acting against us. This Prince had shewed himself from the moment of his signing that treaty, very little inclined to abide by the stipulations he had made. He indeed promised abundantly, but always deferred the performance upon such frivo. lous pretences, as evidently demonstrated his ill intentions. The English commanders understood this proceeding perfectly well; but they resolved to dissemble their sense of it, until they had broken the French power in this province, which they had greater reason to dread, small as it was, than all the armies of the Nabob. When they had fully accomplished this by the taking of Chandenagore, they deliberated whether they ought not to re-commence hostilities with the Indians. A resolution in the affirmative had been attended with great difficulty and danger, if a most fortunate incident had not helped to ensure

success.

The Nabob Suraja Doula, the same who had the last year taken Calcutta, had shewn to his own subjects the same violent and perfidious spirit which formerly, and still distressed the English. His generals were mostly discontented, and some of them entered into a conspiracy against him. Jaffier Ali Cawn, one of his principal officers, a man of great power and interest, was at the head of this conspiracy. As soon as their designs were ripened, they communicated them to the English government in Calcutta, praying their assistance. The chiefs there did not hesitate long what part they should take; they entered into a treaty with Jaffer Ali Cawn and the conspirators; and in consequence of this treaty, our troops immediately took the field under colonel Clive. The admiral undertook to garrison the fort of Chandenagore with his

seamen, in order to leave the greater number of land forces for the expedition. A detachment of fifty seamen, with their officers, were added to serve as gunners. A 20-gun ship was stationed above Hugly, in order to preserve a communication be tween colonel Clive and the ad miral..

Their preliminary measures being thus judiciously taken, they advan ced up the river, and in a few days brought the Nabob's army of about 20,000 men, exclusive of those who favoured the conspirators, to an action, which was decisive June 22. in favour of the English. Two considerable bodies commandea by Jaffier and Roy Dolub remain. ed inactive in the engagement. The Nabob seeing himself ruined by the treachery of his officers, and the cowardice of his troops, fled with the few who continued faithful to him.

Jaffer Ali Cawn now de26th. clared himself openly; and entering Muxadavat, the capital of the province, with an army of his friends and victorious allies, he was placed by colonel Clive in the ancient seat of the Nabobs, and received the homage of all ranks of people as Suba of Bengal, Bahar, and Orixa. The deposed Nabob was soon after made prisoner, and put to death in his prison by the conqueror. In about thirteen days this great revolution was accomplished, and with less force and trouble than often is required to take a petty village in Germany, was transferred the Government of a vast kingdom, yielding in its dimensions to few in Europe, but to none in the fertility of its soil, the number of its inhabitants, and the richness of its commerce. By the alliance with the new Nabob, and by the reduction of Chandenagore,' the French were entirely driven out

of

of Bengal and all its dependencies. This was one of the articles of the treaty. By the other articles, a perpetual alliance, offensive and defen. sive, was made between the parties. The territories of the company were enlarged; and upwards of two mil. lions sterling was stipulated to be paid, as an indemnification to the East India Company, and the suf. ferers in the taking of Calcutta. The new Nabob, full of gratitude to those to whom he owed his dig. nity, gave, besides the above large sums, about 600,000 pounds, as a gratuity to the sea-squadron and the troops. However short of expectation our enterprizes in America fell this year, those in the East Indies greatly exceeded every thing we could hope from the forces which

were employed: and it may be doubted whether all the great powers engaged in the present bloody wars in Europe, in which such torrents of blood are spilled, and so many millions of treasure are wasted, will in the conclusion reap amongst them, so much solid profit as the English East India Company did with an handful of men in a short campaign. The joy of the nation at these signal successes, was not a little damped by the death of admiral Watson, who lost his life by the unwhole. Aug. 16. someness of the country, in which he had established a great and lasting reputation. Colonel Clive still lives to enjoy the fortune and honour he has acquired by his gallant actions.

VIII.

