Star. — London, England, 1814-03-16 00:00:00

• 7 FROM LAST NIGHT'S GAZETTE. ADMIRALTY-OFFICE, MARCH 15. Admiral Lord Keith has transmitted to John Wil son Croker, Esq. a letter from Rear-Admiral Pen. rose, dated on board his Majesty's ship Porcupine, off the Jru of the Adnur, the 25th of February, stating that the boats and small vessels destined to assist the operations of the army under the Marquess of Wellington, 'succeeded in crossing the Bar of the above river on the preceding day. • A breeze, which sprung up in the ni,ght of the 23d, /was the first that had offered itself, since the neces sary preparations had been ia forwardness, to enable the *Vessels to reach the mouth of the Adour • and early on the following morning the Rear-A dmiral was off the .Bar with the vessels and boats collected for the service. The boats of the vessels of war, with two flat boats, were sent directly to the Bar to endeavour to find a passage through the surf, the British troops being at that time seen from the ships crossing over to the north side of the river, but greatly in want of the boats intended for their assistance. Captain O'Reilly, in a Spanish-built boat, selected as the most safe for the service, and having with him the principal pilot, was overset itrhis.attempt to enter, but escaped on shore. Lieutenant Debenham, in a six-oared cutter, succeeded in reaching the beach ; the other boats returned to wait the result of the next tide, it king scarcely possible that one in fifty could then have crossed. • A pilot was sent to land to the south-west of the river, and walk from thence .to the Adour, in or der to make a concerted signal from within the Bar, to guide the vessels through the safest parts.— Without the Bar there appeared no interval ; a long and heavy line of surf alone presenting itself. Re wards were offered to the leading vessel, the second, third, &c. Lieutenant Collins, Flag-Lieutenant to Rear- Admiral Penrose, was dispatched also to endeavour to 'mid, and walk to the army ; and the Rear-Ad miral was informed, about that time, by Sir Juhn Hope, of the progress made by the troops, and the great utility of which the boats would prove, if they could join. The tide being at length at a proper height, and all the vessels well up for the attempt, several drew near the Bar, but hauled off again, till at last Lieu- tenant Cheyne (of the Woodlark sloop), in a Spa nish bolt, with five British seamem, crossed the surf and ran up the river. The next was a prize boat, manned from a transport, closely followed by a gun boat, commanded by Lieutenant Chesshyre, who was the first that has hoisted the British colours in the Adour. The rest of the boats and vessels' followed in rapid succession, and with extraordinary success : the zeal and science of the Officers triumphing over all the difficulties of the navigation. The Rear-Admiral was not yet enabled to trans mit a 'return of the casualties : it was hoped from the nearness of the shCre that they would fall mostly an the vessels. [For Military Yipmotions t Bankrupts, &c. see the last page.] G.:ILL/INT OPLRATIONS IN THE WEST SCHELDT: Shortly after the Fortst and Neserlw a : 4 f3aeee bad penetrated into the West Seheldt,and ibe bat teries of Flushing and Cadsand without lolss,„eateain movements of the enemy, buth at Antwerp and flushing, rendered it necessary to send a reinforce ment into that branch of the river, to support our frigates, in the event of an unequal contest. About the 11th of February the ANTELOPE, of 50 guns, the Sweabourg Russian frigate, and the REsoLurlow cut ter, to lead, were dispatched from the Rompoot, to lie at the entrance Qf the Wieland channel, and be ready to make a dash into the West Scheldt, as soon as circumstances proved favourable. It so happened, however & that a series of easterly winds set in, and completely precluded any attempt till the Ist of March. About inid-clay (March 1) the wind veered from S. to S.S.W. and cleared; and the ships pre pared to weigh anchor. The enemy seemed aware of our intentions, .and tried the range of their shot be tween Flushing and Cadsand. On the latter island, a strong battery (Bonaparte) has been erected since oar last expedition, mounting the heaviest ordnance : in fact, it is now ascertained that nearly 200 pieces of cannon, including mortars, can play upon the passage into the West Scheldt, which is precisely three miles from shore to shore.— At 40 minutes past three the ships weighed, and in 15 minutes the Wulpin battery opened a heavy fired upon us. A 4. 10. we were abreast of the point of Bresicins, when bolts Bonaparte and Imperial opened on one side, and at the same instant, the batteries of Flushing on the other. The ANTELOPE and SWEA• BOURG now commenced a well directed cannonade on the Cadsand batteries, Acing which they rail pretty close, in consequence of the wind being so scant, that they were obliged IO hand their bowlines on the star board tack. This running fight continued about half an hour, without any material injury to the ships.