1705. manded the army near Turin, and feemed to difpofe every thing in order to a fiege; but the defign was turned upon Nice, though late in the year. That place made a brave refiftance for many weeks, but in December was obliged to capitulate, and was demolished by the French. Affairs in Burnet. urope. The firmnefs, which the duke of Savoy expreffed in all thefe loffes, was the wonder of all Europe. He had now but a fmall army of eight thousand foot and four thousand horse, and had fcarce territory enough to fupport thefe. He had no cónfiderable places left him but Coni and Turin. But he feemed refolved to be driven out of all, rather than abandon the grand alliance. His duchefs with all the clergy, and indeed all his fubjects, defired him to fubmit to the neceffity of his affairs. But nothing could fhake him. He admitted none of his bishops nor clergy into his councils, nor had any certain confeffor, but fent fometimes to the Dominicans, and fometimes to the Francifcans, for a priest, when he intended to go to confeffion. Gibraltar was defended with great bravery and resolution. Spain and Sir John Leake (as has been related) who was left with Portugal. part of the confederate fleet in those feas, upon notice that Pointi, with a fquadron of French men of war, was arrived at Gibraltar, in order to befiege the place by fea, as the Spaniards had done by land, failed from Lifbon in October, and came fo unexpectedly, that he furprized two of the enemy's frigates of thirty-four guns each, one of twelve, a firefhip, and two English prizes, all which, being run afhore, were burnt; and one of thirty guns was taken. Whereupon, having reinforced the garrifon with two thousand men, he returned to Lisbon. Imp. In quiry. In the end of February following, Sir John Leake received advice that Pointi was again arrived in the bay of Gibraltar with fourteen men of war and two fire-fhips, and that the French and Spanish army defigned to make a general affault upon the town. Upon this advice, Sir John Leake failed again from Lisbon to its relief. In his way he met admiral Dilkes, who was fent from England to increase his force. By this addition he had a ftrong fleet of thirty men of war, and therefore held on his courfe with the utmost expedition, hoping to find Pointi in the bay of Gibraltar. But, on the 9th of March, he difcovered five fail of the enemies making out of the bay to follow the reft of their fquadron, which went off upon the firft notice of his approach. These he immediately gave chace to, and foon after one of them, called the Arrogant, of fixty guns, was taken; as were two others, the the Ardent of fixty-fix, and the Marquife of fifty-fix, after 1705. fome little refiftance. The other two, the Magnanime of feventy-four, and the Lis of eighty-fix guns, were run afhore, and burnt by the enemies themselves near Marbella. Sir John failed up the Mediterranean, to fee if he could overtake the reft of the French fquadron; but, after a fruitless pursuit for fome days, he returned back to Gibraltar, which was now fo well supplied, that the Spaniards loft all hopes of being able to take it, and therefore raised the fiege, turning it into a very feeble blockade. The campaign in Portugal had a very promifing begin- Hift. of ning. For the vigorous defence of Gibraltar, as it obliged Europe. the French and Spaniards to draw most of their forces that Impartial way, fo it gave an opportunity to the Portuguese and their Inquiry. allies to invade Spain, both on the frontiers of Boyra, and thofe of Alentejo. This, however, was undertaken against the advice of fome great men of the court of Lifbon, who urged, that, confidering how much the auxiliary forces had been weakened by the detachments fent by the lord Galway to Gibraltar, the confederate army could not take the field, till they were joined by the recruits expected from England and Holland. But the earl of Galway over-ruled that pretence, and, by his care and industry, the preparations for an early campaign were not much retarded by the king of Portugal's indifpofition, during which, the queen dowager of England was intrufted with the regency of the kingdom. Moft of the troops appointed to take the field being affembled near Eftremos, they began their march from thence on the 24th of April, N. S. the Conde das Galveas, a Portuguefe, having the chief command; the Conde de la Corfona, the earl of Galway, and baron Fagel, commanding under him, each his week alternately; the Conde de Villaverde, being general of the horse, and the viscount of Barbacena, general of the artillery. Four days after, the army, being joined by a confiderable number of horfe and foot from Elvas, was found to confift of above twenty-four thousand men; and, having no enemy to oppose them in the field, the generals refolved to attack their fortified towns. Valencia d'Alcantara was first befieged, and carried by storm on the 8th of May, N. S. The garrifon of Albuquerque, fearing the fame fate, furrendered the place, on the 22d of that month, upon articles. After which, feveral councils were held, in which the earl of Galway and general Fagel propofed the fiege of Badajox; but it was oppofed by the Portuguese 1705. Portuguese upon feveral pretences. The English and Dutch generals continuing their inftances, and offering feveral expedients to remove all difficulties, it was refolved to draw near Badajox, and endeavour to fall on marshal de Theffe, who was pofted with about four thousand horfe and foot on the banks of the Guadiana, to cover that important place. Accordingly the army marched on the 4th of June, N. S. and made fome preparations to pafs Guadiana; but, not being able to get a fufficient number of pontons to make bridges, and wanting other neceffaries for a fiege, it was thought proper to lay afide that enterprize, and, in the mean time, to fend the troops into quarters of refreshment. While these things paffed on the fide of Alentejo, the marquis das Minas, who commanded the Portuguese forces in the province of Beyra, attacked the town of Salvaterra, and made the garrifon prifoners of war; after which, the Portuguese plundered and burnt Sarca, which the French garrifon and inhabitants had abandoned upon their approach. But the marquis das Minas's progrefs was foon ftopped by a body of French and Spaniards, which marched against him, and obliged him to retire to Penamacos. Notwithstanding the earl of Galway's inceffant folicitations, and