The Duke himself was personally brave, and was eager to land on the first possibility; but he had neither experience nor information, nor probability on his side adequate to such a bravado. However, it was well for him that his miscarriage happened under the auspices of Pitt, not of Fox. Here, it was said, his Grace and his troops remarked that Lord George Sackville was not among the first to court danger: and Howe, who never made friendship but at the mouth of a cannon, had conceived and expressed a strong aversion to him.[24] It is certain that both the Duke and Lord George were so sick of naval expeditions, that, after parading before Granvelle and Cherbourg, they returned with the Fleet to St. Helen’s, and set out for the Army in Germany, where the Duke took the command of the English forces. General Blighe had been fetched from Ireland on that intent, but was obliged to cede to the superior influence of Marlborough;[25] and more cruelly was appointed to resume the thread of our silly expeditions, from which Mr. Pitt and the mob still expected I don’t know what of glory. Blighe was an elderly man, of no talents, brave, but in every other shape unfit for the destined service, supposing there was such a thing as fitness for that service. The armament sailed again, and Prince Edward embarked with them: and that some utility might at least be pretended from this vain expense, Prince Ferdinand, to flatter Pitt, wrote letter after letter to declare the great benefits he reaped from our expeditions, by which the attention and troops of France were divided: an affirmation of so little truth, that the Duke of Marlborough, in the hurry of their retreat, having left his silver tea-spoons behind him, the Duc d’Aiguillon, politely to mark contempt, sent them home by a cartel-ship.
But Prince Ferdinand who thus complimented the English Ministry on the wisdom of these idle measures, showed it was not from want of knowing how to perform realities. Having pushed the French beyond the Rhine, he passed it himself at Herven in sight of their whole Army, and soon eclipsed the glory of that passage by defeating them at Crevelt, where they lost seven thousand men, and the Duc de Gisors, the only son of Marshal Belleisle, an amiable and accomplished young man. The King had Knyphausen thank the King of Prussia for giving him so able a General. The Princess Gouvernante wrote to Prince Ferdinand to complain of his passing over part of the territories of the States. He replied, “He was sorry; it had been over a very small part, and he should not have violated even that, had he had the same Dutch guides that led the French to Hanover in the preceding year.”
The French were commanded by the Count de Clermont, a Prince of the Blood of no estimation: their discipline was so bad, that two-and-fifty officers went to amuse themselves at Paris without leave of the Court. D’Etrées, their best General, had been recalled by the intrigues of Madame Pompadour and her faction, whose interest was displayed in a remarkable instance. At a meeting of the Marshals of France, D’Etrées complained of a libel written against him, which he produced. Maillebois, attached to the mistress, said, “It would be right for the honour of the corps to have it inquired into; and the more so, because he believed the charge was well-grounded, as he had been informed by his son, who wrote the pamphlet.” The declaration was frank: Maillebois was banished, and his son chastised but gently; and indemnification was soon procured for both.
The victory of Crevelt did not draw on the consequences that were expected. Contades, the fourth commander despatched into Germany by the fluctuating councils at Versailles, found employment for Prince Ferdinand without risking another battle; and the Duc de Broglio and the Prince de Soubise attacked and cut to pieces seven thousand Hessians under the Prince of Ysenberg; and would, it was feared, intercept the English troops under the Duke of Marlborough, who landed at Embden. This became more probable, as Monsieur Chevert formed a plan to burn one of Prince Ferdinand’s bridges and to seize his magazines, and cut off Baron Imhoff, who was posted to secure the passage of the Rhine. But Imhoff, who soon perceived his own desperate situation, destroyed this well-concerted scheme, which failed by its very approach to success; for Imhoff would not stay to be surrounded, but with his little force attacked Chevert (who commanded twelve thousand men) and dispersed them in less than half an hour, taking eleven pieces of cannon, their baggage, and a great number of prisoners. Chevert was one of the ablest officers in the French service; Imhoff, a man of so little capacity, that the talents of his life seemed to have been reserved for this sole occasion. The junction with the English was made, and Prince Ferdinand repassed the Rhine unmolested.
FOOTNOTES:
[21] Mr. Fox, who did not love Pratt, and paid court to Lord Mansfield, was one of the very few who gave negatives to the passing of the Bill.
[22] Till the year 1816, when this just and necessary measure passed with little notice, and no reference to the Judges.—E.
[23] The King said to Lord Waldegrave, “I never had any opinion of it; we shall brag of having burnt their ships, and they, of having driven us away.”
[24] They agreed so ill, that one day Lord George putting several questions to Howe, and receiving no answer, said, “Mr. Howe, don’t you hear me? I have asked you several questions.” Howe replied, “I don’t love questions.”
[25] The King would have hindered Lord George from going to Germany; but he preferred it to expeditions, and would go; and did, even without kissing the King’s hand.