ABDICATION OF KINGS.—Numerous in ancient history. The following are those of the most remarkable character and greatest political importance: Henry IV. of Germany A.D. 1080 Napoleon April 5, 1814
Baliol of Scotland  “ 1306 Charles X. of France Aug. 2, 1830
Charles V. of Germany  “ 1556 Louis Philippe   “ Feb. 24, 1848
James II. of England  “ 1688 Ferdinand of Austria. Dec. 2, 1848
Philip V. of Spain  “ 1724
ABOUKIR.—Commonly called the Battle of the Nile. Fought between the French and English fleets August 1st, 1798. (See Nile.)
ABRAHAM, HEIGHTS OF.—Commonly called the Taking of Quebec, or the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. Fought September 13th, 1759. (See Quebec.)
ACAPULCO SHIP.—This was the celebrated prize. A Spanish galleon, from Acapulco, laden with gold and precious wares, and estimated by some annalists at ￡1,000,000 sterling and upwards, taken by Lord Anson, who had previously acquired in his memorable voyage booty amounting to ￡600,000. Admiral Anson arrived at Spithead, in the Centurion, with his immense gains, after having circumnavigated the globe, June 15th, 1744.
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ACRE, ST. JEAN D’—anciently Ptolemais. This city was taken by Richard I and other Crusaders in 1192, after a siege of two years, with the loss of 6 archbishops, 12 bishops, 40 earls, 500 barons, and 300,000 soldiers. It was retaken by the Saracens, when 60,000 Christians perished, A.D. 1291. Acre was attacked by Bonaparte, in July, A.D. 1798, and was relieved by Sir Sidney Smith, who gallantly resisted twelve attempts during the memorable siege of the French, between March 1st, and May 27th, 1799, when, baffled by the British squadron on the water, and the Turks on shore, Bonaparte relinquished his object and retreated. St. Jean d’Acre is a pachalic, subject to the Porte, seized upon by Ibrahim Pacha, who had revolted, July 2nd, 1832. It became a point in the Syrian war in 1840. It was stormed by the British fleet under Sir Robert Stopford, and taken after a bombardment of a few hours—the Egyptians losing upwards of 2,000 in killed and wounded, and 3,000 prisoners; while the British had but 12 killed, and 42 wounded, November 3, 1840.
ACTIUM.—This battle was fought September 2nd, B.C. 31, between the fleets of Octavianus C?sar on the one side, and of Marc Antony and Cleopatra on the other. The victory of Octavianus which followed, procured him the name of Augustus, the Venerable, bestowed on him by the Senate, and the commencement of the Roman Empire is commonly dated from this year.
ADRIANOPLE.—This battle, by which Constantine the Great procured the Roman Empire, was fought July 3rd, A.D. 323. Adrianople was afterwards taken by the Ottomans from the Greeks, in 1360, and continued to be the seat of the Turkish Empire till the capture of Constantinople in 1453. Mahomet II, one of the most distinguished of the Sultans, and the one who took Constantinople, was born here in 1430. Adrianople was taken by the Russians, who entered it, August 20th, 1829, but was restored to the Sultan at the close of the war, September 14th, the same year.
ADJUTANT.—This name is given to the officer, generally a lieutenant, whose business it is to assist the superior officers, by receiving and communicating orders.
ADMIRAL.—This, the highest title in the navy, does not appear to have been adopted till about 1300. This title was first given in England[11] to William de Leybourne, by Edward I, in 1297. The first Lord High Admiral of England was created by Richard II in 1388. It is an office which has seldom been trusted to single hands. Prince George of Denmark, consort to Queen Anne, was Lord High Admiral in her reign. Since that time (1708) the duties were uninterruptedly executed by Lords Commissioners until 1827, when the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV, was appointed. He resigned August 12th, 1828, and the office has ever since been vested in the Lords of the Admiralty.
AEGOS POTAMOS.—This place is famous for the victory of Lysander over the Athenian fleet, on the 13th December, B.C. 405, in the last year of the Peloponnesian war. All the triremes of the Athenians, 180 in number, were either lost or captured, without the loss of a single ship on the side of Lysander.
AFGHAN WAR.—A fierce rebellion broke out on November 2nd, 1842, at Cabul; Burnes and Macnaughten, the British ministers, with other civil and military officers, were successively murdered, and the whole country rose in arms under the treacherous Akbar Khan, the son of the deposed king, Dost Mohammed, who determined on the massacre of the whole British force. Pusillanimity and indecision in the councils of the general-in-chief, led to an immediate evacuation of the country. 4,500 fighting men, together with about 12,000 camp followers, besides women and children, set forward, through ice and snow, on their lamentable retreat; and no sooner had they cleared out of their cantonments, than the blood-thirsty Afghans began to plunder the baggage, and fire upon the soldiery; they continued without ceasing their revengeful assaults upon the bewildered and desponding multitude, till there was nothing left to plunder, and none left to kill. Out of a host of about 26,000 human beings, only a few hundreds were rescued from death by captivity. The ladies and the wounded had been given up to the enemy early in the march, and Dr. Brydon was the only officer who made good his retreat. In the following year, however, on the appointment of Lord Ellenborough to the governor-generalship of India in the place of Lord Auckland, the British national character was repaired, the honour of their arms retrieved, and the unfortunate prisoners rescued. General Pollock was despatched into Afghanistan with an invading army; he advanced on Cabul with all possible rapidity; while, on the other side, General Nott, who had held out at Candahar during the recent difficulties, brought his forces also to bear on the capital. Victory everywhere[12] attended the British arms; and the British officers and ladies, who had been taken prisoners, were also rescued, at Bameean, on the road to Turkistan. These disgraces having been so gloriously redeemed, it was determined to evacuate a country which ought never to have been entered; the fortifications and other works of Cabul having been destroyed, the British troops set forward, on their return home, and, after a march of about ten weeks, arrived safely on the banks of the Sutlej, December 17th, 1842.
AGINCOURT.—Fought on the 25th of October, 1415, between the English and French. When all his preparations were completed, King Henry V embarked at Southampton with a gallant army of 30,000 men, and landing at the mouth of the river Seine, invested the town of Harfleur. After a brave resistance of five months’ duration, the town surrendered; the inhabitants were expelled like those of Calais, and an English garrison occupied it. To his mortification, Henry, at the end of the siege, found his army no longer in a condition for active operations; for it had suffered so severely from dysentery, that when the sick and wounded had been sent home, it did not count more than one half of its original number. In spite however, of the remonstrances of his council, Henry resolved to march with his diminished force to Calais. He reached unopposed the ford by which Edward III had crossed the Somme, but found it secured by lines of palisades, behind which troops were posted. All the other fords were secured in like manner, and the bridges were broken. At length finding a ford unguarded, the English passed over. The constable of France, who commanded the French army, fell back towards Calais, and having received orders from his court to fight without delay, he sent heralds to King Henry to ask which way he intended to march. Henry replied, by that which led straight to Calais, and dismissed the heralds with a present of 100 crowns.
As the English were advancing, the Duke of York, having ascended an eminence, descried the masses of the enemy. The troops were instantly formed in line of battle, but the French would not advance to attack them, the experience of Cressy and Poitiers having inspired them with a dread of the cloth-yard arrows of the English. But as their army presented an array of 50,000 horsemen, they had no doubt whatever of the victory; and though the night was dark and rainy, they assembled round their banners revelling and discussing the events of the coming day; and such was their confidence that they even fixed the ransoms of[13] King Henry and his barons. English, on the contrary, made their wills, and passed the night in devotion. Sickness, famine, and the smallness of their numbers, depressed their spirits; but their courage rose when they thought on Cressy and other victories, and on the gallant spirit of their king. Henry himself visited all their quarters, and he ordered bands of music to play all through the night to cheer their drooping spirits.