— The ANTELOPE, however, received many shot, and one from the Imperial battery at Cadsand, which penetrated through the hammocks on the starboard side of the poop, and went out through the bulwark on the other side, was very destructive ; it carried off both legs of a Dutch pilot, who was standing oh the poop, and waiting to take charge of the skip, as soon as she should get past the Hoog-plat ; two other men (a sailor and a marine) each lost a leg by the same ball, which also wounded several others, but not se verely. The frigate lost no man, nor had any woun-1 ded = and the RUOLUTION cutter hZd only her gaff topsail shot away by a shell from off Flushing, whichl, occasioned her to fall astern of the ships, instead of leading a-head, and directing their course by her soundmgs. A little before five o'clock, it being thick and hazy, the ANTELOPE unfortunately grounded on the hook of the Hoog-platp and nearly at the same time the frigate also took the ground astern of the ANTELOPE. In ten minutes the wind shifted, all at once, round to W. N. W. and blew fresh, with a strong flood tide sight upon the shoal. The stream anchor was got lut, but the wind and tide counteracted all attempts heave off t he s hip. At high tide the ship was UN. and yards and top,-masp . e struck Neat March 24. the CRETAN and Loma= came to aasistancecand at high wwg DU mil Wat nude iD ' . order to folio' her over the shoal, but without success. The Sweabourg, however, got off, and anchored in deep water. , All this day, w hile the crew were using every exertion to lighten the ship, the shells from a battery to the westward of the Rammekins were fall ing in ever? , direction round the ship, the officers and men exhibuing the most undaunted courage and firmness in this trying scene, and never for an instant interrupting their labours. ,Meanwhile the NYMPHEN frigate, Captain HANcoCK, anchored close ahead of the ANTELOPE, and within range of shot from Wal clieren ; and the end of her bower cable was got on board the ANTELOPE, for the purpose of heaving her off, if possible, next high water. The enemy now redoubled his fire, and shot and,shells were inces santly poured at the NYMPHEN and ANTELOPE, but, strange to say, without producing any material effect. One shell burst in the centre of a cluster of boats, without injuring a single person. The undaunted boats' crews only returned three huzzas, and coolly went on with their work. All efforts were this day also ineffectual, and even in the night the enemy kept up their tire from the mortar batteries. On the 3d of March, at tea in the forenoon, the ship was fortunately hove off, amidst showers of shot and shells, without much injury, and to the utter mortification of the enemy, who had con sidered her as lost. Too much praise cannot be be stowed on Captain BUTCHER, his officers, and men, for their steady courage and unwearied exertions ; while Commodore OWEN, and Mr. DOUGLAS (Mas ter of the Fleet, who went in the Antelope,) most ably and judiciously united their efforts in the com mon cause. Captain HANCOCK displayed his usual zeal and ability in placing the Nymphen in an admi rable though dangerous situation, for heaving the Antelope off the shoal. Admiral Scorr, from South Beveland, arrived on board at the instant of her start ing from her position. Thus this boasted and nar row channel, bristled on each side with cannon of the widest calibre, was forced in the open day. DUTCH PAPERS. ROSENDAAL, MARCH 10. On Tuesday morning, at ten o'clock, about three thousand English troops broke up from hence and the places adjacent, furnished, it was understood, with storming ladders and other preparations for an attack, but the object of their destination was kept a secret. We have since learned, that on the above day they marched to Halteren, between Steenbergen and Ber gen-op• Zoom, and on the following night executed a well planned, but in its result a very unfortunate at tack upon Bergen-op-Zoom. About eleven at night, a thousand of the troops approached the fortress with the greatest stillness, and having, it appears, successfully crossed the ditches, they climbed the walls, and penetrated into the town. In the mean time the rest approached the gate, and seeing it open, they thought they could enter in safety. The enemy, hpwever, who had probably made use of the same spies who had served the English, were previously aware of the whole, and had taken their measures in consequence. Their garrison was in readiness to attack on all sides the Inglis's . troops who had got over the walls, while at the same time, with cannon placed in the cross streets, they opened a fire of grape shot on the troops that had entered the gate. The contest was continued for a considerable time within the town, with desperate valour, but with unequal means ; and at last both the troops which had scaled the walls, and tliose which entered the gate, were compelled to retreat, with very considerable loss in killed, wounded and prisoners. With real sorrow, we have seen return here a part of the English troops, who by their excellent conduct had gained all hearts, and lament severely the horri ble treachery of which