The National Register. — London, England, 1811-11-24 00:00:00

'HE NATIONAT, REGIS"' and baggage, and lay down arms, equipages, and horses, . Persons not bearing arms shall be free, and may immediately retdrn to their homes. REPORT IVITII RESPECT TO TIIE WORKS ERECTED BY ENGINEERS. DURING TILE SIEGE OF SAGUNTIUM. The army arrived on the ‘2.3d of September before the for tress of Saguntutn. The same day the town of Murviedro was taken possession of, and all the enemy's posts were driven in, and the fortress completely invested. For some nights follow ing communications were formed in Marviedro, where we were screened from the enemy's fire. The streets were bar ricaded, and embrazures were opened in the houses on the side next the fortress. These works, which were executed under a heavy lire, cost the lives of several miners, and that of Raiford, Lieutenant of Engineers, a brave and osalous young Officer. The rock of Saguntum is situated on the right bank of the Murviedro—it is insulated from all the heights, and rises in a peak on the half of its periphery. The other half falls in very abrupt declivities, and is accessible but on a very few points, on account of the jetting of the rock. The ancient theatre of Sa guntum is about half way up, partly cut out of the rock, and, at the foot of the rock, is the town of Murviedro, the walls of which are washed by the river of the same name. On the long and narrow ridges of the rock, are the remains of ancient works attributed to the Moors, the Spaniards have repaired them— have added new ones, erecting flanking works, and have formed tenures for the batteries and parapets. 'lle entire mass of these w. s rks torms a very irregular fort of 400 toises in length; and in breadth front 30 to CO toises. It is divided into four parts or places, so that a part of the fortress being ta ken, the remainder may he still defended. The redoubt of St. Fernando is on the highest point, and commands all the rest. The great roads from Valencia to Barcelona meet and pass under the guns of the place. We were obliged to have the artillery for the siege brought front Tortola; but the little f trt of Oropesa, which the enemy eccupied in our rear, interrupted the way,in a defile is a battery of three twenty-four pounders, and a mortar was raised against this fort. which surrendered on the 11th of October, after a ea monade of eight lws. All that was necessary for the sle'e of F.agtintion was then free to pass, and the tools and sacks of eanit xv,nted by the en gineers were forthv..ith conveyed thither. .A.ll the counterforts of th., rock were too low to permit of our erecting in them works to batter in brei.ch, except a ridge of rocks which stretches for :100 toises in front of St. Fernando, sa that the at tack was neces ,. .arilv made on that side. On the sth of October the officers of engineers commenced' the approaches, formed covered ways through the rock, and lodged picqucts of infantry within 70 toises of St. Fernando; profiting by the occasional protection which they derive front the irregular form of the rock. The artillery began to batter in breach on the extremity of the platform at the distance of lfio toises. Colonel I leay and Major Chulliot had a road formed with great diligence, in order to bring up '2.1-pounders to the battery. They were constantly obliged to level (he rock by mining. On the 12th, they claimed the first point behind which they had stationed themselves, in order to reach tine covert of the rock, which runs out front that on which St. Fernando is si tuate they got through the rock% on the right, taking advan t;,ge of such veins of earth - as were in their way', and making ust!'of sacks of earth and gabions. On the night of. the 15th they reached a place within thirty-five toises of the fortress, covered by a head of the rock, which afforded a place of rem.- devious for the troops who were to be engaged in the assault. Major Chelliot, who hail directed a part of these works with bravery, wits severely wounded. Ott the 17th tint artillery began to bombard with three 24- li pot i oders, two howitzers, and five mortars. They attempted tie tower of the outwork of St. Ilernando. It was constructed of hard and thick mason work, and the battery was at too great a dm:lnce, so that the breach was but slowly rffe...teti, which induced a determinat ion tt; batter the an„ le formed by time tower and the flank, which proved a matter of greater On the ISth the fire was kept up, arci at four o'clock iN the . eve ing the breach was practicable tor five ur six men abreasti but it wa still of ratter difficult access. It was formed only of the rubbish of the walls, without any admixture of eA-th. It was 30 feet high, and its bast: being on an inclined rock, it was, of necessity, very steep. The enemy appeared above with much rt.solittion, and neitly-r our artillery or rousl:etty could repel them, nor prevent them front constantly repairing the "parapets with sacks ~f earth, as they were levelled by the puns. 01. - ,'ers were giv, a f tlo, assault at five o'clock in the evening. The contain of attack assembled in the place, which had been formed within 35 toises of the work, pushed on to the breach, and some gallant fellows actually reached the top; but they were driven down by a shower of grenades and hobits, and their failure determined the retreat of the column. In this unfortunate affair we lost ;20 men. Laineran, Cap tain of Engineers, was killed in the breach, together with some miners. The assault.had failed, because the breach was in a recess covered by the fire of the enemy, because it was !co narrow— because the troops debouched film) too great a distance, and finally, because the battering train of three pieces of cannon was insufficient to level the parapets and drive the enemy from the breach. A resolution was adopted to erect a fieW hatterl.• nearer, to increase the.number of guns, and to push the covert ways to the foot of the breach. On the I feth, Colonel Henry caused the troops to 'advance in an indented form. Steps were cut in the rock behind which they were stationed, to facilitate the ascent, and when they had -, reached the summit of this rock, they approached the breach* by the aid of an indented covert formed of sacks of earth ; and on the night of the 24th they were within three toises of the foot of the breach, when they formed a small parallel. All these works were executed on a naked rock, with infinite diffi culty. All the parapets of the trenches were formed of sacks of earth, which were brought from a great distance, and it was necessary to raise them seven or eight feet, in order to protect our soldiers from the enemy's works, which commanded the position. TheFe works do much credit to the conductor of the attack, Henry, and to the Engineer Officers under his orders. We lost several sappers in the execution of works so difficult and so near the enemy both by musketry and by the grenades and stones thrown by the Spaniards. On the 23th, the artillery began firing from the new battery, at 70 toises distance from the work, and bombarded with suc cess the tower of the outwork of St. Fernando. In the morning, General Blake advanced at the head of 30,000 men, to raise the siege, Marshal Suchet advanced to meet him, and gained a complete victory. On the Dith, the breach was practicable for 20 men abreast, and we were well established at the foot of it. The Marshal summoned the garrison, which surrendered by capitulation. . The same day we entered the fortress, and became masters of a place which had so long braved the efforts of the Carthage nian General. I.IroGN, Oct)T2 B ,, General of Division of Engineers. From Mur N 1811. (Journal de l'Empire, Nov. 14.) PARIM, Nov. 12..—Their Majesties arrived at six o'clock in the evening (iitli Nov.) at the Imperial Palace of St. Cloud.. Their return was announced to the Capital by discharges of ar tillery. •••••••••• ' • 73g 1. - of war, shall file off with their arm the arms outside the fort. The officers shall retain their and the soldiers their havresacks. • - .1_ DECREE RELATIVE TO THE FRENCH WI4O MAY TAKE REFUGE IN FRANCE, ArTER }LAVING COMMITTED A CRIME ON THE TERRITORY OF A FOREIGN POWER : " Imperial Palace of Amsterdam, Oct. 23. " Mtn lac.—Orr the report of our Grand Judge Mi niqer of Justice, having for the ohjt:ct to enact in the which a Frenchman shall have taken refute in France, af.a.r having co mmitted a crime on the territory of a Foreign Power ;. " Considering Article 5 and 7, of our Code of Criminal In struction, purporting, . " The first, that every Frenchman who shall have been guilty, avit bout the territory of France, of a crime attacking the safety of the State, conterfeiting the seal of the State, the ua tional money having currency, nas , 4onal papers, ba:•lt bills au thorised by law, may be prosecuted, judged, and punished in France, according to the disposition , of the French laws. " The sea ood, every Frenchman, whh :!tall have been guilty, out of the territory of the Empire, of a crime against a Ft ench man, may, on his return to France, be prosecuted and judged, if lie has not been prosecuted and judged in a forei.m country, and if the Frenchman offended, shall make a complaint again , t him, considering that the pre‘ent question relates to crimes com mitted by a Frenchman out of France, and a:tainst foreigners. " That the Frenchman ;:ccused of such a crime, cannot, when he has taken refute in France, he delivered up, prose- I cuted, and judged, in a foreign country, but on the demand rt extradition made by the country which asserts itself to have been offended. That on our part, it belongs to our justice to offer no oh , stacle to the punishment of crin• e, even when it neither of fends us nor our subjects; on the other hand, the protection whicb we owe to the latter, will not permit us to deliver them ft .. - 4.,- -