The Statesman. — London, England, 1809-08-12 00:00:00

I r INTELLIGENCE from the E_YPEDITION.I EITRACT OF A LETTER. MIDDTAIURG, THURSDA Y. AUG. 10, Six P.M.—Though the whole of the Island of Vial. cheren, with the exception of Flushing, has been fur above ten days in the possession of the British army, that fortress continues to hold out, and is expected to make a protracted and obstinate re sistance. The garrison, witch on the first ap pearance of our Expedition off this coast was comparatively weak, has since been considerably reinforced, and at present consists of between 5 and 6000 men. The Governor-General, Non. act, is determined to maintain himself in the town to the last extremity ; and, if in the end he should be compelled to capitulate, to make the acquisition of the place cost the British army a vast expenee of time and blood. " By some unexplained departure from the original plan upon which the'Expedition was to be conducted, a demonstration only was made against Cadsanil, the capture of which was of so much importance to the ulterior progress of the British armament, that one of the divisions of the army, that under the Marquis of newly, was destined for its reduction. But after every ar. rangement bail been apparently made for the land. ing of the troops, the whole were unexpectedly drawn of to the North, and directed to the East Scheldt, where they were landed upon North Bere. land, in support of the division under the imme. diate command of Sir John !lupe. There may have been, and no doubt there were, solid grounds for this deviation from the original coarse pro. posed ; but it is matter of deep regret, that any circua-stance should have rendered it necessary to leave in the possession of the enemy the only posi tion from which they could throw succours into Fleshing, or materially harass the naval part of the Expedition its the event of its being engaged - a a combined attack upon th.,t fortress. Some dis satisfaction is known to exist upon this ooiut ; and it is generally understood, that the matter will, at no distant period, be made the subject of military investigation. It was not till the begin %log of this week, that the eommunicatiln ' et worn Cadsaud and Flushing was completely cut off, an:l at the present moment the garrison of the latter place has nothing to rely upon but its own effert.i. which, though they may retard, cannot prevent its *nal reduction by the very superior force with it k invested. " The division of the British army now lying before Flushing. consists of nearly 17,000 islets, tinder the immediate coin-land of Sir Eyre Coate. There is but one weals buttalion sts.ioned here, the 35th regiment ; end as there are only a few intim siderabie parties dispelled in the other parts of the island, nearly the whole f the 17.000 men em ployed in the island of Walcheren twee or ;he lines with which rustling is invested, in a s. inieiv•ular form, from the Northwest to the .4outh.east of pat town. The trenches are already completed ; but as only two batteries of six guns each have been yet thrown up, the bombardment of the for tress must be deferred until the beginning, or per haps the middle of next week. Besides, as the eo.operation of the fleet is essentially necessary th the success of that operation, it would unavoidably be deferred, if even all the preparations on shore were complete, until the fleet should come into its station for that purpose. Sir It. Strachan, with a great proportion of the naval force that accompa nied the Expedition from England. has pet, into the East Scheldt, to assist the operations of Sir J. !lope's division in that quarter. The service be fore Flushing, therefore, devolves upon the Niue dron under Lord Gardner, from u hich six ships have been ordered against Flushing. They were lying off the East Scheldt ; and though they got under weigh yesterday morning to cione in, have been hitherto prevented by the wind, which has shifted round to the Eastwanl. Captain Bolton, of the Ficgard frigate, who has been here for se. Tonal weeks pretions to the arrival of the Expedi. tion, stationing cutters as buoys for its guidance, .vent nut on Tuesday night, to conduct Lord Carulner's fleet toils station. " Thus, though the preparations on both sites arc continued with unabated activity, no decisive operation can take plate till the moment of a ge aeral.aftack. The enemy suffer no opportunity to escape of annoying their besiegers, and keep *LiF'a constant but irregular Are upon the different parts of our liner, where any prospect may be prnented of making an impression. So ♦igilantt are'they in this respoct, that if e►en an indivi d cal Otters were to make his appearance within the lines, and in reach of the shot from the garri son, they would not fail to tire apou him. Last night, a Captain, who was recolnoitring the works of the town, but at some distance within the lines, had his leg shot aw.ty, and a hand badly mounded. The shells from the town