Star. — London, England, 1808-11-25 00:00:00

7 ;3 . . - s ~ - • SPAIN. MADRID, NOVEMBER 9. Last night the posts frem CaMeta, and I3urgos, came in at a very late hour; for it appears that in the latter city there was some bustle among the inhabitants, in consequence of the French having sent to demand of them a great number of rations. It is certain that they will not come to fetch them, as the troops of Estramadura have already arrived in that city with their cavalry and an excellent train of artillery.—The Central Junta is expected to remove to this capital by the 16th instant.—Every prepara tion is making to attack the French at Logrono, before they have time to fortify themselves there. ARANJUEZ, NOVEMBER 9. Count Florida Blanca has received the following dispatch from Field Marshal Count Belveder, dated Burgos, the 7th instant : Most Serene Seignor—On the sth inst. I arrived with the first division of the army under my command at Aranda de Duero ; and on the 6th, continued my march as far as Lerma, though the excessive fall of rain had rendered the roads almost impassable. I ar rived, however, at dusk, the troops having accom plished a march of seven leagues, notwithstanding their having had to walk up to the knees in mud, and though it continued to rain without the interval of a single minute. On my reaching the last-mentioned place, I learned that all the in'habitants of Burgos ha 4 left that city, in consequence of their having re ceived information of the approach of the enemy. I immediately gave orders to prepare for marching this day-in that direction, allowing the troops no longer repose than was necessary to enable them to resume their route ; and, notwithstanding some difficurties which occurred, in consequence of the inclemency of the weather, I arrived at half past four o'clock in the 1 afternoon, having only halted the men for a quarter of an hour, to take some refreshment, when they had performed One half of thiS long day's march. I had sent on before me Brigadier Don Josef Maria de Alos, to take the command of the troops, to examine the situation of the enemy, to station the corps that were previously there, and had evacuated the city, in pro per positions, and to collect whatever information he could for my guidance. This officer has, in every respect. performed his duty , as have also ;he Lieute naut-Woriel of Engineers Don Josef Piero, and Cap tain Don Sebastian S. Juan, Wham I placed under his orders. 4 , The company of chasseurs of the army; whom I 6(1 ardered,to advance from Aranda de Duero, with #:). dragoons of the reginamt of _volunteer chits. sears of Spain, entered this place at day-break this city; and, conformably to my instructions to them, and subsequent orderi, communicated in consequence of intelligeuce in which I had received, joined the ad vanced guard front of the enemy. 14 About five o'clock this afternoon, word was brought that the enemy were advancing. Orders I were consequently given for the troops of the pro- 1 vincial regiment of Tui, with some horse, to proceed to meet them. They met a detac hment of 30 dra goons, forming the advanced guard of a corps ofl 700, of the same description , who were at a league's I distance from this city. Eight only of our soldiers were sent to reconnoitre, but in the sequel they were joined in the attack by 40 of the above-mentioned re giment of volunteer chasseurs of Spain, under the command of Cornet D. F. Civaldos. They threw the enemy into disorder , and killed ten of them. On I our side we had only one horse wounded, belonging to the serjeant of the party. It is impossible to deJ scribe the ardour and gallantry of the troops in this petty rencontre ; but as it would be improper that they should proceed farther, both on account of the advanced hour of the evening, as well as to prevent their falling into any ambuscade, and becoming the victims of their valour, orders were given for them to retreat, and to re-occupy their funnier positions. ~ All the Staff of my army, and the above-men tioned first division, have this day arrived in this city. The cavalry and the company of horse artillery belonging to the second division will arrive to-morrow, and the.remaining corps of this, and also the third division, will arrive in succession, without delay, as I have given orders for their making all po:.sihle expeciition. ~ All which I communicate to your Serene High ness, in compliance with my duty, and shall continue punctually to apprize you of whatever occurs. May Gon, &c. (Signed) " COUNT rE BELVEDER." '• Head-quarters, Burgos, Nov. 7. Under the date of the Bth inst. the Supreme Junta o f Government has received the following accounts' f ro nt persons of respectability, who were eye-witnesses of the factl they relate : The surrender of the battalion of the sharp shooters of Cadiz is known to the pnbfic ; but few are apprized of the circumstances that occasioned it. I Their commander, Cruz Moitrgeon, having been sent to occupy the town of