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ANNALS OF WAR. 1700-1815 |
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ANNALS OF WAR_ 1700-1815 A.D.
1715.
1. WAR IN SWEDEN.—2. THE SIEGE OP STRALSUND.—3.
CAPTURE OF STRALSUND. CHARLES XII ESCAPES.— 4. A BRITISH FLEET SENT TO THE
BALTIC.—5. THE CZAR PETER INVADES THE DANISH TERRITORIES. -6. WAR
BETWEEN THE SWEDES AND PRUSSIANS.—7- WAR BETWEEN THE TURKS AND VENETIANS.—8.
INSURRECTION IN SCOTLAND.— 9. DEATH AND MILITARY CHARACTER OF LOUIS XIV,
KING OF FRANCE.
1. War in Sweden.
Charles XII, King of Sweden, had rejected the treaty
of neutrality concerted by the allies, for the security of the empire, and
still considered the Russians, Prussians, Danes, English, and Dutch, as
his enemies. The ministers of England and the States General had presented
memorials to the Regency of Sweden, but finding no redress, they resolved
to protect their trade by force of arms, and sent a strong squadron to the
Baltic, in order to protect the commerce of the nation; but the object was also
to overawe the Swedes, and compel Charles to submit to the demands of the
coalition. During his absence in Turkey, the Danes, Norwegians,
Russians, Saxons, and all the nations who had previously crouched at his
feet, had risen up to help themselves to his territory. King George,
for the security of his German dominions, entered into a treaty
with Denmark, by which the duchies of Bremen and Verden, which
had been token from the Swedes during their King's absence, were
made Over to his Britannic Majesty, on condition that he should
immediately declare war against Sweden. Accordingly, he took possession of
the duchies; and nearly at the same time that the British fleet appeared
in the Baltic, 6000 Hanoverians marched into Pomerania, and there joined
the Danes and Prussians, who opened the trenches against Stralsund on the
night of the 19th—20th of October.
2. The Siege of Stralsund.
The Kings of Denmark and Prussia undertook this siege,
with a force of 36,000 men, composed of Prussians, Danes, Hanoverians, and
Saxons, and they pressed the siege with vigour. King Charles XII was with
the garrison, confident in the notion that no fortified place could ever
be taken from him. He had no idea in the course of his conquests, but that
the terror of his name could take the place of all rules of war. A
singular adventure occurred in the course of this siege. It is well known
that the Baltic Sea has little or no tide. An outwork of the place,
protected on one side by an impassable marsh, and on the other by a creek
of the sea, appeared to be unassailable. No one had remarked, that when
the west wind prevailed for any time, the water in the creek was thrown back
to the eastward, so as not to leave above three feet depth of water. Thus
it happened that one of the garrison fell from the ramparts into the
creek, and was astonished to find himself in his depth. He thought he
might turn this discovery to his own advantage, and deserted to the enemy,
who availed themselves instantly of the information. On the
following night, when the westerly wind still prevailed, they threw a
force of 13,000 men across the water, whilst another force of 2000 men
were at the same time thrown forward to draw off the attention of
the enemy; during which, the outworks on the side of the sea were,
to their surprise, attacked and carried with great slaughter.
Indeed, the place was very nearly captured; for as the Swedes fled to
the town, the attacking party followed them, and were only
prevented entering it by the hasty raising of a drawbridge.
Charles was well aware of the importance of the Isle
of Rugen to the proper defence of Stralsund; but the amount of garrison
did not permit him to occupy it with more than 2000 men. On the
15th of November the Prince of Anhalt, with 1200 men, made a
descent upon this island and encamped upon it. The King happened to
be present in it at the time, attending to its defences; but this was
unknown to the Prince. Charles observed that the enemy
intrenched themselves, and determined at once to attack them, ignorant of
the depth of the ditch they had constructed. Nevertheless, the
Swedes effected the passage of this with considerable bravery, and entered
the Prince’s camp; but they were driven back into the open
country, where the fight continued hand to hand. The Swedish generals
fell on either side of him; and at last the King himself was
recognized, and called upon to surrender, when he shot the officer (who
thus addressed him) dead at his feet, with his pistol. His name
was however heard by the soldiers, and they pressed upon and surrounded him.
