Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 21.djvu/172

George II of Newcastle and Lord Hardwicke retained their places, and Henry Pelham, brother of the Duke of Newcastle, became paymaster of the forces. The Prince of Wales was reconciled to the king. Of the new ministers Carteret was the only one who knew German, and he soon monopolised the confidence of the king, with whose ambition to play a prominent part in European politics he sympathised (, Walpole, i. 698-700;, i. 8; Gent. Mag. 1742, pp. 107-8, 163, 387). How far the policy which for the next three years was pursued was due to Carteret's, how far to the king's initiative, cannot be precisely determined [see Carteret, John (DNB00)]. Its general scope was to engage the Dutch in alliance for the defence of the Austrian Netherlands against France and Prussia, to afford Maria Theresa all possible aid short of an actual declaration of war in her favour, and to endeavour to mediate a peace between her and Frederick with the ulterior object of detaching Frederick from France, and uniting him in a defensive alliance with Great Britain. In response to a royal message, the House of Commons placed half a million at the disposal of the king to employ as he might see fit on behalf of the queen of Hungary (Parl. Hist. xii. 591). His mediatorial efforts, coinciding as they did with the brilliant successes of the Prussian arms, resulted in the treaty of Breslau, by which Maria Theresa ceded Silesia to Frederick (11 June, N.S. 1742). By a separate 'act of guarantee' George pledged himself to do his utmost to secure the faithful observance of the treaty by both parties (24 June, N.S.). It was confirmed by a definitive treaty of peace signed at Berlin on 28 July, N.S. On 18 Nov., N.S., George concluded a defensive alliance with Frederick. The king next offered his good offices as mediator between the new emperor, Charles VII, and the queen of Hungary, providing in the meantime for the defence of the Austrian Netherlands against France, and a possible diversion in favour of the queen in Flanders, in the event of the negotiations falling through. No effort was spared to induce the Dutch to co-operate. Carteret himself was sent to the Hague to extort from the States-General a decisive answer, and obtained a promise of a contingent of twenty thousand men. The king's Hanoverian forces were taken into British pay, and, strengthened by reinforcements from England, were gradually pushed into the Netherlands during the autumn and winter. A defensive alliance was concluded with Russia on 11 Dec. N.S. (, Polit. Corresp. ii. passim;, Hist. de mon Temps (1788), i, 242; , Pelham, i. §§ iv, v; , i. 640, 649, 734-9, 781). In May 1743 the Dutch contingent was actually mobilised, and cantoned about Maestricht and Namur. The British, Hanoverian, and Austrian forces had meanwhile concentrated in the neighbourhood of Mainz, where they remained for a time to secure the election of the Austrian candidate, the Graf von Ostein, as chairman of the imperial diet (22 April, N.S.) (, Pragmatische Staatsgeschichte Europens, iii. pt. ii. 113, 121). On 27 April George left England, and after staying a few weeks at Hanover joined the army about the middle of June, taking with him Carteret and Cumberland. The French meanwhile, under Marshal Noailles, had crossed the Rhine, and lay seventy thousand strong about Seligenstadt on the south bank of the Main. The allied or Pragmatic army, numbering about forty thousand men, had its base at Hanau on the north bank, but on 26 June (N.S.) was encamped at Aschaffenburg. During the night the French crossed the river at Seligenstadt, and took up a strong position at Dettingen, where the allies encountered them when retreating on Hanau in the morning. While hesitating whether to force their way through or retire on Aschaffenburg, they were imprudently attacked by Noailles, who thus forfeited the advantage of his position, was repulsed with great loss, and finally driven across the river. The king, whose horse bolted early in the action, placed himself on foot at the head of his troops, brandished his sword, and exclaimed, 'Now, boys, now for the honour of England; fire and behave bravely, and the French will soon run.' He remained in the field throughout the day, exposing his person with the utmost gallantry (Gent. Mag. 1743, pp. 217, 278, 328-30, 381). Though the king was nominally in command of the British and Hanoverian forces, the responsibility for such strategy as was exhibited on this occasion does not rest with him, but with the generals who formed his council of war, and particularly with Lord Stair. Nothing was done to improve the victory in a military sense, but its effect on England was enormous. The king suddenly became a popular hero, and Handel composed a Te Deum in honour of the occasion. The moment seemed favourable for diplomatic action, and accordingly George, with the help of Carteret, who had accompanied him to the field, attempted to arrange a treaty by which the emperor should renounce his claims on the Austrian succession, permit the Grand Duke of Tuscany to be crowned king of the Romans, and withdraw from the French alliance, in consideration of