The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1807-01-28 00:00:00

.1 -; -..."••••••••••• 4grop.

Not a moment was lost ; and, accordingly, en the
evening of the 29th, I landed with about 400
men, composed priamivally of a pia of the JSth
Regiment, under Col. Vassal, and advanced against
the town, which set mad to be occupied by about 600
Regulars and Militia, mostly mounted, with l how-
itzer, and 1 long 4 pounder field-piece, biith brass.
Notwithstanding we were without any artillery,
ti•e enemy were soon disp irsed, with the loss of their
guns, and about 5o men killed and wounded. The
lug On wir side was 2 killed and 4 wounde3, of Hi,
Wij-sty's 38:h Regiment.
To the coil intr:pidity of one little column on this
occasion, much praise is due, as it advanced. with
the utmost steadiness and alacrity, and without firing
a shot, until sufficiently near to make a certainty of
carrying both the guns a.cl the town, which was
principally done hy !)ayonet, notwithstanding tile
adv ince VrA4 trade under heavy discharges of grape
and minketry.
To the well-known gallantry and Ability of Col.
Vassal, I feel myself much in2ehted ; and the con-
dua of every other Officer in the field has com-
manded my thanks.
At day-break, yesterday morning, I detached
Colonel Vassal to take ciosse,sion of the heavy bat-
teries on the beach of the harbour. and on the
I),.iin.ula, which precluded any communication for
the enemy hi tween the main land and the strong
island and post of Goretti, situated in, and much
commanding, the bay of Maldonado, and which, in
consequence, in the course of the day, surrendered
ac di.cretioa, to a summons sent from Sir Home
Popham, and there'ay prevented the necessity of
carrying it by storm, aad the consequent bloodshed
that might htive ensaed. During yesterday and
this morni!,g, the chic' part of the remainder of the
troopi hire 6cen land id, and I have already con-
ttived to mount nearly one half of my caw dry.
'l ist Weilington tranvoit being direfted to sail
immediately to England, I have Laken the liberty
of addressing this short account of. my proceedings
direftly to you, Sir Home Popham having repre-
sented to me his inability w dispatch a vessel at this
time to the Cape of Good Hope, precluding me the
power of making my report throu‘h tor regular
channel of Incutenant•Geineral Sir David Baird.

I ought not to omit to mention the very steady
and praise-worthy conduCt of a small patty of Ma-
rines and armed Seamei, sent on sho.e by Sir
Home Pvpham, who joined and composed part of
our column, on its way into the town, and occia
pied such positions as were all.) trd to them during
the night, in such a correa manger, as to rrfle.l the
greatest credit both on the officers that commaiideJ
them, and their own zeal and discipline. •
I should also be wanting i justice to my own
feelings, if I closed my dispatch. washout ackrink-
ledging the services I h ye re-eivid tram Lieutenazn-
C donel Brownrisg, Iteputv Quarter-ht aster-Gene-
rai., and Maj.ir 1 rot er of the H ;J Regiment, ailing
Deputy- Adjutani-General to the Forces at I resent
under my corn/and. And I aiso bee ld-ive to ac-
knowledge the assistance 3ff .riled me by. Major
fucker, of the 72d regimen.. st by p-rstsission of
Lieutenant-General Sir David Koru, ,s with me on
this occasion, and aeting in the cais.in y us Military
Salere:Ary.
I herewith have the '.onour t t inelase the re-
turn of such ord.iance. ammunition, and Ames, as
have yet been discovered.
I nave the honour to he, Itcc.
J. BACCISOCce,
L cot. Col. 47th keg.
Return ache killed and grounded of the fe.np. under the
cuurnAnd,f Lieutesiesit-Co,unel ,Lekh. ow, in the attJcle
of hfahluuedo, un tie
.29t., of Utt.,'l.r. IS 6.

