The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1804-06-25 00:00:00

- ,-J FROM SATURDAY NIGHT'S GAZETTF. Downing Sireet. June 22, 1804. A dispatch, of which the following is a copy, has been received from Major-General Sir Charles Greene, by Earl Camden, one of His Majesty's prin cipal Secretaries of State : NV 1.0• D, Pararaanho, M.y 13, IAo4. It is highly gratifying to me to have the honour of informing your Lordship, that the Colony of Surinam has surrendered to His Majesty's arms ; and I have the farther ,iitisfaaion to acquaint your Lordship, that this valuable acquisition to the Bri tish dominions has been made with very little loss on the part of His Majesty's troops. In my dispatches from Barbadoes, of the 2d of April, I had the honour to report to your Lord ship that the Arrangements for proceeding on the expedition against Surinarn being nearly completed. I had reason to expect we should be enabled to sail from Barbadoes in the course of three or four days; and Commodore Hood having previously signified to me that every thing in the naval department was ready, I direfted the final embarkation of the troops, stores. &c. on the 6th of the same month. The fol lowing day the whole fleet weighed anchor and On the 25th His Majesty's ship Centaur, having the Commodore's broad pendant, and on board of which I was embarked, came to anchor about ten miles off the mouth of the River Surinam, and dur ing that and the next day the greater part of the fleet also anchored. On the t.!.6th, a corps, consisting of the flank com panies of the 16th and 64th regiments, the rifle company of the ad battalion 60th regiment, made up by detachments from the battalion companies m . the 16th, both, and 6th West India regiments, to about six hundred men, and the Ist brigade of Royal Artillery, besides armed seamen, was de tarlied in different vessels under convoy of His ship Hippomenes. Captain Shipley. This corps was commanded by Brigadier General Maltby .d. who was direitsni to effect a landing. et 'be Warappa Creek. about ten leagues to the eastward of the Surinam river, where the enemy occupied a post. The übjed ofthis operation was to obtain a water communication with the Commewyne river, to procure plantation beats, in sufficient number to transport the troops down the river towards its junc tion with the Surinam, and thereby facilitate our approach to take a position in the rear of Fort New Amsterdam ; and also with a view to cut off a con siderable detachment of the enemy stationed at Fort • Broad wach t, on the Mud Creek. On the same day, preparations were made for landing a body of troops to take possession of Bram', Point, where there is a battery of seven eighteen pounders, which defends the entrance of the River Surinam. Brigadier-General Hughes undertook to superintend thu service; the wind proving favoura ble, His Majesty's ships Emerald, Pandour (hav ing the 64th regiment on board), and Drake brig of war, got under weigh to attack the battery, when a fire was opened on the ships, which, however, was soon silenced by a few broadsides, and die enemy struck their colours. A detachment of troops, under Brigadier-General Hughes, immediately landed, and took possession of Bram's Point, making prisoners a captain sad forty-four men. The entrance being thus secured, the Commodore made signal for the ships to go into the river as soon as possible ; in the course of that and the following day, the most con siderable part of the fleet anchored in the river. At this period the Commodore shifted his pen dant to the Emerald, and I accompanied hint on board that ship. We then judged it expedient to send a summons to the Governor of Surinam, with proposals for the surrender of the Colony. Captain Maxwell, of the Royal Navy, and Cap tain Drummond, of the 60th regiment (ailing as my Aid-de-Camp), proceeded up the river snth a flag of truce ; and, having . delivered our summons to the Governor, returned in the night. with infor mation that an answer would be sent next morning. On the 28th, we received the Governor's answer, conveying a refusal to capitulate. (Copies of our summons. with the proposed terms, an] the answer thereto, are herewith transmitted.) It was deter mined that we should lose SO time in endeavouring to make some impression on the enemy's posts; but I must here beg leave to observe to your Lordship, that the toast of Surinam is of