Norfolk gazette and publick ledger (Norfolk [Va.]), 1806-10-25 00:00:00

NORFOLK, October 25, 1806.
Last night the letter-bag of the Ship Shepherdess, whose loss we announced in our paper of yesterday evening, was brought up to town. From our correspondent in London, we have received papers from the 30th of August to the 8th September, inclusive, and our mercantile friends have politely furnished us with other papers of cotemporary dates, and Lloyd's List to the 6th of September.
The contents of these papers are of the first interest, and induce us to issue an extra paper.
The circumstance which is deemed of most importance, is the refusal of the Emperor of Russia, to ratify the Treaty concluded with so much haste by his Minister at Paris. The utmost activity prevails throughout his monarch's dominions, & every thing announces the renewal of war. The King of Prussia has taken the alarm, and is arming with great activity, his disputes with Sweden is in a fair way of accommodation, and a northern confederacy of Germany with Russia, Sweden and Denmark is forming. The new king of Holland and the king of Prussia are at variance.—The negotiations between France and England from what we perceive, have made no progress, the prevailing opinion appears to be against peace.
The British and French armies in Calabria, have met, and we give the official detail of an action which has crowned the British with immortal glory. Less than 5000 British, defeated 7000 French with immense loss in slain and made prisoners. It does not appear that the consequences have corresponded with the brilliancy of the achievement. The proximity of Massina, with a powerful army, compelled the British to re-embark for Sicily.
The arrival of Jerome Buonaparte in France, is celebrated as a naval triumph. Fortune and his heels, and not his courage, have given eclat to this young naval hero. The Gibraltar, of 80 guns, chased him for 48 hours, and having got very near to him, a shot from the stern chaser of Jerome, carried away the fore-topmast of the Gibraltar, and thus he escaped. It was Jerome who fell in with, and destroyed a large part of the Quebec fleet.
A detail of further victories of the British in Calabria, subsequent to the grand action, will be given in our next.
LONDON GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, September 5.
DOWNING STREET, Sept. 4, 1806.
A dispatch has been this day received by the right hon. William Windham, one of his majesty's principal secretaries of state, from major general Sir John Stuart, commanding his majesty's troops acting in Calabria, of which the following is a copy:
Camp on the Plain of Maida, July 6, 1806.
Sir, It is with the most heartfelt satisfaction that I have the honour of reporting to you, for the information of his majesty, the particulars of an action, in which the French army quartered in this province have sustained a signal defeat by the troops under my command.
General Regnier, having been apprised of our disembarkation at St. Eufemia, appears to have made a rapid march from Reggio, uniting, as he advanced, his detached corps, for the purpose of attacking, and with his characteristic confidence of defeating us.
On the afternoon of the 3d inst. I received intelligence that he had that day encamped near Maida, about ten miles distant from our position, that his force consisted at the moment of about 4000 infantry and 300 cavalry, together with four pieces of artillery, and that he was in expectation of being joined within a day or two by 3000 more troops, who were marching after him in a second division.
I determined therefore to advance towards his position, and having left four companies of Waterville's regiment under major Fisher to protect the stores, and occupy a work which had been thrown up at our landing place, the body of the army marched the next morning according to the following detail.
Advanced Corps.—Lieut. colonel Kempt, with two four-pounders. Light infantry battalion. Detachment royal Corsican rangers. Detachment royal Sicilian volunteers.
1st Brigade.—Brigadier general Cole, with three four-pounders. Grenadier battalion, 8th regiment.
2d Brigade.—Brigadier general Ackland, with three four-pounders. 78th regiment. 81st regiment.
3d Brigade.—Colonel Oswald, with two four-pounders. 58th regiment. Waterville's regiment, five companies.
20th regiment, lieutenant-colonel Ross, landing upon the action.
Reserve of Artillery.—Major Lemoine. Four 6 pounders and two howitzers.
Total.—Rank and file, including the Royal Artillery. 4795.
