Star. — London, England, 1810-11-14 00:00:00

PORTUGik. —ere. forced them. to retire. obedience apd 104141 be I . : with A squadron of the 16th s perceiving that he had • a ' ' another proclamation, infix / infantry,. I sent two mot to pin their valuables in a* and one of Hussars,. &re cting , ei ive.appointed the ship the selves of the first favouleible - the frigate Acres; for receiving the enemy hifore the -id other valuables ; and that This was executed in a v same in any of the English picquets of the 14th and the port.] took GO prisoners. COPY OP A LETTER FROM COLONEL TRANT TO 013 EY.. " The enemy had a number of killed and wounded CELLENCY THE MAItsIIAL CONIMANDER IN Clllllll. in this attack, and retired to his park of sjx pieces of " Coimbra, October 7, 1810. artillery, where he had a • reserve of cavalry. The I feel great' pleasure in informing your Excellency i squaLirons mentioned above then retreated in the best that I have this d i e , happily entered Coimbra, with 'order, always charging the van of the enemy's column the loss of only very few men killed or wounded. In my letter of the 6th inst, I had the honour to inform with great success during their retreat to the river, which was about two miles.. you, that I intended to march to Mialhada in the course cif that day, for the purism, of joining the corps that 44 After passing the river, I was supported, tit. Captain Bull, with two pieces of artillery ; but I were there under the command of lingadier-General have since withdrawn the troops in good order to Lei.l Miller and of Colonel Wilson, and. of combining an ria, to which position I have sent the cavalry, accor- ; attack against this city ; but when I arrived there, I ding to the. instructions received from the Quarter- was informed that these co r p s had b een d e l a y e d by Master-General. lwant of supplies in the country adjoining Busaco, " I . cannot sufficiently praise the brave and admi. . which was entirely exhausted ; and, also, that their rable conduct displayed by the officers and men on cavalry could not advance rapidly on account of the this occasion ; and I can happily say that, in spite rf fatigue they experienced in their first marches. 'the fire of the enemy's artillery, which our troops had ' " The only alternative that remained, in order to to sustain, our loss has been very , trifling, while that prevent the enemy from taking any me a ns of d e l cnce of the enemy was considerable in gibed and wounded. • in Coimbra, I being only three short leagues distant We could not bring off many prisoners (though we from that city, was to put myself in march for Coim. made a number in our different attacks) on account bra with my own-division aline, it being very pm of our retreat, but the greater pert of them were bable that the enemy were ignorant of my arrival at i wounded and dismounted. , Mialhade. I therefore began my march at nom, the g 4 I cannot omit ream:mending to your Lnrdship advanced guard being composed of a squadron of ca- Lieutensun.Colonel Eley, whose services contributed valry under the command of that brave officer Lieut. I much to the goad order with which our troops retired Doutel, whom I had before occasion to mention to your Excellency. This squadron was supported by —and I also beg leave to say, that I received great assistance from Captain the Marquis of Tweedale, 200 light troops. The regiment of Coimbra had the and the other Officers of my Staff. post of honour in front of the column of i n f antr y. My ' 44 I have the honour to be, Ste. ; plan of attack was to enter Coimbra by two points at (Signed) 46 STAPLETON COTTON." : the same time ; one division by the road of Oporto, " P.S.—I have sent you three officers and twenty and the other separating itself from the column at 'dragoons, with their horses, prisoners." Fornos , was to gain the heights which b e gi n a t th e (SECOND LETTER.) 'town, and to enter by the gate Sta Ann a , m arc hi ng ' forward to Loreto ; but this plan ern only to take ." Quinta da Torre, October u,lBlO. pl.e ein case the enemy met them at the gates. "My Lord—l balk the honour to infirm you of "At a small distance from Fornos, upon the road the good conduct of Captain Murray, of the 16th 'of Mialhada, I fell in with a detachment of the enemy Dragoons, whom I yesterday left close to the Rio- to the left of that town, and, beginning to fire, 1 Major with the command of a squadron, when I re- pushed forward the cavalry to Fornos, and limn tired to Alcoentre. nately cut off their communication with Coimbra. 