The Sun.
London, England, 1808-03-16 00:00:00

Brigadier-General Sir StimunL Aucu3lUTT

Sir SAMUEL Aucustury.-lictore the appointed hour :or
the attack, I visited the tiili eeu tiivisitms of my. brigade; •
and found them posted as tt eetet the eYe nog betr)rte fly t,i4'
uarter-Mitster-Gctier4l.. I..tian touk isey -station ou the
right wing of the 87 It, the .centre regiinat,ot my brigade,-
Having been directed to detacti the 38th regiment, which wa
the only corps that was not divided, oft the signal being male
of a cannonading from, the ce, re, we advanced any,
opposition between one and. two in lest There were iwO
streets between the left wink and the 37t1i rekiiftent, Load tht
Phiza del Toros. I consetitiently expected to le.tre
considerably to my left. 'I he day had not sudiejo-itly dawn.
cd to see any objects at a dtst,oice, nor lead t.n...)t heel, hied
at us till we Vkle suddenly ass.olited by a discharge olgraptt
from one or two guns (ilia latter I bdu:ve) its our trout...
Though the tire was extremely drstruttive, particularly
on the grenadiers, the column pushed on: and tetwa
a heavy tire of musketry opened, upose ie train a
ing, which I afterwards imintt was the i'Liz4 del To..
ros, and which contained abriut a Ihuoso;.4l trim the t.el mutt
reinaneed tor souse time exposed to' this destroui iV
advance. The sear of thee eniimni now a tiring,
which made the situation of those in front more datigerOus.
At length it began to ivivet and fid I back, At this moment
Lieut.-Colonel butler, with the other ut tVnotti
behaved with the utmost g,:bintry, exerted themselves to
stop the teen, and to induce theta in follow Inc in-an attempt
to get into a garden on the right of the street, iq which they
succeeded, and we penetrated hap the next Nrtlivisstreet ro
the right of the one we lead left. in ittivaneuti4 :dung tiles
street, we ihun a deep tYittel.eUttrie romping ttir.rtigh 111 V
centre of it, which toftttnately sieciser. et era Item', the the of
the Plaza dci, Toros, which. was still very 'wavy. i, his sheet
led us to the river, where we occupied a large house, and col-
leCiett the remains of my coluituis as well the kit eejuipek
of the right, which lead aLu been !lie nont of Me
Yiazx del lloross And which hunt equally, it r.cit
more severely,- than my right, And behaved with ciji.al
gallantry, having been obliged to
.ptmce rh. seethe cows*. $
and to join .us. Luting the s4vice the regitnehts
number, Of the meaty, cud took ascot libett cot
with three field pieces. I now. sew. the coiours trt the SIC)
regiment planted on the tower td St. Cataiiita, which IP•iv-
ins Inc secure use my right, 1 sent dr:Nein:a parties to any rs,:tr
to clear the houses on the heights Wili‘it the Coe 4iay were
tiring trout, and lolled down iipoo city ptisL. Juritart
this service, 1 heard a tiring out city lett, tvhich cotivineed rail
that the 23th regiment was `approaching ; asat soon utter-
wards the heights cis my rear were eV.l.4l.llett by th‘:.Clieni.Y•
A communicauitri with the 3 tst reottelit was now pi .r.tt-
cable. I found that gallant and highly 4:4
tier Major N tigent,, welt 04v:weed to the oi talc 1' lose.
When t )(Ailed them he was ice possession yl must 01 tile end-
my's artillery, anti eat Cheer stores iiiid.buildipks, except the
Toros itself, wfirch stilt kept up Cl }Key heavy tire 4 Irut leas.
jor Nugent hid brought up a twolve.p,hiiitter, w;ticit
sheltered by the angle of a house, to .bear clo;;vU1H111 It. ?