General Regnier was encamped on the side of a woody hill, below the village of Maida, sloping into the plain of St. Eufemia; his flanks were strengthened by a thick impervious underwood. The Ama to, a river perfectly fordable, but of which the sides are extremely marshy, ran along his front; my approach to him from the sea side (along the borders of which I directed my march, until I had nearly turned his left) was across a spacious plain, which gave him every opportunity of minutely observing my movements.
After some loose firing of the flankers to cover the deployments of the two armies, by nine o'clock in the morning the opposing fronts were warmly engaged, when the prowess of the rival nations seemed now fairly to be at trial before the world, and the superiority was greatly and gloriously decided to be our own.
The corps which formed the right of the advanced line was the battalion of light infantry commanded by lieutenant-colonel Kempt, consisting of the
light companies of the 20th, 27th, 35th, 58th, 61st, 81st, and Waterville's, together with 150 chosen battalion men of the 35th regiment, under major Robinson. Directly opposed to them was the favourite French regiment of Premiere Legere. The two corps at the distance of about one hundred yards fired reciprocally a few rounds, when as by mutual agreement, the firing was suspended, and in close compact order, and awful silence, they advanced towards each other, until their bayonets began to cross. At this momentous crisis the enemy became appalled. They broke, and endeavoured to fly, but it was too late; they were overtaken with the most dreadful slaughter.
Brigadier general Ackland, whose brigade was immediately on the left of the light infantry, with great spirit availed himself of this favourable moment to press instantly forward upon the corps in his front; the brave 78th regiment, commanded by lieutenant-colonel Macleod, and the 81st regiment, under major Plenderleath, both distinguished themselves on this occasion. The enemy fled with dismay and disorder before them, leaving the plain covered with their dead and wounded.
The enemy being thus completely discomfited on their left, began to make a new effort with their right, in the hopes of recovering the day. They were resisted most gallantly by the brigade under brigadier general Cole. Nothing could shake the undaunted firmness of the grenadiers under lieutenant-colonel O'Callaghan, and of the 27th regiment under lieutenant-colonel Smith. The cavalry, successfully repelled from before their front, made an effort to turn their left, when lieutenant-colonel Ross, who had that morning landed from Messina with the 20th regiment, and was coming up to the army during the action, having observed the movement, threw his regiment opportunely into a small cover upon their flank, and by a heavy and well directed fire, entirely disconcerted this attempt.
This was the last feeble struggle of the enemy, who now, astonished and dismayed by the intrepidity with which they were assailed, began precipitately to retire, leaving the field covered with carnage. Above 700 bodies of their dead have been buried upon the ground. The wounded and prisoners already in our hands (among which are general Compère, and an aid-de-camp, the lieutenant-colonel of the Swiss regiment, and a long list of officers of different rank,) amount to above 1000. There are also above 1000 men left in Monteleone and the different posts between this and Reggio, who have mostly notified their readiness to surrender, whenever a British force shall be sent to receive their submission, and to protect them from the fury of the people. The peasantry are hourly bringing in fugitives, who were dispersed in the woods and mountains after the battle. In short, never has the pride of our presumptuous enemy been more severely humbled, nor the superiority of British troops more gloriously proved than in the events of this memorable day.
His majesty may, perhaps, still deign to appreciate more highly the achievements of this little army, when it is known that the second division which the enemy were said to be expecting had all joined them the night before the action; no statement that I have heard of their numbers places them at a less calculation than 7000 men. Our victorious infantry continued the pursuit of the routed enemy so long as they were able; but as the latter dispersed in every direction, and we were under the necessity of preserving our order, the trial of speed became unequal.
The total loss occasioned to the enemy by this conflict cannot be less than 4000 men. When I oppose to the above our small comparative loss as underneath detailed, his majesty will, I hope, discern in the fact the happy effects of that established discipline to which we owe the triumphs by which our army has been lately so highly distinguished.
I am now beginning my march southward, preparatory to my return to Sicily, for which station I shall re-embark with the army, as soon as his Sicilian majesty shall have arranged a disposition of his own forces to secure those advantages which have been gained by the present expedition. There seldom has happened an action in which the zeal and personal exertions of individuals were so imperiously called for as the present; seldom an occasion where a general had a fairer opportunity of observing them. The general officers, and those who commanded regiments, will feel a stronger test of their merits in the circumstances that have been detailed of their conduct, than in any eulogium I could presume to pass upon them.
