fet fail from Deal, with their army and fleet, and joined lord Duncan, in the north-feas. The weather being uncommonly ftormy, for that feafon of the year, they encountered great difficulties and danger in their voyage, and were, unexpectedly long before they arrived at its conclufion. The firft object was two-fold; to effect a landing in Holland, and to receive or take poffeffion of the Dutch fhips in the Texel. On Wednesday, the twenty-first of Auguft, they came in fight of the Dutch coaft, and had made a great preparation to land on the twenty-fecond. But, by a heavy gale of wind, they were forced out to fea. On Saturday, the twenty-fourth, they were again in fight of the Texel; but the weather was too fqually, and the furf too high, to attempt a landing, and it did not abate till Monday morning, the twenty-fixth. That day they came to anchor near the fhore of the Helder, a ftrong point, in the northern extremity of the main land of Holland, that commands the Mars-Diep, the narrow channel which joins the Zuyder-fea with the German ocean, between the continent and the ifland of the Texel, and which is the principal paffage of Amfterdam. There they made preparations for effecting a landing the next morning. At day-light, on the twenty-feventh, they began to disembark. The enemy had aflembled a numerous body of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, and were pofted at Calantf oge to the right of the Helder, but did not oppofe the landing of the firft divifion, waiting in hopes of attacking them before they could be fupported by the reft of the troops. Admiral Mitchel, with very

9

great fkill and ability, covered the landing of the troops, which fir Ralph fuperintended with equal intrepidity and vigour. Both the army and navy acted with the most perfect unanimity, infpired by mutual confidence, famenels of wish, and the most thorough reliance on the courage, profeffional knowledge, and wifdom, of their refpective leaders. In the marine language of admiral Mitchel, they pulled heartily together. When the firft divifion was landed, under lieutenant-general fir James Pultney, the enemy attacked the right flank. The pofition of the troops was on a ridge of fand-hills, that ftretch along the coaft from north to fouth. The British had no where fufficient ground on the right to form niore than a battalion in line; yet, as fir Ralph obferves, the pofition, though fingular, was not, in our fituation, difadvantageous, having neither cavalry nor artillery. The contest was arduous, and the lofs was confiderable; but the courage and perfeverance of the British troops, at length compelled the enemy to retire to a pofition fix miles diftant. Our lofs amounted to about five hundred. Sir James Pultney, who greatly diftinguished himself by his activity and bravery, received a wound in the arm, which obliged him to quit the field. As the enemy ftill retained poffeffion of the Helder, with a garrison of near two thousand men, the troops being now all landed, it was determined to attack it the next morning. The Dutch fleet, in the Mars Diep, got under weigh; the garrifon was withdrawn, and two regiments, commanded by major-general Moore, and the marquis of Huntley, on the twenty-eighth, took poffeffion of the

Helder.

five and able plan of attack, was naturally and reafonably expected. Having thus given fuch a general view of this fevere engagement as a mind not converfant with military manoeuvres and actions may comprehend without difficulty, we fhall add fome farther particulars, worthy of notice.

The column, under general Dundas, directed against Warmenhuyfen and Schoreldam, having Alkmaer on their right, (a circumftance which is neceffary, as will prefently appear, to be mentioned), was accompanied by the duke of York, in perfon, who endeavoured, as much as he could, to quicken its march. It was, however, neceffarily very flow, the enemy having deftroyed all the roads, and the troops being obliged to pafs, as well as they could, acrofs the fields, where every furrow was a wide ditch, over which it was neceffary to form communications, or even to throw bridges. Notwithstanding the greatest exertions, and although Warmenhuysen had been carried between fix and seven in the morning, they could not arrive before Schoteldam until nine o'clock: when this entrenched poft was attacked, on the fide of Warmen huyfen, by the corps of general Dundas; and towards Scholer, by the brigade of general Manners, and carried. Before any fupport could be given, to the attack made by the Ruffians, it was neceffary to attack the canal of Alkmaer. The enemy had deftroyed the bridge, but before ten o'clock means were found to repair it, and part of the froops immediately croffed the canal, and marched to Scholet. At this moment intelligence was brought to his royal highness, by VOL. XLI.