often fall within the lines, though without doing much mis. ciief. This irregular fire is sometimes returned from tlw lines, though not geiterilly. " From the first landing of tile British troops in the neighbourhood of Flushing, the enemy has been confined nithin its walls. The brigade of Graham, composed principally of the Roy. a!s. the bth, and 36th Regiments, have beta, must elioged with the enemy, and has been greatly distinguished in every instance in which it came in colitact with them. Immediately after the landing, the flank companies of this brigade had a smart but brilliant affair with sonic of the ent•tny's light infantry, advantageously posted along the sand. hills. Though at first severely gal!ed by the enc ;ily's lire, they advanced with the characteristic intrepidity of British troops, and drove their opponent!, before them, to the very walls of the town, under which about 30 English seamen were made prisoners, in consequence of the inconsi derate impetuosity with which they continued 'hi' pursuit, till it was no longer possible for them t., return to their comrades in safety. It as u r, that occasion, tl:at, after driving the envoi fr .ni th sand-hills, the advanced party of this htigaile, whilst engaged in the pursuit, most garland ) carried by assault a battery within a s ...elf distance of the town, where then have since o , iied trenches upon the glacis, secure from the •turf, though within the reach, of shells from the TH town, the inclined surface of the glacis allowing the shells to roll away before they explode. The garrison has also had recourse to sorties, in order to impede the progress of the besiegers, but with. out success. On Niontlay last they made a grand effort of this description. Above WOO men came forth from the town, and farmed under its walls, with a view to attack and dislodge from its peal. lion the advanced party of General Graham's bri. gade, consisting of *boot 500 men. The enemy advanced in a fine style, and were most ably dis. posed and led on by their officers ; but notwith- standing their vast superiority of numbers, and the powerful stimulus of ardent spirits, a double portion of which had been distributed to them be fore they commenced the attack„they were shauic fully repulsed, with immense loss, to their very walls, by this handful of brave men. The attack commenced at four, and the defeat of the enemy was complete by six o'clock in the afternoon. The whole of the troops along the line had beets put into motion on the first alum, but the business was accomplished by the advanced guard of the right brigade, before any other corps could be brought up to sustain it. Whilst the enemy was approaching with all the precision of a movement in review, the British troops allowed them to ad vance unmolested, cotifining themselves within their trenches, and not even returning the fire with which they were incessantly assailed ; but when they bad come within point.blank range, a most destructive fire from musketry and field_ pieces was opened upon them, and their cense quent confusion presented a fine opportunity for the employment of that truly British weapuu, the bayonet. The troops instantly advanced from the trenches, and proceeding with a hum to the charge, in an instant put the enemy to fhe rout. Every thing that could be done by the exercise of authority, or the influence of example to rally them, and restore order, was attempted in vain by the French Officers. The dispersion was so eiim s dete s and the pursuit so acti ve , th a t t h e b ro k en ranks of the enemy could not derive protection from their own batteries, to which they fled, as, if a fire bad tr e ea from the walls, it must have been as destructive to the dying as to the pursuing corps. When they first began to giro way , ono of their brave Ofricers, in the hope of re-animating their courage, snatched up a standard, and rushing forward in the midst of a heavy fire (rain our troops, planted it in the front of the British line, and called open hi. flying companions to rally round it. Wit tie panic with whirls they had been seized, was not to be removed by such an heroic example. They ff and in all directions with the loss of 60U in killed, w00n.161, and prisoners. The loss on our pert was'nlsoconsiderable ; it amounted to 48 killed, and 187 wounded. A few inure bitch sorties would decide the fate of Flushing, without a bombard meet or egencr il assault. A most affecting oc comeliest took place about the commencement of this splendid action. Two soldiers belonging to one of the British regiments engaged, who had been made prisoners in Spain, and forced into the service of France, were amongst the troops of the enemy, and when coining to the charge, joined their old comrades in their huzza, and directed their fire against the common enemy of both. Since this sortie, the enemy have beets quiet. Yes terday about 600 of them shewed . themselves with. out their Walls about three o'clock, but