Star.
London, England, 1829-08-31 00:00:00

OFFICIAL DISPATCH
OF THE COUNT DR VILLA FLOR TO HIS EXCEL-
LISNCY THE MARQUIS DR PALMELLA.

Aaaaa (rzacsiaa). Auo. IS, 11119.
TILANSLATIO4t.

MOST ILLUSTRIOUS AND EXCELLENT SlR,••••After
I had addressed to your Excellency my last dispatch, in
which I informed you that the greatest part of the block-
ading squadron had withdrawn, and had only left two brigs
of observation, things remained in this state without al-
teration until the 29th of July, on the evening of which
day there appeared to the eastward a great number of
ships approaching the land, and on the following morning
it was recognized to be the enemy's squadron, consisting
of 22 sail—namely, 1 line of battle ship, 3 frigates,
2 corvettes, 4 brigs, 4 government transports, and
several others of different sizes, some of them being
armed. Hereupon I made my dispositions to give the
enemy a proper reception, and having garrisoned all
the accessible points of the island, and stationed videttes
on those of difficult access—as well as garrisons in the
castles of St. John Baptist and St. Sebastian—l formed
a flying column to occupy the overlooking heights on
the W. S. W. and N. W. parts of the island, to support
immediately any point which the enemy might shew a
disposition to attack on that part of the coast, and united
into a central column the principal part of the forces,
which I kept with me to march upon the first point
seriously attacked, and to decide the victory.
The blockading squadron, either because the calms and
the winds from the S. and S.E. which prevailed on the
first days of their appearance, embarrassed their operations,
or perhaps confiding in the false news and slanderous
reports which had been wickedly spread, as to the good
spirit and disposition of this loyal population, were
waiting for internal disturbances to facilitate their
enterprise, or finally, in order to combine different
means of attack, which they yet wanted, continued tack-
ing on the south and south-east coast of the island until
the 10th of August, having on the preceding (lays re-
ceived from 20 to 30 open boats of different sizes, which
were ordered from the Island of St. George, and which
were distributed amongst the different ships.
On the 10th of August, the wind having veered
to the South West, the whole squadron steered to the
South East, and keeping close to the wind, I per-
ceived in the evening that the position they were in
with respect to the wind enabled them to attack with a
fair wind Villa da Praya, and with a light wind the
Bays to the west of this city and castle. I then formed
a new column, which, with a few guns, I directed to oc-
cupy St. Sebastian, to be able promptly to succour Villa
da Praya, the garrison of which was confided to the
brave battalion of the Queen's Volunteers, under • the
command of Major of Cacadores No. 9, MANOEL
QUIN DE MENESES ; and I ordered the Commander of
the district to the left of Villa da Praya, Lieutenant-Co-
lonel of Infantry No. 16, PEDRO JOSE FREDERIC°, to
extend his force on the heights, commanding that Bay
oti the left side.

At day-break the following morning, the squadron,
the better to conceal their designs, and deceive me, ap-:
peered close under land in front of the bays to the west
of Angra and of the Castle ; but at full day the wind blew
fresher, and showers obscuring the horizon, they sud-
denly changed their course, and gliding rapidly along the
coast, appeared suddenly in the Bay of Villa de Prays,
where the happy and glorious action took place, a de-
scription of which I submit to your Excellency, that you
may be pleased to convey it to the knowledge of her
MAJESTY.

The proximity to the land, in which the squadron,
favoured by the wind, was enabled to double the Cape of
Prays ; and the mists and showers which at that time
obscured the horizon, concealed from the defenders of
the Bay of Villa da Praya every movement of the hostile
squadron ; and only at eleven in the morning, when the
fog cleared off, and the wind calmed, was the line-of-battle
ship discovered which formed the vanguard of the squa-
dron, and this at the time she was entering the bay,
followed by all the ships of the squadron, with the excep-
tion of the corvette left off the port of Angra.
The battery of the port began the fire : it was immedi-
ately answered by the Seventy-four and other ships of the
squadron, which continuing their motion, penetrated as
far as the water allowed them, cast anchor, took in their
sails, and kept up without interruption a most vigorous
cannonade.

The fort, commanded by Ensign Si mos ALBU-
QUERQUE, of the infantry, No. 3, following up its fire
with the greatest judgment—whilst the enemy thundered
upon our batteries and entrenchments with but little
effect—soon did considerable damage to the line-
of-battle ship, destroyed part of her mast and quarter-
deck, and wounded many persons on board.
It was therefore in vain that the enemy, by the inces-
sant fire of a hundred cannons, tried to intimidate the
volunteers of the Queen Dowwn MARIA 11. who, hi-
therto, alone in this arduous crisis, were attacked with
such impetuosity and violence. At first, their attention
was directed to the whole line of defence confided to
them, and they waited with that sang froid and subordi-
nation which characterizes true soldiers, and does honour
even to veterans, while the disembarkation was going
forward.

By four o'clock in the afternoon the enemy, without
ceasing his fire from the ships for a single moment, sent
a column of troops in the launches, which attacked with
rapidity and courage the point where the Fort of Espirito
Santo stands, and where an accumulation of large stones
of basalt and great heaps of lava rolled down, from a
straight at the base of a perpendicular cliff.

