Star. — London, England, 1809-08-29 00:00:00

Illtwmrassmomigon.." o . .._,. - . for the situation of the town, before an inhabitant, it THE SCHELDT* -.. •.. . uniformly produces this observatkou: , Whose fault is 1 . _, , ;., ..., ;, it, at the town has suffered so much ? Why-did not • yotir army come in at oncevand then you would have " Head Quarters, Ter-Goes, South Bitiland, August 2.5. cc Since the surrender of Flushing, nothing, has lA*l possession of the towel; without an hundredth, pallt of the injury, and with one-third of thik loss ?'—. occurred in these islands of sufficient interest or im- ! s Indeed it has been stated, that a proposition was portance to merit a special communication. This real or apparent interruption of active operations has made in the first instance to carry the town by as given rise to a variety of conjectures and much re- sault ; but that the proposal was declined, from a gret. .The reduction of Flushing by means of regu humane regard for the safety of the innocent inhabi • lar approaches and bombardment had already con- 1 tants, who might fall victims to an assault. This is surned much precious time ; and those who consider i only rumour, and upon such a ground it is not right th•o• celerity as the great clement of military success were naturally anxious to see the investing force transferred from before the surrendered fortress to a scene of ac tive .service. While this feeling universally pervaded the army, and the inhabitants who wished its opera tions to be crowned with success, it was a source of much disappointment to learn, that a delay of twenty - - four hours after the time stipulated for the evacuation of the fortress by the prisoners of war was to take place. This delay, though by some represented ' granted upon the request of the French Commandant, was by others, and these not the worst informed upon such subjects, attributed to an inadvertent mis take on the part of one of the English Commissioners for negociating the terms of capitulation. The con ditions of surrender had at first been prepared in the shape of a rough draft, into which all the necessary alterations and interlineations might be introduced, previously to the making a fair copy which was to be the official instrument, and signed, in form, by the Commissioners on both sides. When the whole pro cess had, after some time and discussion, been com pleted, it was not thought necessary to preserve both the interlined rough draft and the'Oecuted :docu ment ; and consequently, one was destroyed ; but it' was 'not till the Commissioners reaeheclleafeetiarters, that it was discovered that it was the unexecuted rough. draft only that was preserved. Without an authentic instrument, the terms of the capitulation could not he acted upon ; and hence arose the delay of twenty-four hours in the final execution of them, according to the representations of persons professing to be well informed upon the subject. No blame is perhaps attribittable for the mistake, if even this state ment be correct ; but, unquestionably, the loss of a single day, when so much depended upon expedition, is a ground of much regret.. Some little jealousy, too, has been stated to exist between two of the highest officers in the command of the army, respecting the appointment of Commissioners ; one considering it as his right, by virtue of his having arranged and direc ted all the operations of the siege ; whilst the other exercised the right of actual appointment, in virtue of his authority as Commander in Chief. This has been` rumoured in the military circles ; but it is due to both these offieers to state, that the most perfect harmony and cordiality seem uniforinly to have sub sisted betwixt them throughout all the operations of the campaign. . • , . • • 66 The situation of the town of Flushing, when put into the possession of the British army, and British subjects were admitted to see it, was deplorably fright ful. Scarcely a house had escaped damage, and nearly two-thirds of the whole were in a 'hate of smoking ruins ;or, though still standing, much shat tered, and tottering to the foundation. The dead bodies, had, however, been removed, and consigned precipitately to their graves. Great numbers of the inhabitants suffered, perhaps not less in the whole. than five hundred ;*and those who escaped, 'were' chiefly indebted for safety to the shelter of their cel lars, or where they had none, to the humanity of their neighbours who had. In one case, that of an English family long resident in the town, the exten sive vaults under their house were thrown open to the inhabitants, without distinction of age or sex, of country or religion ; and it is gratifying to add, that • of above three hundred persons who took refuge there, not one suffered injure, though the house had been repeatedly perforated with cannon balls; ro kets, and b imbs. Whilst the town and its unfortunate inhabi tants were thus exposed to the destructive effects of the bombardment, more terrible than any upon re cord, the merciless Commandant took possession of the vaults under the Stadthouse, where he continued feasting, and unaffected by the hay c and lamenta tions that surrounded him on all sides, until that great: pile became itself a victim to the flames, and threa tened to bury the cause of its destruction under the mass of its ruins. When driven from this hiding ' hole, he is represented by some of his own officers, as having