The battles of the world

by J. Douglas Borthwick

FLAT BUSH, BATTLE OF.—Long Island, America.—Fought August 27th, 1776, between the British forces and American colonists, when the latter, after a desperate engagement, were compelled to retire, with the loss of 2000 men killed, and 1000 prisoners.

FLEURIS, BATTLE OF.—Fought, June, 17th, 1794, between the Allies, under the Prince of Cobourg, and the French revolutionary army, commanded by Marshal Jourdan. The Allies had 100,000 men, and having met the enemy on the plains of Fleuris, were signally defeated. Between 8000 and 10,000 were killed, wounded and taken prisoners, and Jourdan was able to form a junction with the French armies of the Moselle—the Ardennes and the north. In this memorable battle, the French made use of a balloon to reconnoitre the enemy’s army—an experiment which it is said very materially tended to their gaining the victory.

FLODDEN.—Fought on the 9th September, 1513, between the English and Scots. Underneath is a graphic account of the most disastrous battle that ever befell the Scottish arms.

“On the 22nd of August, 1513, James IV of Scotland, at the head of a gallant army, crossed the Tweed, for the purpose of revenging some injuries which he conceived himself to have received at the hands of the King of England, who was then pursuing hostilities in France. Immediately on his crossing that river, he laid siege to the castles of Etel and Ford, and spent much precious time in endeavouring to reduce those fortresses.

Whilst such was the course pursued by the King, the Earl of Surrey concentrating the strength of the northern counties, soon raised an army of 26,000 men; and marching through Durham, received there the sacred banner of St. Cuthbert. He was soon after joined by Lord Dacre, Sir William Bulmer, Sir Marmaduke Constable, and other northern Barons; and on proceeding to Alnwick, was met by his son, Lord Thomas Howard, Lord Admiral of England, with a reinforcement of 5000 men. On advancing with this united force, Surrey dispatched Rouge Croix Herald to carry his challenge to the King of Scots, which was couched in the usual stately terms of feudal defiance. It reproached him with having broken his faith and league, which had been solemnly pledged to the King of England, in thus invading his dominions—and offered him battle on the succeeding Friday, if he would be content to remain so long in England and accept it. Lord Thomas Howard added a message, informing the King, that, as High Admiral, and one who had borne a personal share in the action against Andrew Barton, he was now ready to justify the death of that pirate, for which purpose he would lead the vanguard, where his enemies, from whom he expected as little mercy as he meant to grant them, would be sure to find him. To this challenge, James instantly replied, that “he desired nothing more earnestly than the encounter, and he would abide the battle on the day appointed.” As to the rude accusation of broken honour which had been brought against him, he desired his herald to carry a broad denial of the statement. “Our bond and promise,” he observed, “was to remain true to our royal brother, so long as he maintained his faith with us. This he was the first to break; we have desired redress, and have been denied it; we have warned him of our intended hostility—a courtesy which he has refused to us; and this is our just quarrel, which, with the grace of God, we shall defend.” These mutual messages passed on the 4th of September; and on the day appointed, Surrey advanced against the enemy. By this time, the distress for provisions, the incessant rains, and the obstinacy of the King in waiting upon his pleasures, and his observation of the punctilios of chivalry, the hours which might have been spent in active warfare, had created dissatisfaction in the soldiers, many of whom deserted, with the booty they had already collected; so that in a short time the army was much diminished in numbers. To accept the challenge of his adversary, and permit him to appoint a day for the encounter, was contrary to the advice of his best councillors; and he might have recollected, that in circumstances almost similar, two great masters in war, Douglas and Randolph, had treated a parallel proposal of Edward III with a sarcastic refusal. He had the sagacity, however, to change his first encampment for a stronger position on the hill of Flodden, one of the last and lowest eminences which detach themselves from the range of the Cheviots; a ground skillfully chosen, inaccessible on both flanks, and defended in front by the river Till, a deep sluggish stream, which ran between the armies.

