Star. — London, England, 1814-01-24 00:00:00

I 1 _ - -. FROM SATURDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTE. WAR DEPARTMENT. -.. DOWNING-STREET, JANUARY 20. _ A Disp4tch, of which the following is an-extract; has been this day received by E,itrl Bathurst, address. ed to his Lordship by Field-Marshal the Marquess of Wellington, dated St. Jean de Luz, January 9, 1814. The enemy collected a considerable force . on the Gave in the beginning of the week,' and on the 3d instant drove in the cavalry* picqueti between the Joyeuse and Bidouze rivers, and attacked the post of Major-General Buchan's Portuguese, brigade on the Joyeuse, near La Bastide, and those of the Sd divi sion in Bouloe. They turned the right of Major- General Buchan's brigade on the height of La Costa, and obliged him to retire towards Briscons : and they established two divisions of infantry on the height, and in La Bastide, with tke remainder of the army ou the Bidouze and the Gave. - Our centre and right were immediately concen trated and prepared to move ; and-having reconnoi tred the enemy on the 4th, I intended to have at tacked them on the sth instant ; bUt was obliged to defer the attack till the 6th, owing to the badness of the weather, and the swelling of the rivulets. The attack was made on that day by the 3cl and 4th divi sions, under the command of Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Picton, and Lieutenant-General Sir Lowry Cole, supported by Major.Generl Buchan's Portuguese brigade of General Le Carts division, and the cavalry, under the command of Major Ge neral Fane; and the enemy were forthwith dislodged, without loss on our side, and our posts replaced w h e re , they-had beep. My last reports , from Catalonia are of the 24th ultimo ; nothing extraordinary had occurred. ADMILALTYSOFFIOE, JANUARY 22. • " Copy of a Letter,froti ViceTAdmiral Sir Edward Peliew, Bart. to John Wilcor, troker, gag, dated on hoard his Majesty's ship Caledonia, ;t Port Mahon, the 24th December, 1413. . SlR—The enclosed narrative will convey to their - Lordships the details of a gallant enterprise, very ably directed by Captain Sir Josias Rowley, and most zealously executed ley the force under his command, in co-operation with the battalion of Colonel Cata nelli, who made a descent on the coascof Italy, un der a hope of surprising Leghorn. The loss sustained in this'afiiir has been inconside rable, when compared with that of the enemy. lam sure their Lordships will do ample justice to the me rits of, Sir Josias, and the captains; officers, searnert and marines, engaged in this spirited service. I have the honour to be, Bcc. (Signed) anwahr, PtLLEW. His Majesty's Ship America, off Leghora v 15th December, 181$. , • Sitt—l have the honour to inform you, that in puxi nuance of my preceding commtinicatidn to you from, Palermo, I sailed thence on the 29th Wu in company with the Termagant, and anchored at Melazzo one the following night, where• having joined the ship named in the margin 6 , and efrnbarked onboard them on the following day the troops of the Italian levy, amounting to about one thousand men," under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Catapelli, we sailed the same evening, and. arrived on the coast of Italy, off Via Reggio, on the 9th instant : having' fallen ill with the Armada atcl Imperieuse or the north of Corsica. I detained them to assist us in getting the troops On shore, Having anchored With the :gin dron of the town, the troops and field pieces "fere immediately - landed ; a small party of the enemy having evacuated the place on a summons that had beets sent in, and possession was takynof two eighteen • and one Ig-pounder guns, which defended the en , trance of the river. The Lieutenant-Colonel pro. circled immediately to Lucca, which place w'assur rendered to 11M1 at twelye the same night. The fol lowing nay a detachment of forty royal marines from this ship ; under Captain Rea, was sent to a signal atatinn to the northward,. wLich on his threatening to storm, surrendered to him, and eleven men who de fended it were made- prisoners ; he found it to be a -castle of considerable, size and strength, walled and ditched, and capable of-containing near one'thousand Inca. On receiving this report, I sent Mr. Bazar" Retie, sefrior I.,ientenant of the America, who with' a few barrels of powder completely destroyed it, brin ing off a