Star.
London, England, 1808-01-28 00:00:00

parties. About the time I began to retire,

. •
ning would be a better time than mid day for advan-
ring into the town; and after fume confultation with
General Whitelocke, determined to defer the attack
until Ole morning of the sth. While we were in the
room, a Mr. White, who had refided A .ennlicierable
time at Buenos Ayres, gave us information, which
Was afterwards proved to be extremely coreei
refpeding the difpofitiens and defenfive arrangements
which the enemy had made in the town fence the
evening of the 3d. A part of the order of attack
was, that the colomns were to be provided with weds
for breaking open hnufes: bUt I really believe it was
impoflible to obey this order effedually, for a fuffi-
cieacy of thefe implements could not be found. •
(Z. What information did you receive, during the
I.:arch, of the ftrength and dupe ditions of the enemy ?
A. I think all the information we received was in a
paper, written by an Italian, as I believe, that the
enemy had entrenchments on the Chuello.
EIGHTH D.ot.
Brigadier Generel Crawford continued his narra.
tive .•-•••" Some r Idle information I received from
the guides turned out to be falfe. Of this defcription
was the report that the enemy had conitruded a bat-
tery fir obfli tiding the paffage of the fwamp which
General Beresford had naffed. I had alfo heard, and
ftom a cunverfition I had wi,h General Whitelocke,
on the alt of July, it appeared that he believed that,
the enemy had conflrudeel leveret hatteties for the i
defence of the paffes over the Clittello, and in the I
neighbourhood of the bridge. Whether the Chico 1
pats was deleuded 1,1 a firnilar manner, we were not
able to afcertain until we reached it. With refpedi
to what teconnoitring patties were formed to lonk at
the Clmelle, I know of none, excepting the ordinary
advanced guard and flanking parties of my own bri•
Bade on the clay of the id. In at feen- to the epleiliorts'
why the pafl'age of the bridge was not attempted ? I
can only fay, that m; 'opinion, and that of the other
offi:.-ers with whom I converted, certainly was, that '
to pals the river at a point in which all the intelligence
agrvel'in Rating that the enemy bad prepared a re-
(*Mance, would me have been judicteus, wi:en
an eat.), march it appeared poffiltle to t emuye hire
from that poll:ion. In ant\ vet to that qm:(lion, at to
the flare of the advanced corpc prr.vi ,us tu, and af.ei
the adion, with the probable event of the corps loieg
defeated, I ao.fwer to this, I d not know where Ge-
reral Whitclocke's divifion naffed the night of t!'e
ad, but if :het divilion halted in the fittiatiOn de:iv-sh-
ed to me by Lieutenant Colonel B it keollen it i, clear
that no co operation could have taken place that
evening. In anfwer to the quefliun, what =alto es
were taken for affering_the fuccefs of the army in tl:e
attack of the 3d, by bringing up artillery, or recon-
noitring, &c. I helve to tiate that I heard an order
was fent to Colonel Mahon, who was then at Reduc-
tion, and had with him a confiderable pea of the
artillery, to advance towards the bridge on the day
the relt of the army was to tack the town. As to
reconneitrirg the approaches to the town, I believe
every thiog was elf.ne that could be done by the Staff
Offi7ers commanding In ieordes. On the 4-h, to the
belt of my rec iledirm, each of us was ordered by
General Whhelocke to make otirfelves acquainted
with the ground over which we were to go next day.
As to the information received of the plans of the
enemy, for the defence of the town, I do not rtcl
left that any intelligence was received from the pr i
loners taken on the ed ; nor do I belitive they could
have given us eny greed information; for their dilpofi.
lions in the town were entirely changed, in conic-
(pence of the operations of the ad ; but on the
Mr. While tr Id me and other offieers in General
Whitelocke's room, that he was informed by people
who had left the town, that the enemy had Itrongly
entrenched and placed heavy cannon in all the flteete
leading into the great fquares, and hadconcentred the
Lprincipal part of their force it and about this fquare.
With refeed to the politirms of the enemy, I ob.
let ved, after being taken prih ner, that Mr. White's
information was nrecife and coned. I mutt repeat
my conviction that the town mull h tve been carried
with cafe, if the army was in a foliation to follow up
the advantages obtained on the ad ; aol if the Court
win allow me, I (hall Rate the grounds of that con-
vidion. I thought fo at the tin-.e, becaufc, during
the greater part of the march of the ad, we had ken
what, from its appearance there was every reafon to
believe, was the hulk of the enerny'-s force in the field.
By cur movement, and wi.at we latterly obferved of
them, it WAS evident that we had turned an original
pufition, and that they were engaged in an attempt
to take up a new one on the weflern tide of the town;
and as we defeated a confiderable divifion of their
army during this attempt, there was every reafon to
believe, what in fad we afterwards found to be true,
that they were not prepared for the defence cf the
interior of the town on that fide. I heard alfo that
we lhould have been in the town before the greater
pat tof their army. As to the quellion about the
trnrps being well (elated who cowpoke' the advan.
cud corps, I can Rate that that c-•mpofing my bri-
t;atle being (with the merino of a detachment of
the 7111), the light infant' y and the rifle corps were
the very troops that ought to have been felefied for
that purpofe ; but the 36th and SBth regiments, who
had not been ou t of their Ihipsfor nine months,although
very excellent regiment', certainly did not appear
to be fo fit to form a part of the advanced corps, as
he 34th, lech, or Seth regiments, who had been
long in the country. Had fo (mall an army marched
in one column, there would have made hole diffe-
rence, although filch regiments had formed part of
the advanced guard ; but from co imall an a; my no
detachment fltould have been made. I here repeat,
that my ()pillion as to the plan of attack for the sth
was never atked, and never given. I never could
have approved of it, after the adion of the ad, or
from what Tfaw then.
Did you know of any local impediments to
have prevented the army from arriving wilhin a thort
dillance of the Clmello n the fetond day after it quit-
ted the heights of I3arregon ? A. if the army had
not quitted the heights before the artillery had naffed
the moral's ; and it the troops had been in the habit
of marching. I :Link that the at toy might, without
difficulty, have rcechn,d the pofition is Iron( of Re.
drogion in two marches ; but cenfidering all the nit
curntlances that exifted at the tune, I do not atirta
the army could have been affembled in front of Re
du Sion before the evening of the i It. Indeed. I have
no reafon to believe that Colonel Mahon and the ar-
tillery mild have arrived fooner than the ad, when
they adualiy did.

