me command of the armies, which
consisted of. Austrians, Prussians, English, and Dutch, was held by
General Clairfait. Against these Dampierre issued from his camp at
Famars, on the eighth of April, but his best troops were beaten at all
points, and he himself received a mortal wound. After this defeat
the republicans fell into a lamentable state of discouragement and
disorganization; General Lamarche, who had succeeded to the command,
being a man of neither skill nor energy. Had the allied powers pushed
forward, they might have carried the fortified camp of Famars without
any difficulty; but they allowed a whole fortnight to elapse before they
made the attempt; and then, reinforcements having been received, it was
not carried before many lives were lost on both sides, and after all
Lamarche was allowed to retire and occupy another fortified camp
between Valenciennes and Bouehain. The allied armies now laid siege to
Valenciennes, and it was in vain that General Custine, who had arrived
to take the command of the French army, sought to relieve the place;
it was captured towards the end of July, and the Duke of York took
possession of it in the name of the Emperor of Germany. About the same
time the garrison of Conde yielded themselves prisoners of war, and
Mayence submitted to the Prussian arms. A few days later the French were
driven from a strong position near the Scheldt, called Caesar's Camp.

At this point the success of the allied armies during this campaign
closed. Jealousies and dissensions had long existed in their camp; and
after the French were driven from their position behind the Scheldt,
a grand council of war was held, wherein it was determined that the
British, Hanoverians, Dutch, and Hessians should form a distinct army,
not dependent upon the co-operation of the Austrians. This was the
origin of sad disasters; had they held together, and had they acted
vigorously against the enemy's masses, which were weakened and depressed
by defeat, it is probable that the object of the war would have been
gained. The Prince of Saxe-Coburg and General Clairfait strongly
opposed the fatal step; but the British army, conducted by the Duke of
York, decamped, and moved towards Dunkirk, while the Imperialists sat
down before Quesnoy. The Austrians were successful in their enterprise:
after fifteen days the garrison of Quesnoy capitulated. A different fate
awaited the British army. The Duke of York arrived in the vicinity of