brass nine-pounder gun, which was mounted - in the castle, Parties from the Irhperieuse and Fo rmate alscibrought off two other brass guns from the beach to the northward and southward of the town, those at the landing place having also been embarked. '1 he Lieutenant-Colusteld rotjudging it advisable to continue at Lucca, had given me notice of his in tended return to Via Reggio, where, he artived on the morning of the 12th, and signiried his intention to proceed in another direction. Not conceiving my stay with this ship any longst- ne cessary, I had made arrangements for leaving the - Edinburgh, Finieuse, and Termagant, under the or. ders of Captain pundas, to keep up (ifinacticafile) a communication with the troops, and purposed sailing . to rejoin your flag ns soon as k was dark, when towards sunset we perceived a firing at the town, and found that,thi troops were attacked by. a force of about sin • hundred c avalry and infantry, with a-howitzer and tads field pieces. They consisted of a detaihmcnt from the garrison of Leghorn, which had been joined on its march by some troops at Pisa; the Lieutenant-Colonel corn. pletely routed them, with the loss of thei r guns an d bowitaer, and a c,onsiderabla ,number of killed, wounded, and prisoners ; the remainder' retreated in much confusion towards Pisa. littormation having been obtained from the pri soners of the weak state of the garrison 4-Leghorn,. the Lieutenant-Colonel proposed to me to intercept the return of the rowed troops, by preceedigg imme r diately off Leghorn, in the tropes that b/ chewing ourselves in as much force as possible, the inhabk. tants, who, it was supposed, were maned to receive us, might mains Mane movement in air favour, and chit we might atvail ourselves of any ?tragical* open tng to force our way into the place. I acceded to this - proposal, aO4 the troops were; immediately embarked in a number of country yes. which Mere towed off beadle boats pf the prat dion, and the whole being taken in tow ,by the 41414 4; weproceedr.d the same night for Le g horn Roads; where we anchored about three o 'clo c on the fort • Edinburgh, Furious*, Menzold. lowing day, to the northward of the town. The Imperieuse having previously reconnoitred the best spot for landing, the vessels were immediately towed in share, and the troops and field-pieces landed with- Out opposition. The boats then proceeded to land the marines ; but the weather, which had been hi iherto favourable, in the course of the evening be. came so bad, that only a part could be got onshore; and I regret to state that the pinnace of the America was swamped, and Lieutenant Moods' (a most valu able officer) and two seamen were drowned. Early In the morning the remainder were landed, and pro ceeded to the positions assigned them, The corps of the enemy which had been defeated at Via Reggio, was a second time reinforced at Pisa, and at this period made an attack on our marines Without the tower. I beg to refer you to Captain Dundas's report, for the particulars of their defeat. The Lieutenant-Colonel suggested, as a proper time after this advantage, to summons the commandant, which was accordingly done, but an answer returned that he would defend himself. The gates of the town had been closely examined during this day and the preceding night, to ascertain the practicability of forcing an entrance, but that, or any other means of immediate attack not being con sidere4 practicable against a place so strong and re gularly fortified, and there not appearing any move ment of the inhabitants in our favour, the precariogs and threatening state of the weather, a change of which would have preventettall communication with the ships, rendered it expedient toreimbark the-whiale without delay-is-hi very great, exertions this was fected in the best order during the night, and party the following morning, in very severe weather, with-. out any molestation from the enemy. On returninikfrenn the shore •to the America at sunset,. I found *a depntation from the Mayor and in habitants of the town, who h ad been permitted by the Commandant to come off with t flag of truce, to petition, us to ceas^ our fire .from the houses t he having threatened to dislodge us by' setting fire to the suburbs-as arrangements were already made for embarking, I consented to a cessation of firia; on both sides till eight the next morning; a•favoura circumstance for