The Statesman. — London, England, 1812-12-04 00:00:00

wollark . . Am. 'WWII. • Dye I. 1 4 . . Witterfursl .. . „„ . Cali& • • titionsory s• • 1 1 .... • .... ... •• • Jersey 4 ' 1 0 .0•.• • • •••• • • Gattessburgh 4 ._._ fRICE: ili? ST6CO Tlllll D 1 AT °NI? 111.11.0 CH. illet 11 • India Ban& par 6 7 dia. Fir Mrisi. Rat $7O Eichenner Bills Std. 'I p Illist.tleit. t um 3.10 Ditto 3/(1. 25 p 4 per Cm& TN S' °manna 411 pr. A per. Gem ?ivory COIIVIIs for Acct. 581 91 , Igroi:Aga.,l4ll • - Lottery •Fickets THE STATESMAN. LONDON: Timms, DECEMBrit 4, 1212. FREZIGII PAPERS RECEIVED THIS MORN ING, containing' the TWENTY .MG HTII • FRENCH BULLETIW. .Paris Papers arrived at a late hour this morning, op to .the 30th ult., containing the Twenty-eighth Bulletin ui the Grand Army, dated at Smolensk°, Nov. 1 t.—By these accounts it appears, that the French army are placed in a perilous situation, after having differed considerable losses from the Sereeity of the climate, and the continual attacks made upon them by the Coscacks during their retreat. TWENTI.LIOIIIII BULLETIN OF THE GRAND ARMY. ' "-Smoleasko, Nov. 11. " The Imperial head-quarters were, on the Ist of November, at Viasma ; and on the 9th, at Smo lensk°. The weather was very fine up to the 6th, but on the 7th winter began. The ground is cover ed with snow. The roads have become very slippery and very difficult for carriage horses. We have lost many men by cold and fatigue; night bivouacings are very ihjurious to them. 66 Since the battle of Nlalocaroslanitz, the ad vanced-guard has seen no other enemy than the Cos sacks, who, like the Arabs, hover upon the flanks, and fly about to annoy. " On the 2d, at two in the afternoon, 12,000 Rttssiatt infantry, covered by a cloud of Cossacks, intercepted the communication, a league distance from Viasma, between the Prince of Eckmuhl and the Viceroy. The Prince of Eckmnhl and the Viceroy marched upon this column, drove it from the road, and overthrew it in the wood, took a bleier-General, with a good number of prisoners, and carried off six pieces of cannon ; since that time we have pot again seen the Russian infantry, but only Cossacks. 41 Since the bad weather, from the 6th, we have lost more - thin 3000 carriage horses, and :early 100 CaiSsens have been destroyed. 46 " General Wittgenstein having been reinforced by tba Russian division from Finland, and by a great number of troops from the militia, attacked, on the 113th of October, Marshal Goution St. Cyr; he was repulsed by that Marshal and General Wrede, who tank more than 3000 prisoners, and covered the geld of battle with ibis dead. 44 On the 20th inst. Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr baying been informed that Marshal the Duke of Bel limo, with the 9th Corpa, was marchiug to reinforce Mm, re-passed the Drina, and marched to meet him, in order, on having effected a junction with him, to fight Wittgenstein, and oblige him to repass the Dwiiia. Marshal Gouvion St. Cyr bestows the highest eulogiums upon his troops. C' The Swiss division distinguished itself by its eassifrold and bravery. Colonel Guchenew, of the t6th Regiment of Light Infantry, was wounded ; Idaroial St. Cyr received a ball in the foot ; Marshal the Dike of Reggio ha arrived to replace him, and retaken the command of the 2d corps. The health of the Emperor hat never boon better." itEPORT 01 , SIONSIgUIt TltE MARSII.tL OOUYION ST. CYR TQ 4.113 1.10(a15E33 ritixcE MAJ()R•Gk:- II Sit A le Octoher O. 4 C By my last, of the 17th inst. I informed your ifighness, that the 'ld corps would probably be at tarkod un tlta following day by all the forces Gated, under the orders of Count de Wittgenstein. I have 'pita to you of the ruinforcements which he bad received from St. PAersburgh, and which amoutued to 17,000 men, including in that number 6or 4,10 i) men which had been scraped together in St. Petershurgh and its environs. lie has further received the '2lst division, which was fresh arrived from Ylttlant;! one part of this division only has had an:en gagement in an affair against the Prussians. They formed a junction with the troops under Wittgan ste:4 at I.)isna, on the 16th, at the moment when he lied dislodged the post whteh I had placed there, On the 18th, at six o'clock in the mos- M, de Wittgenstein debonehed before Polotsk, in four columns, and eftending bis troops past my