ing field-pieces, under the orders of inhabitants and sunk; some were still Lieut. Philott, first lieutenant of the aground, and dismantled; there were Amphion, took a station to the north-besides a few in ballast, and a number of fishing vessels. I should have burnt the merchant vessels, but was appre hensive of setting fire to the town, and destroying the fishing boats. I therefore directed Lieut. Willis to blow up the castle at the entrance of the harbour, and bring off his people: this he did at seven o'clock. I am happy to say we did not hear of any lives being lost in the town, although many of the houses were much damaged. One man only was killed by the explosion of the castle; after the match had been lighted, and our people retreated, he approached it. a musket was fired over him, to drive him away, but he sought refuge behind the castle, and was buried in its ruins. ward of the town, and the second division, consisting of rocket-boats, under the order of Lieut. Baumgardtt, of the Spartan, to the southward, both divisions commanded by Lieut. Willis, first of the Spartan; as soon as these arrange ments were made, I sent a flag of truce on shore, to demand the surrender of all the vessels, adding, that should any resistance be made, the governor must be answerable for the consequences. I gave him half an hour to deliberate. At half-past eleven a. m. the officer returned with a message from the commandant, stating, that in half an hour I should receive his answer. I waited 35 minutes from the time the boat came alongside, when observing no flag of truce flying on shore, but that troops were assembling in considerable numbers in the street, and on the quays, and that the inhabitants were busily employed in dismantling the vessels, I hauled down the flag of truce, and fired one shot over the town to give warning to the women and children, and shortly after made the signal to commence firing, which was instantly obeyed by the ships and boats. At thirty-two minutes after twelve observing several flags of truce hung out in the town, I made the signal to cease firing and Lieut. Willis pulled into the harbour, where he was informed that the commandant had made his escape with all the military. I considered the place as surrendered at discretion, and gave orders for all the boats to be employed in bringing out the vessels, and the marines to be landed to protect them. Lieut. Willis made the most judicious arrangements to put these orders into execution; the marines were drawn up on the Marina, under Lieut. Moore of the royal marines of the Amphion, the launches stationed in such a manner as to enfilade the principal streets, and the other boats' crews employed in rigging the vessels and laying out warps to haul them off with, as soon as the tide should flow. About two p. m. I received a letter from the commandant dated half past one, demanding another hour for deliberation. I refused him a moment, and told him, that in case of resistance, I should destroy the town. By half past şix, thirteen vessels deeply laden, as per inclosed list, were brought off; several others had been scuttled' by the As the enemy made no active resistance, I can only express my admiration of the zeal and promptitude with which Capt. Hosle and the Hon. Henry Duncan, executed the orders they re ceived, and the manner in which they placed their ships. Lieut. Willis, upon this, as upon every other occasion, displayed the greatest energy, skill, and judgment; the arrangements he made for the defence of his party, whilst in the harbour, and the expedition used in sending out the prizes, do him the highest credit. Lieut. Philott and Lieut. Baumgardtt, in the command of their respective divisions, and Lieut. Moore in that of the marines, was also exemplary. I have the honour to be, &c. J. BRENTON. [Here follows a list of 13 of the enemy's vessels captured in the port of Pesaro, by his Majesty's ships Spartan, Amphion, and Mercury, on April 23.] Spartan, Rovigno, May 5. MY LORD,On the 2d inst. the Spar tan and Mercury chased two vessels into the port of Cesabatico, the entrance of which is very narrow, and was defended by a battery of two guns, (24 pounders) and a castle; observing at the same time several other vessels lying there, I determined to take possession of them if pos¬ sible. This coast is so shoal, that we had only four fathoms considerably out of gun-shot of the town; I was therefore under the necessity of sending the boats ahead, and on each bow to lead us in, with directions to make a signal when in three fathoms.