Hardly had he reached it, when Toiras, perceiving his opportunity, launched his cavalry upon the disorderly groups on the beach, and, despite the efforts of their officers to rally them, drove them headlong into the sea. Had the French cavalry been properly supported by their infantry, the two regiments must have been destroyed or captured almost to a man; but the infantry were far behind, and, meantime, Buckingham, who, with all his faults, lacked neither courage nor energy, perceiving what had happened, hurried back, and by his exertions, aided by those of their officers, succeeded in rallying the fugitives and forming them into line. Reinforcements were landed, and, after some fierce fighting, numbers prevailed, and the French were obliged to retreat to Saint-Martin. The English lost about 500 men, the French about 400, including a number of nobles and gentlemen, amongst whom were a younger brother of Toiras and the Baron de Chantal, father of Madame de Sévigné.
While this combat was in progress on the shore of the Île de Ré, Sir William Becher and Soubise had arrived at La Rochelle. They found the gates shut, however; and it was only when the dowager Duchess of Rohan, who was immensely popular with the Rochellois, went out to meet her son and the envoy of Buckingham and demanded that they should be admitted, that they were allowed to enter the town, “to the great joy of the people, but against the will of the mayor and those who governed.” Having been conducted to the Hôtel de Ville, Becher offered the authorities of the town, in the name of Charles I, powerful support on land and sea against the tyranny of their own Government, provided that they would engage to make no treaty without the advice and consent of the King of England, “promising the same on his part.” The municipality replied that they thanked the King of England for his sympathy with the Protestants of France, but that La Rochelle was only one of the Reformed Churches and could not come to a decision except in concert with the others.
The middle classes, in fact, not only at La Rochelle, but in the other Huguenot towns of France, feared war. The party had now only two chiefs, Rohan and his brother Soubise. Bouillon was dead; Sully was old and less than ever disposed to revolt; La Force and Châtillon had accepted the bâton of marshal of France as the price of their loyalty; La Trémoille was about to change his religion. The nobles were deserting the cause. The revolt was, besides, difficult to justify. Louis XIII had certainly refused to demolish Fort Louis, but he had only promised to do so when he should judge its maintenance to be no longer necessary; while the fortifications recently constructed on Richelieu’s advice at Brouage, Marans, and on the Îles de Ré and d’Oléron, might be explained as much as by fear of the English as by hostility towards La Rochelle. The most clear-sighted amongst the citizens felt that the Government entertained hostile intentions, but their apprehensions were their only proofs.
The Protestants of the South were as undecided as those of La Rochelle. Rohan, determined on war, did not venture to convene a General Assembly of the Churches, but contented himself with summoning deputies from the Cévennes, and those towns of Lower Languedoc upon whose support he could rely, to meet at Uzès. This assembly, inflamed by the duke’s exhortations, invited him to resume the post of general-in-chief of the Protestant forces, and decreed the taking up of arms and an alliance with England. At the same time, the deputies “solemnly protested before God that they wished to live and die in obedience to the King, their legitimate and natural prince.” Rohan hoped, by the example of these towns, to draw the rest of the Reformed Churches into the struggle; but in this he was disappointed, as most of them condemned his action and decided to stand aloof.
Having landed the remainder of his troops, with the artillery and stores, an operation which was conducted in so leisurely a manner that it occupied several days, Buckingham advanced upon Saint-Martin, occupied the town without opposition, and proceeded to reconnoitre the citadel, a recently-constructed fortress of considerable strength crowning a steep rock above the town. He would have well been advised had he begun by the reduction of La. Prée, a small fortress to the south-east of Saint-Martin, but this he neglected to do. It was an omission which he subsequently had good reason to regret.
Buckingham and his officers at first believed that in a short time they would be able to reduce Saint-Martin; but ere many days had passed they were of a different opinion. The place was strongly garrisoned and vigorously defended, while the surrounding soil was rocky and ill-suited for siege operations. They were therefore obliged to convert the siege into a blockade, with the object of starving the garrison out; and, since it was recognised that it would be very difficult to effect this in the face of the threatened succour from the French army gathering on the mainland, unless reinforcements and stores could soon arrive from England, Becher was sent home to explain the situation and press for their despatch.
By the middle of August the works surrounding Saint-Martin had been completed. On the side of the sea, the approach to the fort was guarded by the English ships, disposed in the form of a half-moon, and by about a score of well-armed shallops, which at night lay close under the citadel. Buckingham had also devised an additional means of strengthening the blockade by throwing a boom across the waterway made of great masts, supported at the end by small boats.
For some time those about the person of Louis XIII did not venture to break the news of Buckingham’s descent upon Ré to the sick monarch, from fear of aggravating his malady, and, when they did so, they minimised the importance of the affair as much as possible. Monsieur was impatient to go to the army and was bitterly incensed against Richelieu, who declined to advise the King to let him do so, until his Majesty was convalescent. When, however, the King grew better, he accorded Monsieur the permission he desired; but scarcely had he departed than Louis, “jealous of the glory which his brother might acquire,” sent a messenger after him to recall him. Finally, however, at the intercession of the Queen-Mother, he was allowed to continue his journey.
Although a small band of ardent spirits had made their way from La Rochelle to Ré and joined Buckingham, the authorities of the town had not yet accepted the English alliance, and still remained nominally loyal to their sovereign. As a precautionary measure, however, Monsieur and Angoulême had already invested La Rochelle, on its southern side, their headquarters being at Aytré—often written Nétré by contemporary writers—about a league from the town.
Towards the end of August, Louis XIII was sufficiently recovered to remove to Saint-Germain. He had declared his intention of joining the army and personally superintending the measures being taken for the relief of Saint-Martin so soon as he was strong enough to mount his horse, and, in the second week of September, he sent for Bassompierre and told him to prepare to accompany him to La Rochelle in five days’ time. Bassompierre inquired “in what quality his Majesty was pleased that he should accompany him.” The King replied that he would, of course, do so as his lieutenant-general, upon which Bassompierre pointed out that the Duc d’Angoulême occupied that position, and that, since the army, when the King was present, had never yet been commanded except by marshals of France, “he begged him very humbly not to take him there to put an affront upon his office.” Louis declared that Angoulême’s command was but a temporary one, and that he intended to send him an order to retire; but Bassompierre, who knew how easily Richelieu could persuade the King to go back on his word, asked if the King would direct the Cardinal to give him an assurance that the prince should not continue in the command, since his Eminence, having advised the appointment, might wish to retain him. This Louis promised, and, a day or two later, gave the marshal the assurance he desired.