Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-04-07

lie was determined to lose nc time ILp 'lM
care to occupy and secure every nr pa.o't
post, not only upon the dlrect l;n s.sssay
march, but upon his tanks. Kaoa,.@ i'
Jun OF had received his military cdn ~ ua
in the school Of Bonaparte, he was "a.
OF what would be the general charse s"sls
his plans, both of attack and def:ncr. - o.
dcedahe position of the French troo, ~
Roleia, consisting Of only COCO men No 's
the command of gen. Laborde (Iunot b.;;
still in the rear with the main body a
selected with admirable Judgment, a q, ", ~.
learn from the circumstance descriptjo, =
it, which is given by gen. w. in lis S'
patches, and which We shall copy.
q Rolcia is situated on an cmnnenco l..
ing plain in its front, at the end Of 4 wi
ley, which commences at Caldas. and
closed to the southwardby mcuntains, Wiki
join the hills, forming the valley en- tbels
looking from Caldas. ln,he the centre q
the valley, and about eight miles from r.
LEILA, is tt e town and old Moorish fort n
Gbidos, from whence the eremy's popn
had been driven en- the 18th, and from,ht
time he had posts in the hills onboth sid,
OF the valley, rs well as in the plain in foa
Of his army, which was posted On til
heights in frcnt Of Roleia, srght rssiay
upon the hills, its left upon an enineac:
on which was windmill, and the Whole
covering four or five passes into the noun.
tains in his rear"
In this well chosen position, the French
wsre attacked BY the British, on the MON.
ing ofthe 18th August. The British com,
mandcr acknowledges that he had great
superiority q Numbers emtleycd in thceh.
rdtio1s of the day, but observes tbat, fran
su,avoiauble circumstances, the trs65s c,;ml
hy engaged in the heat If hle action vocsm
number by no means equalto that fths sa
M. We deem it due TO candor, aid 70
the character OF the French troops, to STATE
that it would not be " looklngat it fairly
| to consider, from this statement of the Bri.
fish General, that his enemy was in fact
conquered by an inferior force. Thstront
of the Macedonian phalanx vas certainly
| frmer and stronger than it would have been
! had it been supported by fewer files in tbs
rear. From the nature of the passes which
were occupied by the French troops, twas
perhaps impossible to assai them, at any
! given moment, with considerable saper'
ority of numbers. Still those who were not
at the point of contact, were sustaining those
who were, and supplying their places IS
they fell.
The wave behind rolls on the wave before
There is more propriety in HoASS'
comparison of the motion OF armies 10 tnh
of the waves Of the sea, than IS gsOt',a''
! imagined. The simiiie is excellently Nus
trative cf the movements OF m attacking
army formed in several successive columns
following up and sustaining each ot1'F'-
The first column, like the hrst wave' WAY
be Intellectual the one may be broken '0'J
fragments, as the other may be Sca'ieftu
into spray: bat succeeding columns III 4~
one case, like succeeding waves IN fi,' o0". ,
may remove all obsuuctons, ana '1'!
4, death and ruin in their train. bes''eS' .
superior force enables the attacking DIV.
to turn the tanks of its enemy, Wn'' S~
| done in the present instance. 10 th's % %.s
columns, which may not be IN TIC ; ~.
danger, which may not lose even s'ns ..
man, may be actively and poweria,ry "
ployed in the operations Of the day 80, c,L
General Wellesley, on moving rom
das, formed his army in three coa"i". =.
The right consisted of 1900 Portus('t soc,.
fantry, with a small aankng party" y a,,.J
valry, also Portuguese, which were oio' he
to turn the left OF tie enemy, ana gu" ,,of
mountains in his rear; the lett, coHS'''" - !.
gems. Ferguson and Bowes' br'gao'' y hi,
fantrv. three companies Of rl.lemen, .m,a
sade of light artillery, and anotaS' e o,I1
hanking party of horse, consisting y. les.
WSIS ~