. • I. • • .•
.Q Sratc ivliat you remember of the cOnyteP''
with General Wllitelocke On the,.i t of JO-;• : A.
While the troops were haltjst".", :he Gify..ssi took me.
alitie, and the fuollance of aliat he laid to me was,
that he had thothrsuf detaching a 'part cif thcarmy
to make k onlidtrable detour towatis the higlher
parts of the Chuello, in order to turn the polition
the enemy 4.n the Chnello, whilit the reit of
the army fhould advance again-ft...01;4 ; and
that General Gower agreed with him that this was
adviialt.le. I toes' ion this as a proof that the Gene-
rat.had ihformatiun of the enem}7l. intrenchments.—
Genet al Whicelocke asked
.my opinion ; and 1 told
him, that.er...tilidelipg the fmalltlef, of our army, it
did not appear to me advifable to make any Inch fe-
paration, or to divide it into corps tiding at Inch a
dittance. I think he ended the constellation, by fay•
51g Fire!!, I think you're right."
Was it known at that time that there were
more palfes than one abov,-; the bri•tge over the Chu-
ello ? A. The intormatiun which I had received at
that time was very vague. I had heard that the
comic of the river WAS in fhort that we might head
it altogether. I now allude to the tn. Ori the zd,
the tattler partof this was contradieted by a man whom
I founi in a bottle where I pallid the night of the ill
July, and chum I tuck wills Inc rot the 2J.
Qz. Did the letter feta by- Ge,teral Whitelrcke to
General Gower on the mor.;ing ()fate zd conrain an
ardor to march, or roily an authority for I) doing. it
he few it advifable ? A. I helkve the letter Weis In
warded as to leave it in M ,jir Genet al Go.wer to aet
accuiditig to his own xli'ere"tion ; at the fame time I
do n. r rccollt-C.l the pt cute terms of the letter. Of
• thi., h wevet, 1 cat' 'Peak pntitively, that the c,.n-
duCt of Geoettl G >over op in t is rt.:cation was not
that -1 who Lai received a peremptory
order. . .

