of the enemy; and to this circumstance was imputable the loss of our men: many having dropped behind, under various pretences, in the hope of recovering part of the specie so disposed of, who were afterwards unable to regain their respective corps.

According to the Twenty-eighth French Bulletin, 1,800,000 francs of this treasure, have fallen into the hands of the enemy.

It was the opinion of several officers of distinction, that had the hills commanding the passes, between Lugo and Villa Franca, been furnished with artillery; it would have been utterly impracticable for the French, notwithstanding their superior forces, to have penetrated by that route, upon the rear of our army. And this opinion received a sanction so impressive, that mules were actually purchased at Lugo, for the purpose of carrying up light artillery to those eminences; but the measure was abandoned from some unknown calise!

Had those passes been fortified, we should not probably have lost a single soldier at Corunna, at least by the sword of the enemy; but this precaution having been neglected in the advance of our army, it became impossible to effect it during the retreat, as the impulse of consternation was too powerful to admit the intervention of method. All the information that we received respecting the enemy, was false and overcharged; but we had solid reason to know, that all our movements were faithfully conveyed to Madrid.

From the same fatal source of false confidence, arose the capital neglect of not getting the harbour of Ferrol, with the whole of the squadron. The demeanour of the Spaniards did not warrant this excess of complaisance; and the conduct of the peasantry was hostile in the extreme; they even poniarded and hung several of our brave fellows wherever they could find them straggling after food or beverage. Their reproaches were of the most bitter and mortifying nature, and I was often happy that the army did not understand them.The women and children attached to the expedition suffered inconceivable miseries; and several dashing elegantes, who had quitted the safe regions of Mary-le-bonne, to follow the fortunes of the war, with their dear friends, were despoiled of their accustomed influence; as those who had captivated so many, were themselves made captives.

It is a fault applicable to a British army, that they generally have too much baggage, but this love of personal comfort, proved of no avail in this unhappy retreat; the baggage of the officers had been mostly left with the mules on the road, and all the minor finery was of course left behind. Ghent ruffles, silk hose, shirts, and shirties fell into Gallic hands; and so reduced were the military gentlemen in the essential points of drapery, that many of them did not change their linen, in a hard passage from Astorga to Plymouth; which, added to the common necessity of sleeping every night, for several weeks, under the canopy of heaven, made their situation unenviable.

When the van of our army arrived at Corunna, they proceeded to embark as fast as possible; but on the morning of the 15th of January, the enemy took such a position in our front, as made it necessary to resist, and a battle took place on the ensuing day.

Official Account of the Battle of Corunna.

DOWNING-STREET, JANUARY 24, 1809.

The Honorable Captain Hope arrived late last night, with a Dispatch from Lieut. Gen. Sir David Baird, to Lord Viscount Castlereagh, one of his Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, of which the following is a copy:-

MY LORD,

His Majesty's Ship Ville de Paris, at Sea,
January 18, 1809.

By the much-lamented death of Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who fell in action with the enemy on the 16th instant, it has become my duty to acquaint your Lordship, that the French army attacked the British troops in the position they occupied in front of Corunna, at about two o'clock in the afternoon of that day.

A severe wound, which compelled me to quit the field a short time previous to the fall of Sir John Moore, obliges me to refer your Lordship for the particulars of the action, which was long and obstinately contested; to the enclosed report of Lieutenant-General Hope, who succeeded to the command of the army, and to whose ability and exertions, in direction of the ardent zeal and unconquerable valour of his Majesty's troops, is to be attributed, under Providence, the success of the day, which terminated in the complete and entire repulse and defeat of the enemy, at every point of attack.

The Honorable Captain Gordon, my Aid-du-Camp, will have the honor of delivering this dispatch, and will be able to give your Lordship any further information which may be required.

I have the honor to be, &c.

D. BAIRD, Lieutenant-General.

Right Hon. Lord Viscount Castlereagh.

SIR,

His Majesty's Ship Audacious, off Corunna,
Jannary 18, 1809.

IN compliance with the desire contained in your communication of yesterday, I avail myself of the first moment I have been able to command, to detail to you the occurrences of the action which took place in front of Corunna, on the 16th instant.

It will be in your recollection, that about one in the afternoon of that day, the enemy, who had in the morning received reinforcements, and who had placed some guns in front of the right and left of his line, was observed to be moving troops towards his left flank, and forming various columns of attack at that extremity of the strong and commanding position, which, on the morning of the 15th, he had taken in our immediate front.

This indication of his intention was immediately succeeded by the rapid and determined attack which he made upon your division, which occupied the right of our position. The events which occurred during that period of the action you are fully acquainted with. The first effort of the enemy was met by the Commander of the Forces, and by yourself, at the head of the 42d regiment, and the brigade under Major-General Lord William Bentinck. The village on your right became an object of obstinate contest.

I lament to say, that soon after the severe wound which deprived the army of your services, Lieutenant-General Sir John Moore, who had just directed the most able disposition, fell by a cannon shot. The troops, though not unacquainted with the irreparable loss they had sustained, were not dismayed, but, by the most determined bravery, not only repelled every attempt of the enemy to gain ground, but actually forced him to retire, although he had brought up fresh troops in support of those originally engaged.

The enemy, finding himself foiled in every attempt to force the right of the position, endeavoured by numbers to turn it. A judicious and well-timed movement, which was made by Major-Gene

ral Paget, with the reserve, which corps had moved out of its cantonments to support the right of the army, by a vigorous attack, defeated this intention. The Major-General, having pushed forward the 95th (rifle corps) and 1st battalion 32d regiments, drove the enemy before him, and, in his rapid and judicious advance, threatened the left of the enemy's position. This circumstance, with the position of Lieutenant-General Frazer's division, (calculated to give still further security to the right of the line) induced the enemy to relax his efforts in that quarter.

They were, however, more forcibly directed towards the centre, where they were again successfully resisted by the brigade under Major-General Manningham, forming the left of your division, and a part of that under Major-General Leith, forming the right of the division under my orders.

Upon the left, the enemy at first contented himself with an attack upon our piquets, which, however, in general maintained their ground. Finding, however, his efforts unavailing on the right and centre, he seemed determined to render the attack upon the left more serious, and had succeeded in obtaining possession of the village through which the great road to Madrid passes, and which was situated in front of that part of the line. From this post, however, he was soon expelled, with considerable loss, by a gallant attack of some companies of the second battalion 14th regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel Nicholls; before five in the evening, we had not only successfully repelled every attack made upon the position, but had gained ground in almost all points, and occupied a more forward line than at the commencement of the action, whilst the enemy confined his operations to a cannonade, and the fire of his light troops, with a view to draw off his other corps. At six the firing entirely ceased. The different brigades were reassembled on the ground they occupied in the morning, and the piquets and advanced posts resumed their original stations.

Notwithstanding the decided and marked superiority which at this moment the gallantry of the troops had given them over an enemy, who, from his numbers, and the commanding advantages of his position, no doubt expected an easy victory, I did not, on reviewing all circumstances, conceive that I should be warranted in departing from what I knew was the fixed and previous deter