The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1809-08-26 00:00:00

~~ 1 1 MORAVIA, AVG I. We learn 'hat the Archduke Charles, owing to bad health, his resigned the coininaud of the army,. and that ['rime John of Lichtenstein has taken it, ad interim. VIM, AUGUST I. • We read, it the Gaiette Unirersalle, the follow., bag article, tinier the head of Iloheinia " The corm which was to have been formed lit the neighbouriood of Klatteu, will not take place. The istadicefir (militia) of this Circle. which till now have bees in the envirous of Waldau, have re• • joined the army. That part which binoneque near Frauenherg, and Keid, and which was to have gone to Dario'', have received counter-orders. Teresinstadt will be evaciu.....) T artillery and ammunition have been cent to Prague iu 300 car riages. Immense redoubts are constructing, with out intermission, in the environs of this city ; all the peasantry, even those of the Circle of Pilsen, have been put in requisition for the works. as also the horses. The inhabitants have received notiq to furnish themselves with six aionths' provisionl. The whole collected corps of the Autrian army will eiicninp on the Weissenburg (White Mountain) ; and if peace does not take place, a last battle will decide the fate of the Monarchy." AUGSBURG, AUG. 1. The march of troops through this city still con tinues ; far the four last days we have witnessed the arrival of several regiments of clutaseurs cui rassiers, several hnitelred infantry and horse grenu dicrs.and a detachment of gem! annerie. The whole of these troops proceed to Austria. The harvest commenced in our Canton some days ago, and promises to be most abundant.—( L'Abeilk du Nord, Aug. IL) ravriPOlT. JV I •T 31. The King of Saxony is shortly to set out on his return to his dominions; a picquet of cavalry of the Loops of the Prince Primate will escort him to /aide. The corps commanded by General Theil mann wilt be formed into several detachments, in order to insure the journey of his Majesty. from Yulda to Leipsig.---(L'iliscille Is Nord, Am. H.) • BATTLE of %VAGRANT. I „ , The followoo4 is the Austrian 011icial ACcount of the battle of WAgram. as published in the Austrian- Gazettes, dated from the head-quarters of the' Archduke Charles. the 29th July. It appeeie likewise in The Iluothuegh o.ercspokuiene of Aq gust tI, but garbled ; the passages in italics have ins been suppressed Scarcely had the morning of the 6th begun to break, when the enemy's army, composed of a force which, since the earliest titers, has perhaps lacier been collected in one point, appeared at the dis tance of a long cannon shot. •• It was estimated at from 1 so to tao.oon mew. According to the latest statements of the Emperor It'espoleon hie self, and his Generals, it consisted of 180,000 combatants. On the part of the Imperial Austrians, nut quite too,ooo men were in the field on the day of battle. The attack began with a brisk cannonade all along the line, which the enemy an. *leered by n fur superior number of henry ordnance, and kept it np till night, without interruption. The eight wing of the Austrians made the most splendid progress. Adleklaa was tepee, and the enemy driren( pow Itussenbrunn, lirectealey, and Ilersch)trilem. The enemy's cavalry on the left wing was completely ( routed, and lield-Manird Lieut. Klemm, with the six corps which he commanded in the room of Field-Marshil Lieut. Hiller, who was taken ill, pe netrated on the enemy's left flank, as far as Aspen', Esslingen, and the town of Enzersdorf ; made him self master of our entrenchments, which we had a- bandonorl the clay beforc,took ten pie:es of cannon, and some thousand prisoners, besi.les one eagle and several stands of colours. In the mean time, the French centre, where the Emperor Napoleon was, did not move from the spot at Rosclidorf ; it 111110 4tatinned there in I ranks, consisting of up wards of 60,000 men strong, and continually lengthened its right wing, opposite the left of the Austrinns, till the latter was quite overwhelmed about noon by a mass of cavalry and a great (loan, tiny of artillery. The corps which hail been expected from Marchick did not arrive, and it was easy for the enemy to out-flank our left wing, their violent cross-tire soon silenced our batteries. •' One .nth corps, which was placed on our extreme left, was