The Statesman.
London, England, 1809-10-03 00:00:00

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~to prevent their being sank, and formed cdosble.
!mom under the protectio.v of the forts and bat-
' Cross italkl Pearl, Philip

St.

point whete
of tort St.
in thu
whose
would
Ranks

i brthe forts
iver.

erdinand, sup.
third de.
break th
!k-yards,
. might has _ by sinking
Vessels iu the Kerr that might have been raised '
again after the siege • last means of 'tearing from
the grasrof the Ess;lish a prey which they might
have thought almost in their power.
Supposing all these difficulties to have been con.
quered, the fortified town avid citadel of Amtwerp,
still remained, and it would have: eelpieediAlli
greatest ezertiuns on the part of the etteniy hi:111V/
attaoked a brave garrison, protected by :good
parks, and resolved to defend itself like the gar-
risons of Genoa and Ildayence—that is, to fight
without its walls, and to contend obstinately in
the midst of inuitilatlons for each. -of the Hume:
roux natural posts with which Antwerp .is sur-
rounded.
To this system of defence, the threatening dis-
positions of the English only served to inspire, us
with the bold determination of adding new ones.
three batteries were, by command of the Prince,.
erected under the fire of tbe enemy. The o'he
the point of Doel, the other in the ruins of the
old fort of f retied. Henry, and the third between
that fort eind LitlO; hr the elbow which the dike
forms near the credit of Blawgaeren. •
Such were the means of defence employe) to se-
cure Antwerp, its doek.yards, and its Bert.
lie must, however, acknowkdge, that time
would hart been wanting to.finish those inonsen+e
preparations on every point, and that hostile for.
tune might have granted some momentary echo».
tages to the English, had they, on the Igth of
August, made their attack, and displayed all
their means with the prudence and boldness • in.
dispensably necessary to meet loch dOicaleres..
and such adversaries. But even this was foreseen.
lkfeusive positions were marked in the neighbour-
hood of Antwerp, to be taken by the army,
which received daily reinforcements, and measures
had been planned, in conformity with the &tote.
rues commands, to mouse the very progres.s of the
enemy to become a metre, by which he would be
separated from his ships, and the punishment of
his temerity would have been more complete and
memorable. ►
Every day of tisk* creetered the attack m ors
*lseult, and its wilkltss *tore doubtful. New kw'
gions followed-thane* which a first call had created,
end French waraiiits, rushing in from, every part,
displayed that unanimous resolution, which oared
them at the hour of misfortune, of never suffering
the enemy to invade their territory. Reinforce-
ments of troops and artillery -arrived incessantly.
The first inundations were effected, and the others
prepared. Labourers and means of conveyance
grew every day more numerous ; and the soldiers
beheld with complaanicy the progress of works
which covered the Scheldt with. ,torts, .batteries,
and booms. Every day it became more. probable
that the naval forces of the enemy would not at.
tempt to penetrate through the sinuosiiies of the
rivet, in debases to all the obstacles raised against
them, and with a total disregard of the danger they
would rats of having their retreat cut off. It was,
• therefore, likely that the English would begin by
attempting to destroy the defences of the two
:beaks ; that the only means of effecting this put.
pose would be to attack our army ; and that they .
wmaid net be abbe to resist the shuck of the forces,
destined to attack thearat the moment, and in the
confusion of their •landing, which, -if delayed,
would prove still more difficult.
Every thing skewed the enemy wavering in his
plans ; misinformed, or mistrustful ; confinsndcd
at the sight of unforeseen obstacles ; spending in
reconnoitring, the time which served to increase
!hens, and losing with the opportunity the will
of attacking us. His boats employed in sound.
ing the channel .4 the Scheldt proved that
he was not acquainted with us windings.—
lfis assailed every night with rock.
eta the batteries erected at Duel, and iii the-reins
of the fort of Frederic Henry, did lot chock the
construction of these works, in which we ap-
proached to bid him defiance. In a word, 11.1
though the collected shipsat Bats made some uffea-
site demonstrations, they were such as not to an.
nuance the transport or leading of tiny considera-
ble corps of troops, with its artillery, across the
arm of a wide river, on a point selected before-
' hand, and defended by as army.
Information, however, founded on. thee° de.
sionstratioes, led us to believe several. Bross, belt
(Specially on the 2'2d of August, that the enemy's
hitestiou was really- I. land ; and the Prince of
POW Corvo atinsunted the approaching attack
the order of the day, as as ordinary wrest, long
intpected by the army. Every thing . was quiet ;
but until the 25th of August, bombs and cannon-
balls, thrown by the enemy's gun-boats against
dot batted= of Doel and Frederick Henry, a fire
illtsketry against the dikes, wain discharges of
*Hillery, and trifling engagements of eitt.posts,
were the only hostilities committed by the
English.
When losing, with the hope of an easy vicieryi
' the wish of attacking our army, the enemy, U
give credit to the rumours circulated in Zeal t
littempted to devise means of sending firerships
iefernal machines against the booms and the
and closing the Scheldt by sinking into its **ea
channels, vessels filled with stones, or whole blocks
of stone work. - We might have entrosted the TAJ
pid current of. the river tho care of opening
new channels for our ships, by restoring or de.
stroying these veil, obstacles ; but measures
equally prudent khd bold were taken to seise and
'seek these looting:mhos ; and oar navy in retar
''.:increased the optriber of its fire-ships, in

si.fil" tries of the Cross, Btelkhuys, Pearl, St.
r=4.lhle and St. Mary.
Behind this hooin, and beyond the point
i. :111 ilhipj., if‘ °Moe et? dgeble the Cape of irc
' ,112 z -OW? 4,3!
_.'''to 'describe a Corte
.. .n I at" „three , '7- letter were stationed,
a . pelile batteries4mdianding the passage
m Y9a , 1,•-
.. 40. IlAYst mei** yit front, whilwt Ms
audit aed teed Mod lirla brie cannonaded brth
c and batteries of Mill 'batiks of the river.
.ifigher up, Ports taisballe and Ferdinand
Pa
got .ported by tho Imperial battery, formed a ILI
se,,,r. fees's* line, wbieb h was necessary to broth
yam, is, order to apsikaath the Beet and dock.
mewl which might basn'been further secured by •