[241] The evidence upon this point is very conflicting. All the English accounts state that, when the British reached Lannoy on their retreat, the place was in possession of the French. Ditfurth, on the other hand (ii. 133, 137 seq.), is very positive that it was held by the Hessians until 1 p.m., which, in his opinion, was long after the British would have reached it; and the evidence which he adduces is very strong. Against this, it is certain that the British would have been only too thankful to rally at Lannoy if they could, and that they were greatly disappointed to find themselves cut off from it. It is also to be noted that Ditfurth rakes up everything that he can to the discredit of the English, but was not at the pains to read a single English account of the action, except the Duke of York’s letter as published in the Gazette, and that his account of their movements is consequently full of errors. I incline to the opinion that the Hessians were still in Lannoy, but that the French around them were so numerous as to cut the British off from it—in fact, that the French practically held it invested, with a covering force powerful enough to keep the British at a distance. The same was the case at Roubaix, which the Sixteenth Light Dragoons contrived to hold till Abercromby retreated, though the Austrians, the Duke of York, and Abercromby himself all believed it to be in the hands of the French. It still remains to be explained why the Hessians made no sign of their presence when Abercromby’s column approached, for the British artillerymen actually began to lay their guns upon it in the assurance that it was in the enemy’s hands.
[242] There are few actions which I have found so difficult to describe as this of the 18th of May. I have drawn my account from Witzleben, iii. 201–230; Ditfurth, ii. 130–157; Jomini; Narrative of an Officer, ii. 47–51; Cannon’s Records of the Seventh and Fifteenth Hussars and Sixteenth Lancers; Calvert’s Journal; and Craig’s letters to Nepean of 19th May 1794 (Record Office).
[243] Calvert, p. 269.
[244] The French brigades at this period were of the strength of divisions.
[245] Jones, Campaign of 1794. The author was a captain in the Fourteenth.
[246] Witzleben, iii. 168–169.
[247] Sybel, iii. 120–125. York to Dundas, 26th May 1794 (with enclosures).
[248] Captain William Parker to the Admiralty, 3rd June 1794.
[249] Duke of York to Dundas, 10th, 13th, 14th June 1794. Craig to Nepean, 10th, 13th, 14th June 1794. Calvert, pp. 238–253.
[250] Duke of York to Dundas, 28th June 1794. Ditfurth, ii. 171–172.