Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1809-03-28

feared enemy on the left, another column
penetrated Tudela on the right, and fell up
on the rear of the pursuers; of course the
French column must have moved from the
RIGHT to the left of the Spanish line, along
the rear of the centre. How came the Spa
nish centre to suffer this movement to take
place 1t is possible, indeed, that it might
have been fully occupied by an attack in
front at the same momeat. Gen. Castanos
seems to talk as if he had no centre, or ra-
Their as if only one division of two or more
of which the centre OF his army was COM
posed, was in the field of battle. He says
that he ordered the army to fall back to a
position extending from Tarragona t. lu-
della, the last point to be occupied by the
troops of the army of Arragon, and the
ftih division Of the centre, which was IN "a
parossa. The Spanish army appears to-
have been formed in FIVE divisions, each OF
which. if they were equal, must have con-
tanned 5000 men, according to the French
account. but we estimate them at only 5000.
1t does not appear whether the centre was
formed in five sub -divisions, or whether the
general, when speaking of the fifth division
of the centre, means the fifth division OF
the army, forming a part of the centre
The latter i. the most likely. The French
saw that the Spanish army was formed IN
seven divisions, and state particularly, mat
8. the Arragonese were on the right, the
troops of Valencia and New CASTLE In the
centre, and the three divisions OF Andalu-
STA, which gen. Castanos commanded more
especially, formed the left" The line from
Tarracona (Tarragona, in the Spanish &C
count, is misprint, as that place IS sea,
port in Catalonia, about one hundred and
fifty miles from the scene OF action to d
della, must have been six or eight miles IN
extent, in an oblique direction along the
line between the provinces OF Navarro ana
Arragon, and, if the map be correct, as
Tudela is on the right of the Ebro, the
right wing of the Spanish army must have
been intersected by that river. No dispo-
sision could be worse than shls, and, II TINS
were indeed the case, the French might
well saw that the disposition Of the Spanish
army was !" absolutely bad" not less in re-
ference to its being intersected instead OF:
Ranked by large river (of which however
no hint is given in the bulletin) than to its
being commanded bv the heights of Iude-
la, {" and its left occupying a line OF league
and a half" Every one knows that in the
case of two armies fronting each other, the
right of the one is opposite to the lett OF the
other, and vice versa, like man and his
shadow in the mirror. The bulletin says
that gen. Castanos commanded 10 person on
the LETT, which appears to have been com
parasively strong and secure position,
when it is evident that he ought to have
been particularly attentive to his right, which
was the most exposed& the least detenslble.
The bulletin is perfectly ineligible, but the
Spanish account is not so. The former
states that on the centre being penetrated,
the cavalry passed the opening, and wheel
ing to the left, enveloped the Spanish right.
But the Spanish account states that their lett
was at first successful, but upon the right
(not the centre) being pierced, the French
fell upon the rear of the pursuels (the Spa
nish left.) To do this they must have
marched several miles, and, as We have al
ready observed, passed the whole Spanish
centre. This is almost inconcelvabe. he
French statement is very natural as a very
clear one. 1t informs us further, that when
the Spanish right was defeated, gen. La
grange attacked the village of Cascante Cor
Calcautc as it is in the map where the line
of Castanos was placed, which was soon de-
feated also. This again is consistent with
the assertion that Castanos commanded in
person on the left, for Cascante was on the
left of the line, and at the very extreme
point of it, at great distance from Tudela.
Castanos says nothing OF being himself at
Cascante, which he says was two hours
march from the field of battle, but only that