passed from one vault to another, until he reached that under his own house, where he was, . when the inevitable destruction, to which he had never before been exposed, compelled him to uncon ditional surrender. He is justly an object of execra -: ticn in' the town, which he has successively pillaaed, , oppressed, and laid in ashes ; whilst the second in command, a brave and generous soldier, who fear lessly shared the dangers of the bombardment with his comrades and the inhabitants, is the object of their csnimon respect and esteem. " The offensive stench which proceeded from the half-sniotfiered Ramos, on the first entrance of the, British; s odded- considerably to. the ancting impres sion produced by the sight of so, much shavoc,and human misery. But the desolatirm is not confined, to the town or the present season. The desperate mea . sure of the Sluices, resorted to by the French General, has laid a considerable portion of the island under water ; and caused an extent of m:schiel, which it will be the work at least of three years to re pair. I-lad the inundation taken place some months sooner, it \mild not have been attended with the same serious consequences ; but at this season, when the power of evaporat:on is so small, and the quan tity of autumnal rains so considerable, the mischief must be greatly aggravated before the interposition of a dry summer can arrest its progress. The inun dation was widely spreading- throughout the British Vries ; and, if the Sluices had continued .open but 48 hours loneser, it s.-ould have been impossible to have prosecuted the operations c,f the siege. The bombard ment to k place at the critical moment ; and the tin paraileledgal u.try with which the battery was carried that commanded the sluices, put an end to the dan ger. and ensured the conquest of the town. 'lt is an opine n generally pi evelent here, that the town rnialit g have been carried by assau l t on the first niht. 'll e Frendi prison ers a d m i t t h e i r panicto haa v -e been so greatwian cLieen i nto t h e town, that they f oun d i t i mpossible to muster a single company, still less a r egilpent and if any compassion be expressed • ' " General Fraser was appointed Commander-in. Chief in the ;bland ; but as he.h.as'returned to Eng land ill, Sir Eyre Coote has gone back from this,, place to take the command therei With standing, however, that if the further . ohjeets•nf the . Expedition are to be prosecuted, that gallant-04E. , cer is still to go on as Second in Command with 1.1.3 q army. • . " It was not till Monday the 21st, that the head quarters of the Commander-in-Chief were removed from Middlebiirgh to this town. If it were not for the march of all the troops that could be spared from . ~ to draw injurious inferences ; and certain it is, tat island, ' , Walcheren towards thisit would have been whether. Flushing could or could not have been taken : natural to suspect that the slo w removal of the head by assault, the utmost skill and gallantry were dis- 1 quarters was an omen of an abandonment of all ulte played in. its final .reduction. 46 ' ' nor objects, so far, at least, as the army could be The loss of .the French by the bombardment employed for their attainment. But the continued must have been immense; but the time alhmed be- transmission of troops, and the actual advance of tureen the execution of the instrument of capitulation, h ea dquarters, left no room to doubt that something and the actual surrender of the fortress to the British more would be attempted, if not accomplished, on 1 troops, enabled them to remove most of the evi- thi s s ide. . • • --. Ideuces of its extent. In one small hovel near the , " Before the Commander in. Chief left Middel lbattery on the left of the town, above 3/0' of their dead repose together under a very superficial cover- - burgh, he issued the annexed Proclamation, which ing of sand. Any estimate of the number of the in- • was yesterday. posted up in this town also. This is habitants killed can yet be but conjectural, as the the only town of any consequence upon this island. The troops are consequently quartered in the several mutilated and undistinguishable remains of many un fortunate victims are every hour taken out of the small villages with which this island abounds. They ruins, and instantly deposited in a shell for promis- May be all assembled in 24 hours for active service ; cuous interment. But of all descriptions of the in- but a variety of circumstances concur in support of habitants, the burghers suffered the most. On the theimpression that nothing further will be attempt morning after the first bombardment, ninety of that "' Lord Chatham provisionally removed his head class, many of them of considerable respectability, quarters to the position occupied by Sir John Hope, opposite Bergen-op-Zoom. On- the same day, Sir ' were borne to their graves ; and the number of their : dead could scarcely have been inferior on the second Eyre Coote came over from Walcheren with his day. This extraordinary havoc amongst that par& whOle Staff and Suite, and proceeded, to the adveo- Cular class, arose from their having been compelled, ced head-garters, as was supposed, for the purp previously to the siege, by General Monnet, to form ; of an immediate commencement of active operations - el theinselves into corps of city militia, for the ostensi- but yesterday he returned to Vsralcheren. A Council ble purpose of maintaining