The Sun.
London, England, 1809-04-06 00:00:00

iIiIGOSSA.

A NARIATLVE oi;*. TFIN StLICIB SARAGQ46A)
C. r1.11011:114, I. 13, •

-

Satagossa, the t!apital of, the kingdom of Arra-
.gon, 'which has at last fallen, afier a moat glorious
straggle, is seatedin. d valley of .the Ebro, .on the
right bank of that river, with a suburb upon the left
bank,, eoune(lawith it by a stone bridAe. From
the city, as far. the high ynoutitiiiili that bound
the view' oo eiilier hand, the country is covered
with olive trees;, and the neighbouriag disiriCt, un-
der an extensive system of irrigation, producci corn
and' fruits in abundance. Though the mountains
are distant,: vet the city is coMmanded by some
high ground, called the Torrero, about a wile to the
It-west, upon which there is.a convent, and other
buildings of interior note. The canal of Arragon,
over which there is a bridge, divides the Torrero,
from another elevation, where the Arragonese ere et-
ed a batteryprevionsly to the siege.
The walls of Saragossa appear to hive been con-
strg' cled merely to
,facilit,ite . the means of levying
upon,every article broUght into the town for
14.111 e: thegates, which are nine in number, are of
thf: most simple construction, .and the alignment
befween them is in some places preserved bit,the
Inwl-wall of a garden, in others, by buildings, 'or
bylthe remains d an old Moorish wall, which has
a tlighl. part pet, but :without aoy. platform, even
:104,tuusquetry. ' .
;The buildings of the city are brick, and the two
eatbedrais, thy prallaroi.js tOpventi and churches,
thf!niti built of the same en4tertak, are not alto-
' gtite,vtlevniff.,,,f 9rnatnent, The houses are, three.
stopes,in,lieight.; thetitreets very narrow and croolt.
ed,Ligpting one or two market-places, and the,
streekealled the Cozo, situated nearly i tile, centre
of pas dawn.
l'he,population of Saragossa may be estimated at
ebout, 60,00(3 ; although the caucus, taken in
17;37; gives only .t,doo
It was rin the of May, 1800, that tlo: inha.
bitktits.of this detencele&s. city, a 1,4 the peasantry
oldie anrrounding country, ruse in a.inass, to repel
the unprincipled aggressions of the French. The
Coptng.General of Arragon, had .be-
trait(' an inclination to submit to .the - enemy,
bylittempting to disarm • the people ; conse-
quence of this', he was seized, and thrown into pri-
sms, and the inhabitants of Saragossa, and of tits,
neighbouriog villages, unanimously conferred the gra-.
vernment upon Don Joseph Pala fox, the youngest of
three brothero of one of the Most distinguished fa-
milies in Arragun. -
At. the commenceinent of the revolution, this
nobleman had been selected from the officers of the
guards, to .be second in command, to the Marquis
de Castillar, to whose custody the Prince of the
Peace was confided after his arrest at. Aranjuez ; ha
afterwards 'accompanied Ferdinand VII. to Bay-
onne, from whence he had recently escaped; ii
the disguise of a poisant, to hia• country seat near
Saragossa. •
This distinguished NoLleman is about thirty-four
years. of age; hie person 'of mititne stature, his
eyes . lively 4trll expressive, and his whole deport-
merit that of a perfectly well-bred luau, accustomed
to the best society. _ _ _