they did not venture to come farther. This day some of them have again thews themselves tout, and at this • moment an intermitted cannonade Is heard ; but it is ! supposed here to proceed fro:n the walls of the fortress, against some part of the British lines. " The importance of Cadsand, with a view to an attack on Flushing by sea, may be estimated, from a very brilliant affair which took place in the Channel between both open the third of this month. IYheii it was observed that the French %sere throwing in reinforcements daily into Flash ing from Cadsand, it was found necessary to re sort to some MOWS or intercepting this communi. cation. Several geu.boats, were consequently sent up the Channel between them, in order to take soundings, as a direction for stationing ves sels to prevent all communication between Flushing and Carlsan.l. These gun-boats were so be protected by the Raven sloop of war, Capt. llanchett. 'rite liatteriet soon opened en the gnu-boats, when Capt. llanchett most spiritedly ran his vessel up between the gun-boats and the tire of the enemy, which was instantly transferred to his ship. lie was tired at from five batteries on Cadsand, from the whole sea-front of Flushing, and from thirty-nine gunboats. Fur four hours he bravely maintnined the unequal contest, and brougat off the gun-boats safe, after having si teace:l the battery of Breskens, in Cadsand, nut before he had three of his own gnus dismount. ed, his vessel dismasted, and several times set on fire, and above a thousand shot discharged against hies from all sides. This exploit deserves to rank with the most brilliant in the naval records of the country, and was nu less an object of admiration to the naval than to the military part of those who were witnesses of the achievment. Captain Hancheit has since received the distinguished thanks of his Commander in Chief, Sir Richard Straclian, and the most flattering antormres of the high approbation of every General Otlicer who was a spectator to his gallantry and devotion to the service. It must enhance the valise of such an exploit, that it . has been achieved without much comparative loss, only the gallant Captain and 18 of his brave crew having been wounded, none of them badly, and not a single man having been killed during such a long-contested action, against such fearful odds. If ships of the line should be brought to act against Flushing, as they can lie within pistol-shut of the batteries, the carnage mast be dreadful on both sides. The contest how. ever will be short, but must be decisive—perhaps the work of a few hours. Unless, aided by the co-operation of the fleet, at such an expenco of blood as must unavoidably be shed in a contest : of such a nature, and under such circumstances, the reduction of the fortress by the army, may be . a protracted bossiness. ‘• But though the progress of active hostility seems to be suspended for the momen: in Walche- 1 ren, operations are on the point of being prose cited with rigour in ether quarters. Sir J-Hope has proceeded from North to South Beveland,with the division under his command. On Tuesdly he was at Baths, on the southern extremity of South tieveland, being more than half way to Antwerp, with 22,000 men. General the Marquis of Huntly crossed with his division from North to Southlieve. land on Wednesday, for the purpose of reinlorc. ing the army under Sir John Hope. Their united forces would amount to little short of 30,000 men, including a marine brigade. The departure of Sir Richard Strachan, for the East Stilt Idt, yesterday, must certainly be connected with some projected operations in advance on that side. The head. quarters were to be removed this day to South ileveland, in which case the command in chief in this island would rest with Sir Eyre Cook, through whom at present all orders .are given to the army here, and by whom all arrangements are made fur the conduct of the siege. The advanced posts of the army here are on the right at knole House, and on the left a little within the Rammekens battery and castle, which have been taken from the enemy since the lines were marked out. The troops have very slender accommodation in huts, constructed by themselves, and at first were much exposed from the prevalence-of rainy weather; but their privations they have submitted to with the greatest alacrity, and since the weather has become fine, they appear even to enjoy their situ. ation, anxious only that the enemy should come out and give them an opportunity of meeting them in the field. Very little baggage was allowed in the first instance ; now, however, blankets have been sent for, with a view to the accommodation of the tamps ; and hence it may reasonably be in. furred, that their service is not thought likely to be soot' over. " As it is likely that the main body of the Bri. fish army, now undrr Sir John Hope, will ad. seance, it may not be uninteresting to state the am o unt of the French force, which, according to th, must authentic estimate, he may have to en counter. Thu garrison of Bergen-on-Zoom is said to consist of . 