1705. and therefore, while they marched through a narrow plain leading to Valencia, the earl took along the edge of the hill, to a place called Albocazor. Here he received an exprefs from the king, with the melancholy account, “That "the they can receive intelligence, all parts against us; fo that country is as one could wish for their intire deftruction. Be fure, upon the firit appearance of our troops, and the firft difcharge of our artillery, you answer with an English halloo, and take to the mountains on the right with all your men. It is no matter what becomes of the town; leave it to your mistresses. • The Conde de las Torres must take the plains, the hills on the left being almoft impaffable, and fecured by five or fix thousand of the countrypeople. Ent what will moft gall them, the old regiment of Nebot, which revolted to us near Valencia, is likewife them. among I was eight days ago myfelf in Barcelona, and I believe the Conde de las Torres must have so good intelligence from thence, that he cannot be ignorant of it. What belongs to my own troops, and my own refolutions, I can eafily keep from him, though nothing else. You know the force I have, and the multitudes that are gathering from By nine or ten, within an hour after you can receive this, affure yourself you will difcover us on the top of the not two cannon-shot from the camp. The advantages of the fea are inconceivable, and have 'contributed to bring about 'what you could never expect to fee, a force almost equal to the enemy in number; and you know lefs would do our bufinefs. Besides, never men were fo tranfported, to be brought with fuch fecrecy fo near an enemy. I have near fix thousand men locked up this night within the walls of Fraguera; I do not expect you fhould believe it, till you C tee them. You know we had a thoufand foot and two hundred dragoons in Tortofa. Wills, and a thousand foot, English and Dutch, came down the Ebro in boats; and I embarked a thousand foot more at Tarragona, which I landed at Virares; and the artillery from thence I brought in country carts. It was easy to affemble the horse. Zinzen'dorf and Moras are as good as our own, and with our English dragoons make in all "near two thousand. But the whole depends upon leaving ⚫ them "the duke of Noailles was entering, with near eight thou"fand men, in Catalonia, from the fide of Rouffillon: "that the body under prince Tfercles Tilly in Arragon "was four or five thoufand, preffing upon all the places "near Lerida: that the duke of Anjou, with marshal de "Theffe, was forming a body of ten thousand men near "Madrid, them to retreat without in- of the hill, which overlooks St. Dear Jones, prove a good dragoon be diligent and alert; and preach that wel'come doctrine to your mi' quelets,' "Plunder without danger." Your friend, PETERBOROUGH. This letter was given to two feveral perfons; the one inftructed and ordered, by fuch an hour in the morning, to pretend the betraying of it into the hands of the Conde de las Torres; the other was to remain hid in the mountains, and agreed with to endeavour to give it in the night to colonel Jones. This man was really perfuaded, that the number of troops was as confiderable as was pretended. The firft was ordered to fay nothing of the earl of Peterborough's force, left he might be expofed to ill ufage, when the truth came to be discovered. When he had given the letter, he had directions to inform, where the other fpy was hid, upon condition made for the fecurity of his life. Whether the artificial account of the one, or the fincere confeffion of the other prevailed, is not known; but it is certain, that as foon as the letter was tranflated, orders were given to prepare for a march; and, not long after, when, upon a retreat of a small part of the enemy, some of the carl's men approached the top In a very little time the troops of the earl of Peterborough appeared on the top of the adjoining mountain, not above random cannon-shot from fome part of the enemies camp. The country which was full of little rifing grounds and vallies, and covered with olive trees, being favourable for fuch an approach, and the enemies advanced party being drawn into the camp before any judgment could be formed of the earl's ftrength, it was eafy for him to make a fhew of his forces to advantage. This surprise made their fears as great as could be defired; and had the earl had any proportion of troops, he had a fair opportunity of cutting them all off. But he was content to let feven thousand men go off without being attacked, and thought it enough to raise the fiege with a force fo difproportionate as that of one thoufand two hundred; after his lordship found not only all the informations, which engaged him in that attempt, intirely wrong, but his circumftances fo very difficult, as would have deterred any other man from fo hazardous an undertaking. 1705. 1705. N. S. "Madrid, which would foon be in motion; befides the troops under the duke of Berwick on the fide of Por"tugal." After these informations, the king acquainted him, that he was obliged to countermand the one thousand foot, and three hundred horfe, which were appointed to join him, and were already come almost as far as Tortofa. The letters from court at the fame time reprefented the neceffity of defending Catalonia, and, above all, the care and preservation of the king's perfon; but, however, in this matter the earl had no pofitive orders from the king. In these circumstances, he advifed with his officers, who were unanimoufly of opinion, that all endeavours ought to be used for the speedy defence of Catalonia. The earl fo far complied with the council of war, as to give orders to the foot, with a small party of horse, to march back to Vinares, fix