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At seven

them before they could advance. o'clock the enemy again opened his fire, having, during the night, mounted a howitzer in a breach made in the covered way to the castle; but by ten o'clock he was again silenced, and driven with great loss into the town, where they fortified themselves in the church and houses. Desirous of sparing the unfortunate inhabitants, whom the French had thus cruelly exposed, I ceased firing; and having destroyed a privateer which lay at anchor under the castle, I, at two o'clock, weighed and ran down to Nersa, for the purpose of concerting plans with the guerillas. On my arrival, I had the satisfaction to meet a division of Ballasteros's guerillas, commanded by Colonel Febrien, an officer of the truest patriotism, who, partaking of all the zeal of his General, immediately put himself and troops at my disposal. The roads through the mountains being very tedious, and as no time was to be lost, I resolved to take the infantry, consisting of about 200, on board; and I ordered the cavalry to move forward through the mountains immediately, and take a position in the rear of the enemy, whilst the infantry, with all the small-arm men and marines, were to land on his flanks.

I am sorry the delay of a calm gave the enemy time to learn our combined movement, as he instantly fled with great precipitation, and joining a corps of 200 at Motril, within four miles of Almunecar, he retreated upon Grenada.

"As soon as I arrived at my anchorage, I sent Lieutenant Spilsbury and a guerilla officer to hoist the respective flags on the castle; and immediately began to demolish the works, which are exceedingly strong, as it is built on a peninsula of high rock, scarped all round the sea face, and a wall 30 feet high. At the land side the rock is excavated nearly 30 feet deep and 60 wide, with a narrow drawbridge, which is the only entrance into the castle. I intend to fill up as much of the ditch as possible by springing mines under each bastion. I found in the castle two brass 24-pounders, six iron 18-pounders, a six-pounder, and howitzer, which were spiked by the enemy. He has left a number of deserters, principally Germans and Flemings, who inform me that they were the whole of the foreigners in this battalion of the 32d regiment; they likewise inform me that they have long looked for an opportunity to desert, as they were dragged from their families, and forced into the French service; one of them has been eight years from his country. The enemy's loss was very severe, but cannot be ascertained, as the wounded were carried off in waggons.

"I feel greatly indebted to Captain Hamilton for the able assistance he rendered me, and the judicious position he anchored his ships in; likewise to Lieutenant French, of the Basilisk, who opened and supported a warm and well-directed fire upon the enemy, while the ships were heaving in their springs to bring their broadsides to bear.

"I am happy to inform you that we have had no loss, except the Termagant one man wounded, and the Basilisk one slightly. The privateer was one of Barbastro's small vessels, armed with two guns, and 30 or 40 men. I cannot conclude without informing you, that the officers and men, wounded so recently at Malaga, came to their quarters, Lieutenant Spilsbury, whose wound is still open, and Mr Bell the boatswain, who lost his arm, did not spare themselves.

"I have the honour to be, &c. THOS. USHER."

To Commodore Penrose, Gibraltar.

Extract of a Letter from Major-General Ross to Major General Cooke, dated Carthagena, May 22. 1812.

"My letter, No. 17, of the 16th instant, would advise you of the progress of a combined expedition to the northward of this, according to the information which I had received up to that date. The result has now justified the sanguine hopes that every one entertained of the success of operations carried on under the direction of an officer of the zeal and ability possessed by Captain Adam, of his Majesty's ship Invincible.Nothing could be better timed than the movements of General Freire, who, in consequence of the information I sent to Gen. O'Donnell, made an attack upon the enemy, and drove him from Baza on the 13th, the same day on which the force under the command of Captain Adam appeared off Almeria; that officer having judiciously taken time to send on shore, at some distance from the place, to ascertain the strength, position, and movements of the enemy, learned that they were in the place to the number of four or five hundred, including cavalry, and had not as yet made any detachments to assist in opposing General Friere, but early on the 14th instant it appears that the French General had sent three couriers to Almeria (no doubt ignorant of this expedi tion) to order the garrison to join him immediately, which it proceeded to do accordingly, and as it marched out, Captain Adam landed the three hundred Spanish troops he had with him, under the command of

Colonel

Colonel Alveor, and took possession of the place. The consequence of this has been, that Captain Adam has been enabled to take or destroy a privateer and her two prizes; to blow up the castle of San Elmo, which is situated upon an almost inaccessible rock, and all the sea defences and batteries which protected the anchorage of this place, and formed a secure resort for the numerous privateers which had been long an annoyance to the British and Spanish trade on this coast.

Captain Adam has also embarked all the serviceable guns, carriages and ordnance stores he found in the place, totally destroying the remainder, and was busily employed on these services, and in forwarding the embarkation of a quantity of sulphur and lead from the King's mines, at six leagues from that place, under the direction of a Spanish Intendente, who had joined him with one hundred cavalry from Nijar, when he wrote to me on the 18th instant, in answer to the express I sent to him by a gunboat, to acquaint him of General Frier's retreat before a superior force of the enemy at Eliza. General O'Donnell was with me here two days, when he received dispatches from General Friere and Colonel Alveor, informing him, that the inhabitants of Almeria had received the Spanish troops with the most enthusiastic demonstrations of patriotism on their entering that place on the 14th instant; and as by the destruction of the fortifications, that port can no longer be useful to the enemy, either as a safe rendezvous for privateers, and their prizes, or as a point d'appui to the right flank of their advanced position, from whence they have hitherto annoyed General O'Donnell's army, it is to be hoped that these loyal inhabitants will be relieved from any future visits of their tyrannical oppressors, when the Spanish troops are withdrawn.