7000 men, which, whilst locked hip in that fortrtss, cannot be available in the field. At Antwerp, Bernadotte is stated to havte assembled a force of at least 30,000 -ten : so that in case of an emergency, between titt.oe two cil,es and the otl.er places of minor considcritioei io their vicinity, Bernadotte might be able to collect an army of about 40,000 men. Against such a force it might not perhaps be prudent for a British General to advance with an army numerically in. ferior. If Flushing should once fall, there would (hen be a prospect ; yet certainly the pre. suet situation of the Continent might justify some risk with the view to strike a great and decisive blow." IVAt.ctrenev.--The Island of Walcheren, though only 36 English miles in circumference, contains in it, besides the city of Middleburg and the towns of Flushing and Campvcre, Ifs manor towns and villages. Every part of this Island is so highly cultivated that it is a perfect garden, and considerable quantities of madder are produced in some of the districts. 'Middleburg was anciently a place of great commerce, and contained a well stored arsenal, besides the docks of the Zealand East India Company. Aliddletsvirg is two mil s from the sea, but by means of a canal, loaded mer. chant vessels can come up into the very heart of the city. On Thursday forenoon, a young Gentleman wlio.vras walking with his sister in St. James's. kirk, stopped to speak to a fri-ndot bile the young Lady, who walked on sluxly, was accosted by a fellow, dressed like a Gentleman, a•►d who u•ed the most brutal and indecent ItnAtiage. The bro ther having come up, and I ►ding his sister much embarrassed and in tears, itis'antl) seized the ruf. lan, bat the Lady tE . .ts ashamed to mention the canse of her distress, when a girl with a child came up, and stated, that the fellow was con. stantly in the habit of insulting every female he met. The brother immedia Ely inflicted summary chastisement on tr., 'lain with I►is cane, who was otherwise very properly punishe.l by several peo. plc, who assembled, having been made acquainted with the crime fur which he was chastised. During the storm on Thursday evening, the sai. lors on board a Grecian vessel, lying near Hermi tage stairs, became so extremely terrified by the repeated peak of thunder, and successive vivid dashes of lightning, that they ono and all quitted the deck, and betook themselves to prayers, and remained in the utmost trepidation between decks some hours. By this rime the tide had gone down considerably, and the ship lay nearly on her side, sustained only by the rope by which she was moored ; and this either breaking, or through being cut by some malicious person, occasioned the vessel to fall over, which broke her timbers, and she received such considerable damage, that it is,estimated th.it the costs to set her to rights will exceed OWL An application was made to the Palace court yesterday, in behalf of a prisoner confined fur debt in the Msrshalsca Prison, under the.follow ing circumst ?nem :—On Saturday last a person attended at the prison, for the purpose of paying the prisoner his sixpences due for the past week, and tendered two shillings, two sixpences, and sixpence in halfpence; the latter were objected to as being bad ones. The person, however, refused to change them ; and the present application for the prisoner's discharge was founded on the pay. meat being deficient, not having been made in the legal coin of the kingdom. The Learned Judge (Mr. Serjeant Marshall) said, some years ago, he made an application to Mr. Jestlee . Gould, in behalf of a prisoner similar to the present. On that occasion the Learned Judge said, the difficulty would be ascertaining whether the halfpence were good or not. He had a coachman, who, lie he. Hewed, from frequently passing through turnpike gates, we, a pretty good judge what halfpence would pass, and he should decide. The coach. man was accordingly called in, and derided in fa vour of the prisoner. If as good a jielge . be found on the present occasion, it would be wed. for the prisoner. The halfpence were then pro doced in Court, and adjudged by several person. to be bad, and the prisoner was ordered to be discharged. - FREN.M.DUTCII, A.ND PAPERS. Pasts, Jul.'s' 23.—We beer ' but the news wants con fi rmation, that the P , eLiatin tries of Peace are signed.. it is pretended that Austria cedes Gallic's, Styria, Carniela, Carinth. •is rest of the Tyrol, what she possesses in Croatia, and that she it to pay a heavy war euntrilpition tris French army is to keep its positions till it is oaid.—(Journal du Commerce.) • Paris flatters itself that it will have (be Etnpa. rot back by the 27th or 28th inst. The trium phal arch is finishing with great attivity. A vase xa , Jut.tf V. —Couriers and travellers, who lett Vienna last Wednesday, state, that the postmasters on the road in Brannan have held or. dens to keep relays of horses ready, and that the Prince of Lichtenstein has returned again to Scho. enbrimn. The publication of the Peace is as. pected at Vienna every hour. VICNKA, JULY 16.