Before sunrise, on the 25th of October, 1415, being St. Crispin’s day, the English army, having heard mass, stood in order of battle. The king, wearing a helmet of polished steel, wreathed with a crown of sparkling stones, rode on a grey pony from rank to rank, inspecting and encouraging them. Hearing an officer say to another that he wished a miracle would transfer thither some of the good knights who were sitting idle at home, he declared aloud that “he would not have a single man more, as if God gave them the victory, it would be plainly due to His goodness; if he did not, the fewer that fell, the less the loss to their country.” Three French knights now came, summoning them to surrender. The king ordered them off and cried out, “Banners, advance.” The archers fell on their knees on the ground, then rose and ran on with a shout. They halted, and poured their hail of arrows on the first division of the French; and when they had thrown it into some confusion, they slung their bows behind their backs, and grasping their swords and battle-axes, killed the constable and his principal officers, and routed the whole division. They then advanced to attack the second division, led by the Duke of Alen?on. Here the resistance was obstinate. Alen?on forced his way to the royal standard, killed the Duke of York, and cleft the crown in the helmet of the king; but he was slain, and the division turned and fled. Henry was advancing to attack the third division, when word came that a large force was falling on the rear. The king gave hasty orders to put the prisoners to death, and numbers had perished before it was discovered that it was a false alarm, caused by an attempt of some peasantry to plunder the baggage. The slaughter was then stopped, but this cruel act tarnished the victory which was already won, for the third division offered but a slight resistance.
When Montjoy, the French king-at-arms, appeared, “To whom,” said Henry, “doth the victory belong?” “To you, sir.” “And what castle is that I see at a distance?” “It is called the castle of Agincourt.” “Then,” said the king, “be this battle known to posterity by the name of the battle of Agincourt.” The prime nobility of France were taken[14] or slain, and 8000 knights and gentlemen lay dead on the field. The loss of the English was only the Duke of York, the Earl of Suffolk, and about 600 men.
AGRA.—This celebrated city is called the Key of Hindostan. It was surrendered, in the war of the Mahrattas, to the British forces, October 17th, 1803. The great Mogul frequently, before its surrender, resided here. It now exhibits the most magnificent ruins.
AIDE-DE-CAMP.—(From the French.) An officer whose duty is to receive and communicate the orders of a general or superior officer.
AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, PEACE OF.—The first treaty signed here was between France and Spain, May 2nd, 1668. The second, or the celebrated treaty, was between Great Britain, France, Holland, Hungary, Spain and Geneva, October 7th, 1748. A congress of the sovereigns of Austria, Prussia and Russia, assisted by ministers from England and France, met here, October 9th, 1818, and signed a convention. The sum settled by this convention as due by France to the Allies, was 265,000,000 francs.
ALBUERA OR ALBUHERA.—This battle was fought May 16th, 1811, between the English and French. The English and Anglo-Spanish army was commanded by Marshal, now Lord Beresford, and the French by Marshal Soult. After an obstinate and sanguinary engagement, the allies obtained the victory, one of the most brilliant achievements of the Peninsular War. The French loss exceeded 7000 men, previously to their retreat; but the allies lost an equal number. On the side of the allies the chief brunt of the battle fell on the British. “Colonel Inglis, 22 officers, and more than 400 men, out of 570, who had mounted a hill, fell in the 57th regiment alone; the other regiments were scarcely better off, not one-third being left standing; 1800 unwounded men, the remnant of 6000 unconquerable British soldiers, stood triumphant on this fatal hill.”
ALDERNEY, RACE OF.—Through this strait the French made their escape after their defeat at the battle of La Hogue, by Admiral Rooke, in 1692. It is celebrated for two memorable and melancholy events: 1st. Here the only son of Henry I of England was shipwrecked and drowned, with 140 youths of the highest families in England and France in 1119. 2nd. The British man-of-war Victory, of 110 guns[15] and 1100 men, was also wrecked here October 8th, 1744, when the Admiral, Sir John Balchan, and his crew, perished on the rocks.
ALEMANNI OR ALL MEN (i.e. Men of all Nations).—A body of Suevi, who were defeated by Caracalla, A.D. 214. On one occasion 300,000 of this warlike people are said to have been vanquished in a battle, near Milan, by Gallienus, at the head of 10,000 Romans.
ALESSANDRIA.—This battle was fought, May 17th, 1799, between the Austro-Russian army, under Suwarrow, and the French under Moreau, when the latter were defeated with the loss of 4000 men. The French had possessed themselves of Alessandria the year before, but they were now driven out. It was again delivered up to them after the battle of Marengo in 1800. The village and battlefield of Marengo lie east of this town.
ALEXANDRIA.—The battle of Alexandria was fought, March 21st, 1801, between the English and the French, the latter being commanded by Menou, and the former by Sir Ralph Abercrombie. It resulted in the defeat of the French, but the British general was mortally wounded, and after the retreat of Menou, he was carried to the admiral’s ship, and died on the 28th. The command devolved on Major-General Hutchinson, who baffled all the schemes of Menou, and obliged him to surrender, September 2nd, following, the victor guaranteeing the conveyance of the French, exceeding 10,000, to a French port in the Mediterranean.
ALFORD.—This battle was fought, July 2nd, 1645, between a large body of Covenanters, under General Bailie, and the troops under the Marquis of Montrose. There was discovered some years since, in one of the mosses near this place, a man in armour, on horseback, supposed to have been drowned in attempting to escape from this battle.
ALGESIRAS, OR OLD GIBRALTAR.—By this city the Moors entered Spain A.D. 713, and it was not recovered from them till 1344. An engagement was fought here between a British squadron, under Sir James Saumurez, and several French and Spanish ships of war, which closed in the destruction of two Spanish ships, each of 112 guns, and the capture of the St. Antonio, of 74 guns, July 12th, 1801.
ALGIERS.—The British fleet, under Lord Exmouth, anchoring off Algiers, bombarded the town, which returned the fire; but all the fortifications[16] and houses towards the sea were soon reduced to ashes, and the fleet in the harbour entirely destroyed, August 27th, 1816. The Dey was compelled to conclude a treaty by which he set the Christian captives free, and engaged to cease, in future, from reducing Christians to slaves—a stipulation which, however, he did not afterwards strictly observe; so that the French took possession of the country and made it a colony with a governor, bearing the title of Regent of Algeria. This country is famous for the celebrated French soldiers, the Zouaves, of the late wars.
ALIWAL, India.—This battle was fought, January 28th, 1846, between the British under Sir H. Smith, with 1200 men and 32 guns, and the Sikh army, under Sirdar Runjoor Singh Majeethea, 26,000 strong, supported by 68 pieces of cannon. The contest was obstinate, but ended in the defeat of the Sikhs, who lost nearly 6000 killed, or drowned, in attempting to recross the Sutlej. This battle was named after the village of Aliwal, in the Indian language, Ulleewal, near which it was fought.
ALLIA.—This memorable battle, in the history of Rome, was fought on the 18th July, B.C. 390, between the Romans and the celebrated Brennus, king of the Gauls; 40,000 of the Romans fell, and Brennus took and burnt the city of Rome. This day was always marked unlucky in the Roman calendar, and called Alliensis.
ALLIANCE, TREATIES OF.—Between the greatest European powers, which are most commonly referred to:
Alliance of Leipsic April   9, 1631.
“  “   Vienna May 27, 1657.
“ The Triple Jan. 28, 1668.
“ The Grand May 12, 1689.
“ The Hague Jan.   4, 1717.
“ The Quadruple Aug.   2, 1718.
“ The Germanic July 23, 1785.
“ The Paris May 16, 1795.
Austrian Alliance March 14, 1812.
Alliance of Toplitz Sept.   9, 1813.
The Holy Alliance Sept. 26, 1815.
ALMA, BATTLE OF THE.—Fought, September 20th, 1854. “Lord Raglan waited patiently for the development of the French attack. At length an aide-de-camp came to him and reported that the French had[17] crossed the Alma, but that they had not established themselves sufficiently to justify our advancing. The infantry were, therefore, ordered to lie down, and the army for a short time was quite passive, only that our artillery poured forth an unceasing fire of shell, rockets, and round shot, which ploughed through the Russians, and caused them great loss. They did not waver, however, and replied to our artillery manfully, their shot falling among our men as they lay, and carrying off legs and arms at every round. Lord Raglan at last became weary of this inactivity—his spirit was up—he looked around and saw by his side men on whom he knew he might stake the honour and fate of Great Britain, and anticipating a little, in military point of view, the crisis of action, he gave orders for our whole line to advance. Up rose those serried masses, and passing through a fearful shower of round shot, case shot, and shell, they dashed into the Alma, and floundered through its waters, which were literally torn into foam by the deadly hail. At the other side of the river were a number of vineyards, and to our surprise they were occupied by Russian riflemen. Three of the staff were here shot down, but led by Lord Raglan in person, they advanced, cheering on the men.
