Page 256 - A Jacobite Exile
P. 256
Russians on the bank, to prevent succour being conveyed into the town, and
two thousand men had crossed the river and occupied a small redoubt on
the northern side, so that the town was completely invested.
The newly-arrived force was ordered to march, at once, with a hundred
horse and four field pieces, the whole under the command of Major Sion,
who was well acquainted with the country.
"What do you think of this expedition, Captain Carstairs?" his lieutenant,
John Bowyer, asked him.
"I would rather be back with King Charles," Charlie replied. "Of course, I
don't know the geography of the place, but if the Russians keep their eyes at
all open, I don't see how a force like ours, with cavalry and guns, can hope
to enter the town unnoticed. The addition of the horsemen seems to me
altogether ridiculous, as they could be no good whatever, if they did enter
the town. As for those four field pieces, they will hamper our march; and as
they say the Russians have already some forty cannon in position about the
town, those little pieces would be useless.
"Four hundred infantry, making the attempt at night under good guidance,
might manage to slip into the place, but this procession of ours is, to my
mind, tempting destruction, for we certainly cannot hope to cut our way, by
force, through the whole Russian army.
"But even if we do get inside the town, our plight can be no better. The
Russians' cannon are bombarding it, night and day, and more batteries are
in course of erection, and Schlippenbach the governor, who is, I believe, a
brother of the general, has but a few pieces to reply to them.
"Were there an army advancing to the relief of the place, it would be
different altogether, for our reinforcement might be of vital importance in
repelling assaults, until aid arrived. But there is no hope of aid. The king's
army is some nine hundred miles away, and his hands are full. General
Schlippenbach has sent as many men as he could spare. They say there are
at least twenty thousand Russians round the town, and where is an army to