us, the troops on their march to the boats being exposed to a fire from the ramparts. I have very great satisfactiUn in reporting to yop the zeal and good conduct of all the officers, seismal and marines, employed on the above-mentioned services. ' To Lieutenant-Colonel Cittanelli every praise is due, for his able and indefatigable exertions, and feel thankful for his cordial cc,-operation. The con duct of the troops'of the Itali.sa Leyy, both for bra ! , very and discipline in the field, and the cheerful ness with which they endured the constant exposure in boats, in the most severe weather, excited our ad miration. I am much indebted to Captain Grant for hie able. adflce and assistance ; to the Honourable Captain Duudas, who undertook the direction of the marines and seamen ; and to. Captain Hamilthn, who'ralun teered his services on shore, my thanks are particu larly due, for the gallant manner in which they co* ducted them ; and I feel mtich indebted to the kio nourable Captain Duncan for the ready and use* , assistancehe afforded me on every occasion. ~ Captain Mounsw when the landihg was effec had moved with the Furicuse and Termagant r to watch the motions of three brigs of war lying in the outer mole, but which afterwards moved into the, inner one, the crews having landed to assist in the defence of the place . . Captain Dunn was indefatigable in his exertions at the landing place, and I feel called upon so notice ' the goOd conduct of the officers and crews of the boats through a continued and most fatiguing service. . I beg that I may be permitted to mention the as. sistance I received from Lieutenant Baaalgette, senior of this ship, a most deserving officer; and to notice 'the conduct of Mr. Bromley, the surgeon, who vo lunteered his services on shore with the troops. I herewith enclose a list, of the killed and wounded, and am happy to say our loss is much smaller than might have been expected. I have no account of that of the Italian levy, but I believe it is not con 4derable. There have been no corr 'e ct returos of prisoners, but Captain Dunda.s informs me r that above SOU have been taken in the two affairs. I have the honour to be, &c. (Signed) , JOS. RoWeEY, Captain. Vice-Admiral Sir Edward Pellew, &c. &c. His Majesty's ship Edinburgh, off Leghorn, December 13,..1a!3. Sea—ln obedience to .your directions, Captain Ha milton and myself landed on the evening at the ISth H ith the marines of his Majesty's ships wooed in the margin,* to co-operate with Lieutenant-C.clonel tanelli. We pushed on that evening with the advance of the marines and Italian levy, and got possession of the suburbs ot the town of Leghorn. The extreme darkness of the night, and the road being nearly im passable, prevented the body of the troops, joining until the morning ; the moment a sufficient number had come up, in compliance with theLient.-Coionel's arrangements, the Italians occupied the suburbs,land buildings close to the ramparts ; the marines occu pied a position on ifie . Pisa road ; as soon afteeday light as possible, we reconnoitred the town- r'just as we had Anished, and were returning from the south ern part of the town, ,a hiring was heard in 'the direc tion of the Pisa road, where we proceeded instantly, and found the marines were at that moment att.acked by., & a considerable body of the enemy's troops, cony saTing of at least seven hundred men, cavalry and .infantry, supported by two field-pieces ;--.the charge Of thu cavalry was J'edFircA with great coolness by the marines, they opened and allowed them to pass, killing all but about fourteen, who. .with two officers, succetaked in getting through. but who were all killed or wouuded; excepting one officer, by a small detach ment of the Italian levy, that was formed at the eri !ranee of the sittsurbs of the sown. Alter the charge .of die caralry, the marines instantly closed laid charged the enemy's infantry ? , and put'them entireli to the rout ; they lost in des affair ' the officers com manding their cavalry and . infintry, with about fini?, two hundred and fifty to three headied k!ileci f ! wounded, and priaoners ; the remainder retreated in the greatest disorder to Pisa. In this aff 4 ki ir my most panic:liar thapf:s are due to Captain A . UM, who, I all lorry to say, iF 4 wounded, as well as to Captain Peale of the Armada,,,. who commanded the marines, as also . to . . • Arnraka,Arpada, gdiaburcb, linperkeuse