repulsed, and the heights in that quarter, occupied by the enemy. •' By this, the , 2:1 corps in the centre was not only prevented from undertaking the attack against Hoschdorf, but was itself overwhelmed and forced to retreat to the causeway of Braun, while the enemy hod already gained Puksteis, and Ensersdurf, and , WWI threatening the road to Walkeradorf, in the rear of the Imperial Royal army. Night put an end to the action. In the battle. nine pieces of (31111011 were lost, in the retreat nose, and the ten pieces of cannon taken, were carried oft The Archduke John arrived in the afternoon near Sirbenbrunn, after the battle ass decided, and then went back again behind the March. •' The army confirmed its retreat till the gth, on the Prague road, us far as Gun tcrsdorf. The rear had obstinate etirgemento daily, during which Koroin burg and Hnlientirann took tire, and the army was alisoys ready for battle. "On the 1 1th, shortly before suu-set. in thehot ttst of the eLtion, when both armies were for the most part drawn up (mini one another, a formal conference tool, place, after some mutual messages, and at last a temporary armistice, the want of which was equally left by ,both armies, after an nnititerrOPted conflict of upwards of eight daj 1114 being overcome with fatigue. la cause-titmice of this, on armistice was concluded on the 12th, •by which hostilities are suspended fur four weeks, and 14 days' notice, is to be gis:en.before break ing it. The Austrian army has token a retro grade position itt Moravia. and the adjoining dis tricts of Bohemia, to enjoy some repose after the unheard-of toils of the last eight days." VIRIINA, JULY ‘26. The first fortnight of the armistice for a month having expirtli, we are auxioiedy expecting whether notice will be given to break it off, or whether it will be prolonged. The great measures for the defence of the Danube, the continual building on the great bridge of the Danube, the incessant cast ing of Callooll, the filling of cartridges and bomb shells--all this affords no pleasing prospect of peace. Prince John of Lichtenstein is gone on a visit to his family. Till this day (July 214 no notice has been given for breaking off the armistice. General Bulna arrived here with proposals, and after a few slays returned with il:,patelies from Napoleon to our Emperor.—(.Virue Zeilmag.). The VieNna Gazette of to-day mentions the sur render of the Citadel of Gratz to the French troops under Marshal Macdonald. The Viceroy of Italy left Presburg on the c2d inst. The Governruetit of Austria opened forced luau, to pay the contributions levied by the French army. The owners of houses niust contribute the fourth part of their house-rent. All the inhabit ants are inutile to contribute. The loan bears uu interest, and is payable, under the guarantee of the States, six month. after peace. In to article under the head of the Danube, the French boast, that they have already taken from A ustriA. 8,475,600 subjects, Gad d773square leagues of territory. taitsrz, Jul.? 17. Tn con'scrptmce or the armistice, the Inlt corps Of the Imprrial Austrian army, under Field Mar shal Count Giulay, which till now occupied the en ikons, retreated, on the morning of the Cot, to "Hunitaq, behind the lines of demarcation. • On the same day, a corps, consisting of French- Mew and Wirteruhurghers, under Marshal Mac donald. arrived at and occupied this city and its environs ; and on the ...nd the citadel was surren dered, and al.! garrison marched out with the ho nours of war. Styria must furn;sh, as speedily as possible, to the Imperial magazines at Vienna, Guou loads of wheat and Cwoo of rye. THE BRITISH PRESS. LONDON. SATURDAY. AI:GUIT 26. The report of the renewal of hostilities between France said Au.tria was repeated yesterdwy with hi ' *eased confidence. It was farther ',toted, in the Mi . tkiitterial Circles, Last night, that Prince STA IIIICM• arkolowleUge6l the receipt of private let 'tit's, announcing an actual engagement, in which French were defeated. We have received ilandeurgli Papers to the 13th instant, from which we hare made come este:sets.