And now came the turning-point of the battle, ... Lord Raglan dashed over the bridge, followed by his staff. From the road over it, under the Russian guns, he saw the state of action. The British line, which he had ordered to advance, was struggling through the river and up to the heights in masses, firm indeed, but mowed down by the murderous fire of the batteries, and by grape, round shot, shell, canister, case shot, and musketry, from some of the guns of the central battery, and from an immense and compact mass of Russian infantry. Then commenced one of the most bloody and determined struggles in the annals of war. The Second Division, led by Sir De Lacy Evans in the most dashing manner, crossed the stream on the right. The 7th Fusiliers, led by Colonel Yea, were swept down by fifties. The 55th, 30th, and 95th, led by Brigadier Pennefather, who was in the thickest of the fight, cheering on his men, again and again were checked indeed, but never drew back in their onward progress, which was marked by a fierce roll of Minié musketry; and Brigadier Adams, with the 41st, 47th, and 49th, bravely charged up the hill, and aided them in the battle. Sir George Brown, conspicuous on a grey horse, rode in front of his Light Division, urging them with voice and gesture. Gallant fellows! they were worthy of such a gallant chief. The 7th, diminished by one-half, fell back to re-form their columns lost for the time: the 23rd, with eight officers dead and[18] four wounded, were still rushing to the front, aided by the 15th, 33d, 77th, and 88th. Down went Sir George in a cloud of dust in front of the battery. He was soon up, and shouted, “23d, I’m all right! Be sure I’ll remember this day,” and led them on again; but in the shock produced by the fall of their chief, the gallant regiment suffered terribly, while paralysed for a moment.
Meantime the Guards on the right of the Light Division, and the brigade of Highlanders, were storming the heights on the left. Their line was almost as regular as though they were in Hyde Park. Suddenly a tornado of round and grape, rushed through from the terrible battery, and a roar of musketry from behind thinned their front ranks by dozens. It was evident that we were just able to contend against the Russians, favoured as they were by a great position. At this very time an immense mass of Russian infantry were seen moving down towards the battery. They halted. It was the crisis of the day. Sharp, angular, and solid, they looked as if they were cut out of the solid rock. It was beyond all doubt that if our infantry, harassed and thinned as they were, got into the battery, they would have to encounter again a formidable fire, which they were but ill calculated to bear. Lord Raglan saw the difficulties of the situation. He asked if it would be possible to get a couple of guns to bear on these masses. The reply was “Yes;” and an artillery officer, whose name I do not know, brought up two guns to fire on the Russian squares. The first shot missed, but the next, and the next, and the next, cut through the ranks so cleanly, and so keenly, that a clear lane could be seen for a moment through the square. After a few rounds, the columns of the square became broken, wavered to and fro, broke, and fled over the brow of the hill, leaving behind them six or seven distinct lines of dead, lying as close as possible to each other, marking the passage of the fatal messengers. This act relieved our infantry of a deadly incubus, and they continued their magnificent and fearful progress up the hill. The Duke encouraged his men by voice and example, and proved himself worthy of his proud command and of the royal race from which he comes. “Highlanders,” said Sir Colin Campbell, ere they came to the charge, “I am going to ask a favour of you: it is, that you will act so as to justify me in asking permission of the Queen for you to wear a bonnet! Don’t pull a trigger till you are within a yard of the Russians!” They charged, and well they obeyed their chieftain’s wish; Sir Colin had his horse shot under him, but his men took the battery at a bound. The Russians rushed out, and left multitudes of dead behind[19] them. The Guards had stormed the right of the battery ere the Highlanders got into the left, and it is said the Scots Fusilier Guards were the first to enter. The Second and Light Division crowned the heights. The French turned the guns on the hill against the flying masses, which the cavalry in vain tried to cover. A few faint struggles from the scattered infantry, a few rounds of cannon and musketry, and the enemy fled to the south-east, leaving three generals, three guns, 700 prisoners, and 4000 wounded behind them. The battle of the Alma was won. It was won with a loss of nearly 3000 killed and wounded on our side. The Russians’ retreat was covered by their cavalry, but if we had had an adequate force, we could have captured many guns and multitudes of prisoners.”
The following graphic account is taken from Emerson’s Sebastopol:
“On the 19th September the march commenced. Proceeding southward, the French army, under the command of Marshal St. Arnaud, with Caurobert and Bosquet as generals of divisions, keeping the coast line; the English on their left. The fleets accompanied the march, close to the shore, ready to render assistance should circumstances render it necessary.
The English army comprised about 25,000 men, and was composed of the following regiments, led as under:—
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF, LORD RAGLAN.
Light Division.—Lieut.-General Sir G. Brown. Generals of Brigade, Colonels Airey and Buller. 7th, 19th, 23rd (Welsh Fusiliers), 33rd, 77th, and 88th Infantry.
First Division.—Lieut.-General H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge. Generals of Brigade, Major-General Bentinck and Major-General Sir Colin Campbell. Battalions, Grenadier Guards, Coldstream Guards, Scots Fusiliers; 42nd, 79th, and 93rd Highlanders.
Second Division.—Lieut.-General Sir De Lacy Evans. Generals of Brigade, Major-Generals Pennefather and Adams. 30th, 41st, 47th, 49th, 55th, and 95th Infantry.
Third Division.—Major-General Sir Richard England. Generals of Brigade, Colonels Sir J. Campbell and Eyre. 1st, 4th, 28th, 38th, 44th, 50th, and 63rd Infantry.
Fourth Division.—Lieut.-General Sir George Cathcart. Generals of Brigade, Generals Goldie and Torrens. 20th, 21st, 57th, and 63rd Infantry; 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade.
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Cavalry Division.—Lieut.-General the Earl of Lucan. Generals of Brigade, the Earl of Cardigan and Major-General Scarlett. 8th and 11th Dragoons; 17th Lancers.
[The Scots Greys, the Enniskillens, the 1st Royals, and the 4th and 5th Dragoon Guards, forming the Heavy Brigade, under General Scarlett, did not land with the remainder of the army, but joined it after the battle of Alma.]
Artillery.—General Strangways.
Engineers.—General Tylden.
On the evening of the 19th, the first actual encounter with the enemy occurred. A strong body of Cossacks hovered about our line of march, and two or three guns opened fire upon our little force of cavalry from the heights on the river Bouljanak, the first stream we had to cross. The Earl of Cardigan gallantly charged the hostile troop, who evaded actual contact, and retreated until they had led our men within the range of the guns. Four of our dragoons were killed and six wounded in this skirmish. Two or three of our guns were speedily brought to bear upon the enemy, and Cossacks, gunners, and all were soon dispersed.
Another dreary bivouac on the wet ground prepared the armies for the great contest which awaited them. At day break on the morning of the 20th of September—a day destined to receive an undying fame in our military annals,—the troops resumed their march. As they approached the river Alma, and mounted the heights to the north of that once obscure but now renowned stream, they saw the preparations which the Russians had made to repel the invaders of their territory. The Alma is a small river, rising in the mountains in the east of the peninsula, and falling into the sea about twelve miles to the north of Sebastopol. The southern bank is formed of almost precipitous hills intersected by deep ravines. At the mouth of the river the cliffs are several hundred feet high, and almost perpendicular towards the sea. A large conical hill was the centre of the enemy’s position, and here enormous batteries and entrenchments had been formed, while the crown of the hills was occupied by dense masses of infantry. On the side facing the Allies, a huge redoubt was constructed with two faces, mounting thirteen large guns, and commanding the approaches to the summit and the passage of the river. Each side of the ravines enfilading the hill had powerful batteries, mounting altogether twenty-five guns, and on the cliffs towards the sea an unfinished redoubt was placed, and a large force of infantry and artillery held the position. It was presumed by the Russian commanders that the precipitous[21] character of the hill was a sufficient defence to their left flank. In this expectation they were doomed to bitter disappointment, as the sequel will show. The immediate banks of the river were covered with vineyards and plantations, affording excellent shelter for the Russian riflemen, who were stationed there in strong force. The bridge carrying the main road across the river was destroyed, and the village of Burliuk, at its northern extremity, was in flames, to prevent its being made a point of attack by the Allies.