p Fannie*, kin bow, 1 ermasant, tad Mermaid. _ Captain's Rea and Mitchell, of the Murk* znd Edinburgh ; to the other offgers, non-commissioned officers, and privates, all•possible credit is due for re pelling the attack,' and putting to route the enemy, who were certainly double their force; the marines lost, on this occasion, one killed and seven wounded. The Italian levy who were on 'the houses close round the ramparts, as well is those in the advance, were indefatigable in their exertions, and their bra ,very was truly conspicuous on all occasions. The ~enemy suffered by the destructive fire they kept up 'on the ramparts, killing or wounding those who at tempted to come near the guns. It being arranged between you and the Lieute nant-Colonel that we should reitnbark, the wounded and prisoners, with our two field-guns and ammuni tion, *ere embarked at twelve o'clock last night, marched off in the hest possible order, through bad roads and incessant rain. I beg to offer . my thanks to Lieuteitant-Colonel Catanelli, for his attention in pointing out what he wished to be done by us to forward his plan. My thanks are due to Captain Dunn, of the Mermaid, for forwarding every thing- from the beach to us in ad vance ; as well as to Lieutenants Mason, of the Ame rica, and Mapleton and Leach of thjs ship, and Tra vers, of the Imperieuse ; and to the Midshipmen, and small arm men, and those stationed to a howitzer, for their steady good conduct. I have the honour to be, Sic. (4ignecil G. H. L. DuNpas, Captain. §ir Jo4las Rowley, Dart. Captain of his Majesty', ship - Anser4 • RETURN 01 KILLED AND woutinFn.SEAMEN AND ICA *RES 01 His 144.11ESTT I S ' IsilIPS usonoati, iIECIIAO32It, 1813. minlca.. ;awes Moodie, Lieutenant, drowned by the swamping of a boat on the 13th December. Gears! White, able seaman, ditto. William Ford, able seaman, ditto. Attu Richard Gorton, private marine, severely wounded. John Snn ditto, dangerously wounded. Robert Clark, ditto, stvircly wountted: Emanuel Key, private marine, 'dangerously wounded. Rickard Wilsen ditto, severely wounded. Cliristopier Robson, ditto, slightly wounded. IMPILRICUSZ. WiUiaat VaugSan, private marine, slightly wounded. Itmtiusow. Captain Hamilton, slightly wounded. Samuel Page, marine, killed. John Todd, miter. mate, severely wounded. TERMA9ANT. James Rowley, marine, severely wounded. Robete ditto, severely wounded. Total-1 killed, S drowned, 11 wounded. (signed) • JOSIAS ROWLEY; Captain. E. F. FIROMLET, purge . LISBON PA PERS. w.. • • Letter from his Excellency the Marquess of Wel lington to the Ambassadpr of his Britannic Majesty to. the Spanish Government, relative to the cause ihich occasioned the- sending of British troops to Cadiz and Carthagena, and the order that they should be withdrawn from thence ; " ST. JEAN DE LUZ, DECEMBER 7. • " MOST EXCItLLCNT SIR—I have the honour min , dose a copy of the Orders which I transmitted to the Commanders of the British troops in Cadiz and Ca* thagena, relative to their adopting the necessary means for withdrawing from the said places. without loss el time, the troops and effects appertaining to his BA : tannic Majesty, of which important measure your Excellency will be pleased to inform the Spanish Government, According to my mode of thinking, I believe.' that the operations of the war are in such a state, thole it is no, probable that the said places will again rk l quire the co-operation of British troops, and by con.l sequence, there should be no reason that the said troops should remain in them, causing an increased expence to the British Government, and detrimental to the service of his Majesty, I represented the same to my Government, and received permission from the Prinee Regent to avithdraw them: " I should have deferred this measure till the Spa. nish Government had made known to me its wish on this particular, if I had not read the libels which are circulated in Spain upon this subject, impeaching the honour and good faith of his Britannic Majesty, and if I had nut perceived the efforts which have been made to persuade the public, that the troops of his Majesty continued iu those two places with sinister views—an amnion equally without foundation, as! appears from the faithful relation of what passed on' this point, when the English troops were destined fot ocliz and Carthagena. " In the beginning of this war the gcitish Govern