se his designs upon that
place. The Prince of Saxe Cobourg was expected to relieve Charleroi;
but he did not arrive until after the place was reduced; and then he was
attacked by Jourdan on the plains of Fleurus, and, after an obstinate
battle, which lasted the whole day, was compelled to order a general
retreat. The prince retired in good order to Halle, and again prepared
to fight for the preservation of what remained to Austria in the
Netherlands; but the Sans-culotte portion of the Belgians now again
declared for the French. Bruges opened its gates to them; Pichegru,
aided by General Moreau, compelled the Duke of York to retreat to
Antwerp; and then the places which the English left in their rear
followed the example of Bruges. The Duke of York was joined at Antwerp
by Lord Moira with the 10,000 troops originally intended for the war
in the Vendee, but who was not ready till that war was over and the
Vendeans crushed. The two armies of the Duke of York and General
Clairfait occupied the country between Antwerp and Louvain, holding both
those towns and Mechlin which lay between them. In the meantime part
of the army of Pichegru invested Valenciennes, Conde. Quesnoy, and
Landrecies, the garrisons of all of which fortresses, overawed by the
threats of the convention, almost immediately capitulated. Pichegru
and Jourdan, about the same time, effected a junction, and marched
upon Brussels; and, after defeating the Prince of Saxe Cobourg in their
route, they entered that city amidst the welcomes of the Jacobin party.
The ancient town of Ghent also submitted to the republicans; and, on the
12th of July, the Duke of York and Lord Moira were attacked by the enemy
in great force, and compelled to take shelter in Mechlin. Three days
after he was compelled to leave Mechlin, and Clairfait was overwhelmed
near Louvain, and obliged to abandon both that city and Liege. General
Beaulieu was likewise compelled to evacuate Namur, and the citadel of
Antwerp, to which the Duke of York had repaired, was not considered a
safe retreat. After staying there a week, indeed, the English crossed
the Scheldt, and abandoned both the city and citadel to the French. The
Duke of York concentrated his forces in the neighbourhood of Breda
for the defence of Holland, while General Clairfait retired behind the
Meuse. Thus the whole of Austrian Flanders and Brabant, fell under
the dominion of the French in one brief campaign. Disheartened by
the reverses