The Battle of Narva

Today, 311 years ago, an 18 year old monarch led his troops into his first battle against the might of Russia. His name was Charles XII, and he was King of Sweden.
Sweden was a formidable power on the Baltic Sea when Charles XII came to the throne. But he was young, and Peter the Great of Russia and Augustus II of Poland combined to take Swedish territory, thinking that Charles would not resist. However, Charles XII would not let this happen, and the Great Northern War began.
The Russians formed a mighty army of 30,000 soldiers and besieged the fortress of Narva. Charles XII came to the rescue with less than 10,000 Caroliners (the term for troops of Charles XII).
Charles determined to attack , even though there was a violent snowstorm blowing in the faces of the Russians. “With the storm, they won’t see how few we are!” he told his generals. The Swedish army fearlessly stormed the Russian entrenchments, splitting the Russian army in two. Many Russians tried to retreat across the Narva River via the bridge, but it collapsed and many drowned. Darkness fell, and the Swedes were in the enemy camp, but with two large groups of the Russians on either flank. In the morning, the two armies, amounting to perhaps 20,000 Russians, surrendered to Charles XII. 18,000 more had been killed or drowned, while the Swedish loss was less than 2,000 men. Charles XII had taken more prisoners than were soldiers in his entire army, in addition to 171 flags and 145 cannons. The Battle of Narva was a complete victory for the Caroliners.
Charles XII demonstrated considerable maturity. To be able to plan for battle, to attack, to be void of fear, and then to be blessed with victory—this is indeed something which many men aged 18 years have lost today. However, with God’s help, we can recover the maturity that Charles XII demonstrated at his first and most glorious victory.
Note: The orders of battle of both Russians and Swedes at Narva can be found at http://www.cgsc.edu/CARL/nafziger/700LAA.pdf

Louise de la Valliere

Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions--Psalm 51:1

"My sin has been public; my repentance must be public too"--Louise de la Valliere

"I speak knowingly, and nothing but what I have seen and has been related to me by undeniable witnesses, and I never knew or heard of but one [Louise de la Valliere] who did not one way or other deceive their gallant, and am persuaded that she was misled merely by the love of the person of the prince which she has shown by her quitting the world and going into a nunnery of a very strict rule, where she has lived ever since a great example of penance and mortification;"--James II

Of all the powerful posts in Louis XIV's France, Louise de la Valliere held the highest as the King's mistress. However, by the grace of God, she saw the error of her ways, renounced her position in deep repentance, and joined a convent. Louis XIV's court did not understand her, and apparently persecuted her for her decision, for she said "When I am in trouble at the Carmelites' [convent], I will think of what those people have made me suffer." They could not understand why she would give up wealth, titles, position, and even love...for what? For something that is worth far more than all of these.

She sacrificed to follow the Word of God.

The Not-So-Glorious Revolution

Remember, remember, the fifth of November
The Williamite treason and plot!—author's adaptation of traditional rhyme

On November 5, 1688, Prince William of Orange set foot on English soil, beginning the struggle for power that would ultimately be known as the “Glorious Revolution.”
Most Protestants see it much as R. M. Ballantyne put it: “The great Revolution of 1688, which set William and Mary on the throne, also banished the tyrannical and despotic house of Stuart for ever; opened the prison gates to the Covenanters; restored to some extent the reign of justice and mercy; crushed, if it did not kill, the heads of Popery and absolute power, and sent a great wave of praise and thanksgiving over the whole land. Prelacy was no longer forced upon Scotland. The rights and liberties of the people were secured, and the day had at last come which crowned the struggles and sufferings of half a century.”

So…was William of Orange justified?

James (future James II) had married Anne Hyde, and had two daughters: Mary and Anne. Mary married William, Prince of Orange (in the Netherlands), and Anne married George, Prince of Denmark. In 1671, Anne Hyde died, and in 1673, James, a Catholic, married Mary of Modena, a Catholic. In 1685, James II succeeded to the throne upon Charles II’s death. On June 10, 1688, Mary of Modena had a son named James Francis Edward Stuart, or James III.

In the English law, a younger son would succeed to the throne before an older daughter. This rule was used with Henry VIII’s children: Edward VII, the youngest child, was first on the throne, then Mary, the oldest, then Elizabeth, the youngest daughter. This meant that James III would become king of England before his sisters, Mary and Anne.

Perhaps this would have been tolerable for William, had it not been for one more factor: France. William had devoted his life to building a “Grand Alliance” against France and her “Sun King”, Louis XIV. The Grand Alliance comprised the Catholic Hapsburg Empire (roughly Austria and Germany), Catholic Spain, the Duchy of Savoy, and the Protestant Netherlands. But one country was missing: England. William of Orange desperately wanted England in his Grand Alliance, but James—remembering that France had kept him safe from Cromwell—refused. Instead, he stayed neutral in the war that was brewing.