46 The enemy's cavalry having.aevanced suddenly This - detachment surrendered after losing several upon Captain Murray in the direction of Alcoentre, men ; and not meeting with any other troops of the I ordered that officer to attack the three sqtsadrens enemy, I ordered the cavalry to advance at a gallop which the enemy had in that town. Captain Murray, by the principal roads, and that, crossint the bridge with only a part of his troop, executed my orders with of the Mondego, they should take post on the road to great spirit and courage, killing and wounding many Lisbon, for the purpose of cutting off all communi of the enemy, and making a number of prisoners, cation with the army ; which was executed with great with several horses ; the rest took to flight. spirit and bravery by Lieutenant Doutel with the • gg I have the pleasure to add, that we lost only one loss of only one dragoon killed. I ordered that the man, who was taken by the enemy. divisions of infantry saould m arch towards the With (THIRD fig STAPLETON COTTON." I c i pa l p l aces i n t h e c i ty ; i n d i ng wh i ch they met with (THIRD LETTER.) I a resistance that Listed one hour. Our only loss was Carregado, October 9. ' two killed and 25 wounded ; a m ong the latter was gg My Lord—The cavalry of the enemy Na v i n Colonel Serpa, of the regiment of Penafiel. This advanced this morning to Quinta d a To rr e, I drew g officer commanded the first brigad e , t he con d uct o f back the regiments to this poi n t, a ccor di ng to t h e i n - which deserves your Excellen c y's re ., • el at i on . A greater force of the enemy, w' ice %, •ts stationed at structions I had received, and ordered som e detach- eater Clara, in the quefrter of the eiondego, kept up meats of Hussars and of the 16th Light D r ag o ons to an irregular fire for some time upon our cav a l r y when observe the enemy. The enemy' s inf antr y rema i ne d .near Quinta da To rigada. Torre, and his heavy cavalry defiled ' they passed the bridge; but the French offi c er who in the direction of • commanded it, when he observed th a t Lie utenant A • , Dowel crossed the bridge, proposed a capitulation ; I e The enemy had left a picquet in front of Bosque, was present at this parley, in which no other proposi supported by a strong troop ; I ordered Captain : ;ion was admitted than that the enemy should surren- Cocks, of the 16th Dragoons, with several soldiers of dr at discretion, with the promise of bei ng p r ote cte d that regiment, and some Hussars, to attack the 4 a gainst the insults of the peasantry. The troops laid picquet, supporting him by a troop of Hussars, com- clown their arms and retired. mended by Captain Alley. These officers attacked if I have reason to believe that the number of pri the enemy with great bravery and success, and we soners exceeds 5000, of whom 4000 arc on their march sustained no loss. The whole squadron and .icquet for Oporto, including one whole company of the Em. of the enemy would have been taken, if they e• . not perar's marine guards. Three thousand five hundred been relieved by the infantry. muskets fell into our possession, nearly the whole of gg One officer, 19 soldiers, and 16 horses were i which were charged ; from whence you may judge of taken, and the greater part of the enemy's troop re- the number of effective men. maimed dead or wounded. g 4 I have distributed these arms among the Orde. 44 I had ordered cne squadron of Royal Dra. nanza of the country. We found no artillery, but we goons to be ready to support the above attack ; but have taken a quantity of cattle and sheep, which the in consequence of a mistake, oecasioned by the bus- enemy had collected for the subsistence of their troops. sars retiring with the prisoners, they advanced and There are about 80 officers among the prltoners, as received a volley from the enemy's infantry, by well as I can judge. M. Flandin, the Commissary in which two men and four horses were killed, and seve. Chief, who acted as Governor, remains sick at Coim ral wounded.