1758. ALL the bloodshed of the last campaign in Germany, and those losses which both the victorious and vanquished felt so very severely, produced no overtures towards peace from any of the powers at war. And perhaps nothing so singular ever happened, as that so many states, united, if not against their real interests, yet against all their former habits of connection, full of so many occasions of jealousy, abounding with matter of complaint against each other, and even involved in misfortunes which usually destroy a mutual confidence, that not one of these powers, either from fear, or hope, or weariness, or levity, desisted from their hostilities against the King of Prussia; nor did that monarch acquire one ally more VOL. I.

by the admiration of his successes, than he had formerly gained thro compassion to his misfortunes. All the confederates preserved the same attachment to each other; to him the same animosity. It is equally a matter of great admiration, how the resources even of these great states could keep pace with their ambition, and in a few months supply the place of great armies almost wholly destroyed. The King of Prussia, by his victories, had added to his natu ral resources. The resources were more considerable than is commonly imagined; and the possession of Saxony, which yielded him great supplies, saved his own revenue. He was indeed not quite so fresh as at the beginning of the war; but then the condition of the enemy was D

in

in many respects far worse than his. His troops had, besides, acquired a high reputation, and a clear superiority over all others. The consideration, however, of an army greatly harassed, and a most severe winter, obliged him to restrain his ardour, and to attempt nothing against the Austrians in the months of January, February, and March. The same inaction, owing to much the same causes, prevailed amongst the Hano. verians for a little time; but having been reinforced about the middle of February by a body of Prussian horse, they put their whole army once more in motion.

The Duke de Richelieu had been récalled; and the Count of Clermont now commanded the French troops. This was their third commander in chief within the space of a year; a circumstance alone sufficient to shew the unsteadiness of their councils, and the irregularity of their opera. tions. In effect, they every where retreated before the Hanoverians, whose main body marched on the right to the country of Bremen, whilst a second body, under general Zastrow, kept on the left towards Gifform. They pushed the French from post to post; they obliged them to evacuate Ottersberg, Bre. men, and Werden. The castle of Rottersberg was taken in six hours, A considerable detachment, under Count Chabot, was posted at Hoya, a strong fort upon the Weser, and a place of such consequence, that Prince Ferdinand resolved to dislodge the enemy from it. He appointed for that service the hereditary Prince of Brunswick, with four battalions of foot and some light horse. This Prince, not twenty years of age, had already entered into the course of glory under the auspices of his uncle, and, full of ardour to signalize him.

self, with joy embraced the occasion: and here he gave an earnest of his fame, in one of the most lively and best conducted actions in the war. The first fruits of this young hero, were such as would have done ho nour to the maturity of the most experienced soldier.

The Prince had a broad and deep river to pass he had no Feb. 23. means of transporting his men but a single float, so that a long time must be spent in getting them over; what was worse, before half his troops were passed, a strong wind arose, which rendered the float unserviceable, and entirely cut off all communication between the Prince and the most considerable number of his party, whilst the party he was going to attack was superior to him, had his whole body been together. In this exigence, the Prince came to a resolu tion worthy of himself. He re solved not to spend any time in attempts to bring over the rest of his troops, much less to make any attempt to return to them, but to urge on boldly, in such a manner as to possess the enemy with an opi nion of his strength, and to attack them briskly before they .could be undeceived; therefore, between four and five o'clock in the morning, they marched with the utmost speed directly to the town of Hoya. When they were approached within a mile and a half of the place, another accident was on the point of defeating the whole enterprize. Their detachment fired by mistake upon four of the enemy's dragoons, who were patrolling: the firing was caught from one to another, and at last became general. This seemed more than enough to discover their mo tions, and alarm the enemy; but the same spirit influenced the con

duct

duct of every part of this affair: à bold countenance became necessary, and it was assumed: they marched with the utmost diligence to the town, and encountered the enemy at the bridge: a fierce fire, well supported on either side, ensued. The ground was such, that the Prince could not bring up his whole detachment equally. Sensible of this disadvantage, he formed a design to overcome it, as judicious as it was resolute, which was to turn the enemy, by attacking them in the rear: to execute this design, it was neces. sary to make a circuit about the town. Every thing succeeded: the attack on the enemy's rear was made with bayonet fixed: a terrible slaughter ensued. The French abandoned the bridge, and fled in confusion. The Prince, having cleared the town of the enemy, joined the party he had left. The Count de Cha bot threw himself with two battalions into the castle, with a resolution to maintain himself there; but in a lit. tle time he capitulated, surrendering the place, his stores, and magazine's, his troops being permitted to march out. The Prince, who had no artil. lery, and who, on account of the bad. ness of the roads, despaired of bring. ing up heavy cannon, suffered them to depart. Six hundred and seventy men were made prisoners in the action, and a place of much im. portance, and which opened a pas. sage over the Weser, secured to the Hanoverians, with the loss of less than rco men killed and wounded. I have dwelt on this action, and described it as particularly as I could, though nothing decisive in itself; because it is not in pitched battles between great armies, where the most masterly strokes of conduct are always displayed: these lesser