Position, and profiting by the en6rmons superiority of which bp was possessed, to take the reverse, and, without any danger, make himself master of the pa. eition which I had occupied on the left batik of the Polota, in the face of that which he had before oc cupied on the Prlssa, Ills first serious ethic's was ialtde MOW a Witt e/4a berbatta), which I had caused to be establisW in gain arivelitageous postiee, and which it was necessary, at soy rats, to occupy, . • tn order not to expo. to the *Way the weakest pert of say position.;. that is to 147, the.firpti . t of the Wilt which (arid lie Mbar difileslty on a , • I' • • t 0 I. • I. I• • :' l l • - 4 I . . v • 1 ~ sri 1,1 II t• d~ ~i t ~. r. ~_ w ~~. ~~". I THE STATESMAN planks, the front of which I had covered; but which not being yet finished, was every where open, and principally at the two little bastioes which were to support it ; but were as yet scarcely marked out. I, nevertheless, brought some pieces of cannon there, which did us service. The battery de la Thuillerie was taken and retaken three or four times. It was defended by the troops of the Bth division, commanded by the General of Division Maison.— "The defence of this front of the attack does him in finite honour, as likewise to the corps charged with its defence; that is to say, the Id and 37th of the line, and the 11th of light infantry; as likewise two squadrons of the 14th regiment of cuirassiers, commanded by M. Remberg ; two squadrons of the light troops of the Bth lancers and 20th clia!aseurs, commanded by the Chef d'Escadron Curet, who led the right of the Bth division, and whose conduct in all the charges which he received or made against forces so disproportionate as theirs, merits thegreatest eulogiums. 'rise enemy deployed another of his co lumns before the front of the 6th division, commanded by M. General Legrand. He principally directed his attack against a battery which was not com pleted, on the left bank of the Polota, and which thus became the centre of the division of Le grand. Three or four times he endeavoured to ob tain possession of it, and was always repulsed with that loss which is ever experienced when such euter prizes cannot succeed. Up to the afternoon the ene my had not dared to attack the front of the right bank of the Polota, some points of which were to lerably well intrenclied and finished ; but about four o'clock they debouched from the road of Seibit and Riga, and furiously and in a crowd marched upon the left flank of the town, supported by the co lumn which debouched from the Naval road. " I wished to have allowed all that fine ardour to be spent upon two redoubts, constructed and oc cupied by the Bavarian artillery and troops, and ne cessary to their defence, commanded by General Vicente; but the success of the 2d division, com manded by General Merle, as well as the 3d regi ment of Creates, in opposition to their settled dispo sitions, precipitated themselves before the Russians, and fought that fury with remarkable bravery, order, and sang froid. We, at least, brought the Russians, who made this attack under the walls of the town, where the carnage we caused them, from the morn ing, upon all points of their whole army, only ter .mioated with night. The Russians, notwithstanding their superiority, left the ground heaped with corpses, and did not succeed in any of their attacks. 44 Notwithstanding the success obtained on this day. I was uneasy in the evening respecting the suc cess my cavalry might have met with upon the left hank of the Dwina. Ou this day, I bad ileirlied* myself of the greater part of my cavalry, to be easy respecting my rear. In the, evening v General Carbitteau, whose brigade of horse, extremely fa tigued, had not penetrated beyond the Orschatz, and had met, according to his account, with some ca valry and a few infantry. As he ssls perfectly sa tisfied in this respect, having, at his disposition three battalions of Bavarian infantry, I waited the following-day with much trauquillity. , 46 On the :oth, at break of day, we saw the ene my in movement upon the line, occupied in rectify ing their position, and forming a half circle round ours. About ten in the morning, an Aid-dc-Camp' of General Carbineau arrived, and informed me lie had before his brigade 5000 men, and 12 squadrons lof cavalry. I lost not a moment in taking a regi