Abbildungen der Seite
PDF
EPUB

Historical Affairs.

SPAIN.

WE have a variety of details of military operations this month from Spain, and we are sorry to find that the progress of the Freach arms in Arragon and Catalonia continues to be successful. The following distressing account of the siege and capture of Saragossa, is given in a French bulletin:"Saragossa has surrendered: the calamities which have befallen this unhappy town are a terrifying example to the people. The peace which has been restored in Saragossa extends to the whole of Arragon; and the two armies which were around the town, have been set at liberty. Sara gossa was the centre of the insurrection of Spain; it was in this town that the party was formed, which wished to call in a Prince of the House of Austria to reign on the Fagus. The individuals of this party had partly inherited these notions, which were irrevocably destroyed from their ancestors during the War of the Succession.

(Here follow some observations on the importance of the reduction of the place, with a detail of the preparations for its defence, commencing at the date of the bat tle of Tudela, on the 23d of November, after which the army of Arragon retreated into the garrison, whither many other Spanish corps were also collected, with provisions and stores for an obstinate resistance. The operations of the besieging army are described from the commencement at such length, that we are unable to give more than the latter and more interesting part.) "On the 26th Jan. the town was seri ously attacked; the batteries were unmasked, and at noon on the 27th the breach was practicable in several places; the troops were lodged in the monastery of San-inGracia. The division of Grandjean entered some thirty houses. The Col. Caloiski and the soldiers of the Weixel distinguished themselves. At the same moment the General of Division Morlat, in an attack upon the left wing, made himself master of the whole fore-ground of the enemy's defence. Captain Guettemar, at the head of the pioneers, and 36 grenadiers of the 44th regiment, had, with a rare intrepidity, ascended the breach. M. Babieski, an of ficer of the Voltigeurs of the Weixel, a young man 17 years of age, and covered with seven wounds, was the first who appeared upon the breach. The chief of batzalion, Lejune, Aid-de-camp to the Prince May 1809.

On

of Neufchatel, distinguished himself, and received two slight wounds. The chief of battalion, Haxo, is also slightly wounded, and likewise distinguished himself. the 30th, the monasteries of the Monique and the Greek Augustines were occupied, Sixty houses were possessed by undermining. The miners of the 14th regiment distinguished themselves. On the 1st of Feb. ruary, General Lacoste received a bali, and died in the field of honour. He was a brave and distinguished officer. He has been lamented by the whole army, but more especially by the Emperor. Colonel Regniat succeeded him in the command of the engineers, and in the management of the siege. The enemy defended every bouse; three attacks were made by mines, and every day several houses were blown up, and afforded the troops an opportunity of stationing themselves in other houses. Thus we proceeded to the Casso, (a great street in Saragossa,) where we made ourselves masters of the buildings of the Public School and University. The enemy endeavoured to oppose miners to miners, but, less used to this sort of operation, their miners were every day discovered and suffocated. This mode of besieging rendered its progress slow but sure, and less destructive to the army. While three companies of miners and eight companies of sappers carried on this subterraneous war, the consequences of which were so dreadful, the fire on the town was kept up by mortars. Ten days after the attack had begun, the surrender of the town was anticipated. The army had possessed itself of one-third of the houses, and fortified itself in them. The church which contained the image of our Lady of Pilar, which, by so many miracles, had promised to defend the town, was battered down by bombs, and no longer inhabitable.