311th R-4gt rank wed hie tithed, 4 re..k an.: hie wiundel.
(bitted) W k TR.,rfrit.
m sad Hest. Actiog Dep. Adj. 47. n.
Return of Ordnance, Ammunition, and Stores. dre. Liken
from the enemy, in the town and vicinity of Mant.mato„ aa.t
Wend of Goretti, on the 2'.ttli of October, 18(4.
Bras. Ord•iance.
I B,,i•inch howitzer, with tan round. of ammunition.
I Utc-pounder, with ten .nun•. of ditto.
. .

Iron kl•delanc..
ti Twenq•ai" Pnun.••ra on Se. B.lttrriel.

20 Twenty-four-Peauders ou tli. 'Amid of GOICIti.
_ . -

PV) U u‘keit.

201) Pidols.

300 Swrorcl4.

108 Banes of Powder.

(Sigued) A. WATNO,N,
Capt. R M. Artillery.
N. R. The above is the most eeriest return! have yet been
able to collect. (aigusAl) W. K. INU I ri..m,
Acting D. v. At lien

_ -
Ablistirake-()J Jas. 27,1807.
Dispatches, of whica eh• following ars copies,
have been received at this Office from Commodnre
Sir Home Popham, addressed to Wiliam Marsden,
Esq.

flu Majesty's ship Diadem. Rio do
SIR, IA i), 16 6.
Wt:err the events of war cease so ne fAvoisraiile to
any Armament, I consider it the duty of Cumm.ind-
ing Officers to state all the circumstances owler
dm'. knowledge or information. with clearness and
perspicuity, which, either progressively or ►uddenly,
led to a reverse of fortune.

In pursuing this course, I feel confident I shall
be able to. satisfy the Lords Com Missioners of the
Admiralty, that the liberal And beneficent princi-
ples upon which the Government of General Be-
resloid was concluded, do more honour to His
VlAjessy's arms, and th- chuaßrr of Great Britain,
than if he had res-rted to expedients completely
within his powrr, which would LAY( et etoally an-
nindated all the efforts of the enemy, and wrested,
probably for ever, these countries Irom the crown
of Spain.

Piwridon, one of the munkipalit7. appears to
have been the greatest organ of the Revolutiva. lle
applied himself with great art and addret; So pre.
paring the people fur a general insurrettion.
The arms in the town were secreted, ready r). the
moment of aftion ; the discontented asseloblcslev.ry
night, and attended to his instiatii.rei; and he raised
all the rabble of the country, by the ample supilies
f money with which he was furnished on the
north side of the River. Colonel Linier4 a French
Oificer in the Sp..aish service, :mid on his parole,
successfully employed himself in collecting people at
Colonia.

_
Terror was estahlithed, and every person who re•
Eased so t....alitsibete his assistance to this convi-
rat 7,_ was thrtatet.ed with immediate death•

I have traced this hum gray unquestionable au-
thoriiji, and so rapid was the progre,i fit t!.e !tom-
warn it hilt slaeWcd that it was Oat

till the 51st July that I Lsarned by a ilitpat& frcm
the General. which reached me at EftSettAkiA, on oily
return from Iklunte Video, that he was apprehensive,
from the information he received, an illitattealoll
',mild shortly be made.
I heard at the same tim• from Captain Thomson,
that seventeen of the enemy's vessels had just ar-
rived at Colunia, and as it war reported that force
was still to be increased from Monte Video, I sent
orders for the Diomede to be brought to Ensenada,
and fur Captain King. •f the Diadem. to come up
with the remaining few Marines, the two compa-
nies of Blues, and as many other alien as could, in
anv 'der •e, be spared from the ships, for the pur-
pose or aiming some ye-3d; to attack the enemy
at Colonic, as it was impossible to prevent his
crossing from the north shore whenever the wind
was fair. _

On the Ist of August, in the afternoon, the Leda
vschnred off Buenos Ayres. about twel►e miles
di,tant ; and on my landing on thegd, which I did
as soon as the weather would admit of a boat get-
ting on shore, I found the General had just made a
very Fuecessful attack on about 1500 Spaniards, tin-
Pueridon, five leagues from the town, with
.500 men, in which he took all the enemy's cannon
(I think nine pieces) and serval prisoners.
On the 3d, I attempted to return to the Leda, in
the Encounter, which Captain li.mynsan beought
within a few milvs of the shore for this purpose, as
it blew ►e strong: but the wi::d freshened so con-
siderably from the eastward, that we could not get
to windward.

