Star. — London, England, 1808-11-17 00:00:00

s:tlee do President of the Supreme Central Junta of P yei t t ieet, at Aranjuez : and is as follows : di _l,l4;sT excaaLenr Sut—The enemy, having re ceived great reinforcements from France within these f ew d a ys, and having collected the whole of their • r ec ces into one body, attacked yesterchy our troops pott ed at Sornosa, who fought with great bravery but, a fter an action that lasted the whale of the day s they were forced by the superior numbers of the etteth y, who threatened to cut them off, to abandon th e i r positions. I cannot yet inform your Excellency O f the amount of our loss, or of the particulars of the action, not having yet received the reports of the' Commanders of the divisions engaged. A thi c k mist which concealed the movements of the enemy, favoured greatly his attack. Wherever I was pre sent, I witnessed the utmost bravery on the part of our Generals, Officers, and Soldiers, and, from the obitinate resistance which they made to the enemy in ever y point where they were attacked, I am persuad ed, that they have all behaved themselves like true Spaniards, and in this conviction, and in the belief t hat the enemy has suffered enormously, I am con kilted by his not attempting to follow us. When I gar the troops falling back, and the greater part of thew taking the direction of the high road, I formed a junction of the different corps engaged in the ac tion, and led them to the Sierra of Viscargui on the left flank of the enemy, from whence, after allowing them to rest for about two hours, I marched them by Legana to the heights of Bilboa, the rear guard of the army being covered in this retreat by the Mare ehal de Camp, D. Nicolas Mahy, and this morning I left them at Bilboa under the command of that officer, while I proceed to take new positions for the army, adapted to its present circumstances, availing myself for that purpose of the Asturian troops, the army come from the North, and the second division of the army of Gallicia, which were not engaged in the action.—l communicate the whole to your Ex cellency, for the information of the Supreme Junta. Go preserve your Excellency many years. Hirandqui. Nov. 1, 1808. " JOAQVIat BLAILZ. aTollis Excellency Count Florida Blanca." a P. S. I am this instant informed, that the whole ef the French army has 'appeared before Bilboa, in consequence of which, and the orders given to Ge neral Mahy, that town will be evacuated, and the troops under his command will fall back to join the ten of the army, the head-quarters of which I mean to establish at Valmaseda." By the Eliza Packet, which left Corunna on the 10th instant, accounts have been received that the Finch, having been reinforced, had again taken possession of Bilboa. Their force under General NEY is stated to be now 70,000 men; and General BLAKE, having retired in good order, is stated to have taken up a new position about 20 miles from Bilboa. We have to add, however, that, from a comparison of dates, there is reason to hope that the accounts by the Eliza relate to movements prior to some of the accounts received yesterday by Government, and which speak of BLAKE having gained an advantage - oveethe-miiiirf l on the 4th inst.: The accounts to ahich we again insert, a small part of impression having been printed off yesterday before we received the following BULLETIN. " Government have received dispatches from St. Andero, dated. the 7th November, which state thatl the French having received considerable reinforce ments, attacked the Gallician'Army, under General BLAKE ) on the SI stof October, in their positions, about a league from Savareosa. " Theattack commenced at six o'clock in the morn ing, under cover of a thick fog, and lasted till three in the afternoon, when the Spaniards, after a most ob stinately contested engagement, in which they had to contend withnumbers greatly superior, and a for nildabk artillery, being destitute themselves of that species of force, were obliged to retire. ItTlrey effected their , retreat in excellent order to