1

"The Duke of Montebello deemed it necessary to take possession of the left bank of the river, in order that his fire might reach the middle of the town. The General of Division, Gazan, made himself master of the bridge by a sudden and impetuous attack, on the morning of the 17th February. A battery of fifty pieces was played off at three o'clock in the afternoon. A battalion of the 28th regiment attacked and took possession of a very large monas tery, the walls of which were of brick, and from three to four feet thick. General

Gazan

Gazan then repaired with rapidity to the bridge over which the insurgents made their retreat to the town; he killed a vast number, made 4000 prisoners, amongst whom were 2 Generals, 12 Colonels, 19 Lieutenant Colonels, and 230 Officers. He took 30 pieces of artillery. Nearly all the troops of the line in the town had beset this important post, which had been threatened since the 10th. At the same moment the Duke of Abrantes entered the Cosso through several covered ways, and, by means of two small mines, blew up the extensive buildings of the Schaals. After those events, terror was spread throughout the town. The Junta, in order to procure delay, and obtain time to abate the terror of the inhabitants, sought a parley; but their bad faith was known, and this artifice was useless. Thirty other houses were possessed by undermining, or by mines. At length, on the 21st of February, the whole town was possessed by our troops; 15,000 infantry and 2000 cavalry laid down their arms at the gate of Portilla, and 40 flags and 150 pieces of cannon were delivered up. The insurgents lost 20,000 men during the siege; 13,000 were found in the hospitals; 500 died daily.

"The Duke of Montebello would allow no capitulation to the town of Sara gossa. He only published the following provisions:-The garrison shall at noon, on the 21st, lay down their arms at the gate of Portilla, where they shall remain prisoners of war. Those of the troops of the line, who are willing to take the oath to King Joseph, may be allowed to enter into his service, In case this entrance shall not be permitted by the Minister of War to the King of Spain, they shall be prisoners of war, and sent to France. The worship of God shall be reverenced. All the artillery and ammunition of every kind shall be delivered up. All the arms shall be deposited at the doors of the different houses, and collected by the respective Alcades.

"The magazines of corn, rice, and fruit, which have been found in the town, are very considerable. The Duke of Montehello has nominated General Laval Governor of Saragossa. A deputation of the priesthood and different inhabitants has set out for Madrid. Palafox is dangerously ill. He was the object of the contempt of the whole hostile army, who accuse him of arrogance and meanness. He was never; seen where there was any danger. The Count de Fuentes, Grandee of Spain, who had been arrested by the insurgents two months ago on his estates, was found in a dungeon of eight feet square, and released;

no idea can be formed of the miseries he had undergone."

It is difficult to conceive the motive for the ungenerous manner in which the defenders of Saragossa are here treated. That an open town should have resisted all the efforts of France for three months, while its defenders and their General were cowards, is impossible; that the siege could have been so long protracted, while Palafox was detested and despised by his troops, is absurd. The siege, we repeat it, is the most extraordinary on record, and the defence glorious beyond example.

The French did not enter Saragossa till the 5th of March. They have published a long account of the ceremony of entrance, the procession to the church of our Lady of Pilar, the joy and acclamations of the inhabitants, the sermon of the Bishop, de tailing the miseries of war and the blessings of peace, the allegiance taken to King Joseph by the clergy, the Juntas, and all the officers in the country, the entertainment given by the Duke of Montebello to 400 persons, with the three toasts to the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Empress, given by the three French Generals, and accompanied by discharges of cannon. This account is concluded by a pompous account of the prodigious happiness enjoyed by the inhabitants of Saragossa, and the kindness and affection shown to the French troops by the peasants of Arragon, all of which, it is needless to observe, must be absolutely false. Who ever heard of the happiness of a town just taken by storm, most of the houses of which had been previously demolished by mining?

The next article gives us the means which the new King is taking to overcome the opposition of his subjects. We have no doubt that it will be effectual at least for a time :

Madrid, Feb. 19.--By a decree of the 18th inst. an extraordinary criminal Junta ha been formed, composed of five Alcades of the Court, for the trial of assassins, robbers, recruiters in favour of the insurgents, those who maintain correspondence with them, and who spread false reports. Persons brought before the tribunal for these crimes shall be tried within 24 hours, and sentenced to the gibbet.—The sentence shall be executed without appeal.--Those against whom there shall not be sufficient evidence, shall be placed at the disposal of the Minister of General Police, who shall send them to the ordinary tribunal.

