the fenians, a lawless band of predatory scoundrels, who wantonly invaded canada, and were driven back by canada’s brave sons. the following succinct account is from the pen of the rev. d. inglis, d.d., of hamilton, who was present in the engagement.
“rev. mr. burwash and myself were appointed by a number of the ministers of this city to join the 13th battalion of hamilton volunteers, and to render them such assistance as might be in our power. the shadows of night had just given way to the bright light of that june morning when we reached port colborne and joined the battalion in the cars, a few minutes before the train left for ridgeway. much has been written on the proper rations and equipments for the men, and i only[270] refer to this with the view of noticing the want of shoulder-straps with which to fasten the overcoats on the back of the soldiers, and the fact that they were obliged to roll them up and sling them over their right shoulders, under their left arm-pits, an expedient which afterwards greatly impeded them in aiming and firing, and caused them to abandon their overcoats when going into battle.
the train proceeded slowly to ridgeway, where the men left the cars and were drawn up on the stevensville road. the queen’s own were in the front, then came the 13th battalion, and a company of riflemen from caledonia forming the rear-guard. the men were in good spirits, and i could not look without admiration upon the coolness and intrepidity with which these volunteer soldiers, many of them mere lads, prepared for the advance. the ammunition was distributed to the men, the order given to load with ball cartridge, and then followed an interval of suspense and waiting. the sensation of relief was great when after some minutes of anxiety and impatience the order to advance was given. the position assigned to the waggon containing the ammunition, &c., in which mr. burwash and myself were riding, was immediately behind the main body, and in front of the rear guard. when about a mile and a half from ridgeway several companies of the queen’s own were ordered into the fields and woods to clear them of fenians—and in a short time the first shot was fired—and then in a rapid succession we saw small clouds of blue smoke issuing from the woods, telling us of a rapid discharge of musketry before the reports reached our ears. the sergeants in charge concluded to halt with their waggon, and mr. burwash and myself hurried on in the rear of our main body. the fenian skirmishers fell back upon the main body of their force, who were drawn up in an entrenched position along the fort erie road. they had converted a stone wall and the ordinary snake-fences into barricades, and held a strong position; but on the advance of our forces, fearing lest our skirmishers should out-flank them, they retired in good order, and amid rapid firing, to a slightly elevated piece of ground covered with thick woods, some distance in their rear. it was in this advance that ensign mceachren was mortally wounded. it has been stated that colonel booker rushed to the rear calling for a surgeon. i am in a position positively to deny this; the cry for a surgeon was heard by me, but it did not come from the colonel. mr. mceachren was borne to the rear by some men of his company, accompanied by the captain, a noble fellow, whose name i do not know, to whom i at once introduced myself as a minister, and offered to do all[271] i could for his friend. he thanked me with tears in his eyes, and hastened back to the post of danger. dr. may was in attendance; but a glance at the wound shewed that it was mortal—and it fell to me to inform him of the fact. he received the intelligence as a christian soldier—informing me that his faith rested in the lord jesus christ. i prayed with him, and after a few moments’ conversation i mentioned mr. burwash’s name, and finding that he was an old parishioner of mr. burwash, i left him mainly to his care—though i several times spent a few moments with him afterwards. i then returned to the battle-field to see if i could be of use there. our forces had advanced, throwing out their skirmishers right and left of the skirmishers—queen’s own—to the extreme right—13th battalion—the distance was probably a little more than three-quarters of a mile. not a fenian was to be seen, but as our brave soldiers advanced, nearer and nearer, there came again first a single shot, and then a rapid discharge of fire-arms along the whole line. from their elevated position, or from what other cause, i know not, the shots went over the heads of our men, and i could see them striking the field behind. i hastened back to the hospital with feelings of admiration for the brave fellows who, exposed to a terrible fire from an unseen foe, so nobly stood their ground, while the sharp crack of their rifles assured me that the gallant fellows were doing their duty amidst those showers of bullets, in spite of all the manifest disadvantages of their position; but i could not rid myself of a feeling of depression and anxiety when i thought of the result.
