accomplished, without any greater loss than about 50 men, in the presence of a force 3 times more numerous.' And that retreat was the more honourable to the Irish Brigadier, since, on reaching Idanha Velha, he met no infantry there; they having left that place in disorder, on a report, that their cavalry had been defeated.

In 1705, I do not find the Irish distinguished by their achievements from the French in Germany and Flanders.* In Italy, where Louis XIV. made every effort to crush the Duke of Savoy in Piedmont, and prevent his being assisted through Lombardy, by the Imperialists under Prince Eugene, the Irish battalions of Berwick, Bourke, Dillon, FitzGerald, and Galmoy, served under the Duke of Vendome. May 20th, 2 French regiments of cavalry, attacked in the night by 500 of the enemy's cavalry at the village of Castel Alfero in Piedmont, had a Colonel, other officers, and several horses captured, and would have suffered more but for Colonel Walter Bourke, who, being in the castle with 2 companies of his regiment, sallied out, and made such a good disposition of his men in different directions, as, partly by imposing upon the enemy, and partly by a well-served fire of musketry, to oblige the assailants to retire. July 20th, the Duke of Vendome, with 500 horse and 6 companies of grenadiers, including those of the Regiments of Berwick and Galmoy, and Lieutenant-Colonel Daniel O'Carroll of the former corps, marched from Soresina towards a strong post of Prince Eugene's near Genivolta, fortified for a battalion of 400 Croats, and 200 horse. The Duke's intention was, merely to approach the place, in order to reconnoitre. It was surrounded by deep ditches only traversible by a bridge, and then 3 intrenchments should be successively forced, the last secured by pointed stakes, and palisaded. Nevertheless, such spirit was shown by the grenadiers in beating the enemy's outposts into the intrenchments, that, on reaching them, an assault was ventured, and the place taken in less than a quarter of an hour; but 7 of the grenadiers being killed or wounded, while, besides those of the enemy slain, 130, including a Lieutenant-Colonel, 2 Captains, and 2 Lieutenants were captured, with the standard, and all belonging to the Croatian battalion. The Chevalier de Forbin, who was present, writes-" The grenadiers of Auvergne, of Berwick, and Galmoy, entered the first. A more daring feat has never been achieved. M. de Carolles commanded the grenadiers, and was always at their head." The Duke of Vendome observes to Louis XIV.-"This event has surpassed my hopes, and nothing could occur, at the present conjuncture, more important for your Majesty's service." The Duke then highly eulogizes O'Carroll, as well for his past services, as for having "done wonders" on this occasion; and accordingly requests for him "a brevet as Colonel;" adding, " the action which he has just performed is so brilliant, that it deserves the grant of a distinguished reward from your Majesty." August 2nd, at a similar reconnoitring affair, ending in a coup de main upon a fortified work to protect a bridge of the enemy on the Oglio, O'Carroll again signalized himself. "The grenadiers, having at their head MM. de Muret and de Carolles," says my author, "attacked it with so much vivacity, that they carried it in an instant; the troops of the enemy scarcely having time to repass the river, in order to reach Ostiano."

This year, says Mr. O'Conor, "great desertion prevailed in Marlborough's army whilst on the Moselle; and, it is presumed, the Irish Brigade was recruited by this desertion."