'detachment of use 57th invested it oh the other rides. Folding
'that the place must immediately stirresicier, used desiroti, that
Major Nugent should have the honour oi g what :nu
had so jUbleiutt4ty begun, seed alltiot. o.k.inilne
occupiers by the its, 1 lett the town littruethat,;ly and
about nine o'clock it surrendered, on which I is:tttii,..‘t ;hid
ordered the qt.1.11:0 it. Atter IttaitillK lee, least) g I
mews, 1 ittOCCettVit through the Str,cts to the. eUtpie I ,•:are
• . . . • •

Catalina, tutd joined the right woo; ot the On, '1 ,e:t •
wing of that corps was adVinieed Utz.: Sitil. s,!o_t_t
termy:arrival, officer calve to
Lumley', acquainting toe that incow:lly ~eto rlt tot,c
him; that the left wing of ) L.IV-,1.1, Its ;h:I,C,CLt, toe,
the right wing, were matte' prisoners, stal fu; was (lesifoila.C;
receiving any orders intglit give, I ito.,olorh.othil to .4
he had not orders to the'coniraiy from his superior uithi.er,' TO"'
remain at his post as long as lie Luitict %Vttil S.ll4:ty ti
hard pressed, to tall back on the stet, to 0. li,.nt 1 shoStil .10a,
orders to place themselves under his ,oitintocd. ac.
quaintest the conunancling otticer of the ;111 toat I shoo tit re.
turn to the Toros, to Out that place in a state of
and Should General luinley join hint tools, rile
.3 id t,, to
the General that 1 Wished the two regiments, tt );,tot pre sets
by the enemy, and in danger of being surrounded, to join rue
at the Plaza del Toros, delaying us lung as possiole ;hal,
might have, time to notke arrangements tor its ,Se(Aility.
fOUltd some dilliculty in mon:log to the Toros, scat ered par.
ties Of the enemy being in the streets, and nriog !ruin the'
honscs. burly in the forenooo General Loantley fumed to
with the sth and 30th,having met withinuch opposition Irons
the enemy,. in *ntro% from the posts they occupied and
r
which were considered as no longer tenable.
Ditring all this tone I was ignorant ot the station or in.
tentiona of the General, nor could venture weds safety, sal
had no cavalry, to detach a small party to leppit to .itad
I even known his station. At length:, abArt four o'cltrelt,'
Captain Whittingliam cone to =4min liead.quarters r., liar
acquainted mothat the General in Chief: and t;enend Guyon'
Were at the ground they before occupied ; that the Gent:far
was ignorant of the situation of any ot the columns,' and tall'
sent hint to procure what informatioit he cuold.
tailing to him thevectirrences of the day as tat as I WAS atitt:ftt
quainted with them, I desired him to assure the (eiree,il that
1 was under no apprehensions tor the safety of the post;, that
1 had opened a communicatioo with the Shipping, Ont. that
Was in want of an artillery officer, and some men .of that,.
corps. 1 recommended to hint, it the eyeitts cal :1W right 6.t
the town permitted, to juin me, and make my post iiis
quarters. Early in the evening I received a secoi.d mtertsuger
from the General, directing `me loticrend the post thou% Miser
night, assuring me that he would icoMitioincete with site iii"e%
next morning, and informing me that lie had,seitt siXieeit-aP
tilleryinen to ioin use, but that there was no coonnissionett,
olficer attached to these amen. The oust morning a lettia,
from Genetal hiniers, addressed to.tne. Commander of td
forces, was teemed at the °OUT sts, and a message good
that Geoeral, acquainting me that he
hostilities till twelve o'clock, waiting the Gem:sotss ails wet, ,
provided these hostilities ceased at tit, tittferclit posts. l
ply info, mod Ishuuld send this letter with a ti,tg or
ro,Cen. Whitelocke, and should abstain from tiring ota the
town, provided I should renlata unmelested ; Uut that I 11,1
no authority' over the other patts of theur soy.. liy noun Ge-'
neral Whitelocke and Genenit Gowtr cause to the • Plaza cIA
?ores, when the General was o:ascii to show me the con..
munication from General Linier, and confiderittaliy au
may opinion about acceding to the rerins it reposed. vl..en
I reflected on the unpleasant situation..in winch the indict/
was placed: that all the light iniantry and riflemen west
prisoners; that upwards of :Lair the-ttOulls originally eitgail,ed,
Were nook either killed, wounded, or prisoners, sa.t.:i Ut
the 45th, who were shpt up. by the enemy ; that the teinalii'
der was fatigued, without confidence; and exposed' to t;t:
Most inclement Seasonal. the year, yithout
-Oats, or a ultanga ot licc%lsore*, wireth at stn.ti a row: trio
st
bt. prodUctive of great sickness : I retteehil'tine' rho
scattered state of the troops, and the prothibility that Lokitiel
i'llahoit's regiment, the only unattained ornin,ii.oei.l part of'
the army or the troops lett on the Miserare, by She
rat, might be spiritedly attacked by the whole torte of tart
enetny ; when t adverted, to the dittkulty of psocuring (4,h.
