The Sun.
London, England, 1809-04-10 00:00:00

SCR J..MOORE's P,RIVATE, LE772R,

The following is a correct Copy of the Extra&
of the Letter of this much lamented Officer, which
has excited somuch curiosity, and which has been
printed pursuant to the Order of the liuuw of
Commons.

EXTRACT OF A LETTER rttom LIF.CTE?JANT-GE-

NERAL SIR JOHN I,IOOEE, TO VISCOUNT CAS.:
TLERRAGH, DATED CORUNNA, JAN. 13, 1809:
" Situated as this army is at •present, it is inipoe.
sible for me to detail to your Lordship the eveinS
which have taken place since I had the honour, to
address you front Aatorga, on the 31st of Deceineer,;'
I have therefore determined to send to England,
Brigadier-General Charles Stewart, as the Ofriecr
best qualified to give you every information you cm
want, both with respell to our a&ual situation, kit/
the events which have 1,-d to it.

" Your Lordship knows, that had I follr4ed.my •
own opinion, as, a military man, I should have re-.
tired with the army from Salamanca. The Spanish
armies were then beaten ; there was no Spanish force
to which we could unite, and 1 was satisfied that
no efforts would be made to aiel us, or to favotir the
cause in which they Wele,etvaged.
" I was sensible, however, that the apathy and
indifference of the Spaniards would never have been
believed; that had the British been withdrawn, the •
loss of the cause would hare been imputed to their
retreat, and it was necessary 'to risk this army to
convince the people or England, as. well as the rest
of Europe, that the Spaniards had neither the power.
nor the inclination to make any churls tor them,.
selves. It was for this reason that I made t!ie march
to Sahagun. As a diversioti, it seeeeeded; I brought
the whole disposable 'wee m the french against till's
army; and it has been allowed to follow • me, with-
out a single movement being made to favour my le-
treat. The People of the Gallicias, though armed,
made no attempt to stop the passage of the Ereeeh .
through their mountains.. They abandoned their •
dwelliNgs at our approach, drove away their carts,
oxen, and every thing that could be of the smallest
aid to the army. The consequeuce has been, that •
our sick have been left behind and wh,..ti our horm s
or mules faded, which, on such tuslrehes, and
through such a country, was the case to a great ex-
tent, baggage, ammunition, stores, &c. and .ev. a
money, were necessarily destroyed or abandoned.
" I am sorry to say, that the army, whose con=
du& I had such reason to extol on its march 'through
Portugal, and on its arrival in Spain, his totaity
changed its charaaer since it began to retreat. I
can say nothing in its favour, but that when there.
was a prospect of fighting the enemy, the men. wthe
then orderly, and seemed pleased and determined to
do their duty. In front of Villa Franca, the Freech
came up with the reserve, with which I wAs covvr•
ing the retreat of the army ; they attacked it et C.i-
cabelos. • I retired, covered by the 9th regiott:itr„
and marched that night
.to kl,rrosias, and irt,tia
thcitice to Nogales and Lugo, where 1 had ordeive
the different divisions which preceded to halt arid
collect. At Lugo, the French again came up with
us. They .attacked our advanc,:d pasts on the tint •
and 7th, and were repulsed in both attempts, wit
little loss on our side. I heard from the pri;totiers
taken, that three divisions of the; French ur\ny were
come up, commanded by Mahal Soult ; I there-
fore expected to be attacked 00 the Turning of the
sib. It %ea,: my wish to come to that is.ue; I to-d
perfed confidence in the %elver of the troeps, at:d
it was only by crippling the enemy that we crated
hope either to retreat or, to coitark unmolested.
made every preparation, to receive the '•attack, an:t
drew out the army in the morning to offer battle...—
This watt not Marshal Suult's object. He either did
not think hituselfsuflicieotly strung, or he wished to 'a
play a surer game by attacking us on our march, er
during our 'embarketion. The country was inter-
seeted; and his positioo too strong for me to attack •
with an inferior force. The want of provisions wonli
not et),MO me to wait longer. I marched that nigh t; ,
and in two forted marehes„ being exposed for
eight hours in the rain, I reached Betauzos on the
Wth instant.,

" At Lugo, I was seosible of the impossibility
of reaching .Vigo, which was at too great a dis-
tance, and offered no advantages to embark in the
face of an enemy. My intention was then to have
retreated to the peninsula of Betanaos, where I
hoped to find a position to cover the embarkation of
the army in Ares or Rides says ; but having seta
an Officer to reconnoitre it, by his report was
determined to prefer this place. I gave notice to tire
Admiral of my intention, and begged that tire Iran.:
sports might be brought to Colutina had I found
them here on my arrival on the 11th, the etnbark-
ation would have ea6ily been etfealed, for I had gained
several marches on the French. They have now
cone up with us, the transports are not arrived ; tnl
position in front of this place is a very b:d one ; and
this place, if I am forced to retire into it, is corn.
'Minded within musket shot, and the harbour will
be sit commanded by cannon on the coast, that tm
ship Will be able to lay in it. In short, my Lord,
General Stewart will inform you how critical Ler
'situation is. It has been recommended to me to
make a proposal to the enemy, to induce him to
allow us to embark quietly, itt which case he gee,
us. out of the country WWI, and this place with its
stores, &c. complete; that otherwise' we have tire
power to make a long defence, which mu,i
the destruction of the town. Pam averse 10 i;1
any such proposal,' and am exceedingly &Lii i!,l
it would be attended with any good eruct , but,
whatever tresolve on this head, I hope: your Lor4-
ship will rest assured, that' I shall accept no terms
that are in• the least dishonourable to the army or
the country. I find I have been led into gfeater
length, and more detail, than I thought 1 slearld
have had time for; I have Written under kite; iee
tions, and with my mind Much occupied with
matter. My letter, Written so carelessly, can; oz7lv
be considered as private. When 1 ItTave More le
sore I shall .write,more correctly'; Atte mean Ili ov,
I rely, on General Stewart, for giving your Loid-
ship the information and detail which I have wiat.
ted. I shall regret his absence, for his services
been very,distinguished 3 tut the slate of ltr „) es
makes it impossible for him to serve, and this c(,ett-
try is not one in which cavalry can be of Much wie.
If I succeed in embarking the army, I shall send it
to England ; it is quite unfit for further service cant
it has been refitted, which can be best done tle;:r:-. •
• " Jowl Wane,"

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