in the hospital i found a few men slightly wounded. one of them told me there were no litters with which to bear the wounded from the field. i set the men who were on guard to work to make litters with some poles which we found near—and such sheets and blankets as i could lay my hands on—and returned to the field with the men carrying the litters. i took my old position, from which i had a full view of the whole field, and was startled to notice strange movements going on among our men. they had halted—the whole line trembled—i do not mean that the brave men trembled, but there was a movement along their line which i find no other word to describe. the order to receive cavalry was given, and an effort was made to obey it. then another and another order. the only one which the men seemed eager to obey was the one to advance, and then came the fatal bugle’s notes that told them to retreat, and our men began to fall back. i hurried to the hospital and told the doctor and mr. burwash that i feared the day was against us, but said[272] i would return to the field while they made the necessary preparations to remove the sick and wounded from a place which should soon be the very centre of the battle. when i again reached my old post of observation a shower of bullets fell around me, and before i got back to the hospital, a number of men belonging to the queen’s own had got between me and the house. these were quickly followed by a large number of the 13th battalion, and i was forced to leave without again communicating with my friends. i soon found, however, that the doctor and his wounded men, as well as mr. burwash, had got safely out of that terrible fire.
the descriptions given of the retreat, are, for the most part greatly exaggerated. some men, it is true, ran away in terror, but the main body, though in confusion, were not panic-stricken. the feeling was one of vexation, and at the very moment when they expected victory, all had unaccountably gone wrong with them. tears were shed, but they were tears wrung from brave men at the bitter thought of being called to retreat before their foes. in the rear, major skinner, with a number of men belonging to the 13th and the queen’s own, kept in good order, and so effectually covered our retreat, that the enemy were unaware of the disorder in which the main body were retiring. beyond all doubt, we were at this point saved from further disaster by the coolness and steadiness of major skinner, and the officers and men who were with him.
at ridgeway the confused and scattered mass of men who got into order through the exertions of a toronto officer whose name i have been told is captain arthurs, and who certainly discharged his duty in a way that marked him out as a man able to control and lead others.
i have refrained from all criticism of the conduct of the officers on whom the responsibilities of this matter lie. i know nothing of military tactics, and it does not become me to say anything of why this little band of volunteers should have been led into a conflict with superior numbers of trained and veteran soldiers without support from artillery or the regulars—it is not my part to say what the commanding officer should or should not have done. this only i am bound to say, that the officers and men of the queen’s own and 13th battalion, behaved throughout the battle with coolness and gallantry—and even the unfortunate retreat only brought out more clearly that, with few exceptions, they were men of unflinching courage. the hospital, no less than the battle-field proved the noble courage of our men, and it would have moved[273] the stoutest heart to tears, to see those boy-heroes suffering as they did, without a murmur or a groan.
major gilmore, of the queen’s own, and major skinner, of the 13th, distinguished themselves greatly, their words of command inspiring their men with courage—while they themselves were steady as rocks under the hottest fire. indeed, but for major skinner’s coolness and power over the men under his command, the retreat of ridgeway must have resulted in fearful consequences.”
rifle pits, contest at the.—crimean war. “the bombardment was re-opened on easter monday, the 9th april, soon after daybreak. heavy rain fell all day, and the dense atmosphere prevented our men from observing the effect of the fire. this time the fleets did not share in the bombardment. at the close of the day, it was evident that our weight of metal, though greatly superior to that employed on the occasion of the first bombardment in october, was yet inadequate to the task of destroying the colossal works of the enemy. in vain our artillery pounded the earthworks and batteries. in vain showers of shell were poured into the town. the russian engineers proved themselves consummate masters of their art, and every morning fresh guns poured forth a deadly reply from the repaired embrasures. their resources seemed literally inexhaustible, and their courage was fully equal to the occasion. for more than a week the tremendous bombardment continued, and notwithstanding the intensity of the fire from the french and english batteries, comparatively little effect was produced. in the meanwhile both armies worked assiduously at the trenches. the french succeeded in carrying their parallels yet nearer to the mamelon, a large rounded hill in front of the malakoff tower, and covered with rifle pits and earthworks; while the english gradually extended their lines towards the formidable redan. their great difficulty lay in forming a trench which should connect the zigzags leading on the right towards the malakoff, and on the left towards the redan. in order to obstruct the formation of this work, the enemy established a series of rifle-pits which enfiladed the new parallel, and whence considerable loss was inflicted upon our working parties. in addition to the fire from the rifle-pits, the enemy brought down a 12-pounder gun which swept our trenches, and effectually hindered the progress of the work. it became necessary, therefore, to attempt to drive the russians from their vantage-ground; and on the night of the 19th of april, colonel egerton, at the head of 250 men of[274] the light division, attempted the exploit, dashed from the breastwork, and, taking the enemy by surprise, drove him out. the successful english immediately established themselves in the pits, but the russians were too sensible of the value of the position to permit the advantage to remain undisputed, and marched down a column 1000 strong, to attempt the recovery of the pits. our troops met them with a well-directed volley, which shook their ranks and then closed with them in a deadly contest. the enemy was, after an obstinate fight, completely routed, and the british had secured an important advantage, though not without the loss of the gallant colonel. on the following night, the second line of rifle-pits was also carried, after a feeble resistance; and our working parties were thus enabled to pursue their labours without annoyance, and in comparative security.”