-Pence stores, and' prov!sions from the neer, ita now.: to toe
ships could approach within seven ~ilea of tilt shore, mind
the river at that, season so very tuniult.tous, and frequett:.
not navigable ; when I conittlemd lose which we must
inevitably sustain it hostilities teconithelit.ed, stool a pciopic
elated with their brilliant t) oi bui store; im
Of destroying the town with our futfilery (lot rite
all built of brick, whit terraced roots, no wood titiipto)co
in their conitruelion, and the brides so Solt, that the shot
penetrated Will:out. shaking them) ;•..wl4-11 I ittivettal t,, tiie
difficulty of snaking a retreat, and that we must leave tour
thousand of Our best troops ire their posi.esstuti; and to;_ the
clanger that must succeed even the cepterc ot the place, for
our numbers would then have peen totally unable Wks:qv it 4
when I turned to the situation in which Monte' Video- wits
left, with a garrison unequal to maintatil Li,- without adverr•
log at alt to the inhabitants; without any hopes of a 104.
forcemertt, (ter the troops witi‘h were expected Irony
land were supposed to have borne away tor the West-14.
dies) • when I weighed ail theta-Circumstances, knit 141'.
4024:41 tbAt Monte Video taiditl 4./14 be Maiiiitalitlitt

the iririreeuld have effeaed their retreat their preyi.
s'!ons -ftt33l the ships, or from the country would certainly
It ive been short ; but . tnore particul,rly wbe.ri I called to
mnd,tlie declaration Of his Mitie7,.ty's rtlidisterf, Ord their /n-
-orth...lions to: Cellerli W that the pesss,,iion of the
co. airy could not be an °Ned, utdiss it be maintained
by a 'force which I knew by of perience vvas,vry insufficient
for that put-1103e; I had no hesitation itr-4..aying, thiit it better
terms could not be obtained, and a peric.o of SIXIrIO/I?llSgiNen
for the evacuation •of Monte .Video,. with the
merchants to dispose of their goads, was my opinion they
shou'd be,atcrdect to. • Vhe General immediately called to
General Gower, and arquaitited him that I MS of the same
opinion with them both, upon which General Gower obsetv.
.eelto'ine that he had objetted to any 'answer-being returned
till the Nap del Toros should be, examined; but finding
that ;he possession of it by no means insured, or even greatly
facilitated the capture of the piece,. he thought it would be
prudent to entetmto ncgociation. General Gower was then
sent into the to and returned in the evening, saying til3t -a
peridd of two months for the evacuation of Itlonte Video
\lves positively insisted on, aid he believiA would not be re.
seindeft. roc Gener4l,then determined to accept the terms,
and,. tnii,ty tv.,5 ct•ity ot which I ti.%t wan
i•dturll to hoylaud.
'Brigadier Gent;tal Lumhy was then' earned again,
and -148ve an acconnt of Lie Cce right
wing, under his conim Ina, i!1 opou Buttioi
Ayres, the particulors of Lich ;!re) already before
the PotTlic.

Brigadier-G'tneral Cl 4 At: Ft; rt r, Ca
Q. Continue your narr.ltive I tom the perkal at whichit
was broken nifott the el,ise of the 4th 1 try to the tuner& your
stir/TM:4f I with the tight wltittul I,a7,sed quire 411(hugh
the town, and arrived at the ty;r4.li wittiant meiting -any
obstacle, Or . seeing any tltbw, but ~itag4i•ng 4,arks at.