Lerin on the 20th October, and having examined his situation and the distance he was from Lodoso, upon which he was ordered to retreat in case of being attacked, informed the General of his division, Don Pedro Grimarest, that his retreat was absolutely impossible, as he had to pass a plain which the enemy would most probably occu py with their cavalry prev i o us to an y attack. ' On :he 21st, toe said Seignor Grimarest proceed ed to reconnoitre the town, and approved of three points of iefence that had been fixed upon, and it • was agreed, that, in the supposed case of an attack, he should defend himself until he v..as relieved. " On the 24th and 25th, La Cruz was employed in lowering some mud-walls belonging to the garden of the Convent of Capuchins, which post the troops were to occupy, from the corner of the Charnel-house, in order to cover the approaches to his left flank. He also fortified the palace as well as be could, which be intended to use as a citadel, for the purpose of mak ing a last defence. These works were forwarded in consequence of his receiving information that they I meant to attack him during the whole Of the 25t11,1 which, however, they did not do ; but they incommo— ded him during the whole of the night of the 24th with their detachments of cavalry, which fell back to their positions at four o'clock on the morning of that day, of which he sent information to Lodoso, and the posts of Sesma and Carcai, which Were under arms during the whole of the night. 40 Although the enemy did action - ewe their tea on the rug& of the 25th, he redoubled YiS nels and his vigilaece, so that a four o'clock he had a detachment ready to receive the enemy. • gg At five in the morning the firing began at the advanced posts, and soon after the enemy attacked the position at the Charnel-house and garden of the Capuchins, with 2000 infantry and 300 cavalry, whom his brave sharp-shooters repulsed with unexampled gallantry. Seignor La Cruz, on perceiving their precipitate flight, leaped from the parapet of e prin. cipal gate, and pursued them with the 4th company, and his 30 horse, as well as the nature of the ground would admit ; but the fire of the enemy's reserve compelling him to fall back, he resumed his former position behind the ruins. " At niae o'clock, the attack wal resumed by ano ther body of troops, who had arrived to re lieve the former corps, and hey compelled the four first com panies to fall back to the palace, more by the fire of their artillery than that of their infantry ; for the cannonade was so powerful and brisk, which they di rected against the Convent, that the falling rubbish occasioned considerable damage. " At half past ten o'clock they summoned him to surrender, immediately after they had offered to his view three 8-pounders, one howitier, a 6-pounder, from 5 to 6000 infantry, from 6 to 800 cavalry, which, at the commencement of the first attack, had proceeded to occupy the avenues to the place on the right flank ; but this no way intimidated him ; on the contrary, he answered that he would never sue render while be had .ammunition and bayonets. — Their General, upon this answer, ordered his citadel to be attacked, with all his artillery and two b:ttta lions of infantry. From this operation our troops sustained but very little additional loss, whereas that of the enemy was so considerable, that they fell back in disorder. At one o'clock they returned to the attack, but with no better success than in the first instance. — They satisfied themselves with leaving two companies of grenadiers posted in the adjacent houses, who most severely galled our troops. " At five o'clock, they again sent in a flag of truce, summoning him to surrender under pain of being put to the sword. La Cruz felt himself placed in a very painful situation ; but seeing in the countenances of his brave Officers and soldiers a determination rather to perish than surrender, he answered the enemy, thet they might save themselves any further trouble, as he would rather die than yield. - The firing of artillery and infantry was resumed, and continued until dark, when all our men exerted themselves to repair their parapets, in the expectation that the following day , would bring them relief, as none had arrived that day ; but what was his affliceon, when casting his eyes over the plain he could not perceive even a vidette, and what was worse, he saw his detachment' without bread or water, or :my thing to support their ardour, having already passed tin ee days in that cita, del, destitute of every thing, with the melancholy spectacle before their eyes, of an immense number of emended, *hose cries pierced the heart. This latter circumstance, more than the want of provisions or ammunition, induced him to call a Cou,ncil of War, to determine what was to be done, having previously apprised the Captains, that the cartridges in their muskets were the only ones remaining. At length, at half past seven in the morning, it was resolved to