Major Mzwzzzs immediately sent apart of his volun-
teers to support this point, uniting with it the force posted
in the adjoining district close to the base of the Fort,
and those brave soldiers—under the fire of the bat-
teries on board and from two gun boats that pro-
tected the landing—commenced such a sharp and
well-directed ire of atusquebT, that they succeeded

damaged
n driving back some of the barges much
Nevertheless, the greater part of the enemy's
force casting themselves boldly and at all risks upon
the rocks, and climbing the Fort of Espirito Santo,
which was now evacuated, succeeded in throwing.
some men into the interior of that port, whilst
a few others—at some distance from them....got •
up the scarp or cliff. The design of the enemy
was to gain possession of the fort and the crest of the
rock, and to occupy with his force the heights on ow
left, in order to protect his ulterior operations; but the
valour of the volunteers frustrated this plan ; for, climb-
ing rapidly the heights which commands the Fort, they
jumped into it, bayonet in hand, and dislodging their
enemy, precipitated them upon the rocks on which they
landed, and re-garrisoned the place themselves.
The enemy at this time, partly occupied by the destruc-
tive fire which poured upon their launches, and partly in
launching a second column against the right flank of our
line, recalled their launches on board, which left their
first force—composed of the flower of their troops, and
almost entirely consisting of grenadiers and cavadores-
between the abyss of the sea, and an inaccessible cliff
defended by some brave fuzilleers.
At this time, the central column which I had put
in motion at the first indication of attack, after going
over a great extent of road—assaulted in flank by the
batteries of the line of battle ships and frigates—entered
Villa Praya. The first column of the invaders, bereft of
their Commander and other Officers mortally wounded,
assailed by a shower of musketry and isolated at the
base of ' the cliff, were now completely routed
and discouraged ; and the soldiers, exasperated, called
out for the boats to re-embark ; but they called in vain,
and continued to suffer from the continual fire from our
side, whilst the ships played their artillery on the shore
without ceasing.

Let me now direct the attention of your Excellency to
the spectacle which presented itself to me, on my arrival
at the field of battle—a spectacle the most sublime that
can be witnessed in war, and which probably does
not occur once in a thousand combats. The cannon
of the squadron were playing on all parts of the beach,
and the adjoining hills, and our little forts, with a very
limited number of guns served by the coast artillerymen,
were answering some hundred mouths of flame by which
they were assailed ; whilst on the ridges of the acclivity
the small line of volunteers was displaying simultaneously
the greatest courage and the most sublime generosity.
The invaders, abandoned on the rocks, unable either to
extend themselves or to escape, and persuaded that we,
imitating the orders which they had received, would re-
fuse them quarters, were driven to exasperation : the
boldest fired at the ridge of the barrier, but soon wounded,
sheltered themselves among the rocks which the sea was
gradually invading, as the tide was coming in, and the
less intrepid concealed themselves in the caves.

The horrible condition of these unfortunate men, dragged
hither for the most part by the violence and tyranny of
the Usurper, now moved the hearts of the generous volun-
teers, and seeing in these conquered foes only a band of
unhappy victims, they called out to them from the top of
the cliff not to fire, but to surrender, for they had nothing
to fear unarmed. They then fastened ropes, and threw
them down the cliff.

Others, taking off their shoes, and descending in this
manner down the rocks, extended their hands, and drew
their enemies from the abyss, who at length threw down
their arms—all this was done by our brave fellows, unper-
turbed either by the fire of the cannon and musketry, or the
cannister shot poured upon them from a brig-of-war: who
—after conducting their prisoners to a place of safety—
flew again to the army, binding up more than one wound
with their handkerchiefs, which their enemies had received.
As soon as the central column entered the field of bat-
tle, I ordered two companies of the sth battalion of Cllca•
dores to support the volunteers on the left, and I extended
the rest of the force along the right side of 'the Bay,
against which the enemy was disposing his second
attack. In effect scarcely were my dispositions taken,
when under the shelter of the man of war and frigates,
a second column was embarked, and the launches appear-
ing in succession, threatened our right ; but the first fire of
our field artillery from the battery, under the command
of Captain VILARINIIO, having sunk the nearest
launch, and the nett having disordered their whole
line, the launches retreated and covered themselves under
line-of-battle ship, whilst the cry of victory resounded
along our line.

The rest of my artillery and mortars, which had been
delayed by the difficulty of the roads, now came up,
and their first discharge threatened the squadron with
a new danger. It was, however, now night, the
tide was full, and the line of battle ship, which at
low water had grounded, floated again. The calm
which prevailed during the evening was succeeded by a
light breeze—and then the Admiral's ship, seeing the at-
tack on our right frustrated, completely abandoned the
flower of his troops, and making signals for the rest of
the squadron to cut their cables, sailed precipitately out of
the bay, and put to sea : an operation which they could
not all have effected if time bad allowed me to bring to
the batteries of Praia a greater number of pieces of a
large calibre, or if the mortars had arrived sooner.
The enenky.lost this day the whole of the force with
which they attacked our left, which amounted, according
to my observation and the testimony of the prisoners, to
from 800 to 1,000 men, of whom 388 were made pri-
Boners, and the rest killed, for the most part, upon the
rocks, and drowned, as appears by the number of dead
bodies already cast ashore.

They lost several officers, amongst whom were Lieut.-
Colonel AZERLDO, second in command of the expedi-
tion, and Commander of the first brigade, and Major D.
GIL All wes DA COSTA. The former of these officers,
mortally wounded, was witness of our complete vic-
tory, but expired a few moments after, manifesting his
surprise at the generosity with which he saw his
comrades treated, and by which he himself was succoured.