Part 17

HARLAW, BATTLE OF.--Fought, July 24th, 1411, between the Earl of Mar, who commanded the Royal army, and Donald, the Lord of the Isles. Neither army gained the victory, it being a drawn battle. So many nobility and gentry were slain in this engagement that a Scottish historian declares, “more illustrious men fell in this one conflict alone than had fallen in foreign wars during many previous years.”

HASTINGS, BATTLE OF.--Fought, October 14th, 1066. In the beginning of summer, William embarked his powerful army of 60,000 men on board a fleet of 300 sail; and, after some small opposition from the weather, landed at Pevensey, on the coast of Sussex, tranquilly.

“Harold, who seemed resolved to defend his right to the crown, and retain that sovereignty which he had received from the people, who only had a right to bestow it, was now returning, flushed with conquest, from defeating the Norwegians, who had invaded the kingdom, with all the forces he had employed in that expedition, and all he could invite or collect in the country through which he passed. His army was composed of active and valiant troops, in high spirits, strongly attached to their king, and eager to engage.

On the other hand, the army of William consisted of the flower of the continent, and had long been inured to danger. The men of Britanny, Boulogne, Flanders, Poictou, Maine, Orleans, France, and Normandy, were all voluntarily united under his command. England never before nor ever since, saw two such armies drawn up to dispute its crown.

The day before the battle, William sent an offer to Harold to decide the quarrel between them by single combat, and thus to spare the blood of thousands: but Harold refused, and said he would leave it to the God of armies to determine. Both armies, therefore, that night pitched in sight of each other, expecting the dawning of the day with impatience. The English passed the night in songs and feasting; the Normans in devotion and prayer.

The next morning, at seven as soon as day appeared, both armies were drawn up in array against each other. Harold appeared in the centre of his forces, leading on his army on foot, that his men might be more encouraged, by seeing their king exposed to an equality of danger. William, fought on horseback, leading on his army, that moved at once, singing the songs of Roland, one of the famous chiefs of their country. The Normans began to fight with their cross-bows, which, at first, galled and surprised the English; and, as their ranks were closed, their arrows did great execution. But soon they came to closer fight, and the English with their bills hewed down their adversaries with great slaughter. Confusion was spreading among the ranks, when William, who found himself on the brink of destruction, hastened with a select band to the relief of his forces. His presence restored the suspense of battle; he was seen in every place, endeavouring to pierce the ranks of the enemy, and had three horses slain under him. At length, perceiving that the English continued impenetrable, he pretended to give ground, which, as he expected, drew the enemy from their ranks, and he was instantly ready to take advantage of their disorder. Upon a signal given the Normans immediately returned to the charge with greater fury than before, broke the English troops, and pursued them to a rising ground. It was in this extremity that Harold was seen flying from rank to rank, rallying and inspiring his troops with vigour; and though he had toiled all day, till near night-fall, in front of his Kentish men, yet he still seemed unabated in force or courage, keeping his men to the post of honour.

Once more, therefore, the victory seemed to turn against the Normans, and they fell in great numbers, so that the fierceness and obstinacy of this memorable battle was often renewed by the courage of the leaders, whenever that of the soldiers began to slacken. Fortune at length determined a victory that valour was unable to decide.

Harold, making a furious onset at the head of his troops against the Norman heavy armed infantry, was shot into the brains by an arrow; and his two valiant brothers, fighting by his side, shared the same fate. He fell with his sword in his hand, amidst heaps of slain.”

HAVRE-DE-GRACE.--Defended for the Huguenots by the English in 1562. Bombarded several times by the British Navy. Successfully attacked for three days from July 6th to 9th, 1759. Again bombarded in 1794 and 1795--and again by Sir Richard Strachan in 1798. Declared in a state of blockade 1803; and the attempts of the British to burn the shipping here signally failed, August 7th, 1804.

HERARA, BATTLE OF.--_In Arragon._--In this battle, Don Carlos of Spain, in his struggle for his hereditary right to the throne of that kingdom, encountered, at the head of 12,000 men, and defeated General Buerens, who had not half the number of the Queen’s troops. The loss of Buerens was about 1000 killed and wounded. Fought, August 24th, 1837.