ment out of each of the three divisions of the 2d corps, taking in preference those which might be most, easily withdrawn frem before the enemy, who would I not then have failed to renew his attacks, and only waited to do it, the appearance of this corps, the arrival of which ho impatiently expected. Towards noon, these troops defiled upon the heights behind I'olotsk. The enemy clearly perceived the object of this movement; but thought it was a kind of reserve behind Polotsk. I assembled these troops, under the command of General Amoy. I joined to them the 7th regiment of cuirasseurs, of Denmir's division, who had not hitherto met the enemy in proceeding up the Dwina. At the same time I ordered, that as soon as it was dusk, the whole of the army should cross to the left of the Dwina. To wards the fall of day, at the moment in which we began to withdraw the artillery from the advanced works, some imprudent persons set tire to General Legrand's barracks, which, in a moment, communi cated through the whole line, and gave the enemy certain proof that we were retiring. Then he began to lire from all his batteries, and threw into the town a quantity of shells and other incendiary projectiles, to set it on fire, in which he in part succeeded, hoping by this to prevent our artillery movements, and blow up our caissons. " This cannonade and bombardment were support ed by a general attack. We saw each other as if in full day-light, by the light of the burning ; and this attack did not cease until the moment when the last man had repassed to the left bank of the Dwina; but, in the midst of these attacks, and the confusion ' caused by firing the tewo, the troops conducted themselves with the most extraordinary bravery, and the retreat was performed. in the best order. 'midnight all the artillery tette retired, aqd body arthe troops had tossed over Mp oaeleck in the' litoestitig• I . reessiestoist With 'two regietefits, 44 Mt that pored ilko i.reOps ; wh ~- put under, the orders of General : .Antey, and who had succeeded, io„ the evening, in confining the enemy in the defiles near to Solouk, but were not yet in sight of M. Dc Wittgenstein's army. With these troops,, there was a column of Bavarians, about t$ or 700 men strong. I re-united the whole under the command of M. Merle, to whom I gave orders to march immediately against the front of .General Steingel, and to repulse him o ith vigour, and to throw him past the Onschatz, as I could then support this attack with another part of the army, if it.shoulcl become necessary. At the moment that these troops put themselves in motion, they fell in with those of the enemy. " The corps of M. de Steingel was broken, and after a great loss in killed, driven to the other side of the Pulota, leaving in our hands 12 or 1500 pri soners, among whom were 18 Officers of different ranks; and among others, a Captain of an English vessel, employed in tho Etat-Major of M. Steingel, and who said he had been three weeks in the Rus sian service. This affair gives great honour to M. Count Wrongel, who directed it, and to General A mey, who seconded him well. " I owe the greatest eulogiuma to the good con duct of the troops, to the zeal and intelligence of Officers of all ranks, and of the whole army, who have seconded me well ; among whom I shall mention Messrs. the Generals Legrand, Merle, Baron lan reneez ;my Chief of the General. Staff Auhr ...y .uhrey, Commander of the Artillery of the 2.1 corps; Dede, Commander of the Engineers ; and M. the Adjutant Commandant Dalhignac, who have en this day ac quired new rights on his Alajesty's favour. I shall have the honour to address to your Highness, in a few days from this place, a list• of the Officers who, by their good conduct, have merited prefer ment. " Our loss is not very considerable is compari son with that of the enemy, which is enormous. General Legrand has had a horse killed under him, I and received two contusions. General Guicheew, Aid de Camp to his Majesty, is among the number of '• the wounded. " I have the honour to inform •our Excellency, that a ball which I ha►e received in my left foot, and which hinders me from marching, or mounting on horseback, will oblige me to quit the command of the corps d'arm6e, for ten or twelve days. I have given it up to General Legrand. I reckon upon re maining at only one march from the corps d'armee, to be ready to resume my functions, hoping to be still useful to the corps el'armee by my council, if Gen. Legrand approve them. But I expect in a few days the Duke of Reggio, and the 9th corps under the command of the Duke of Bellow), is in march. Our junction effected, we will briskly push the Russian army." (Signed) •' The ritarsh4l-Gleneral St. CYR." OPORTO, Nov. 25.