After much skilful marching and countermarching between Eugene and Vendome, they came, August 16th, to the general engagement, known as the battle of Cassano. It took place among the canals beyond the river Adda, and the town of Cassano; the French and Spaniards having been both inferior in number, and so situated, with the Adda behind them, that, if beaten, they must have been utterly ruined. They were, moreover, assailed there by Eugene, when they were in a state of disorder, quite unsuited for action, through the very scandalous misconduct of Vendome's brother, the Grand Prior; out of which alarming position, it required the utmost exertions of Vendome himself to rescue them. Conspicuous, (like his great progenitor, Henry IV., at the battle of Ivry,) from the fine white plume which he wore, 12 or 13 of his officers or attendants were killed beside him by the Imperial musketry and cannon; his famous bay horse, a present from Louis XIV., and, like Marshal Turenne's formerly, remarkable for its sagacity, fell under him, pierced by numerous bullets; while he himself was hit, in various portions of his dress, from his hat to his boots, by 5 bullets, though without being injured. And he would certainly have perished there, but for the noble self-devotion of 1 of his officers to save him. Not waiting to be remounted, the Duke headed on foot a bayonet-charge with the grenadiers of the Brigades of Grancey and Bourke, to repel the Imperialists, when, says my French contemporary historian, "1 of their soldiers having recognized M. de Vendome in the midst of the fire, detached himself from his troop, and took aim at him, in order to kill him. M. de Coteron, Captain of his Guard, having perceived the soldier, placed himself before him, received the shot in his own body, and thus preserved the life of his master. A remarkable action, deserving of everlasting remembrance, and a fine proof of the strong attachment which he felt for a Prince, so useful to his country, so beloved by his troops, and so worthy of being beloved."* Vendome's illustrious opponent Eugene likewise exposed himself in the thick of fight, till obliged by 2 shots, one on the neck, and the other below the knee, to retire from the field. The contest was maintained for about 4 hours with a terrible fire of artillery, or of musketry at about a pike's length, and with furious infantry charges, in the course of which, besides those slain or disabled, multitudes were drowned. Vendome's acknowledged killed and wounded were 2728; Eugene's acknowledged killed and wounded were 3966. The French and Spaniards claimed the capture of 9 Imperial colours or standards, with 7 cannon, and 1942 prisoners; the Imperialists also claimed the capture of several colours or standards, but without specifying how many, and with only 530 prisoners. The greater amount of killed and wounded, on the side of the Imperialists, was attributed to their muskets and powder having been wetted, in crossing the canals, to dislodge opponents, firing from the banks. By losing less men, by keeping possession of the field, and by thus preventing Eugene from effecting a junction with the Duke of Savoy, Vendome was, so far, the conqueror. By retiring, in generally good order, to his camp, but 3 miles from Cassano, and by then so long maintaining his position, as he likewise did, 3 years before, after the

Compare this heroic death with that of De Sale, in Book III., at the battle of Marsaglia, in 1693.

+ Vendome's loss, in killed and wounded, 2728; in prisoners, 530; in toto, 3258. Eugene's loss, in killed and wounded, 3966; in prisoners, 1942; in toto, 5908. Both totals, 9166.

battle of Luzzara, Eugene could scarcely be deemed conquered. For both engagements, both sides had Te Deum chanted, as both claiming to be victorious! Yet, on both occasions, how great soever were Eugene's merits, (and they were great,) Vendome, as results attested, had the better claim to be styled the conqueror.

The Irish acquired very high honour at Cassano. Eugene, according to the French reports, having "directed his chief efforts against Vendome's centre, opposite to the Brigades of the Marquis de Grancey, of (Walter) Bourke, and of the Marine, the Imperialists broke through a battalion of the last-mentioned brigade, and forced their way to the artillery in the rear. But Du Heron's and Verac's Regiments of Dragoons, and the Regiment of (the Honourable Arthur) Dillon, belonging to the Brigade of the Marine, then so bravely attacked the Imperialists, that they were overthrown, and the brigades rejoining, nearly all, who had pierced through, were killed. Others of the enemy, who, in a different direction, had penetrated between the Brigades of Grancey and of Perche, were vigorously assailed by the Marquis de Grancey and the Sieur (Walter) de Bourke, who, uniting to the right and left, charged so furiously with fixed bayonets, that all who had passed the canal there were destroyed, or driven back into it, and numbers of them drowned. The Sieur (Daniel) de Carol, Lieutenant-Colonel of the Regiment of Berwick, signalized himself very much, in this part of the action." It is added "The Sieur Dillon, Mylord Galmoy, and the officers of the Irish Regiments, sustained the greatest efforts of the enemy, with an extreme bravery," and that "the Irish suffered considerably." The Regiment of Galmoy alone is said to have had so many as 40 officers killed or wounded. In addition to the preceding particulars, it is stated, by Quincy, of the battalions of Dillon, Galmoy, and Fitz-Gerald-"The regiments of Dillon, of Galmoy, and of Figueral, being incapacitated from acting in the same manner as many of the other brigades, posted themselves in fosses, with water up to their waists, and holding the branches of trees and bushes between their teeth in order to raise themselves up, and get a better view of the enemy, by this means opened such a flanking fire upon him, as annoyed him much." Count Dillon, too, after relating how the Irish, on being galled by some Imperial batteries from the opposite bank of the Adda, swam across and captured the batteries, observes of those troops-"Their happy audacity very much contributed to the gaining of the battle, and M. de Vendome wrote to Louis XIV.-That the Irish had fought in this affair with an exemplary valour and intrepidity, and that they formed a band, whose zeal and devotion might be relied upon, in the most difficult emergencies of war."+ In recompense for this good conduct, as well as for their services at the 2 battles of Hochstedt, Louis augmented each company of the troops of that nation by 2 officers; and attached several more, as supernumeraries, to each of the regiments, with full pay. The campaign between Vendome and Eugene terminated, by the latter being obliged to retire, for the winter, towards the Alps, about the Lake of Garda, whence he had taken the field for the summer. In Spain, several plots were concerted, and still more were rumoured