Bilbok *WI a vi car , to a further retirement upon Valmasedo. "The Enemy's force was computed at 25,300 men, that of General BLAKE at 17,000- " The bravery and steadiness of the Spanish troops are mentioned in the highest terms. In the course of eight hours most obstinate and incessant fighting, the enemy never gained more than a quarter of a league. " Subsequent letters, dated St. Andero, the I I th, state that General BLAKE, finding the French were ad vancing beyond Valmaseda, with a view to cut off one of his divisions, advanced upon their army near Val rnaseda and Oronteas, on the 4th of November, and after a vigorous andobstinate action,which lastedfrom nueo'clock in the day till dark, he defeated the French, and drove them from Valmaseda with loss, taking Pat howitzer, much ammunition, two provision-wag- Pm, and some prisoners. " General BLAKE was concentrating his army, and storing his head-quarters to Reynosa. "The Marquis Du LA ROMANA had arrived at St. Andero, to take the command of the Northern army." Other accounts state, that General BLAKE took 61 e hundred prisoners in the action on the 4th, and advanced five miles. A letter from Valmaseda, of the date of the 2d, !Intains the following particulars - of the battle at ernne., . :...... " On the ni g h t of the 30th, the enemy advanced two' strong 21 :rnns to attack at left of General /Maisie pagtilin at Zeta."' be as riti 1012 rs Pi' ardi from Ta• a VC reSt 8 131 of d General Mandisabal, who eanagadad as that tide, ma. the ablest dispositions for an eilletaid defame. The enemy made their attack in the most perfect order, and with the greatest vi gour; but such was the firmness with which they were reosived, that they were obliged to fan back without making say Impres sion. At this time they pushed forward two strong columns to attack the right of the Spanish army, when they were equally well received. The attack on the left was then renewed. The enemy's force constantly accumulating, they kept up a tremendous fire of artillery, extending their line to surround the bin of Zer nosa. After nine hours continued fighting, in which the enemy's loss far exceeded that of the Spaniards, General Blake found it necessary to order a retreat. This measure was executed in the best order. In the evening of the 31st the army arrived at Whoa, where it halted and refreshed. " On the id, the army arrived at Valmaseda, behind which pLue General Blake took up his podtioa." There are also letters from Santandero, dated the 12th, which state that BLAKZ had obtained a decided victory, having killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, upwards of 3000 French ; in consequence of which, he again returned to Bilboa. This statement, we fear, is not to be implicitly credited: it probably al ludes to the action on the 4th, which we know was not followed by the te-occupation of that town. In the action of Zernosa upwards of 700 men, be longing to one of the regiments rescued from the Island of Funen, are said to have been cut to pieces, after refusing either to give or accept quarter. They are said, however, to have slain upwards of double their number before they perished. The French, through the means of some Monks whom they had gained over, were endeavouring to sow distrust and dissension among the Spanish troops. Several of these traiterous agents were arrested and sent to St. Andero. A report prevailed there, that a part of the British army from Portugal had reached Salamanca, and that General MOORE had arrived at Burgos. The junction with General BAIRD'S troops was expected to take place at Valladolid about the middle of this month. The three regiments of dragoons, which lately sailed from Portsmouth, had arrived at Corunna. Not more than five horses had died out of 2500 ; the rest were in excellent condition. We shall conclude our details by laying before our readers the following private letters : " ST. ANDERO, NOV. 7. 