very difficult ap proach, shallow, and full of banks; that a landing is only to be attempted at the top of the tide, and at particular points; the coast is uncleared, and from Toed, and the marshy natural of the soil, it is im possible to penetrate into the interior, except by the ewers and the creeks. The shores. on both sides of the River Surinam, are equally difficult of access, for the same causes, until you reach the battery Friderici, with the ex ception of one spot on the eastern shore, where a plantation, called Resolution, has been lately esta blished. Our points of attack were therefore erm ined; and the enemy, by means of their fort% ships of war, and other armed vessels, were completely masters of the navigation of the River Surinam above Fort Amsterdam. The defences of doe river, after passing Bram's Point, are Fart Amsterdam, situated on the conflu ence of dm Rivers Surinam and Conunewysse i . r wards of eighty pieces of ordnance are amounted this fortress. Fort Leyden is armed with twelve heavy guns, and situated on the right bank of the Burnam, where it meets the Commewyne ; is opposite to and commanded by Fort Amsterdam, at the distance of about two thousand yards. The battery Friderici is about two hundred yards lower down. and armed with twelve heavy guns. On the left bank of the river, nearly opposite to Fort Amsterdam, is Fort PUTMUrellt, having ten guns mounted ; its rear and flanks protected by ins. predicable marsh and woods. The fire of all these works and batteries intersect in the channel for ships going up the river. The town of Paramaribo is defended towards the water by a battery of about ten guns, mounted in Fort Zelandia, a place otherwise of no defence. The 211th, the ships of war and other vessels proceeded up the river as fast as the tides would , admit of. A plan was formed for making an attempt on I Fort Purmurent ; a detachment of the ti4th regi- ment, under Captain Burton, accompanied by Cap tain Drummond, my Aide-de-Camp, with a body of armed seamen, commanded by Captain Jervis, embarked at eight o'clock at night. for that purpose; but on approaching the fort, they found the tide was unfavourable for the undertaking, and re turned. On the 29th, Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, com manding engineer, went on shore at the plantation before stated, below tli_ enemy's har—ies, to en deavour to procure iii• elligence ; and, on reuniting, reported, that he hail every reason to believe that there was a prthicable way through the woods, by which a body of men might be conduard to the rear of the Forts Leyden and Friderici. Lieute nant-Colonel Shipley was indefatigable in.ascertain ing the accuracy of this information, in which he was ably assisted by Lieutenant Arnold, of the Royal Engineers, and Mr. Hobbs, thing engineer ; and the result was such, that a detachment of one hundred and forty men, of the 64th regiment, un der the command of the Hon. Lieutenant-Colonel Cramtoun, with Major Stirke, of the nth West In dia Regiment, ten men of the 6th West India Regi ment, with side arms, having felling-axes, twenty of the Artificers' Corps provided in the same man ner, and about thirty armed seamen, commanded by Captains Maxwell, Ferris, and Richardon, of the Royal Navy, the whole under the command of Brigadier-General Hughes, accompanied by Lieu tenant-Colonel Shipla,, Lenten:. , t Arnold, of the Royal Engineers, :.nd Mr. Hobbs, aping engineer, whose local knowleige proved extremely useful on this occasion, landed between the hours of ten and eleven at night, at gesolution Plantation, and pro ceeded through the woods, with negro guides. A great quantity of rain having recently &Wm, it was found that the path, at alt times difficult, had become almost impassable; but no obstacle could damp the enterprising spirit of our seamen :And soldters, w! o, with pen,evering mirage, after a laborions march of rive hours. arrived near the of Frider;ci bat• :y. The alarm having been given,a con,iiietable firr of grape shot was made upon the troops before ti.h-i quitted the wood, whilst forming for the attack, and of musketry as they ap. proached the battery. The assault of our intrepid seamen and troops, with fixed bayonets, was so ani. mated and vigorous as to prevent any further re. sistAnce. The enemy Red to Fort Leyden, having set fire to the powder magazine, by the explosion of which a few 1%46'1101E