After the treaty of Westphalia,
the states, trusting to their peace with Spain, and their alliance with
France, had broken a great part of this army, and did not support with
sufficient vigilance the discipline of the troops which remained. When
the aristocratic party prevailed, it was thought prudent to dismiss
many of the old, experienced officers, who were devoted to the house of
Orange; and their place was supplied by raw youths, the sons or kinsmen
of burgomasters, by whose interest the party was supported. These new
officers, relying on the credit of their friends and family, neglected
their military duty; and some of them, it is said, were even allowed
to serve by deputies, to whom they assigned a small part of their pay.
During the war with England, all the forces of that nation had been
disbanded: Lewis's invasion of Flanders, followed by the triple league,
occasioned the dismission of the French regiments: and the place of
these troops, which had ever had a chief share in the honor and fortune
of all the wars in the Low Countries, had not been supplied by any new
levies.
De Wit, sensible of this dangerous situation, and alarmed by the reports
which came from all quarters, exerted himself to supply those defects
to which it was not easy of a sudden to provide a suitable remedy.
Pages:
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186
187
188
189
190
191
192
193