The Sun.
London, England, 1808-11-19 00:00:00

PROCLAMATION OF NEY TO THE TROOPS UNDER

HIS COMMAND.

SoLDIERs—The mild, agreeable, and various cli-
mate of Spain, its productions, its. wealth and opu-
lence, form part of the reward which the great NA-
POLEON has prepared for us (1). Break and throw
intcrdisorder the files of the enemy's hosts, which
will prove a small obstacle to such great giiod for-
tune (2). Soldiers, the enemy is weak (3) ; your
di3cipline and military evolutions (4) will prove a
rock to repel the :fury of these barbarians and sa-
vages (5). Trust to my experience (6) and attack
them, secare of vi6tory.
(1) in this he speaks the truth; and from this he wopid
inter, that Napoleon thitiks.of nothing but to make the S pa-
triards happy !

(2) if the obstacle is stall, why do they not accomplish
it ? Why does Napoleon speak with so much respell of the
conquest of Spain ? Why have the heroes of Marengo, Aus-
terlitt, and Pena, lost in a moment that glory which cost
them years of toil in the North ?
(3) Why not quote in. proof of this weakness the testi-
mony of Juno; Dupont, Moncey, Lefebvre, Duhesme, and
Bessieres.? But he canikit animate his troops by di►crediting
these Generals. who have repeatmily said, that the Spanish
soldiers in combat were not men, but wild beasts.

(4) Our troops Will soon acquire discipline, and under.
stand military evolutions ; our Generals do not aet blindly ;
they have formed a system and plan of operations, which
they are 'developing to the no small loss of the French.—
Among the armies of Spain there is one, which, by the tes-
timony of intelligent and impartial military men, is one ot
bravest and heat disciplined in Europe. The secret of con
quering, with the loss °fa small number of men, is an circa
ot Spanish tadica of which the French are ignorant, whose
victories were always accompanied• with the slaughter of a
multitudeof unfortunate French soldiers. At Marengo Na-
poleorinbserved. " I have lost a great many men ; but what
does it &ignify,ll have conquered."
Plato'called all iiireigners barbarians ; and in this sense
we shall always give them leave to call us barbarians, since
we shall always be Spaniards, and never Frenchmen.

(6) Dupont, Moncey, and Lefebvre were experienced; but
what did their experience teach them, but to prove to them
the valour of our troops, and the talents and skill of our Ge-
nerals ?

COMMUNICATIONS FROM AN OFFICER OF
RANK.

VAZ.MASEDA, Nov. 2.—At day-break yesterday
morning, the enemy, who' had received very cousi-,
derable reinforcements from Vittoria, attacked the
Galician army, posted about a league and a quarter
in advance of Sornosa, in the following order:—
The first regiment of the Volunteers of Catalonia,
being part of the vanguard, occupied a hill to the
right of the wad leading to Durango.
The third division, commanded by Genera', 111-7
QUELMI, was stationed on the heights to the right of
Sornosa to support the vanguard, and defend the right
flank of our position.

The vanguard, commanded by General Meent-
ZABUL, defended the road leading to Durango.
Our centre was diaw❑ up in line, on an eminence
to the lett and rear of the vanguard.
Our left, commanded by Brigadier General Ft-
GUROA, possessed themselves of a hill to the left of
the road. The base of the 101 l was joined to that
occupied by the fourth divisioe and reserve.
During the night of the Jodi, die enemy ad-
vanced his force in very large columns, opposite to
the different points which he meant to
The next morning, at day-break, the different co-
lumns moved forward to the attack, their approach
being concealed by a very heavy and thick fog, which
in these parts is prevalent in the morning.
The first attack was made on our right. Two
large columns advanced, with the intention of sur-
rounding that part of our force. The enemy was
opposed in a most steady and gallant manner by the
4th regiment of the Volunteers of Catalonia ; this
famous corps kept up a tremendous and incessant
fire by platoons, and for a considerable tithe kept in
check a force upwards of four or five times its own
number. Two battalions of Marines, and the tire-
dares, or sharp-shooters, of the third and fourth divi-
sion, reinforced the regiment of Catalonia; however,
being overpowered by numbers, they were obliged
to retire on the third division; this enabled the ene-
my to place a colutnn on the right of the third tLvi-
slot+, whilst another column attacked in front. The
enemy advanced in force along the road, and at-
tacked the van-guard, which defended the road and
valley leading to Durango. The enemy was most
gallantly and vigorously opposed, and compelled to
retreat a considerable distance, by the van-guard,
headed by General MANDIZABUL. The enemy,
however, having considerably increased his numbers
in this point, advanced a second time, accompauied
by a howitzer and a four-pounder, and succeeded in
gaining a sufficient advance on the road, to enable
hits to bring his guns to bear (within about three-
quarters of a gun-shot) ou the centre and left
divis ions.