— The hope of peace in. creases daily. Persons, who are .ell informed, have no longer any doubts, and say that the prin cipal conditions are agreed upon. In the midst of this negociations for peace, we remark, on the part of t'iv French, many mea. sures of precaution and defence. The fortihca tions which were begun here are diligently i, I mie. cuted, and extensive works are formed wean the bridges and towards the principal bridge.— ( flamburgh Correvondenten.) JULY 18. -Yesterday and early this day the Prince of Lichtenstein was witi, the Emperor at Senoenrunn. .fhe negociation for peace is near its conclusion. It is reported that an Austrian army will march ti' :iris the Turaesb frontiers to co-opera with the nosinitis.—(Ditto.) Jut.x 19.- I•ispite of the hopes which the ar mistice has ei sven us of a speedy peace, we re mark, that the French are adopting defensive measures, and making coast .erable preparations ; the o (irks of the redoubts which had been began, are continued, and others are begun between the bridg. s which are near the principal bridge. ,New batteries are placed, and similar dispotitionlfbeen made near Simmering. It is said that til, 7 Archduke Charles will soots pay a visit to the Eniperur Napoleon at khoes. brutin. The report that the peace has already been sivicd is premature. Auuther Letter, same date.—Prince John of Lict.tenstein, whu dined last Saturday with the Emperor Napoleon, at Schuchbruiin, and after wards went to the Emperor Francis, has this dry returned to Sehoenbrunn. Marshal Doroc negoriates on the part of the French, and the conclusion of a treat) of pease is speedily expected. trluxicu, JULY 23.—Thu Tyrolean, sti:l cos. time hostilities on the banks of th • leer and the Lech, in spite of the armistice.- -WL. were 'greed yesterday to send more troops against them on etas side of Miesbach, which the) threatened anew. Fnom TUE WLSTR, Juie 21.—The West. phallist' troops, watch were on their inasch from !hooter to Bremen. have received counter or ders. Gen. Reubel has alpha left illetuen. NAPL;-.1, JULY 5.-011 the .191,1 ult. tnt• Eng lish lauded 3000 melt tiear to which they laid siege ; but Gen. Partudoeaux did not give Clem time to finish it. lie fill ti l .uti them with the rapidity of li i ghtuing. The Eugli,h, who re lied upon a movement of the e.:alabrians in their favour, were surprised to see then' in the Freud% mules. Disappointed at this discov.•ry, they raised the siege, and embarked ; but not tine enough to prevent leasing on the shore their horses, artillery, ammunition, and a great nuru. her of killed and h oudded. Theis troops were composed in a ;rest measure of brigands, picked up i t itcsly or from Naples. Teals:, JULY 16.• Die news from Naples, of the 7th, states, that the castle of Ischia has been forced to capitulate. The English glantel Gen. Colunna, and the garrison, militarylionours. They are to be con ducted to Malta. They did not amount to more than 1000 men. F LoitevcE, JULY 15.—Yesterday the Pope passed through Pisa, on his way I iviu Florence ; he proceeded und, i au tleort, without any public ceremony. It is understood, that he is to go to Avignon in France. ITALY, JULY 18.—The Pope has already arri. veil at Genoa, un his journey to Avignon. AstsTEnDast, JULY '26.-- lit consequence of the embargo, which is laid on in England, we have no news from tlsat country. ii;o4l.stt shipS of war arc cruising oil the Isi Awl of Walcheren. GOTTENBURG ti .11.41 LS. YSTADT, JULY 25.—We have this moment learnt that a British squadron has made an attack upon Archangel, and succeeded in destroying the magazines and store-houses. MAKS-MANN Jute 15.—We have received sc. counts, by the telegraphs slung the custt, that, within these last two days, a,bote 180 iliscl , arges of cannon have been heard from the Jutland side, and it is feared that some of the late convoy are be. calmed on tbat eumt, and have fall( n into the hands of the enemy. Extract of a letter from bis Majesty's ship dated 25th July, sea t—•• Yoe will have heard of our having left Carlscruna with nine sail of the line. Our squadron has been tolerably successful. The advanced ships have tat.en, dur. ing lbe last ten days, u, wards of ode hundred ves sels, laden with provisluns and naval and military stores.” STOCKHOLM, JULY 31.—N0 kind of mein. gence has been received either from eur army or navy. The enemy has therefore nut made any further progress his intended ior.sion of this country, nor atempted any important operation for that purpose. l'he Army Agents b tve reeelecd a cirrolar let. Jar fro G. v..i.oinent; stating, 11141 on.•-fourth of of present rilooarie for . 1 1,. p47ttag, &c. of the regiontsib in tileitrespoedet agency, •ill in future daltsteit.