the criony. Till twelve osclO,:k I. bad ire rearainto -suppose
that any considerable diSaster had bet:at44i -any part tat. bur
army, anti when about that time a Spanish UltiLtir with a
„haw of truce approachcd the convent, I flattered myself that
the other columns had estahl shed themselves as pear to the
enemy's-position kb U had; that Genet al !Anjou had judged
it eltpcifient to capitulate, awl the it was t-•r the piirpost of
communicating such intention to the Commander in Chief
through 1110,-, teat he had ~etir,this olfeccr.• When however
lye Miteinto the court-lard of the convent, he informed
rite that the Si,th regiment, ann toznite other, corps whialthe
did not sp:cify, were taken" pristito.ers ; that all our attacks
hail rgileo, awl That he was ettaria.fd by General Lintels to
sarnition. me to surrender, This I peremptorily refused,
and the officer went away 'without remitio ranee or any tut.
trier •eonveraation poising. • Thia -circumstance, together
with my itaimig been lour lours at tills piot without any
one coming near for any information or assistance, made me
think the. situation tint an :idv isable one to remain iii. I there.
fore deteimmeil t,t avail myself of the • first favourable mo-
ment to e:.tricaie myself from conceiving the hest lime
would be when the enemy approachvd in great numbers in the
anuts, and' e,.by mixing with them, might render less et:
feet nal the lire trorn the surrounding hot es,►slitch were now
completely occupied. W bile I was tliti6 preparing to evacuate
the post, the fire front tie houses close to tile convent was so
tievere. that about 4o meirot•the ,4th were killed or wounded
in the course ut two ur tilt(TittimitrS. Major Trotter was also
killed and finding cat (Meeting any fling,
I Ordered tit, tem.:ruder to bae!canto the Lonvent, which
the cwituateii to detetallill about h ill past three tec lock.—
After the attempt to evacuate, which I have just described,
I yvas filly convinced we were unable to extricate ourselves
by any ettbrt, and stain after thus the firing crawl in all parts
of the town, and as none of our troops came near us, t con-
(jutted; ut cOltriie, thin the Amick hull generally tailed. About
halftta::t t thee o'clock 1 asetiili!ett the field officers. Culanel
Pack, Colonel Guard, and Major Macleod, who
,commad.
ed thealetachinent of the artillery corps. After mature de.
liberation;' Lieutenant-Colonel I),ack • and Colonel Guard did
pasitively and unequivocally 'give It as' their opinion, with".
mitte, that the situation was such as tully Justitizil -Ole,
and ,trade it adviseable-that I should hold out a tag of. truce -
far putting .an entftu the action on the test tenni. I could ob.
rain. The •htithher WlitOil surrendered 1 believe to have bc.'cii
about 600 rank and tile. • •

The EvAence on the part of the: rvosecution
having dosed, General WHITELOCKX, 011 the :30111
day of the Trial, began his Defence, the substance of
which was as follows. .

The satisimaion I feel in being at length. per,
'flitted to claim the atteotion'and indulgence of the
Court is proportioned 'to the anxious iMpatience
with which I have looked forward to this opportunity
of explaining my conduct in South America, and
the causes which led to the result which Constitutes
the subje4l, of the present investigation, The dis-
appointment of the, hopes I had entertained of the
success of an Esoeditien upon which such expeaa-
tions in every point of view, military, political, and
conime,rciat, had been formed, had prepared me to
meet a suong and getteral.fecling corresponding with;
My own, the natural and almost neces,ary attend-,
411. t upon public disappointment and misfortune. • I
had prcpar,,,d toyselfalso.to hear the claintairs of the
disappointed, and strittures upon my condua from
iliost whose wither and niterest led them, to judge
from, events only, without any adequate means of
intern-ration. But feeling conscious that .I. had zeal-
allot and earosoy eaetwouled to perform my duty,
and that, in the ultiniate succilice which'adverse cir-
cumstances had induced tne to make, I had disregard-
ed all interested •conSidetations,' and been actuated
only by. public motives,, I, confess it was with sur-
prise, as well s mrtification, that I. found on iny
return that the opinions had been so indus-
triously propagated as to :BY eundutt
,in South A.