(:)._ Is the Coort to underllanet, that although you
don t remember r e words of the letter, you remern-
bc:r:the ,rt the' lubttance, and that you have
Ia•r: I. it in evidence ? A. lam not fore whether the
le•ter curtained any authority to fummon the town.
I gave ;card 'ince that it did. law it only once,
av,i a:.? moment when my mimi was wholl4
0..:c• •. with the operatiuns viol; on : ;bete might
leave s t partit of the !vim- I did rwt remember. I
thi:ll. i. can fwear that Major General Gawer was by
tlu.rt letter aithorifed to make a tOdgment in The fob-
to", t.f Butn..s Ayres.
T (Jere the Juor:r. 'ADVOCATE intimated that hi:‘
es minati ro of General Crawford war. cancluded.
Gerieral Whitelocke fail, he .declioed putting any
qotations to the vtitnefs in this flage of tide trial.]
QL•tilions by the Court.
QDu you Ictrrw if there were any mules provided
t- convey camp kettles ; or was there a pi,flibi9ty of
providing means for their conveyance ? A. 'When
landedwee ' at atrragnn, I law a cenfiderable number
of •horfes , whether the number was fufficient fr r
conveying the camp kettles ; or v hether, if fried
with pack Caddies, thee w• old have carried them, I
had no opportunity of afeettaini-g, as my brigade
moved immedia'ely to the heights. S ,roe of the
!tortes certaiuly could have carried them. I got one
or two myfclf, which were quiet. Upon the whole,
I think that if it had been made an (kit& a portion
of the camp kettles might have been conveyed. I
here repeat that General. WII .-171 Cd to f/Cti
flee every thing to the wifh of getting the men under
cover at Buena s Ayres before the heavy rains let 1:1.
In my opinion, conlidering how touch time they bad
at Monte Video before my arrival, to make prepara-
tions for the attack of Buenos. Ayres; a greater num-
ber of horks might have been conveyed acrofs the
river Plata with the army.
Q.:. How were the vidoAs for the troops dreffed ?
A. IVe had three days' fait provili ns ready &Wed
when we landed. What we got afterwards was roan
ed in the fire. Ido not think my own brigade for
feted for want of meat; but they fuffet et/ much from
want a bread and fpirits. •
IQ Do you know what part of the army Gene
rat Whitelocke had allotted for his ft:ilium during the
attack on the sth of July ? A. I had fonte conver-
fation with General Gower on this fobj.-0 late in the
evening of the 4th. From this I under flood it to be
fettled that he fhould recommend it to General
Whitelocke to take his flation at the commencement
of the attack, a little in the front of the ground on
which the right of my brigade then Llood.
sciL Had General Whitelocke appointed any pl ice
of retidezvons la the troops in cafe the attack did
not fucceed ? A. I never heard of any.
Was it communicated to you and the General
Officers, where Generals Whitelacke and Gower
might be found in cafe of need ? A. At the fame
time that General Gower informed me that he thould
recommend it to tire Commander in Chief to • take
the Ration already defer ibed, he alto, in anfwer to a
quellion I put to hint refpeding his own lunation,
laid, that General Whhelocke had ordered him to be
with hirufelf ; but I do not recoiled his having men
tioned this as having been the fituation where he
Ihould remain all day. I do not recoiled that this
was publicly made known to the other General
Officers. _ _