On the 4th, in the morning. it was very thick
weather, and the gale increased so much, that it
was impossiole to weigh.
About ricotta Captain King arrived tit a galivat.
with 150 men from the Diadem, for the purpose Qf
arming and commanding tie few small vessels we
had c illeBed in the harbour; bu t he was not able to
get here till .he following day.;
On the sth, in the morning, t moderated, and I
reached the Leda, when I received a report from
Captain Thomst n, that in the gale of the preced•
ing day, the enemy h.i.l crossed from Catania tn.
t.,lty unobserved by any of our ships, except the
schooner under the command of Lieut Herrick.
who was lying in the narrow gut leading to Couctas
and St. Isidro; but the easterly wind had thrown an
much water is the river, oat the enemy were et.a-
bled to cross over any pan of the Palmas Bank.
without the nece•sity of making a greater dett.nr, by
going highrr up the riv r.
On the Gth a .d 7.11 it blow a hurricane; the Leda
was lying in four fathoms, with two anchors down,
and her yards and topmasts •truck.
On the 80 I head from ('apt. King. that five of
our gun boats had touudered at their anchors ; that
the Walker had Itst her raddlr, and that the
aunciaes and large cutters of the Diadem and Leda
were lost.

l'he torrents of rain that fell dining the 6th, 7th,
and Bth, had rendered the triads vitally i:npratti.
cable for any thing but cavalry, and consequently,
General Berelord was mast serionsly disappointed
in his determination to attack the enemy at a dis-
tance Irons the town ; in which, had it taken place,
I entertain no doubt that his army would have added
anottier trait of i's invincible spit it under his dispo-
sitions.
che enemy, how-vcr, by hi; inexhaustible supply
of horses, suffered little iuconv••mence from the state
of the roads, and he was, therefore, enabled to Ali-
pr •ach the town by several diredions, without
4ivirt the British army any opportunity to attack
him.

On the 10;h, in the evenin', the Castle was snm-
maned, aral on the following day I landed, while
our n•maining vessels were tiring on the Spanish
posts, all I learned that. exclusive rf the Spanish
army, Whi4 h Was divided into many columns, occu-
pying the ration avenues of the t.twn, the inhabit.
aa:s were all armed, and sheltered on the t, ps of
the homes and. churches, with a design of tarrying
on a war of ambush.
Under these circumstances, and the manifest dis-
position cf the enemy to prevent an engagem ; t, it
was determined to embark the wounded that night,
and cross the Rio Chello, for the purpose of moving
towards Ensenada; but this measure Teas, in a great
degree. frustrated by the weather, which became very
•ioient during the night, and consequently retarded
the progress of ernhaikAtroil, 6020 the enemy
Added a considerable number of men to the houses
and churches near the Castle. and advanced by all
the streets, not under the influence of its fire; in
short, Sir, his objel was to ay..id, by every means, a
general action, and to place his men in such a situ-
anon that they could fire at out troops, while they
remained in perfeci security themselves.
Ori the 12th, at day-light, I understand a malt
fire began from the enemy's advanced posts. bet
was soon returned with great effect from our artillei y,
which was planted towards the principal streets lead-
ing to the Great square, and tot a short time the
enemy. by his immense numbers. showed a greater
cl-gree of firmness than on any other occasion, and
pushed forward with three pieces of artillery, erhiols
Colonel Pack, •f the 71st, soon charged and took
from him. During this time, however, reinforce-
ments crowded the tops of all Vie houses command-
ing the Great Square from the back streets, and our
troops were aeon considerably annoyed by people
they could not get at. The enemy cartunanded the
Castle in the same way, with the additional ad-
vantage of a gun on tl,e top of one of the churches,
which I censider an indelible stigma against time
charafter of the Bishop, not only from his situation,
but the professions he made.
I can easily conceive how the feelings of General
Reiesford must, at this moment, have been on the
tack ; disappon,ted in his last efforts to induce t' e
enemy to a general engageni•,tt in the Gre.it
Square, his gallant little army falling fast by shots
from invisible persons, and the only alternative
which could present itself to save the useless effusion
of so rouzit valuable blood, was a Rig of truce, which
sees hoisted at the castle about one o'cicck.
I t an instant, there were near 10,000 oxen in the
';teat Square, pressing forward, in the matt ou
rages,' marine., to get into the Ina, and elfell
at our men on the ramparts ; so much so. that it was
with este. me difficulty the British toe ps were pre-
vatted revenging this insult ; ind-:ed the General
was obliged to tell the Spanish Officers, if their
Meg did not retire is the course of erne minute, he
roust, es the only measure of safety, haul down the