— I have the honour to be, &c. bra. . From the nature of the attack, your Excel (Signed) " sTAPLETON COTTON." lency will easily perceive the difficulty that there LISBON* " OCTOBER 24. quarters at Canal Cochin, Oct. 21. was in preventing the soldiers and arm e d p easants , from plundering the p r i soners ; an d I am sorry to Head- say that the latter committed some acts of violence, CLNEIRALCILDIERS. • but I believe only six or eight French have been the " His Excellency Marshal Beresford is very math ! victims of their resentment. I have to observe, that !'displeased, cu account of the great number of offs: ! nothing can exceed the state o f mi ser y t h at preva il s i n ,tors who are absent from their corps ; and declares, this city. The enemy, not content with having plunder lehat every est press permission communicated by the Comman- officer who remains absent, without his e d every part of it, and robbing every one t h e y met , set F fire to some house s , an d h ave h eape d up i n t h e streets, daat of his corps, shall be considered as a deserter t in the greatest disorder, all the provisions that the army rind that, in every instance w could not carry along w i t h i t ; so that it could here ill health is assign- . ed as the reason of absence, unless it be attested oil scarcely be expected that about 8(X) soldiers, na tives of this city and its vicinity, surrounded by their tise examination of a military surgeon, such officer shall be equally treated as a deserter. (Signed) I etrretrified relatives and acquaintances, could be pa " Moves/to, Adjut. Gen." . - tient witnesses of a scene of devastation in which their PROCLAMATION OF THE GOVERNORS OF THE I property was destroyed in so iniquitous and scanda- Kikiopoiat OF PORTUGAL AND OF THE ALGARVES. : lous a manner. However, I beg your Excellency -1 " PJace of Government, October 13. j will believe that I did every thing in my power to . PORTUGUESE.--The advance of the enemy's army, protect the French that fell i n t o our h an d s; and after, which, already weakened by want and by its past loses, the two fi rst movement s of v i o l ence , I succee d e d i n yields reluctant obedience to the despotic orders of securing them against i nsu l t . " As the corps of Brigadier-general Mill er an d its Tyrant, announces to us the near approach of a C battle. The numbers, the tried valour of the com olonel Wilson will a rr i ve h ere i n t h e morn i ng , I bined army, their formidable position, and the impa. propose to leave one of my brigades, and to proceed , ' tience with which the troops call for the combat, all with the rest of the divi s i on , w i t h t h e pr i soners , to promise us a glorious and happy issue. The Gou of ar- Oporto ; for the animosity o f t h e i n h a bi tants i s so Mies will bleesour arms and give us a complete victory. much excited by the rece nt p assage o f t h e F renc h —The c r oyernors of ;he kingdom, the Marshal, the army, that I conside r my presence a b so l ute l y neces- Army, and the whole Nation expect it, and have every sary, and parti c ul ar ly i n t h e di str i cts b etween t h e reason to do so. But it is necessary, that on this Mondego and the Vo uga . (Signed) occasion yoo guard yourselves against false rumours, i ' ' " NICHOLAS TRANI'. which may be disseminated by timidity or ill imen. "To his Excellency Marshal Beresford." tion. Be not alarmed at the passageof troops, at the OFFICIAL BULLETIN OF OCTOBER 27, 1810. arrival of wounded, of theiceessant rolling of carria- . " The army of the enemy, which is supposed not Ifei gee, and other movements, which are the necesiery exceed the number o f 50,000 men , cont i nues i n front of the fortified line whi c h covers Li s b on , d a il y tonsertuences of the operations of war. Do not ghee credit to any accounts that are not announced by the sending out reconnoit r i ng p a r t i es . Government, of whew frankness you have had ao • " The combined armies occupy the whole fortified manVoofs. - e . line from Alhandra to Mafra and Enceire, the forti . 46 intake ineitSVViS for punishing the ill.dispnsed, fications of which are r espe c t a bl e . Th e E eg li s h en d MM . r - iro lt the audacity to scatter false reports, w i t h; Porfegaese armies remain in the best possible state, the ty required by circumstances. Porturesel ilirvintriletaye OA. 4 y.ll i4lpe various eacoanters L':.,:. 