The National Register. — London, England, 1809-08-20 00:00:00

AliG. 20. THE NATIONAL REGTnER. CAL LURE 0/e FLUSHING. MIDDLEBURGII, TUESDAY ArTERNOON, AUGUST lb, ISO. Flushing, after having been exposed, during the two last nights, to a most tremendous bombardment, offered to surrender at halt past two this' morning. The place has not yet been formally taken possession of by Ore British troops, but the delay has arisen, not from any supposition that the garrison could possibly hold out longer, or any consequent ditliculty respecting terms, but for the purpose of adjusting satisfactorily some details of minor impor tance, which, though not essential to the merits, are ne cessary to the execution of the conditions of surrender.— The garrison are to be prisoners of war ; and, indeed, such bad been the progress made by the British naval and laud foreei, against the works of the fortress, that the enemy could not hope to obtain any terms than those of an un conditional surrender.—lt is understood that the 95th, and the German regiment of Colonel Halkett, will take pos session of the gates of the town at six o'clock this evening, when the British flag will be hoisted on the ramparts, and the whole of this Wand shall then be completely iu pos session of the British army.. The terrible havoc made by the bombardment of Sunday, in the town of Flushing, induced the Governor to Atfer, yesterday, terms of capitu lation. The . offer, however, was not considered admissible, and consequently the bombardment was resumed with equal vigour, tint more effect, last night, and the firing did not cease till half-past two o'clock this morning, when terms of nearly unconditional nler v:ere proposed by the garrion. 'The nature of the enemy's - offer yesterday has not transpired, but the rejection of it, in the :mist peremptory manner, is said to have arisen from the de mand on the part of the French Governor of more favour able terms for the Irishmen in the garrison of Flushing, than the British General could with propriety grant, or the Frenchmen had any right to. expect. That hoist is cow, however, settled, and the fortune of war has con firmed to British valour the unqualified reduction of the place. it is not yet possible to collect any materials to form n correct estimate of the loss on the pail of the . French, or of the extent of the injury sustained by the town. That must be the business of actual observation and detailed inquiry. IL is most satisfactory, however, to be able to state, that the hiss of the British army is comparatively small, when the strength - of the enemy's works, the obstinacy of their resistance, and the eager impetuosity of our troops in the contest, are taken into consideration. The whole of our loss does not exceed eight or nine hundred in killed, wounded, and missing. The loss on the part of the line-of hiode ships, which had a must important acid a most ex posed post assigned to them, is not 7et known ; but from the incessant fire, and the consequent havoc and confusion amongst the defeuders of the batteries opposed to them, it is fair to conclude that it could not have been inconsider able. With the town tumbling about them in ruins, and a well directed and accumulated fire against the batteries, it was scarcely possible for the enemy to return the fire s...ith equal Air adequate effect. The s ips, therefore, though most ex posed, :could scarcely have suffered very materially under such circumstances; and the value of the acquisition, no less than the splendour of the conquest, must he greatly leightvued by the inferiority of the sacrifice made for its attainment. It very effort was made durinr, the course of last week to compleke the batteriest iu order that no delay should tube place in the attack of Vie town, as soon as the ships of viral' destined to co.operatc vith the army shouid come it to their station. By in(iefatigvb!e and mit-emitted exertions -on the part of both services, the Iv hole of the preparations none compietle at kia early Dour ge uaday. About kaff-patt 539 t P.M. the bombardment commenced, mid conireued without the slightest iatermission until five o'clock. The own was set fire to in seseial places, and the rocks of the dirty materially injured. Such teas the tremendous :Aleut and continuity of the explosion on both sides, prat: several officers, who have been in most of the great battles wkich have decided the fate of nations on the Continent, declare that they never wituessed so terrible mid destrnee live a cannonade. Besides the impression made on the town and its defence by this bembartiment, an important battery in front of the town was taken from the enemy, au acquisition the more valuable, becaese it was so situated as to give the enemy the means of greatly anno)ing the British troops in their approaches. Humbled by all these circum stances, and depressed too, by the disastrous result of another sortie, the enemy moderated his tone, and con descended to proffer those tfirnis of capitulation which the Commander in Chief left himself bound hi (Idly and honour to meet with instantaneoes rejection. A snort interval of hostility ensued, but the awful pause served only to augment by contrast the horrors of the 'emceed bombardineut. Soon after dark the tremendous cannonade was remained, and it would not be an exaggeration to state, that tile whole Island was shaken by the efiect of the explosute Taking advantage of the nigh', and the iinpreFsion made upon the enemy by the fire front the English hatteres, the advanced party of Jlaiket's German regiment and of the 82d, pushed on agatest two batteries occupied by the French, in ndvaree before the toss ii. A sharp and obstinate conflict ensued between them and the party of time eaeiny stationed on the batteries. But the arrival of reinforcements gave the enemy a superiority, aud our troops were repulso.d its the first instance w ith seine loss. Not intimidated by; his cheek, they advanced again to the attack ; and as thee did not dis charge their fire as they proceeded, they were iutermixed with the enemy hi their own batteries, before any effort was made to impede or repulse them. The conflict at CkbAC quaeters, which succeeded, was t,cit of lone; duration, ani termin:Ord in the dispersion of the Freieh. and the consegeent capture of this ailckutagrees leisitiee, and of the formii'a:ite b3tteries erected liven i!. The Fossession of these batteries by the British army, i'kred the town at its mercy, and this consideration,- cooli: eel with the suc cess of our operations in all the other parts of the hie, wed the dreadful carnage and destruction in the toe n, relleced the Trench Commandant to ma ke that preposition, e caused the firing to cea'e tit; morimine, and will pace the important fortress of Flushing- at the disposal of' toe Sove reign of Great Britain. The daeu of light exhibited ii igs of truce flying on every bestion of the place, and the re- suit has been such as before stated. The operations will now be prosnuted with promptitude and vigour for the aceomplis!tineat of the ulterior o ili, c l f4 of the Expedircn. We know not whelter SirJolut 11(Te or Lord Ross?pi have made any movement in advance. Tl:e heat;-ip of the former were yesterday at Schocr„- those of the tatter at Goes, whilst Bat z was occupied sy. the Guards. It is now supposed here tharthe French have not any very formidable force at An!weT, so (hit whets.. reinforced by the army from this istand, the army i n , B evc .. land will by able to proceed to the accomplishment of tfic remaining objects of the Expeditina. tusked, Lord Bus siyn anti air John Hope were expected, either yesterday o this day, to pass the uarrow channel or the Scheldt, near Batz, on their route to Antwerp, so Oa:probably the nemt accounts will contain intelligence of the utmost interest and* imp ortance." Lord Gambier and Sir J.T. Duckworth have struck their. flaws on board the Caledonia and San Joseph, at Spithesd.. The Children of Christ's Hospital, in addition to their other • branches of learning, nre taught to drew. 'lke be!,t specituto* of their drawing will 14e extf,4ifed• is Cao ,, er's Hal!, on live 20th of October next, on white any they %%1, by tirawiug the. State Lottery. distribute among tine yublk• no lers zt ittitl thaft IWO Hundred Thousand Pottudi.