The effect on our men was almost miraculous. The sight of the foe strongly entrenched, and determined to wait their attack, stimulated them in an extraordinary degree. Fatigued as they were by the labours they had undergone,—despondent from their five nights’ melancholy bivouac on the wet earth, it seemed as if a new life were suddenly infused into them. Diarrh?a and dysentery had not quite departed from their ranks, and many had returned to the vessels, unable to accompany the march. But when they stood on the hill-tops on that memorable morn, and saw the tents of the Russian army, not a man but felt the strength of a giant, and burned with a fierce desire to cross bayonets with the enemy. Many a brave fellow, who had staggered thus far leaning on a comrade’s arm, and ready to drop behind and perish by the wayside, begged for a draught of brandy, and then, forgetting his weakness, and deriving new strength from the occasion, shouldered his musket, took his wonted position among his comrades, and marched bravely to the encounter.
Although the spot where they had bivouacked was only three miles distant from the river, it was mid-day by the time the allied armies had reached its banks, and were drawn up in battle array. It had been arranged by the generals that the French should commence the attack, and they occupied the extreme right of the extended line. The division commanded by General Bosquet, including those renowned warriors, the African Zouaves, rested upon the sea, and the left of their army consisted of Prince Napoleon’s division. Joining this wing of our allies, the veteran Sir De Lacy Evans was posted with the Second Division, supported by the Third Division under Sir Richard England. Sir George Brown’s Light Division came next; and the Duke of Cambridge led his magnificent body of Guards and Highlanders to the extreme left, as a support to Sir George Brown. Sir George Cathcart had the important but less showy duty of acting as a reserve, and, in conjunction with the cavalry under the Earl of Cardigan, guarding the attacking forces from any sudden coup by the Cossacks, who were hovering in suspicious proximity to our rear.
[22]
Such was the army, composed of the choicest troops, and led by the most experienced commanders of France and England, which stood prepared to attempt the dislodgment of the Russians from their strongly-fortified position. Prince Menschikoff, the Russian commander,—the same who, in his character of diplomatist, had been the agent through whom the first insult had been offered to Turkey,—now, by a singular destiny, was the first general upon whom it devolved to measure swords with the military champions whom that insult had called into the field. His army numbered about 54,000 men, so that numerically the opposing forces were very nearly matched; but the Russians had the advantage of their almost impregnable position, to approach which a river must be forded, broken ground crossed, and steep hills ascended. In addition, they were abundantly provided with guns, which were so positioned as to sweep the ground over which the attacking force must pass, while the Allies had but a small force of artillery. So confident was Menschikoff in his advantages, that he did not scruple to boast his ability to hold his position for at least three weeks against any force that could be brought against him. A number of ladies and civilians from Sebastopol had also assembled on the heights to witness the defeat and utter rout of the invaders.
The plan of the allied commanders was that the French should make a vigorous attack upon the Russian left, and when they had succeeded in driving them in upon the main body, the English, taking advantage of the confusion, were to cross the river, and endeavour to force the centre of the position. The enemy, we have already said, had considered that their left was sufficiently protected by the precipitous nature of the cliffs, which rendered them almost inaccessible; but it appears they had not calculated on the activity of the troops to whom they were opposed. The steamers of the allied fleets, shortly before ten o’clock, commenced a vigorous shelling of these heights, and soon drove back the small force of the enemy which occupied them. The mouth of the river was very narrow, and Captain Peel had moored a boat across the stream, which materially facilitated the passage of the French soldiers. The Zouaves, thoroughly seasoned and trained to the emergencies of guerilla warfare in Algeria, stealthily crossed the river, and commenced the ascent of the almost perpendicular cliffs, clinging like goats to the rocks, and finding a precarious foothold where probably no other soldiers in the world could have maintained their position. While they were thus approaching the plateau, the main body of the French army dashed through the[23] river, exposed to a galling fire from the Russian riflemen,—who were hidden in the vineyards and plantations,—and desperately fighting, struggled up the hills. Meanwhile, the gallant Zouaves had reached the top of the cliffs, and, rapidly forming into line, charged the Russians, paralyzed by their sudden appearance, and drove them back. But in achieving this desperate feat, they had separated themselves from the main body, and cut off the possibility of retreat. The unfinished redoubt, which we have already mentioned, now opened a deadly fire on their ranks; and had it not been for the timely arrival of General Bosquet and the remainder of the division, who had succeeded in reaching the plateau, scarcely a Zouave would have remained to tell the tale of that gallant achievement. Prince Napoleon, too, had by this time crossed the stream, and arrived at the scene of action, and the indefatigable French artillerists had succeeded, with immense difficulty, in dragging a few guns up the steep hill-side.
Animated by these reinforcements, the brave Zouaves gallantly charged the Russian lines, now concentrated nearer the main body, and advanced towards the redoubt whose guns had inflicted such loss in their ranks. Two of their number, Lieutenant Poitevin and a sergeant, rushed in advance of their comrades, and leaping upon the works, planted the French flag on the redoubt. But they paid dearly for their temerity. The shouts of the French soldiers, hailing this gallant deed, had scarcely reached their ears, when they fell mortally wounded beneath the flag they had raised.
Taken by surprise by this desperate assault upon his left wing, Prince Menschikoff hastily detached considerable reinforcements from his main body to the succour of the embarrassed regiments yielding to the prowess of their French antagonists. Then the battle waged fiercely: the French, with all the chivalry of their race, gallantly charged the Russian masses, and at the bayonet’s point forced them to retreat. The enemy’s artillery, however, poured a tremendous fire into the ranks of our allies, and for a time the issue of the contest seemed doubtful. Some French regiments of the line were driven back, so deadly was the fire to which they were exposed; and nothing but the unflinching gallantry of the troops who were enabled to hold their ground, prevented them from being ignominiously precipitated from the cliffs they had so adventurously scaled.
Marshal St. Arnaud, alarmed for the safety of his soldiers, hundreds of whom were lying dead around him, so fatal were the volleys from the[24] Russian guns and so sure the aim of the riflemen, hastily despatched an aide-de-camp to the English commander, calling upon him to bring his troops into action without a moment’s delay. “We are massacred,” was the message—certainly not the words which Napoleon, or Murat, or Ney, would have used when attacking an enemy considerably less in force than themselves; for, be it remembered, Menschikoff still held the centre of the position with the main body of the army, which had not yet been brought into action. At half-past one o’clock the order to advance was given to the English army. The soldiers, who had been lying down, so as not to expose themselves unnecessarily to the fire of the enemy, sprang to their feet, and rapidly formed into line. Sir G. Brown’s Light Division, and the Second Division, under Sir De Lacy Evans, were the first to dash into the stream, and through a perfect shower of balls from the riflemen concealed in the gardens, and heavier missiles from the batteries above, reached the opposite bank.
Since the commencement of the French attack, our artillery had been throwing shot into the Russian redoubts, and under cover of this cannonade, and the accurate fire of the Rifle Brigade, which protected our advance, the two leading divisions succeeded in crossing the stream, though not without great loss. The Russians had previously marked out the range of their guns, so that they were enabled to pour their volleys into our brigades, as they advanced to the stream, with fatal precision. The burning village of Burliuk, in front of the position occupied by Sir De Lacy Evans, necessitated the separation of his division. General Pennefather led the First Brigade and a portion of the Second across the river to the right of the village; the remainder, under General Adams, crossing to the left. The Light Division struggled manfully up the bank, which was rugged and precipitous. The ford was deep and dangerous, and as the men, drenched with water, scrambled up the banks, scores of their number fell back into the stream pierced by the fatal rifle bullet. But the blood of the gallant fellows was flowing hotly in their veins; those who, in other times, had borne the shock of battles, felt renewed the old spirit which had made them conquerors at Vimiera and at Waterloo; those who for the first time trod the fatal field felt an indescribable and fierce courage, which the sight of danger and of death infuses into most men. Six months of inaction and passive suffering were about to be consummated by a glorious victory, which should crown them as conquering heroes or immortalize their death. They had stood long “like greyhounds on the slips, straining upon the start;” now “the game was afoot,”[25] and the old fire of English chivalry was rekindled, and burnt with as glowing a flame as of yore.