ment, extremely convinced of the importance, mili tary and naval, of the points of Cadiz and the Isle of Leon, and manifesting a desire that they might have a competent garrison for their security, set, on foot various negociations on this point with the Junta of Seville, and-successively with the Central Junta, which had no result, 44 The military events on the Tagus, at the end of the year 1809, and those in Andalusia, in the begin, ning of 1810, proved that the British Government had done right in considering those points as the true basis of the operations of the war, and certainly for.H tune had a great share in,our successes, which 'at that time prevented Cadiz from. telling into the power of the enemy. f' At that time (Januarp. 1810) % the British army was in Portugal, and received On the sth February, by the means of your Excellency's predecessor, Mr. Frere, a dispatch front the Provisional Regency, re questing me to send as soon as possible a detachment of English troops to co-operate in the defence of that place, and there bring at that tinge a considerable twmber of troops in Lisbon, I sent them without loss! of time, stating, besides the conditions ,under which 1 took upon me the responsibility of separating that de tachment from the rest of the army, one of which was, that 41 , laid troop: should receive their ration: from the ; 4 /wraith setirazinee ; and I particularly charged the Ueneral who commanded them, not to land them, if the said conditions were refit cted ( I j. , 4 The Spatilsh pO t iernment ought to have in its possession the documents of what passed on this oc casion • bus in atsse it should nut have preserved them, " (1.) It ought tole observed, that though the Spanish po• CollaC;lta to the condition, the Authorities of Cadiz tieciNcti at the tn 4 of the first mouth 'that they were no itisiger able to @okay pxotiisions, and trout that tine the expellee of dulr ntaintehstece was placid *so the account of the lirstish Go .; • • • • your EsteHoney possesses them, and by tbim piove the following facts: 14 lit. That the English troops were sent to Cadis at the solicitation of the Spanish Government. 46 2d. That I insisted upon conditions, without which the said expedition would not hare been per. witted to disembark ; and that, 14 !Idly. The Bridal, Government, or those corn. missioned by it, could not have sinister views in send. ing the said troops to Cadiz. " The causes which occasioned the sending of BEl tish troops to garrison Carthagena, were nearly the same as those which caused their being sent to Ca diz—the progress of the enemy in Valencia, a nd, t h e defeat of the Spanish army, commanded ta General Blake, in that province, :It the east of the i t e e ar 1811, 'occasioned fears for the security - Of Certha aa, and poor Excellency communicated to Me the scoria si tip Spanish Government, that I should send a de. tachment of English troops to assist in the defence of that place. I agreed to this under the same condi. dons which I had stipulated for the garrison of Cadiz, adding, that the vessels and naval stores which were at Carthagena should immediately be sent to Mahon. ‘• your Axcellency has in yoer . rssession all the documents relative to this transaction, which will eei. dently prove that no sinister views ever influenced the destination of English troops for that garrison (1). The Spansih Government (as far -as I kpow) never manifested 4ny desire, that the poops of his Britannic Majesty should be withdrawn &OM ( hiker of those two ?laces. The present Government mast be fully Convinced of these facts, and it certainly sir. Nisi' Me 'above measure, that, desiring that the al liance with his Majesty should continue, and knowing, as I most know, that the views of its Ally are at least honourable, and that the services which have been rendered to the cause have been equally distinguished by valour and importaoce to Spale, have not seised the first opporttknity to remove the imputations those who, without doobt, hive beet: employed by the enemy for that purpose, have been able to Nuke on the minds of the people. At Any mite, / hope that the measure; which ]}' have adopted, and which form the subject of this letter, will open the eyes of :be ni. tion ; and I take the liberty to recommend to your Excellency, that you will be' pleased to order the publication of this letter, which contains an historical epitome of the transactions that have occurred on this subject.