4 4 General BLAKE has certainly retreated with his army from Durango, as far as the distance of a league beyond Valmaseda, on the road to Castile. In this.position he has entrenched himself with from 28 to 30,000 troops. He suffered some loss in the at tack, but by no means such as should excite senti ments of dismay. Our situation (I speak of Bis cay) is cruel, for no one can now exist in this country, formerly the favourite abode, the delight of mankind. " I had written the above, intending to send it to you by the post; but I avail myself of the opportu nity of transmitting it bya vesselwhich sails this day, aa4 of adding, that we are positively informed that BLAKE attacked the Duke of DANTZIC, the day before yesterday, at Valmaseda, beat him, took from him his artillery, and , made dreadful slaughter among the French. Our troops were pursuing them, and as we are informed by the Master of a boat that has just arrived from Plencia, 200 waggons yesterday entered Bilboa, from the environs of, Sodresse, filled with wounded Frenchmen, among whom was a General. He further states that a firing of small arms was heard at Plencia, and that it was supposed to be be tween Santa Ague& and Sodresse. The circum stance of the firing being heard at Plencia proves, that our troops continued to pursue the French, and that they must have reached the vicinity of Bilboa." ANOTHER LETTER, SAME DATE. g , General Blake has given the French a severe chastisement at Valmaseda on the 2d of the month, and on the 4th again he took some artillery from them, and made several prisoners. This affords us considerable consolation for the loss that the poor Galiagas sus tained in opposing the entrance of the French into Bilboa on the 31st ult. They have sent hither all the wounded, and I do assure you that our hearts arc torn to pieces, to see how dreadfully maimed they are : the common soldiers are carried to the hos pitals, and the officers to private houses. I expect my quota to-morrow, and it was only yesterday my guesti from the army, who had previously been at my house, left it. At one time I had eleven officers and soldiers, and 50 Captains of transports to attend to." This day we received Dutch Journals to the 9th instant. The Frenchified accounts which they con tain respecting the war in Spain, are of old dates, and therefore of no importance. The latest date is of the 22d ult. The Paris news has been entirely anticipated by the arrival of French Papers two days ago. We have now to contradict the reported arrival of another Messenger from France, stated in two of the Morning Papers of yesterday, and on their au thority inserted in the STAR. Major General FERCRITSSON left Edinburgh on Thursday last, on his way to London, in'order to be present at the Court of Inquiry now setting at Chel sea College. The Duke of ORLEANS has been on a ♦isit to the Duke of KENT for some time past, at his Royal Highness's seat, at Castle-Bare-Hill, near Ealing.— Tuesday night a Messenger arrived there with letters for the Duke of ORLEANS, tequesting him to leave this country as soon as possible, to proceed to Gi-1 braltar to meet his mother and sister, to accompany them from that place to Malta. It is understood the Duke will shortly set off for that purpose. COURT OF INQUIR Y AT 6112Lled. SECOND DAY. An immense crowd attended this morning at Chel sea, at an early hour ; but the doors of the Great Hall were not thrown open until half past eleven o'clock, when a most dreadful struggle for places ensued. Generals Sir HEW DALRYMPLE, Sir ARTHUR Wittutscav, and FERGUSON, had previously entered, attended by several Officers as their friends. The business of the day was begun by the Juno* ADVOCATE reading letters from Sir HEW DALRYMPLE to the Judge Advocate, explanatory of his conduct in Portugal. Among others, a letter from Sir HEW DAL WIMPLE to Lord CASTLEREAGH, requesting the pro duction of the correspondence between his Lordship as Secretary of State and the Portuguese Ambassa dor, respecting the line of conduct to be pursued with respect to regaining possesion of Portugal. Lord CASTLEREAGH'S answer was then read, agreeing to produce the correspondence alluded to, with the ex ception of some communications with