—Our last accounts from the Allied Army say, that the head-quarters were ex pected to be in Fuente de Guinaldo on the 2Uth or 21st inst. where it was generally supposed they - would remain. The retreat is spoken of as a most masterly one.— Unfortunately, the gallant Lieut.-Gen. Sir K I'A;AT was taken prisoner. The French force is estimated at 85,000 infantry and 7000 cavalry. It is, however, impossible that they can exist in their present positions, as the coun try cannot afford them transport, shelter, or provi sions; the want of the latter will be found particularly. severe, the whole country from Burgos being ex hausted. It be seen by our Parliamentary Reports that the Thanks of both Houses were unanimously voted, last night, to the Marquis of WeLLINGTos and his brave Army ; and it was intimated by Lord Cvsn.t. REAM! that something further would be done for his Lordship in a pecuniary way. The Public may, therefore, prepare their minds to hear of a proposi. tion of that nature being soon brought forward.; and, in the present flourishing state of the country, and agreeable prospects; a few thousands more or less cannot be an object!! Sir F. Beaver; in venturing to express a doubt of the great merits of the Mar quis of IYF.I.I.INCTON'S plans, during the campaign, has Incurred the displeasure of the Morning Post, which has given vent to Its feelings on this oceasion.—We are fully sensible of the military skill displayed by our Noble Commander at the battle of Salamanca; " but," as Sir FRANcts justly observes, " defect there must be somewhere; and either Lord Wxl.- ' LINGTON bad no; the means Of victory put into his hands, of with those means he had completely failed." It might be deemed presum(►tnous in us even to hazard au opinion upon this subject at present ; but it is of too much importance to this nation to be passed over in silence, and we understand it will undergo an ample investigation in Parliament, there fore we shall wait for further information, and in the meanwhile only obser►e, that as success is al most uniformly considered the standard pf applause, DEFEAT ought to be submitted to investigation. TALLtYRAND is restored to full favour, and so is FOU CHY : to these NAPOLEON added Castaacluas, , cut of his the cow NW's/ and tQ » 9614, . . . , .n .: ~ _ ... , t r..: - r+ rt order. At to form au immediate Regency ou the ere .4d the 'whelp fall. at half-past, Captain J e tents - FAIRPAX MU sworn hito imispfatet eland of the O ms k ingifs i consigned to 13•Dgai. *lea were s r Nv At ot giseciactioe ilivoittted ritio Ord l isi new i l d, • • - • , , .. .. _a ~:...,1mw..meL SECOND EDITION. STATESAMN OFFICE., THRER O'CLOCK. ADMIRALTY OFFWE, Du. 4. Rear-Admiral Hope has transmitted to Ur. Cro, ker the following translation of two Russian :Idle tins, dated St. Petersburgh, Nov. 9 and 11, toge. ther with an extract of a letter received at Cotten. hnigh, from his Excellency Connt Rosen, Governer of that place, dated Stockholm, Nov. 19. The Rear-Admiral had not received any accounts oM cHly. Bear-Admiral Hope also acquaints Mr..Crokel, un.t;,,r date of the '2111; ult. that the whole Russian 11 , ..r.t, of abort '2O !.ail of tho liar, had passed tho Bolt iu safety, alai Captain Drury, the bearer of the dispatches, reports that they were stutter% i u t o Hawke Road., whet' he sailed. Pet.-rsbytegh, Noy. y General WittgeuAcia reports to 116 Majesty, Uc. tuber ;;1 : " After our entrance into Pelotsk, the enemy has suffered much by the fortunate operations of Count Steinlicil's corps. The loss of the enemy at the battle of Polotsk, and during their retreat t 6 Lepel, amount, in prisoners, to 100 Staff Wir er . (among whom are 5 Colonels), and LOOO privates; 9 pieces of causon, the whole baggage belongiug to the Bavarian regiments -90 powd er w ar t er ,, , , and great number of gon-carriages, the guns beilw, thrown into the civil. by the enemy. " Their left; in killed must have been immense, as not only the field of battle, but even the w!lele road is covered with dear: bodies, so that this corps of the enemy is entirely destroyed ; besides, this had forced Victor with his corps to separate from the Cram? Army. They have left Smolensk° by forced marches, and joined the weak remains of St. Cyr's army,which is co;nruanded by General Le Craud ; St. Cyr hav ing gone to %Vilna, on acccount of his wouLds. 