A substitution here, and elsewhere, for the less distinctive term of "enemy," or 'enemies."

+Lieutenant-General Count Arthur Dillon, the younger. See, likewise, the commendation of the Irish by Vendome, in Book III., under reduction of Barcelona, in 1697.

to have been concerted, in 1705, against Philip V., by emissaries of the Allies in favour of the Archduke Charles of Austria, as Charles III.; ; which plots, though frustrated for the time, were but too sure indications of the formidable footing the latter Prince was about to acquire, and long maintain, in the Peninsula. One of those plots was against Cadiz, but it was discovered, and the safety of that city duly provided for by a strong garrison, including the "Régiment de Mahoni Irlandois," at this period one of infantry, and stationed in the Isle of Leon. In June, (according to the Abbé de Vairac, then in the Spanish metropolis) the number of French in each house at Madrid was found marked on the door, in figures of red lead, on the eve of the great festival of Corpus Christi; it was given out, that next day every native of France was to be massacred, and their Majesties to be carried off from the Palace of Buen Retiro to Portugal, and even slain on the road, in case of resistance; all which, according to the report, was to be effected by certain foreigners, at that time in the city as pretended deserters, but engaged, it was said, for those designs, by no less a personage than the Marquis de Leganez, Grandee of Spain, Governor of the Palace, Grand Master of Artillery, and Vicar General of Andalusia. The Marquis, when proceeding at 8 o'clock in the morning towards the King's apartment, was consequently arrested by the Prince de Tilly, Captain of one of the Troops of Life Guards, and then committed to the custody of a Kilkenny gentleman, Don Patricio or Patrick Lawless, commanding a detachment of the Guards, who had orders to convey the prisoner to the Castle of Pampeluna. The Marquis, on the way there, made many advantageous offers to the Irishman, to be allowed to escape; but Lawless (who was no more to be tempted than his countryman Mac Donnell by Villeroy at Cremona) duly fulfilled the commission with which he was intrusted. After the capture of Barcelona by the Allies for the Archduke Charles, and the revolt, to his party, of nearly all Catalonia and parts of Aragon and Valencia, the Prince de Tilly was despatched, by Philip V., from Madrid, with a force for the defence of Aragon; and, says a British writer, "he had under him the famous Colonel Mahoni, who had distinguished himself, in so extraordinary a manner, in driving the Germans out of Cremona." In the sharp and continual struggle which Tilly had to maintain against the Austro-Carlist miquelets, the Irish officer's name occurs with credit. Thus, an account from Madrid, of December 18th, 1705, after noting how the frontier was assailed by various parties of miquelets, and, in some instances, with success, adds-"One advanced on the side of Mequinença, which was put to flight by Colonel Mahoni; and 40 of them, who had rushed into a boat, to save themselves on the opposite side of the river, were all drowned."

