garrison marched out and piled their arms, and were then marched back into the citadel, where they took food with their late antagonists, from whom they received every courtesy. Afterwards they were taken to France as prisoners of war; General Chassé wished to march with them, but with his seventy years of age, added to the fatigues and excitement of the siege, he was so broken down, that he was unable to enter a carriage without assistance.
Rarely, if ever, was a siege conducted with so much chivalry and courtesy as that of the citadel of Antwerp. The stipulation regarding the neutrality of the city and the restrictions of the line of fire of both parties are noteworthy, and so well were they carried out, that not a single non-combatant beyond the lines was harmed in person or property. An eye-witness of the siege says that when Marshal Gérard, in company with the Duke of Orleans, entered the citadel to meet his opponent, General Chassé, he found the latter standing near the casemates, amidst a heap of ruins. "Quickly he walked forward, extending his hand. 'Count,' he said, 'all these ruins speak of your prowess.' But no reply fell from the lips of the saddened old man, who was too much cast down to be able to speak."
At the time the white flag was displayed all was ready for the assault, which would have been made within a few hours. The same eye-witness who is quoted above says: "It was well that the surrender was made without a previous assault; for, according to the French officers, there would have been a terrible slaughter following it. 'Friendly though we were with the Dutch the eve before, exchanging courtesies,' said one of them, 'our soldiers would have changed in a moment, sparing nobody. We cannot help being so; it is the nature of the soldier everywhere.'"
Commenting on the siege of Antwerp, the author of "Alison's History of Europe," who was personally present
