have retired
in quiet and safety, and left it to ebb at leisure. This would have
been generally deemed a prudential step, by all those who consider the
unfavourable medium through which every particular of his conduct must
have been viewed at that juncture, even by men who cherished the most
candid intentions; when they reflected upon the power, influence, and
popularity of his accuser, the clanger of aggravating the resentment of
the sovereign, already too conspicuous, and the risk of hazarding his
life on the honour and integrity of witnesses, who might think their
fortunes depended upon the nature of the evidence they should give.
Notwithstanding those suggestions, lord George, seemingly impatient of
the imputation under which his character laboured, insisted upon the
privilege of a legal trial, which was granted accordingly, after
the judges had given it as their opinion that he might be tried by
a court-martial, though he no longer retained any commission in the
service. A court of general officers being appointed and assembled to
inquire into his conduct, the judge-advocate gave him to understand that
he was charged with having disobeyed the orders of prince Ferdinand,
relative to the battle of Minden. That the reader may have the more
distinct idea of the charge, it is necessary to remind him, that lord
George Sackville commanded the cavalry of the right wing, consisting of
Hanoverian and British horse, disposed in two lines, the British being
at the extremity of the right, extending to the village of Hartum; the
Hanoverian cavalry forming the left, that reached almost to an open
wood or grove, which divided the horse from the line of infantry,
particularly from that part of the line of infantry consisting of
two brigades of British foot, the Hanoverian guards, and Hardenberg's
regiment. This was the body of troops which sustained the brunt of the
battle with the most incredible courage and perseverance. They of their
own accord advanced to attack the left of the enemy's cavalry, through
a most dreadful fire of artillery and small arms, to which they were
exposed in front and flank; they withstood the repeated attacks of the
whole French gendarmerie, whom at length they totally routed, together
with a body of Saxon troops on their left, and to their valour the
victory was chiefly owing. The ground from which these troops advanced
was a kind of heath or plain, which opened a considerable way to the
left, where the