Quickly forming into line, and opening a sharp fire of musketry, the gallant Light Division rapidly advanced towards the conical hill opposite to which they had crossed, and immediately beneath the guns of the great redoubt. As they passed through the vineyards, the soldiers plucked and eagerly ate large bunches of the luscious Crimean grapes, which allayed their burning thirst, and somewhat cooled the mad fever of their excitement. Sir George Brown gallantly led the charge, and, mounted on a white horse, was a conspicuous mark for the enemy. The 7th Royal Fusiliers and the 23rd Welsh Fusiliers were among the first in the mad career. “Hurrah for the Royal Welsh! Well done! I will remember you!” shouted Sir George Brown; and animated by his voice and example, the gallant regiment dashed up the hill. Then there opened a sheet of fire, and when the smoke lifted, the 7th was broken, and a long line of dead marked the path of the fatal missiles. For a moment the brave soldiers struggled onwards, and then, blinded and confused, fell back to re-form. The Welsh Fusiliers, regardless of the fierce volleys, still pressed onwards. Once they paused, as Sir George Brown fell at their head, and rolled heavily on the blood-stained ground. In an instant he was up again unhurt, and cheering the men to the charge. His horse had fallen, pierced by eleven shots, but he was unhurt! They had reached the first stockade, had even planted their flag upon the works, when a shout was heard—“Cease firing; the French are in front!” Their gallant chief, Colonel Chester, rushing to the front, exclaimed, “No! no! on, lads!” As he spoke he fell mortally wounded. Then the regiment, confused by the contrary orders, and disheartened, did fall back; and the Russians, returning to the guns from which the brave fellows had driven them, opened a fire which left a long line of dead through their columns. Nine officers and about one hundred men were stretched upon the field. The other regiments of the Light Brigade, the 19th, 33rd, 77th, and 88th, emulated the courage of the gallant Welshmen, who, after a moment’s breathing-time, re-formed, and joined once more in the heroic assault.
Onward swept that magnificent charge, officers and men vying with each other who should be foremost to avenge their comrades’ death. But before they reached the guns, Prince Menschikoff had formed a compact mass of Russian infantry on the summit of the hill, which now advanced with level bayonets against our exhausted battalions. Breathless from[26] their rapid charge up the hill, diminished in numbers, and fatigued from their almost superhuman exertions, they were unable to resist the shock, and, desperately contesting every inch of ground, slowly yielded to the enormous weight of the Russian columns. The gallant 33rd, the Duke of Wellington’s regiment, displayed a prowess excelled by none. Their colours were borne proudly to the last, and ever in the spot of the greatest danger. The Queen’s colours, when the fight was over, showed fourteen bullet-holes, and the regimental colours eleven. Nineteen sergeants fell around their standards, defending to the last the honour of their regiment, and preserving the fame so identified with the career of the departed warrior whose name it bore.
While the heroes of the Light Division were thus nobly performing their part, Sir De Lacy Evans and General England were gallantly bringing their divisions into action. They had forced a passage, with great difficulty, and exposed to a most destructive fire, somewhat to the left of their compatriots of Sir George Brown’s division, and, breaking through the obstacles which awaited them on the bank, rapidly advanced up the hill. The 55th and 95th encountered a tremendous fire, which they returned with vigour from their muskets, while our artillery did good service by an energetic discharge of shot and shell into the enemy’s lines. Major Rose, Captains Butler and Scham, fell to rise no more, and many other officers were severely wounded; 123 killed and wounded were the contribution of this regiment to the day’s slaughter.
As the 95th charged up the hill, one of the most affecting episodes of that fierce encounter—so full of incidents, of unsurpassed courage, and pathetic scenes—occurred. Early in the charge, Captain Eddington, a young officer, fell wounded, a ball passing through his chest. The regiment, unable to stand against the scathing fire to which they were exposed, fell back to re-form, and left the wounded officer on the ground. In full view of the regiment, a Russian rifleman advanced, and kneeling by his side, appeared to be about to offer his canteen to his lips. A thrill passed through the ranks, at the spectacle of a soldier exposing his own life thus for the purpose of alleviating the sufferings of a dying enemy. No gun would have been pointed against that man, no bayonet levelled at his life. It seemed one of those incidents that show the better feelings of humanity are not quite extinguished by the breath of war. But what was their horror when the rifleman, laying aside his canteen, levelled his piece and deliberately blew out the brains of the dying man! Among those who witnessed this cowardly assassination was a younger[27] brother of the captain who had recently exchanged into the regiment, that he might share death and danger with his brother, whom he tenderly loved. Maddened by the spectacle of his brother’s murder, the young lieutenant sprang forward, shouting with frantic energy to the men to follow and avenge the deed. One loud yell of execration burst from the lips of the soldiers, and bounding onwards, they rushed after their leader. Waving his sword above his head, the gallant young man was a conspicuous mark, and in another moment fell headlong, pierced by a dozen bullets. Thus the two brothers, so fondly attached in life, mingled their blood on that fatal hillside—among thousands of the slain perhaps the most generally and deeply mourned.
At length Sir De Lacy Evans, who had received a severe contusion on his shoulder, rallied his men, and led them victors to the summit of the hill, silencing one of the batteries which had done such execution upon the gallant fellows of the Light Division. Sir Richard England’s division had fought—to use the language of one who shared in that charge—“like devils,” and surmounting every impediment, though not without dreadful loss, joined their gallant comrades. Everywhere the Russians were driven back by the irresistible bayonets of the British, and the conquerors literally marched through paths of blood to victory.
As yet we have not detailed the part borne by the magnificent First Division,—the very flower of the British army. The Duke of Cambridge had led his Guards and Highlanders across the Alma, to the left of the Light Division, and rapidly advanced to its assistance. As they ascended the hill, they encountered Sir George Brown’s regiments slowly yielding to the immense impetus of the Russian charge. Opening their ranks, they allowed their comrades to pass and re-form in their rear, and then the enemy for the first time was confronted with the most redoubtable infantry soldiers in the world. Then began the most desperate hand-to-hand conflict yet witnessed. The Scots Fusiliers had hurried to the rescue without waiting to form properly, and for a brief space were confused. But the individual courage of the members of that distinguished corps never for an instant was found deficient. Surrounded by the enemy, they fought with undaunted valour. Viscount Chewton, a distinguished young captain, who had gained renown in both services, having been originally a midshipman, and having borne an honourable part in the Indian campaign, dashed forward, and, waving his bearskin, shouted to them to advance. Thirteen other officers, with reckless bravery, followed his example, and in a few minutes eleven of their number were wounded.[28] The gallant Chewton had his leg broken by a ball, and fell within fifty yards of the redoubt. Before he could be rescued, several Russians attacked the fallen man, and beat him savagely with the butt-ends of their muskets, others stabbing him at the same time with their bayonets. A strong man, he struggled desperately; and when at length rescued and borne from the field, his body was found to be almost covered with wounds. He lingered for a few days, and then expired. Two young officers, Lieutenants Lindsay and Thistlethwayte, who bore the colours, were surrounded by the enemy, and, except the four colour-sergeants, isolated from their comrades. The sergeants were one by one struck down; and then these gallant young men, back to back, kept the foe at bay, and, almost miraculously escaping unhurt, cut their way through and carried their colours safely to the top of the hill.
Meanwhile the Light Division had re-formed their lines, and now returned to the charge, in the footsteps of the dauntless Guards. In vain broad sheets of fire poured through the ranks—no man flinched. The flag which the Fusiliers had planted on the redoubt was still there, and pointed out the path they were to tread. Their royal leader proved himself worthy of his charge, and encouraged by his example the valour of his men. The Russians quailed before the tremendous onset; and when the Highlanders, who had reserved their fire, came dashing up to the front, and, after discharging a tremendous volley, charged at the bayonet’s point, the rout was complete. Thu enemy fled terror-stricken, and the Guards and Highlanders together leaped into the redoubt, the gunners precipitately hastening after their flying comrades.
At the summit of the hill a brief stand was made, and it seemed as if the contest were about to be renewed; but the Highlanders, levelling their bayonets, advanced at a rapid pace, and the enemy, dashing down their accoutrements and arms, fled, like frightened sheep, down the declivity.