they have been the victims. out, bu to beavo shvred daj, Quit WI BREDA, MARCii 10. The day before yesterdAy the English made an unsuccessful attack upon Bergen•op.Zoom, which cost them about 1500 men in killed and wounded : among the killed is a General, and among the wound ed another General and several Colonels. It is said, that a plan of the French has been dis covered, to form a junction out of Walcheren and Batt, with the garrison of Bergen-op-Zoom, and af terwards, at the same time with the garrison from Antwerp, to make an attack on the English lines, which stretch from Breskaat to the Scheldt. The Dutch are now posted at Zandvliet and Os sendrecht. DORT, MARCH ii. The day before yesterday entered here4oo Germans ot the regiment of Orange Nassau, who came over from the French at Bayonne, and landed in trans ports from England. They have been marched to Bois-le-duc. The Dutch Papers contain three official reports, dated from the Head-quarters of the Grand Allied Army. The first report is dated Troyes, Feb. '2'2d. After mentioning the various affairs in which Mar shal Blucher's army was engaged from the 10th to the 13th, it says : " The Marshal's object to ;repose upon the enemy by his advancing so tar, was attained ; and not to endanger himself farther by separate battles with a great superiority of force, he retired towards his old, position at Chalons, where he again formed a junc tion with the corps of Yorck and Sacken. " In the mean time, the Grand Army, which by its position at Troyes was in possession of the Upper Seine, by means of two advanced corps made itself master ot all the points for crossing the Seine, from Merpto Montereau, and even posted some detach ments on the right bank of the Stine, to observe the enemy, and, on their advance, retire upon the main army at Troyes. 1 hese corps spread themselves be tween Fontainebleau and Melun. Nemours was taken by Count Platoff, after an obstinate fight, in which about 1000 prisoners were taken. " These movements had their effect. The enemy who,_ with his main force, was pushing the Silesian army, became alarmed for his right wing, and his communication with the capital ; and this compelled him quickly to leave she bank.' of the Marne, and approach in all haste the Seine." The report then details the affairs at Nangis and Montereau, in consequence of which the Grand Army -etired, and proceeds thus " With the view of frustrating the object of the ii-r„ which was to fall upon separate corps with '-toning force,, Prince Schwartzenberg or. -% '^r. who had united his corps. at dcrecl Marshal Chalons, again to come into action, and with his army to move back upon Arcis-sur-Aube, and thence upon Mery : while at the same time the Grand Army was assembled at Troyes, there to "cross over to the right bank of the Seine." MILITARY REPORT. Head-quarters, Bar-sur-Aube, February 25. " The movement tcr the right bank of the Seine was effected on the 23d, in the presence of the enemy. Troyes alone remained occupied on that day ; and in the direction of Sens was the light division of Prince Lichtenstein, supported by the 3d army corps under Count Giulay. " On the 2 tth, the enemy's whole force covered the heights of Troyes ; our advanced posts retired into the suburbs ; and on the road to Sens an action took place with our cavalry merely, which supported its old renown, and repulsed all the enemy's attacks. "At night-fall the enemy occupied the suburbs of Troyes, which we had evacuated. He ventured three attacks upon the city, which . were repelled by the va lour of General Volkmann and his brigade. " The enemy at last prOposed a convention for evacuating the city, which was no longer of import ance to us, as the army had already taken up its po sition on the other bank : thus was Troyes delivered up to the enemy next day, at•six in the morning. " Count Giulay, and the division Lichtenstein, re• tired towards Bar-sur-Seine, in which direction they were followed by some cavalry regiments of the ene my, which durst not, however, attempt any decided attack on the united masses of the corps. " In the mean time, Marshal Blucher, by a rapid movement towards the Marne, execute:l.a part of the, grand plan, according to which offensive operations were to be carried on with activity, and in great masses. He crossed the Aube at Baudemont, with three pontoons, to attack Marshal Manumit, who, on the 24th, was still at Sezanne. " Generals Bulow, Winzingerode,Woronzow, and the Duke of Weymar, are in communication with the corps of Marshal Blucher, who has taken the com mand of this numerous army, and has begun his ope ratious in the rear, and on the left wing of the enemy." gg HEAD-QUARTERS, CCU/NMI', MARCH 2. " The assembled corps of Marshals OudinMt, Vic tor, and Macdonald, united with the cavalry division of Generals Milhaud and Nansouty, attacked on the 27th ult. our position on the Aube, which was de f4lcied by the Gth army corps, under Count Wittgen stein, and the sth under General Wrede. " The attacks of the enemy, who had received pe remptory orders to force this position, were very se- vere ; Bar.sur-Aube was taken by him ; he had oc cupied the heights of Arconval and the wood of Levigny, with the apparent view of carrying the heights of Veraonfait, which was the centre of our position. " As soon as our columns were formed, and in readiness to march, the Commander in Chief, who was with them at the very commencement of the ac- Lion, ordered a general attack nn all the points occu pied by the enemy. The advanced posts of Count Wittgenstein were withdrawn upon the reserves of Prince Gortschakoff, while General Pahlen, with his cavalry, supported by the infantry of Prince Eugene of Wurteniberg, penetrated over the heights of Aren tiere and Levigny, in the rear of the enemy. At the same time the reserve infantry and the division of Russian cuirassiers, drove the enemy from the heights of Vernonfait, which he hadmastered by a warm attack. The enemy's cavalry thrice chArged, to cover their flying infantry ; Wan well-timed fire of grape shot from the Russian artillery posted there, drove them back in disorder. The enemy still occupied the heights of Arvinval with strong masses ; but a well ordered flank march of General Volkmann's, ;n con cert with another, under the direction of the Bavarian Coloncl Hertling, expelled him from this position also. At the same time, General Wrede stormed and took possession of Bar-sur-Aube. The victory WAS decided ; and the enemy fled in disorder to wards Vandceuvres, which is already occupied by our troops. •' The field of battle was covered with the enemy's dead : more than 800 prisoners, whose numbers are every hour increasing, and among whom is Colonel Moncey,, the brother of the Marshal, two pieces of cannon, and some hundreds of muskets, are the fruits of this brilliant day. All the troops maintained their old renown. The Commander in Chief and Count Wittgenstein were both slightly wounded. 44 While the main army of the enemy has thus been kept employed, Marshal Blucher,' in conformity to the preconcerted plan, has penetrated through Se z,tnne to Epernay, driven back all the posts ot Mar shal Marenont, and thrown a bridge over the Marne. 66 enemy, in consequence of the manoeuvres of the Allied Armies, has been compelled to separate his torce, and is gone in person against Marshal Blucher, the direction of whose march must give rise to great event." AFFAIRS OF SWITZERLAND. The knot has been cut at Lucerne, which it was .impossible to untie. It is already known, that the Grand Council rejected, on the 12th of February, the propositions which were made at Zurich for the esta blishment of peace between the town and the coun try, and that the Lesser Council was charged, if it should think fit, to propose some changes in the con stitution, and to submit its propositions to the consi deration of the Greater Council. Consevently, the Lesser Council adopted measures to learn the senti ments of the different districts of the Canton, relative to the constitution. On the 13th the old Government, and on the 14th the citizens of Lucerne, adopted the propositions of Zurich, and sent information of their proceeding to the Lesser Cotincil. The Lesser Council was occupied during the vio lent debates of the 15th and 16th, in taking measures which the expectation of an approaching crisis dic tated ; its decree was passed, which ordered, in sub stance, as follows : All those who manifest publicly and ardently their ideas upon the constitution, and other political objects, and thereby give rise t• fermentation and troubles, as well as those who endeavour to make known their desires and projects for the amelioration of the constitution of the Canton, by any other means than those declared to be legal, shall be considered as disturbers of the public peace, ant punished as such." Transactions then took place, which determined the Avoyer Ruuirnann to quit the council, and re sign ihs ofEce. The Government afterwards sent to the Commanding-Officers of the district, upon whose fidelity they trusted, an order to assemble on the next day the four detachments of the Canton, and the re serve, at a short distance from the town, and to wait there for further orders. The town being thus threatened, saw no other means of providing for her safety, than by a speedy adoption of the proceedings of the Lesser Council. The Committees previously appoinved by the Gld government, and those of the citizens then assembled, with the Landamman Ituttintan for their President, and declared themselves the Committee of the Go vernment. Twenty-four resolute armed men took pt s. session of the arsenal, of the ports, of the town, and of the house belonging to Government, where tlx Lesser Council wsis assembled--they experietictt-',, wherever they went, little or no resistance. All was. ; 'over in the course of an hoar, ou the 16th, a t fi r o'clock in the evening. The next morning, tbes went to meet the troops who were advancing toward s the town, and informed them of what had passed.. The members of the Lesser Council, who had been kept in attendance, made, of their own accord, a de. claration, which expressed their desire that the aimed 