HERRINGS, BATTLE OF THE.--Vertot says that this battle, fought in 1429, received its name from the following ludicrous occasion. The Duc de Bourbon, in attempting to intercept a convoy on the road to the English Camp, before Orleans, was severely beaten. It was a convoy of salt-fish--and this action has ever since been called by the above name.

HOCHKIRCHEN, BATTLE OF.--Between the Prussian army, commanded by Frederick II, and the Austrians, commanded by Count Daun. The King was surprised in his camp and defeated by the Imperial General. In this battle, an illustrious Scotsman, Field-Marshal Keith, in the service of Prussia, was killed; and such was the respect and admiration which his name inspired, that Counts Daun and Lacy, the Austrian Generals, shed tears on beholding the corpse, and ordered its interment with military honours. Fought, October 14th, 1758.

HOCHENLINDEN, BATTLE OF.--Fought November 3rd, 1800, between the Austrian and French armies--the latter commanded by General Moreau. The Austrians were defeated with dreadful slaughter, losing 10,000 men in killed and wounded, and 10,000 more in prisoners. The forces of each army were nominally equal at the commencement of the battle.

HOMELDEN, BATTLE OF.--Between the Scots, headed by the Earl of Douglas, and the Percys, in which the Scots were defeated. Douglas and many of the nobility were taken prisoners in this battle. Fought in 1403.

HORATII AND CURIATII, COMBAT BETWEEN THE.--Fought B.C. 669. The forces of the two states met about five miles from Rome. While the armies were awaiting the signal for the battle, the Alban General, stepping into the space between them, proposed to decide the dispute by single combat. To this proposition Tullus agreed. There were in each army three twin brothers, all remarkable for their courage, strength, and activity, and to them it was resolved to commit the management of the combat. The Roman brothers were called Horatii and the Albans Curiatii. The champions met. Victory, which for a time, appeared doubtful, at last seemed to decide against the Romans. Two of their champions lay dead on the field, and the third seemed, by flight, to beg for mercy. Defeat was however only apparent. It soon became evident that this flight of the surviving Roman was pretence in order that, by separating his antagonists, he might have an opportunity of engaging them singly. Turning suddenly upon the foremost of the Curiatii, he laid him dead at his feet. The second instantly shared his fate. Fatigued and disabled by his wounds, the third slowly advanced to offer an easy victory. He was slain almost unresisting, while the conqueror exclaimed “Two have I already sacrificed to the Manes of my brothers; a third will I offer up to my country.”

HUSSAR.--This kind of soldier originated in Poland and Hungary, and as they, being light cavalry, were more suited for hasty attacks than a set battle, they are supposed to have taken their name from the _huzzas_ or shouts which they made at their first onset. Pardon says that they were oddly clothed, having the skins of tigers, &c., hanging on their backs, against bad weather, and wore fur caps, with a cock’s feather. Introduced into the British service in the last century.

I.

INKERMANN, BATTLE OF.--One of the most brilliant achievements in the history of the British Army. Fought on the 5th of November, 1854.

“Two days after the repulse of the enemy’s sortie, by Sir De Lacy Evans’ division, General Dannenberg, with a large Russian reinforcement, arrived at Baktchi-Serai from Odessa, which place he left on the 19th of October. In order that his men might reach the scene of action with the greatest practicable rapidity, and in good condition, every available cart and rustic conveyance was pressed into the service. They were thus comparatively fresh and vigorous after so rapid a march. On the 3rd of November, one division, under General Soimonoff, entered Sebastopol. The remainder, under General Pauloff, encamped at Tchorgoun, a short distance to the east.

Strengthened by this considerable reinforcement, the Russian Generals decided upon an attack upon the position of the Allies in such strength that it should be scarcely possible to make an effectual resistance. The Grand Dukes Michael and Nicholas, sons of the Emperor, had arrived at Sebastopol, with the purpose of encouraging the garrison by their presence, and witnessing the total defeat of the haughty invaders. On Sunday, the 4th of November, solemn religious services were held in the town. Patriarchs and Bishops of the Greek Church addressed the soldiery, urged upon them the importance of the trust which their good father the Czar had thought proper to impose upon them,--assured them that death in his service was only the road to a martyr’s crown, and that the English were monsters of cruelty, who committed the most atrocious barbarities upon all prisoners of war. Finally, they said the British camp abounded in treasure, one-third of which should be the property of the soldiery. Incited by these promises,--stimulated by extra rations of ardent spirits,--and fanatically believing that the destruction of the English heretics would be a work of acceptable piety, the Russian soldiers mingled shouts of devotion to the Czar and death to the Allies, and prepared themselves for the encounter of the morrow.