ors and men were severely wounded. Brigadier-General Hughes used no delay is moving on to the attack of Fort Leyden ; but being under the necessity of -rat thing by a nar row read, h.rh was enfiladed by four or firs gur s, received a ronAulet ablefire of grape elot on his mare and of musketry, on his nearer approach, which, however, was soon put a stop to by a repetition of the same impetuous attack on our part, and the ene my, after some tiring, called for quarter, which was generously gr.rnted by the c , uerors, alth.sugh in the moment they were high.y exasperated at the condo& of the Batavian troops in biowing up the powder magazine, at Fort Fridefe., after it h.d been in our possession. A Captain, with some other officers, and one hundred and twenty men, were taken at this post, about thirty having made their escape across the River Commewyne to Fort New Amsterdam. By this brilliant affair a position was secured, by which a heavy fire could be brought on Fort New Amsterdam, a communication with the River Com mewyne opened, the means of forming junCtion with Br igadier-General Maitland's corps established, and the command of the finest part of the colony, abounding reit%l resources of all kinds, obtained. Brig ,diet-General Hughes's exertions upon this occasion w. e highly meritorious, and by his ani matiag exarnpk contributed much to the success of the day. On the 30th in the morning, the Commodore and myself went on shore at the captured forts, and di reCtions were given for covering the troops and guns fmm the fire of fort New Amsterdam, to which they were greatly expused, and for pointing the fire of the forts towards the enemy. The troops under went great fatigue in executing these works, which, however, they cheerfully submitted to, under the direttion of Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley, who, as usual, was unceasing in his exertions. Brigadier- General Hughes remained in the command there, eying every necessary support and countenance. enemy fired from time to time from Fort New Amsterdam, by which three men at Fort Leyden were wounded : but some shells being thrown in re turn from two mortars, which we had got on shore at Fort Leyden, the firing on the part of the enemy ceased. On the same day I received a report from Bri gadier• General Maitland, that a landing had been efklted at the Warappa Creek, by the first division of his corps, under the command of Major Hardy man, of the Ist Battalion of the Royals, who took possession of the enemy's post, where there were two guns, after a short resistance; and the Bri. gadier-General further stated, that he was proceed ing to land with the whole of his corps. Under these circumstances no time was lost in disembark ing at Fort Leyden the rest of the troops, and push ing them on by the north bank of Commewyne to nearly opposite Zooland's Plantation, where it was intended to cross the river to form a junflion with Brigadier-General Maitland's corps on its espelied arrival there. The artillery, stores, and provisions, were also conveyed in boats, by the indefatigable exertions of the navy, into the Commewyne River, and an armed naval force established therein. On the 3d of May, Brigadier-General M iitland having, with great diligence, procured a number of plantation boats to convey his corps, appeared corn ing down the Commewyne in very good order, and landed at a plantation en the south side of that river. On the same evening, part of the kith regiment crossed the Commewyne to juin Brigadier• General Maitland, and were followed the next day by the remainder of that regiment ; orders were also given for all the troops to pass as quickly as possible. On the 4th, between two and three o'clock, Bri gadier-General Maitland's Corpontoved on through a wood, and approached Fort New .AmsterdArri within a mile to reconnoitre, with a view to extend their position towards the river Surinam, and thereby iivest that fortress. Some shots were fired by the enemy's advanced centinels, who -retired. At this time Commodore Hood being with me at Head Quarters on the Commewyne, we received a gag of truce from the coatitiansliug ofScer of the Batavian troops, with proposals to surrender ea terms of ca pitnlation, a copy of which is herewith enclosed ; orders were in consequence issued to suspend hosti lities until the conditions should be finally agreed upon. Lieutenant-Colonel