Qla the eliflriblition of the attack on the h,
was any part allotted to the Commander of the
Forces, or the fecmad in command ? A. In the
written difpoti:inn and otder of attack, nothing was
mentioned of this kind ; and it was in conlegnence of
this I milted General Gower thefe quetlions.. General
Gower laid, he advifed Ger.eral Vl/4'h,telocke to he at
Mr. White's honk. I laid I thought that would not
be a becoming fituation. . _
Q...... Were any older: Hilted where General White.
locke was to be found at any part of that day ? A.
I do not recolleB any. .
Q.., What proportion in point of numbers of the
Spaniat army was engaged with you on the 2d, w:►cn
they 101 l their eannoh ? A. 1 law fo I.ttle of the
Span;fh atmy in a bAy alter we paired the Chico
Pafs, that I cannot (peak cirre6tly. I think there
were 2ouo men engaged, but it. was not pi flible to
fee dittinetly enough on account of the thickhefs of
the Int rounding hedges.
Q If Maj it General G iwer had attacked and
defeated the enemy at the Chico pals, where it was
reported they were entrenched, would not this have
opened the raffage of the bridgeover the Chnello fur
the main holy ? A. I have already Elated, that after
croffmg at the Pall,. Chico, I oblerved what appe: I. d
to me a very conftdetable. part of the enta y's di my
moving from their former pofiti-n in the vicinity of
the badge, with an intention i f taking a new one

..:,?-

•• • ~.; • iv
11;00 .p the rive
afterward. m"de,
could take R illy propricty. .. I
• .i• ,
(Z... Major cnetai bowerl!ipref. ap;..
dilpienpre
sor unealinefs at the. he teceive .1 •
from General ,Whitelocke, . n tht tool !Ail"; (4 111
ed ? A. (bite the c• orrary. • • ,
' [Hoe the exam;til(iiii3 rf Gct.rtlCir.trtnrci
&late,' by the judge "14,' to I.r LA, conclukW.3