1 detachments which shad been summoned should re. turn tranquilly to their homes. The Committee of the Government, on their part, announced, the same day, by a Prodanation, that it was their intention to carly into effect the propc sals for reconciliation, according to which the repre sentation of the Canton was regulated, so that the town of Lucerne should send SO mcm`lers, the coun try 41. The town of Sampach S, Surace 3, sail:2, and Munster, one member. Ou the 18th the Committee proposed thirty men. bers of the town, and thirty of the country, fer the new Greater Council, and then silty members we. unanimously accepted by the cit;zens. On the ilst, the sixty members are to appoint other twenty members for the town, and an equal number for the country, and are to determine on the future mode of eleciion.TheGreater Council will also choose the members for the Less Council and the avoyers, and thus the organization of the new govan ment will be complete. The other Cantons have been informed of this change of government. As soon as the country of the Nidwald, part of the Canton of Underwald, near Lucerne, heard the news, it sent to Lucerne the Landammans Zrlzer and Kaiser ; the Canton of Zurich has sent the Counsellor of State Usteri. S i t $ S • VIENNA, FEBRUARY 20. As it is generally believed here that the war with France will speedily terminate, and as we expect to see at Vienna, after the peace, the Monarchs at pre. sent in the held, the arrangements necessary in that case are already making for their reception. Per sons are already speculating up , in the great con tinence of foreigners which mist take place on the occasion of so brilliant au assemblage. The Court Gazette publishes the follouing : " Since the battle which took place on the Bth, near the Mincin, nothing material has happened to the army in Italy. The Commanding Field Mar shal, Count Bellegarde, has again transferred his head-quarters to Villa Franca, in order to be mere in the centre of the army, until that, after having sur rounded the fortresses, he may be able to make it pass the Mincio entirely. " Major-General Stanisavlewicli, who had ad. vanced by the valley of Trompia, was on the 10th at Festona, and on the 19th, after a battle near SAO, he joined a detachment which had advanced from Rtva towards that place; by this movement he has surrounded the fort of Rocca d'Anto ; Legnago is also in the same situation. General Nugent is with his corps at Reggio." BRUSSELS, MARCH 4. We understand that General Von Borsteb hat taken Kortryk and Menen. We are at present occu pied with the organization of four Belgic regiments of infantry, each of MOO men ; they are organized at Brussels, Ghent, Mons, and Namen, and bear the names of those towns. A regiment of cavalry and a battery of horse artillery will besides be forthed here. Yesterday afternoon a numerous transport of French prisoners, taken at Antwerp in a sortie made by the garrison of that fortress, arrived here. HAGUE, MARCH 11. The unfortunate failure of the attack on Bergen op-Zoom has spread an universal gloom here. 'fhe intelligeace of the event has just become public, but the partizulars have not yet been officially commu nicated. Public affairs proceed with increased alacrity; ac- tive preparations are making at Amsterdam 11. the lassembling of the Notables on the 28th,*and the siege of Naerden is carried on with additional vigour.— On Saturday last 250 Dtitch soldiers were turned out of the garrison. It is supposed the place will be bombarded in a day or two; twelve mortars destined for that purpose passed through Amsterdam on Sun- day last. The Hereditary Prince has returned from his tour of inspection. General Daendels, formerly Commaedcr-in-Chief of the Dutch force, and afterwards Governor of Ba tavia, is now here, and has daily audiences of the Royal Family and great Constituted Authorities. Last night the whole of the Royal Family visaed the Dutch Theatre ; the house was crowded with the first people of the country, and the royal personages experienced a most enthusiastic reception. MILAN, FEBRUARY 16. We understand that our army will quit, 0-morrow or the day after, the line of the Mincio, and will 4 ' ,7- cupy a position on the Po. A column of 5000 Au strians entered Pa. ma on the 11th of this month FEB. '23.—According to accounts received from right bank of the Mincio, Marshal Bei:egarde has moved his head-quarters to Verona. Lieutenant Ge neral Count Neuperg took, two days since, the com mand of the Austrian troops of the first line. According to the reports of several deserters, ar rived at our out-posts, the army of the enemy suffers much froth the scarcity of forage. In all the country between the Adige and the Mincio, no more has been found than 20 bottles of hay and one sack of oats. Since the battle of the Bth the army of the enemy has been reinforced by the regiment of cavalry of Ho henzollern, and by the regiment of cuirassiers of Sem mariva. One thousand waggons have finally been placed in requisition tor transporting the wounded at the Uattig of the Bth of February...toured de Paris•