Shipley and Captain Maxwell of the Royal Navy, were sent to settle the terms. They returned early on the morning of the sth, with two separate capitulations, signed by Lieutenant- Colonel Batentnirgh, commanding the Batavian troops, and Commodore Bloys, Chief of the Naval Department ; hut an article in the one signed by the military commandant not being sufficientlyclear, Brigadier-General Maitland was employed to ar range the business, which being completed to our satisfaetion, at five o'clock on the same evening, the ad►anced corps, under the command of Brigadier- General Maitland, marched in and tr k possession of Fort New Amsterdam. The Batavian and sloop of war were also taken possession of at the same hour. 'Here General Green acknowledges his obligations to Brigadier Generals Marthoid and Hughes; to L.roweliant-Colonel Shipley, Major Wilson, of the Artillery ; NI jur Robertson, A •iisig Arbutant-General ; Ar ting Coinnussary General Glasfurd ; Ca,aain M'G.!achy, Assistant Quarter Master General; Captain Drummond, of the 110th regiment; and to Commodore Hood, and all the Captains and other Offi ce s of the witiadron ; p nicularly to Captain Maxwell, of the Centaur, and Camain Kenipt, Agent of Transport,. Th•• General concludes his Letter with the following para. grai.h I have the pleasure to assure your Lordship, that the principal inhabitants of the colony appear in ge neral to be extremely rejoiced at the event which has taken place, restoring to them the powerful protec tion of the Ili itish Government, and the solid ad vantages arising therefrom. Captain Campbell, my Aid de Camp, will have the honour to deliver this dispatch to your Lord ship; he is a very old and deserving officer, and I beg leave to refer your Lordship to him for further information. I have, tcc. (Signed) CHARLES Carat:, Maj. Gen. [The Articles'of Capitulation are, the garrisons to be prisoners of war ; to be transported to Holland as soon as vessels can be provided for the purpose ; the troops to be at liberty to serve the Batav;an Repub lic, but not against His Britannic Majesty, ur his allies ; and, finally, that they are not to be corn riled to enter the British service. Private pro- perty secured to the possessors. [ln another capitulation with the Dutch Naval Comma* , I .r, Commodore Bloys, the Dutch frigate Proses pine, and Pylades sloop of war, t- ith three merchant ships and a schooner, the latter stated to be private property, and reserved for det.ision as such, were surrendered, and the same conditions granted to their crews as tr., the soldiers. The brass and iron ordnance, of various calibre, mounted and dismounted, comprised 214 pieces.] RETURN Of THE KILLED ♦ND WOUNDED, AT THE ASSA(TLT AND CAPTURE Of THE bu.s.Es LEYDEN AKD FRIDERICI. Three rank and file killed ; t held S subalterns, I staff, I stneant, and 7 rank and tile wounded. Officers rounded—Lieut. Colonel the Hon. C. Cranatutut, 64th Regiment; Lieut. Arnold, Royal Y-I:neirra, Mr Hobbs. A.aitant Engineer; l.ieut. Role, 64th Regiment; and Ueut. Browerigg, 67th Regiment. RETURN OF KILLED AND WOUNDED TN THE ROYAL MATT ON THE SANE OCCASION. One Limn. 1 warrant officer, 1 p•tty officer, and t seamen, killed ; S Lieutenants and 5 seamen wounded. °dicers kdled—Lieut. Smith, first of the Ceistanr, 'mortally wounded, died the following day ; W. Sltehlliam, inidshipman of the Centaur ; Mr. —, :,‘"attwairi of the Drake. Officers woundel—Lieuts. King and ficsiderson, of the Centauri and Lieut. Brand, of the Unique. RETURN OF PATATIAN PRISONLIti TAKEN AT THE CONQUEST OF THE COLONY OF SURIM•II ON THE 26111 OF APRIL 1804, AND FOLLOWING DAYS. Ar.nr--One Lent. General, 1 Lieut. Colonel, 1 M 11 Captain*, 22 First Lieutenants, 30 Second Lieutenants, 1 Surgeon Major, 6 First Surgeons, 10 Second Surgeons, 2 Sr.t j..atit Majors, 79 Serjeants, 110 Corporals, 24 Drummers, 1434 Privates, 43 Women and 11 Children. Navy— 1 Commodore, 2 Captains, 3 Lieutenants, G Mid sliivonen, 3 Surge.ins, and 192 Petty 016,ers anti Seam,:lt, Serjeant, 4 Corporals, 2V Privates of Marines. N R Tntal Number Of Prisoners (bLoy exclmise of Staff and Departments, is 200 Commodore Hood, in a letter, dated Surinam River, May 6, states his having, with the Centaur. Pandour, Serapis, Alligator, Hippomenes, Drake, Unique Schooner, and transports, having new ly two thousand troops on board, arrived off Surinam Ri ver on the 25th April, after a