—l em, your most obedient servant, (Signed) w et, Li moro*.liar " To his Eseelleuey Henry Wellesley, 1L B. British Ambassador to the Court of Spaht.." COPY OF AN OFFICIAL DISPATCH FROM HIS IFCBLLINCY MARSHAL W. C. -111F.RtsFORD TO His ZyCELLENCY DON saiGUNI. FutEiRA•FONJAZ, DATED a Headiaartefa, Listartta, Dec. to. ILLL:XTRIOUS AND EXCELLENT lijioE—His ' Ex.i.el. lency she Marshal General Mike of Vittoria, has, no doubt, 'as usual, sent your Excellency an account of the actions - which have taken piece since the 9di inst. 'and to we it belongs to convey to your Excellency the.etclosed list of the killed, wounded, missing, an prisoners, which the army has suffered in 'the saycl actions. jan extremely sorry the numher was so 'great, but I have 'Oe consolation of being a%le to auur your Excellency, that the Portuguese army has acquired a glory superior to that which it hs4 already gained, and which, any so 'splendid: " Your Excellency ell knows that a military Te putattoil and 'such high glory, cannot be gained with out loss, and thateur admiratioo and.iatlsaction at the result, cannot be othenvise than mixed with pie; and that this is likewise less applipable to those whcl [gloriously died, than thoie who remained prisoners of war, and espeCially on this occasion, since'l have the satisfaction of beiqg able to inform ynur Excellency, that the Officers stated in the list of prilorters were made so by their firm resolution or remaining at their posts, and of setting, to the last, an example proper from Officers to their soldiers." (Here follows a list of thor Portuguese tilled, mrquoded, priso ners, and miss:ng I • • General B4fiasterno obtained leave to go from Ceuta to Frixanal de 1a Sierra, in Spanish Estrema dura, where he at present is. It is said thet in the tirst Sessions of the Cortes in Madrid they will discuss 'about giving him some employ in the armies. IXTRACT FROM TUE GENERA L ORDERS MUST) FROM TWA HEADQUARTERS AT LLIZONDO, BY THE COMIANDER IN enter, AD INTERIM. " SOLDIERI—You save terminated gloriously the sixth campaign of our national war, making apart in it of the allied army commanded personally by the illustrious General in Chief of the Spanish Armies. the Duke of Ciudad R6drigo. You have covercd yourselves with immortal 'Aare's, conducted con stantly to victory by his itiperior genius. • " Five battles gained, a great number of combats, 'three places of the - first order taken ? as also various forts and walled towns, more than 650 pieces.of ar tillery, various eagles and colours, 60,000 of the enemy killed. or made prisoners, 100 leagues of coun try conquered, the Pyrenees passed, the war carried into the enemy's territory,. the. opinion .of the French army destroyed, its most famous Captains constantly routed, and the liberty of Spain for ever secured, are the monuments of the glory eith s a wort° *which you belong, and the fruits of this memorable campaign. " soldiers l you have.hed an active part in away of these triumphs, Conduced by your worthy Ge, neral, the Conde de A bisval, you hive taken; without other means than your own valour, the strong fortress - of Pancorvo. Yon were among the first to shut up within their wails the numerous garrison of Pam plona, and form its blockade ; your bayonet* shone in the glorious fields of Sorawren. Afterwards under my command, you defeated the enemy in the battle of the 31st of August ; you took his entrenchments and strong positions is that of the 7th of October, and completed your triumphs on the following day. You repulsed his attack with inferior forfes -on the 13th, and in the battle of Sara, glorious in so many respects, you conquered all the works and positions which you were appointed to take, and coyereittow. selves. with new glories. "Reet now fro) yottr glorious labours to fey ahuetly to new triumphs, until the entire liberty and abrogate independence of your country being obtained, and .the Throne of our King Feidinand secured, you may under the shade of the laurels acquired lay Jour blood, enjoy in the he of your families the reward Of so many labours." (oioed, act) • (I.) Though Lord Wellington huew that the Spanish Go. aerruncnt desired that British troops might ne scot to Omit.. geoa, he always positively refused i till he had teeeived an adieu! eonontudcstiou at the iii9rtt." a a d to M • a 11 41 P al Ir : 11 . I .