Star.
London, England, 1811-06-18 00:00:00

I foresaw, that in any case it could not follow us i
and I was not sorry to place it in a way to be taken,
in order to occup34 the enemy.
NEWS FROM THF. ARMY OF PORTUGAL. After having agreed *ith all the officers about the
preliminary details of otedoperations, I went, as usual,
r 2 P. ereer TO HIS EXCELLEN CY MARSHAL DUKE Of RA- ,
to walk about the town and the ramparts. I conversed
GUSA, COMMANDER IN CHIEF OF THE ARMY OF TOR-
Iwith all the soldiers; I was enabled, by an air of se-,
TUGAL. Salamanca, May 17. 1 •
cilia)* and confidence, to remove from their minds'
Almeida was invested on the 7th of April. In con- • all doubt or uneasiness upon the result of our opera.
sequence of the orders I had previously received from Lions; and I saw every body full of confidence, and
the Prince of Neufchatel, and the Duke of Istria, I ! even enthusiasm. At night-fall, I made all the gar-
had prepared mines to blow up the fortifications.. I : risontake arms to.prevent any one from being absent,
continued this operation after the place was in- i and to .be ready as soon as all the dispositions were
vested ; and before the end of April there were 140 ! completed, for we worked to the moment of our depar.
cavities ready to be charged. I thought that the army,
i ture. At ten o'clock, all being ready, I sent orders
after having rested some days, would make a move- •
tto all the advanced posts of the Half Moon and co-
ment upon Almeida, every thing was ready to send . vered ways, to come in the greatest. silence within the i
away the artillery and ammunition. During this
Pe. I barrier whence we were to depart.. At the moment
rind the cavities would have been charged, and but of beginning the movement, I gave, as a watch-wordy
few days would have been nece.sat yto have finished Bonaparte and Bayard, and we all set off under the J
every thing. auspices of glory and honour.
I did not expect the movement or the army till
I went out the last. I then sent orders to the Chief
from the 10th to the 15th of this month ; and in order
of Battalion, Morlet, to place the fire in the boxes. It
to afford me time to wait till then, I bad established .
tract been agreed upon that this single order should
anextremely rigorous economy, which I superintended
suffice, because it was to be a private signal, as wore
myself with the greatest severity ; by these means I
as he had the certainty that the lighted matches were
had calculated that I should have sufficient provisions
placed, in order that the fire should be set to the
till the 250, and I was resolved thyself to prolong it
powder at the same time. Every thing was petfectly
by one means or another till the Ist of June. well executed. My two head of columns began to be
The day after my being invested, I was closely engaged wilt the enemy's posts at the very moment
pressed at ail points in a severe manner ; every day of the explosion. All were penetrated, and 1 contis J
• the sharp shooters fired upon my cattle, and forced it nued my route rapidly, always harassed on my rear
into the garrison—l then determined to salt part of it. and flanks, as I had foreseen. The baggage was pil.
. Persuaded that the enemy could not have brought !aged. I would not have any guide, because he could
with him besieging artillery, I thought that, knowing only shew me the ways which I would not take, and
the weakness of my garrison, he might attempt some because he would only infuse uncertainty into my
coati de main. In concert, therefore, with the Corn- movements—not being able to find nut by night the
mandants of the engineers and artillery, I adopted all different points of direction which I had long studied
possible dispositions to repulse him—all the flanks of by day, the moon served me as a compass. The dif•
the bastions were strengthened by cannon loaded with ferent brooks or rivers which I crossed, and whose
grape-shot, hatchets, axes, were placed on each bas- existence I was acquainted with, also contributed to
tion—pcnere (large bullets) were ranged along the insure my direction. I was harassed as far as ThurOn,
parapet —loaded howitzers and grenades were placed there they abandoned me—in fine at day-break I was
within reach, as well as red-hot balls, and torches to between Villar-de-Cuervas and Barba de Puerco. I
light the ditches—l made the troops repeat their ma- took my way to the Agueda. Between those two
tuzuvres, in order to make them acquainted with the villages, before I arrived on the summit, the enemy's
point of alarm night and day. cavalry had reached my right, and marched in a pa-
On the 15th I was summoned to surrender by Major rallel line after me, to stop me, or to point out to the
Ceneral Campbell, who observed to me that the cir- troops that were on their march in pursuit of me, the
c. mstances of the campaign deprived me of all hope route I had taken. I saw on my left some elevations
of being succoured ; that the weakness of my garrison crowned with troops. I manceuvred to avoid them,
d. pi ived me of all the means of defending myself. I and I arrived at length at a path which led to the
r' plied verbally, that if lie thought my garrison too bridge of San Felices.
weak to defend the place, he had only to try to take The two columns which had always marched in
it, and that I had no other answer to make. On the sight, and within reach of each other, arrived together
17th Lord Wellington demanded an interview with on the left bank of the Agueda, in the same order in
me, which I thought it my duty to refuse. which they left Almeida. They had always marched
I made a sortie on the 28th in the morning, I drove in order in spite of rocks, rivers, and precipices.