6 4 Sr. Pl• TERSBOROff, NOT. 11.—After Moscow was re-taken by the Russians, under Ceti. Wiitzia-, gerode's command:, Napoleon moved his whole army on the road to Kalotiga, against Boroask, thinking, as is proved by letters found on a courier taken prisoner, to force himself into the must fruit ful provinces of Russia. 6 ' General Kutusow entirely counteracted this plan, berious attack, which took place on the 24th October, at Malnyaroskavitz; this little town was taken and re-taken eight diferent times ; at fast tho French were obliged to retroat with the lose of 15 pieces of cannon. " Napoleon then gave up his plan, left the army, and took the road to Smolensk°, after he had giant orders-for the whole army to follow in the same road. To conceal as much as possible this his rr. treat, he tirdered one corps to march to Medvne, as it he had intended to march round the Russian left wing: during this time the Guardsovith the groatest part of the army, marthed towards Mejnisk. " As soon as General Kutusow nes apprized of this, he broke up with his whole army, and followed the enemy. " The Russian advanced guard, under Platow, overtook the French army on the I,:t of November, near Koletsk, not far from Borodino, and took from them two colours and '24 pieces of cannon. t: ' The 3d November, Gen. Wiloradowitch, sup, ported by Platow, attarked several French corps near Viasma, commanded by the Vice-King of Italy, Davoust, and Vey; these corps were completely de feated, and lost one colour, five cannon, and '2OOO prisoners, amongst whom is Gen. Pettlen. whole road to Mojaisk is covered with ammunition waggons and dead horses. The French army retre.ta daily upwards of 50 worsts. Admiral Tschetchakors advanced guard, under General Tschaplitz, entered Slonim on the'2lst 0c and took Gen. Kanopka, with the whole of the three Uhlan regiments. of Guards, prisoners. Colonel Tcherniskoli, with a detached- corps, has advanced near Warsaw. A corps, belonging to General Witgenatein's army, has entered 'Witepsk." EXTRACT 01P A LETTER. PROM COCNT POiEN, DATE 9 STOCKHOLM. NOY. 19. " Two Messengers arrivetto.:night from Russia. Wittingstein has totally dt'stroyed Victor and St. Cyr's armies, and is now near Smolensk. When Buonaparte left Moscow, he. ordered Murat Sas attack General Bennineen, but he was driven back. Bonaparte then attacked Kuttetow in person, with great desperation, near Alalo)artiskanvet7, and was again repulsed. lie then intended to fight a general battle ; and, if he was conqueror, to march by way of Kaluga to Poland, and there re main in winter quarters, as near Galicia as pr.s. Bible; but he found the Russians so fortified, that it •was impossible; he had, therefore, nothing left bit to concentrate his whole force, and return by way of Smolensk, which is entirely laid wasv; the bad roads and the dreadful cants the From are in, gave Kutusow time to come up with them near Viasma, when he gave them haifle and defeated them. Before the battle - parte gave the command to Murat, • and ‘w•E himself with 6000 men I,s Smolensk, on his \i home, but he was met by Gen. Oertel's dafachnivii, which obliged him to return : lie then tried to retreat by the road which goes from Smolensk towards ti.c. sea ; there he was met by Wittgenstein's advanced guard, was beaten, and obliged to fall back Am tho Grand Army. lie has now in front of him Tormasow's, Tchit. chakoffs, and Wittgensteiti's armies, and iu his rear Prince Kotusow witl The Russians take dai Wittgenstein madu in oil pieces of cannon; Plato , 370 Q prisoners. U. 141 • • man ••••••••••." rear Prince Katusow with 150,000 men. is The Russians take daily 3or 4000 prisoners; ;, Wittgenstein made in one day:6oo o , and took ' 23 is pieces of canuon; Platow 30 pieces of cotillion and 3700 prisoners. i• • h the Written ropy it is Smolensk, but this must be as ev (11 for of the Tnnslat•r. 004 ; Printed and Prkiiiiirti • ittiTu4so %It Otk4cf. ti; ringt4regt • • I L i 4 • t t c, , , ~ i ., , ,; i? f I