Meantime the French had driven back the Russian left wing upon the main body, and now brought to bear, with deadly effect, their guns upon the retreating foe; and the second and third divisions of our army arrived upon the scene. The victory was complete: a great army, in a position of immense strength, had been ignominiously defeated, in less than three hours, by the sheer valour of English and French soldiers. True, we had paid dearly for our victory; but the annals of the British army do not record a nobler achievement.
We were unable to pursue the fugitives—our cavalry was too weak in[29] numbers to be detached from the main body of the army: had we been stronger in that branch of the service, the victory of the Alma might have been equivalent to the conquest of the Crimea. We afterwards ascertained that Sebastopol was emptied of its garrison to strengthen the army, and had we been in a position to follow the retreating forces, we might have inflicted a blow on Russian strength from which it would not in all probability have soon recovered; as it was, the Allies remained masters of the field, and the defeated Menschikoff fled towards Baktchi-Serai, leaving behind him, according to his own admission, 1,762 dead, and 2,720 wounded. Russian assertions are not the most trustworthy, especially when the circumstances are unfavourable to themselves, and the probability is that the loss was really much greater. The English had 353 killed, and 1,612 wounded, many of whom afterwards died of their injuries. Our allies lost 256 killed, and 1,087 wounded.
On the bloody field reposed the victors when that day’s dreadful work was done: amid the dead and dying—the lifebreath painfully passing from the lips of wounded friend and foe—some of our bravo fellows, pillowed on their knapsacks, slept a fitful sleep; some crept among the heaps of dying, searching for friend or brother, and some supported the drooping head and administered a draught of water to the fevered lips of wounded comrade or dying enemy. The fight was over, the lust of blood satisfied, and all the better qualities of manhood, mercy and forgiveness, appeared beneath that setting sun. Sometimes, as they stooped to assist a dying enemy, the Muscovite, trained to treachery, with a final effort, would discharge a pistol at their heads; and then the old war spirit was once more aroused, and with clubbed musket, or deadly bayonet, the malevolent Russian was sent to his account. The sailors, who had watched the progress of the battle from the ships, when they saw that victory was ours, swarmed ashore, and hurried to the scene of strife. There they bore the wounded to the surgeon’s quarters, and to the ships, with the tenderness of women. Little drummer-boys might be seen among the prostrate heroes, comforting and rendering assistance with a care and zeal beyond their years. A fatigue party was ordered on service to bury the dead; and the surgeons, with bare arms and splashed with blood, strove by their skill and energy to alleviate the sufferings and save the lives of the poor fellows brought to them.
A frightful spectacle was that hill-side of the Alma, on the evening of the renowned 20th of September, 1854. England’s best and bravest lay dead, their pale faces lit by the setting sun: some retained the expression[30] of that intense energy which bore them fearlessly to the mouths of the Russian guns; some, with faces calm and beautiful as an infant’s, seemed peacefully sleeping, and smiling as they slept: others, with limbs contracted, and features frightfully distorted, bore witness to the fierce agonies of the death-struggle. Russian and English and French lay commingled, as they fell in the deadly struggle; and among the heaps of corpses, many in whom the spark of life yet lingered, lay miserably groaning, or faintly crawled with shattered limbs, in search of help. Some of the bodies were headless, the brains scattered around the bloody trunk: and others were so frightfully mutilated that it was difficult to recognize any trace of humanity. While some of our men helped to bear the wounded from the field, and bury the corpses of the slain, others hovered about, and plundered the dead of clothes, arms and such matters as could be carried away; the sailors especially were active in securing trophies of war. Russian orders and crosses, Russian arms, and even the black bread from the soldiers’ knapsacks, were eagerly sought; the boots were real prizes, and the seamen, who would heartily lend a hand to succour a wounded comrade, or even a foe, had no delicacy in appropriating the clothing of the dead. An expeditious mode of measurement, by which they secured the articles which would best fit, caused some amusement, even at such a time. Jack, seating himself at the feet of a dead Russian, placed the sole of his foot against that of the corpse; if they agreed in size, the boots were at once appropriated; if otherwise, the critical mariner proceeded to another selection.
For two days the armies remained upon the field; had they marched at once, it is more than probable, nay, almost certain, they might have entered Sebastopol with but little resistance. Marshal St. Arnaud wished to make an immediate advance; but Lord Raglan refused to leave his wounded untended on the field. Though possibly we ultimately lost by this delay, we can scarcely blame a general who showed such a fine humanity even among the horrors of warfare. Our English courage is of the old chivalric sort—we fight as men, for great principles, not for the lust of conquest: our soldiers are every one a treasure of immense value, rightly used, not to be cast away to perish when their first use is passed. Human life is to Englishmen intensely sacred: we cheerfully lay it down when demanded, and in proportion do we honour and cherish those who have perilled it in our cause. A single life wilfully sacrificed for a mere strategical advantage would have been a stain on our English honour, which we should not speedily have forgiven.
[31]
At early morning, on the 23rd of September, the Allies turned their backs on the memorable heights. Two men, strong and unwounded, remained upon the field, and watched their departure; and in all that proud array, flushed with victory, there were none who bore more heroic hearts. Upwards of 200 wounded Russians still lay upon the field; and Dr. Thompson, surgeon of the 44th regiment, and his servant, volunteered to remain, and administer to their wants. Every moment increased their loneliness and their danger; for predatory bands of Cossack horsemen still hovered around the scene, against whose revengeful lances the plea of mercy and Christian charity would have been but an ineffectual shield; and yet these two brave men quailed not in their mission, and many a dying foe had his last pangs soothed, and parting agonies alleviated, by the ministrations of these good Samaritans of peace.”
ALMANZA.—This battle was fought, April 4th, 1707, between the confederate forces under the Earl of Galway, and the French and Spaniards, commanded by James Fitzjames, Duke of Berwick, the illegitimate son of James II of England, when most of the English were killed or made prisoners of war, having been abandoned by the Portuguese at the first charge.
ALMEIDA.—This was an important position, as a frontier town of Portugal, in the Peninsular war. Massena laid siege to it August 15th, 1810, and the governor capitulated August 27th following. The French crossed into Spain, leaving a garrison at Almeida, blockaded by the British, April 6th, 1811. It was evacuated by the French, May 11th, of the same year. In the end Wellington compelled Massena to retire from Portugal, but the route of the French was tracked by horrid desolation.
ALNEY.—This was rather a single combat than a battle, between Edmund Ironside and Canute the Great, in sight of their armies. The latter was wounded, when he proposed a division of the kingdom, the south part falling to Edmund, A.D. 1016; but this prince having been murdered at Oxford, shortly after the treaty, according to some by the treachery of Aldric Streon, Canute was left in the peaceable possession of the whole kingdom, A.D. 1017.
AMBOYNA.—This place is celebrated for the memorable massacre of the English factors by the Dutch, February 17th, 1623; they were cruelly tortured and put to death on an accusation of a conspiracy to[32] expel the Dutch from the island, where the two nations resided and jointly shared in the pepper trade of Java. Amboyna was seized by the English, February 16th, 1796, but was restored by the treaty of Amiens in 1802. It was again seized by the British, February 17th, 1810, and was restored at the peace of 1814.
AMHERSTBURG.—Fought between the Canadians and Americans. In July, 1812, the American General Hull, with a force of 2500 men, crossed over from Detroit, and entered the Western district, where he issued a proclamation inviting the inhabitants to join his standard. At this time the British force on the frontier was merely nominal, and could offer little resistance. As soon as General Brock heard of this invasion, he prorogued the Parliament, then sitting at Toronto, and proceeded westward. He arrived on the 12th of August at Amherstburg, where he mustered about 330 regulars, and 400 militia and six hundred Indians. Hull, whose force, weakened by sickness and sending away two detachments, is said at this time not to have exceeded 800 effective men, retreated across the river, withdrawing the cannon prepared for the siege of Amherstburg, and shut himself up in Detroit. General Brock, instantly crossing over, advanced upon the fort and prepared for an immediate assault. A white flag, however, appeared from the walls, and a capitulation was signed, by which the whole American force, including the detachments, were made prisoners and sent to Montreal. Loud and just complaints were made by the Americans against the conduct of Hull, who was afterwards tried and condemned to be shot, but was spared on account of his age and former services.
AMIENS, PEACE OF.—Between Great Britain, Holland, France and Spain, signed March 27th, 1801.
