The National Register. — London, England, 1813-08-15 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL REGISTER. of this battle, though at first represented as decisively tri umphant, has since been clouded with doubt, merely by the unexpected delay in the arrival of the dispatches detailing its particulars. It is now asserted to have been rather a drawn, than a decisive action, at the close of which, both armies having been reinforced, remained in front of each other, ready to renew the deadly conflict. We have collected every particle of intelligence that has transpired on this subject, and whilst we lament that the absence of official information should compel us to withhold from the many anxious friends and relatives of our warriors, that confirmation which must put an end to the fevetish anxiety of hope and fear, we should misrepresent our own feelings, were we not to ex • press the most confident expectations that this momer.tary suspense will only prove the harbinger of the most enthu siastic exultation. The darker the cloud that bea! s the lightning, the brighter will its flash appear. On Monday evening, a telegraphic dispatch was received from Plymouth, stating the arrival of the Sparrow at that port, with intelligence from our armies in the Peninsula. The dispatch was to the following effect:— “ The assault of St. Sebastian's was sttempteti on the 95th, will,- out success.--On the 2611), 111art•hal Soult wos reptl-ed Ly L iii 'Wellington, with great loss.—'l he British loss eolisidenible.” In the course of Wednesday, the following notice was is• sued from the Admiralty:— " ADmtn uTY-Orricr, Ave.. 11, 1813. " The Sparrow, which i• arrked from ott . `:.t. Scbasti tn. has not brought any official dispatches from the ,1 ; but sh e I ) , i i , vs r e . ports to the ctfcct of the tekgraphic nit ss•ige, titt ithout " The Fancy cutter was waiting at St. Schaq:Lit's for 1 out %I'd lington's dispatches, which stere mouten,aii y oxi , ected :here when tile Stnarow wild. . _ . " The action appears to have taken place considerably in advi.nce of St. St bastian, at Puerto Mayor." The following was likewise exhibited on the same day at Lloyd's " The Sparrow lift the coast of Spain on the 50th ult. The at tad( on St. Sebastian's was on the t!iSzli, at a very ide brea , •ll; behind the breach the Allies found a deep ditch, ai:d were in con sequence repulsed, with the loss of about 500 men, of whom, it is supposed, 50 were officers. Field-Marshal Wellington was en the spot soon afterwards ; but left it on the •2tith, to meet Field May. bhal `unit, at the head of from 30 to 55,000 wen, of the divisions of Jourdan, Foy, and Claim!. The Frcuch attacked, and thrice en tered the BritiSh hum but were always heaten back. The whole contest was with the musket and bayonet, nut a cannon being tired on either side. The French loss is eirtimated at 8000 men, and lie Allies at 4009. Field-Marshals Wellington and Sot& were several times near each other, and in the thick of the action." A letter from Plymouth, of the 9th, after corroborating the above, adds, that Marshal SOULT, with 35,000 own, at tacked the Allies, consisting of about 2Q,000, but was de feated and driven back with great loss. Captain TAYLOR, of the Sparrow, was.wounded in one of the breaching bat teries, and the Surveillante had 15 killed and 35 . wounded. Notwithstanding the check at St. Sebastian's, the place was expected to fall in a few days. Of the unsuccessful attack upon St. Sebastian, details have been received, containing the following list of killed and wounded:— Sir Richard Fletcher, Chief Engineer, severely wounded; Lient. Lewis, ditto, and a pri , oner ; Lieut. Machell, killed; Captain Lewis, lost a leg ; Lient. Reid, wounded. acrst REt tmENT.—Lieutenaut and Adjutant Hopper, killed; Lieutenant Carlisle, ditto. But the regiment which suffered most severely was the Royal Scots; of 4tO who marched to the attack, 298 were lilted or wounded, among these was the whole of the grenadier company. 511' The tillowinc is the list of the. Officers killed and wounded belong ing to this gallant corps :--- KILLED.—Majur Peter Fraser, Captain Cameron, Adj itant Cutt, Lieutenant Salim! Clarke, Lieutenant Francis MaNsey, and Lieutenant John Anderson. _ _ WotinnEn.—Capt. Argnimhean, lost an arm; Captain Logan, ditto ; Capt. Buckley, sf vcrcly ; Capt. R. l‘l'Donald, ditto ; Capt. James Stewai t, in two ;daces, slightly ; Neut. O'Neil, severely ; Lieut. Eyre, oitto, and prisoner; Ensign Hoskins, ditto ; Ea•mrs Alstane, ditto, and prisoner; Ensign RA ynolds, ditto ; Volunteer Miller, ditto.—Two hundred and eighty rank and file killed and wounded, among whom is the whole of the grvnadier company. To the above list we have to add the name of Leut.-Co lonel CA tit PIIEL L, who commanded the Royal Scots at the battle of Vittoria: he was also severely wounded at St. Se bastian's, but is doing well. And though last, not least itt this list of heroes, the Scrjeant Major of the Regiment (FER , GusoN) is mortally wounded. A private letter which we have sten adds, " It is impossible for language to do justice . to the gallantry of this brave man on this and many other occasions." The Royal Scots are now commanded by the Senior Cap t4in (iilvt✓►.ttsl, in the absence of Lieutenant-Colonel BA RN EC, who is on his way to join, after having recovered flow the wounds he received in ►he battle of Salamanca. A letter from an Offirer engaged in the storming of St. Sebastian's, says :—" On Sunday the 25th instant we stormed Sebastian; on entering the breach, 'e found the enemy so well prepared for our reception, that we were obliged to retreat with the loss of 300 killed, wounded, and taken pri soners, including 14 oflicers killed, or prisoners. However, in a few days we are again to attack the place, and are re solved at all events to take it. Captain TAYLOR, of his Majesty's sloop Sparrow, has lost his leg; Lieut. DUNLOP, a quarter-tnitster's mate, and 15 seamen wounded ; besides four killed out of SO that were sent on shore from the Com modore's ship." In addition to the above, we have to state. that Paris Pa- - pers arrived on Wednesday to the 9th instant, containing the Governor of St. Sebastian's official account of the attack on that place on the 25th, and of the operations of Sou LT down to the 27th silt. The letter from General REY, Commander of St. Sebastian's, to the Minister of War, gives an account that the English General sent him a flag of truce, which he would not receive. The breach was practicable; a se- COM breach made, and on the 25th, at four o'clock in the morning, a mine was sprung by the English. whit Ii blew op the place of arms. At that moment the assault took place. in which the English were defeated, and lost from 1400 to 1500 men. The English General demanded an hour to bury the dead, which was granted him. Five hunched and eighty-one wounded were brought into the town, among whom were 13 Officers. The French are said to have also made 237 prisoners. Two dispatches from the Duke of DA LM A Tilt, the first dated Coin the Camp d'Altabisca, the 25th of .July, state, that he attacked the English that day. who were in divisiow, with the Spanish division of Mu- RI LLo. They were driven from a strong position, but a frg having come on the moment they were pursuing the Allies, they could not attack Altabisca, but deferred it till next day. The second dispatelt is dated from I.inscoin, July 26, eleven at night, and states, that the Allies evacuated during the night the position at the Coll de Ronceva'les, and also that of Lindus. The tuth English regiment is represented as a!most destroyed in a charge with the bayonet. These _ affairs, it is Iwestnned, brought the Mar qu TON in contact with Sou LT on the 28th, the repulse of the enemy, as described iu t dated front the Admiralty Office. IS of W EL LINO.. aid terminated in le bulletin above, , 1 4 AUGUST 15. • . 1