The campaign of 1706 in Flanders opened on Whitsunday, May 23rd, with the battle of Ramillies, between the Duke of Marlborough and the Marshal de Villeroy. Marlborough had 73 battalions, and 123 squadrons; Villeroy had 74 battalions, and 128 squadrons. In artillery, the Allies were superior by 48 pieces; they having had 120 guns, or 100 cannon and 20 howitzers; while the French had only 72 guns, or 60 cannon, and 12 mortars. The arrangements of the French General, for the action of that day, have been as severely censured, as the ability with which the English General achieved, and the vigour with which he followed up, success, have been highly commended. After the usual cannonade, the French, having been generally attacked at from 2, to half-past 2, in the

afternoon, were beaten, by between 6 and 7 in the evening. The Allied pursuit did not cease until about 2 next morning. Villeroy was utterly defeated; losing 54 cannon, besides mortars, 87 colours or standards, about 2000 waggons, with a quantity of baggage; perhaps 10,000 men, between killed, wounded, and missing;* and, in consequence of this overthrow, all Spanish Flanders. The Allied killed and wounded were officially published as 3633; but, according to Kane, Parker, and Milner, all present there, were many more, or from above 5000 to 6000 men. It was remarked in France, alleges my British contemporary historian of Marlborough and Eugene, respecting the French Marshal's preparations for this unfortunate battle, that Villeroy "made the worst disposition imaginable, notwithstanding he had the greatest advantages in point of ground; and he would never alter his disposition, notwithstanding several General Officers, and particularly M. de Gassion, took pains to shew him his errors; and though the enemy gave him 5 hours' time, while they altered the whole disposition of their troops, in order to take advantage of his mistakes. He neglected even the common precaution of sending away his baggage, suffering it to remain, during the engagement, between his lines, in such a manner, that it hindred any reinforcement from going to his right, and afterwards proved the ruin of the troops by hindring their retreat; which could never have been so unhappy as it was, but for this blunder of his, since the left wing never engaged at all, but marched off leisurely, and in good order, till night came on, and, by the breaking of the waggons, the rout became general." Thus, in proportion as Villeroy here was but little of a General, Marlborough was great as a General, or, it would seem, "not so great after all "-for, can mere success really glorify, apart from any consideration of the merit, or demerit, of the adversary, with whom one has to contend? But, for an officer of the ennobled branch of the Molesworths in Ireland, Marlborough, moreover, would have been taken prisoner, or slain instead of being victorious! For, having, in the engagement, been ridden over, left almost senseless on the ground, and his horse having run away, he was only enabled to escape, or rejoin his own troops, in consequence of being remounted by the gallant officer referred to, his Aide-de-Camp, the Honourable Richard Molesworth, Captain of Cavalry, subsequently 3rd Viscount Molesworth of Swords, County Dublin, Baron of Philipstown, King's County, and Field-Marshal. At the hazard of his own life, the Captain thus, as observed, "certainly, under God, preserved that of the General"-respecting whom, "this remarkable fact," it is added, "was very industriously hushed up in the army," and the more easily, since the Aide-de-Camp, equally modest and brave, "was quite silent upon it!"

At the village of Ramillies, only quitted when Marlborough's sweeping success to its right rendered a further defence impossible, and last maintained, in that quarter of the field, previous to the commencement of Villeroy's retreat, the Regiment of Clare was stationed, under its Colonel, Charles O'Brien, 5th Lord Clare, and Maréchal de Camp, or Major

It is noted, by Lieutenant-General Pelet, of the Comte de Saillant, who com manded at Namur, (which fortress, by the way, was not reduced by the Allies during this war,) how the Count sent some detachments from his garrison, 2 days after the action, towards the field of battle, where, and in the adjacent villages, 34 pieces of the cannon, with about 800 of the wounded, that had fallen into the enemy's hands, were left by them. These were brought away to Namur, and the Count also collected, and sent back to Villeroy's army, about 1500 fugitives from the battle.