AMSTERDAM.—Capital of Holland, surrendered to the King of Prussia, when he invaded Holland in favor of the Stadtholder in 1737. The French were admitted, without resistance, January 18th, 1795. The ancient government restored in November, 1813.
ANDRé, MAJOR.—An adjutant general of the British army, taken prisoner by the Americans whilst returning in disguise from a secret expedition to the American General Arnold; hanged October 2nd, 1780.
ANGRIA.—A pirate’s fort on the coast of Malabar, invested by Admiral Watson, and destroyed 1756.
[33]
ANHOLT, ISLAND OF.—Owing to the injury done by the Danish cruisers to British commerce, this island was taken possession of by England. The Danes made an attempt to regain it with a force of 4000, but were gallantly repulsed. The British force opposed to them did not amount to more than 150 men, yet triumphed in a close and desperate engagement, March 14th, 1811.
ANJOU, OR BLAUGé.—This battle was fought between the English and French armies April 3rd, 1421. The French were commanded by the Dauphin of France, who defeated the English, on whose side the Duke of Clarence and 1500 men perished on the field; the Duke was slain by Sir Allan Swinton, a Scotch knight, who commanded a company at arms; and the earls of Somerset, Dorset, and Huntingdon were taken prisoners. This was the first battle that turned the tide of success against the English in their first wars with France.
ANTOIGN.—This battle was fought between the central army of the French and the Allies, August 13th, 1792, in which 4500 Austrians and Prussians were killed, 3,500 taken prisoners, and 600 emigrants shut up in Longwy; 900 French were killed in the action; 30 pieces of battering cannon and howitzers, with all the baggage of the combined army, were captured.
AQUILEIA.—In the first battle fought there, Constantine II was slain by Constans towards the close of March, A.D. 340. In the second, Maximus was defeated and slain by Theodosius, July 28th. A.D. 388. In the third, Theodosius defeated Eugenius and Arbogastes, the Gaul, and remained sole emperor of the Roman world, September 6th, A.D. 394. Eugenius was put to death, and Arbogastes died by his own hand, mortified by his overthrow.
ARBELA.—The third and decisive battle fought between Alexander the Great and Darius Codomanus, king of Persia, which decided the fate of Persia, B.C. 331. The army of Darius consisted of 1,000,000 of foot and 100,000 horse; the Macedonian army amounted to only 40,000 foot and 7,000 horse. The gold and silver found in the cities of Susa, Babylon, and Persepolis, which fell into the hands of Alexander, after this victory, amounted to ￡30,000,000, and the jewels and other precious spoil, belonging to Darius, sufficed to load 20,000 mules and 5,000 camels. At the battle of Arbela, the Persians lost 300,000, or as some,[34] with greater probability, say 40,000, whilst the Macedonians had only 500 slain. Darius betook himself to flight, and was slain by Bessus, Governor of Bactria, who was punished for his perfidy in the following manner:—He was taken and bound naked, hand and foot, and four trees having been by main force bent down to the ground, and one of the criminal’s limbs tied to each of them, the trees, as they were suffered to return to their natural position, flew back with prodigious violence, each carrying with it one of the limbs.
ARCOLA.—This battle was fought between the French, under General Bonaparte, and the Austrians, under Field-Marshal Alvinzy, November 19th, 1796. The result of this bloody conflict, which was fought for eight successive days, was the loss on the part of the Austrians of 12,000 men in killed, wounded, and prisoners, with 4 flags and 18 guns.
ARGENTARIA.—This battle was one of the most renowned of its times. It was fought A.D. 378, in Alsace, between the Allemanni and the Romans, the former being defeated by the latter, with the loss of more than 35,000 men, out of their whole army of 40,000.
ARKLOW.—This battle was fought June 10th, 1798, between the insurgent Irish, amounting to 31,000, and a small regular force of British, which signally defeated them.
ARMADA.—Philip, king of Spain, after some years of preparation in all the ports of his extensive dominions, had assembled in the river Tagus a fleet of 130 large vessels, carrying nearly 30,000 men, and the Prince of Parma had collected, in the ports of the Netherlands, ships and boats for the embarkation of an equal number of his veteran troops. To resist these formidable preparations, Elizabeth had only a navy of 34 ships, but the nobility and the seaports fitted out such a number of vessels at their own expense, that there soon was at sea a fleet of 180 vessels of all kinds, large and small. The chief command was committed to Howard of Effingham, Lord High-Admiral of England, and Drake, Hawkins, and Frobisher held commands under him. The fleet was stationed at Plymouth. A land army of 30,000 men was posted at Tilbury, in Essex, under the command of Lord Leicester, for the protection of the city of London, while another of equal strength was destined for the guard of the Queen’s person.
On the 29th of May, 1588, the Invincible Armada (i.e. Fleet), as it was proudly styled, sailed from the Tagus, but owing to a storm which it[35] encountered, it did not appear off the coast of England till the 19th of July. On that day it was descried near the Lizard point, in Cornwall, by a Scottish pirate, who made all the sail he could to convey the intelligence to Plymouth, and the Admiral got his fleet out to sea with as little delay as possible.
As the Spanish Admiral had orders not to engage in hostilities till he should have seen the Prince of Parma’s army landed in England, he took no notice of the English fleet, but steadily directed his course up the Channel. The Armada sailed in the form of a crescent, of which the horns were seven miles asunder. Its motion was slow, though every sail was spread; “The winds,” says the historian, “being as it were tired with carrying the ships, and the ocean groaning beneath their weight.” The English ships, which were smaller and more active than those of the Armada, followed to harass it and cut off stragglers, and during the six days which it took to reach Calais, it suffered considerably from their persevering attacks. At Calais the Admiral learned that the Prince could not embark his troops for want of stores and sailors, and while he waited, the Armada narrowly escaped destruction from fire-ships sent into it by the English. A violent tempest succeeded, which drove it among the shoals on the coast of Zealand; and a council of war determined that, as it was now in too shattered a condition to attempt anything against the enemy, it were best to return to Spain without delay; but as the passage down the Channel was so full of hazard, it was resolved to sail round Scotland and Ireland. The Armada, therefore, set sail; the English pursued it as far as Flamborough-head, where want of ammunition forced them to give over the chase. Storms, however, assailed the Armada, and several of the vessels were cast away on the coast of Ireland, where the crews were butchered by the barbarous natives. The total loss was 30 large ships and 10,000 men. Philip received the intelligence with great tranquillity, and ordered public thanks to God and the saints for the calamity not having been greater.
In this great danger of herself and kingdom, Elizabeth had shown the spirit of a heroine. She visited the camp at Tilbury, rode along the lines mounted on a white palfrey, and cheered the soldiers by her animated language. When the danger was over she went in state to St. Paul’s, and publicly returned thanks to Heaven. She granted pensions to the disabled seamen, created the Admiral, Earl of Nottingham, and bestowed honours and rewards on his officers. The sudden death of Leicester, shortly after he had disbanded his army, intercepted the favours she might have designed for him.
[36]
ARMED NEUTRALITY.—A confederacy of the Northern powers against England, commenced by the Empress of Russia, in 1780. It resulted in the destruction of the Danish fleet before Copenhagen, April, 1801. This gave England the acknowledged claim to the empire of the sea. The neutrality was soon after dissolved.
ARMAGH.—This battle was fought A.D. 1318, against Edward Bruce, who was defeated, taken, and beheaded at Dundalk, and with him 6200 Scots lost their lives.
ARMISTICES, CELEBRATED.—The most celebrated armistices recorded in Modern History are the following:—That of Leobon, in 1797, was signed a few days after the victory of Tagliamento, gained by Napoleon I over Prince Charles. It was Bonaparte himself who proposed it. This armistice was followed by the preliminaries of Leobon and the treaty of Campo-Formio. The armistice of Stayer, concluded on the 25th December, 1800, took place after the battle of Hohenlinden. It was signed by Moreau, on the 16th January, 1801. Brune signed the armistice of Treviso, which delivered into the hands of the French the fortified places of Ferrara, Peschiera and Porto-Legnano. He was reproached with not having demanded Mantua. In 1805, Murat concluded an armistice at Hollebrun, which saved the Russian army, and was the cause of a severe letter written to him by the Emperor. On the very evening of the battle of Austerlitz, the Emperor of Austria demanded and obtained an armistice, which was preliminary to the peace of Presburg. Another armistice, also celebrated, was signed after the battle of Friedland, and led to the peace of Tilsit. At Wagram took place the armistice of Zoaim, which was the prelude to the peace of Vienna, 1809. Lastly, on the 4th of June, 1813, after Bautzen, was signed the armistice of Pleiswitz, which the Emperor Napoleon I himself considered a fault.