-We were by this means enabled to anchor at noon in a quarter-3 within range of grape of the battery, and very soon silenced it when the boats under the command of Lieut. Willis, 1st of the Spartan, pushed in, and took possession of it, turning the guns upon the castle and town, which were soon after deserted. We captured in the port twelve vessels, some laden with corn for Venice, and the others being in ballast. We filled them with hemp and iron out of the magazines for those articles that were on the quay, and in which the sails and rudders of some of the vessels were concealed. Another large vessel laden with iron, which lay at the entrance of the harbour scuttled, we burnt, and after blowing up the castle and magazine, destroying the battery, and spiking the guns, the boats came off, I am happy to say, without the loss of a man or any person being wounded, although much exposed to the fire of the battery, as well as musketry, nor was any damage done to the ships.-The Mercury, from Capt. Duncan's anxiety to place her as near the town as possible, took the ground but in so favourable a position as gave the fullest effect to her fire. She was, however, hove off by six p. m. without having sustained any injury. I never witnessed more zeal and energy than was evinced by Capt. Duncan upon this occasion. Lieut. Willis displayed great gallantry in taking possession of the battery the moment the ships had ceased firing; in the exertions with which he turned the guns against the place; his exertions also in bringing out the vessels were very great. Much credit is also due to the officers and men of both ships for their activity. I have the honour to be, &c. J. BRENTON. Downing-street, Aug. 11., Dispatches, of which the following are extracts, have been received at the office of Lord Castlereagh, from Lieut-General Sir Arthur Wellesley, K. B. Placentia, July 15, 1809. MY LORD-After I had written to your lordship on the 1st inst. Joseph Bonaparte crossed the Tagus again, and joined Sebastiani with the troops he had brought from Madid, and with a detachment from Marshal Victor's corps, making the corps of Sebastiani about twenty eight thousand men, with an inten tion of attac king Venegas's corps. Venegas, however, retired into the mountains of the Sierra Morena, and Col. Larcy with his advanced guard attacked a French advanced corps in the night, and destroyed many of them. The French troops then returned again to the Tagus, which river Joseph had crossed with the reinforcement which he had taken to Sebastiani's corps; and this last corps, consisting of ten thousand men only, was on the left bank of the Tagus, about Madnelejos, in front of Venegas, who was again advancing. The last accounts from this quarter were of the 8th. The French army under Victor, joined by the detachments brought by Joseph from Sebastiani's corps, and amounting in the whole to about thirty-five thousand men, are concentrated in the neighbourhood of Talavera, and on the Alberche; General Cuesta's army has been in the position which I informed your lordship that it had taken up since I addressed you on the 1st instant. The advanced guard of the British army arrived here on the 8th, and the troops which were with me on the Tagus arrived by the 10th; the 23d light dragoons and the 48th arrived yesterday; the 61st regiment will arrive to-morrow. I went to General Cuesta's quarters at Almarez on the 10th, and stayed there till the 12th, and I have ar ranged with that general a plan of operations upon the French army, which we are to begin to carry into execution on the 18th, if the French should remain so long in their position. The Spanish army under General Cuesta consists of about thirty-eight thousand men (exclusive of Venegas's corps), of which seven thousand are cavalry. About fourteen thousand men are detached to the bridge of Arzobispo, and the remainder are in the camp under the Puerte de Mirabete. I have the pleasure to inform your lordship, that the seven battalions of infantry from Ireland and the islands, and the troop of horse artillery from Great Britain, arrived at Lisbon in the beginning of the month. General Craufurd's brigade is on its march to join the army, but will not arrive here till the 24th or 25th. I have the honour to be, &c. ARTHUR WEllesley. Talavera de la Reyna, July 24. MY LORD-According to the arrangement which I had settled with General Cuesta, the army broke up from Placentia on the 17th and 18th inst. and reached Oropesa on the 20th, where it formed a junction with the Spanish army under his command. Sir Robert Wilson had marched from the Venta de Bazagon on the Tictar, with the Lusitanjan legion, a battalion of Portuguese chasseurs, and two Spanish battalions on the 15th; he arrived at Arenas on the 19th, and on the Albarche at Escalona, on the 23d. General Venegas had also been directed to break up from Madrileyos on the 18th and 19th, and to march by Trenbleque and Ocana to Puenteduenas on the Tagus, where that river is crossed by a ford, and thence to Arganda, where he was to arrive on the 22d and 23d. On the 22d, the combined armies moved from Oropesa, and the advanced guards attacked the enemy's outposts at Talavera. Their right was turned by the 1st hussars and the 23d light dragoons, under General Anson, directed by Lieut.