4 i • - ta)........ --e ,•••• . ,14, 't I , * which they hare had wilts. the tural. Lev a number of the French arc made pri soners, pri soners, (I ; 41 over to the allied army ; they all agr ee i n sji ,Z,! l ! that their army is suffe ring many pnvations —62 is discontented and confounded a the recapi uft i Coimbra by the troops of C. , lonel Treat, 4. The allied armies have beet' reinforced by st t ral corps from the garrison if this capital, an j 6 the English troops that have landed withi n d ust t ; days. _ _ _ is The Marquis de lx Romans has also arri v o with two divisions of his army, amounting to 14A ;nen—one corps of Spanish cavalry is also etpe cte t 64 Every precaution has also been taken to pr im the enemy from passing to the south of the Tsvf, for the purpo;e of procuring subsistence, &c, capital, notwithstanding the List number of fat' lia which have taken refuge here front the imadet! winces, and who have. met with every assistance, tinues quite tranquil, expecting every day v.. accounts of the enemy beiug routed." CEIRACT OP A LETiE3.3 44 The position which we occupy is very she but does not convey tit idea of its being such, for fortifications are not regular, but the points are. chosen. The General, in the mean time, is ra l afraid that he will not be attacked. Dm desertion has been beyond every thing, we have wen 30 cavalry ccming in at a time, their horses. 0 The gguun•boats are Sting every day upon 1 Franca, which incommodes the enemy's troops ceedingy, and prevents due= from fq.:sniag an esti blishment there. The enemy return the f:re of gun-boats, but without eff.:ct, Accordin, to then. cottnts of prisoners, one of their GeaerAls of cavalrr was killed .0 this post. The deserters uniformlysay, that the enemy's army is ill great want of bread, and that they had not eaten any tor more than In days; but they are in no went of wine, with which they are supr,lied from the vintage of this year." PRIVATE LETTER.—LISBO N. OCTOBE 27. a The British army is most advantageously posted. On the 11th our lines were recommitered by the French, and on the 14th they were viewed by AlAssen:t ill per son. From that time until this day, nothing of impor. tance in the way of fighting has occurred. ge An unfortunate occurrence took place on Wed. nesday last. The General Officer who on that day commanded.the British outposts with his aid-de -clasps and twelve dragoons, were making a reconnoisance e when they were . all surprized by a party of French, and made prisoners. • 46 The enemy has extended his lines towards Bur. quiha Santos and Golgaa, the British army is col lected. This day an exchange of prisoners is to take place between the two armies." ANOTHER LETTER, SaI.ME DATE,' " Reinforcements are continually arriving from Ca. diz, Gibraltar, the Mediterranean or Halifax, and to with the Portuguese army, and 10,000 Spa. niards, under Romania and O'Donnel, which have just arrived, compose a body of not less than 100,000 men, whilst the enemy, from the beat accounts, can scarcely bring from 50 to 55,000 into the field, sad . are every day .dinsinishing by desertion and sickness, prisoners taken by our cavalry, &c. " Ourloosltion is from 'Villa Franea to Torres V► dias, by Sobral and Ruena.and the French on the h 3 in front, tjaeir right at Villa Verde and Cadraval i and their left almost touching our right at Villa Franca." ANOTHER LETTERSAME DATE. " The line of Lord Wellington extends about eight miles, and is defended by 600 pieces of artillery. Ro mana and O'Donnel with their forces have joined him. No provisions will be wanted until the end of next month. " Massena is starving. I have mvself spoken Is several prisoners and deserters, and they imist that for 17 days they have had no provisions, but the an of India corn, and some bad salt beef taken •t Almeida. 44 It is reported that some commitnication h.es been going on by fl.►gs of truce between Led Wellington and gassena, but the subject has not transpired. Our cavalry t a.ve gone into quarters in the rear of sly army, as ill this mountainous position they are nos wanted." LISBON, UC fOBER Massena has attempted to cross the Tagus, but was prevented. There are 40,u00 peasants and mi litia on the South bide of the River, with ss) piece's of cannon, besides gun-boats, to obstruct him there.