rica had, almost without:inquiry, been adopted by
the highest authorities ; that zaltitunies, the most
injurious to my charaaer,, had been' made the sub-
4jett at discussion; and that in the absence of any
evidence to support them, or of any individual of-
fering to stand forward as my accuser, proceedings
(morel' in oar military jurisprudence,. however they
may be santtioned by ether Courts), were adopted,
for the purpose of considering Whether those caltun-
nies were to be still outlier sandioned and made a
subject of charge. 'Tao condud of myself and
others had been ,prejudged, and rna,.le the sub; at
of lutemperittu Mitt premature tit:icussion in the daily
papeta„, white I was. absent ; and I was, without
trial or crest, hplutry, held up sic an object of public.
ind'patieo and scorn, and as having dig aced my-
t istul they ptotesshiou, and the military character
fmy cow ty. It soon, became known that the
Govertunem had determined that an inVeStigation
of my conduct tiliould take plate ; the FAliturs of
the pobLc papers, actuated by a sense. of decent pro,
friety and common justice;cly fortioresany
urther comments. But a subaltern Officer, who served
in the txpeditiutt, thought tit, with a fall knoWledge
.of my being wider arrest, amid thererore to all por-
pori3O of law and justice -upon tny trial, to publish
'a libel upon the condu6t uf myself iind others, for,
the express purpose or profit to hult,,,,v, itt the ex.
petwe of a gross viohitioo of every principle of ,
tto-
tour or teelmg and of thelaws of the Country, en-
deavouring to keep up arid excite the strongest pre.
juditrct pit the public agaiost me, 'and, if it were pos•
itible, to infiuence the mindsof those who were to
be my judges ; and a field officer of Hoot her regi-
went liaslelt no shame in patronising thislibel, aud.
distributing it with the givatea tndustry. - Irritated
is I necessarily felt at timid onattilly atpUks, and at
bearins that misrepresentatio!i4 Ouit whteb they
were thundud, and anxious as I must twr to retain the
good opirtien of my Country:, I still telt that a re:.
said to 'Joy own charatterann situation, -the respea
s.
_ ,

thie to the Illustrious Personage at the heed e(,,the
• army, and to my Sovereign, and in a ease like this
(where the public is :so deeply concerned) still more
perhaps to this honourable Court, imperatively call-
ed upon inc to a..vnit in silence the opportenity
Which I found 'was to be afforded of explaining to
my Sovereign and the Coentry my condu6t
the cotrithadd which had bean 'entrusted to
I therefore forbore to anssver any of the calumnies
which hid been propagated againkt me, or to sanc-
tion' atiy.,-publication*et paragraph upon the sub.
jed; and.retired until the approach of this trial into
the mutiny, denying myself even the' gratification
of associating with many valuable friends, who
have been anxious to -spew themselves superior to
the prejudices excited by popular clamour, and to.
mark. their' attention to me since my return. .1 men-
tion this thus pointedly, t() prevent any possible
steliielon being entertained that. I could sanction, or
Hatt any knowledge of a vindication of my condud,
,which has been etiblished, by some person wholly
unknown to' me ; and I am more anxious to do this,
...as that 'publication -contained stridures upon the
conduCt of others ; and I trust-, therefore, that the
Coiert will excuse my having occupied a few more
mons of their time upou'this subjed. I felt it my
duty to controul, but I could nut subdue the feelings
excited by these attacks ; and I considered there-
fore the "opportunity afforded me of entering upon
my vindication, as my hest prate/lion against public,
prejtedice; Thu knowledge that may itnnives and con-
dud were to be submitted to and judged by a tribe-
nal, composed of persons alone coalpetent, from
' their rank in the service, their habits, experience,
and talents, to forrn a just estimate of all the pecu-
liar circumstances which form the subjea of the pre-
. scot investigation, stipf4rted me during an anxious
period of suspense and procrasnuation. I considered
my ittrial as an appeal from popular clamour, fur
such I eannat but call it, as applied to me before
either trial or ioquiry, however general or high the
sources. Wight' be from which it wren, to honour.-
able ~incl"i andid minds, divested of all those feelings
and ereiediees which stay • and dired the course of
public op nion ; and I confess I had flattered myself,
that ale 'till on this salved have foond proteetor
even in my prosecutor ; and that, considerlng his
anomalous and almost (I hope I may, without offence,'
say) inc: mpatibte duties, he would, in the character
of an ads iser and assistam to the Court, have diveated,
himself of .every feetitig chaise `ail With public pre•;.'
