as very justly to cause fufpicions among the allies, for fome intended ftratagem. The French began their march very early in the morning, on thursday the 16th of June, towards the bridges of Se lingenstadt: but, the better to conceal it, they marched at a diftance from the Maine, under cover of the woods, and with great filence. However, it could not be any longer concealed when they approached the river; for the night was not very dark, and they were foon difcovered by lieutenant colonel Gee, who commanded a detachment of foot, pofted beyond Dettingen, and was foon informed that a great number of French were actually posted below *; upon which he retired with his party. When day-light appeared, the confederates beheld the oppofite banks of the Maine covered with French troops; fome filing down by the fide of the river towards Dettingen, and others marching brifkly towards Afchaffenberg. About four o'clock, the confederate army began their march towards Dettingen, in two columns. The British cavalry were in front, followed by the Auftrian: then the British infantry, fucceeded alfo by the Auftrians, in the centre: while the English and Lunenberg guards, with the Hanoverian horfe, made a counter-march, which prevented the French from attacking the rear, though they took poffeffion of Afchaffenberg. About five, his Britannic majefty reviewed the rear-guard; while marfhal Noailles paffed the Maine, and joined the troops at Klein, where he gave his ordersto the duke de Grammont, and The Erench had paffed over a great body of troops during the night: their horfe, the household at their head, paffed the fords, or fwam over; and the foot paffed repaffed repaffed the river, that he might the better obferve the difpofition of both armies, and the direction of his cannon, from which he expected a terrible execution; as he had erected five batteries of artillery, at fome distance from each other, on the oppofite banks of the Maine; which could easily change their ground as occafion required, or be relieved by others from the main body of their artillery, then pofted in the wood, at a little diftance from the river. The French left their camp ftanding, and the rest of their army approached the Maine; which convinced the allies, that marshal Noailles was putting his scheme into execution. About feven, the British cavalry paffed a narrow bridge at Klein Oftein; but being too far advanced from the infantry, they received orders to halt there; and were drawn up fronting the river, that the foot might have time to come up, and room to pafs by them. During the halt, the French infantry continued their march on the oppofite banks of the river; fo near, that the officers in both armies conversed over the water; and, as they paffed, paid and received the most complaifant marks of gentility. About eight, a battery of cannon, which the French had placed at a little chapel on the right of Stockstadt, began to play upon the Hanoverian cavalry, to draw an attention on that fide; and was foon answered by the British artillery left in the rear, which did great execution. At nine, the rear of the French army had paffed their first battery next Aschaffenberg, when they began to fire from thence; and as this battery was oppofite the Jlied baggage, the perfons about it were put into fuch confufion, that they turned into the woods, where fome of the carts were plundered by the peasants. The fire from the the first battery of the French was foon followed by the others: but the British train was too far in the rear to answer them as expeditiously as might have been wished. However, by the diligence of colonel Pattifon, three batteries were foon erected, and so fuccefsfully played, that three of the French batteries were difabled in a short time. When this hoftility began, his Britannic majesty was towards the rear of the column of march, where the French ungenerously pointed all the cannon they could, as they knew him to be in that quarter: but his majesty, finding no capital attack on the rear, moved to the front, riding between the river and the troops, who were greatly animated by his prefence, and faluted him with the loudeft acclamations of joy. When his majesty came up to the front of the allies, they began to perceive a line of French infantry, and then a fecond, extending between Dettingen and Welsheim towards the mountains; as alfo two columns of horse marching the fame way*: fo that the front of the confederates, upon the halt, being to the river, the French troops were upon their right flank, at lefs than the distance of a mile. The danger was vifible and preffing: his Britannic majefty fignified his commands to marfhal Stair; and his lordship gave orders for the army to be formed with all *The duke de Grammont, actuated by the young princes of the blood, who were confident of fuccefs, was fo impatient to engage, that inftead of being drawn up on the other fide of the defile, with the village of Dettingen on their sight, the wood on their left, and a morafs in the centre, they left thefe advantages; and having paffed the defile, that was formed by a dry trench, over which there was but one fmall bridge, came up to the attack in order of battle, on an acceffible ground, where their whole front was expofed. poffible poffible expedition. The allied infantry had passed the cavalry, and were formed into two fuch lines as the nature of the ground would admit: but, while they were forming the lines, fome detachments were ordered to take poffeffion of the woods; which marshal Neuperg thought infufficient to fecure them, and advised to march with the body of the army, apprehending they would be beat in detaile. This advice appeared fo highly reasonable, that it was immediately put into execution. The earl of Stair, marfhal Neuperg, and the duke d'Aremberg, affifted with the utmost capacity, and the greatest activity, in forming the army, under the directions of his Britannic majesty, who fhewed all the abilities of an experienced general, and exerted all that martial vivacity for which he was so much distinguished at the battle of Oudenarde *. Two lines of cavalry were immediately formed; and, with the infantry on the right, as faft as they advanced, were pofted in the wood, with fome battalions to guard their camp, and fecure the baggage. The left wing towards the Maine was compofed of British and Austrian foot, with four Hanoverian battalions; fupported by two lines of horfe. But the ground was fo narrow, between the river and the mountains, as not to admit of more than twenty three battalions at most in front, with fome fquadrons; fo that the third line of foot was A town of the Auftrian Netherlands, on the Scheld, 13 miles S. of Ghent. The French befieged it; but the duke of Marlborough obliged them to raise the fege, and gave them a memorable defeat on the 11th of July 1708. His Britannic majefty king George II. was then hereditary prince of Brunfwic Lunenburgh, and in the 25th year of his age: he was prefent at this battle; and charged fword in hand, in the moft dangerous part of it, at the head of a fquadron of dragoons, who routed their antagonists, and came off with diftinguished proofs of their bravery. fupported fupported by two or three lines of horfe. On the right of the army, at the entrance of the wood, the Hangverians erected a battery: another was erected by the English, at the left: and a third by the Auftrians, in The French army was ranged, in order of battle, in plain behind the wood, where the right wing of the confederates was formed: their right wing was covered by the Maine, and supported by a battery, erected near Mainfling, on the opposite side of the river: the household troops made the centre, supported by the infantry: and the left wing extended towards the hills. Their whole force was drawn up in two lines, and an arriere guard, where the artillery was placed * The cannonading across the river continued above three hours, with terrible execution on both fides t Nothing could be better laid than this plan of marthal Noailles, if he had left the morafs that he paffed, in his front for then the village of Dettingen and the Maine had fecured his right, the morafs his front, and the mountains his left, but probably his perfuation of our furprize, and that the king could not in fo little a time make a difpofition to oppofe him, made him come into ground, where he was acceffible by all his front." London Gazette, July 16. Voltaire fays, that "marfhad Noailles had laid an excellent plan to ruin the allies; but this was difconcerted by one single moment of impatience in the duke of Grammont, who was very advantageously poked, with thirty fquadrons, and five brigades of infantry, to oppofe the march of the allies." The deftruction made among the troops was very great; yet the ground on the confederate fide, being a light fand, and the bank rifing towards the river, the lofs on their part was much inferior to what marhal Noailles expected :who, finding the British troops ftood the fhock of his cannon without the least difcompofure, or any other diforder than the flaughter neceffarily occafioned, imagined his guns were not in a due direction, or that there was fome treachery in the engineers; chufing rather to afcribe it to any other, caufe than the true one, which was, the invincible courage of Britons, led on by their king, an animated by the presence of their young hero, the DUKE of CUM BERLAND, During the whole difpofition, from eight to twelve, the French batteries, posted on the rifing About |