Of these, six thousand were
French. They had arrived, under the command of the Count de Lauzun, in
March, but they had not increased the numbers of King James's troops, for
he had been obliged to send, in exchange, an equal number of his
best-trained soldiers, under Lord Mountcashel, for service in France. Of
the fourteen thousand native troops, the Irish horse, which was raised
and officered by Irish gentlemen, was excellent, but the infantry was
composed for the most part of raw levies, but half armed, and the only
artillery consisted of twelve guns, which had arrived with the infantry
from France.
It was a sad parting, when Captain Davenant and Walter left home for the
front. The former was filled with gloomy forebodings. He could scarcely
hope that the ill-trained levies of James could succeed against the
vastly superior force, of disciplined troops, with whom they had now to
cope; especially as the latter were led by an able and energetic general,
while the former were hampered by the incompetence and vacillation of
James.
The day before they started, Captain Davenant rode over to the Whitefoots
and had a talk with Jabez.
"I know not how the campaign will go," he said. "If we are beaten, we
shall probably retire to the west, and maintain the war there.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172