—, The cavalry' was (irdered lip on the 2d. ‘. The Volunteers of Lisbon have j .fined the army at their own desire, expressed in a memorial- In the !skull* are 25.0QQ men, and Abrintes is fortifying under the directitms of General Silvicr.'." " LISBON, OCTOBER =9. " Reports are abroad that Massena is preparingto retreat. He has removed some part of his baggage. and we know that his outposts have been drawn in clops. to his main body by a league. About '2500 prisoners jtave art ived in the Tagus, taken by Got . r - al Trait at Coimbra. " About 700 men marched to the army a few days ago, chiefly engineers and artilley. who will be of the greatest use. Massena is in a miserable cco dit' on every way, having neither provisions nor clo thing. It is said that his army has eaten horse flesh for the last week.. On the 25th we afee informed, 7, 4 deserters came in. " P. S. We have just received fresh advices froP the army, but there is no change." !ROM A .BRITISH OFFICER. " Torres Vedras, October 24. " The great battle which we long since expected would have taken place, seems almost as distant IS ever. The French army are within sight of us, and continual skirmishes take places but the strength of our frontier, and the advantages which we possess, evidently overawe MASSENA, who seems afraid to at• tack us; and, on the other hand, I do not think LorS Wellington has any desire to quit the sttong Positio" we hold, in order to risk the fate of the CAIIINig° a single. battle. In point.vf numbers, both armiesar; nearly equal, and I Assure you we teed quite coufidest of success, let the contest take place whenever It ml• We are not, however, quite so confirm* situated the English newspapers 'represent; nelsiter is the 614:nation of the enemy so wretched as dear haw _ n aineerikahri it so v - . • . V. 0 1 E ., ei Lul tO I Al P°S - Ma tern re bit Well • 1. t Coill 1 Tri7 I Mu l ier C ken r ably tint tr Son . fan I is :3 t the I poll Ga f I.i ,kis , ani 1 tie 1 1n Eriti T roll tilt tt.c. .41 da ent : v I ti lieconneiteted the enemy ositetnes‘, confidence., °be 16th Light Drarnns i nyid Inipliti",. a fnrce both of ca laryjpsd M i s is followed by a re squadrogs.'of light"ertiqrt, *log those who wigfett -ecting . them to argil 110 - Owe of -safety, that they 1 able opportunity for attacking Vasto de Germs, and the f a of his infAntry arrived.. 7— money, plate, jewels, and very brilliant manner by the they may also deposit the i 16th Light Dragoons, who ships of war stationed in t • onlicuu. DOCUMENTS RELATING TO POILTUGAL. : COPY OP A LETTER FROM MARSHAL-GENERAL LORD vrELLIWITON, To MS ZICYLLENCY AlOg MIGUEL re tuts* rogue. . -. Head-qoarten. Peronegro, October 20. " Most Excellent Sir--Since the letter which I ad dressed to your Excellency on the 13th instant, the enemy has been employed principally in reconnoitring the positions occupied by our troops, and in fortify it,,s his own. To accomplish the first object be has skirmished with the troops which form our edianced posts, and who have always behaved well. . "On the 14th the enemy attacked with' infantry, supported by artillery, a small detachment of the 71st regiment, which formed the advanced guard of Sir trent Spencer's division, near Sobral de MonteAg aco, and that for the purpose of covering a reconnoissance made by one of his parties. Our detachment, having at its head the Honourable Colonel Cadogan, and Lieuteoant-Colonel Reyneil, charged the enemy with the most distinguished gallantry, and con.pelled him to retire on the above-mentioned place. " The whole of the Bth corps - of the French army, and part of the 6th, arrived that evening on .the plain sear Sobral, and in consequence Sir B. Spencer's di vision was under the necessity of falling back from the advanced situation which it occupied. The gna-boats on the Tagus, commanded by -Lieutenant Berkeley, and those with which Admiral lierkelcy hupports the right of the army near Alban dra, were engaged at the same time, ard fired_on the parties of the enemy employed in reconnoitring on that gde, and were very useful. , " I have also the satisfaction of informing your Ex tellency, that the account which I transmitted in my former letter of the ISth, relative to the march of two