the folemn engagements of the Portuguese to king Charles of Spain to take the field in the beginning of September, in order to give the Spaniards a diverfion, they continued in their quarters till the end of that month, when all the confederate forces being drawn together in the neighbourhood of Elvas, feveral councils of war were held to regulate the operations of the autumn campaign. Some proposed to march directly to Merida, to deftroy the magazines, which the enemy had in that place; others, to march into Spain another way than by Eftremadura; and others again, the fiege of Badajox, which the earl of Galway at last prevailed with the Portuguese to undertake, as the most proper means to give the enemy fo confiderable a diverfion, that they should not be able to oppofe the earl of Peterborough's attempt on Catalonia. The generals being fenfible, that the divifions among them about the punctilios of command had hitherto been a great obftruction to the execution of their projects, resolved if poffible to prevent the like inconveniences for the future; and, in order thereto, agreed; that the earl of Galway, baron Fagel, and the conde de Corfona fhould command each in turn, for a week, as camp-mafters-general, under the the marquifs das Minas generaliffimo. This great difficulty 1705. about the command being removed, the army marched on r the ift of October, N. S. towards Badajox, which they reached the 3d, and opened the trenches the next day. The fiege was carried on with fo good fuccefs, that it was thought almost impoffible, that the enterprise fhould mifcarry, as it did by an unforeseen accident. On the 11th of October, in the afternoon, a bomb of the enemy falling on one of the batteries of the befiegers, and blowing up the powder with fome of the gunners, the earl of Galway and baron Fagel repaired thither immediately, to encourage the foldiers, and give the neceffary directions; and, as they had both their arms lifted up, a cannon-ball from an old caftle paffed between them, took off the fleeve of baron Fagel, and ftruck off the lord Galway's right hand, a little below the elbow. The earl being obliged to be carried away, baron Fagel took upon him the command of the army, and direction of the fiege; and the batteries continued firing with fo great execution, that the befiegers reckoned to ftorm the place on the 15th. But the marquifs de Theffe, having affembled three thousand horfe and five thousand foot at Talavera, marched the night between the 13th and 14th with fuch expedition and fecrecy, that in the morning they were drawn up in battalia, flanking the left wing of the con federates. After fome time spent in confultations, the whole confederate army paffed the Guadiana, in order to fight the enemy; but the marquifs de Theffe, having thrown a relief of a thousand men into Badajox, retired over the Chevera, with as great diligence as he advanced; and, on the 17th of October, N. S. the confederates thought fit to raise the fiege. Baron Fagel, who being weary of a fervice where there was little or no harmony among the generals, had fome time before demanded and obtained to be recalled, fet out immediately for Lifbon, and there embarked for Holland, with the mortification of having the miscarriage before Badajox imputed to him, of which he endeavoured to clear himself in print. As for the earl of Galway, befides his being condoled by the king of Portugal in a letter, and receiving another from the queen, written all with her own hand, he had the fatisfaction of having it generally believed, that, if the difpofition, which he had made for preventing the enemy's defign, and was approved in the council of war the morning he loft his arm, had been executed, the confederates would not have been obliged to raise the fiege of Badajox. By 1705. By this time all Europe was attentive to the great fuccefs of the confederates in Catalonia. Towards the latter end of May, the English fleet, with about five thousand land-forces on board, under the joint command of fir CloudeЛly Shovel and the earl of Peterborough, failed from St. Helen's, and arrived at Lisbon the 20th of June, N. S. á week after the Dutch fleet, commanded by admiral Allemonde, was come into that river. The earl of Galway, with the other generals, being about the fame time come to Lisbon, feveral councils were held about the intended expedition of the confederate fleet and upon the preffing inftances of the earl of Peterborough, the earl of Galway was prevailed with to let him take with him the beft part of two English regiments of dragoons, the lord Raby's and Cunningham's. The prince of Heffe d'Armstadt, arriving at this juncture at Lisbon from Gibraltar, gave king Charles III. pofitive affurances of the inclinations of the province of Catalonia and kingdom of Valencia to declare for him, which, together with his being weary of Portugal, made him refolve to try his fortune with the earl of Peterborough. This, however, was vehemently opposed by fome Spanish grandées; but their reafons being over-ruled by the earl of Peterborough's ftronger arguments, the king was confirmed in his refolution, and having fent back the prince of d' Armstadt, to Gibraltar, to get the garrifon of that place in readiness to embark, he went on board the Ranelagh with the earl of Peterborough. They put to fea on the 28th of July, N. S. and, in a few days after, arrived in the bay of Gibraltar, where he was received as lawful Sovereign; and having taken on board the battalions of English guards, and three old regiments, which had lately fo bravely defended the place, and left two new raised battali ons in garrison there, they failed again the 5th of Auguft, N. S. Six days after they came to another in the bay of Altea, in order to water; and the earl of Peterborough caused a manifefto to be publifhed in Spanish, declaring, "That he was not come into these parts to take poffeffion of any place, "in the name of her Britannic majefty, or of the States"general, but to maintain the just right of the moft auguft "house of Auftria to the monarchy of Spain, and to defend "the good and loyal fubjects of the Spanish monarchy, and free them from the unfupportable yoke of a government "of foreigners. Hereupon, all the inhabitants of Altea, and the neighbouring villages came to acknowledge his Catholic majefty, imploring his protection, and brought with them the fruits of the country, and other neceffary provifions. At |