roads, lord cochrane at basque.—“our fire-ships were sent in, each conducted by a lieutenant and five men; the ships were sixteen in number, and some very heavy. when they got in, the french ships cut and slipt, nine sail of the line got on shore on the isle of aix, and the next morning we discovered them: the fire-ships having done little good, the small craft and frigates were ordered in to attempt to destroy them. the place where they lay was like portsmouth harbour, under the fire of the two batteries, each of which had three tiers of guns, of twenty-nine each, all heavy metal: the navigation to get at them was very difficult, in some places there being only four fathoms water. just as we were sitting down to dinner on board the revenge, our signal was made to go in and assist the gun and mortar vessels; our ship was cleared for action in fifteen minutes, and in half an hour we were alongside of three sail of the line, when we opened a dreadful cannonade on them, which continued for an hour and a quarter, the warsaw, a fine 80-gun ship, and the aquilon, struck to us. we were now in a very critical state ourselves, being in only five fathoms water, which was ebbing very fast; the batteries on shore, having got our length, struck us almost every shot for the last quarter of an hour; luckily, a breeze springing up, we got off into deeper water, and out of reach of their guns, when we anchored again, and sent our boats to take out the prisoners, and set them on fire, about seven, p.m. at nine they were all in flames, and at two in the morning they blew up with a tremendous explosion; the french set fire to the tonniere, and the imperieuse to the calcutta; three other ships of the line were on shore, very much mauled[275] by the frigates and boom-ships; some of them were on their beam-ends, and but little chance of getting off again. the captain of the warsaw was on board our ship; he said, they were bound out to relieve martinique with troops and provisions. i went on board his ship after she struck, and the decks were strewed with dead and dying, a most dreadful slaughter. we also lost several killed and wounded, and our ship was much cut up in sails and rigging.
lord cochrane caused about 1500 barrels of gunpowder to be started into puncheons, which were placed end upwards: upon the tops of these were placed between 3 and 400 shells, charged with fuses; and again, among and upon these were between 2 and 3000 hand-grenades. the puncheons were fastened to each other by cables wound round them, and jammed together with wedges; and moistened sand was rammed down between these casks, so as to render the whole, from stem to stern, as solid as possible, that the resistance might render the explosion the more violent.
in this tremendous instrument of destruction, lord cochrane committed himself, with only one lieutenant and four seamen; and after the boom was broken, his lordship proceeded with this explosion-ship towards the enemy’s line. let it be recollected, that at this moment the batteries on shore were provided with furnaces to fire red-hot shot, and then his lordship’s danger in this enterprize may be properly conceived.
the wind blew a gale, and the tide ran three knots an hour. when the blue lights of the fire-ships were discovered, one of the enemy’s line made the signal for fire-ships; which being also a blue light, the enemy fell into great confusion, firing upon her with very injurious effect, and directly cut their cables.
when lord cochrane had conducted his explosion-ship as near as was possible, the enemy having taken the alarm, he ordered his brave little crew into the boat, and followed them, after putting fire to the fuse, which was calculated to give them fifteen minutes to get out of reach of the explosion. however, in consequence of the wind getting very high, the fuse burnt too quickly; so that, with the most violent exertion against wind and tide, this intrepid little party was six minutes nearer than they calculated to be, at the time when the most tremendous explosion that human art ever contrived took place, followed by the bursting at once in the air of nearly 400 shells and 3000 hand-grenades, pouring down a shower of castmetal in every direction. but fortunately our second nelson was spared, the boat having reached, by unparalleled[276] exertion, only just beyond the extent of destruction. unhappily, this effort to escape cost the life of the brave lieutenant, whom his noble captain saw die in the boat, partly under fatigue, and partly drowned with waves that continually broke over them. two of the four sailors were also so nearly exhausted, that their recovery was for some time despaired of.