leagues from Tortofa, where, in cafe of neceffity, he could embark the foot in boats, and throw them fecurely into the Ebro; but being fully refolved never to repafs that river, without pofitive orders from the king, he fet out with a party of horfe to pursue the enemy. The earl expreffed himself very Jan. 27, freely upon that fubject, in a letter he wrote from Alcala to the king, wherein he told him, "That, if his majesty "would have believed him, he probably had not only had, "at this time, a viceroy of Valencia, but the kingdom :" concluding, "That, if the time loft expofed him to a facri"fice, at least he would perifh with honour, and as a man "deferving a better fate." At the fame time, the earl fent orders to the thousand Spanish foot and three hundred horse, to enter into Valencia; and, in cafe the king should again remand them to Lerida, he had fent pofitive orders for colonel Wills to march immediately with an equal number of horse and foot to his affiftance. This refolution produced the defired effect; and orders were fent from the court at Barcelona to the Spanish forces, to follow the direction of the English general. Hereupon the earl of Peterborough continued the purfuit of the enemy, who retired from him with the fame precipitation as they had fled from St. Mattheo, being ftill, by the fame artifices (used to make them raise the fiege) perfuaded, that they were followed by confiderable forces. After feveral days march, the earl poffeffed himself of Nules, where he began to form that cavalry, which fecured the kingdom of Valencia, and afterwards contributed to fave Barcelona; taking near two hundred horse in a place, where the enemy had three thoufand mon the day before. After this, he came to Castillon de de la Plana, a town populous, rich, and well-affected, 1705. where having procured and bought eight hundred horses, he not only recruited the difmounted English and Spanish dragoons, but formed a new regiment of dragoons out of part of the lord Barrimore's regiment of foot; the command of which new corps he gave to lieutenant-colonel Pierce, ordering the remaining officers of the old to return to England, to recruit the fame. Having drawn together ten fquadrons of horse and dragoons, and four battalions of foot, regular forces, befides about three thoufand militia, he marched to Molviedro, the ancient Saguntum, fo famous in the Roman history, four leagues diftant from Valencia, where brigadier Mahoni, an Irifh officer, had, under his command, about eight hundred men, near half of whom were his own regiment of dragoons. The town and caftle were an old fortification, fecured by a river, which the earl of Peterborough was to pafs, and fo were capable of making some resistance. But, brigadier Mahoni having confented to an interview with the earl, the latter made fo advantageous a fhow of his ftrength, that Mahoni was at laft induced to furrender the town, being allowed to withdraw his troops. At the fame time, the earl of Peterborough fo dexterously raised jealoufies of Mahoni in feveral of the Spanifh officers, and in the duke of Arcos, who had fucceeded the Conde de las Torres, that he met with no disturbance in his march through the plain from Molviedro to Valencia, where he was received with extraordinary demonstrations of joy. Whole bodies of priests and friers, in their several habits, were regimented and drawn up under arms to attend him, publickly acknowledging, that they owed their prefervation to his refolution and activity (a). (a) Dr. Friend obferves, p. 268, that his lordship had, as his officers conceived, two infuperable difficulties; the one to get poffeffion of Molviedro, and fecure the pafs on the river; the other, to pass the two leagues of the plains, which were betwixt Molviedro and Valencia, before fo good and fo ftrong a body of horse as that commandad by Mahoni. His lordship was in hopes, if he fucceeded in one, to compafs the other; About and to that end, as foon as he duke 1705. at St. Iftevan de N. S. About this time a confiderable action happened rear St. Iftevan de Litera. Major-general Connyngham, who was An action lately made lieutenant-general, and commanded in Lerida, with a ftrong garrifon of English and Dutch, having intelligence, that the enemy about Balbaftro defigned to attack fone of his dragoons at Tamarite, he immediately fent thither colonel Wills with fix hundred men; upon which the Jan 22, enemy repaffed the river, and retired to Balbaftro. Three days after, the chevalier d'Asfeld, with nine fquadrons of horfe and dragoons, and as many battalions of foot, all French, arrived with proposals exactly to the fame purpose. The Spanifh general (whofe fufpicions were confirmed by the jealoufies which the earl of Peterborough had raised in several of the Spanish officers, who were come from Molviedro to him) instead of complying with the immediate march propofed by Mahoni, removed his camp quite the contrary way. Mahoni with his horfe exposed the whole army at the Carthufian convent, till the approach of the earl of Peterborough made him retire to the duke of Arcos's camp; and as foon as he arrived, he was fecured by that general, and fent to Madrid. But, when Mahoni came to tell his story at court, he was made a majorgeneral, and the duke of Arcos was recalled. duke of Arcos, that being hid The author of the Impartial Inquiry into the management of the war in Spain, having quoted this story from Dr. Friend, obferves, p. 79, That it was not thus the Romans got poffeffion of Molviedro, when it bore the name of Saguntum: they would not ⚫ have rendered an enemy's ge'neral fufpected to his mafter by arts unwarrantable, nor 'did they ever interpret in fo loose a sense, Dolus an virtus quis in hofte requirat? |