The Sun.
London, England, 1813-08-17 00:00:00

LONDON GAZETTB EXTRAORDINATh
•

PUBLISHFD LATE -LAST NIGHT.

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c.
DEPAItrrMENT.
.botrptittir,-sireet, ![try'. 16, 1813.
His Serene Ingham the.,Zliereditaq Prince of ©range has
arrived Itt this 0: with dtspatehes addressed to Earl 13a-
.by Meld Marshal the riNturtpfess of Wellington; of
which the following are copies 1.4.-
San Estevon, Aug. 1, .1513.
MY LOllll,---Tly'n practicable breaches having,
"teen eff-ett..d nt San Selia,tian on the 2 ttlt of
July, order's were given that thq should he at-
. tati6,d on the morning.ol the '2sth. 1 :nn con-
certied. to have to report, that this attempt to ob-
Cain iii ssession Of the place: Istiledand that our
lose was very considerable. •
Marshal So'ilt foul been appointed -Lieutenant
l'Empereur and Commander in Chief of the
Fiench Armies in Spain, and the southern -pro-
vionces of France, by a Decree Imperial, on :the.
Ist of July, and he joined .and took the com-
mand of the army on the 13th'of July, Which
loving been joined' n'early at the,same time by the
corps which. hart been in Spain under the coin-
wand of General Clauzel, ftntl. by other., rein-
forcements, • was called the Army.of Spain, and
re4ormed into nine divisions of infantry, form-
the right, centre, and left, under the com-
mand. of General Reille, Comte d'Erlon, Ind
General. Clatviel, Its Lientenont!GeneralS, and a
reserve tinder GeneralVillatte ; and two divisions
of, dragoons and
.one of light cavalry, the two
former under the command of Generals Treilhard
and Tilly, and the latter Under the command -ot
General Pierre Smilt. There was beiides allot-,
led 'to the army a large proportion of artillery,
mud considerable number of guns had already
joined.
The Allied Army was posted, as I have already
informed your Lordship, in the passes of the moon_
Major. General Ityng's brigade of British
infantry, and General Morillo's divi,ion of Spa-
nish infantry, were on the right in the pass of
Itoneesvalles. . Lieut.-cieneral Sir 'Lowry Colc
"Was posted at. Visearret, to support those troops ;
tind•Lient,General Sir 'hint is Piston, with the,
third division, at Marine in reserve.
Lieutenant-General Sir Itowland Hill occupied
'the. Valley of Banton with the remainder of the se7
eond-division, and the Portuguese division, under
the Conde. de Amarante, detaching General
Campbell's Poringthese brigade tt) Los Aldnides,
time French territory: Time light ,and .se-
yenth diVitiiffilti occupied the heights of !Santa
bara, mot the towp.ol Vera, the Puerto tie Echa-
: lar, , and keit the communication with the valley
of`ltastan ; and the sixth diVIS1(111 Wag in reserve
E' Levan. General
.Lortga's division kept
the communication between the troops at Vera
and thO-se under Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas
'Graham,.'and Mariseal del Clamp° Giron, on. the
' great mo td. 'pie' Conde del Abispal blockaded
Pampelnpa. •
Ott the 2,4 th, Marshal Souk collected the right
and left wings of his army, With one division of
tiffs centre, and two divisions of cavalry, at St,
Jean de 'Pied de Port,, acct on, the 25th attaeked,
with between thirty and kitty thousand mein; Ge-
neral Byng's pOst'at Roneesvalles. Lien' enaut-
Gentrai Sir Lowry Cole moved up to his support
vellb -the fourth division , and these officers were
•-,•enabled to maintain their pos:t thi'it.ighout the day.
Ent the enemy turned •it in the atternoini; and
is Lieutearint43cneral Sir Lowry Cole considered it
to be necessary,:to;tvithdratvimm the eight ; and he
marched to the neighbiairhood of Zuhiri, In the
actions which 'took plaee on this day, the 20th re-
Onion: distinguished themselves,. •> • . •
Two divisions of the centre of the enemy's
:army attacked Sim Rowland Hill's position; in the
knerto de Maya, at the head of the valley of rias-
tin in the tifternoon of the same duy.
of the action fell upon Major .(.general Ptinglo's
;anti Mapr-General
,Valker's • brigades in the se-
cond division, under the coMmand of Lieutenant...