He received a wound in his left breast, but, thanks to Count Pontatowski,
who had already saved his life at Pultowa, he was got safe on the back of
a horse, and escaped back into Stralsund. Rugen, however, surrendered its
garrison: singularly enough, this contained the identical French
detachment that had escaped from the battle of Blenheim, and had
afterwards entered the service of King Augustus of Poland. It had
been thence transferred to the Swedish army, and now, under the same commander,
the Count de Villelongue, they were taken prisoners
by the confederates.
3. Capture of Stralsund. Charles XII
escapes.
The siege continued; and here occurred the
circumstance so well known in the life of Charles XII. One day, dictating a
note to his secretary, a bomb pierced the roof of his chamber, and fell
into a room adjoining that in which they were sitting; although it
burst without any injury to either the King or his secretary, it
occasioned so much alarm to the latter, that the pen dropped from his
hand. “What is the matter?” cried the King, “write on,” “O sire, the
shell.” “Well, what has the shell to do with my letter? write on.”
The siege continued, the King contesting every advance
like a common soldier. At length, when it was no longer doubtful that Stralsund
must fall, the troops begged the King to seek his own safety. The besiegers,
eager for the capture of such a prize as Charles XII, had given orders for
extreme vigilance, both by land and sea, with instructions to take the
King, dead or alive. On the 20th of December, with ten attendants, be
determined to make his way forth; and be embarked in an open boat, the
very hazard of the enterprise giving him pleasure. He had first to break
the ice to get to sea, and then to pass the Isle of Rugen, in possession
(as we have seen) of the enemy. They fired at bis boat, killed some of the
crew, and carried away the mast; but at length be reached two of his
own vessels, which were in the offing, and, in one of them, escaped
to Carlserona. Stralsund surrendered the following day.
Charles then assembled a body of troops, with which he
proposed to pass the Sound upon the ice, and attack Copenhagen; but he
was disappointed in this project by a sudden thaw. He
accordingly remained at Carlserona, in order to hasten his fleet for the
relief of Wismar.
4. A British Fleet sent to the Baltic.
The Swedish privateers had for some time disturbed the
British commerce, and it was determined to send a British fleet to
the Baltic, to put a stop to their insolent depredations and for
further objects. Sir John Norris, with a force of eighteen ships the
line, sailed from the Nore on the 18th of May, and arrived in the
Sound on the 10th of June. The King of Sweden caused it to be
signified to the admiral, that in case of any act of hostility, he would
cause all the effects belonging to the subjects of Great Britain to be
seized and confiscated. Sir John Norris, indifferent to the royal
menace, despatched a messenger to the court at Stockholm, complaining
of the injuries received, and requiring some satisfaction and
national security, that the outrages should he discountenanced and
discontinued. The court prevaricated, and Sir John, in obedience to
his instructions, at once joined the squadron of Russia and Holland; and
as the Czar commanded his fleet in person, it was agreed that,
in compliment to his high dignity, his Majesty should have the
chief command. These spirited measures overawed the Swedes, who
immediately withdrew their squadrons into their harbours.
5. The Czar Peter invades
the Danish Territories.
