The Sun.
London, England, 1806-09-05 00:00:00

T 11 E

LONDO.V GAZETTE EXTRAORDLVARY.

bozimin"l-iireet, Sept.. 4, i sod,

Cump on ihe Plain
.of 'Valdez,
July 6, 18.06.

SIR,

. It is with the most heartfelt satisfaCtion that I have
the honour of reporting to you, for the information
, •
of his Majesty, the particulars of an aaion, in "which
the French. Army quartered in this Province have
sustained a signal defeat by the troops 'under. my
command.

General, Regnier having been apprised of our dis-
embarkation at St. Eufemia, appears to-have made a
rapid march from Reggio, uniting, as he3ndvandect;
his detached corps, for the purpose of attacking, and
'with his chars teristic confidence, of defeating us. .
On the afternoon of the 3d instant I received in-
telligence that he had.that day encamped nearMaidai
about ten Miles distant from our position, that his
force consisted at the moment of about four thou-
sandlnfantry and „three-hundred Cavalry, together
with four pieces 'of Artillery, and that he was in
expetiation of 14ing joined within a day or two by
three thousand snore Troops, who were marching
after him in a second division. ,

I determined therefore to advance towards hispo-
.sitiori, and having left four .coMpanies of Watteville's
Regiment,, under Major Fisher, to protat the stores,
and occupy a work which had been thrbwn up at
our landing place, the body of the Arrity Marched
the next. morning according to the folliiwing de.
tail :

Advanced Co4s—Lieutenant-Colonel Kcmp, with two 4-

pounders.

Light Infantry Battalion.

Detachment Of Royal Corsican Rangers.
Detachment Royal Sicilian Volunteeri.
Ist Brigade—Brigadi6r- 'General Cole, with three 4-pounders.
tienadier Battalion.
ith Regiment:

441Brigade—Brigatiier-Gcneral Ackland, with three 4-pounL

ders.

y6th
Szst Regimeni.

3d 13iigade—CoiOnel Oswald, with two fouqounders,
3Sth Regiment.
' -
WatteVille's 'Regiment, five Companies. .
Regiment, Lieutetiant-Colonel Rossi landed during the
Action.

Reserve of Artillery—Major Lemoine.

Four 6,pounders and two howitzers.
Total.—Rank and File, including the Royal Artillery, 4795:
General Regnier was :encamped on the side of a
woody bill, below the village of Maida, sloping into
the Plain of Si. Eufemia 1 his flanks were streni;then-
ed by a thick impervious underwood.: The AMato,
atriver perfeelly fordable, but of which the sides are

, •
extremely marshy; ran gong his front; my approach,
to him from the sea side -(along the borders- of which
I direaed my march, until I had nearly" urned his
left) was across a spacious Plain, which 'gave him
every opportunity of minutely observing my move-
ments:,

After some loose firing of the flankers to cover
the deployements of the two Armies, by nine o'clock
in the morning the opposing fronts were warmly
engaged, when the prowess of the rival nations
seemed now fairly to be at trial before the world;
and the superiority was greatly .and gloriously dt-
Cided to be our own.

The Corps which formed the right of the ad-
vanced Line was the Battalion of Light infantry
commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Kerti;-c-Onsist-
ing of the Light Companies of the Both, 27ai,s-35th,
sath, 6lst, 81st, and Watteville's, together with one
hundred and fifty chosen Battalion Men of the
35th Regiment, under Major Robinson. Direaly
opposed to them was the favourite French Regi-
ment of the Ist Legere. The two Corps at the
distance of about one hundred yards fired reciprocally
a few rounds, when, as if by mutual • agreement,
the firing was suspended, and in close compaet order,
and awful silence, they advanced towards each other
until. their bayonets began to cross. At this mo-
mentous Crisis the Enemy became appalled. They
broke, and endeavoured to fly; but.it was toolate ;
they were overtaken with the most dreadful slaughter.
Brigadier-General 'Ackland, whose BrigadeulWas
immediately on the left of the Light Infantry, with
great spirit, availed himself of this favourable mo-
ment to press instantly forward upon the Corps in
his front. The brave 78th Regiment, commanded
by Lieutenant-Colonel Macleod, . and the 8 Ist Re-
giment, under Major Plenderleath, both distinguish-
ed
themselves on this occasion. The Enetny fled
with dismay and disorder before:rthern, leaving • the
plain covered with their dead,al4 wounded.

The Enemy being thus completely discomfited on
their left, began to make a new effort with their
right, in the hopes of recovering the dap:' =They
were resisted most gallantly by the Brigade under
Brigadier-General Cole. , Nothing could strake the.
undaunted firmness of- the Grenadiers under Lieu-

. -
A Dispatch has been this_. day received by The
Right Honourable William Windham-,.: one of His
Majesty's Principal Secretaries or State;rom Major-
Gneral Sir JohmStuart, commanding His Majesty's
Troops aeling.in Calabria, of which the following is
a Copy: • •