passage of twenty days from Barbadnes. The shallowness of the wa ter retarded the advance of the ships up the river, the Emerald having passed through mud in three feet less than the drew, and it was not till the even ing of the sth that she got up near the forts. The Officers of Flaginem having explored the road through the woods, close to the battery of derici, which communicated with Leyden redoubt, an attack was made on the morning of the 30th by a detachment of troops under Brig. Gen. Hughes, conducted in the boats by Captain Maxwell of the Centaur, and Capta;as Ferris and Richardson : they landed at Plantation Resolution ; and, after a tedi ous march through woods and swamps, the Briga dier and detachment, accompanied by the two first named Captains, with some offic , _is and about SO seamen, carried the batteries Friderici ; and though the enemy blew up the magazine, by which many of our brave people suffered on entering the work, they were not delayed in passing a causeway of 700 yards. with five pieces of cannon bearing thereon, and carried the redoubt of Leyden iai kw minutes. The gallant conduct of the Brigadicr, his officers, and men, will no doubt be sufficiently set forth by the Major-General, but it is impossible to do justice their merit ; and the Brigadier has spoken in the handsomest terms of Captain Maxwell, who commanded the seamen, and Captain Ferris, who led on with the advanced party, as well as all the officers and men ; and Captain Richardson, left ready to support them in the boats, gave every aid to secure the posts. The Dutch Commodore commanded a frigate, a corvette, 3 merchantmen mounting from 8 to 14 guns, a schooner of 10 guns, and seven gun-boats. Commodore Hood speaks in terms of high COT. mendation of Capt. Maxwell, Ferris, Waring, Rich ardson, Shipley, M'Kenzie, O'Bryen, and Nash. This Gazette likewise contains two letters from General Wellesley, dated 15th and 16th December. giving an account of the assault and reduction of Ganilgbar. a service of the utmost galiatitry and importance, but respelling rvLich the publk been some days since informed. The Major•C ent _ ral particularly mentions the great services of Lie tm . Colonel, A'allace, Chalmers, Desse, and Lang, an d Capt. Beommon, on the occasion.—The C at ette also briefly notices the signing of the Treaties wi t h the ller4r Rajah and Scindea on the 17th and 30th December. THE BRITILSIL PRFSS7 LON DON, MONDAY. Juni f 5. A warm debate is expected this night in the House of Lords upon Mr. PITT'! Military Defence Bill.—Of the Members present, it is thought that there will be for the Minister 80.—Against him rio . —The proxies will be numeeous—beyond example. A Hamburgh Mail arrived on Saturday. I ts contents will be found in the last page. They are of no importance. They only shrw, as we have al- ways believed, that the spirit of the Continent flows before the usurpation of BoaAaAarz, and is ye t unable to assert its rights. Saturday morning, soon after ten o'clock, Their MAJCSTIBS, in a post-ohm-int, followed by m e Princess ELIZAIIIITH, attended by the Countess of AYLESBURY, in a phaeton, arrived at the Qt LEN': House. About eleven o'clock, the Loan Cu CELLOR and Mr. Pis ti arrived, and had an audience of /lis MAir-ry ; which continued till near one. In a short time aster, the ItOYAL PA kTY returns.. to Kew to dinner. On Saturday, at three o'clock, the Hun; An AN. ■ hSSAsina had an audience of Lnrd HA K ow's', at his office. At four o'clock, Sir JOSEPH BANKS had an audience of his Lordship. Yule. lAy, at two o'clock, the Mares of the ROLLS had an audience of Mr. PITT ; they after wards transaaed business with Lord Heaaowav, at his Office. Saturday evening, His Atta tar v, accompanied by the Duke Of CAM/MIDGE, Princesses SOPHIA ard AliEl lA, attended by Generals GAIL TI4 and MAN. NERS, and Lady J. 114 VNSS, took an airing on horseback, in the neighbourhood of Osterly Park. Her MAJEATY and the PILINCUSCS followed ia a phaeton. Yesterday morning, the ROYAL FAMILY attended Divine Service at Kew House; they afterwards walked in Kew Gardens. A grand dinner was given at the hotel called tk English Club-house, at Hanover, on the 4th of June, in ce!ebration of our Silver eign's Birth-day. The populace surrounded the place, and expressed their joy on the occasion by frequent shouts of God Jew the King, Scc. ; until at length the French Com mandant deemed