It happened that at this very moment, the King’s
rival, Peter the Great, stretched forth his rude arm to grasp a part of
Denmark, which was a portion of the Germanic Empire; betraying too
clearly and too early, that Russia was aiming at nothing less than the
entire dominion of the Baltic. Unexpectedly, an army of
Muscovites marched into Mecklenburg, into which he had been invited by
the reigning Duke, who was at this time at open variance with
his subjects, and who had manned the Czar’s niece. The King
of Denmark took the alarm, and remonstrated. The Czar threatened to
quarter his Muscovites in Denmark. The King appealed to George, the new
King of England, who, as a German Prince, as well as from personal
dislike, was opposed to Peter. George, in the heat of his rage, sent his
favourite, Berensdorff to the British minister,
Stanhope, with a project to crush the Czar immediately; to secure his
ships; and even to seize his person as a security that his troops should
evacuate Germany. The English cabinet remonstrated that a rupture with the Czar
would be followed by very evil consequences to the kingdom, for that the ships
and British merchants in Russia would assuredly be seized upon at once, and
that a stop would be put to the naval supplies which England drew
from that country. King George required that Sir John Norris and
his squadron should winter in the Baltic, as neither the Czar, nor
his rival, Charles, followed the customary routine of going into
winter-quarters, and suspending hostilities on account of the weather;
but the cabinet lost all patience at the royal proposal, to leave eighteen British
men-of-war to be frozen up in the Baltic. Sir John Norris therefore
returned to England in the beginning of December, but he left Commodore
Cleveland, with seven ships of war, with orders to act in conjunction with
the Danes in the expected rupture, and to give the proper protection to
the trade and commerce of the country.
6. War between the Swedes
and Prussians.
At the mouth of the Oder, in the Baltic Sea, stands
the little island of Usedom. It is a possession of some importance to the navigation
of the river. The King of Prussia had driven the Swedes out of it, and
held it, as well as Stettin, “in security for a peace.’’ In the month of
May, this year, the Swedes had retaken it; and it was now garrisoned for
Charles by 250 Swedish soldiers, under the command of an old officer of
the name of Kuze-Slerp. On the 4th of August,
the King of Prussia sent 1500 infantry and 800 cavalry to retake the
island. They landed without opposition; but there were two forts, one
called La Suine, and the other Pennamonder:
the Swedish commander abandoned the former, and determined to
hold the other to the last extremity. It was necessary, therefore, to
besiege it in form. On the 18th of August the trenches were opened, and a
heavy fire of guns and mortars was poured into it. The place was closely
invested. A messenger from the King contrived, nevertheless, to convey a
letter from Charles, which was in these words, “Reserve gun-fire till the
enemy is in the ditch—fight to the last gasp. I recommend you to your good
fortune,—Charles.”
On the 22nd the Prussians made the assault; and
faithful to the King’s orders, Kuze-Slerp reserved
his fire till he saw the besiegers in the ditch, when they gave a
murderous volley. The ditch was heaped with the dead; nevertheless it was
large and the assailants numerous. The enemy got through it, and into the
castle, and then the troops left the breach and retired to a bastion,
where they made a stand. The enemy was astonished at their pertinacity;
but at last the gallant commander was killed, together with his major,
when 100 soldiers, and one solitary remaining officer, were made
prisoners. The King’s letter was found in the gallant Kuze-Slerp’s pocket. When a leader could command such troops, we need not be surprised
that their King could have such success; but we may be allowed to
regret that such noble daring should be thus utterly thrown away.
7. War between the Turks and Venetians.
The war between Venice and the Sublime Porte
continued. The Turkish fleet had been ordered to repair to Koron; the
Venetians retired before them. Koron, Modon, the Castle of the
Morea, Malvasia, and Cerigo, successively fell
to the Turkish arms; and at length, of all the possessions of the
Venetians, Suda and Spinalonga alone remained to them. Here Ludovico Magno
and Francisco Giustiniani defended themselves with something like the
ancient spirit of the lion of St. Mark; but at length, deserted by their
fleet, which escaped to Corfu, the whole Island of Candia
surrendered to the Turks in the month of November, and the Grand
Vizier returned home and entered Adrianople in triumph, as a
conqueror, Damad-Ali was far above his countrymen in intelligence, and
was indeed a man of considerable ability in state affairs, as well as in
war, and did much to improve the institutions of the Ottoman Empire.
