Klundert and Willemstad 1793
Dutch During the
Revolutionary Wars Part 10
Siege of Willenstad: March 4-7
by Geert van Uythoven, Netherlands
 |
Monday, 4 MarchAt daybreak, the Dutch observed that the French had thrown up yet another battery, along the Westdijk. This battery and the other batteries opened fire again between ten en eleven o’clock. Illustration 10.2; A French siege battery, south of the fortress Willemstad After an engraving taken from Oldenborgh’s “De Belegering en Verdediging van de Willemstad” The battery is located opposite the courtine between the ‘Utrecht’ and ‘Friesland’ Bastion. The engraving depicts four heavy guns in battery, and a mortar. On the left cannonballs are heated to be used against the city. From the city you see from left to right the government house, church tower, tower of the town hall, and the windmill. The bombardment lasted until two o’clock in the afternoon, and surprisingly they would not resume it for some time. The defenders of Willemstad used this respite well; cannon were moved to better positions, and some gun emplacements were strengthened. The night that followed was also quiet, except for a few stray shots, and gave the garrison as well as the inhabitants the chance to regain their posture and to take a rest from the previous weary days. Also on this day, a French deserter, a sergeant, went over to the Dutch. Arriving at the Landpoort, he was transported across the Hollandsch Diep to Buitensluis. Tuesday, 5 MarchAlthough on this day the French were again not very active, the garrison held watch very thoroughly. During the morning, southeast of Willemstad near the hamlet Oudemolen, a few French hussars and some wagons were observed. From the church tower, two French columns were observed leaving the siege lines; one column moved south in the direction of the hamlet Stampersgat; the other one moved to southeast to the village Fijnaart. In addition, the French were observed strengthening the fortress Carolina, situated in the far southwest corner of the Ruigenhil Polder. At around four o’clock in the afternoon, the French fired only three cannonballs at the city. During the day, Captain Croon, who had brought Governor Van Boetzelaer’s letter to The Hague, returned. With him he brought the following answer from the Stadtholder: Highborn Lord! I have not enough words to show you my satisfaction, about the behaviour that is shown by Your Highborn and your garrison continuously. I have spoken with the Council of States, to send You the provisions you need, which will be send soon to remedy the scarcity. If Your Highborn wish to report me the most needed, then I will take care that Your highborn will receive it. I have my oldest son appointed to command all the troops present in the vicinity of Nijmegen; the counties around Vianen, Buren, Leerdam, and Kuilenburg; and also those present in the part of Holland south of the rivers Meuse and Lek. I have ordered him to provide you, if possible, with a supplement of artillerymen. I agree fully with the answer Your Highborn gave to general Berneron. While I am sure that you will do the utmost to hold the fortress entrusted to you as long as possible, I have pressed seven ships, which will anchor on the Spui. They will be under the command of Vice-Admiral van Kinsbergen, commanding all the Dutch ships stationed on the Meuse and all other rivers and streams in the Province Holland. From there, as soon as possible a ship will be despatched to fetch your sick and wounded, and the remainder will serve to save Your Highborn and your brave garrison if need be, to prevent them falling in the hands of the enemy. However, I expect that this occasion will not occur, otherwise there will be no means what however left for the defence, because it is of the utmost importance that the Willemstad will be preserved. The news that I right now receive is, that the French were defeated near Aldenhoven [7] by General Clairfait with a loss of 2,000 men, dead or prisoner. In addition, that the Prussians commanded by the Lord Duke of Brunswick-Oels, would attack the French near Roermond yesterday. I flatter myself, that there will be successes on that side, which will reduce the ardour of the French there. Maybe Your Highborn will have the honour, to be the first who has resisted the French, and to have stopped their advance with the garrison. Being with much consideration,
