PRINCE RUPERT AT EDGEHILL.
Prince Rupert was the third son of Frederick, Elector Palatine, King of Bohemia, and Princess Elizabeth, eldest daughter of King James I., and sister of Charles I., King of England,—to whom he was accordingly nephew. He was born at Prague, 18th December 1619. He was probably educated and trained, as most German princes were then,—and have continued to be since,—with a view to his following the profession of arms. In 1630 he was a student at Leyden, and proved himself an apt scholar, particularly in languages. Military studies, even as a boy, he prosecuted with much zest. In 1633, a lad of fourteen years, he was with the Prince of Orange at the siege of Rheneberg, and served as a volunteer against the Spaniards in the Prince’s Life Guards. In 1635 he was at the English court, and in the following year took the degree—or had it conferred upon him—of M.A. at Oxford. In 1638 he was again at the Hague, and took part in the siege of Breda, at which he exhibited his characteristic reckless bravery. He was taken prisoner by the Austrians, and was confined for three years at Linz. Overtures were pressed upon him, which he steadfastly resisted, to change his religion, and take service under the emperor. In 1642 he was released, and returned to the Hague, proceeding shortly afterwards to England, where he was made Master of the Horse, otherwise commander of the king’s cavalry, when only twenty-three years of age. He joined the king at Leicester in August 1642, and was present at the raising of the royal standard at Nottingham. He was about that time admitted to the dignity of Knight of the Garter. He introduced important improvements in cavalry movements and general military administration. He displayed great activity and bravery, in the actions at Worcester and Edgehill. He was opposed in his march to London, and led valiantly in some desperate fighting. In 1643 took Cirencester for the king, but failed in his attempt to take Gloucester. He had a number of stirring military actions and adventures in different parts of the country, and amongst them a conflict with John Hampden at Chalgrove on the 18th June, in which the patriot was slain. Throughout the war Rupert exhibited unwavering intrepidity. In token of appreciation of his services, the king raised him to the dignity of a peer of England, under the title of Earl of Holderness and Duke of Cumberland, and appointed him Generalissimo of the army. In the course of events, during the contest between the king and the Parliament, Rupert achieved some victories, but sustained also many reverses, which culminated in the defeat of the king’s forces, at the battle of Naseby. Rupert was regarded with envy, jealousy, and dislike by a large party of the courtiers, who intrigued against him, and sought to diminish or destroy his influence. The queen was also against him. From Naseby the king and his shattered army fled to Bristol, which Rupert engaged to hold for four months, but surrendered in three weeks,—not from lack of bravery, but from impatience, and inability to endure an inactive life—he was as a caged lion. A contemporary critic says of him that he was “the boldest attaquer in the world for personal courage, but wanted the patience and seasoned head to consult and advise for defence.” Although impetuous and courageous to a fault, he was not utterly reckless,—and his view of the situation, estimate of forces, and calculation as to probabilities, led him to counsel the king to endeavour to come to terms with the Parliament.
A brilliant incident in Rupert’s career, in which the heroism of a noble lady shines resplendent, merits a brief reference. Lathom House, the seat of the Earl of Derby, was left in charge, during the absence of the earl on public affairs, of his countess, Charlotte de la Tremouille. The Parliamentary forces demanded possession, which the countess promptly and uncompromisingly resisted, although confronted with an army ten times the strength of her garrison. The siege commenced on the 24th February 1644. The fortress was bombarded by chain shot, bars of iron, stone balls of thirteen inches diameter, weighing eighty pounds, and all sorts of terrible missiles. The artillery of the assailants slackened for a time, and the beleaguered garrison made a gallant sortie; they slew thirty of the enemy, and took from them “forty guns and a drum.” Although suffering great privations, the answer of the countess to the repeated demands to capitulate was, that they would never be taken alive, but would burn the place and perish in the flames rather than surrender. Prince Rupert and his gallant cavalry arrived on the 27th May, put the besiegers to the rout, and relieved the long-suffering, noble countess and her gallant garrison.