~lw

y.
• .
Brigadier General CFAWiturrii waa again called),
as sti undersdond by, his ovi7ri teq-eil, to gra,. tome
explanations.—He laid, the Ittif•r2 is 'y Getuo.•!
Whitelocke Was. In anxious to }set the men strider
Colter, WAS, that there were no tents fit tl•e move
along with the baggage. On the 3d of jot) he Jaw
fume lalTar-men (or the cattlecateeer s of the-omo rv).
cutting up fume buliocks tor the. IT- rips. F' to the
in of July the weather Was generally. rainy until the
9th, when he left South America.
igadier Gorer al LINO. v ftvorts.
" I was tire fenior (Miter ofolie to:valet, implOyed
in the service signing Buenos Ay:ea. From Major
General Gewer I received almolt all my orders, and
none at ail from General Whitelocke, except what
came from the Adjutant General's Office I hope.
therefote, the Court will not he fut prized at my Inca
tioniog the name ct' General Gower Mach more fre-
quently than that of General Whi elocke ; and I
hope they will not think I am capable ofuflog either
of there name< improperly. On the arrival of Gene
ral Whitelocke and Maj r General Gower at Monte
Video, or, the loth of May, I went to pay my refpeets
to • both. On the tBth an order was ailed with
refpeet to Major General Gower being appointed to
the executive duties and the loeallties or the flotation.
Oa the morning oldie t3th of May General G,Aver
tailed me afide in the ((pare of the Government
Houfe, and afked for infot mati • n refpeeling the
cottony and the polls I had vitite.:l, with the num-
ber of troops they Lir onld meet. I gave him the in-
formation he walled to the extent of aboot 7o miies,
being the whole of my knowledge. In conferoteuce
cf flume cnnverfation, Major General Gower, tin the
tg:h, defired me to go up the canntry to procure
h :rfes. I hated to him that it 'would be the readier
way to purchafe them this way than to call upon the
Magifirates by war of 1 told him that
four dellars was the tifual price given by the Spa-
niards, but that I had nn doubt of getting exceeding
good bottles for fix dollars a piece, and that they
were very clever horfes, on which a corps of cavalry
might Ise mounted as well as in this country ; but
•he total want rf thy fend on *heir firft arrival at
Monte Vide,, rendeied them tilelels in a• very few
days. They, therelcre, were necelfaTily wetted not
a few hours every day, and gliarded in a fine rich
pollure. At this period ii:e Indian corn the
country had jolt lieen cut down. Genet:ll Gower
then laid he would colleel all the corn poftible, and
that Ilhould exert myfelf in the mean time in pro-
cm ing horfes. I remained in Monte Video ail] the
morning of the zoth. About the 18th Gereral
Gower found fault with me t.r not going former ;
but I had arrangiments to make both in Monte- Vi-
deo and up the country which detained me. On the
28th of May I pros edcd to -a !mall village, called
Candor. Doting the few days I was sip the country
I correfonnded withLiru enant Colonel Torrens, the
military fccidary. Upon my arrival at Condos, I
found the rivers had been completely overflown
earlier in the year than ulna], and the light troops
of the count, y had been very alive in deterring peo-
ple with whom I had made arrangements, from
bringing down honks to me I catild not praceed
acrofs there rivers therefore without difficulty, and
with :nt getting my fm-all detachment reinforced.—
'nee rivers weie Great and Little St. Lucie, and
the river St. Jtifeph. I wrote for a reinforcement,
which was lent me, and arrived on the 24th, hut at
the fame time with a caution not to run any silk.
I therefore dtcPeel not to pals the rivers over which
;le horfes mull have twain, or he conveyed in boats,
which could only cat ry two at a time. I contented
toys- If. therefore, with what bora:- I could procure
near Cnnelos. Having collefled about too, betides
few will which • 1 tc pl Iced thole that were tired
nut, I wrote for permiffinn to return to Monte Vi-
deo, as I thought I Could he of nn more ufe ; and-
I returned to Monte Video on the 29th or 3oth of
May, leaving direP.it-ins %l ids Lieutenant Colonel
Lloyd to procure as many more horfes in that.neigh.
bon:hood as he could with f afety. I was authorifed
to give any price as far as a doubloon for the horfes
I fhanld procure. Upon my return in Monte Video,
I paid my refpeels to Generals Whitelncke and
Gower. The lattee found fault with my having li-
mited the price ta' fix dollars, which he laid ha-d IntL
a great many horfes. I rinfwered, that in proportion
as we railed our prices, the people of the country
rafted theirs. I then prnoofed the plan of calling
arpon the Cabildos, r y Magitirates of Monte Video,
to fend out to coiled horfes, in the way they -had
been always accutlomed to do for the King of Spain.
On the to of June the order was ill-tied accordingly,
and on the 4.sh or sth they brought in about goo, of
which certain numbers were cholen to completealie
artillery in the firfl infianee to the number they
were ordered to embark, and then the cavalry were
completed to 160, as ordered. Several more,
confilling of about 200, hill remained, the wort} of
which were turned out to grafs under the care of the
King of Spain's Land Steward, and the refl were
' turned over to the 20th dragoons, as there was not
any more room in the tranfports. During this pe-
riod the mounted dragoons had come &silo the
country from the out polls, under Lieutenant Colonel
Lloyd, and had embarked on the aS and 3,1 of the
month, as part f-the mounted fanadron before-men-
tioned With fuels hot fes as were fit for fcrvjce. With
lefpeet to the food fir the bodes,- General Gower
informed me, that tFe Commitrariat would take care
• t that ; I was to give direelions by an order of the
18th of May with refpeel to the feeding of the cattle ;
having previoufly flated.the quantity of Indian corn
thought neceffary. On the 3d of June a geoeral •
order bad been Hilted relpeeting the lelTening of eke
baggage of the army ; and I think immediately after
o f dragoons,Gowery
baggage
he
net edfdo futonhuedn f etesaf
ad great
fault
ahhueis,l9t
i4e hq7,tuhaGnietit eytirta l
t their
quarters, which he issfitted upon being removed. I
pointed nut to him a gt eat number of iupernumerary
cavalry appointments, which in any own opinion, at

•
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4,02

;:.041r,t.:414 •)
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apt!eitied tope a only one •ve