it expedient to order the garrison under arms, and to disperse the party. . - The Gazette of Saturday Night contains the fol lowing list of new Baronets : I). Rae. of Eskgrove, Mid Lothian, Lori Justice Clerk of the Justiciary. Col. Sir W. Clark, Knt l. ,of w ake. H. H. A. Bruce, of Downhill, Londonderry. John Lees, of Black ItocEs, county of Dublin. Samuel O'MallJy. Rose-hill, Mayo. Lieut. Gen. Meyers, Commander in Chief in the Leeward Islands. A New York Paper, of the 20th last, sa: s, that the French people at the Cape are in the most dis tressing situation, cipeaing every moment a general massacre ; as it was known that CHR 16TOPKE had received orders from General DIGSSALINES to that purpose. None of them are suffered - ,to leave the island, and the American vessels are srictly searched both before sailing, and by the bargts o - - - The report which prevailed in the city on Sam. day, that several homeward bound East ludiamew had fallen into the hands of the enemy, induced many grocers to speculate on the probable scarcity of tea. Some of them added one shilling in the pound in consequence. A lever from Lim riez, says--" An augmenta tion of a second batta ion .0 the following regiments, has been ordered by his MAJLSTY : 4tii, Bth, 23d, 78th, and 79th regiments of foot." The sailing of the convoy for the West Indies from Cork is postponed to the Ist July, on the application of the merchants. Captain Hermes will afford convoy to any vessels which may be bound Cu- the Bahamas or America, as far as their way and his way happen to concur. The Emperor of Russ: A was at Revel on the soil) May, having In his route inspected the fortifications at Vesenburgh, &c. The French Minister, B#cala, at Ratishon, has pre.ented a Note to Baron D'Ar.nrnr, the Minister of the EleEtor Arch-chancellor, desiring that the French Emigrant Bishop SISTERON, and a Scotch Priest. mrineu Mau eus Hoar., be banished that eh). The parties being informed of the demand, spared the Baron the embarrassment of interfering on the occasi 3n, and privately withdrew. BON• pa ITC has officially notified his elevation to the Imperial Dignity to the Courts of Vienna, Bet' lin, Copenhagen, Baden, Stutgardt, Wirtembarg, and Munich ; but no answers had been returned at the date of the last advices from those capitals. Letters from Rotterdam of the 11th, say, "The Dutch armaments for the expedition are every where complete. The troops are encamped from 11 irlaem to the Texel. The number of armed vessels and transports to be employed in the enter prise, is said to exceed three thousand. The troops are not more pleased than alarmed by the delay i each day adds to their fears, and diminishes their hopes. A Dutch officer was some days since shot at Bevenvyck, for having distributed sonic copier of a statement of the naval and military force of Great Britaim, employed for the immediate defence of its coasts; but notwithstanding this, and similar means, to keep the soldiers ignorant of the diner that awaits them, they are full of alum and 40 content." At the Annual Me day lad, the full Royal Highness Esq. were recite Gay Child of Ease The genial beams O'er whose soft pat No pale star hoWd . G., Child ut Ease, Where Want and lie does not speak, Ask the cold gift o From hi; fiat eye For all ,s still and d He does not weep The same! fount 51 Say, hut thou Ihs prostrate heal Waorrring with p Of plains, that oc Where Art °steel: And the tall turret Say, hot thou mc The broken arch i And shall thy hes For the sad ruins Th' aspiring Soul And aU its bright Hoed by the Mil And erectly sang As with a Meths The Wain; blur Awl o'er his COM There sweet pies " From es'ry " The Muse to Ilnlock'd for •• Where dipt is " Go, lit thy se • Where Natuo " Ranee o'er thi " The green Ea " Fair blooming 44 A balmy Meet " The hoary he " The distant pi " The last pale " That slowly li " While to thy A world of tii Charinld by 1.1 " And smile an " As thus' each " Now sing the " Or, as thy bi " A martial Sem So sang the The sisossed Lag Vet We 1 Dreams elf Gehl Deluded beg Ta oath dose Rid 'midst sisal The lurking ai, Survey the war Yd Seer the et See where mee the WieeamM r . Ye t ee t Susgic AM wear tars r ass e lein the et le ling'riii ler The short b:oo rarksate t The'reyethees And all ladoome The Oneonta 111 haat of glad la rlouds of so And ambush') So newly hi On the white The mtwamere Enatnnerd pia Tb' untomseio