captain Taylor, his aid-de-camp, the only Englith officer who had accompanied the Ruffian column, of what had happened at Bergen. Soon after he had the mortification to fee, that the Ruffians continued their retreat towards the Zype, and had paffed Schorel, which the purfuing enemy had already enter ed. His royal highness then adopted the only measure that could repair the diforder of the Ruffians, and renew the engagement. He immediately attacked the village of Schorel with general Manners's brigade, fupported by three batta lions of Ruffians, by the firft brigade of guards, and the thirty-fifth regiment, commanded by prince Wil liam. Schorel was carried, and the enemy was ftopped in their purfuit. This advantage might have changed the face of affairs, and decided the day in favour of the allies, if the Ruffians could have been prevailed on to difcontinue their retreat, and to form on the fand-hills, on the right of the English. But general Effen could not refcue them from the diforder and difcouragement into which they had fallen; and was obliged to fuffer them to continue their retreat, to get to their former pofition, in the Zype, where they arrived between eleven o'clock and midnight. On a confideration of the complete though difficult fuccefs that attended the other three columns, it cannot be doubted, that if the Ruffians had fhewn, on this occafion, that spirit of difcipline and obedience, for which, as well as for intrepidity, they were renowned, and had general Herman been able to keep poffeffion of the long but narrow extent of ground, fo rapidly gained, until it hould have been poffible [X]

for

and, as

for the generals Dundas and Manners to come to his affiftance, the event of that day would have juftified the plan of the duke of York; much as circumftances could have allowed, forwarded the object of the expedition. A great part of general Herman's divifion was killed or taken, and the general himself was among the prifoners. The lofs of the English was about one hundred and twenty killed; four hundred wounded; and, when the returns were made up, about five hundred miffing. The French ftated their lofs at only fifty killed and three hundred wounded.

The duke of York was not intimidated by the adverse events of the nineteenth of September, from a defign of renewing the attack on the enemy with all poffible expedition. Animated at once by all the hereditary courage of his family, and the generofity of the caufe in which he was embarked, and trained up in the elements of war, under a prince, who rofe with an elaftic force under misfortune, he determined not to relax in the moft vigorous efforts for bringing the British enterprize, in favour of the United Provinces, and the great commonwealth of European states and nations to a happy conclufion. Nor were feveral important confiderations wanting, to fortify the inclinations of the will, by the authority of the understanding. The expedition, in a military point of view, was wifely planned. The co-operation of the fleet had been attended, and was in a fair way of being ftill farther attended with the moft profperous fuccefs; fuccours might be expected, with certainty, from the two greatest powers of Europe; and a juft refentment and

He

In the fame degree, as the good difpofition of the troops allowed the duke of York to rely on the fuccefs of an attempt to restore victory, every confideration prefcribed to him the neceffity of haftening it as much as poffible. had received intelligence, on which he could rely, that great part of the reinforcements, expected by general Brune, were not yet near arriving. The fuperiority of numbers, which was ftill on the fide of the allies, and the decifive advantage which they had obtained, on every point, excepting one, in the affair of the nineteenth, could not fail to keep alive a degree of confidence in the minds of the well-intentioned Dutch, and fome hopes might confequently be yet entertained of their eventual affiftance. His royal highnefs therefore thought, on the whole, that it was not yet, perhaps, too late to give a fuccessful turn to the enterprize, and was unremittingly occupied in enabling himfelf to direct another attack against the enemy. He acquired new means of fuccefs, by the arrival of a third Ruffian divifion, commanded by major-general Emmé, which difembarked at the Helder, on the twenty-fifth, and joined the army on the twenty-fixth. This rein forcement, together with that of a company of chaffeurs of the fixtieth regiment, and three troops of the fifteenth ligh-dragoons, filled up the