By the recent royal decrees, all officers in the army, and all the Magistrates and public functionaries, are required to take the oaths of allegiance and obedience to the

King and Constitution, within three days after the publication of the decree to that effect, in the places where they are.

The property of all individuals who have exercised an illegal authority, are answerable for the funds which may have been spent by virtue of orders issued by them. The contributions imposed on the city of Madrid and the provinces are to be paid within six months, by three instal

ments.

Three individuals of the order of Franciscans, of the town of Toro, who sought to raise disturbances, have been shut up in their convent for six months, by order of General Mazaredo. His Excellency has forbidden the monks to sleep out of their

co.vents.

The French force having considerably increased in Catalonia, General Reding has been unable to maintain himself in his position; but he did not quit it without sustaining three attacks from the enemy: in the two first the enemy gained no advantage, and Reding preserved his position. The third time, the French, reinforced by 8000 men, succeeded in forcing the gallant General to retreat to Tarragona, having been himself five times wounded. Capt. Read, his Aid-de-camp, a young Englishman, the son of a merchant in London, was wounded and taken prisoner.

Another victory is said to have been gained by General Sebastiani at Ciudad Real over the Duke of Albuquerque, on the 27th of March. The Spaniards are said to have lost 4000 men taken prisoners, 3000 killed, and 18 pieces of cannon. They retreated, after the battle, to the other side of the Sierra Morena, and were pursued by the French cavalry. On the 29th, Sebastiani was at the foot of the Sierra Morena. This movement against the Duke of Albuquerque seems to have been part of a plan by which the French should proceed at the same time against the Duke's army, and the army under General Cuesta. After retreating from the banks of the Tagus and Meravete, Cuesta fell back upon Truxillo and Santa Cruz. Thither Marshal Victor pursued him, and he retreated across the Guadiana to Sanbenito and Modellen. The position seems to have been a good one; the Guadiana was in his front, and his flank was protected by batteries; here he awaited the attack of the enemy. At present we have only the French accounts, which state that the Spaniards were completely defeated, leaving 7000 men on the field of battle, and 3000 prisoners. Seville, is thus laid open to them; and Marshal Victor has pushed his advanced guard to Bajados.

Meanwhile, the Spaniards in Gallicia, who behaved with such indifference, and

seeming cowardice, while the British army was marching through their province in January, appear to have awakened from their lethargy, and to be again animated with some ardour to recover the independence of their country. After the embar kation of the British at Corunna, several bodies of French were detached from the army of Marshal Soult, in February, to take possession of the ports on the west coast from Corunna to Vigo. The peasants, encouraged by the appearance of two British frigates on the coast, rose in considerable numbers, and defeated the Frenchi in several petty engagements. On the 27th of March they attacked Vigo, in conjunc tion with the British, and compelled the garrison to surrender prisoners of war.

Captain M'Kinley, of the Lively frigate, has transmitted to the Lords of the Admiralty the following account of the suc cess of the patriots in this quarter.

"I can with confidence assure their Lordships, that the spirit of the Gallicians is aroused to the most enthusiastic ardour, governed by a cool and determinate courage, and they confidently look for aid to the generosity of the British Government, speedily to succour them with arms and ammunition, to enable them to succeed in the just cause which they have undertaken.

"On the 7th of March a body of French troops entered Villagarcia, and having killed some old men and women in the streets, and set fire to a few houses of the people whom they judged inimical to them, they retreated to Paden. On the 9th, a party of eight infantry and four cavalry, entered Marin, but a fire being opened on them from this ship and the Plover, they made a precipitate retreat; a Captain and Lieutenant fell into the hands of the Spaniards, who delivered them to me.