detachments of the troops under the command of Ge •eral Dacellar, is since confirmed. " Colonel Trant arrived near Coimbra on the 7th instant, and immediately attacked the advanced posts which the enemy had without the city, which he cut a and prevented them from entering the city, against which he marched rapidly. The resistance the enemy made did not last long. He took eighty officers pri soners, and 5,000 men, for the most part_ sick and wounded. gs I have the honour to enclose to your Excellency a copy of Colonel Trant's letter to Marshal BeresfOrd, and also a copy off' the Marshal's letter to me on occa sion of this success. On the following day Brigadier-General Miller and Colonel Wilson arrived at Coimbra, with the de tachments under their command. • They have since taken nearly 350 prisoners, soldiers who had straggled from their regiments during the mirth, for the pur pose of getting provision& " Colonel Wilson has since advanced with a party of infantry and cavalry to Condeixa, and at the same time Brigadier-General Miller oecupiet Coimbra. " I send your Excellency enclosed it copy of a letter from . Marshal BereSfqrtl, relative to these events: " A detachMent of the garrison of Peniche t ordered slut by Brigadier-General Blunt, has been equally suc cessful, having taken 48 prisoners belonging to the enemy's rear-guard, and killing nine more than the number of the prisoners. Lieutenant-Colonel Waters, who has also attacked the rear-guard of the enemy, has made a number of prisoners. " The difficulties that the enemy experiences.in pro curing provisions, owing to his having invaded the country without establishing magazines, and without adopting means for securing his rear, or his commu nications with Spain, have imposed upon him the ne cessity of allowing his soldiers to straggle to procure provisions ; in consequence of which not a day passes without a number of prisoners and deserters being brought in. 44 Every thing remains tranquil in the north of Por %gal, according to the last acc nu= I received. My last accounts from Cadiz are of the 4th in- I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) 64 WELLINGTON." • WI DIP A LETT2R FROM 131XERAL BERESPORD TO GERERAL LORD 'WELLINGTozi. • "'Hea4virtore, Fort of Sobral. Oct. 17. aMy Lord;-1 . have the honour to inform your Lordship, that by letters from Brigadier General Miller, dated Coimbra, .I -have been informed that our troops of the north entered that city on the Bth. appears that Colonel Trans, from whom I bare not yet received dispatches, was the first who entered that town with the troops of Oporto, and that Brigadier-Geneial Miller and Colonel Wilson; with the troops of . fhe Minho, and the - cavalry, followred the enemy on the Mite ( 4 fliis march to the foot of the ridge oL Caramuelo. • " Brigadier General Miller has-made prisoners *5O of the enemy's army who had Straggleoffrorn the Test, and -who- were found robbing ' • and he is cpoti nually ter ring rip with others. Colonel Wilson with his advanced guard ertiered Condeixn on the 10th or 11r11 instant. The prisoners were sent to Oporto. (S;gned) 6 ' G. C. BILILWARD." BLCOND LETTM. ' :••-• • , " Cacti Coates, Oct. I* .11 1 4 1 1*-i•Siiite ,I sent your Lordship the in,' foriegiofni received from General Miller, relative to dot retaking of Coimbra, I have received from Colo e-11 'Trani a rn"re circumstantial detail of that event,' copy of which I have the honour to send inclosed to .• • • your LordAtip. " The number or prisoners mentioned in the sit: count of Colonel Tram appears to •bo greater than was suPPfised from the first details; While General milc; F luts lidded to them Or. 4.00 whom he took, piundCring in the vicinity. of Coimbra, who therefore added to the number of prisoners that were Wren by Colhtel Trant. 14 ' . 'The'tircumitaticcs and the manner in which Colonel Trust retook Coimbra 'asp a new proof olthe activity' and prudence with which he 'always fulfils the instructions that are given him, and whi:h doubt- - ILsedeterve the approbation of your Lortdship. • .Im6 I liars the honour to br," &t. (Signed) I , G. C. v. ar.BrOttl)." • i#7lpkympof Olt sT4METOW roTT ON TO loollb WIW DA.Txp 40;4, oqr , isEtt My t‘rd—Yesterday, about six in the triorning, ecpsey I.4t,aelted mr FiclUttS cke4C by Pomba), and • , r ';~