judiee, end have permitted toy trial to have com-
menced; at le.tit,withorit the eetraordioary comment
which recited somucti surprise, 1 believe, 10 all who
heard it ; and which, in the situation he fills, and
consideeng the last cbariOer he is to sustain, after
he .preeeedings are completed, and yoer deliberation.
commeeces, of an adviser on points 'on which you
may require hie assistance, I can hardly think could be
deemed jusiihable et any period of such a trial, or
after any evidence, however strong, atihich could
have been produced, lhe .lodge-Advoeate General
slated,lhat he should follow the example of his pre-
ceeesbut s upon Similar occasions, by abstaining, in
that stage of the proceeding, from any detailed ob-
servetions upon the charges. His predecessoe,the late
Sir ChzeleS Gould, in the only case of impOrtance in
wl►ieh audee-Ativotan e has stood inesintilar situation
meal. Lord Sackeille's';, made tin addi'er;s whatever
to thb Court on the opeMog (Oahe prosecution and
in .his reply, root -studiously avoided making a e,iugle
observation that could in the most .distant way ',he
cotisideredas addteesed to the feelings or passions
of the Court, although that transaction had excited
more of popular feeling than any which had ever oc-
curred ; onieh so as to leave it, poa•iibly for ever, a
subjed of historicai dispute, whether they' edgment
even was not in some measure iefieencea by that feel.
ing—l put it to the liberality and candotir of t he Right'
Hon. JudgesAdvecate, whether have not Some,
little right to complain, and cause to lament, that he
had not followed the example of his predecessor, and
abataiind from stating to the Public (for such an ad-
.di eaa could not be "intended for the Court), that
hopes had been,' as he was pleased to say, justly
as well es generally entertained, of disc ovexing new
markets for our tuanuladures,and giving a WiderscOpe
to the spirit
,of mercantile eisferprise, anti' Opeee
lug new sources of treasure;'- although everyinfor-
mantl as to the state of South America, and the
'lutile and implacable spirit of its inhabitants towards
us, has proved that those hopes were completely fella-
(noes; that he had 'abstained irons calling in aid of
these charges the attempts daily making to exclude
our trade trom the Continent of Europe, and even
the present crisis of the world ; or the' aggrava-
Oen of the pnblic" misfortune, by the Accumulated
weight of all these considetations,'oreth
stnnce of reports to my prejudice.- having survivealahe
lirot impreSsions of public sorrow, as a proof. t hat they
have.not origihated in the natural impulse ef. the.
human- mind to tied an object on which to attach
blame,'—Well may they survive and .coittinue, if, in
a Court of Justice,. these topics could teeenforced
with studied atrength of expression, by, a person
whose rank and. atation in 'life, and public eha-
racier in the Court, could nut but stimulate the
already too much 'exasperated state of the public
mind noon this transaction.-=l ern satisfied that
when the Court advert to the manner in
_Which I
have been pursued, and' I may, say Cendetntgld,
by puhlie-clamour, without that ,or inquiry, . they
Will forgive 'my having niade this (mutt -tent ;• and
will permit, me • alSo to State • a more seriotisi
though not a more irritating, Brouud a-complaint,
which 1 cannot but think I am entitled to make,
u'piiit the manner in Which the proscution aletiest me
has been coedueted, slid the nature of the evidence
which hait been produced. A miatornine naturally
exciting strong public feeling, may impose upon the
Goverinnent The duty of ditedingethat,thecaoSes
of that misfortune should: be . investigated. Such
an inquiry is (as as the Prosecutor has justly seat-
eel) as necessary for my vindication, as it is to the
public satisfahiun. I,f I have been tanfortuneteettiti not
cnlpable, it is the only means by Which Itould stem
the tide of prejudice; and if I have been culpable,
it is necessary for the pat-pose of ascertaining the de.
gree-iii which 1 have erred;' and of Oresetning to the
public ample materials, upon which a correct judg-
mem may be honied of LOY =dud. A greet and im-
portatit Expedition has felled., The reaSons of that W-
hite are to no sought in my condud, as the person
spon‘ible to the public rot its success; and no difficulty
coirld.haVe arisen, irith no difficulty did arise, in