the police of •the town, -of War has been held—a circumstance which shews but. with the real design of putting them into a state' either-that some doubt as to the propalety, or some; for service against any British force that might be difficulty as to the means of a movement in advance employed against the fortress. Accordingly, on the exists. The influence of the climate begins to be Mt by both o and r. The an first investment of the town, the corps of burghers endemic in fficers termittent, p i vote s complaint which, though seldom or is ever had the post of honour assigned to them, on the most exposed parts of the fortifications. In this perilousfatal, is still always tedious. service they were compelled to remain during the ' "On the whole, when the large detachment to whole of the two successive bombardments, and to Walcheren is considered-.-when the consequent re his circumstance is owing the great loss that ensued duction of the active army, the increased difficulty of amongst them. At one time, when they could no ' further operations, from the matured and extensive longer Withstand the tremendous fire from the British preparations of the enemy, are ta':en into review, it batteries and ships, the corps of burghers attempted 'is most probable that nothing further will be at to retreat from the ramparts, but were met by the tempted. Undoubtedly if any immediate 'advance French with fixed bayonets, and, as may well be were intended, Sir Eyre Coate, the second in corn supposed, reluctantly forced to . face that danger mead, who has hitherto conducted all the active ope they sought to avoid, in order to escape the more in- .rations of the army, would not have been sent bask evitable destruction by the hands of their oppressors. to Walcheren yesterday with the whole of that Staff The consequence was, that they suffered most Brie- and Suite which accompanied him hither from Wal vously, whilst scarce a gun was discharged against cheren bnt the day before, in the expectation of pro the British lines or fleet that was not pointed by ceeding upon immediate service. Beides, it is con- Dutch hands. Of the corps of burgher-cannoniers, fidently asser:ed here, that Sir John Hope, and other consisting of 29, two only escaped, all the rest hay. Generals, have strongly protested against any move ing been either killed, or dreadfully wounded. From , ment in advance, under the present circumstances, the active part they took in the defence of the town, 'whatever might have been their opinion of such a it was impossible that their conduct could be passed proceeding at an earlier period of the campaign. At ; over without some notice. The Commander in Chief, all events, it is notorious, that a considerable differ therefore, as soon as the British troops were in pox- ence of opinion prevailed upon the subject in the session of the town, ordered the corps of burghers j Council of War. But, if something be not done out before him, with their arms and accoutrements ; without further delay, it is not unlikely, that instead but, upon its beingproved, that they had been fortis of being the attacking, the British army may be the bly obliged to assist in the defence of the toVen, he assailed party ; as the enemy have- had .full time to directed that they should lay down their arms, and collect a large force, and the channel between Bergen. did not think it necessary to notice any further their ens. Zoom and South Beveland may he passed by ford previous hostility. ing. Of the operations of the navy nothing is known 48 Immediately uppn the fall of Flushin , arrange. here, but from rumours which it would not be right ments were made for the distribution of the forces to communicate, because it is impossible to judge employed in the lines before that town. The obvi- what dependence is to be placed . upon them. The ous and alarming accumulation of the enemy's troops measures resorted to by those in authority for ob.: on the opposite shore of Cadsand, rendered it neces strocting the usual channels of information of that sary to leave a much stronger garrison in Flushing and description, have been so Vigorous, and certainly so other fortresses of the island than would have otherwise effectual, that all access to - such intelligence has been been necessary. Bernadotte himself was said to be f completely closed : othe: wise, the arrangements made in that quarter, at the head of 13,0/0 men, with the j : for the early communication of such events as may avowed intention of attempting the re-conquest of; have taken place, were of such a nature, as to render Walcheren. The French camp became visible, and I a priority of intelligence certain .and infallible. No was observed to be gradually increasing from Flush change has taken place in the quarters of -the troops, ing." In such a state of things, and as it was in con- I since the arrival of the Commander in Chief. Lord R osslyn and Lord Paget are here : the former is ill, templation to secure the possession of Middleburgh, i but superseded in his chief command by the arrival by planting above 100 not of cannon upon its i of Lord Chatham. It is to be feared that many more officers may suffer under the in fl uence of this noxious point& ofd efence, it was not at once that all the ar- ' rangements could have been completed, as we ll f or i climate ; and it may without much hazard be assert. ecl; that there are but few of the officers of the army adjusting