The Sun.
London, England, 1812-09-02 00:00:00

MAJOR-GENERAL LE MARCHANT.

We-would ,be inclined to suppose, from the pe'
rnsal of some recent parap.;;'aphs in the public prints
that the merits and services of the late Major
General Le Marchant were very little known.
Tr .true that the Country owes the existence of th
Itoyi Military College, entirely to' the sugges:
tioM, and excellent regulations for its .._novernmen
!which Major General Le Marchant submitted- t
the Duke of York, under whose auspices it ha.
reached that stage of perfection, which renders i
an object of the first national importance. W.
'shall not dwell upon the unwearied. assiduity
'the deceased, to realise the. expectations tipple
had,been formed of the infant esta.blisbnicnt, of -
which he ‘vas the founder, and Continued Lleute:-
nant-Governor until the time. he was appointed to
the Army under Lord Wellington. Suffice it tO
'remark, that they corresponded with the 7.-iizbes
of the most sanguine advocates for the -introcific;•
tion of the system of, education which it embraces;
and they have been duty appreciated by his Royal
Highness the Commander stn Chief, and by the
Many-officers who have ,had opportunities, of wit-
nessing then. effects, not only at the College, but
by the eminent, improvement which thstinguished
the present staff and yOunger Officers of the Army,
who now possess. a general knowledge of their,
profession, which is not suipaSsed in any other
service in the world.

It is to the unbounded zeal andextensiveMinj-
of Major-General Le Marchant, that .our caval
are indebted for their superior skill in the sword
'exercise. He not only wrote an able. code of rego4.
lati'ons and instructions for that branch of militarf
science; which - was published by Royal authoritil
for the guidance of the army, but by his own su-
perintendance and persevering toil, he forrired, in
the almost incredible space of a few months, a suf.
ficient numberof the regular fencible and yeomanry.
cavalry of Englaud, to whom he conveyed and
completed his instructions to the whole body of -1
regulars and fencibles, as well as to most, if not
all the corps of yeomanry, who most commendably
vied with the regular establishments in the attain-
merit. of this useful exercise. It maywell he trill).-
said, that by the introduction of the sword exer-
cise, which has improved the horsemanship; and .
impressed.the dragoon with a confidence, which
he before wanted, in his own personal skill as a
swordsthan,
,the British cavalry has attained a
.state of discipline which, with the aid of- their
characteristic valour, render them absolutely irre-
sistible, and we revert with grateful recollection
to the instance of proof for this • remark which ;
this gallant officer himself afforded at. Llerida,
in the month of June last, where, at the head of
only three squadrons of the sth Dragoon Guards,
he-boldly charged; and instantly broke and dis-
persed three of the finest regiments of cavalry in
the French service, and thereby-discomfited a.pre:
concerted plan of attack upon a division 01
our brave army, of much inferior force to the

enemy.
.;
It is to the abil'ty of Major-General Le I‘l:ir-
chant that the service owes also the clear eluct-;;
i
dation of General Dtindas'sm cavalry moveents, i
which has been published by command of his.M . ~.
je':.:ty, for the instruc'tion of the 011it-:ers ; a cirl •
cutustance which suiiiciently stamps the merit ads--
utility of the work. _

'We believe that his Services in the cavalry
ceeded a term of 27; years—and. we know that be
harprevionsly served in the Royals at Gibraltar-_
His debut in the dragoons was in the Enniskillens,
in which be purchased a Cornetoy, and where the •
dawn of kis military zeal displayed itself and at'
tracted•the notice of the Commanding Officer, the
present Lord Heathfield, by whom he was selected
out of his, tour of duty to command his Majesty'
escort at Weymouth. He here soon- gained and
:ever preserved the confidence of his Sovereign, bY
-whom he was honoured with a Lientenantey
the Queen's or 2d regiment of Dragoon Guards,
and hi which- he aftef•wards- purchased a 'troop.,
tend subsequently a Majority in the 16th Light
Dragoons, from which. he succeeded- to a Vert-
tenarit-Colimelcy without purchase,-in the %di.'
We appreciate thevalue of.his conduct in all these
corps, by the'high estimation in which he WOI'
ever held by their respective Colonels—Lords
Heathfield, Pembroke, and Harcourt, and Sir
David .Dundas.

Major-General Le Marchant was a native of
!Guernsey, and married an amiable 'and accom-
.plished lady of that island, 'by whom he had a.,
numerous family of nine children ; she died onl/,
eleven months ago, giving birth to her surviving
infant. The General was,47 years of age when
he terminated his career of honour, in the glo-
rious ,pattle of Salamanca=--a day which will ever
stand' the boast Of British prowess. We refraill
from attempting to depict, the interesting•end
fecting scene of his glorious end. he feelings
of an eldest,son, a fine youth of eighteen years
of age, acting as his. Aide-de-Camp, and charg-•
ing gallantly by hiS side, os'erwhelmed at once in
the midst of the brilliant charge, by the fall of:
his revered parent, requires a power of deseriptiott,
which we conf4s ourselves unequal to, and must'
leave it to abler hands to destribe the general synv
pithy which the event must-eicite in the breast
of every Englishman.

ETATS. •
On Monday, the Lady of the Rev. J. W. Burford, of Strs,t'
ford-grve, Essex, of a Son. •