The National Register. — London, England, 1809-01-29 00:00:00

TIIE NATIONAL REGISTER; force to bear on our army ; and the glorious result of the memorable battle of Corunna, under all the inconveni ences our soldiers laboured under, will teach, at last, the country and the Cabinet, that the idea of our beating the French on their own, or Spanish, or any ether ground, is not so chimerical, as has been imagined. Almost half ' the enemy's force in Spain had been detached against this handful of ours ; and with all their celerity, impetuosity, and generalship, they were unable to prevent our retreat; and, at its termination, were signally defeated. The tyrant himself, who iiwnediately after his arrival on the 25th at the army, had witnessed the exploits of Our cavalry, and judging there were more blOws than honour to be acquired in directing the operations against the British Army, mean ly stole away from the field of honour, and confided to one of his Subaltern ruffians the dangerous task of driving it Sato the sea. He had, at St Jean d'Acre, a specimen of the laurels to be gained in fighting with our soldiers, and the wary, cunning and dastarly usurper thought it safer to compose, under the name of Bulletins, atrocious libels against our troops, than to fight them manfully. If this circumstance is not capable of extinguishing the admiration . of domestic panegyrists of that usurper, and of rousing the confidence and energy of Ministers ; we will only say the inveterate stupidity of the one is incurable; and that the latter are incompetent to administer the affairs of this country. The base detractors of our co-ope ration in support of continental independence are silenced, for ever, by the victory at Corunna; and the public will be sensible. at. .last, that 100,000 rum of such mettle, as triumphed.on the 16th are not only competent to resist the invaders ; but to lash them, covered with shame and con fusion, beyond the Pyrenees. . On Wednesday, the 11th, the army reachtie Corunna. On the 12th, the advanced-guard of the French arrived at Betauzos, a place about twelve miles from Corunna. On the evening of the 14th, a hundred sail of transports en- ' tered the bay from Vigo; and the following day the re mainder arrived. By this tune the greater part of the enemy appeared in the neighbourhood, and occupied the adjacent heights; so that the Commander in Chief could no longer expect to continue the embarkation, which be gan on the 14th, without interruption ; and, in fact, our troops were engaged, during the whole of that day, in in cessant ,kirmishes with the enemy. They declined, how 'inter, a general engagement, as their intention manifestly was to prevent our embarkation till their entire force had arrived, when they thought themselves certain of over whelming our army. These having accordingly arrived i:nder the command, as it is said, of .14170 T, the enemy were seen, early on the 16th, making a movement, evinc ing an intention to envelope our men; whilst their principal force was directed, however, against our right. wing, which was towards Encobras, and consisted of the 4th, 42d, and 50th regiments, composing the brigade of Lord Be:NITINCK. Under these circumstances Sir liar, MOORE prepared to sustain an engagement, which was now become unavoidable. Our position was reconnoitered by Marshal SovLT, be tween 10 and 11 o'clock in the morning, and the attack 7S was notwithstanding a feint upon our left by a column and four pieces of artillery, made by the French upon our right wing, with great impetuosity, and resisted by our gallant troops with undaunted firmness and perseverance. It was obviously the design of the enemy to turn the right wing, and thus interpose between th© army and the place of em barkation. The heroic gallantry of men and officers frnstrated this attempt ; and notwithstanding their repeated elrorts, the/ were, in every new attack, repulsed with great slaughter.. At last some confusion appearing in their ranks, our men became, in their turn, the assailants. The charge was made with the bayonet ; and on this, as on every other occasion, the enemy were not able to resist it a single in stant. In this attack, during which the whole army cover ed itself with glory, the Guards, it is said, particularly sig nalized themselves. The French were so completeV rout ed, and fled with such precipitation, that they did not dare re-appear for fourteen hours afterwards. This in terval was occupied in embarking our troops. Thus an engagement, where the desparity of numbers were so very considerable, was decided by the irresistible effect of the British bayonet, in less than three hours, from two o'clock till five in the evening. Our loss, on the occasion. is much less than could ha% n been expected, not exceeding in killed and wounded seven hundred men ; among whom are several officers,—a glori ous and incontestible proof of their bravery I In the begin ning of the engagement Sir J. Nlooas received the fatal blow on the breast, by a nearly spent cannon ball. Sir DAVID BAIRD'S arms was shot away► near the socket by a chain shot, but, with inexpressible pleasure, we announce that hopes are entertained of his recovery. The command of the army then devolved on Lieut.-General Horn, who, no this arduous occasion di:-played equal bravery, foresight and activity. The command could not have fallen to the share of a more worthy Officer. The transports with our troops from Corunna, we are happy to state are already arrived. Almost all the letters from our sea-ports coincide in depicting a sce►►e of distress and horror inexpressible. Whilst we so cordially sympa thise in the sufferings of these generous victims, we :is warmly execrate the spirit of vacillation, folly and l►rocras tination, which rendered the exertions. of this patriotic band absolutely useless. They were dragged about from. one province of Spain to another ; and in perfect unison with the consequences of the battle of Vimiera, they were ordered. after one of the most splendid victories in our annals, to abandon the scene of their exploits and succesF, and to fly from a &malted and panic-struck enemy. How galling that must be to the feelings of our vic torious countrymen I They were sent to the Continent for the purpose of fanning the last flame of expiring freedom-- a mission so hoimurable and gratifying to British soldiers, they gave, in every opportunity which was allowed them of displaying their prowess, the most signal proofs of their superiorit y over the enemy ; and, when their services were most urgently requisite, when. their example and presence might have supported the drooping spirits of our allies, SAN. 29. i I