The life and letters of James Wolfe . break of day every regiment to march intotheir new ground; and as soon as the army are arrived in theirnew camp, they are to remain under arms in front of the newground in the same manner as they did the night preceding tillfurther orders, keeping a profound silence, no fires being sufferedin the camp. Stair supposed the French would attack from the Aschaffenburgside. All his injunctions of secrecy were useless, for Noailles knew,quite as soon as Stairs own generals, that the British intendedmarching on the night of June 26. And knowing this, he orderedhis
The life and letters of James Wolfe . break of day every regiment to march intotheir new ground; and as soon as the army are arrived in theirnew camp, they are to remain under arms in front of the newground in the same manner as they did the night preceding tillfurther orders, keeping a profound silence, no fires being sufferedin the camp. Stair supposed the French would attack from the Aschaffenburgside. All his injunctions of secrecy were useless, for Noailles knew,quite as soon as Stairs own generals, that the British intendedmarching on the night of June 26. And knowing this, he orderedhis nephew, the Due de Grammont, to cross the Main at Seilenstadtwith 30,000 troops and entrench himself at Dettingen, thus blockingthe British retreat. Moreover, the moment the British abandoned ^ A nephew of General Blakeney. THE FRENCH OPEN FIRE 33 Aschaffenburg, Noailles poured 12,000 men into it, Stair havingcourteously refrained from blowing up the bridge in his rear. Atfour oclock in the morning of June 27, Duroures and the other. J, « e ^H n O regiments began their march to Dettingen. At seven a Frenchbattery posted at a small chapel near Stockstadt opened fire onthe British cavalry, putting the baggage-train into a panic, the D 34 LIFE AND LETTERS OF WOLFE drivers escaping from their wagons into the woods. A generalloot ensued. At the beginning of the bombardment King Georgewas at the rear. As it grew hotter he rode up to the head in fullview of his troops, who cheered him enthusiastically. The Frenchwere now visible, drawn up in battle array between Dettingenand Welsheim, all in white uniforms and bearing white was a fine day; a few fleecv clouds flitted across the was the scene, illumined by the June sun, the red coatsof the British, the black cuirasses and helmets of the Germancavalry, the blue jackets and red breeches of the Uhlans, and thegreen and red of the Hungarian hussars. James Wolfe was aboutto suffer his baptism of fire. By a sin
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