When James III was born, seven noblemen asked William to claim the crown in his wife’s name. They said that James III was not the real son of the King, but that the King intended to foist him on the English people to create a Catholic dynasty.

William was glad to oblige (though he had congratulated the King and Queen on the birth of their heir, and later said he believed James III was their lawful son), for this would draw England into his “Grand Alliance”. He prepared a fleet and army to land in England, which they did on November 5. His declaration when he landed said that he was here, not to claim the crown, but to persuade James to dismiss his Catholic councilors. However, he met with a cold welcome from the English, who did not like a foreign power on English soil.

James’s army was around him, but many treacherous officers such as John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, deserted to William. Mary of Modena and James III fled to France, escorted by the Duc de Lauzen. James II was captured by William, and entered London, then was moved to Rochester. While in Rochester, James attended Mass…with the supposedly Protestant Dutch Blue Guards. He told the colonel that “…while in the English army not 1000 men in every 180,000 were Catholics, the invading army, professedly to vindicate the Protestant liberties, was two-thirds of it composed of Catholics.” After, he escaped to France, not trusting himself in England.

Now, Parliament declared the throne vacant, and offered—not to James’s daughter Mary—but to William and Mary! In fact, Mary ruled in name only; the real power was William. James II had brought liberty of conscience to England, but William III made life intolerable for the Irish Catholics by breaking the Treaty of Limerick. Incidentally, this would strengthen the French because young Irish soldiers went to France to fight in the Irish Brigade against the English.

While life would seem bad for James II, he consoled himself by saying that it was the will of God. An excellent way to see the unfortunate “Glorious Revolution”.

French Army at Yorktown

Of all the French forces that fought in the American War for Independence, General Rochambeau's French expeditionary corps are probably the most famous in the United States, contributing greatly to the surrender of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown. Rochambeau had over 6,000 troops with him from these infantry regiments (listed in order of precedence):

• Bourbonnois




• Royal-Deux-Ponts (German)




• Soissonois




• Saintonge




• Agenois




• Gatinois




• Touraine




• Metz Artillery Regiment

Rochambeau also had the exotic 2nd Legion of Volontaires-Etrangers de la Marine, better known as Lauzun's Legion. The Duc de Lauzen had 600 men, of whom half were hussars armed with lances, and the other half were infantry.

So why did the French fare so poorly in the Seven Years War, yet were able to pound the British twenty years later? Lord willing, I hope to answer this question next time I write.

Soldiers (above) from Gatinois Regiment, picture from www.wbritain.com. Note the red plumes on the hats: these point out that the wearers are grenadiers, the elite of the regiment.

Poem--The Loyalist of the Vendee

In the deadly chaos of the French Revolution, one dauntless group stood for God, King, Church, and Country: the Catholic and Royal Army. Drawn mostly from the regions of Vendee and Poitou, the Vendeans fought the revolutionaries for eighteen months until they were finally crushed. The Honorable George Sydney Smith wrote an excellent poem (especially the dauntless resolution present in XII.) about the youngest and best of the Vendean generals, Henri de la Rochejacquelein.

The Loyalist of the Vendee

I.

Now, as there is a God in Heaven, and Jesu is his son,

And to Our Lady grace is given, and to the Holy One;

Now, as in sooth, the Church is truth; and if it be her will,

That false shall fail, and right prevail, and good outlast the ill

II.

Then by this Heart, and by this Cross, and by our own Vendee;

By every feeling man can feel, or prayer that man can pray,

By hope in Him, round whom we kneel, I charge you all to swear

One last oath with Rochejacquelein, to dare as he will dare.

III.

And if my words vaunt overmuch, and if I seem to say

That I shall be the boldest, or the foremost in the fray,

Full many a name of older fame, there are around, I know,

Talmont, Foret, Lescure, D'Elbee, and brave Cathelineau.

IV.

And many a gallant dalesman, and many a mountaineer,

To whom their Church, and King, and France, and Gentlemen are dear;

Not strong like theirs my strength shall be, my zeal shall be more

For they have only heard of that Paris I have seen.

V.

Where Fraud, and Crime, and Marat reign, and the Triple Colours wave

O'er the Churches of Our Lady, and the Blessed Genevieve;

Where Agnus, Pix, and Crucifix, are made the wanton's spoil

And the bells which called to vespers, now call to blood and broil.

VI.

The Priest, those gentle Priests and good, your fathers loved to hear,

Sole type below, 'midst work and woe, of the God whom we revere.

There's not a street, trod under feet, they have not dyed with gore;

There's not a stone that does not own one martyrdom, or more.