The plan of attack, as decided upon by the enemy’s commanders, was shortly this:--The extreme right of the British position, near the bridge which crossed the Tchernaya at Inkermann, was notoriously our weak point. Sir De Lacy Evans, whose division occupied this position, had repeatedly called Lord Raglan’s attention to this vulnerable point; but so laborious were the duties devolving upon our men, and so extended the line of defence, that it was impossible to spare either men or guns for the establishment of works. The French, whose large numbers and secure position on the western plateau left them a far smaller share of the duty, had been early applied to for assistance, but had hitherto refused. Sir John Burgoyne had called the special attention of General Biot to the danger of leaving exposed such an avenue to the camp of the Allies; but the French commander seems to have been at this time but little disposed to relieve the English of any of the toil or danger they had so willingly undertaken, but which proved too much for their effectual performance. At length the English, by almost superhuman exertions, had erected a small work on the brow of the hill, intended to carry two guns, but they had not yet been mounted.

Towards this point, then,--of the unprotected nature of which the Russians were perfectly well aware, thanks to the newspaper correspondents, who, in their anxiety to satisfy the curiosity of the readers at home, contrived (unwittingly, we believe) to afford the enemy a very great deal of valuable information,--the attention of the Russians was naturally directed. It afforded a convenient access to the very centre of the English lines, and would, in all probability, offer but a feeble resistance. It was arranged that Gortschakoff should, at an early hour on the morning of the 5th, make a threatening demonstration in front of Balaklava, apparently renewing the attempt of the 25th of October. This would have the effect of drawing a considerable portion of the armies to the defence of that important position, thus leaving the front comparatively unprotected. On the extreme left of the line, General Timofeyer would also make a feigned attack, occupying the attention of the French. The actual assault was to be made by the recently-arrived army of General Dannenberg. The two divisions already named, according to the Russian computation (most probably understated), were of the following strength: General Soimonoff’s corps consisted of three regiments of the 10th division, three of the 16th, and one of the 17th, amounting altogether to 16,200 bayonets, with twenty-two heavy and sixteen light guns; that of General Pauloff, numbering 13,200 bayonets, was composed of three regiments of the 10th division, two Chasseur regiments of the 18th, with twelve guns. The two corps thus numbered 29,400 bayonets, and fifty guns. Soimonoff was ordered to march from the Malakoff Tower in a westerly direction, until he reached the Kilen ravine, under cover of which he was to penetrate into the English centre on the western side of the ravine. Five o’clock in the morning was fixed as the time for the assault. Pauloff’s division was to cross the Tchernaya, force the English lines at the unprotected point, and cutting their way through the second division join Soimonoff in the main attack, when General Dannenberg, with the remainder of the army, would appear upon the scene, and, it was fondly imagined, give the _coup de grace_ to the invaders. Such was the plan of the Russian Generals, carefully matured, and kept profoundly secret from the Allies. We shall see the result.

All night the bells of Sebastopol rang loudly. The heavy November mist obscured the sound; and most probably, the English soldiers, far from considering the clashing from the belfries as the signal for the gathering of troops, imagined that one of the multitudinous festivals of the Greek Church was being celebrated with unwonted ostentation. Towards morning the mist thickened, and it was impossible to discern any object at above a few yards’ distance. Taking advantage of the fog, the Russians conveyed their guns to the lofty eminences beyond the Tchernaya, facing the British position, and by almost incredible efforts, in a very brief time, had established a formidable battery in a most commanding situation. About four o’clock in the morning, intelligence arrived at head-quarters that Balaklava was again threatened. General Bosquet was immediately on the alert, with his French chasseurs, and the indomitable Sir Colin Campbell was fully prepared to meet any force which might be despatched against him. It was no part, however, of the enemy’s tactics seriously to attack this position. His purpose was fully served by the attention of the French being attracted to this point, and the English being diverted from the real point of assault. About five o’clock enormous bodies of Russian infantry, under cover of the heavy fog, silently passed the bridge across the Tchernaya, and stealthily crept up the hill towards the weak point of the English position at the newly-erected two-gun battery. The pickets of the 55th, on duty at this spot, suddenly found themselves in presence of an over-whelming force of the enemy. Desperately fighting, the courageous little band slowly yielded ground, contesting every step, and retreating up the hill towards the redoubt. Their smart firing, in reply to the tremendous volleys of the enemy’s musketry, which were now poured into the handful of men, aroused the camp, and indicated the real nature of the enemy’s plans. General Pennefather, who commanded the Second Division, in the absence of Sir De Lacy Evans (who was compelled by the debilitated state of his health to leave his active duties, and retire on board one of the ships in the harbor), immediately hastened to the scene; and the men of his division, hastily shaking off their sleep, quickly responded to the alarm. In a few minutes all was bustle and activity. Officers and men, alike hurried forward, some half-dressed, all unbreakfasted, many suffering from sickness, and none free from the effects of privation and over-toil. From the Second Division the intelligence of the attack was quickly carried to the camps of the First, Fourth and Light Divisions, and the Duke of Cambridge, Sir George Cathcart, and Sir George Brown, instantly put themselves at the heads of their men, and lost no time in marching to the scene of action.