,eltc al the Honourable William Stewart. These
trocipS''Were at first obliged twgive w'ay ;' hut hay-
ing been supported by Major-General Barites's
:brigade of the ith di vision, they regained that
part of their post, which was (he key of the
whole, and would have enabled than •to re'
"aSitillae; it, it circumstances bad permitted
•r, But Sir Rowland llill havingiwen apprised of the
necessity that sir I -Oole should retire,
dented it expedient to Withdraw his troops like-
wi. e to Irurita ; and the enemy did not advance
COI the following day heyon the Pliertp de Maya,
Not tvithstatitling the enemy's superiority
cat
Merl bers, tit:l-acquired but little advantage 'over
these bray mop.; during time :lieveti home's they
welt, Ail- the ret:iinients charier' with
the ',Avocet:: The contltict of the regiment,
if ich as r Lip With ithliOr"Gelicyal .
partictilarly, reported. Lieutenant-
( di,: lion. 'William Stewi.l.lt was slightly
wwiaded. . .
‘o:t.lice:events, till late in the
night of 2,1;111 ; rend 1, adopted. ittinte-
dite. titet:.eve to coneti,tvatit theoviny to (tic
kit the siegt:, of tst. SehaAiaat
aro for the lih:chottle t.tt PiiMpiatia; H'.l woohl
haVe been ctk.::ted e:Arly oil the `,l7ths only that
Lowry Cole awl- Lit.itt.-Gen•
sir Tip.atListicton concurred io thinhing then-
poaq Ztiblti tint 'tenable for the tine rittriog
which it wOuld have been necessary to wait in it;
They therefore retired earlynn thcr 27tit, and took
up a position to cover the
i n blOckade3rt ofdivisi Pionplorm,
havino the right, consistg,nt on
,
front of IfuArte, and extending to the hills beyond
Olaz, and the left, consisting of time --Ith division,
Major-Gencial Byng's; and Brig:Mit:l'7 General
Campbtl-PS-Portaignese brigade, on time heights ill
front Of Vdlalba vitt,r the left 4t a drilret b
bind SOrausen; on the high 'road from Ostiz to
'.',l"arripeluna, and tivtir right resting upon a height
widelt-•• defended the road front Hefei
'4l..otteetiv:Aks. Getkr.di division of spf,,
and that Itt.trt of the, Conde del
Ahispars corps not etiv:v,:i,A the i ‘c".l
ilaYet:ry,,!'..,i,'roitt the IRc:‘,. the
d -that of EV hay"'
an
%ter, to 'oceunv
pat of Kit. hill 'on the .figlit, ciftheAihdivisiou.
by which the road 11-0111Zithiri
s defended.
z 'fbe British cavalry under Lietitenant-Genertif
' Sir Stapleton Cotton, were placed near lluarte

at
I joined the, third and fotirth divisions just
they were taking up their groinul on :the '27th,
and shortly afterwards the enetny, formed .their
army on a mountain, the Irina of which 'extends:
from the high road to Ostiz to the [sigh road
to
Ztlhhi, and they placed one divlsion On their left
of that road on d licight, and in some villeges
trout of the third division. They had twin: alsorit;
large body of cavalry, In 'a short time after they
had taken up their ground, the enemy attached
the billOn the right of'the 4th division, !which was
then occupied by one battalion of the .4th Portuguese
regiment, and by the Spanish regiment i 4 PraVia.
These troops defended their ground, and drove
the enemy from it with.the bayonet. Seeing the
import:Mee of this hill to our position, I reintore.,
ed it with the 40th. regiment ; and this regiment,
with. the Spanish regiments of El Principe and
Pravia, held it from this time, notwithstandiog the
repeated efforts of the enemy •during the 27th and
2Stli to obtain possession of it.
Nedrly at the same time that the enemy at-
taci:ed this height on the,276, they took posses-
•
sion of the village of Soransen, 'on time road, to
Ostia, by which• they acquired the con-mmlo2n-
tion by that road, • an&they kept up a fire.,of
musketry along the line till it was dark.
We were ji)ined on the morning of the 2Sth by
the sixth division of infantry, and I directed that
the: heights should be occupied On the left of the
Valley of Lanz ; and that the sixth division Should
forum across the valley in rear of the jell of the
fourth division, resting their right on Oricain, and
their left upon the heights above •mentioned. The
sixth division had scarcely taken their • position
\then they were attacked by a very, large force of
the enemy. which had been assembled in the vil,
lage of Sorausen.
