The National Register. — London, England, 1811-06-09 00:00:00

ceding evening, not being _ down this day, being perbonally spect to a difference of opinion , Queen's to the period when his Majesty would be aisle to exercise his official duties : never having heard of that rumour, he was- not aware that it would be introduced in the speech of the Honourable Gentleman ; if he had been apprised of that circumstance he would have felt it his duty to give it his un qualified contradiction; there was no foundation for such a report; no difference of opinion, either on that subject or any other ever existed. The Army Prize 1170pney Bill, the Irish Commissioners Fees Bill, the Devonshire Coals Bill, and :he Exchequer Bills Bill, were severally read a third time, lind pa s LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, MONDAY, JUNE 3. DOWNING-STREET, JUNE 2. Dispatches, of which the following are Extracts, have been this day received by the Earl of Liverpool, addressed to his Lordship by Lieutenant-General : Viscount Wellington, dated Elvas, 22c1 May. 1811. The first letter from Lord Wellington refers to a letter re ceßed by his Lordship from Marshal Berestord. dated Albuera, May IG. 1811., in which the Mrrshai gives the military details of the movements of the enemy from the 3d of Nlay to the day of the. grand battle. The folloWing letter from Marshal Beresford to Lord Wel lington, contains the particulars of that gallant action • Albuera, .18th May, 1811. My Lord—l have infinite satisfaction in communicating to your Lordship, that the Allied army -united here under my QV' tiers, obtained on the 16th instant, after a most sanguinary con test, a complete victory over that of the enemy, commanded by Marshal Soult; and I shall proceed to relate to your Lord saip the circumstances. In a former report I have informed your Lordship of the ad vance i,f Marshal Soult from Seville, and I had in consequence judged it wise, entirely to raise the siege et . Badajoz, and pre paire to meet him with our united forces', rather than by looking to two objects at once,- to risk the• loss of both. Marshal Soult, it 'appears, had been long straining every nerve to collect a forte which he thought fully sufficient to his object for the relief of 13adajoz and for this purpose he had drawn'consider able numbers from the corps of Marshal. Victor and General :b:tstiani, and also I 'believe, from the French army of the centre. Having thus completed his preparations, he Touched from Seville on the 10th instato, with a corps then estimated. at fifteen or sixteen thousond men, and was joined on descetith •ing into Estremadura by the corps under General Latour 'Mau botirg, stated to be five thousand. men. His Ex -elleney Gene , ral Blake, av soon as he learnt the advance of Marshal Soult, in strict conformity to the plan proposed by your Lordship, proceeded to form his junction with the corps motor my orders, and arrived at Valverde in person on the I.lth instant,. Where having consulted wait his Excellency and, General Castanos, it was determined to meet the enemy, and to give him battle. On finding the deo rinittation of the enemy to I3adajos, I had broken up from before thar phee, and marched the infantry to ti.e position in front of Valverde, except the division of the Honourable Mai , r-General G. L. Cole, which, with two thou said Spani ih troops, I left to cover the removal of our store*. The cavalry which had, according to orders, fallen back as the enemy advanced, was joined at Santa Martha by the cavalry of Central Blake : •that , of General CaStintos under the Count de Penne Villan air had been always with it. • As remaining at Valverde, though a monger position, left lia dajoz entirely open, 1 determined to tale tip a position (such as c muid be got, in this widely open country) at this place ; thuv standiro directly between the entail and liadajoz,- The 41Mly was therefore assenibied here on the 15th instant; Ttie corps of General Btoke, though making a forced march to effect it, only joined In the night, and could not be placed in its position till the morning of Cie 16th inst:mt, when Gen. Cole's Division, with the Spamsh Brigade under Don Carlos d'Espagns, also joined, and a lode before the commoocenieut of the action. .--Our cavalry had been forced on the mornaig of the 150 inst. to retire from Santa Martha and joined here. in the afternoon of that day the enemy appeared it; cr o ne of us. The next morn ing our disposition for receiving the enemy was made, being formed in two lines, nearly para gel to the river Albuera, on the ridge of the gradual ascent rising from that river, and covering she roads to Badajoz and V,lvei ti.ouals your Lordship is "ware, that the whole face of this country is every whara-pas sable for all arms. Ceneril Illake's corps was on the tight, in vu ; :ea on she V.aver,'e road, joined the righ . L . of Ma, ippit-Glecao4 ilwtionotaable Wittiam SteurAtes tliv Wort t cleft .1 • . the Badajoz road ; where commenced the ~ieral Hamilton's division, which closed the General Cole's division, with one brigade of General Hamilton's, formed the second line of the British and Portuguese army. The enemy, on the morning of the 16th, did not long delay his