the repetition of his explosions was so dreaded by the enemy, that they apprehended an equal destruction in every fire-ship, and, immediately crowding all sail, ran before wind and tide so fast, that the fire-ships, though at first very near, could not overtake them, before they were high and dry on shore, except three seventy-fours, besides the calcutta, which were afterwards engaged, taken, and burned.
lord cochrane now turned his attention to rescue the vanquished from the devouring elements; and in bringing away the people of the ville de varsovie, he would not allow even a dog to be abandoned, but took the crying little favourite up into his arms and brought it away. but a still greater instance of goodness was displayed in his humanity to a captain of a french seventy-four, who came to deliver his sword to lord cochrane, and lamented that all he had in the world was about to be destroyed by the conflagration of his ship. his lordship instantly got into the boat with him, and pushed off to assist his prisoner in retrieving some valuable loss; but in passing by a seventy-four, which was on fire, her loaded guns began to go off; a shot from which killed the french captain by lord cochrane’s side, and so damaged the boat, that she filled and the rest of the party were nearly drowned.”
rodney’s, admiral, victories.—this renowned admiral fought, near cape st. vincent, the spanish admiral don langara, whom he defeated, and made prisoner, destroying eight of his ships and taking four, january 16th, 1780. on april 12th, 1782, he encountered the french fleet in the west indies, commanded by count de grasse—took 10 ships of the line, and sent the french admiral prisoner to england. the enemy lost also one ship, sunk, and three blown up.
rosas, bay of.—brilliant naval action by the boats of the tigre, cumberland, volontaire, apollo, topaz, philomel, scout, and tuscan, commanded by lieutenant tailour, which ended in the capture or destruction of 11 armed vessels in the bay. november 1st, 1809.
rosbach, battles of.—in the first battle fought at rosbach[277] 40,000 rebel flemings, under the command of the duke of burgundy, the king charles vi in france being present, fell november 17th, 1382. a second battle between the prussians, commanded by their king and the combined army of the french and austrians, in which the latter sustained a severe defeat. many thousands were slain on both sides, november 5th, 1757.
roses, wars of the.—these wars arose out of a contest for the throne, between the two houses of york and lancaster. it was termed the war of the roses, from the badge of the york party being a white, and that of the lancaster a red rose. it arose in complicated disputes about the succession among the descendants of edward iii. the feud thus arising was not concluded until henry vii asserted the ascendency of the lancaster party, on the field of bosworth, and united the two, by marriage with a daughter of the york party.
king richard was killed at bosworth and the crown conferred upon the earl of richmond, and an end put to the wars between the two houses of york and lancaster, begun upon the intrusion of king henry iv, and continued till the death of king richard iii. there were fought 12 pitched battles, and 2 kings, 1 prince, 10 dukes, 2 marquesses, 24 earls, 27 lords, 2 viscounts, 1 lord prior, 1 judge, 139 knights, 441 esquires, and 84,998 private soldiers were slain; which, being added to the 638 of superior quality, there appears to have been killed in the quarrels between the two roses, 85,625.
ross, battle of.—in ireland.—fought, june 4th, 1698, between the royal troops and the insurgent forces, when, after the most obstinate contest, the latter were defeated losing more than 2600 killed on the field.
roxburgh.—the following describes the razing of this fortress a.d. 1460: “ever since the captivity of david ii, a period of more than a hundred years, the castle of roxburgh had been in possession of the english. james laid siege to it. he had gone with several of his nobility to watch the effect of a battery of cannon which had begun to play on the fortress. one of the pieces, a large gun of flemish manufacture, formed of iron bars hooped together, burst in firing. a heavy fragment struck the king on the groin, and killed him on the spot. a holly tree in the park of fleurs castle still marks the place where james of the fiery face, not yet 30 years old, came to his untimely end. on hearing[278] the lamentable tidings, the queen came immediately to the camp. she appeared in the midst of the army, leading by the hand her little son, now the king. the spirited woman exhorted the soldiers to spend no time in vain regrets, but to show their regard for the dead, by gaining the victory which he had so much at heart. catching ardour from her appeal, the army renewed the attack and carried the castle by storm that same day. the ruins of the stronghold, which cost scotland so dear, are still to be seen on the tongue of land where tweed and teviot join, a little way above kelso bridge.