The 58th, and Waterville's regiment, commanded by lieutenant colonels Johnson and Waterville, which formed the reserve under colonel Oswald, were ably directed in their application to that essential duty. The judgment and effect with which our artillery was directed by major Lemoine, was in our dearth of cavalry, of most essential use; and I have a pleasure in reporting the effective services of that valuable and distinguished corps.
To the several departments in the army every acknowledgment is due; but to no officer am I bound to express them so fully, on my part, as to lieutenant colonel Bunbury, the deputy quarter master general, to whose zeal and activity, and able arrangements in the important branch of service which he directs, the army, as well as myself are under every marked obligation.
From captain Tomlin, the acting head of the adjutant general's department, and from the officers of my own family, I have received much active assistance. Among the latter, I am to mention lieutenant colonel Moore, of the 23d light dragoons, who being in Sicily for his health at the time of our departure, solicited permission to accompany me on this expedition; he was wounded in the execution of my orders.
From the Medical Department, under the direction of Mr. Grieves, the deputy inspector, I am to acknowledge much professional attention, the more so, as their labours have been greatly accumulated by the number of wounded prisoners, who have become, equally with our own, the subject of their care. The scene of action was too far from the sea to enable us to derive any direct co-operation from the navy; but admiral Sir Sidney Smith, who had arrived in the bay in the evening before the action, had directed such a disposition of ships and gun boats as would have greatly favoured us, had events obliged us to retire. The solicitude, however, of every part of the navy to be of use to us, the promptitude with which the seamen hastened on shore with our supplies, their anxiety to assist our wounded, and the tenderness with which they treated them, would have been an affecting circumstance to observers,
even the most indifferent. To me it was particularly so. Capt. Fellowes, of H. M's. ship Appollo, has been specially attached to this expedition by the rear admiral; and, in every circumstance of professional service, I beg leave to mention our grateful obligations to this officer, as well as to Captains Cocket and Watson, agents of transports, who acted under his orders.—Captain Bulkeley, my aide-de-camp, who will have the honour of presenting this letter to you, has attended me throughout the whole of the services in the Mediterranean, and will therefore be able to give you every additional information on the subject of my present communication.—I have the honour to be, &c.
J. STUART, Maj. Gen.
Return of the killed and wounded of the British troops. One officer, 3 serjeants, 41 rank and file killed; 11 officers, 8 serjeants, two drummers, 261 rank and file wounded.
September 3.
Refusal of the Emperor Alexander to ratify the Peace with France—answer sent off to Lord Lauderdale's despatches—operations in Calabria—Preparations of Prussia.
Intelligence pours upon us from all quarters.—Dutch papers arrived last night to the 31st ult.—Paris to the 2d inst.—the Hamburg mails of Sunday and Wednesday—and Sicilian papers to the end of July.—An extraordinary Gazette with the official details from our brave army in Calabria, was published this morning.
The most prominent and important fact is, that The emperor of Russia has refused to ratify the treaty concluded at Paris by M. D'Oubril.
M. D'Oubril arrived at Petersburg, as we stated yesterday early in August, on the 5th. A grand council was immediately summoned, at which his imperial majesty presided in person. There were present besides
The baron De Buberg, minister for foreign affairs.
The prince Lapouchkin, minister of justice.
The comte Ketchoubeï, minister of the interior.
The comte Zavadofsky, minister of public instruction.
The comte Vasilioff, minister of the finances.
The comte Romanoff, minister of commerce, and
General Vassmitinoff, minister of the land forces.