capitulate, the soldiers being, from fatigue, scarcely able to utter a word, from want of water , ex ce p t such as drank vinegar in place of it. gg Notwithstanding this determination, they conti nued upon the defensive until half past three in the afternoon, when he sent out a flag of truce ; in con sequence of .he enemy having advanced their artillery to ivithin 100 paces of his front, with an intention of battering down the- gate ; but notwithstanding this obstinate and continued resistance, the flag of truce was received. The troops went out with the honours of war, baggage, and equipage, to proceed to France till they are exchanged, and in their own estimation, their cpndition frill be very unfortunate, until they are able to return to the field of honour. " To praise a particular officer or soldier would be to do injury to the rest. All have proved themselves heroes, worthy of immortality. All were models to each other. Their only recreation from fatigue con sisted in attending to the wounded, and administering to .them consolation in the absence of the necessary means of relief. " In this, action served as Aid de-Camp the Lieu tenant of the Regiment of Cavalry of Spain, D. Jo sef Garcia, whe is at present here, and who, anxious to participate the glory of these brave defenders of their country, did not accompany the cavalry of Bourbon, whom -the commandant La Cruz ordered to join the out-post of Sesma. The company of Catalans, under D. Francisco Tong, equally distinguished themselves with the thip.. seurs ; and also the out-posts of Sesma, under the command of the Captain of battalion of the sharp shGoterspf Spain, D. Josef Giron. " So far we state on the authority of eye witnesses ; , but we farther learn, from positive information, that the French General Grandison, the Commander of their division, returned their swords, after the capi tulation, to the Spanish Officers, in compliment to their brave defence, and that he treats them with re. gard and distinction.; assigning as an escort to them and their brave soldiers, who have had the misfortune to fall into his hands , from 7 to SOO of his best troops. I! We also are positively informed, that our loss in this affair, r i s glorious as it has been unfortunate, cousists of from fifty to sixty killed, about fifty wounded, and a few more than four hundred pri soners, including officers and privates. 64 Arnong the killed, is Lieutenant D. Josef Bausa ; among the wounded, Captain-Lieut. D. Josef Marti nez, Brevet Captain D. Mauricio Estrada, and Sub- Lieutenant D. Manuel Oromi ; besides Captain D. Francisco Farinas, who received a contusien, all be longing to the sharp-shooters of Cadiz. " The Supreme Junta, who have beheld with the most lively interest the heroic valour of these troops, so inferior in number to tlie enemy, and who,convinced that the same spirit animates thewhole army ' entertain therefrom the most confident expecta tions of the salva-j Lion of the country, and the chastisement of the enemy ] have taken the proper means to discover, with promo= titude, those who may have incuTred any blame in this • affair, to adjudge suitable rewards. to those 'AO have ' desarilveell,and above all, to procure d ue i nformation respecting the families 4f those defenders of the coun try, that use Junta may assign a prop er rem u neration to the relatives of such as sacrifice themselves for their country—a duty which the Junta will enr continue to discharge in a manner worthy of tht.nation for whom they'contend. Spaniards ! you will remark, in one of the dis patches, the astonishing conduct of our brethren, who, when their ammunition was spent, rushed upon the dead bodies of the enemy, to supply themselves from their. cartouches. Neither Greece nor Rome ever present ed an example of such valour, steadiness, and cool ness. Such are the avengers of Ferdinand VII. such the defenders of the country ; with whom, and assist ed by Goa, the justice of our cause, and our exalted patriotism, we fear neither th e numerous hosts of the enemy, nor the iniquitous means which, in other quar ters, have aided his detestable designs." SARAGOSSA, NOVEMBER S. All the Murcians have this day marched off for Navrrre. The General set off last night for Tudela, where General Castanos is. It is supposed that they will concert measures for an attack upon the enemy, and we axe confident of success. PRIVATE LETTERS. Vtz.to, OCT. 30.