The civil war was virtually ended with the battle of Naseby, June 14, 1645. Rupert applied to Parliament for a pass to go abroad, which they would only grant upon conditions that he could not accept. He was taken prisoner by Sir Thomas Fairfax, the Parliamentary commander. On the demand of the Parliament, Rupert proceeded to France, where he was made a marshal in the French army, and commenced at once active service. He sustained a wound in the head at Armentières in 1647. Part of the English fleet, that had adhered to the king, sailed to Holland, whither Rupert went also, to commence his career as a naval commander. In conjunction with the Prince of Wales, to whom part of the Parliamentary fleet had revolted, he assumed the command of the fleet; the sole command, very soon after, devolved upon Prince Rupert.
He set out upon a piratical expedition, inflicted considerable injury upon English trade, and after relieving Grenville at the Scilly Isles, sailed for the coast of Ireland, with the desire to assist, if possible, the king’s nearly hopeless cause. Rupert took the harbour and fort of Kinsale, but not for use or according to his own pleasure, for his old antagonist Blake was upon him, with a powerful squadron, which the prince must either engage or remain blocked up in Kinsale. With his characteristic dashing bravery, he attempted to force his way out of port, and did so, but at the loss of the Roebuck and the Black Prince, two of Rupert’s best ships, which were sunk in the encounter. Rupert sailed for Portugal, and was well received by the king, but Blake followed hard after him, and blockaded him in the Tagus. Again the gallant Rupert broke through, and sailed for the Mediterranean. He refitted at Toulon, and did a good deal of not altogether unprofitable piratical work in a cruise about Madeira, the Canaries, the Azores, Cape de Verd, and the West Indies. Blake, however, followed him whithersoever he went, and attacked him on every opportunity. Rupert was greatly overmatched, and his strength continuously reduced. Having lost most of his ships, with the remainder shattered and unfit for sea, at the close of 1652, he took the remnant and such prizes as he had made, and been able to keep, to Nantes, where he sold them, and with the proceeds paid the wages of his faithful crews, whom he discharged,—and then laid aside his command as an admiral.
Louis XIV. invited Rupert to Paris, and made him Master of the Horse in the French army. The restless energy of the prince prevented his settling,—and he travelled in France for a time, returning to Paris in 1655. About this time he took a turn of work in the laboratory, and completed a series of experiments, in which he succeeded in very greatly increasing the explosive force of gunpowder. He prosecuted his studies and researches in relation to other arts also, including mezzotint engraving, of which he was the reputed inventor.
On the restoration of Charles II. in May 1660, Prince Rupert was sent for by the king, and appears to have been connected with the court for a few years. In 1661 the prince, in company with a number of noblemen and persons of rank and eminence, was called to the Bar of the Inner Temple. In the following year he was sworn as a member of the Privy Council, and was also declared a Fellow of the Royal Society, which was then founded, the king subscribing the statutes as founder and patron.
In 1664, Prince Rupert was appointed admiral of a fleet, that had been equipped to watch the movements of the Dutch. He hoisted his flag on board the Henrietta, and afterwards on the Royal James. He took part, as admiral of the white, in the great sea-fight between the English and Dutch fleets, off Lowestoft, in June 1665. The English fleet was commanded by H.R.H. James, Duke of York, afterwards James II., King of England; the Dutch were commanded by Admirals Opdam and Van Tromp. The English got the weather-gage of the Dutch, and about three o’clock on a fine summer morning, commenced the action, awaking the inhabitants of Lowestoft by the thunder of their artillery. The contest was desperate, victory trembling in the balance during many hours. About noon the Earl of Sandwich came up with a reinforcement, and fell upon the Dutch centre, which threw them into the confusion that ended in their defeat. The Duke of York in his flag-ship, the Royal Charles, of eighty guns, and the Dutch Admiral Opdam in the Eendracht, of eighty-four guns, were engaged closely, ship to ship, yard-arm and yard-arm, when about noon the Eendracht blew up with a tremendous explosion, the disaster attributable, probably, to careless management of the powder magazine, and distribution of the ammunition. Admiral Opdam and five hundred men perished; many of them were volunteers belonging to some of the best families in Holland, with a number of Frenchmen, whose lives were the price they paid for the gratification of their curiosity to witness a sea-fight. Only five of the crew escaped. The explosion was one of a succession of misfortunes that befell the Dutch. A number of their best ships ran foul of each other, and were burnt by the English fire-ships. With a greatly reduced fleet, the gallant Van Tromp doggedly continued the unequal contest, and retreated fighting. The Duke of York was much censured for his failure to pursue his advantage, and terminate, at least for a time, the contest with Holland, as some authorities thought he might have done. This we have already referred to.