The council, after taking the treaty into consideration, M. D'Oubril being present, decided upon the rejection, which was immediately upon the breaking up of the council, officially notified to all the foreign ministers resident at Petersburg. Couriers were immediately sent off in all directions—to all the Russian ministers at the different courts—and by all the foreign ministers at Petersburg to their respective courts. This most important intelligence was brought by Basilico from Lord Lauderdale, who sent him off after the arrival of the chevalier Grosowsky with the intelligence from Petersburg. It is said, however, that his lordship had a conference with M. Talleyrand, after the arrival of the chevalier Grosowsky, and that Basilico was not dispatched till after that conference. The intelligence of the refusal to ratify the treaty with France, was also received from Mr. Thornton at Hamburg, whilst the cabinet council was sitting yesterday upon the dispatches from Paris. Mr. Thornton received the information from the Russian consul at Hamburg, and instantly dispatched Donaldson the messenger, to London. The cabinet council sate yesterday from two to half past three. There were present lord Grenville, lord Spencer, lord Howick, lord Sidmouth, lord Henry Petty, and Mr. Windham.
September 6.
The important advices communicated to the public yesterday, from St. Petersburg, on the one side of Europe, and Calabria on the other, produced the most universal satisfaction. It was truly gratifying to receive, in one day, the most unequivocal proofs of the gallantry of our own troops, and the fidelity of our ally. The brilliant achievement with the bayonet, so eloquently described by Sir John Stuart, shews what may be done with British blood, when fairly led on. We only want a few such occasions to display the character of our troops, to make them on shore as formidable as they are at sea. If no other consequences are to be derived from it than that of making our soldiers acquainted with their own superiority, it would be truly dear to the country; but it will do more—it will shew to the enemy the peculiar feature of our strength as a nation, and the way in which our means may be exerted with the greatest effect. It was the plan of our immortal Nelson, that a British army, in a campaign in a country like Italy, should ever be accompanied by a British fleet; by which they might be put on shore, or moved from post to post at pleasure, and thus be able to break the line of an enemy, and chuse at all times the point of attack. This advice he gave to Mr. Pitt before the commencement of that memorable campaign which occasioned the loss to England of its most splendid warrior, and to the continent of Europe its dependencies. It is not yet, thank God, too late to profit from the advice for the preservation of our own independence. This taste of the British bayonet, and this simple plan of a covering fleet (though in the instance before us it was not brought into play) may warn the enemy of the consequences of invasion.
The other important advices of the day cheered the hearts and animated the hopes of the public.—The honourable fidelity of the emperor Alexander to his alliance, was regarded by Englishmen with that sympathy and affection which spring from genuine honesty. Englishmen found in it a feeling congenial with their own; and it was a consolation to them to think, that if they have been for years fighting for the protection of others, rather than for their own security, they have at least had some associates of integrity and truth. But it was observed by some, that though Alexander had refused to ratify the peace which D'Oubril had made for him, yet it was manifest that he had commissioned him to make a separate peace of some sort. This is true.—And so did we resolve to make peace with France, if fair and solid terms could be secured. It was obviously an arrangement between Great-Britain and Russia, that each should treat separately; but no doubt it was mutually understood upon what basis, at least, they were reciprocally to act. In this way the discussions begun—and in this way they came to a close, if we may credit the Moniteur; for it states that the negotiations with England had been actually concluded—when some new difficulty occurred. In all probability this treaty, extorted by subtlety, which beyond the arrangement, was the difficulty. If so, it is now removed. The crafty Frenchman has not succeeded. The British minister would not believe it possible that his honourable ally could have
given his consent to a treaty different from the articles of their union—and hurtful as it was to delay, he stood upon his suspence till the fact was ascertained.—And accordingly it turns out that he formed a just estimate of the honour of the emperor of Russia. And he has given to the world a striking proof, at the same time, of his own firmness and sagacity. This appears to have been the motive of the late delay. This at least was the public sentiment on it yesterday; and judging that this was the cause, they hailed the event as a favourable omen to a peace; for now, they argued, the two parties are brought back to the point in which they stood before, but with the advantage gained, that it is less likely for the enemy to cajole either of them again.
September 8.
We last night received the Moniteurs, and other Paris Papers, up to Friday last, the 5th instant.
