The National Register.
London, England, 1811-02-03 00:00:00

4-""k

. REGISTER.

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distance of 80 toisei, extended irorn 'hie net eJek. ei L.. to
the foot of the height of Orleans, to the length olhso
At the same time, a trench was opened on the right bankrwithin
90 foists of the tete-de port, fer the purpose of erecting batteries
intended to flank the priredpal attack.
It was impossible to display greeter talents, couragee and acti-
vity than was shewn by the Engineers, both 'officers-and-men,
during the prosecution of the works. HenryeChief of laatkallon,
who commanded 'the attack in •the eencee, carried it un with-
remarkable activity. On the night of the 17th; evelihisfdre the
batteries were established, the covered way was trOwnedOut
unexampledinstance, -I believe,. in the • history of sieges. Five
officers of Engineers were killed, and tairo wounded; either in
the works, orint6e sorties which the- enemy. frequently made
to interrupt them. • . . • -
They came on the night or the ilth; 231,e24tta, and With,, to-at-
tack our camps and works, in columns of three or four iiunJred
men. The grenadiers anti the troops that guarded' the trenches
repulsed them with the bayonet, witlrgreat loss. . •
On the 28th, in the evening, after a vigorous. diseliarge;froirt
all the batteries of the garrison, about i.)000 men rushed-npett all
cur points olattack, penetrated thennfuramnment.en toe left,
and burned some gabsons of the lodgment' on the corer- ec:f:viay,
while they out-flanked in forcethe right on • the height of Oeleans.
But Gen. Hebert, quitting his camp with Gen. Bronikowsky,
end the companies of the elite of the 116th and sth tizave
them within the walls ; and General Abbe, who commanded
in the trenches, with Col. I.a Fosse, of the 44th, advanced
against them over the trenches with crossed bayonets; ever-
whelmed and killed a great number of them, and took several
pnseners. The ardour of the infantry could only be extfieded,
by the perseverance with which they worked. - -
The artiliety on their part, had surmounted excessive and
continual increasing difficulties in conveying the besieging ar-
tillery to the left bank. The navigati„ii or the river ehang -d
every day, and was extremely dillicult. The erection of thirb
teries was bri,kly opposed by a tremendous fire from Ole .11,arri.
son, which crushed every thine, particularly on the right bank.
General V:llee, the nfficeto and men, diAnlayed an indefati-
gable zeal. The soldiers of the train acted as carman: vs ; a
Captain of tic ertiilery,. and a Lietnenant of the train, 'were
wounded. On the "9th, at day-break,' forty-five guns, its ten
butteries upon both. sides of the river, opened a bre which in
two hours acquired a decided superiority, and soon silenctd all
that of the front attacked.
The bridge was cut the same day, and the next morning was
entirely broken ; ir, consequence of whic a the enemy was under
the necessity of evacuating in the night the tote-de-pont, of which
we took possession. On the .nOth, the castle was the only part
a the garrison from which a fire was kept up, and on the 31st
our fire became slack, as it was , not answered. The phrapets
were levelled, the embrasures not in a state to receive vms, and
two breaches were commenced near fort Orleans.
In the mean time General Roguiat pursued his beilliant.chreer,
completed the de3cent and tilassage of the ditch, and began to
mine the carp of the body of the place.
It was in this state of things that on the morning of theist of
January a white flag was displayed from the Castle, and imme-
diately upon this signals hostilities having every where ceased,
the ramparts were covered with a crowd of soldiers ancleaf in-
habitants. Two officers with a flag of truce made their appear-
ance, and were conducted to are : they communicatela lette;
from the Governer, who had authorised them to make propo-
sals to me. The Adjutant; Commandant St. Cyr Nogues, the
Chief of my Staff, carried my answer to the town, with the ba-
sis of a capitulation. He found in the Governor a weak man,
surrounded by two or three Chiefs, who divided the authority
betwen them, and who demanded that they should be sent to
Tarragona upon their immediate surrender, or offered to surren-
render conditionally in fifteen days, if not relieved before the
expiration of that time. Following up my instructions, he re-
jected every thing different front what was contained in my
answer, and desired them no longer to display the white gag if
it was not merely and simply to capituia:e. Upon his return,
the soldiers reeeivtd the news with joy, and with Icraderies de.
mended the assault. I promised it to them on the lehiiowing
day. The fire of bombs and howitzers recommenced in the
night on the town and castle; the miners cantiiitiesl..their la-
bnurs. On the morning of the 2d, a tiecv batLry in breach,
ralsedwi h extraordinary rapidity in the cuverhi way against
the coanterscarp cf the ditch, was batterieg at thedistance of
fl to ?..1 tosses the breach was hourly enlarged. Three • hits
flaps were displayed at once ; I ordered the firing to be evert
where redoubled. At two o'clock every thingwas ready for the
assault e 1 ordered a Brigade.of General Hariepe to be under
arms. in the great line of thitrenchcs, and formed in column
the select companies of thoftuards of the trenches, to mount the
breach.
Flags of truce made their appearance R•oritri, but I Jerboa an,
one to be rccuivvri, ezcept for the purvoos of doliveduaiWyotill