the strength and proportions of the diffe- I . or navy, who, though not rent garrisons, as for expediting the march of the re- actually indisposed, are malodor of the troops from the lines to reinforce the not sick enough of the climate, if notof the expedition." ' main body of the army of South Beveland. " A delay -of some days consequently succeeded ; and it was not till the 20th, or 21st, that the last of the troops had been removed from the lines. Some of the most distinguished battalions have been left on Walcheren. The f3Gth, 77th, Colonel Cochrane's ; corps of detachment's, and three companies of artille-1 ry, form the chief of the garrison of Flushing, of which fortress e;eneral Picton is Governor. The 84th, with the marines, garrison Cemvere. The 26th are at Arnemyda, and 71st and 81st form part of the garrison of Ivliddleburgli, of which General .! Sontag is Governor. The whole British force con- ' tamed in the island, including artillery, cavalry, and other corps, the 23d and fi3d, not already specified, is estimated at 9 or 10,000 Men ; so -that if, in the absence of the main body of the army, the French should make any attempt on the island, they will not fail to meet a warm reception and a brave resist ance. " Bernadotte is represented as collet- ing some hundreds of gunboats from Boulogne, &c. through the canals of the interior, with a view to some og;ensive operation. Whatever may be the extent of the ene my's preparations or views, his appearance in, force upon the coast ef Cadsand has operated already as a diversion in favour of Antwerp, and against the ac complishment of the ulterior objects of our expedi tion; and so strong is the impress4bn that this demon stration of the enemy is serious, that the inhabitants of Flushing are terrified at the prospect of another bom bardment, and the British Governor finds it necessary to adopt nearly all the precautions that could be called for by the presence of an enemy before his fortress. The centinels are doubled every night ; none of the inleabitents are allowed upon the ramparts ; no ves sel, even British, is permitted to enter or leave the harbour without a passport ; -and the strictest regula ticms are enforced with respect to the entrance or de e par tare 4 allaterhins not carineeteil with * army o f the navy, at the gates of the town, " FLUSHING, AUGUST 21. gg The rnmours afloat here are so various and con tradictory as to • induce a person to doubt the most probable statement, though proceeding from the best authority. Whether the main object of the Expedi. tip, viz. the seizure of the enemy's fleet, will be at tempted or not, depends, as we here understand, upon the'expected decision of the Cabinet. The transports and ships of war have, however, .proceeded up the West,Scheldt, in order to be ready to disembark the troops quickly, if such operations are decided upon. •In this garrison, from which I now write, alarm has alrezdy given rise to some precautions. Last night the .piquets and sentries were doubled, and orders were given to the sentinels to direct a vigilant atten tion to the ships of war off in the roadsted, and that if blue rockets were discharged from any of them, a communication was to be immediately made to the Commanding Officer, General Pictoa. The motive fer issuing those orders was the apprehension of an attack from Ike enemy, who, to the numberof 13,000 men, arc positively said to be in Cadsand, under the command of Bernadotte, for the avowed object of recovering this island. Within these few days three hundred gun boats have reached that place from Boulogne, through the canals, and I assure you, it is the decided conviction of some of the most intelligent inhabitants that the attempt, even with all the probability of failure, will certainly be made, and that General Monet (they say) gave them the assurance, and Bernadotte's mi litary fame is committed by his Master upon the issue. At all events, the brigade -stationed here, consisting of the 36th, the 63d, and 77th regiments, with the Hon. Colonel Cochrane's battalion of embodied de. tachments, are kept upon the alert, which, together with the positions taken by our ships of war, afford to us the most confident hopes that the enemy may repent his temerity, notwithstanding the opportunity , illl which the damaged condition of the batteries of thi‘ forlreis may, it-2t.this moment, pr e sent to them. p of the-morning, we hav e sc , ,!thi beat:d a strong cannonade in the di rect i on of For: llo—it is supposed to proceed from t h e enemy', batteries up the river upon our gun-b oats , w h ich are 'stationed off its banks. The principal p.m f John Hive's army still continues inm ost corn f oraml grarteri in South Beveland, and really if m ulterior is intended by this army Lobo executed, rode cision and delay must cease. The duty of this garrison is very severe, evcr r y regiment being obliged to furnish, independent of rhe necessary guards, parties of 150 and 200 men to L mantle the works, which were constructed fur its bombardment. There is prevalent here a rumodr, that the works of Middleburgh are to be immediate;,, put in a state of defence, and that 100 addition a l rI T L are to be placed on the ramparts of Flushing. b uc h an intention indicates th e determination a makia ; Walcheren a depot, from which British manufacturir may always find their way to the Continent,. Indec2. I, this day, in inspecting the stores in the arsenal, witnessed