The Moniteur continues silent in regard to the politics of Russia; and indeed no paper has been permitted even to announce the arrival at Paris of a messenger from St. Petersburg. The rigour of the police enables the government to deprive the people of France of all the benefits of the press; and we have no doubt but that Buonaparte also hoped by the same means to keep Lord Lauderdale in the dark as to the great event of the rejection of the Russian treaty, by the emperor Alexander. We have no doubt but that he equally kept from the noble Earl, as well as from his own subjects, all knowledge of the defeats which his armies have sustained in Calabria. He has thus enjoyed for a time a certain advantage in the negotiation which might have been hurtful to our interests, if there had been that eagerness for peace which the domestic enemies of our administration impute to them. His secrecy however has not availed him. It appears that Lord Lauderdale, with the sagacity which characterises his talents, soon discovered the motive for the increased attention which was shewn him; and according to a private account which we have received from a correspondent, he was fully informed of the whole, soon after he had dispatched Basilico on Monday last.
Not a word appears in the Moniteur on the present state of politics in Europe. It announced, indeed, on Tuesday last, on the authority of a letter from Berlin, "that all differences between Prussia and Sweden were terminated to the satisfaction of both parties." And we are told, that all the recruiting parties of the king of Prussia within the limits of the confederation of the Rhine, were ordered forthwith to retire, under pain of imprisonment. But there is the same reserve with respect to England, and the same silence on the subject of Russia, as we remarked in the former series of papers which came to our hand. In the journal de L'Empire of Thursday last, there is the following paragraph, which our correspondent assures us is the general feeling of all the people of Paris:—
"The recent departure of the messenger Basilico, has revived all our hopes of peace, not that we know any more than himself the tenor of the dispatches of which he is the bearer, but because it is natural to augur favourably of a negotiation which seems to be carried on with so much activity."
Indeed we are told that from one end of France to the other, the cry for peace is loud and universal. From all the corn, as well as the wine provinces, deputations have been sent to the emperor to represent to him that the accumulated harvests of two years are now upon hand, that there is no demand either for corn or wine, and that unless the government will accept payment of the duties in kind, the proprietors of the lands and vineyards, can no longer provide either the territorial, or the indirect taxes. We do not attach much interest to these representations, as they have been made at every period of the revolution; and we have uniformly seen that the most gigantic efforts have followed the rumours of their being in the gulph of bankruptcy.—But the Moniteur itself announces these deputations. They had access to his imperial majesty—and it is even said that Fouché has had the boldness to lay before the emperor, a faithful picture of the country. Be that as it may, it is certain that such paragraphs could not be inserted in any Journal of Paris, without the sanction of the government, and they are, no doubt, intended to raise the hopes of peace in the publick mind, and to give exhilaration to the triumphal fete now going on.
After the publication of the supplement to the London Gazette extraordinary, announcing the continuance of our brilliant achievement in Calabria, we looked with anxious curiosity to those journals, for their account of the state of things in Italy.—We find only the following most equivocal letter from Naples.
"Naples, Aug. 16.
"The latest intelligence from Calabria announces that the whole country, from Lauria to Cosenza, has returned to a state of order. The brigands have been put to flight, and the inhabitants delivered from their yoke, have testified, in all parts, sentiments of fidelity towards king Joseph. General Verdier must by this time have joined marshal Massena, at Cozenza. General Regnier has subjugated the whole country as far as Crotone. Four Polacres (flags or truce) have arrived within these ten days from Messina. They had on board some French prisoners, who were dis-embarked, and the Polacres set sail on their return."
Upon this it may be remarked, that the writer carefully avoids particulars. We have no letters in an official form, with any marks of locality or of date, either from Verdier or Regnier. The last redoubtable hero has not stated, as he did in Egypt, that the success of the English was owing only to the misconduct of the French general; nor does he tell us when and where the gallant army of Sir John Stuart re-embarked. In truth, both the French and the Sicilian accounts are equally inexplicit on this point; and we are left to conjecture, that though Sir John is returned to Messina, he has stationed a force equal to the possession of all the strong posts in Calabria; and that he has returned to concert with the ministers of Ferdinand the means of extending and completing the footing he has gained.
Yesterday morning at an early hour, Mr. Schaw, the messenger, arrived in town with dispatches from Lord Lauderdale.
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