Journal of Horace St. Paul
1757: Disengagement

August 24, 1757

Translated and Edited With Additional Materials By Neil Cogswell


The reinforcement that the King had sent General Winterfeldt on the 22nd was to replace troops that the latter had detached to go to Silesia. On their way to Silesia, those troops passed through Grieffenberg; there, they surprised a post of Austrian chasseurs, capturing or killing a score. Those chasseurs were from the detachment commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Butler that was destined to facilitate the arrival of forage and contributions coming to the Austrian army from that country. It is said that this Prussian detachment was 4,000 strong, and that it is on its way to reinforce General Kreytz who, since the last action with Colonel Jahnus, had no longer been in a fit state to show himself in the field.

During the night, our hussars captured a Prussian patrol consisting of a corporal and 6 young fellows. Lieutenant-General Hadik has also sent in to Headquarters 26 soldiers who were captured whilst making palisades that they said were destined to fortify Bautzen. The domestic servants of General Nadasdy, who had recently been captured with his equipages, came back to the general. Prince Ferdinand of Prussia sent them across having given each man 50 ecus of silver taken from their master. At the same time, he returned all the papers* belonging to the general.

*Including some compromising correspondence with the Queen of Poland.

We later learned that the King marched this day to Bautzen, and from there took the road to Dresden. He had with him 16,000 men of whom he left 4,000 at Bautzen to maintain the communication with the Prince of Bevern, to whom he left the command of the army at Bernstadt.

But we did not know this until the 28th.

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