the Bishop of OPORTO. Here the JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL rose, and stated that it would be advisable to refrain from all puilication of the preunt proceeding: until hit Abyzerr's pleasure war known with respect to any further pro ceeding:, and even until the result of these further pro ceecrutg: was blown alto. He added, that the cause of justice demanded that the Court of Inquiry should take steps to punish any breach of the pre sent injunction. We are thus precluded from saying more at pre sent than merely, that up to the hour at which this paper was put to press, the Court was occupied in reading a voluminous correspondence, both private and official. Chairs were allotted on the left of the Board for Generals DALRYMPLZ, WZLLZSLEY, FEttOLSON I and their friends. The Duke of CUBLIZRLAND was present as usual. Yesterday about twelve o'clock, his MAJESTY ar rived at the Queen's Palace from Windsor, where he was received by the Dukes of YORE, KENT and CUM BERLAND. At two o'clock his MAJESTY held a Pri vate Levee, at which the following had the honour of being presented to his MAJESTY: Mr. Yuma', upon his being appointed on a Special Mission to Portugal, by Mr. Canning. Mr. SPAN oaq, by the Spanish Ambassador. Lieutenant-Colonel R , upon his being appointed to the command of the 71st Regiment, and upon his promotion and ap pointment to dm Staff in Portugal. Major General Hootamiu, upon his being appointed to the command of the 4th Regiment of Dragoons. General Ltcossz, by the Spanish Ambassador. Captain Sir Cu az t. Es Be; saw wa,R.N. upon his being appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Island of St. Vincent. The Loan MAYOR of London, by the Recorder. Lieutenant-General Sir Joaw CRADDOCK, upon his being ap pointed to the command of the forces in Portugal. Mr. Bout KRIM upon his being appointed a Glroom o f hi s Ma jesty's Bed-chamber. in the room of General Harcourt, resigned. The Honourable General HA a co var, upon his being appointed Master of his Majesty's Robes, in the room of Lord Selsea, de ceased. Yesterday his MAJESTY held a Privy Council, at which Sir CHARLES BRISBANE was introduced, and sworn in Governor of the Island of St. Vincent. The RECORDER made a report to his MAJESTY of the following convicts, under sentence of death in New at e, viz.— J. Whatley, for robbing P. Muller on the highway, of 61.—A. Kingdon, for breaking and entering the dwelling-house of T. Mann, and stealing goods, value 31.—Mary Foster, for stealing goods and monies, value 201. the property of J. Noble, in the dwelling-house of F. Rogers.—T. Gower, for stealing 121. the pro perty of W. Roger,, in the dwelling-house of J. Hall.—C. Jackson, for robbing J. Sullivan of goods and monies, to the value of 61. .1. Dobson, for stealing lambs, value 41. the property of W. Satall. —J. Conway, for stealing 41. I Is. 6d. the property of J. Francis, in his welling-house.--T. Brown and T. Smith, for stealing goods value 141. the property of D. Tapered, Esq. in his dwelling-house. —C. Taylor, for stealing goods, value 61. the property of Mary Ann Carey, and goods, value 42a. the property of C. Carey, in the dwelling-house of J. Carey.--Susannah Fades, for stealing goods, value 51. privately, in a shop; and J. Pabner, who was found guilty of breaking open a house in Manchester-square, dur ing the absence of a ma who had the care of it; on whose re turn, Palmer wounded him with an iron crow, and threatened to murder him. J. Palmer was ordered for execution on Wednesday next. Yesterday a Court of Directors was held at the East-India House, when the undermentioned Cap tains were sworn into the command of their respective ships, viz.— Captain Wu. CAMPBELL, Nottingham; Capt. 1. CAZNiOIX, Baring; for Madras and Bengal. Capt. I. HALINORTON, Glatton ; Capt. RICHES, Thames; for China direct. Cit. Was. HAMILTON, Lady Castlereagh, for St. Helena and Pen he undermentioned ships, taken up last week, were thus stationed, viz.