affairs frequently call for as much or more of sagacity, resolution, and presence of mind in the com. mander; yet are they often slightly passed by as matters of no consequence by the generality of people, who rather consider the greatness of the event, than the spirit of the action.

Prince Ferdinand continued to advance with his right on one side of the Weser, and his left on the other: the French continued to retire, and successively abandoned all the places they had occupied in the electorate, except Minden: a garrison of 4000 men defended that place; but it was closely invested; and in nine days the whole garrison March 14. surrendered prisoners of war. Several skirmishes happened between the advanced parties of the Hanoverian army and the French, always to the advantage of the former. The wretched condition of the French troops is hardly to be described or imagined. Officers and soldiers involved in one common distress: the officers forgot their rank, and the soldiers their obedience; full hospitals, and empty magazines; a rigorous season, and bad covering; their baggage seized or abandoned, and the hussars and hunters of the allied army continually harassing, pillaging, and cutting them off. It was no alleviation to their misery, that the inhabitants of the country which they abandoned were reduced to the same extremities. The savage behaviour of some of their corps at their departure, took away all compassion from their sufferings; but this was not universal. The Duke de Randan, who commanded in Hanover, quitted the place with the same virtue that he had so

D 2

long

long held it. Resentment had no more power to persuade him to act with rigour in the adverse turn of the French affairs, than the pride of conquest had in their prosperity. When he had orders to evacuate the place, there were very consider able magazines of corn and forage amassed for the use of the army; he had full time to burn them, and he had precedents enough to have justified the action; but he left the whole in the hands of the magistrates, to be gratuitously distributed to the poor: he employed all his vigilance to prevent the least disorder amongst his troops, and was himself the last man that marched out of the town. This behaviour, V which did so much honour to his name and country, has made his memory for ever dear to the Hanoverians; drew tears of love and gratitude from his enemies, and acknowledgments from the generous Prince against whom he served.

The French, through extreme dif. ficulties, marched towards the Rhine in three columns. The several scat. tered bodies, which had united at Munster, formed the right. The body which came from Paderborn, and which was commanded by the Prince of Clermont in person, marched in the middle. The forces which had occupied Hesse, were on the left. In this order, they reached the Rhine, which they all passed, except a body under Count Cler. mont, who still remained at Wesel, and resolved to maintain that post. The French army, which about four months before had passed the Rhine in numbers, and in a condition to

make the most powerful enemies tremble, without any adverse stroke of war whatsoever, by a fate almost unparalleled, now repassed it like fugitives, in a condition the most deplorable; reduced to less than half their original number, and closely pursued by the enemy which they had obliged to lay down their

arms.

The same ill fortune, and the same despair of their affairs, followed them every where. On the arrival of a small English squa dron, commanded, by commodore Holmes, before Embden, and their taking an advantageous March18. situation, which cut off the communication between the town and the mouth of the river Ems, the French garrison, consisting of near 4000 men, im. 19. mediately evacuated the place. As soon as Mr. Holmes discovered their design, and that they were transporting their artillery and baggage up the river, he ordered out a few armed boats to pursue them. These took some of the enemy's vessels, in which were the son of an officer of distinction, and a considerable sum of money. The commodore, without delay, restored the son to his father, and offered to return the money, on receiving the offi. cer's word of honour that it was his private property. This affair is mentioned, not only to do justice to the judicious conduct by which a place of so much consideration was so easily carried, but also to that generosity of spirit which so nobly distinguishes almost all those who hold any rank in our service.

CHAP.