a strong illustration of what the persevering, spirit of trade will effect, and of the difficulties ryliich. in its operation it will certainly surmount. There arc now lying on the quay of Flushinii, 100 piecc.s r[ ordnance of Carron manufacture, wni the prope r marks of that foundery upon them, so l.ttely factured as the year 1508. Here is an evident pro o f that the ingenuity of gain laughs at the intricacy of British Orders of Council, and at all the elfi,ris of French interdicts. Within this hour this garrison receive,l the agree able intelligencg, that French property to a consid er , able. amount has been discovered at By ;the activity cf the Commissioners, specie to large amount has beCn t'ound, and nearly 2.)0 to: 5,,; salt-petre. The stores here are very rich, the arsenal being now filled with the most material naval store. I cannot conclude this letter without stating, that the enemy bore ample testimony to the unparalleled lity with which our artillery was conductedduring the bombardtnent." . •••=i, " FLUSHING, AUGUST 4 4. "I cannot at present accurately inf inn you in re. spect to the plan of our future operations. The trans. ports - are all gone up the river ; the last of them sailed this day. Admirals Sir R. Strachan and Lot d Gard. Tier arc at Bathz, and our last acccants assure us th.r. every thing is likely to go on well. Admiral Otway has hoisted his flag here, and his ship is to remain as a guard ship during the ss inter." A letter from a British ()Meer at Flushing, girt: the following as the prices of some of the articles oi subsistence i—Fowls, 6d. each ; butter, 4.d. per lb.; cheese, 2d. per lb.; tiolhinds gin, 2s. 6d. per gatior.; a pig, weighing '4501b. 11. Is. English ; a fat sheej about Bs. FROM THE MIDDLEDURGH COTYRANT. MIDDLEFIURCTT, AUGUST 23.—0 n the 21st inst. ti.e. following Proclamations were published : PROCL.MATION. Ria Excellency Lord Chatham, commandhlg the temps of his Britannic l'vlajesty, being informed that mat:y deserters rod persons belonging ohs French troops, and some of them uruoJ, are on tke:island, on:16-s, that the beforementioned armed or armed (Inserters or otte r persons, be arrested, and delivered over to the nearest English detachment, and that no one presume to harbour Such deserters on pain of being sentenced, on coiwic:lan, to pay a penalty of 100 Ulna, (one half of which shall be give to the informer, whose name shall be kept secret), and be other• wise severely punished according to the military lasv. Military deserters, and °thee persons belonging to the French army, v; surrendering within three days, shall be punished as spies." PROCLAMATION. " His Excellency Lord Chatham, &c. &c. being informed eat many persons pass from one island to another, without beieufur• n:shed with the neslossary passports, orders, that no one presume to repair front the island of which he is an inhabitan-, to anether isiami, without having obtained a passport from the Altrstrate, which must be signal by the General, or Commanding OfTi.e. - ,oa pain of being arrested. " All ferryman and mariners are commanee! to take no ore over, unfurnished pith a pass. The transgressor of this com•ra!id shall not only suffer Ise loss of the boat or vessel, but staNac txding togirsumsances, be punished according to military law• PAWISII STATE PAPER. ORDINANCE. Copenhagen, August 5,1• C!. Frederick VI. King, ke. Sec. make known that circumstance have determined us to order and command the following, regarding privateering : I. No armed private ship or vessel, furnishel with a licence of commission to capture vessels, according to our order of Sep bar 10, 1807, shoill be permitted to sail from any of our hirlii.er, , front this date, until we shall make regalitions to the contrarv• Ail our Authorities, Bailiff:, &c. are commanded to waA over the execution of this decree. Should any Commander n'as , •armed vessel wish to sail from a port of less security, to a MCC secure one, he shall be permitted eo to do, by our Bailiffs, &c.; but on cooCition that the Commander oblige, hire self immediately, and without cruising, to make direct for L uc port he has requested to be permitted to go to. '1 he Owners of Privateers are ordered to rt cal ti,eir pri vateers as soon as possible ; and, if they should rot be I:id up within four weeks from the publication of this, they are or,. to account to the Authorities how far, and in what inserter, tltf live endeavoured to recal them, who (the Authorities) are eon god to look to the fulfilment of this Decree. IV. Such Commanders of Privateers as intend to go on s cruize frc.n: the western part dr onr Dukedom (Holstein), ahs Tonningen, Husu:a, and Frederickstadt, to cruize to and :o.:rd Heligoland, shall be permitted so to do, provided they Nita irto an obligation not to cruise beyond the waters round nor beyond the height of Tonningtn. If privateers of our ether dominions are desirous to go thro.tzli the Schleswty, Hofs:eis Canal, or along the West Coast, and ;titian', to the harhol:r. of Ikistein a nd Schleswig, With a view to cruise en,ler H e lgoland, they are permitted so to do, provided they go direct, as ordered in sec. 2. V. The delivery of Licences and Commitit;ons fir pt:e;itert is postponed until our further Royal commands AU whip are concerned are commzoided to Act accurdinils% Given under our hand and seal, in our residence, Coprihagesio. August Z, 1809. ft:tomer 11. Morting. 'GOERS, JAA'SnY i ROTEL. 1'