The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1809-01-11 00:00:00

FROM LAST NIGHT'S GAZETTE.

liowning-street, January 10,1909.
Dispstehrn, from which the follossiiig are ex-
meta, were, on the Bth instant, received at the
office of Lori Viscount Castlereagh, one of Ilia
Majesty's Principe Secretaries of State, from
lomileuant-General Sir John Moore, K.B. Coin-
fll3 niter-in-Chief of ties Majesty's Forces employed
in Spans :
Benerente, &Temtwr 29. 1808.
Since I hail the nonour to achirms you upon the
16th, from Toro, the army bus been almost con-
stantly marching through snow, and with cold that
hes been very intense. The weather, within these
low days, has turned to rain, which es nleectt more
thicomfortable than the cold, and has remlereil the
roads almost impassable. On the 21st the army
reached Sahagun ; it was necessary to halt there •
in order to refresh the men, and on account of pro-
visions. The information I received was, that Mar-
shal Soult was at Sedans IVI,h about sixteen thou-
sand with posts along the Rivet from Gaaida
to Carrion.
The army was ordered to march in two columns,
at eight o'clock on the night of the 23d, to hirer
the bridge at Carrion, and from throve proceed to
Sedalia. At six o'clock that evening, I receired
information that considerable reinforcements' hail
arrived at Carrion from Palencia, and a letter from
the Marquis de la Romani informed me that the
French were advancing from Madrid either to Val-
ladolid or Salamanca. It was evident that it was
too late to prosecute the attempt upon Souk, that
I must be satisfied with the diversion I had occa-
sioned, amid the I bad no time to lose to secure my

retreat.
The nest morning Lieutenant-General Hope,
with ilia own Division and that of Lieutenant-Gene-
ral Fraser' marched to Nlejorga. I sent Sir David
Baird, with his division, to pass the liver at Val-
mira. and followed Lieutenant-General Hope on
the -Wit with the reserve and the light brigades.
by Miijorgti' Valrleras, to Ileuevente. The cuvali.y
under Lord Paget followed the reserve on the 26th ;
both the latter corps entered this place yesterday.
continue our march on Astorga. Generals
Hope and Framer are already gone oil ; Sir David
Baird proceeds to-morrow from Valencia; and I
shall have this with the reserve at the seine time ;
Lord Paget will remain with the cavalry, to give
us notice of the approach of the enemy ; hitherto
their infantry have not come up, but they are mar,
and the cavalry is round us in great numbers ; they
are checked by our cavalry, which have obtained,
by their 'spirit and enterprise, an ascendancy over
that of the French, which nothing but great supe-
riority of numbers on their part will get the bet-
ter of. a
The diversion made by our march on Sallaglin,
though at great risk to ourselves, has been com-
plete; it remains to be seen what advantage the
Spaniards in the South will be able to take of it;
but the march of the French on Bailajoz was
stopped when its advanced guard had reachetl
Ta-
laveira de la Keine, and every thing disposeablc is
now turned in this direction.
The only pert of the army which has been hi-
therto engaged with the enemy, has been the ca-
valry, and it is impossible tin me to say tuo much
in their praise. I mentioned to your Lordship, in
my letter of the ifitli, the sumer* Brigadier-Ge-
nenil Stewart had met with in defeating a detach-
mein of cavalry at Itneda. Since that. few du)s
have passed without his taking or killing different
parties of the French, geuerallv superior in force to
those which attacked theta. On the march to Sa-
hagun, Lord Paget had information of six or seven
hundred cavalry being in that town. Ile marched
on the night of the geith from some villages where
he was posted in front of the enemy at Majorge.
with the 10th and 15th hussars. The tOth marched
straight to the town, whilst Lord Paget, with the
15th, endeavoured to turn it. Unfortunately. he
MI in with a patrule, one of whom escaped, and
gave the alarm. By this means the French had
time to form on the outside of the town, before
Lord Paget got round. He immediately charged
them, beat them, and took from one hundred. and
forty to one hundred and fifty prisoners, amongst
whim' were two Lieutenant-Colonels and eleven
Officer'', sv:th the loss, on our part, of six or eight
men, and perhaps twenty wounded.
There have been taken by the cavalry from four
to !fire hundred French, insides a considerable
number killed ; this since we begun our march
from Salamanca. On his march from 'Fialiagrati, on
the -10th, Lord Paget, with two spiticlrons of the
10th, attacked a detachment of cavalry at INfa-
jor;ei, killed twenty, and took above one hundred
prismiere.• Our cavalry is very superior in quality
to any the French have ; and the right spirit has
been infused into them by the example and in-
struction of their two leaders, Lord Paget tad
Brivaier-Gen. Stewart.