ARTILLERY.—The first piece was invented by Schwartz, a German Cordelier monk, soon after the invention of gunpowder, in 1330. First used by the English by Edward III at the battle of Crecy, in 1346, when that king had 4 pieces of cannon, which greatly aided in his gaining the battle. Brass cannon, first used 1635—improvements made by Browne in 1728, and have continued ever since.
ASCALON.—This battle was fought A.D. 1192. Richard I of[37] England, commanding the Christian army, met and defeated the Sultan Saladin’s army of 300,000 Saracens and other infidels. No less than 40,000 of the enemy were left dead on the field of battle, and the victorious Richard marched to Jerusalem.
ASPERNE.—This battle was fought between the Austrian army under the archduke Charles, and the French, on the 21st of May, 1809, and two following days. In this most sanguinary fight the loss of the former army exceeded 20,000 men, and the loss of the French was more than 30,000; it ended in the defeat of Bonaparte, who commanded in person, and was the severest check he had yet received. The bridge of the Danube was destroyed and his retreat endangered; but the success of the Austrians had no beneficial effect on the subsequent prosecution of the war.
ASSAYE.—Fought September 23rd, 1803, between the Duke of Wellington (then General Arthur Wellesley) and Scindiah and the Rajah of Berar. This was Wellington’s first great battle in which he opposed a force fully ten times greater than his own. In Stocqueler’s Life of the “Iron Duke” we have the following account of this battle: “Scindiah’s army having changed its position, occupied the whole space between the Kaitna and Assaye, with a great number of guns in front, and commenced a murderous cannonade. The small number of British guns was quite incapable of coping with this vast battery. General Wellesley, therefore, directed his infantry to advance with the bayonet.
With the determined courage which had given them victory at Seringapatam, in the actions with Dhoondia Waugh, and on the walls of Ahmednuggur, the line dashed forward, carried the guns on the right, and approached Assaye. At this moment a cloud of Mahratta horse had stolen round the village, and fell upon them—sabre to bayonet—with characteristic fury. The 74th regiment wavered—the charge was too much for them.
Colonel Maxwell of the 19th Light Dragoons saw that the critical moment had arrived, Forward! was the word. Falling upon the Mahratta cavalry, the Dragoons gave the British infantry time to rally, cut up the Mahratta horse, pushed through the Scindiah’s left, and threw the whole of that part of the army into confusion. In the meantime the enemy’s centre, which had remained untouched, closed in upon the ground before occupied by their left wing, and uniting with such of their infantry and artillery as had been passed over unhurt by the British cavalry, formed itself into a kind of crescent, with its right horn resting on the river[38] Jouah, and its left on the village of Assaye; thus presenting themselves in a fresh position on the flank of our infantry, on which, having collected a considerable number of guns, they recommenced a heavy fire. The battle was now to be fought over again, with this difference, that the contending forces had changed sides, and had the enemy’s horse behaved with the least spirit, while our cavalry was absent in pursuit of their broken battalions, there is no guessing what the consequences might have been; but, happily for General Wellesley, they kept aloof. To oppose the enemy in their new position, the Sepoy battalion on the right was immediately advanced against them, but without effect, being obliged to retire. Another was brought forward and equally repulsed. The cavalry, having by this time returned from the pursuit, and formed on the left, and the enemy’s horse having disappeared before them, the General ordered the 78th regiment and the 7th cavalry up, to head a fresh attack against the enemy’s infantry and guns, which still defended their position with obstinacy. No sooner, however, had he formed the 78th regiment in line, in directing which his horse’s leg was carried off by a cannon shot, than the enemy without waiting an attack, commenced their retreat across the Jouah, which they passed in tolerable order before our troops could come up with them. Previously to this last attack Colonel Maxwell had requested and obtained permission to charge a considerable body of infantry and guns, which having formed part of the reserve, were seen retiring in good order, along the right bank of the Jouah.
The 19th Dragoons were not long in coming up with the enemy, who having formed with their left to the Jouah, steadily waited their approach. The charge was sounded. The Dragoons advanced with rapidity, amidst a shower of musketry and grape, and had already got almost within reach of the bayonets of the enemy, who still gallantly stood their ground.
“At this moment,” writes an officer engaged in the charge, “instead of dashing among their ranks, I suddenly found my horse swept round as it were by an eddy torrent. Away we galloped right shoulders forward, along the whole of the enemy’s line, receiving their fire as we passed, till having turned our backs on them, we took to our heels manfully; every one called out Halt! Halt! while nobody would set the example! till at last a trumpet having sounded, we pulled up, but in complete disorder, dragoons and native cavalry, pell-mell. On this occasion Colonel Maxwell fell, pierced by a grape-shot. He was gallantly leading the charge when he received his death blow. Having involuntarily checked his horse and thrown his arm back, when he received his wound, the soldiers immediately[39] behind him, not knowing the cause, mistook the gesture for a signal to retire, and did so accordingly. At least this was the reason afterwards assigned for the failure, and if true, shows how the fate of armies, and even of nations, may depend on the direction of a single shot.” Recovering from their disorder, the Dragoons renewed the charge with terrible effect, and the enemy gave way in every direction.
Thus closed this memorable battle, one of the most bloody on record to the victors. Out of about 4500 men in action, upwards of 2000 were either killed or wounded, the former amounting to more than one-third of the whole number.”
ASSYRIANS AND JEWS.—the Battles, &c., between—B.C. 710. These battles resulted in the total destruction of the army of Sennacharib, so graphically described by the Sacred penman—and afterwards in the destruction of Jerusalem, the overthrow of Solomon’s Temple, and the exile of the Jews to Babylon, for 70 years.
ATHLONE.—The English army under General Ginckel stormed Athlone, then a town of prodigious strength—crossing the Shannon in the face of the Irish army, yet not losing more than 50 men. This bold and successful enterprise procured for Ginckel the title of Earl of Athlone, 1691. See Aughrim.
ATTILA.—Surnamed The Scourge of God, ravaged all Europe, A.D. 447. He invaded the Roman empire with an army of 500,000 Huns, and laid waste all the provinces at Chalons-sur-Marne. Aetius, the Roman prefect, met him, and defeated him with the loss of 200,000 men. Afterwards he was as signally defeated by Thorismond, King of the Goths, and died in the midst of his career.
AUERSTADT, BATTLE OF.—In this most sanguinary conflict, between the French and Prussian armies, October 14th, 1806, the Prussians were routed on every side, having lost 200 pieces of cannon, 30 standards, and 28,000 prisoners, and leaving 30,000 slain on the battle field. Both the King of Prussia and Napoleon commanded at this engagement. The French Emperor immediately afterwards entered Berlin, from which city he issued his memorable Berlin Decrees.
AUGHRIM, BATTLE OF.—Near Athlone, in Ireland. This battle was fought, July 12th, 1691, between the Irish, headed by the French General St. Ruth, and the English under General Ginckel, when[40] the former lost 7000 men; the latter only 600 killed and 960 wounded. St. Ruth was slain. This engagement proved decisively fatal to the interests of James II in Ireland, Ginckel was immediately created Earl of Athlone; the ball by which St. Ruth was killed is still preserved suspended in the choir of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin.
AUGSBURG, BATTLE OF.—Fought between the Imperialists and the French army, the latter commanded by Moreau; who obtained so complete a victory, that Augsburg and Munich were opened to him. It was fought August 26th, 1796; Moreau, September 2nd following, again defeated the Austrians on the Jun, and again, September 7th, at Mainburg.
AUSTERLITZ, BATTLE OF.—Fought December 2nd, 1805, between the French and Austrian armies; gained by the former. Three Emperors commanded at this battle, Alexander of Russia, Francis of Austria, and Napoleon of France. The killed and wounded exceeded 40,000 on the side of the Allies, who lost besides, 40 standards, 150 pieces of cannon, and many thousands of prisoners. This decisive victory of the French led to the treaty of Presburg, which was signed December 26th same year.