_Their front was, however; so
well defended by the fire of their own light troops
from the heights oil their left, and by the fire from
the heights occupied by the fourth division and
Brigadier•Getteral Campbell's Portuguese brigade;
that the enemy were,soon
.driven back with im-
mense loss, front a fire on their front, botir''fianki
and rear.
In order to extricate their troops from the dif-
ficulty io which they found themselves in their si-
tuation in the valley. of the Lanz, the enemy
now attacked the height on which the fourth di-
vision stood, which was occupied by,the 7th 'Ca-
eadores, of whichthey obtained » momentary pos-
session. They were attaeked, however, again by
the 7th Cacadores, snpported by Major-General
Ross, at the head of his brigade olthe fourth di-
vision, and were driven down with great lass.
The battle now became general along the tvircile
front of the heights occupied by the fourth divi-
sion, and in every part in our favour, excepting
where one battalion of the I.otlt 'l'orttiguese regi-
!stela of Major-General Campbell's brigade' was
posted.. Ti,i,..batt,,lion having beenoverpo:,vered,
and having been,onliged to giye way imniediately
on the right of Alajor-General Ross's brigade, 'the
enemy established theMselves on our line. and
Major-General ,[toss was obliged to withdraw
,from his post. I however ordered the 27rh not
48th regiments to charge, first unit body of the
twenty which had first established themselves on
the height, and next those on the left, llotholt-
tacks succeeded, and the enemy were driven down
with immense loss; and`the tith division having
moved forward at the same time to a situation in
the valley nearer to the left of the dtb,',the
tack upon this front ceased 'entirely, 'and, was
Continued burfaintly•on Other
,points of our line.
In the course of this contest. the gallant fourth
division, which has so frequently been iiiAinguish-
ed in this army, surpto;sed their former good con-
(Met. Everyregimcitt charged with the lmvonet ;
and the 40th, the itit, 20th, and
!errant times, . Their officers, set them the ex
aul Major-General !Lois had two' ltorieS
.shot Muter him. The Portuguese troOp!, li` t Rise
behaved admirably ; and I. had every reason t:.) be
satisfied with the conduct' of tie .SpaniSh regi-
ments del Principe and PraVia. • •
hatl ordered Lieutenant-General Sir Rowland
Hill to march by Lanz upon lizasso, as soon as
I found that Lietit.-Generous Sir Thomas Picton
and 'Sir LoWry Cole, had moved Irvin
and Limit. ..General the 1i,a1.1 of halhousie, front
San Estevan, to the saute place, where both
rived on the .28th, and the seventh. division came
to.Varcalain.,
The eneiny' force which had been in front of
Sir Rowland Hill, fedlowed his march, and arrived
at.Q.stiz pri the with. The enenty thus it:int-breed,
and occupying a position in the niOnnkniilS, which
appeared little liable to attack, and finding that
thcould
ey makello. impression on one front, de.
terniineki, to endeavour to thrit Our left byerrat-
tack upon Sir Rowland 1101's corps. They rein.
forced with one division„.tlie troops which, hat]
been already opposed to hint, occupying the
,s,lnte point!, the mountain, on whicfi wa.rfortned
...heir principal force, but they drew ill to their
left the. troops which occupied the height. oppo.
site the third dsvi.ion, and they .had, during the
night of the 29th,and 30th, occupied in strength
the crest of the mountain on our left of the Loa,
opposite to time sixth and seventh divisions ; thus
comseaing their me lit in. their position.. with the
deta*.cci to rittiitk Lieutenant,General
Sir Rowland- Hill.
iiotvever, determined to attack their position,
andiordcred I.4ient.-,General the Earl of to,dho,isie
to possess himself. of the top of the mottittaieein
his,,front,. by which the enemy's right would he
turned, Mid Lieut.-General Thotpwi Picwn
crass the heights on which the enemy's lett-stood,
and to turn their heft by the road to ituncesvalles,'
MI the arrangements were wade to attack the
front of the enemy's,positinn, as shut[ try the'ef-
fect of
,these _movements on their4hinkS should
begin to 4,,,py.ir, .Major-Generai the lion• Vl-
- to take the
command cif MajOr-G,!nerai.
wounded; turned the village of
SPo4rcakuls7l‘;,irTial.)seoccrila • as the Earl of Dalhonsie had
driven the enemy from the mountain by which