"s

-....M1

flag of An— ce, dr,.fi recommence hos. ilci .s ; ttiis
firmness had the desired elf..ct, and be Oren sent
ittA conditions to the Spanish Genet al, and they were
instantly acceded to.
I incloie a copy of the capitulation, and. I Irlll,
the high and independent language in vslr.,h it is
couched, and the ternis diaated by General Bere:.
ford, to an Officer at the head of myri ids of petyle.
wol do him infinite honour in England, and cbtain
for him His Majesty's most gra6uus appruliation of
his 401.dut t.
I have rkceiveii, and annor a return of the k ll,d,
wounded, and missing, by which it ispdt•ars. that
there are two Officers, two Stilit/AIII, one Dritiumer,
forty-three rank and fila, killed ; ight
seven Serj-ants, ninety-two ras.k and file, wi ttujed ;
and nine missing ; making a total of ;
scarce any of those mid-onto:es were occasiorhid
cept from the inhabitants on the tops at the !anus,:
and the churches.

The enemy eonfe+•es to have Inst about 70') kiik ►
and wounded. in the short col t 1 R in the str-vo ;
and if it had not been for the inhabitant:. I
littladouht that the Spanish troops would liar
completely defeato..,l, Altivot.gh seven times the nun,-
bet of the I3ritish forces.

Nothing is more difficult than to give their Lor,!-
ship; en idea of the number of men in arms; but
tom the best accounts we can obtain, it is thong t
l'ueridim. and the other principal people engaged
in this plot, had calleaed from ai4ht to 10,000 men
in the country ; that Liniers may have Inoto,ht
over from 5011 to 1,000; and the town furnished,
though armed in va ions wa)s, about 10,000, under
the secret arrangement of the Magistrates.
Wh-n every vessel that could escape from Ilue-o.e
Ayres bad joined, I procee !ed toward: linscnada.
to retire the detaerment of Marines ;
of the Diadems. was obliged to quit the 13 krit
:chooser, as she would not wor k out one gun-boat
aml a settee, a prize, wet.: also I.ft in the Lai-hour.
wits the Justina, a small Eighth merchant ship
that had followed the expedition from Sr. Helena.
Capt. Thomson, of the Neptune, who wet in the
Castle, was made a prisoner, and Lieut. Burgh, of
the Raisonable, with Nfr. Ramsay, a Midshipman.
and seven men, who were in the settee, as her hors
could not hold them. Lieut. Herrick, in the Do-
lores, the other armed schooner, worked nut in a
manner. which, coupled with his condnift oa the
whole of this businees, does him gle.ti credit.
O r the I SO), in the morning, the detachment of
Marine•, under the command of Lieutenant Swaile.
w is emharkA from Ensenada, and his two Spanish
field piece; spiked and thrown into the river.
On the 14th I sailed for this anchorage, where I
arrived the following day, and immediately ad-
dressed the Governor of Monte Video oa the sub-
jett of our tro-ps.
On the 16th, in cons?quence of receiving, by Co-
lonel Linier's Aid-de-camp, a letter from General
Heresford, I dis,ratched two of the transports to
Buenos Ayres, wh"rc one arrived o-s the f 7th, but
from the prevarication of the Governor of Monts
Video. in the first instance, and his subsequent dis-
honourable condul, no troops have yet been em.
barked.
Whilst I had the honour of being on board the
Led r, I had every reason to be satisfied with ties