-General Payne, and by the division of infantry under the command of Major-Gen. Mackenzie, and they were driven in by the Spanish advanced guards under the command of General Sarja and the Duc d'Albuquerque. We lost eleven horses by the fire of cannon from the enemy's position on the Alberche, and the Spaniards had some men wounded. The columns were formed for the attack of this position yesterday, but the attack was post poned till this morning by desire of General Cuesta, when the different corps destined for the attack were put in motion, but the enemy had retired at about one in the morning to Santa Olalla, and thence towards Torrijos, I conclude to form a junction with the corps under General Sebastian. I have not been able to follow the enemy as I could wish, on account of the great deficiency of means of transport in Spain. I inclose the copy of a letter, which I thought it proper to address upon this subject to Major-Gen. O'Donoghue, adjutant-general of the Spanish army, as soon as I found that this country would furnish no means of this description. General Cuesta has urged the central junta to adopt vigorous measures to relieve our wants; till I am supplied, I do not think it proper, and indeed I cannot,, continue my operations, I have great hopes, however, that before long I shall be supplied from Andalusia and La Mancha with the means which I require, and I shall then resume the active operations which I have been compelled to relinquish. I have the honour to be, &c. A. WELLESLEY. GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY. Downing-street, August 15. Dispatches, of which the following are Copies and Extracts, were this day received at the Office of the Lord Viscount Castlereagh, one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, from Lieutenant-General the right hon. Sir A. Wellesley, K. B. Talavera de la Reyna, July 29. MY LORD,--General Cuesta followed the enemy's march with his army from the Alberche on the morning of the 24th, as far as Santa Olalla, and pushed forward his advanced guard as far as Corrijos. For the reasons stated to your lordship in my dispatch of the 24th, I moved only two divisions of infantry and a brigade of cavalry across the Alberche to Casalegos, under the command of Lieut.-Gen. Sherbrooke, with a view to keep up the communication between Gen. Cuesta and me, and with Sir R. Wilson's corps at Escalona. It appears that Gen. Vanegas had not carried into execution that part of the plan of operations which related to his corps, and that he was still at Damiel, in La Mancha; and the enemy, in the course of the 24th, 25th, and 26th, collected all his forces in this part of Spain, between Torrijos and Toledo, leaving but a small corps of two thousand men in that place. His united army thus consisted of the corps of Marshal Victor, of that of General Sebastiani, and of seven or eight thousand men, the guards of Joseph Bonaparte, and the garrison of Madrid, and it was commanded by Joseph Bonaparte, aided by Marshals Jourdan and Victor, and Gen. Sebastiani. On the 26th, Gen. Cuesta's advanced guard was attacked near Torrijos, and obliged to fall back, and the general retired with his army on that day to the left bank of the Alberche, General Sherbrooke continuing at Casalegos, and the enemy at Santa Olalla. It was then obvious that the enemy intended to try the result of a general action, for which the best position appeared to be in the neighbourhood of Talavera, and Gen. Cuesta having consented to take up this position on the morning of the 27th, I ordered Gen. Sherbrooke to retire with his corps to its station in the line, leaving General Mackenzie with a division of infantry and a brigade of cavalry as an advanced post in the wood on the right of Alberche, which covered our left flank. The position taken up by the troops at Talavera extended rather more than two miles; the ground was open upon the left, where the British army was stationed, and it was commanded by a height on which was, in eschelon and in second line, a division of infantry under the orders of Major-Gen. Hill. There was a valley between this height and a range of mountains still further upon the left, which valley was not at first occupied, as it was commanded by the height before mentioned; and the range of mountains appeared too distant to have any influence upon the expected action. The right, consisting of Spanish troops, extended immediately in front of the town of Talavera down to