When the pickets were driven in, they retreated to the little two-gun battery, and fired through the embrasures at the masses of the enemy, now advancing in dense columns to the attack. The Russian batteries on the opposite hills opened a tremendous fire upon them, and the guns of the town and the ships in the harbor threw enormous volleys of shell and shot right into the camp of the Second Division, tearing up the ground, and destroying the tents. For a few moments the gallant fellows of the 51st held their ground, but no courage could long contend against such fearful odds. In spite of their fire, much too feeble to stay the advance of such massive columns, the Russians advanced at a rapid pace up the hill, the few shots of the undaunted defenders of the redoubt telling fatally in their ranks. Almost before the English could reload, the Russians were swarming around the battery, and leaping over the embrasure. Many were hurled back again by the bayonets of the undaunted picket, who at length, borne down by the weight of the attack, were driven from the work, and retreated down the hill. The 41st and 49th now came into the action, and forming into line, charged the advancing Russians, and drove them back to the redoubt. Again was this little work the scene of a tremendous contest. The two regiments discharging a brisk volley from their Minié rifles, levelled their bayonets, and driving the enemy pell-mell before them, hurled them out of the battery, and once more the English were masters of the position. The retreating Russians were speedily met and reinforced by other columns of infantry, and then doubled in numbers, again advanced to the attack. The fire, too, from their batteries, poured unceasing destruction into the thin ranks of the English regiments. Already the dead and dying were lying thick around, and many of the bravest and best among them had fallen beneath the intense fire of the enemy. The Russian masses literally surged up the hill, and hurled themselves once more at the devoted little band. A fearful struggle followed. Hand to hand was the combat waged, the bayonet doing deadly havoc upon friend and foe. In vain the brave defenders of their post struggled against the unequal odds; in vain the officers heroically exposed themselves and encouraged their men to the desperate encounter; and in vain the men themselves emulated their leaders’ undaunted courage--the enemy, so immensely superior in numbers, drove them, after a sanguinary defence, from the work, and pursued them, desperately fighting in their retreat, towards the camp of their division.

The alarm had now spread throughout the entire camp, and even reached Balaklava, rousing the sleepers on board the ships in the harbour. The heavy booming of the cannon told how fierce was the contest. Sir De Lacy Evans forgot his sickness, and leaving the bed to which for many days he had been confined, insisted on being rowed ashore; and mounting a horse, which he was almost too weak to guide, started for the field of battle. Lord Raglan, with his staff, had by this time reached the spot, and at once saw the critical position of the Allies; and saw, too, the blunder which the enemy had committed. General Soimonoff, who should, upon issuing from the ravine near Careening Bay, have turned to the right and attacked the centre of the English line, weakened by the tremendous assault on the extreme left of the position, mistook the direction and marched to the left, thus reaching the ground occupied by the Second Division, and embarrassing General Pauloff’s operations by permitting the concentration of the English forces to repel his assault, instead of diverting their attention by an attack at a comparatively remote point. For a General of Raglan’s experience to take advantage of this blunder was an easy task. He immediately made such arrangements of the small means at his command as would enable him to present two fronts of resistance on the threatened points, while preserving the solidity of his position.