On advancing and reconnoitering the spot, Surrey, who despaired of being able to attack the Scots without exposing himself to the probability of defeat, again sent a herald to request the King to descend from the eminence into the plain. He complained, somewhat unreasonably, that James had “putte himself into a ground more like a fortress or a camp, than any indifferent field for battle to be taxed;” but James would not even admit the messenger into his presence. So far all had succeeded and nothing was required on the part of the King but patience. He had chosen an impregnable position, had fulfilled his agreement by abiding the attack of the enemy; and such was the distress of Surrey’s army in a wasted country, that to keep it longer together was impossible. He attempted, therefore, a decisive measure, which would have appeared desperate, unless he had reckoned upon the carelessness and inexperience of his opponent. Passing the Till on the 8th of September, he proceeded on its east side to Barmoor wood, two miles distant from the Scottish position, where he encamped for the night. His march was concealed from the enemy by an eminence on the east of Ford; but the manœuvre being executed without observation or interruption, evinces a shameful negligence in the Scottish commanders. Early on the morning of the 9th, he marched from Barmoor wood in a north-westerly direction; and then turning suddenly to the eastward, crossed the Till with his vanguard and artillery at Twisel bridge, not far from the confluence of the Till and the Tweed—whilst the rear division, under Surrey in person, passed the river at a ford. Whilst these movements were taking place the Scottish King remained unaccountably passive. His veteran officers remonstrated. They showed him, that if he advanced against Surrey, when the enemy were defiling over the bridge with their vanguard separated from the rear, there was every chance of destroying them in detail, and gaining an easy victory. The Earl of Angus, whose age and experience gave great weight to his advice, implored him either to assault the English, or to change his position by a retreat, ere it was too late; but his prudent counsel was only received by a cruel taunt. “Angus,” said the King, “if you are afraid, you may go home;” a reproach which the spirit of the old Baron could not brook. “My age,” said he, “renders my body of no service, and my counsel is despised; but I leave my two sons and the vassals of Douglas in the field; may the result be glorious, and Angus’s foreboding unfounded!”