the Tagus. This part of the ground was covered by olive trees, and much intersected by banks and ditches.The high road leading from the bridge over the Alberche, was defended by a heavy battery in front of a church, which was occupied by Spanish infantry. All the ave nues to the town were defended in a similar manner; the town was occupied, and the remainder of the Spanish infantry was formed in two lines behind the banks on the roads which led from the town and the right, to the left of our position.In the centre, between the two ar mies, there was a commanding spot of ground, on which we had commenced-to construct a redoubt, with some open ground in its rear. Brig. Gen. Alexander Campbell was posted at this spot, with a division of infantry, supported in his rear by Gen. Cotton's brigade of dragoons, and some Spanish cavalry. At about two o'clock on the 27th, the enemy appeared in strength or the left bank of the Alberche, and manifested an intention to attack Gen. Mackenzie's division. The attack was made before they could be withdrawn; but the troops, consist ing of Gen. Mackenzie's and Col. Donkin's brigades, and Gen. Anson's brigade of cavalry, and supported by Gen. Payne with the other four regiments of cavalry, in the plain between Talavera and the wood, withdrew in good order, but with some loss, particularly by the 2d battalion 87th regiment, and 2d battalion 31st regiment, in the wood. Upon this occasion the steadiness and discipline of the 15th regiment, and of the 5th battalion 60th regiment, were conspicuous; and I had particular reason for being satisfied with the manner in which Major Gen. Mackenzie withdrew his advanced guard. As the day advanced, the enemy appeared in larger numbers on the right of the Alberche, and it was obvious that he was advancing to a general attack upon the combined army. Gen. Mackenzie continued to fall back gradually upon the left of the position of the combined armies, where he was placed in the second line, in the rear of the guards, Col. Donkin being placed in the same situation further upon the left în the rear of the King's German legion. The enemy immediately commenced his attack in the dusk of the evening, by a cannonade upon the left of our position, and by an attempt with his cavalry to overthrow the Spanish infantry posted, as I have before stated, on the right. This attempt failed entirely. Early in the night he pushed a division along the valley on the left of the height occupied by Gen. Hill, of which he gained a momentary possession; but Major-Gen. Hill attacked it instantly with the bayonet, and regained it. This attack was repeated in the night, but failed, and again at day-light in the morning of the 28th, by two divisions of infantry, and was repulsed by Maj.Gen. Hill. Major-General Hill has reported to me in a particular manner the conduct of the 29th regiment and of the 1st battalion 48th regiment, in these different affairs, as well as that of Maj.-Gen. Tilson, and Brig. Gen. Richard Stewart. We have lost many brave officers VOL. VI. and soldiers in the defence of this important point in our position; a‐ mong others I cannot avoid to mention Brigade Major Fordyce, and Brigadier Major Gardner: and Major General Hill was himself wounded, but I am happy to say, but slightly. The defeat of this attempt was followed about noon by a general attack with the enemy's whole force upon the whole of that part of the position occupied by the British army. In consequence of the repeated attempts upon the height on our left by the valley, I had placed two brigades of the British cavalry in that valley, supported in the rear by the Duc d'Albuquerque's division of Spanish cavalry. The enemy then placed light infantry in the range of mountains on the left of the valley, which were opposed by a division of Spanish infantry under 'Lieut.-Gen. De Bassecourt. The general attack began by the march of several columns of infantry into the valley, with a view to attack the height occupied by Major-General Hill. These columns were immediately charged by the 1st German light dragoons and 23d. dragoons, under the command of Gen. Anson, directed by Lieut.-Gen. Payne, and supported by General Fane's brigade of heavy cavalry ; and although the 23d dragoons suffered considerable loss, the charge had the effect of preventing that part of the enemy's plan. At the same time he directed an attack upon Brig.-Gen. Alexander Campbell's position in the centre of the combined armies, and on the right of the British. This attack was most successfully repulsed by Brig. Gen. Campbell, supported by the King's regiment of Spanish cavalry, and two battalions of Spanish infantry; and Brig.-Gen. Campbell took the enemy's cannon. The Brig.-General mentions particularly the conduct of the 97th, |