"Skirmishes daily take place between

the peasants and the enemy, which renders their procuring provisions both difficult and harassing, and many fall victims to fatigue. In this perpetual warfare, the enemy inva riably suffer, particularly on the 2d of March, when 105 Frenchmen were pillaging the convent of St Bernardo de San Claudio, where Don Bernardo Concales, with 32 Spaniards, attacked them, took many horses laden with pillage, and only 16 of the enemy escaped. On the 9th, 10th, and 11th inst. the French attacked the peasants of Deza and Traspeza, sustained by those of Banos and Tabeiros, and were obliged to retreat with the loss of 114 men and an officer.

"The enemy is much distressed by a malignant fever; not less than two cartloads are buried daily from the head-quarters at St Jago: the military Governor and commanding officer of artillery, with a

number of other officers, have fallen victims to it."

Captain M Kinley gives the following account of the recapture of Vigo, dated

March 29.

"Having learnt from Captain Crawfurd, of the Venus, off Vigo, that the loyal peasantry were in considerable force around the castle and town of Vigo, I joined him on the evening of the 23d instant. Next morning I went to the head-quarters of Don Juan de Silva, who commanded the patriots. A summons was instantly sent to the Governor of Vigo to surrender at dis cretion, which led to a negociation which continued till the 26th, when Don Pablo Murillo, with a regular force of 1500 men, retired soldiers, arrived, and sent în a sum

mons to surrender. On the following day the proposals were brought on board the Lively by Don Pablo Murillo, accompa nied by three French officers. The answers to them were delivered at 5 r. M. by Captain Crawford, who concluded the capitulation; and the whole of the garrison, consisting of a colonel, 45 officers, and about 1300 men, were embarked next morning.”

The garrison were allowed no terms, but to surrender prisoners of war, and to be sent to Britain;-and this probably at their own request, as the Spaniards are so enraged at the French, that they shew little mercy to their prisoners. Among the garrison there were no less than 300 sick. There were taken 447 horses, 62 carriages, waggons, and carts, a military chest, containing 117,000 francs in French specie, with a considerable quantity of cannon, ordnance stores, and ammunition, all of which

were delivered to Don Murillo.

Captain M'Kinley adds, that while embarking the prisoners, he received accounts of Don Murillo having attacked and defeated a body of 300 French, who were coming from Tuy for the relief of Vigo, and made many prisoners.

A correspondence has been kept up, by. means of trusty messengers, between the army of Asturias and the army of Romana, which was at Chaves, and General Silveira Pinto, of the Portugueze army of Tralos Montes, with the view of combining the operations of the three armies. Some ships, with supplies for the French garrison at St Andero, were driven on shore by the British cruizers in the bay, and destroyed. The boats crews from the British vessels landed and destroyed two batteries, under the fire of which the enemy's vessels ran for protection. The Biscayan peasants co-operated very gallantly with the British seanien on the occasion.

At a place called Cerbera, near Sahagun, a party of Asturians, under the command of Colonel Don Juan Porlier, on the 12th

of March, attacked about 700 Frenchmen, while in the act of chanting Te Deum for the surrender of Saragossa. The enemy defended themselves obstinately, but the Spaniards obtained a decided advantage. The French Commander, Monnet, a Major-General, Colonel of the 32d regiment of the line, and a Member of the Legion of Honour, was made prisoner, and sent to Oviedo, with twelve others. Many more were taken, but died of their wounds. The enemy lost above 100 killed.

It is likewise affirmed, that the Mar quis de la Romana had been successful in the same quarter, that the French garrison of Villa Franca had surrendered to him, and that he had cut off many foraging parties, and aken a great quantity of baggage and provisions.-It is added, that the ports of Corunna and Ferrol were weakly garrisoned, and by an active movement might easily be recovered by the Spaniards.

