David Carnegie Andrew Agnew

“ For, being disappointed of the command of the army (which was what he expected at his first arrival) , he seemed resolved that no other general should have an army to command. ’Tis very notorious that a Dutch and Spanish battalion, with a detachment of English and Portuguese, amounting to above 3000 men, were sent to Cuenca, and thrown away there (after it had been resolved to retreat to Valencia) , purely to satisfy his importunity; for I always foresaw it would be impossible to protect a garrison at that distance from our quarters. ”

“ In the Earl’s answer to the fifth question, [6] he says — ‘The King of Spain, when the troops were marching into Murcia towards the enemy, assembled a council of war to no other purpose, but to send by the hands of his secretary a protest with the reasons why he would not march with the army, but go to protect his subjects in Catalonia; the contents of which protest the Earl very well remembers, having had a copy of it by the king’s order.’ His lordship’s memory, as positive as he is, must have failed him extremely in this matter. ”

“ His lordship’s information of our want of intelligence of the enemy’s motions and of our disorder upon the retreat, are as great mistakes as the former. For the occasion of our advancing to Guadaraxa was purely to post ourselves in such a manner as to prevent the enemy from marching or sending detachments to intercept the King of Spain; and when we had reason to believe him out of danger, we returned to Guadalaxara, there to be joined by the King and the Earl of Peterborow. ”

“ If part of the king’s forces were at 250 miles’ distance, that may be a reason why they could not be at the battle; but none can be given for their being at that distance, except in the case of some few garrisons, which might indeed have been necessary, but could not require above six or seven battalions whilst the army was then in the field. Whereas his Catholic Majesty had at that time in his own pay in Spain above 6000 men, besides the Dutch and English that were in Arragon and Catalonia. ”

“ Notwithstanding, the Earl of Peterborow is pleased to say, ‘That we lost 5000 men in the retreat to Valencia without a blow, and entirely ruined our whole cavalry.’ ’Tis certain our loss upon that occasion was very inconsiderable, if any, and the retreat made in so good order, that the enemy (superior as they were in number) never durst venture to attack us after the warm reception 22 of their squadrons met with from two battalions under the command of Colonel Wade, in the town of Villa Nova, notwithstanding we were obliged to cross plains and rivers in their view. ”

“ The cavalry of the allies, with some small part of the foot that had escaped the ill fate of the day, joined again at Alcira, from whence they retired to Tortosa, and finding the enemy had crossed the Ebro, endeavoured, by opposing their passage over the Chinca, to amuse them till the latter end of the campaign. Meantime, with great expedition, I gathered the broken remains of the foot (out of which I formed five battalions) and raised four more of Catalans, with which we made a stand against a victorious enemy, and preserved the principality of Catalonia entire, except Lerida. ”

“ And therefore a disposition was made for attacking this town; but by the delay of the king’s generals the execution of this matter was so long deferred, that the enemy had already reinforced their garrison, and were advanced so near us with a superior force, that it was not thought advisable to attempt the place. Thus the only resource left us was the kingdom of Valencia, whither we were absolutely obliged to retreat, that we might preserve our communication with the seas, and canton with security. ”

“ Besides, we had certain advice that there was already a body of French troops, consisting of 8000 men, in Spain, and upon their march to reinforce the enemy. Thus, as the army must inevitably have perished without fighting, it was thought reasonable to run the hazard of a battle, wherein we had an equal chance to come off victors, which was accordingly done two days after, on the 25th of April 1707, N. S., but with ill success. ”

“ Meantime the Duke of Berwick, who had been sent to command on the frontiers of Portugal in Marshal Tesse’s stead, had thrown ten regiments of foot into Badajoz, and marched with seven more, and a body of 4000 horse towards Alcantara, in order to reinforce that garrison, by the addition of those seven regiments, which he accordingly left there, and then came back to Brocas with his cavalry, where we surprised him, beat his rear-guard, pursued him a considerable way, and took possession of the castle of Brocas ”

“ Nor did we think it proper to pursue the once-intended march through that kingdom and Arragon, lest provisions should be wanting, leaving the enemy so near and in a condition to follow us. For though commissaries had been employed, there was reason to apprehend that the towns we were to pass through would shut their gates against us, whilst we were closely followed by the enemy, and persecuted by the peasants of the country, who, grown desperate by seeing themselves abandoned, would naturally be up in arms in the mountains. ”

“ What his Lordship says concerning a project that was formed for the taking of Origuela before the opening of the campaign is very true; but that project being afterwards found impracticable for want of provisions, and the campaign drawing near, the Earl Rivers’ troops, which after their landing at Alicant, had been quartered in the nearest and most commodious towns for their reception, were ordered to remove to Oya de Castalla (two short days’ march from the places where they lay before) that the enemy might not get between them and the rest of our quarters to surprise us. ”

“ But here the Portuguese resolved unanimously to return home again, notwithstanding all the arguments the Generals of the allies could offer to the contrary, which happened very unfortunately. For had the army marched directly from thence to Madrid, in all probability we must have arrived there at the same time with the news of the Duke of Anjou’s being returned to France; the Duchess must have been obliged to escape alone ”

“ That the matters therein debated were principally whether the army should march towards Madrid or seek the enemy. In the debates the Earl of Peterborow positively affirms that the Earl of Galway, Mr. Stanhope, and the Lord Tyrawley, supported those measures with the Portuguese general; and that the King, the Count de Noyelles, the Spanish generals and ministers, with himself, argued strongly against those measures as highly dangerous and impracticable ”

“ This relief arrived in good time, and proved so successful, as not only to defend the place, but to hold out a siege that entirely ruined the enemy’s infantry, and prevented their being able to take the field the following spring in Alentejo. ”