— The question of peace or war be i tween France and Austria, is the great point to which all eyes are now directed. but that point remains undecided. At the saute tune, we must admit, that the Foreign Journals are more of a warlike, than pacific charac ter. In the hatte of Tel the English Army, of le,ooo men, feebly supported by the Spaniards, for two days withstood a French Army of 45,090. in three successive attacks, directed by the ablest Generals or France, and • finally trimnplied over the enemy. British valour never was put to a severer proof, nor ever came more gloriously out of the trial. Neither ancient nor modern history can boast a more splendid victory; and Time, the destroyer of all earthly greatuess and glory, will, through many a revolving yell., preserve the names of those heroes who greatly fought. and greatly conquered, under Sir ARTHUR WELLS:SLIER', at Talavera. In saying this. we admit only what is their due. It is only what British valour had al ready proved in many instances ; and, however dazzling and flattering the character may be, that establishes a superior race among men. it required no new sitar& es of British blood and British valour to maintain our claim to that high place in the scale of hunts° nature. The hateful and wretched panders and parasites of Minister,, who 'Assure their readers, is their prostituted columns, that the victory of Tabivela was cheaply won, and most prove highly beneficial, as a demonstration of the vast superiority of British valour, affect to be ig norant of the high name vrhjeb,England already enjoys. Disowning the inheritance derived from our anereitors, met rtatischly iwanseaineit up to the present hour, they would still contend that our huildrerls should he still oppost4 to thousands. and mill conquer. to prove that Britons never inquire the "lumber of the enmity. but only ask where the •caesay is to be found. To such weft, the victay of Talavera opens • most remote vi.w. 4 4 The French," say they... will never invade that country. of whose population they experienced such • wimple at Talavera ; and, if no other gam' were to he the result, the victory, htevever great the loss of livery, would have been heeply won."—We contend, on the contrary, that this lesson was superfluous; and that it was not necessary for Lord CASTLEREAGH to have sent an army into Spain noon a Quixotic errand. The battle of Talavere was not fought nor won under any such circumstances. It pleased our wi.e Ministers to think that a British force of 30,000 men, under Sir ARUM& WELLESLEY, es silted by the native force of Spain, would be able to march to Madrid, and drive the Freuch out of the country. What was the consequence ? Sir Annum ‘VELLESLET, after a considerable time spent at Placentia, organising his means for the completion of his expedition, marched forward ; but as soou as he arrived at Talavera. be diacove.ed that Iris ways and means were at an end, and that he was unable to pursue VICTOII, who was retreating before hiru. This is no light and unauthorised assertion. We have the atithority of Sir ARTHUR'S disindclice for the correctness of the statement. Had Sir ARTHUR bees able to follow hien farther, there is not the least doubt that VICTOR would have continued his re treat, end led hien on. 'Fhe traitor, MuahA, and Monsieur CHARMILLY, were not more anxious for the presence of Sir JOHN MooRE at ..Madrid, than VICTOR was desirous to coax Sir ARTHUR hewer& the capital. Finding, however, that the British army had gone the length of its tether, anti, from an ignorance, perhaps, of the reel cause, suspecting that the British General had penetrated his views, Victoit stopped short, auti, returning with the force which he had ecciumulated in his retreat, hoped to overwhelm the British army at Tala vera, at the moment when lie feared it was on the point of attempting its retreat, and that the prey, of which he had made sure, was going to he saved from his clutches. This is the real progress of events. VICTOR, not WELLESLEY, was the as sailant for two days at Talavera. The British army did not idly or vainly court the contest with such greatly superior odds. It had no alternative but to conquer or die ; and, as we have already stated, it has come gloriously out of the contest. But this praise will not satisfy the, minions of Ministers. They will have the world consider it as an affair of choice, a great exertion of wisdom, in furtherance of the plan for he deliverance of the Peninsula from the Gallic yoke. One of their most servile parasites, in his paper of yesterday., alluding to this action, turns challenger, and throws down the' gauntlet in the following terms : Come, all yea who are so fond of considering every thing as so wisely planned, and so well estimated, on the poet of the enemy' who can nod no terms sudivielitly strong to express your admiratwe of Bonaparte 414 his Generals, come and behold a contrast !