At the' time when Don Joseph Palafox as-
sumed the command in Arragon, be had very
littie acquaintance in military, affiiirs ; for though
lteehad been' in the Spanish guards all his
be had •never seen aeloial service, and his time
feel been principallye passed the dissipation of
Madrid, where he had gained no inctnisiderable dis-
tieetion, from the splendour and fashion of his ap-
pearance. •
At the commencement of his command,.on the
$5lll May, the neighbouring provinces of Navarre'
arid Catalonia were pessessed' by the French : the
pasties of. the' Pyrenees, leading direaly into this
.kingdom, were open, and Murat; with the main
bail 'of the French fOrces, was stationed at Ma-
drid. 'Thing surrounded by his enemy, - General
Petafei matt :red the regular troops quartered' at
Seragossa, and fond that they- amounted to .two
hundred and twenty' Mete, and that the public
treasury of the province. could
,furnish blunt)*
with two thousand renlg, a sutra in 'English money
equal to -te'enty pounds; sixteen shillings and eight-
reeve. Placing, however, a just confidence in the
menifested by the people, he imme.
"dlately &dared war against the French, by issuitig
that spirited Proclamation, which has been circulat-
ed Mready in England through the medium of the
peteic prints.
Eaily in the month of June, and before any
plans could possibly be executed for organizing a
force for the defence of Arragon; , the French de-
tached eight thousand iplapiry, and nine hundred.
cavalry trom • Pampeluna, against. Saragossi.• 'As
soon as this movement on the part of the enemy
was, ascertained, the Marquis de Lezan, the eldest
brother of Don Joseph Palefox, colletied some
armed peasantry, and met this twee in the neigh-
bourhood of Tudela, on the leth ef June. Tire
Arragouese were soon ,compelled to retire to the vit..
Loge of Mallen, where they bad again the misfor-
tune to feel the inefficiency of undisciplined hodieS,.
when opposed ,to regular troops, although an olive
wood between the canal of Artegoni which support-
ed the right, and the village of Mallen on the lett,
could not brit be considered as a levourahle position
*wan- irregular force.
-1 On. the 14th of June, the French advanced to'
Mew, distant about sixteen miles from') Saragosm.
The.inhabilants of this city inunedidtely a*sembkd,
with, all the arms ef every description which • that.
could collect, and atAually compelled their. General
to lead them against the enemy,. They had mead-
'diced far from Saragossa, when' they found-the
trench ,in order of battle ip a plain: a position
particularly
advantageous tq them, as they possessed
both cavalry and flying ertillery. The ill-armed and
Undisciplined Arragoneso soon felt the soperiorityof
the enemy, and were 'obliged to retire to Saragossa.
Their retreat, .however, was covered by ten regu-
lars (who bad been previously joined by some fusi.
leers of the province) with a steadinessand gallantry
which entitled them to the thanks of their General,
and .excited :the admiration of their countrymen.
The French now advanced within a very short di3.
ittocs of 'aragnssa, where they Wyk up a position

in the valley, on the-opperaitsi, side tit .tho. Wwii. id
th:it Situated on the Ebto, and which watt tovered
by rising ground -planted with olive trees, Mving
occupied this post; they deferred their general at-
tack upOn the city till the morrow; ,but a small
dctachwent of cavalry that penetrated, into the
town, on the 14th of June, paid dearly for their
rashness.

The Arragonese had hastily planted some cannon
before the gates of their city', and also in favourable
positions without the town, particularly at the Tor-
reed, and upon the height near'to it.
On the tsth of June, the French sent-a detach,
meat against the outposts upon the canal, while
their man, body attempted to: storm the city, 'by
the gate called Portilto. The -Arragonese attacked,
almost at the same moment, both in their outposts
and at the .gates of their town, fooght- with great
fury, but Without order ; their artillery was served
by any person who. chanced. to be ,near: it ; every
one alternately commanded, and obeyed; .but all
were animated by the samespirit,
.and their efforts,
after a most severe conflict, were finally crowned
with success. A party.of the enemy that entered
the town were instantly put to death, and the
, French-General, convinced that it was fruitless
to persevere in .his attack, withdrew his troops .to
a position out of the reach of they cannon of the
Arragonese.
As soon as the French were repulsed on the 1 stli,
June, General, Palatoe set out from Saragossa, in
order to coiled reinforcementi, and Provide resourr,
cei for a siege, and also to place the rot of the
kingdom in a state of defence, should the . capital
falle tbund,trom twelve to fourteen hundred
soldiers, who had escaped from Madrid, and he
united with them a small division oftnilitia stationed
Calatayud. With this force, in compliance
:.With the urgent desire of his. soldiers, he resolved
,to attack the French. He amrched immediately.
to Epila, and it was his intention to have advanced
from thence to the village of La Mtiela, by, which
manceuvrehe hoped to place the French between
44 little army and the city of Saragossa. Those
inteetions,,howevee were frustrated by a .sudden
attack on dew part of the enemy, lit the night, 4e
Epila, when the Spaniards, after a most obstinate
bur fruitless
.resistance, were. .at length cOmpielled
to yield to superior numbers and,discipline: The
wreck of thiii,little force retired from the scene of
anion to Calatayud, and afterwards, with great dic-
,ficulty, threw theinselvea into Saragossa.
During this time the French received reinforce-
mews of troops and artillery. from 'Pamplona,
,and
began to occupy the several military positions in
the plain _covered with olive trees, ttiat surrounds.
Saragossa. The enterpriye and valour of the be-
sieged did not allay, their enemies to eery on these
operations unmolested :. in a short. time, hoWevee;
the Frinch.had invested nearly one halt of the town,
and on the 88th of June they rook possession of the
Torrero. , The neighbouring battery also, which
hail been entrusted to an artillery officer; and five
hupdred men, fell into their hands; the Utficer was
declared-to be a traitor to his country for not having
defended this important post as he ought to have
done, and on his return into Saragossa was imam•
diettly hanged. ".. •
Alter the surrender of, the Torrerce the city could
commericate only with the country on the side of
the Ebro.