P.S. It will only be fair, that the whole country and also myself, shall give proof of the satisfaction we have to all of them that have contributed to the defence of Willemstad, especially Your Highborn, and that will be taken care that the inhabitants will be compensated for the damage they have suffered. In spite of this letter, the Dutch government was very depressed of the situation in Willemstad. The Councillor of State Van der Spiegel wrote to the Ambassador Van Reede: “Willemstad is completely in ruins, were the brave Governor Carel van Boetzelaer maintains himself with exemplary composure and braveness, but it is unthinkable that he will hold out much longer: the armed forces of the Dutch Republic behave themselves with the greatest honour, and in each fight and sortie against the enemy they had the advantage. It is very sad that our forces are to small to come to their aid, or to besiege some other city themselves.” Wednesday, 6 MarchDuring the night the French batteries kept again quiet. But the Dutch garrison stayed alert, and the guns on the walls fired a stray shot now and then, to hamper French movements and to discourage any French actions in the vicinity of the fortress. However, the French were not idle. During the night, the French constructed yet another battery southwest of Willemstad, near the fortress Carolina, armed with two guns (L). During the morning between ten en eleven o’clock, the French resumed the bombardment of the city, mostly firing red-hot ball. On several places in the city fires were started, which luckily for the Dutch were quickly extinguished by the combined efforts of the citizens and the garrison, although their work was hampered by the French who fired a number of grenades and shells at the buildings already on fire on purpose. In addition, the guns on the bastion ‘Utrecht’ suffered heavily from French fire, by which several gun-carriages were destroyed. In de afternoon French fire ceased, only around four o’clock some shells were fired at the city, one of them mortally wounding the maid of a butcher. During this same day the assistance promised by the Stadtholder started to materialise. A detachment of artillerymen arrived, accompanied by Lieutenant of the
Engineers Cost. In addition, several ships loaded with provisions and ammunition, as well as several cannon and mortars arrived. The fortress was now armed with 82 guns, consisting of the following pieces: [8]
On the besiegers side, Berneron was despairing. During the six days the siege lasted, he had sustained severe losses, against which no gains were made. He had tried bluff, direct attacks, and to bombard the fortress in an effort to receive its surrender, but had made no impression on the Governor of Willemstad. He was not able to effect a complete blockade of the fortress, because reinforcements, provisions and ammunition were brought in across the Hollandsch Diep. But he was not ready to give up yet.
During the morning another ship with provisions arrived at the besieged fortress. At around ten o’clock, again a French officer, accompanied by a trumpeter, approached the fortress along the Westdijk at the trot. A gunner on the walls, guarding this part of the defences, fired one of the loaded guns at them as soon as he noticed their approach, angry as he was because of the previous French bombardments. Luckily the shot missed, but both horsemen returned speedily from were
they came. The Governor Van Boetzelaer, hearing of the incident, immediately send Major von Nievelt and Sous-Major Lang after the French, who returned with them to Willemstad. The French officer appeared to be Colonel Phillipe de Vaux, aide de camp of Dumouriez, who had played an important role in the surrender of Breda. 9 Entering the fortress blindfolded, De Vaux handed over to the Governor a letter from Berneron. In this letter Berneron told Van Boetzelaer that he now had more then enough means to subdue Willemstad. Further, he explained that De Vaux had full powers to agree on articles of surrender of the garrison. This would be the last chance for Van Boetzelaer to do so, and that if he would not comply, there would be no negations accepted by the French in the future. Van Boetzelaer’s answer was short: he
had nothing to add to the reply he had already given previously. With that answer, De Vaux returned.
Meanwhile, the French constructed yet another battery at the Oostdijk (T), raising the number of batteries to six. As soon as De Vaux had returned, all the batteries opened fire on the city with red-hot ball, shells and grenades. The garrison replied as good as possible, but was not surprisingly unable to silence the French guns. No less then six fires were started by the bombardment, including one in the church again. The bombardment lasted until eight in the evening, when the French guns fell silence again, a while later followed by the guns on the walls of Willemstad.
Around seven a French patrol tried to enter the fortress, trying to make use of all the confusion inside, but they were detected in time and had to pull back under
heavy fire from the guns of the garrison. Two citizens were wounded by the French fire while being busy extinguishing the fires, of which one would die from his wounds. To aid the Dutch in extinguishing fires, the fire-engine from the village Numansdorp, on the other side of the Hollandsch Diep, was requisitioned and brought over to Willemstad. In addition, over fifty harrows with chains were brought over. These were hung across the ‘Westbeer’ and the ‘Oostbeer’, to prevent the French using these stone dams to enter the fortress.
Siege of Willemstad 1793 Dutch in Revolutionary Wars Part 10
The Dutch During the Revolutionary Wars
|
