Page:Surprising adventures and sufferings of Frederick Baron Trenck.pdf/16

16 planted on the heights, cannonaded our camp, and the cavalry, advancing to attack us, entered the defile.

We immediately drew up in order of battle, and in less than ten minutes began the attack; notwithstanding our small number of men, (there were only five regiments of cavalry with our army,) and fell with the greatest rapidity on the enemy, at that moment employed in slowly forming their squadrons in the front of the defile. We drove them back into the defile, which was crowded full of men. The King immediately ordered the eight field pieces to be unmasked, and they made terrible havoc.

Nadaste Trenck, and the light troops that were to have attacked us in the rear, stopped to pillage our camp; it is worthy of remark, that when news was brought to the King, that the Croats were pillaging the camp, he answered, 'So much the better, they will have something to do, and will not prevent us from carrying the principal point.’ We were completely victorious, but lost the baggage. The head-quarters, left without defence, were entirely pillaged; and Trenck had for his share of the plunder, the king’s tent, and all his silver plate. A few days after the battle of Soran, the post-man brought me the following letter from my cousin Trenck dated from Essex, and written four months before.

‘I find by your letter from Berlin, of date Feb. 12th, that you desire me to send you some Hungarian horses, that you may employ them against my Hussars and Pandours. I perceived with pleasure in the last campaign, that the Prussian Trenck was a good soldier. As a proof of my