attack ; at eight o'clock he was observed to be in movement. and his cavalry was seen passing the rivulet of Albuera, consi. derably above our right, and shortly after he marched out of the wood opposite to us, a strong force of cavalry, and two heavy columns of infantry, pointing them to our front, as if to attack the village and bridge of Albuera ; during this time, under cover of his vastly superior, cavalry, he was filing the principal body of h;s infantry over the river beyond our right, and it was not long before his intention appeared' to be to turn us by that flank, and cut us off from Valverde. Major-General Cole's division was therefore ordered to form an oblique line to the rear of our ight, with his own right thrown back. And the intention of the enemy to attack our right becoming evident, I requested Gen. Blake to form part of his first line and all his second to that front, which was done. The enemy commenced his attack at nine o'clock, not ceasing at the same time to menace our left; and after a strong and gal lant resistance of the Spanish troops, he 4ained the heights upon which they had been formed: meanwhile the division of the Honourable Major-General William Stewart had been brought up to, support them; and that of Major-General Hamilton brought to the left of the Spanish line, and formed in contiguous close columns of battalions, to be moveable in any direction The Portuguese brigade of cavalry, under Brigadier General Otway, remained at some distance on the left of this, to check any attempt of the enemy below the village. As the heights the enealy had gained raked and entirely corn. minded cur whole position, it became necessary to make every effort to retake and maintain them; and a noble one was made by the division of General Stewart, headed by that gallant offi cer. Nearly at the beginning of the enemy s attack, a heavy • storm of rain came on, which, with the smoke fro the firing rendered it impos,ible to discern any thing distinctly. 'This, with the nature of the ground, had been extremely favourable to the enemy in formin3 his columns, and in his subsequent attack. 't'he right brigade of General Stewart's division, under Lieute nant-Colonel Colborne, first came into action, and behaved in the most gallant manner, and finding that the enemy's column could not be shaken by lire, proceeded to attack it with the bayo net ; and, while in the act of charging, a body of Polish lancers (cavalry), which the thickness of the atmosphere and the nature of the ground had concealed (and which was, besides, xi - Ik,-; taken by those of the brigade when discovered for Spanish cavalry, and therefore not fired upon), turned it; and being thus attacked unexpectedly in the rear was unfor tunately broken and suftl‘red immensely. The 31st Regiment being the left one of the brigade, alone escaped this charge, an under the command of Major L'Estratige kept its ground, until the arrival of the Sd Brigade, under Major-General Houghton. The conduct of thiS brigade was most conspicuously gallant, and that of the 2d Brigade., under the command of the Honourable Lieutenant-Colonel Abercrombie, was not less so: Major-Ge neral Houghton, cheering on his brigade to the charge, fell pierced by.wounds. Though the enemy's principal attack was on this point of the right, he also made a continual attempt upon that part of our original front at the village and bridge, which were defended • in die must gallant manner by Major-General Baron Ake') and the light infantry brigade of the German Le gion, whbie conduct was, in every point of view, conspicuou s ly good. This point now formed our left, and Alajor-General Hamilton's division had been brought up there; and he wag left to direct the defence of that point, whilst the etterny's at.; tack continued on our right, a considerable proportion of the SpattiOa troops supporting the defence of this place. The ene my's cavalry, on his infantry attempting to force our right, had endeavoured to turn it; but by the able manoeuvres of Major- General the Honourable William Lumley, commanding the Allied cavalry, though vastly inferior to that of the enemy in number, his endeavours were foiled, Major-General Cole ; seeing the .track of the enemy very judiciously bringing up his left a little, marched inline to attack the enemy's left, and ar rived most opportunely tO Crmtriloute, with the charges of the brigades of General Stewart's division, to force the • enemy to abadnon his situation, and retire precipitately, and to take refuge under ids reserve; here the Fuzileer brigade particularly distinguished itself. He was pursued by the Allies to a consi derable distance, and as far as I thought it prudent with his immense superiority of cagalry; and I contented myself with. seeing him driven across the Albuera. I have reason to speakfavourably of the manner In which our artillery was served, and fought ; and ILLjor Hartman cort r p. nianding the and Major Dixon commanding the' rwtoguese, and tite.offictrs add AO ar esititlzd to my thanks; THE NATIONAL REGISTE •••••••,- present on that occasion, he nin e of which reached t ,ovally concerned. It was with re right of Major-Gen' minion in the Queen's Council, as left of the line. Ge • V -ail