In Estremadura, the Duke of Albuquerque had succeeded, about the end of March, in forming a junction with General Cuesta, and with a part of Urbina's army. The latter had superseded the Duke del Infantado, (for what reason we know not,) and is charged to guard the positions in the rear of the bridge of Arzebispo and Cardeal. The French who had penetrated to within four leagues of Badajos, have been re-' pulsed by the Spaniards, under Albuquerque. The result of the action was the capture of a General, and more

than 200 men, who have been conducted to Seville, and the slaughter of about 700. Cuesta has from 8 to 900 cavalry in fine order; the French have 5000, but lean and starved. The whole French force in this quarter consists of 29,000 men, the Spanish of 50,000."

With such a superiority, the Spaniards, it is to be hoped, will still effect some successful operation; but after the many specimens we have had of bad generalship in the officers, and bad discipline among the men, we cannot indulge any Very sanguine expectations of their fu

ture conduct.

[blocks in formation]

the French ruler. They enumerate all the benefits which France was constantly receiving from Spain, and describe the treacherous and abominable conduct of Bonaparte towards Spain and its Princes.

A statement of the losses sustained by the French since their first entrance into Spain, has been published in the London papers. It must be in a considerable de gree conjectural. Their loss, by disease, the dagger, in the field, &c. is stated at 163,000 men.

It appears by the papers laid before Parliament, that, in the course of last year, there were embarked for Spain and Portugal (including officers,) 45,982 infantry, of which have disembarked or remain for service 39,230, deficiency 6752.-N. B. Of the above, it appears by a return from Lisbon, dated February 17. 1809, that 625 are doing duty at Oporto, and belong to different regiments which are returned from Spain. About 400 British soldiers, who had been taken prisoners by the enemy, were released by the Gallicians, and are on their way to Lisbon. Of the cavalry (including officers, &c.) there embarked 4500 men, and 4042 horses; whereof have disembarked 4103 men, and 326 horses; deficiency of cavalry soldiers, 397, and 3746 horses. Of artillery-men and drivers (including officers, &c) there embarked 3939, and 2469 horses; whereof have relanded 3759 men, and 764 horses. It is also stated, that all the ordnance, except seven sixpounders, have been relanded.

The following statement of the supplies sent to Spain has been laid before' the House of Commons, and may there

fore be considered as authentic.

Sent since the 1st of May 1808. Pieces of Cannon 98, & 31,600 Rounds of Ammunition,-Howitzers 38, 7,200 ditto, -Carronades 20, 4,000 ditto

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]
[merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

The accounts from Portugal are very unfavourable, though they are precisely what might have been anticipated. The French have at length again entered that country. -Marshal Soult has entered on the north, while another army seems to be approaching Lisbon along the l'agus. Soult, on his entrance into the kingdom, published the following insidious proclamation:

[ocr errors]

"In consequence of the memorable successes obtained by the army of his Majes ty the Emperor and King, my august Sovereign, I again approach your territory, to take possession of the whole of it, in the name of my master. I do not, therefore, expect that I shall meet with any resistance, but flatter myself I shall be received with the same cordiality with which we were received little more than a year ago. What effect can resistance have? What can you propose to yourselves, when all those ar mies which frenzy had assembled in Spain are destroyed? That British army which made its appearance on the Continent, only to foment the spirit of disorder and rebel lion, and inflict all kinds of calamities, has been defeated, and forced to embark for England, after having lost one-half of its soldiers, its best Generals, all its ammunition, its horses, and baggage. Portugueze, in the name of his Majesty the Emperor and King Napoleon, I offer you that peace which you yourselves have driven from your country. I offer you protection for yourselves and your property, and for your religion, and the ministers of that religion. I offer you, besides, an entire oblivion of the past, and will engage that you shall receive the clemency of his Majesty the Emperor. You shall enjoy the benefit of the sublime institutions of the same august Sovereign. It will be easy for me to deliver you from the calamities which you cannot deny that you endure, and assuage the evils which you have suffered, if I arrange your administrations, and organise anew the Portugueze army. There are among you citizens whose intentions have ever been pure, and who ought now to exercise their influence to promote the re-establishment of good order They may be assured their services will be well received, and that the

most

« ZurückWeiter »