During these operations of the enemy, the Arra.;
gonese Were busily employed in placing their town
in the best possiblestate.of defence that their slen-
der resources would admit of. They tore down. the
awnings from their Windows, and formed'thetn•into
sacks, which they filled
:with saud, and' piled up
before every gate, 'in the form of a battery, digging
round-each. of, them a 'deep trench.. 'Clieyibroku
holes in th 6 mud, walls' and interrhediate buildings
for.musquetry, en d sometimes, where the position
was cominanding, , cannon were ' stationed ; the
houses in the environs of the city wets pulled down
or burned; garden and olive grounds; 'that in defter
times had been the recreation and support of their
owners, we re,cheerfully rooted up by'the propiictors
themselves, wherever they impeded the defence of
the city; or coverbd the approach of the enemy.
The eu!rtions of th 4 men were noimated by xvomen
of every description, who fermed-theinselves into
parties for thy relief of the woutided, and for carry,•
,
itig water and provisions to the batteries at the gates,
while: their cleilelrun were ,employed in 'conveying
cartridges whieli..h44been made by the Monks.
The French ertAttinned to, invest the city' More
closely, and seareely.o day passed without a sanguin-
ary earnest Vii, the surrounding 'olive woods, between
detachments 01,:the..4iragonese and their eneniv.—
In, the last ti!sii tiays ,of the month of June; 4QO
soldiers of the Regiment Litrecnidura, small
and. a law.,,.attillerymen,
parties J'rtlin Oilier corps,
'contrived to reinforce Saragossa. To theArtiliery-
, men, were added 200 of the tuilitia of :Logrono, who,
animated by the presence of au eneMy, soon learned:
the ordinary duties of the corps to ,which, they
were' attached. About the same time, two pieces,
ut
.(twenty-four pouuder's), and some
shells, that were much wanted, were procured from
-Lerida.

l'ha enemy, et the same time, drew their, re-,
,
4ources fromthe stores in the citadel of ramplona,
whilst the Arragonese, now .comphuely surrounded
by the French, had nct. one single fortress to which
they could have recourse, either, for ammunition or
for cannon.

About the last day of: June, a, powder tnna?.ine,
an very strong building. in the heart of the
:city of
Saragossa, blew
.up; and, in a 'moment,
.nsarly a
whole iitrilet was reduced to a heap of ruins I the in,
habitants of Sar.igdstia had scarcely recovered from
their consternation at this fatal and irreparable loss,
nod from the labour of extricating. their fellow chi-
ielli from the ruins: of their houses, when ilia French, who had received mortars, howitzers, and
Cannon (twelve Tounders, of sufficient calibre for,
the mud-walls of Saragossa). opened a destruetive
tire upon the city.. It has been estimared.that about
1200 shells and grenades fell in Baragossa, which
had not ono building within it that was bomb-
proof, nor had the inhabitants then'
,talien the
precaution of placing .beams of timber together
endways against the houses, behind which fiassen-
gets might find shelter wbenevet a shell should
chance to fall 'near them.

The attack of the enemy seemed to be direaed
principally against the. gate called Tortilla, and the