The army of Surrey was still marching across the bridge, when Borthwick, the master of the artillery, fell on his knees before the King, and solicited permission to bring his guns to bear upon the columns, which might then be done with the most destructive effect; but James commanded him to desist on peril of his head, declaring that he would meet his antagonist on equal terms in a plain field, and scorned to avail himself of such an advantage. The counsel of Huntly was equally ineffectual; the remonstrance of Lord Lindsay of the Byres was received by James with such vehement indignation, that he threatened on his return to hang him up at his own gate. Time ran on amidst these useless altercations, and the opportunity was soon irrecoverable. The last divisions of Surrey’s force had disentangled themselves from the narrow bridge; the rear had passed the ford; and the Earl, marshalling his army with the leisure his enemy allowed him, placed his entire line between James and his own country. He was thus enabled, by an easy and gradual ascent, which led to Flodden, to march upon the rear of the enemy; and without losing his advantage for a moment, he advanced against them in full array, his army being divided into two battles, and each battle having two wings. On becoming aware of this, the King set fire to the temporary huts and booths of his encampment, and descended the hill, with the object of occupying the eminence on which the village of Brankston is built. His army was divided into five battles, some of which had assumed the form of squares, some of wedges; and all were drawn up in line, about a bow-shot distant from each other. Their march was conducted in complete silence; and the clouds of smoke which arose from the burning camp, being driven in the face of the enemy, mutually concealed the armies; so that when the breeze freshened, and the misty curtain was withdrawn, the two hosts discovered that they were within a quarter of a mile of each other. The arrangement of both armies was simple. The van of the English, which consisted of 10,000 men, divided into a centre and two wings, was led by Lord Thomas Howard; the right wing being intrusted to his brother, Sir Edmund, and the left to Sir Marmaduke Constable. In the main centre of his host Surrey himself commanded; the charge of the rear was given to Sir Edward Stanley; and a strong body of horse, under Lord Dacre, formed a reserve. Upon the part of the Scots, the Earls of Home and Huntly led the advance; the King, the centre; and the Earls of Lennox and Argyle, the rear; near which was the reserve, consisting of the flower of the Lothians, commanded by the Earl of Bothwell. The battle commenced at four in the afternoon, by a furious charge of Huntly and Home upon the portion of the English advance under Sir Edmund Howard; which, after some resistance, was thrown into confusion, and totally routed. Howard’s banner was beaten down; and he himself escaped with difficulty. Lord Thomas Howard, dreading the consequences of a defeat, dispatched a messenger to his father, Lord Surrey, entreating him to extend his line with all speed, and strengthen the van by drawing up a part of the centre on its left. The manœuvre was judicious, but it would have required too long a time to execute; and at this critical moment, Lord Dacre galloped forward with his cavalry to the support of his advance. Nothing could have been more timely than this assistance; he not only checked the career of the Scottish Earls, but drove back the division of Huntly with great slaughter; whilst Home’s men, imagining they had already gained the victory, began to disperse and pillage. Dacre and the Admiral then turned their attack against another portion of the Scottish advance, led by the Earls of Crawford and Montrose, who met them with levelled spears, and resolutely withstood the charge. Whilst such was the state of things on the right, a desperate contest was carried on between James and the Earl of Surrey in the centre. In his ardour, the King forgot that the duties of a commander were distinct from the indiscriminate valour of a knight: he placed himself in the front of his lances and billmen, surrounded by his nobles, who, whilst they pitied the gallant weakness of such conduct, disdained to leave their sovereign unsupported. The first consequence of this was so furious a charge upon the English centre, that its ranks were broken, and for a while the standard of the Earl of Surrey was in danger; but by this time Lord Dacre and the Admiral had been successful in defeating the division led by Crawford and Montrose, and wheeling towards the left, they turned their whole strength against the flank of the Scottish centre, which wavered under the shock, till the Earl of Bothwell came up with the reserve, and restored the day in this quarter. On the right, the divisions led by the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were composed chiefly of the Highlanders and Isle-men, the Campbells, Macleans, Macleods, and other hardy clans, who were dreadfully galled by the discharge of the English archers. Unable to reach the enemy with their broadswords and axes, which formed their only weapons, and not very amenable to discipline, their squadrons began to rush fiercely forward, eager for closer fight, and thoughtless of the fatal consequences of breaking their array. It was to little purpose that La Motte and the French officers with him attempted by entreaties and blows to restrain them; they neither understood their language nor cared for their violence, but threw themselves sword in hand upon the English. The squares of English pikemen stood to their ground; and though for a moment the shock of the mountaineers was terrible, its force once sustained, became spent with its own violence, and nothing remained but a disorganisation so complete that to recover their ranks was impossible. The consequence was, a total rout of the right wing of the Scots, accompanied by a dreadful slaughter, in which the Earls of Lennox and Argyle were slain. Yet, notwithstanding this defeat on the right, the centre, under the King, still maintained an obstinate and dubious conflict with the Earl of Surrey. No quarter was given on either side; and the combatants were disputing every inch of ground, when Stanley, without losing his time in pursuit of the Highlanders, drew back his division and impetuously charged the rear of the Scottish centre. It was now late in the evening, and this movement was decisive. Pressed on the flank by Dacre and the Admiral—opposed in front by Surrey, and now attacked in the rear by Stanley, the King’s battle fought with fearful odds against it; but James continued by his voice and his gestures to animate his soldiers, till he fell pierced with an arrow, and mortally wounded in the head by a bill, within a few paces of the English Earl, his antagonist. The death of their sovereign seemed only to animate the fury of the Scottish Nobles, who threw themselves into a circle round the body, and defended it till darkness separated the combatants. At this time Surrey was uncertain of the result of the battle; the remains of the enemy’s centre still held the field; Home with his borderers hovered on the left; and the commander allowed neither pursuit nor plunder, but kept a strict watch during the night. When the morning broke, the Scottish artillery were seen standing deserted on the side of the hill, their defenders had disappeared; and the Earl ordered thanks to be given for a victory which was no longer doubtful.

The loss of the Scots, in this fatal battle, amounted to about 10,000 men. Of these a great proportion were of high rank; the remainder being composed of the gentry, the farmers and landed yeomanry, who disdained to fly when their sovereign and his nobles lay stretched in heaps around them. Among the slain were thirteen Earls—the King’s natural son, the Archbishop of St. Andrews—the Bishops of Caithness and the Isles—the Abbots of Inchaffray and Kilwinning—and the Dean of Glasgow; besides fifteen Lords and chiefs of clans. The body of James was found on the morrow amongst the thickest of the slain, and recognised by Lord Dacre, although much disfigured by wounds. It was carried to Berwick, and ultimately interred at Richmond.”

FONTAINBLEAU, PEACE OF.—Concluded between France and Denmark, in 1670. Treaty of ditto between the Emperor of Germany and Holland, signed November 8th, 1785. Second Treaty of ditto, between Napoleon and the Royal Family of Spain, October 27th, 1807. Concordat of ditto, between Napoleon and Pope Pius VII, January 25th, 1813. Entered by the Austrians, February 17th, 1814. Napoleon here resigned his imperial dignity, and bade farewell to his army, April 5th, 1814.