Military Memoirs of Capt. George CarletonDefoe, Daniel
History
Military Memoirs of Capt. George Carleton
Defoe, Daniel
Adventure stories; Great Britain -- History, Military -- Fiction; Soldiers -- Fiction
Brigadier _Stanhope_ and Mr. _Methuen_ (now Sir _Paul_) were the
General's particular Friends, and those he most consulted, and most
confided in; yet he never imparted this Resolution of his to either of
them; for he was not willing to engage them in a Design so dangerous,
and where there was so little Hope of Success; rather choosing to
reserve them as Persons most capable of giving Advice and Assistance in
the Confusion, great enough already, which yet must have been greater,
if any Accident had happen'd to himself. And I have very good Reason to
believe, that the Motive, which mainly engag'd the Earl of _Peterborow_
in this Enterprize, was to satisfy the Prince of _Hesse_ and the World,
that his Diffidence proceeded from his Concern for the Troops committed
to his Charge, and not for his own Person. On the other Hand, the great
Characters of the two Gentlemen just mention'd are so well known, that
it will easily gain Credit, that the only Way the General could take to
prevent their being of the Party, was to conceal it from them, as he did
from all Mankind, even from the Archduke himself. And certainly there
never was a more universal Surprize than when the firing was heard next
Morning from _Monjouick_.
But I now proceed to give an exact Account of this great Action; of
which no Person, that I have heard of, ever yet took upon him to deliver
to Posterity the glorious Particulars; and yet the Consequences and
Events, by what follows, will appear so great, and so very
extraordinary, that few, if any, had they had it in their Power, would
have deny'd themselves the Pleasure or the World the Satisfaction of
knowing it.
The Troops, which march'd all Night along the Foot of the Mountains,
arriv'd two Hours before Day under the Hill of _Monjouick_, not a
Quarter of a Mile from the outward Works: For this Reason it was taken
for granted, whatever the Design was which the General had propos'd to
himself, that it would be put in Execution before Day-light; but the
Earl of _Peterborow_ was now pleas'd to inform the Officers of the
Reasons why he chose to stay till the Light appear'd. He was of opinion
that any Success would be impossible, unless the Enemy came into the
outward Ditch under the Bastions of the second Enclosure; but that if
they had time allow'd them to come thither, there being no Palisadoes,
our Men, by leaping in upon them, after receipt of their first Fire,
might drive 'em into the upper Works; and following them close, with
some Probability, might force them, under that Confusion, into the
inward Fortifications.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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