VII.

The King, I saw the Accursed Cap on his anointed head;

And scoff, and scorn, and gibe, and jest, and mocking words were said;

But he took the nearest hand, and he laid it on his breast,

And he bade it count the pulses, and bade it thence learn rest.

VIII.

The Queen, her proud lip curled with scorn, through all those fierce alarms,

Till Santerre came beside her with the Dauphin in his arms;

Then, her mien grew still and stately, though she shook in every limb;

Her fear was for her infant, her calmness was for him.

IX.

And then and there I swore Santerre should rue that bitter wrong;

And then and there I swore Santerre should learn my name ere long;

And that, this year, should Paris hear, of the loyal hearts and true,

In the Vendee, and the Bourbonnais, and the woodlands of Poitou.

X.

Now, swore I right, or swore I wrong, it is for you to show,

For here is the white standard, and yonder is the foe:

And by your aid, that oath I made, oh, keep it as your own,

May yet restore, (like Joan's of yore,) the Lilies and the Throne.

XI.

Your pardon, Sirs, the rebel stirs, his vanguard is at hand,

Let others will, let me fulfill, what orders you command;

What if my years are but nineteen, oh, think what I have seen

O, think of that insulted King, and of that Hero Queen.

XII.

Then follow me, where'er it be, I make within the foe,

And if I flinch, or fail one inch, there straightway strike me low;

And if I fall, swear one and all, ye will avenge my loss.

Now, Charge! for de la Rochejacquelein, for the Heart, and for the Cross!

Madame de Montcalm

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies--Proverbs 31:10

"She was as tender a wife as she was a devoted mother"--Abbe H. R. Casgrain

Louise-Angelique, Madame de Montcalm was born in 1709 or possibly early in 1710. I do not yet know the exact date of her birth; however, she was born after her father died, and he died on July 10, 1709. On October 3, 1734, she married a young soldier named Louis-Joseph, Marquis de Montcalm. Montcalm dearly loved his wife and six children, and his wife reciprocated this love. In 1756, as the Seven Years' War broke out, the Minister of War sent Montcalm to Canada to command French troops there. Madame de Montcalm did not wish to see him so far away, but she let him go--and never saw him again. Even through the rigors of campaign, and the battles with Governor Vaudreuil, he never forgot his wife and six children who were waiting in France for him. "Adieu, my heart, I believe I love you more than ever!" is the affectionate closing to one of his last letters home. Montcalm died shortly after the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. One of his last acts was to write a letter for every member of his family.

She died on March 12, 1788, thirty-nine years after her beloved husband.

I have not yet found any portrait, engraving, illustration, or any other picture of Madame de Montcalm, so I drew one.

Apparently Montcalm liked green coats, so in my drawing, he wears one, while Madame de Montcalm has a green dress. His two sons (one as colonel of the Regiment de Montcalm) are represented, as well as his four daughters. The one in green is Mirete, who died while Montcalm was fighting in Canada. Under magnification, one might notice a bird on the left. That is a tribute to Montcalm's verse, written when some said the number of his children was too many for such a small fortune: "Small birds He (God) gives the pasture, And His goodness extends to all nature."

An excellent tribute to the faith of Montcalm and his wife.

The Battle of Preston Pans

Today is the anniversary of the Battle of Preston Pans, the greatest of all Jacobite victories in the Jacobite Rising of 1745.

When "Bonnie Prince Charlie" landed in Scotland to reclaim the throne for his father, James III (whose supporters were known as Jacobites), the Highland clans quickly formed an army for him. George II sent General Sir John Cope to stop this "Young Pretender". After almost fighting a battle in the Correyaireck Pass, Cope retreated to the Lowlands. Charlie and his army followed, and captured Edinburgh. General Cope was too late to save Edinburgh, but he set up his army on Preston Pans.

Charlie was ready for a battle, so his Jacobites moved to Preston Pans too. That evening, the armies kept rearranging for battle. In the morning, a thick fog covered the battlefield. The Highlanders charged through the fog and, missing the infantry in the middle, routed the dragoons on the flanks of the enemy. With their flanks open, the British infantry was rolled up by the wild, sword-swinging Highlanders in less than fifteen minutes. The first major conflict of the Jacobite Rising of 1745 was a huge victory for the Jacobites. General Cope actually brought the news of his own defeat, unlike his valiant subordinate Colonel Gardiner, who died in battle while leading seventeen soldiers who remained on the battlefield. The battle is celebrated in the song, Hey Johnny Cope, Are Ye Waulkin' Yet?

Following this battle, Charles and his army had much of Scotland to themselves. They enlarged the Jacobite army, until they daringly marched into England.