Alexandria daily gazette, commercial & political. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1808-1812, 1812-03-04

indebted to the poIiteness of Capt. Taylor,
for Gibraltar papers containing the following
particulars.
GIBRALTAR, JAN. 4.
The besiegers of Tarifa have completely
failed in an attempt to carry 1t by storm Ihe
particulars in the following letters may be
relied on; except that ten French officers
were taken instead of seven. Fifty-one de-
serters from the French arrived at Aigezras
On the Cd inst. and they arc coming In daily
they have 100 sick in the convent of La Luz
they have no bread and are continually ex
posed to bad weather The troops Of Gen.
Ballesteros were in motion yesterday 2t6rning.
We hope he will improve the present. favor
able opportunity.
TARIPA, Dec. 81.
am happy to inform you, that the enemy
has been repulsed in an attempt to assault
this place. After my letter OF yesterday
was sent off the preaching battery, which
seems to have sixteen Founders and twelve
FOUNDER, continued its fire, and made an o.
pening Of about twenty yards, being nearly the
whole space between two of the thanking Tow
ers on the east side of the town. IN the ar
ternoon a summons was sent by Gen. Lcvai,
who stated that the defence had already been
honorable, and that the breach was practicable
the day before. On an answer being returned,
the firing was resumed and continued all
uight without doing any material injury to the
garrison The enemy made but little addition
to his entertainments but early this morning
we saw them well filled with troops, and OBJ
served that great numbers were passing down
%It., jch 40
that passes through the town, and in which
the preaching battery is establishing. The
violence fthe torrent had, during the night,
swept away the rows OF palisades outside and
inside the wall, and even bent the porteulils.
The enemy appears to have supposed this also
had been Carried off, as he advanced along
the bed of the stream, and came directly to it.
The breach is only a few yards from the en-
trance Of the water, but not man showed
himself on it, Finding, that there was no o.
pening, and That they were exposed to most
calling fire from all parts, the assallants, tho
they had several hundred men under the wall
began to retire In ABOUT bait an hour, and a.
gain hid themselves in their trenches. Their
loss has been severe. Most of the badly wound
ed have been brought in, Including or Off
GERS. The six Founders under Captain
Mitchell was OF most essential use /; indeed,
half the execution at least, was done by it
Our loss is not great. Lieut., Lougley of the
Engineers, and Lieut.. Hall, of the 47th, are
killed, also a man of the Rife Corps; and
there are about 20 wounded.
From the wounded prisoners, learn that
Gen. I.eval, has with him altogether IL pie
ces of artillery, all Of which are in battery, and
nearly ten thousand men that the storming
party consisted of 20 companies OF Grenadiers
and Voltigcurs, and 2 of Sappers, making
from l5OJ to 1000 men. We are now pre-
pairing every thing to re st another assault,
the issue of which, hope, from the admirable
steadiness of our troops, will prove equally
disastrous to the enemy.
January Q.
l find my letter of the Slst ult. has not
gone off. The weather here has been dread
full Two Spanish gun-boats have been lost J;
but we ought not to complain Of the rain,
since it must be more annoying to the enemy
than to u.s. He has done nothing since the
assault, and there has been little firing on Ell
Their side. We have not been able to ascer-
tain the loss of the French en- that day An
officer who Came with flag of truce told me
it was | 10; but we know, that nearly this
number was left killed and badly wounded
They were allowed to take all those not close
to us. Some of the officers brought in, stated
their loss, previous to the storming, to a.
mount to 700 men, principally from the shells.
or deseriers have come in, and described
the effects of the rain on the French troops,
ammunition, sc. to be dreadful Their bat
tering guns cannot be moved yard from their
present position for some time.