The National Register. — London, England, 1812-08-23 00:00:00

511 , reconquerirg her freedom, and drivini he plains. H • knew that the human aga nst grati•trde, and that whatsoever of pe Tie might have to his advent e with their c , •untry, tle•v would approve his sh oild begin to feel the beeeficial cent to ies ()the. considerations indu c ed him iry _ in at propitious for opeiatiag a great and sudden change in the situation of the Peninsula. Fearless of any renewed ex e Lion on the 'part of the Spanish people, and relying on their na'ienal jealousy to cheek our advance, NAPOI LON had re calico s mug divisions of his troops from the southern side of the I. l renees to the banks of the Niemen, to assist him in the overthrow of Russia. He had left in Spain little more forces than we , e necessary to occupy the country ; for which purpose they were scattered in small corps over the vast ex tent of conouered territory, and could not be formed into ar mies, without a teinpory evacuation , at le7 st, of whole pro vinces. The irruption of a powerful British force must have that effec., even if unattended wilt other advantages. and it w.ls arol)atiie, that in the provinces thus relieved from the presence of .he enemy, pat'iotism would revive, and insur rection flame anew. This would be the consequence of our mere advance, even without a battle ; but, supposing that an encounter should take place, and that the French should be defeated, how did the prospect brighten ! How could the enemy collect new armies without abandoning fresh provinces, and how many hosts would spring up be hind him as lie 'tithed, to harass his rear whilst we engaged hisfront? The greater his difficulties would grow, the more frequently must he have recourse of necessity to the same remedy, which would only k et ve to spread and encrease the evil, until having assembled the whole of his force together, he would find that he had in fact evacuated all Spain, except the spot on which they stood, opposed to British warriors, and surrounded by an armed and reanimated population, calling aloud for vengeance on their oppressors. Such are the views which no doubt influenced the mind of our trillion tal Commander, when he planned the Spanish cempaign, which he has now so nearly and gloriously termi nated. Satisfied of the excellence of his design, and the ca pacity of his means, he resolved on its execution. And how did he fulfil his own expectations? With the rapidity of the eagle, lie stormed and captured Ciudad Rodrigo, the blll- Wal.; of the enemy in the north, and before the terror of this blow Itsd subsided, the key of the south, Badajoz, with an experienced General, and a garrison of 5,000 men, fell by assault into his power. The French commanders assembled troops : the Asturias were evacuated to lei tifol ce M A It MONT ; Co, dova, Seville, and the eastern coasts were left almost de fenceless, to enable SOULT to advance. The bridge of Al rnaraz, strongly defended by several forts containing im portant depots, formed the only point of communication between the divided enemy. It-was destroyed, the forts were stormed, the depots taken by our troops, and the French Generals, dispirited and dismayed, fell back without effect ing their projected junction. So many exploits and decisive advantages opened the eyes of the Spanish Regency, and supplied tlicin with an efficient mode of entirely conciliating the favourable opinion and hearty concurrence of the people. Our Commander, now grown entitled to their everlasting gratitude, received a pledge of it for himself and his latest posterity. He was raised to the rank of a, Grandee of Spain, with a title, the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, taken from one of his most glo rious conauests. This tribute was not only an act of jus lice, but of policy; for Spaniards of. all classes now consi dering his Lordship as naturalized among them, no In very provinces where suspicion and jealousy preceded, and attended our march, we arc now welcomed with enthu siastic acclamations of gratitude and joy. Reinforced, if it may be said, by the good disposition of the people, our btaye Commander no longer delayed th e full execution of his plans, but having secured the basis of his operations by the possession of Badajoz, Merida. and Ciudad Rodrigo, dropped at once all defensive caution. and dashed forward with a degree of energy and rapidity which astonished and confiamded the enemy, who thought the cha racter of his adversary was changed, and saw himself com pelled, however unable without great sacrifices, to prepare for active warfare. Before he had collected sufficient•num hers to keep the field, our army threatened Salamanca, which he evacuated, leaving three forts, built with the ruins of the colleges of that once magnificent place, to check our progress, and give him time to asemble his forces. Ilis ex pectations, however, were disappointed. His retreat was followed by *our main army, and a corps was left to reduce his forts, which his bUbSeClUent manoeuvres could not save. Pursued to the Banks of the Douro, he recrossed that river, and all doubt haying ceased with respect to our persevering in this system of energetic offensive operations, the most strenuous and combined exertions were made by the whole of the French commanders in Spain, to meet the danger and defeat our plans. BONNET, - recalled from Asturias. eva cuated that principality, which was instantly covered with patriotic parties, who harrassed hint in his march to join MA /MONT at Toro and Tordcsillas. Leon was equally abandoned, with the exception of Astorga, which was imme diately besieged by a Spanish army. Reinforcements were ordered from Biscay, but detained by the seasonable appearance and occasional landings of Sir HOME PornA at on the coast. In the south, collecting all his dispo•able force, and even weakening the besieging division before Cadiz, SOULT advanced with superior numbers against General HILL to alarm the right of our line of operations. Even the pacific Josritit was impelled to arms by the peril which menaced his usurped crown, and at the head of the army of the centre quitted Madrid, to manoeuvre on the right of Lord WELLINGTON, and assist MA IMON T in the grand attack projected on his Lordship. These preparations, although attended with considerable sacrifices in other quarters on the part of the French, gave them such an overbearing superiority in the field, that his Lordship was obliged to fall back to avoid being cut off from Salamanca and Ciudad Rodrig o. Reinforced by a part of General Bo MNET'S army, an d followed by the rest, M Alt• MONT recrossed the Douro, and in his eagerness to conquer, outstripped both the cavalry and artillery he expected from the north, and tl.e 15,000 men which JOSEPH brought to his assistance. His imprudence did not escape the eagle eye of our vigilant Commander, who drew him on by a skilful retreat still farther from his - supporters, and when he had crossed the 'Formes, and thought himself on the eve of effect ing his purpose, inflicted on him that terrible defeat, which has not only almost annihilated his army, but has overthrown the whole plan of the campaign, and probably decided the fate of the Peninsula. Such have been the 'chief features of a campaign, in which the greatest exertions of skill and power have been AI'C;. , 711.1.11...1 7 1.111.1.1111.111111111111.111111111111111 1THE NATIONAL REGISTER. in. , ig the invaders from longtr shrink with offend:Ai pride at the idea of serving tinder heart was not proof a foreigner: but glory, in obeying him not only as their d e . ibje€tion the Spanish liverer. but their countryman. h a British army into Such was the important change suddenly produced on the conduct when they pubic mind in Spain,by the first triumphant operations of our (sequences of his vie- arms. Victory, in our hands, like a two-edged sword, smote at him to deem the mo. once the prejudices and the foes of our allie* ; and in those