---conspare the achievements of fuer French Marshals w;th 11:e achievements of one Bri tish General ! Behold, es one side, under one of Bona parte's Wet Marshals, between so nod 50,000 men advatic tug against the British General in hunt, and, en the other, three Marshals, equally celebrated, Nes, Sault, end Mertier, adsanciug with giros() iu his rear—a total force of 70, ,00 men ! To have merely effected a retreat would base been thought a singular merit ; but the British General, confidant in the British hearts and arms which he commanded, risks a battle with more than double his force, and gains a brilliant victory ; disappoints the project of placing him between two flea, Red effects his retreat in the best order" Suchare the words of the Treasury Bobtail, and such the false view that he would give of the circum static.. under which the battle of Talavera was fought. lie would have the worlsl believe, that Sir A el HU R WELLESLEY having heard that SOUL? was approaching, was resolved, before he commenced his retreat, to demolish VICTOR ; whereas, that battle was fought on the trade and allt of July, the British army acting. on the defensive' ; and the dispatches from Sir ARTHUR WELLEOLEY are dusted the ist of August, at which time, en far from being apprised of the approach of Sou LT, and precipitating a bat tle in consequence, he does not appear to have dreamed that Son LT was within 100 miles of him. —lt is astonishing how accurately informed the Treasury Scribes appear in every thing that can tend to serve their employers. In matters of this description, their knowledge is co-extensive with their +fertility, and bounded only by their fancy—hut here their information ends ; and where ungrateful truths are to be told, they are as Wind as moles, sod ignorant :is fools. With this feeling they would contradict the report, that the sick and wounded were left behind at Talavera, and fell isito the eneiny'le hands. This certainly is not in any of the Bulletins issued front the Treasury ; hut such ebanduninent, we believe, must be the necessary con sequence of the sudden retreat of en army destitute of means of transport, in which state Sir ARTHUR WELLEstEV's army was officially announced to be. e can, however, assure them, with regret, hat with still more confidence, that above GOO sick fell into the hands of Sou LT, at Plersencis ; th a t General CRAVIYURR'S Brigade, which was advanc ing from Lisbon, to join the main army, had, in consequence of the Interposition of the French, slept short at Castel Brunet : , and that ell 'therma l .- phes, of ever ydeecri f ition, on their way from Porta gal, had been cut off by the same olistructiou at Pia sencis. The force there, under SOULT,Was estimated at between 15 and 30,000 man; anti it was general': auderstood, that all the isitereepted item': letters, describing the wretched state of his nrmy , anh hit quarrels with Marshal N EY. urn it !lie!' P.I lunch le hence was placed, were written aid eirculated far the purpose of misleading mail deceiving the. Bri tish army, in which attempt they too well succeed ed; as it it well known that the descent of Sourer in such force to Plasencia, was a surprise upon Sit Acruca Witl.l.6ll.EY. Under nil. se circutustalices he acted wisely in, crossing the Tagus and treating soetiiward. We have already stated, th 4 General CalierUaD is stopt short at Cartel Branco; and as a proof lime little stay great force stood iu his way, that he had actually sent back to Lisboa for artiliery to force his passer. Whatever Rommu'i and BERESFORD'S force may be on the northern frontier of F.stremadure, it may descend and threaten the French rear ; but, unable is contend with the united French army, it is equally cut off hero S.r ARTHUR WELLESI.I.Y. The Armistice upon the Danube was alas, at the date of the lest accounts, very well known, and certaitily was not • tin encouraging piece of intelligence. It was, there fore, according to all private accounts, not only the opinion of Sir ARTHUR