8. Insurrection in Scotland.
The Earl of Mar having set up the Stuart standard at
Braemer, on the 6th of September, an insurrection was organized in the kingdom
of Scotland. At the same time, a regular conspiracy was fomented in
England, and the Earl of Derwentwater proclaimed James King in
Northumberland. On the 22nd of October a considerable force was got together at
Kelso, and soon afterwards they crossed the English border, and advanced
to Preston, in Lancashire, where, to the number of some 1500, they
intrenched themselves. Here they were attacked by General Carpenter, on
the 12th of November, and forced to surrender at discretion. The Earl of
Mar, who was still in Scotland, encountered on the same day the
Duke of Argyle with the Royal troops, at Dumblane. The clans, with Glengary and Clanronald at their
head, charged the left of the Royal army, sword in hand, and drove them
off the field; but in the meantime Argyle, on the right, attacked the left of
the insurgents, and routed them. No decisive event, however, resulted from
the engagement. In the evening the Duke drew off from the field, towards
Dumblane, and the rebels retired to Ardoch. Few prisoners were taken on either
side; the number of slain was about 500 either way, and both generals
claimed the victory. Soon afterwards, however, Inverness was secured to
the King’s army, by Simon Fraser, Lord Lovat. On the 22nd of December, the
Pretender arrived at Peterhead, with six gentlemen in his retinue. He met the
Earl of Mar at Aberdeen, and was there again solemnly proclaimed. In the
meantime, however, General Cadogan, reinforced by 6000 men, provided by
the States General of Holland, repaired to Perth, which he took possession
on the 9th of January ; when the Chevalier de St. George, finding himself
hotly pursued, embarked at Montrose, and gave up the contest. General
Gordon, whom the Pretender left commander of his forces, successfully
retreated, in face of the Duke of Argyle and Cadogan, through Aberdeen,
where the common people were disbanded, and the chiefs escaped to the
Continent. Such was I the issue of the Fifteen—a wretched,
undignified rebellion.
9. Death and Military character
of Louis XIV, King of France.
Louis XIV expired at Versailles on the 1st of
September of this year, after a reign
of seventy-two years. A King who had administered the military affairs of a
mighty power for half a century, and had several times taken the field in
person, may fairly claim to have a military character of his own, independently
of his royal one. Louis however was scarcely entitled to be considered to
possess any of the qualities of a great commander. With Turenne at his
elbow, and with such troops as the French, he could doubtless conquer;
and accustomed as they always have been to be well led by their
officers, their leader cannot often fail to be successful; but I am not
sure that the King himself ever showed any great genius in leading them,
or had any other quality for war than the ordinary one of personal courage.
He, nevertheless, piqued himself on his knowledge of the art of war, and
had certainly studied strategy, and could compose plans of a campaign for
his Marshals; which they rarely did, for very commonly they could not
adopt. He always preferred sieges to battles. The measured approaches of
the sap and parallels suited the stateliness of his carriage, and he
thought he understood the science of the attack and defence of fortified
places. When he took the field, he did so, like an Eastern Monarch, with a
brilliant cortege, and all that could minister to his pleasures, a
seraglio inclusive: yet he was by no means effeminate in his constitution,
had great powers of enduring fatigue, and could suffer hunger or thirst,
heat, cold, or rain, with perfect impunity. He was very fond of all
military details, the dress, arms, and movements of troops; and he
delighted in reviews. He was proud of the admiration he commanded on such occasions,
for his grand air, good looks, and address on horseback. He was also
exceedingly fond of talking over his campaigns in his familiar society,
and had the talent of relating them well. These are the qualities which,
as a soldier, Louis XIV is admitted to have possessed by his
contemporaries; what can be said of him as a Sovereign and a man I leave
to other biographers. It may be worth noting, as a memora technica, that
the sum of the year of this Sovereign’s birth, 1643, is
the number of his name.
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