Chap. XXVI. from the I. of James I. to the Revolution.
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1627. On the twenty-first, by my Lordquit Englisll Duke’s Command, about six of the2 'laches Clock, we quitted our Trenches, which
the Enemy presently possessed, pullingdown our Courts of Guard, in our Re-doubts. (7)
7 ™recover The next Day, contrary to the O-em a S ain - pinion of the Colonels, having so manyMen, we fell upon our own Trenches tobeat the Enemy out, who basely ranaway farther than we could follow.
On the twenty-third, there were fiveand twenty Boats landed, at the littleFort, with a Thousand Men. The
Day before, my Lord Duke gave St.Serin leave to depart for the Main. No-thing done for four or five Days, ourColonels still importuning my LordDuke to depart; (8) Notwithstanding, onP e Citadel the seven and twentieth, my Lordorme d- Duke gave Order for falling on theFort, which we did, our Men beingmore desperate for Fear of Starving, andwent on bravely; But we quickly found,(contrary to the Relation of some Vil-lains who ran away from the Fort, thatthey had not four Hundred fightingMen)a Resistance fit for forty Thousand Men,and we were scarce four Thousand ;They killed above a Hundred of ourMen with Stones, and they might havedone the like by our Army, if they hadcome on, without ever shooting smallShot: They blew up their Mines, but
did little Hurt with them ; In all were 1627.stain and lost four Hundred Foot and Without Sue-Horse: They took about thirty Prifo- C0 f 5 'ners in Traps, which they had made intheir Trenches.
On the eight and twentieth, and al- F rest In-fo the Night before, there landed five stances toBoats at the Point; Yet my Lord Duke the Dt, -be towould not be persuaded to be gone, but retreatiwould have returned Sir Henry Sprye ,with Sir Peregrine Bertie to La Flotta a-gain, which they refused to do, Aboutthree of the Clock in the Morning, SirEdward, Hawley, and Serjeant-MajorBrett, came in the Name of the Coun-cil of War, to entreat him to march a-way, but he would not, being persuad-ed by a seditious Minister, who toldhim, it were dishonorable and inhumanto leave our sick Men and Provisions be-hind us. About eight of the Clock,some of .Sir William Cunningham ’s Horsecame to my Lord Duke, and told himthey heard great shooting in the Main,or rather at the Point, and saw the Ene-my marching to the Town. Then myLord having talked with Soubize, com-manded to march away, which we did,leaving our sick behind us, whoseThroats were after cut, and inhumanly if consentssent us in a Barge which they thrust from to ;the Shoar two or three Days after, withgreat Stores of Provision, as well Armsas Victuals. (9) We had not reach'd a6 O Musket-
(7.) " Upon Advice that a Re-inforcementt£ for the Enemy was landed near the Fort de la" Free, the Duke ordered theTroops to quit the" Trenches, and march to oppose them, which" was no sooner done, but those in the Citadel" sillied out and possessed themselves of them ;" So that, after our People had had tolerable" Success, and forced the French Recruits to re-“ tire, under the Cover of the Guns of the Fort," w hen they returned to the Camp, they were" obliged to dispute for the Recovery of the“ Trenches, and many Men were lost before" they could gain them.
(8.1 “ Ix was Soubize who dissuaded him from“ it/alledging that the Enemy's Recruits were" not considerable, that the Earl of Holland was<c coming from England with a Re-inforcement;“ That a Retreat would occasion the Loss of" Rochet and bring great Dishonour to theKing,“ by Undertaking such an Enterprise to so little" Purpose; Whereupon the Duke resolved to“ continue the Siege, and to storm the Citadel" and Works, which was accordingly done in a“ sew Days, in which Assault, after we had lost<£ a considerable Number of Men, it was found“ inaccessible.
( 9 .) “ The great Oversight of not having" taken Possession of the Fort de la Pree , to co-“ ver and secure the Embarkation of theTroops," in Case of a Retreat,. now too visibly appear-" ed; For the Enemy being by this Time grown
" so strong in that Place, and the Adjacent Parts“ of the Island, where the Duke had landed, that" he durst not venture thither to have an Enemy" both before and behind him, there was now“ no Place left where Troops could embark, but" the Iste de I’Oye , separated 1 from the Rest of the" Islands by Salt-Pits, and a small Channel, the" Passage to which lay over a long and narrow" Causway. Thither the Duke taking hisMarch“ was immediately followed at the Heels by the“ Enemy, that were equal in Foot, but much fu-“ perior in Horse, who well knowing the Ad-" vantage they should soon have of the Englijh ," when they came to the Causway, forbore to" attack them, tho' they faced about several“ Times, and offered them Battle. But no soo-" ner had the Troops entered the Causway,“ than they charged them in the Rear, with" great Fury, when the Horse giving Way pref-“ fed in upon the Foot, and made the Crowd so" tumultuous, that great Numbers fell into the" Salt-pits, or perished in the Channel, besides" those whom the Enemy killed, which were“ very many. When they had passed the Cause-“ way, they drew up, and made a brave Stand" against the pursuing Enemy, who, after a short“ Dispute, thought fit to repasts it, and the En-“ ghst, having guarded it, with iome chosen« Troops, all Day, burnt it down at Night y And'“ without any farther Molestation from the Ene-" my, were the next Day put on Board the