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SIR RALPH ABERCROMBY.
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artillery, a naval magazine, thirteen ships of war, and three Indiamen, which fell into the hands of the British without opposition. Admiral Mitchell, having shipped pilots at the Helder, immediately stood down into the Texel, and offered battle to the Dutch fleet lying there; the whole of which, consisting of twelve sail of the line, surrendered to the British admiral, the sailors refusing to fight, and compelling their officers to give up the ships for the service of the Prince of Orange. Taking the surrender of the fleet as the criterion of Dutch feeling, the most extravagant hopes of the success of the expedition were entertained by the people of England. The sentiments of the people of Holland, generally, were not as yet in unison with those of her sailors, and every precaution was taken for defence. The British army, in the meantime, left the sand-hills, and took up a new position, their right extending to Petten, on the German Ocean, and their left to Oude Sluys on the Zuyder Zee. A fertile country was thus laid open to the invaders; while the canal of Zuyper, immediately in front, contributed to strengthen their position, enabling them to remain on the defensive, until the arrival of additional forces. At day-break of 11th September, the combined Dutch and French army attacked the centre and right of the British lines, from St. Martins to Petten, with a force of 10,000 men, which advanced in three columns; the right, composed of Dutch troops, commanded by General Daendels, against St. Martins; the centre, under De Monceau, upon Zuyper Sluys; and the left, composed entirely of French troops, under General Brune, upon Petten. The attack, particularly on the left and centre, was made with the most daring intrepidity, but was repulsed by the British, and the enemy lost upwards of a thousand men. On this occasion, General Sir John Moore was opposed to General Brune, and distinguished himself by the most masterly manoeuvres; and, had the British been sufficiently numerous to follow up their advantage, the United Provinces might have shaken off the French yoke even at this early period. The want of numbers was felt too late; but, to remedy the evil, the Russian troops, engaged for the expedition, were hastily embarked at the ports of Cronstadt and Revel, to the number of seventeen thousand, under the command of General D'Hermann, and were speedily upon the scene of action. The Duke of York now arrived as commander-in-chief; and his army, with the Russians and some battalions of Dutch troops, formed of deserters from the Batavian army, and volunteers from the Dutch ships, amounted to upwards of thirty-six thousand men, a force considerably superior to that under Generals Daendels and Brune. In consequence of this, the Duke of York, in concert with D'Hermann, made an immediate attack upon the enemy's position, which was on the heights of Camperdown, and along the high sand-hills, extending from the sea, in front of Petten, to the town of Bergen-op-zoom. Any deficiency of numbers on the part of the enemy was far more than counterbalanced by the advantages of their position; improved, as it was, by strong entrenchments at the intermediate villages, and by the nature of the ground, intersected by wet ditches and canals, whose bridges had been removed, and the roads rendered impassable, either by being broken up, or by means of felled trees stuck in the earth, and placed horizontally, so as to present an almost impenetrable barrier. The attack, however, notwithstanding all disadvantages, was made with the most determined resolution, early on the morning of the 19th of September, and was successful at all points. By eight o'clock in the morning, the Russians, under D'Hermann, had made themselves masters of Bergen-op-zoom; but they no