seltten attention of Capt. Honyman, his ofKcers
and ship's company ; and I cannot but express my
extreme approbation of the c.tadita of all the offi-
cers and seamen, who were constantly employed in
the small vessels and bran, under almost every pri-
vation, in the very severe and trying weather which
we exlierienced the last ten
I most sincerely regret, however, that my s:tuation
has i:np,•s-d on me use painful ditty of making this
report to their Lords; ips, esnecially as it is done
print-. it, illy by materials cull: Etd horn different peo-
ple, w:tich they probaly, re many instanc,s,
duced from virgule and uncertain conclusions ; if
Lewever it should hereafter appear that I have tailed
in any instance to Jo ample justice to the conduel,
energy, it,cl prowess of Gen. Beresfrd, and the
:Zeros and soldivrs unckr his command, it has teen
:swing to the limited scale of my communications
since the iith, from the extreme jealousy of the
enemy, and ant from any indisposition to appreciate
then moeri•s in the most liberal manner ; a sentiment
wliieh I have held on every occasion, and publicly
marked it in all my former dispatches
1 have tie hr,nour to be, &c.. • H. Poetta m.
[it .re folhos the terms of capitulation, Slid the r,Atou of
tttttt Sod, fool to: slug, at tae.r•ed is our paper
you& otay
Ditr! no, Rio A- la Plata, 05 9, 1916.
On the zlth instant, off Lobes, we tell in with
the Rollo, having a detachment of the 5.4 th on
board ; she sailed from the Cape in company with
the Melantho, which was to the Westward of her.
I took the troops out of the Rolla, and sent her to
Rio Gtsnde, for the purpose of purchasing any
Roar or biscuit, and ascertaining whether any quart•
tity of the latter could be baked there.

1

On the (;tit we retinues! to ,is anchorage, where
we found the Pro:eetor, with the Adamant and Co.
Inns:sine transports, having on board detachments
of the 311th, and the Diadem visgualler. .1 list no
time in ordering all the men of war to completes
their provisions to three months, for fear ot any ac-
cident happening to the
On the 7,h in the evening, the Medusa joined,
with four ot toe Lancaster's convoy 1 and lapt4.l,
llouverie repnitcd, that the Lancaster was to thu
Eastward with the reitiaining two ships, haring tit'
preceding Light parted their cahles. The Leila
joined the same evening, and Captain H .nyman
rerrtt d, th it he had detained a Danish ship, bound
to MITA,: Video, having on board the Governor of
Valdivia.
I intended to have disprehei the Wel!ington
this evening, but Colonel Vasaal particularly re•
goe-ted I would denim het till the at ival of the Lan-
caster, as Colonel nacklinu.e was a senior Lieut.-
Colonel to himself, and succeeding adventitious-
ly to the command of the army, he would naturally
be desirous of making a report to the Duke of York
of the state of his force, and the a; naigements he had
made.
The nealier was so hazy, and the current so
strong h. the snuthwatd, that the Lancaster did not
j ,in till the r2th, in the evening ;on the folowing
day, as appeared to me, that the Commanding
a the troops intendel to make his that at-
tern' t Uri Alnilte Video, and was ausions to see t1..1
Flue, 1 Captain. Ronk!. to Luke a ,

MEMENEMNIIIA