Weehenev's jmniediate friends, but of all military men in Portugal, aim had a ureter view of his situation than that aline s we possess, that he not only acted wisely in crossing the Tagus, but that he must retreat still farther, is the direction of Merida end Seville; by which, is the event of his cave becoming desperate, be Call effect his escape by Cadiz and the nitighboariug coast. The capture of Flushing, the redaction of Wet followed by that of Schowen, an island of still larger dimensions, and the disble)/ of paved skill, tactic., and resources, which hurt been ma nifested in the passage through the iiareew eusnrrels that separate the isles composing the provineo. of Zealand ; all there circumstances are mulls, snore ably calculated to produce a deep, perhaps a beat , - ficial impression in our favour, on the people of the Dutch, and of theci-devaiss Austrian Neekerhatithe, IVe may perceive, even in the expressions, sod the reflections of the detni-official Parts Paper,:, the seusation which oar Expedition shine has excited wa the French capital. The surrender of Fleshing, and the preparations made for attacking the Beet stationed in the River Scheldt, will not tend to diminish that sentiment. More than all, the si lence foam Austria, the apparent delay, if not the unsuccessful termination of the pending negocia. tions at Schoeubrunn, and the consequi.tit neces sity for NAPoLEoN's stay in the vicinity of Vienna. must tend to weaken and to diminish the energies of the French Government. If we ?effect on, se review, the great events which have altered the form of Europe since the commeucensent of the Me teenth century, we shall and that the personal pre. sence„ flee energies, and the asasier-mind or leo. warmers, have uniformly been found necessary to produce these changes. Italy, before the conclu sion of the last century, was subjected by him.— The battles which led to the three Treaties of Leo. hen, of Luneville, and of Presburg, were his work. At Tilsit, and at Erfurt, he moulded. timidated, and subdued to all his purpose& the mind of ALZIANDEII, after veneuishing the Russian and, the Prussian armies in the field. Lastly, thetrato fer of his efforts to :he other side of the Pyrenees. • liecoplislied the reduction of that Monarchy, die. per. 4 and annihilated the Spanish armies. dime out the English force, placed his brother in this • capital, and on the Throne of Cusates IV., and. for a certain time reali,ed, the subjugation of the Continent, either by actual possession, or by tee ror and aubinisnon, to the Corsican Dynasty. If, however, his policy and ability have affected these vast, and hitherto unattainable objects, his superintendance and. fostering care alone, it is highly probable, can sustain and perpetuate them. Neither is the held, nor in the Cabinet, can any substitute be found fur his talents. He may be esteemed the animating principle and soal of hie own political creation, and we may say justly of him— " elm agitse mates, et suss as tarpon wisest." Ile has shakeu off successively, and consigned is insignificance or oblivion, all timers Ministers and co.-Auto:o, who were considered as so necessary to the support and development of his vast plans.— What is become, in fact, of the %BYE% and as TALLITRARIDI, whore names occupied 90 large a space only a few years ego ? Does any wian sup. pese that CAMIIMARRI or La Baua, that CUA/IF PatinT or Da Cass, are indispensable to NAJta- Ltotet greatness? Even among his Generals. whom would we select, as capable of filling his piece? MAISIIIIA, La FRaVita, HaRTHIER, BEV DIADoTTS. which of these, do we *oppose, conk. have extricated the French army at Aspern, on the 22d of May? could* have repesed that digester. subdued the Danube, repassed it. and. finally, hart compelled the Archduke, at Wagrain, to abandiste his fortified camp, and yield to him the advantage of the day? We must render justice to his sublime and universal eu.lne mem., while we execrate his crimes, sad hold up to just detestatiou his enor mities, :lut e vast as is the compass of his mind, he is , total confined within the limits of humanity ; and ni.ver, since his seizure of the supreme authority, in 1799, has he be. it assailed, as at the present ma. client, in three different portions of the Coatiuent— we might say, nu hour, if we include the attack, . r -