—. Coutts, Capt. J. Hoy, for China direct. Metcalfe, Capt. Isaac/Ka; Surrey, Copt CIIMEIMILOOR ; for Madras and Bengal. Devonshire, Capt. J. MURRAY, for Ceylon and Bengal. Marquis Welledey, Capt. La BLANC, for Bombay direct. The destination of the Castle Eden, Capt. COLNZTT, was altered from Ceylon and Bengal to Madras and Bengal. The Retreat, Capt. W. HAT, was taken up and stationed for Madeira, Madras, and Bengal. The Court adjourned at six o'clock till Wednesday next. A letter Own Cadi z , d ate d O cto b er 1 6 , says , " The Glorioso ship of the line arrived here yesterday from Algesiras.—El Principe de Asturias, sailed the same day for Ferrol ; and to-morrow, El San Francisco de Paula is to go convoy to several mer chants vessels bound for North America. On Sa turday the 15th the convoy sailed for Tarregona, consisting of the frigate Otocha, the English trans port Sceptre, and three other smaller vessels, with 2 4 2,000 stand of arms, some mortars, cannon, ,and ammunition, besides 1/30,000 dollars, which is a very important supply. The Deputy Seignor Elola set out on the same day for Aranjuez. " Major-G enera l Don Joseph Virues has assumed the Government of this city, as Don Thomas Morla is on the eve of departing. The ladies of Cadiz were making, with, the greatest expedition, 50,000 shirts for the use of the army." NAUTICAL INTELLIGENCE. PLYMOUTH, NOVEMBER Is. I wrote you yesterday of the taking the French frigate Thetis, of 44. guns : she was towed up into Hamoaze this morning, without a mast standing.— She appears to be a most beautiful ship. The following particulars of the gallant action which has put us in possession of this fine frigate, are communicated by one of the Officersof the Aurrutsz : On the night of the 10th instant, the AMETHYST, of 36 guns, and 238 men, Captain SITIIIIOUR then cutting on her station off L'Orient, at seven o'clock perceived a large frigate, and sup posing her an enemy, she bore down and hailed her ; and, find ing her a French frigate of the highest class, and being close aboard her, a most gallant action commenced between the two frigates, which was well maintained on both aides for three hours and twenty-five minutes, when the Frer.chman, after an ineffetitual attempt to board, was silenced, and a couple of well laid in broad sides taking place from the AMIZTUTST, she struck her mimes. For an hour and a half the Asa are r ST wasgrappled with lined.. —On boarding her, the enemy was found to have her deck co vered with dead bodies ; her loss being Captain Mons. Tiusort, killed, and all his Officers (but one) killed or wounded; and out of her compliment of 456 men, including 106 soldiers, there weir 296 killed and wounded, so well-directed was the fire of the AIIZTAITST. The Thetis bad sailed from L'Orient but two hours before she fell in with the AM2TEITST; and considering the desperate nature of a battle by night, and it blowing fresh, it is peshaps as gallant an action on record as any fought during this or any war. La Thad, was bound from L'Orient to Martinique and Goa &loupe, with battering cannon, and i.OO barrels of flour; and had on board Mons. T Lieutenant-Governor of Mar. Unique, who is unhurt. Captain Szymou a, we are glad to state, is unhurt, as also his Lieutenants; but Lieut. KIMMEL Royal Marines, and 19 seamen and Royal Marines, a r e killed. Lieut. PATRIC, Royal Marines, Mr. GIBBONS, and Mr. STILES Master ' s Mates, and 51 seamen and Royal Ma r i nes , are woun ded. After the action was finished, and the Thetis had struck, the Tamara 74, NARCISSUS, 36, and SHANN O N 38, h av i ng h ear d t h e h i ring, hove in sight, and the Thetis was put in charge of the SHAN NON frigate, and is hourly expected into this port. The AMETHYST is much cut up in her masts and rigging, and has her misen-mast carried away. Lieut. HILL, Second Lieut. of the AMETHYST, killed two French Officers with his own hand, when the French. HUH attempted to board her.