—" I- informed you in my former letters, that our advanced guards were every day engaged with those of the enemy, in which the ad vantage was always on our side. But still nothing was done on our part to take possession of the post tions near the city (Logrona), such as Viana, Oyon, Montecorvo, Cerro, Cantabria, &c. and contenting ou rselves only with placing some posts of 40 or 60 men at the utmost. At the same time I told you, that Pinateli had come as Provisional General of the Army, having taken the command from Equia, the brothetain-law of Godoy. It has since been appre hended that this has given rise to some infamous conduct, and that a treaty was entered into with the French for the delivery of Logrona, and also of our army into their hands, This, however, was happily prevented by the arrival, last Tuesday evening, of General Castanos. " In the meanwhile our small advanced posts were i furiously attacked by the whole French army, and ] driven into the town. While we were at our several , posts, the enemy's troops took possession of the po sitions near the city, which we ought to have occu pied, notwithstanding our artillery did some executionl at The bridge, and at Balbuena, against the enemy's Cavalry. It was now evening, and the enemy's large fires being seen near the city, we received orders to retire within the city during the night. As soon as day broke, we covered our posts before the city ; and as .soon as the artillery perceived the approa ch of some detached bodies, after four discharges, they re tired. It was now noon, and we bad not fired a gun, nor eaten any thing, when from a battery which was raised between some olive-trees very near the town', a heavy discharge of balls, bombs, and gre nades, were made upon the city, but the artillery being pointed too high, no injury was done to it. We answered this discharge from the batteries, and with more effect, for we dismounted one cannon and killed all who were near it. "At two of the afternoon, the firing having ceased for a time, we were ordered to fall back in ood order. When we returned to the town, we f ound the gates shut, and a great number of persons want ing.—General Castanos had also left the place ; for, when he discovered the treachery, and saw the posi tions which had been lost, he was in a great rage.— He had learned, that the night before, the French had marched by torch-light to attack Lodosa, where his troops were. The General, therefore, ordered a retreat towards Calahorra, in order to unite the two armies, and commanded that the traitor should be transported to Soria. At three in the afternoon we effected our junction, and at midnight set out for Nalda, three leagues to the right of Logrona, through a horrid way. I'he principal inhabitants of the city, who were dispersed, joined us, leaving their houses abandoned. The bridge was destroyed, which had been undermined several days before. " It is now three days since we have been marched, day and night, without food, and through roads which seemed impassable. Yesterday we arrived at this place, which is three leagues from Calahorra, and five from Logrona. We are waiting the junction of the armies, when we mean to strike a blow at the enemy; hoping fair good sucems in Gon, the Virgin, and the intrepidity and good disposition of Castanos. Within a week something' decisive is to ha done ; for it is thought the enemy. is to be-attacked before he has for tified himself in the city." • SHORES OP THE BAY or BISCAY, NOV. 18.—Since mylaitletter, two mails have arrived from Madrid ; the latter of which is this moment come in. The intelligence they bring is very alarming. From Ma drid itself indeed 'we hear 'nothing ; but from the: non-arrival of the post from Burgos, as well as from express intelligence from Lugo, we learn that the French are advanced, not only to Burgos, but also to Valladolid. " The mail which arrived last Tuesday brought letters, which furnished a pretence for suggesting that the non.arrival of letters from Burgos was occasioned by their being seized by the Central Junta, and taken to Madrid, previously to their being sent hither ; and the talk of the day has been of nothing but treachery on the part of the Generals ; and all the usual stories by which it is attempted to conceal an unwelcome truth, as if treason in the army were a less calamity than defeat. It is disgusting, as well as painful, to repeat the statements of this description, and I shall therefore inclose one of the letters, which gives some account of the retreat from Logrona, and up3n which with others, the reports of treachery are founded. " P. S. The letters of this morning are scarcely delivered, and I have not been able to learn much of their contents. A letter from Lugo states, that the enemy is at Valladolid ; if so, it may be lens be fore we hear from Madrid. The advanced troops of the English at-my are falling back, and it is said, they will undertake the . guarding of the passes of this pro vince ; a service of infinite importance to Galicia, and of no slight *mime= to the genesalcause. . 4 6 The news from the English army, on its way t irom Portugal, is so less distrpising. It is said that 3000 of the men under Sir John Moore are sick. hope this is an exaggeration." ; - -.., ..: - TIAAVENING STAR. = LONDON. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25. pRICE OF sTocKs THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK amok, fur Money, 651}—for acc.6.53-omnium I Cs, • - Exchequer Bills, 7s. to Bs. prem. PRICE OF STOCKS YESTERDAY. Bank Steck 236; Orunlturt 1 dis. '3 per Cant. Ann. 6:41 India Stock 182/ 184 9 per C. Cons.ll6lfli India Bond*, 6s. is. prem. 4 per Cent. 814: Milli Ex. Bills, Ss. Bs. pre. 5 per Cent. Navy 99} 100 State Lottery Pickets, 4:1.136, Long Ann. 18 lt 15-16 Cons. for aco. 66it ..,._.. The Mail from Corunna, which we announced yesterday, left that port on the 19th, and reached Falmouth on Tuesday. _ _ _ The intelligence—communicated in the printe4 journalstur Burgos is an tri a eflr this divisio :—The nath French e army of a of 4s h t v rem e enteredadt consisting of 4.000 men, which had advanced from Madrid in that direction, has been defeated. The private accounts represent affairs as stilt more unfavourable. In the STAR of Wednesd a y we stated, that BLAKE'S army had been so hard preskd by . the enemy, as to be obliged to retreat, con. scantly skirmishing, from the 6th to the 11th. letters received by this conveyance repeat the same . details, and add, that the enemy had gained such • farther advantages as enabled them to advance as • far as Valladolid, on their way to Madrid. Th e fact appears to be, that General BLAKE'S army, if not entirely routed, has been so much scattered and divided, that it will be difficult again to concentrate these troops so that they may act with effect. It would be presumption in us to affect to know . the contents of the dispatches received by Gored. ment. We can only state what report gives as thei substance —namely that they have received accounts from Lugo, on the line of Sir DAVID BAIRD'S MITC4 stating, that on the 18th they had halted in cam quence of advises that the Northern Spanish awl under the command of General BLAKE, had beast. tally routed—that the French were in possessitati Burgos—and had even advanced by rapid marches to Valladolid. We informed our Readers yesterday, that a fleet of Transports which had sailed from Coruna on the morning of the 19th for England, had been recalled, and had returned to that harbour before the Lady Pellew sailed. That the fact is so, we know to be correct, but it does not follow, at has been reported, that their return was- for the purpose of bringing olds British army. Some other cause might exist for re calling these transports ; but it cannot be disguised that the British troops are put in a perilous situation by the rapid advance of the French armies, for Sir JOHN Moms and Sir DAVID BAIRD had not &Id a junction, nor could they for some time subse quent to the date of these accounts. Sir lop Mantes first column reached Salamancba on the 11 4 3 th, the French probably reached Valladolid alma the same time—the distance by the direct road is about '2O leagues. Sir DAVID BAIRD is IllidergOOd to have been at Lugos about the same date. Burgos was the place where the troops under Si ions MOORE and Sir DAVID BAIRD were to base i t united their forces, but the enemy being in pessessia of that place, it is evident that some other movemat would become necessary—probably the retreat of fa ions MOORE ; for it is to be feared that he is in wand magazines, and it is known that, to pievent the arts( from suffering by a lack of provisions, his army ea marched in small columns ; so that between tie van and the rear there would be a distance of several days march. In such circumstances the troops could not be concentrated again by any means usurers! than by the advanced corps retreating to meet then in the rear.—ln our Army Arf-ale we have givens S list of the trocps under General Moon. We have no doubt whatever, that we shallots hear that the unexpected defeat of General Buy, has placed the British troops iq an aukward ment, the cavalry under General HOPE having tak° l a different route from that of the infant* whether this had any share in causing the truegi 4ll to be recalled we cannot say. We have letters from the 60th regiment, la was at Corunna when the packet sailed, but ill are dated on the preceding day, and therefore is throw no light on the precise circumstance 1 114 occasioned the recal of the transports on the 19the: They mention, however, one fact which, of its' might induce precaution on the part of our corn' dens. One of the letters says " The Spanish General CUESTA has been " in a traiterous correspondence 44 and is now in ignominious cont These letters also mention, tha ; severe action near Bilboa, but particulars. It was not till the reached Corunna.—For some . communicated in these letters relal troops, see our ARNIY article. We cannot terminate our present observing, that all the accounts ceived from Corunna, may prove of those we communicated on BLAKE has sustained a defeat to the Corunna accounts, and at . allow the news to be known at that it might have been known in Ene Santander, before this time. :e with the en , ifinement." 1 at they had heard had not learnt 19th that the 4 farther partic , dative to the •• sent remarks that have bee. a mere exag Wednesday ; fdr. the extent state d I SO early a date 0 lat place, on the 1 (gland, by the Of Z-, 11