FRENCH PAPERS.

away the English posts, we killed some and made four
prisoners. I made another sortie upon the Portu-
guese posts, and made three prisoners, but I never
made the attack on the side by.which I sallied out of
the garrison.
On the 3d of May I beard a cannonading and firing
which announced to me the approach of the army ; on
the sth I thought there was a serious affair and every
moment I expected a communication.
On the 7th I received orders from the Prince of
Essling, by a soldier of the 6th light infantry, to blow
up the place, and retire with the garrison upon Barba
de Puerco. I immediately ordered the cavities to be
loaded, and the artillery to be destroyed ; we em-
ployed for this latter object the means we had before
tried upon an unserviceable cannon, viz. to discharge
cannon into the mouths of the pieces ; by these means
we destroyed cannon, howitzers, and mortars. The

The rear.guard of the sappers had joined same mo.
ments before the rear of the left column. I perceived
some troops on the other side, wkich I found by my
class to be French, and we descended rapidly to the
bridge. The enemy poured inson all sides—they had
reached the rear of my column—l had the grief of
seeing some of my brave comrades perish. At length
General Regnier, commanding the second cords, sent
troops towards the bridge, and protected our passage.
He received all the wounded, and sent them to San
Fe'ices, where we all united. I lost in this operation
but 60 men, and the whole garrison is arrived.
I annex the report of the Commander of the Engi.
neers, and also M. Lechene's, the Captain of Artil-
lery. I also annex a plan of the place—all marked
in black shews the works that were blown up.
The letter concludes with bestowing praises upon
different officers. (Signed) BREMER.

cartridges were thrown into a well, and into the
ditches, at the foot of the walls that were to be blown
up—the balls were also thrown into the ditches to be
buried, and carriages were in part sawed, and the
others placed on the parapets that were undermined ;
in short, I believe that no precautions to render un-
serviceable all that might be useful to the enemy
were omitted. And here I ought to return thanks to
the talents and activity of the officers of artillery and
engineers. .
On the 9tla all the cavities were charged, but the
works for the destruction of the artillery were not fi-
nished, and I stayed one day more in order to leave
nothing to regret.
On the morning of the 10th, I assembled the prin-
cipal officers of the garrison—l -ead to them the or-
ders of the Prince of Essling—l did not conceal that
our expedition was full of difficulty and danger—that VIENNA, MAY 29.
once out of the garrison, the fire set to it, we should We receive news of several sharp actions between
find ourselves obliged to cut our way through to re- Ithe Russians and Turks. The latter hove been driven
join the army, in the midst of obstacles of all kinds, ' behind the Nassawa, and under the walls of St. So-
or to fall with honour ; that the place once destroyed, phia. Widden is completely invested.
the intentions of his Majesty would be perfectly ful- 1
S.AXONY, MAY Is.
filled—that that single object ought to animate us—
that we were Frenchmen, and ought to prove to the I
I The report that was spread respecting a speedy in-
I
universe that we were worthy of being so—that if our terview between some powerful Monarchs daily gains
i s th th it was on this accunt
expedition succeeded, it would cover us with glory.
4 , th credit. Itat more
the Assembli yof tought at
he States of Weimar received
whatever the effect might be to us persoually.;
testified the most courageous devotion. I ifibi ;11,•exrders to hasten the term of its sittings.
formed them i • the dispositions I had determined BANKS OF THE MAINE, MAY 16.
upon, as well as the manner in which I reckoned up. The corps of troops belonging to the Grand Duke
on reaching the enemy's posts, and I shewed them of Hesse, which are going to Dresden, consists of
the route I meant to take. And wishing to march in 2400 men, infantry and cavalry.
two columns to have less depth, and to overthrow a I
A squadron of light horse, coming from Dresden
larger front of the enemy, which gave me beyond;
yesterday, passed through Frankfort, and took the
their line more latitude for my movements, I gave
route of Gresett.
them all the necessary instructions for the march of
the two columns ; 'and as a basis, I announced, that I STOCKHOLM, MAY ta.
the left column should be the column of direction ; I The Court Tribunal has just pronounced sentence
the two dice companies of the sth battalion of the 82d upon the murderers of Count De Fersen. Three of
regiment were to march at the head of tbe,- left co- the assassins have been condemned to suffer decapi-
. Limn, composed of the said battalion, to clear the tation, many others to run the gauntlet ; some of the
passage for the column that followed them. The two least culpable will undergo a punishment proportio-
companies of cannoneers marched at the head of the nate to their crime.
right-hand column for the same purpose. This co-' COPENHAGEN, JUNZ I.
lumn, commanded by the Chief of the Battalion of I A . short time ago the English attacked, in the
Engineers, Thruiller, was composed of different de- night' some merchantmen at anchor on the north coast
tachments of the 6th and Bth corps. The sappers of Zealand. They took only two, the rest having on
were to remain in the town, part to set fire to the board two or three men of the regiment of Prince
train, another part to hinder the inhabitants from de. Christian, who, in spite of their weak numbers, suc-
ringing our operations, and to protect the sortie of cessfully resisted the enemy.
all—they were afterwards to form the rear-guard
they woe commanded by the Chief of the Battalion BERLIN, JUNE t.
of Engineers, Monet, who remained in the place ell We know nothing of the arrival of the English in
the train had' been lighted, and who was obliged .to the Baltic ; it is still in the-.Categat, and we doubt,
cut his way a second time with his sappers through considering the respectable force on the shores of the
the enemy's posts, which had joined in our rear. Baltic, whether it will pass the Belt, and dare to risk
I placed the baggage at the tail of each column. the least attempt.

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