—The Thetis is 12 feet longer than the AMETHYST. It is an honourable trait of the coolness and discipline of Cap tain SEYMOUR and his ship's company, that after the Thetis struck, and was taken possession of, a large ship, afterwards found to be the TRIOUPU, 74, Capt. Sir T. HARDY, hove in sight, when the AMZTRYST'S ship's company, supposing her to be the consort of the Thetis, gave three cheers, and cleared ship for a second battle. ANOTHER. LETTER, SAME DATE. The SHANNON frigate, with the Thetis in tow, did not get into the Sound until noon of this day, and the latter went up Hamoaze immediately. The Thetis is a very fine frigate, mounts 15 guns of a side on her main deck, and is much larger than Ole AMETHYST : she had not been at sea three hours when first seen. The action lasted three hours and twenty-five mi nites. The crew of la Thetis consisted of 350 sea men, and 106 troops—Total 456.—The cargo flour, &c. and artillery. The Thetis had 135 killed, and 102 wounded : three of the principal officers only re main. The AMETHYST had 19 killed, and 51 wounded. —Lieutenant KENDALL, of the Marines, killed, and Lieutenant PAINE, of ditto, wounded..—Came in The French schooner, Cornelia, from Bourdeaux to Marti nique, wits provisions, captured by his Majesty's skip Amazon, of 36 guns— The French schooner Arcadia, from Belleisle to L'Orient, with brandy, soldiers clothing, and baggage, cut out of a bay near L'Orieut, by the Emerald frigate, which has destroyed Aye others during her cruise— The French lugger Diligence, with wine and brandy, captured by the Saturn of 74 guns—and • The French sloop, John and Harry, from Guadeloupe to Bour• deauz, with coffee and sugar, captured by the Surinam, of 18 SUM. Came in also the ARROW, of 18 guns, from the coast of France ; PEACOCK, of 18 guns, from a croize ; , PARTHIAN, of 18 guns, with dispatches from Lord COLLINOWOOD and Admiral PURVIS ; BRILLIANT, Of 18 guns, from Portsmouth • SCORPION, of 18 guns, from the coast of Spain ' • iIARLEQUIN and MORRIS- Tows armed ships, from Wales, with a convoy : Cuckoo, of 12 guns, from the coast of France ; ImPgruzvz, of 74 guns, from the Channel fleet ; EticouNrsa, of 18 guns, from a cruize - ORESTES, of 18 guns, from the coast of Spain ; a Fleet of light transports, from the Westward ; Nosta Seniora de la Piedad, Captain Penton, from Malaga for London, with fruit, in distress; PLOVER, of - 18 guns, from Corunna, in five days. LIVERPOOL, NOVEMBER 15. Arrived the Susannah, Capt. BUTCHER, from St. Lucie, from whence she sailed on the 17th September. The Captain states that the French West India Islands are plentifully supplied with provisions by the Ame. ricans. FALMOUTH, NOVEMBER 14. Arrived the Eliza packet, Captain SAMPSON ' with mails, from Corunna, in tour days ; and the Mary packet, Captain POCOCK, with mails, from the Lee. ward Islands, in 89 days from Tortola. His Ma. jesty's ship SYBILLE, with a convoy of transports from Plymouth, arrived at Corunna. The Eliza packet was only 54 hours on her passage to Corunna. The Peacock which sailed three days before with a Mes. senger, only arrived this evening. Sailed the Rzatrzz gun-brig, for Plymouth. PORTSMOUTH, NOVEMBER If. Came in about 60 sail of transports, from Corunna and Qaiberon Bay, under convoy of his Majesty's ' ships ACOON and SPARROW-HAW/L—Arrived his Majesty's ships DEXTEROUS, from a cruize ; Rare:- Dove, from the Downs • PELT= and ALBICORE, from Guernsey : also the General Paris, French lugger privateer, captured by his Majesty's ship PORTMAHON. DEAL, NOVEMBER 16. Arrived and sailed for the River, the Fame, Capt. COURTNEY, from Cadiz. Arrived his Majesty's ships SPECULATOR and PANDORA, from a cm the latter vessel has detained a Swedish galliot, • with gin, and sent her into Dover.—Wind Soutt YARMOUTH, NOV. 16. Yesterday, P. M. Mr. MERRY embarked on board his Majesty's ship ALEXANDRIA, and sailed on his Embassy for Stockholm. The wind blowing a strong breeze, it is expected, by nautical men, that Mr. MERRY will snake his passage by Friday.—Sailed the ROSAMOND and SAP/EWA tinter Heligoland. The Hon. Admiral GARDNER hoisted his flag this morning on board the Azotarra ; and to-morrow, with th e A. JRSTIC, and PRINCESS CAROLINE, Will sail for the Texel.—Wind S.S.W. i I i 11 t i 1 1 , i ! i I 1 1 , i i' , , _ ,