•.
NV Lilit these op,:rsvioos •wo.e carrying ,on against
our right and centre, the enemy advanced two very
strong columns againSt the front of our left position,;
and at the same moment, a very numerous corps of
sharp-shooters (voltigeurs) advanced under cover
of the howitzer and 4-pounder and got possession
of a Wood, which ascended from the road to with-
in less than musket-shot of the right rlank of the
left position. This obliged General FiGUROA to
throw back one or two battalions upon his right, to
oppose the enemy's light infantry. Nothing could
be more gallant or more orderly than the enemy's
attack of this post ; he advanced in the greatest
military regularity, '.under a most tremendous fire.
The gallantry of the enemy's attack could only be
equalled by the intrepidity of the defence Made by
the first division. It is impossible for me to do jus-
tice to the soldier-like conduit of this division. At--
tacked on their side by -a very superior force, and
occasionally fired on by the howitzer and 4-pounder,
they defended their post with determined obstinacy.
Theyappeared resolved not to yield a fbot of ground.
The enemy,were equally obstinate and persevering,
and being enabled by their very superior numbers
to nearly surround the hill occupied by this gal- i
lant division, General FIGUROA felt himself called
upon to order a retreat ; which was efreded with as
much order as 'existing circumstances would admit
of. Whilst the first division was thus engaged,
the enemy kept up a heavy fire of shot and shell,
and some musquetry, (from the woods in our front,)
on the centre divisioat and the reserve. The guns
were supported by two very large columns, and a
disposable reserve.
Nothing could exceed the soldier-like steadiness
with which the fourth division and reserve remain-
ed on their post under this heavy tire ; this courage •
will not be wondered at when I mention that the
Commander in Chief himself was at the head .of the •.
,centre division, animating the soldiers by his pre i
sence and example. When the first shell burst
there General BLAKE repaired, and placed his horse
on the very spot, deployed his division into two
lines, part of the reserve remaining in columns. •
His address to the soldiers was simple, and spoke
to their feelings—". Remember you are Spaniards;
be firm soldiers."—Never did the most veteran
troops, or those most accustomed to cannon, sre-
main mare cool, steady, and determined. After
an aCtion of near nine hours of incessant fire, and •
it became evident that the enemy had received •
very great reinforcements, and having been enabled,:
by the assistance of his cannon (of which aid this
army was entirely destitute), to Push forward a strong
force against our centre, and having in conseqUence
occupied the woods flanking the right of our
left position, it was deemed adviseable to retreat.— •
General BLAKE placed himself at the head of the
fourth division and part of the reserve, and in per-
son superinteuded and directed the covering of the
retreat of his army, which was effected in order, the
enemy not appearing inclined to molest our move- ,
mentC By eleven o'clock on the night of the 30th
Qdober the most part of the troops arrived at '
Bilbors. Early in the morning of the Ist (yester-
day) General BLAKE arrived in that town with
the fourth division, and lost not a moment in pro-.
ceeding to the great square, where he superintend-
ed in person the issue of bread and spirits to the
troops. Nothing could exceed their joy at seeing
their General return to them, a false report hay-
ing
been obtained that he had been cut ofr in cover-
ing the retreat.

—No language of mine could do sufficient justice to
the gallantry and ardour of the Officers and soldiers
of this army in the aaion of yesterday. I trust,
however, the statement of fa6t,,, which I have riven
in a plain unvarnished manner, will give some idea
of their brave condwt.

Nothing can exceed the patience, and, I may add,
the cheerfulness of the Spanish soldiers, under diffi-
culties and privations of all sorts. The impression
left on my mind, frOm the action of yesterday, is
decidedly most favourable to the Spanish soldiers.—
The &lett prcduced on their bosoms from yeser-
day's defence is a manly and soldier-like pride, aris-
ing from a self-conviCtion of their having dune their
duty.

Last Monday, his Royal Highness the Com-
mander in Chief, attended by the Duke of CAM-
BRIDGE, General HARCOURT, and many other Ge-
neral Officers, went to B4shot Heath, to fix upon a
spot of ground for the purpose of erecting a Military
College, for the reception of the Students now at
Marlow. We understand the intended building
will be in every resped worthy the English Nation,
and the high character of the British Army.

Letters from the West Indies mention, that the
army of CHRIsToNIE, in St. Domingo, had revolted,
and that about the middle of August he was left
will, only 300 men. The disatli:ction of the troops
is attributed to his having withdrawn from circula-
tion all the dollars in his dominions, for the purpose
of carrying them away with him from the Island,

There are now living in one house, at Bucker-
bank, in the neighbourhood of Carlisle, three un-
married persons (brothers and sisters), whose united
ages amount to upwards of v4O years ; and what is
still more remarkable, they have in their possessiorra
horse thirty-seven years old, which now performs
its accustomed labour.

The Duke of ORLEANS his been on a visit to the
Duke of KENT for some time. past, at his Royal High-
ness's seat at Castle-Bar-Hill. Ott• Tuesday night
a Messenger arrivad there with letters for the Duke
of ORLEANS; the contents of which were, we un-
derstand, requesting him to leave this country as
soon as possible, to proceed to Gibraltar to meet his
mother and sister, to accompany them from that
place to Malta. It is understood the Duke will com-
ply with their wishes, and will shortly Bet off.
We understand that information has been re-
ceived of no less than eight French frigates having
put to sea, fron different ports, in the last week.—
The objet: and destination are probably the same as
those of the Thetis. We hope they will have the
same fate. 'the French Government will use every
exertion, and run every risk, to send out to the West
India Islands these supplies, without which they
cannot possibly- hold out long. We trust the vigi-
lance of our cruizers will render the scheme abortive.
The office of the Receiver-General of Dues for

Greenwich tiospi;J was robbed, on Thursday tight,
of cish and bank-notes to the awount of 7001. The
robbers forced their way into this office through a
bole vvilich ti:v contrived to make in the hall door.