Admiralty-Office, July 4. 1812. Admiral Lord Keith has transmitted to John Wilson Croker, Esq. a letter from Captain Sir Home Popham, dated on board his Majesty's ship Venerable, off Lequitio, the 21st of last month, giving an account of an attack made upon the French troops in possession of that place by the Spanish guerillas, aided by Sir Home, and the officers and men of his Majesty's ships under his orders.

The enemy had possession of a hill fort commanding the town, calculated to resist any body of infantry; and also two hundred men posted in a fortified convent within the town, the walls of which were impervious to any thing less than an eighteen-pounder.

The convent might have been destroyed

by the ships; but as the town would have materially suffered, and as the guns of the Venerable made no visible impression on the fort, it was determined to erect a battery on a hill opposite to the latter, which the enemy considered as quite inaccessible to cannon, and in that confidence rested his security.

A gun was accordingly landed in the forenoon of the 20th (chiefly by the exer tions of Lieutenant Groves, of the Venera ble,) notwithstanding the sea was breaking with such violence against the 'rocks at the foot of the hill, that it was doubtful whether a boat could get near enough for that pur pose. It was then hove up a short distance by a moveable capstan; but this was found so tedious, that men and bullocks were sent for to draw it; and it was at length dragged to the summit of the hill by thirty-six pair of bullocks, four hundred guerillas, and one hundred seamen, headed by the Honourable Captain Bouverie. It was immediately mounted, and fired its first shot at four in the afternoon.

The gun was so admirably served, that, at sunset, a practicable breach was made in the wall of the fort, and the guerillas volunteered to storm it. The first party was repulsed, but the second gained possession without any considerable loss: several of the enemy escaped on the opposite side, and get into the convent.

In the course of the evening the sea abated a little, and a landing upon the island of St Nicholas was effected, though with some difficulty, by Lieutenant O'Reilly, of the Surveillante; marines were also landed from that ship, the Medusa, and Rhin, with a carronade from each ship; and Captain Malcolm took the command of the island during the night, whilst Captain Sir George Collier was in the Venerable's battery on the hill.

At dawn of the 21st, a twenty-four poun der was brought to the east side of the town, within two hundred yards of the convent, and another was in the act of being landed upon St Nicholas to bombard it, when the French Commandant Gillort, Chef de Battalion, beat a parley, and surrendered with the remainder of his party, consisting of two hundred and ninety men of the 119th regiment.

The enemy's loss had not been ascertained, but it was supposed to be considerable, as the guerillas, who were better posted, and fired with more celerity, had fifty-six men killed or wounded. Not a man was hurt in his Majesty's squadron, either by the surf or the enemy.

There are two eighteen-pounders mounted on the fort, and three small guns in the barracks;

barracks; the latter, with the muskets, were given to the guerillas, who were also supplied with every description of military stores of which they stood in need. The guns in the fort were rendered useless, the fort destroyed, and the convent blown up.

Sir Home Popham commends in high terms the conduct of all the officers and men employed on this occasion; and expresses his sense of the assistance rendered by Sir Howard Douglas and General Carrol, who had embarked in the Venerable, and volunteered their services wherever they could be employed.

Admiralty-Office, July 14. 1812.

Admiral Lord Keith has transmitted to John Wilson Croker, Esq. a letter from Captain Sir Home Popham, of his Majesty's ship the Venerable, dated near the bar of Bilboa, the 25th of last month, giving an account of his proceedings subsequent to the surrender of the French troops at Lequitio, as stated in the Gazette of the 4th instant.

In the afternoon of the 20th, the enemy had collected about eleven hundred men in the neighbourhood of the above place, but on hearing from the peasantry that two thousand men had been landed from the English squadron, they retired; and intercepted letters were transmitted to Sir Home Popham, by which the Commandant of Guernico was instructed to prepare rations for a French General, and two thousand six hundred of the Imperial guards.'.

On the 23d, in the afternoon, the squadron being on its way to co-operate in an attack intended to be made by a Spanish General upon Bilboa, and the wind being unfavourable for getting round Machichaco, a part of the squadron fetched the anchorage of Bermeo, and parties were prepared to land by six in the evening. The enemy were found to have retired, leaving a small magazine of provisions in a fortified convent, which was taken possession of, and distributed to the poor, and the ships in want of water were completed. The battery on the hill of Bermeo, consisting of five eighteenpounders, was destroyed, and the guns rendered useless, and all the fortified places of which the enemy had had possession, were blown up.

On the 24th, the Venerable arrived off Plencia, where parties from the Rhin and Meduso were destroying the works; and some of his Majesty's vessels were imme diately dispatched to commence the opera tions of dismantling the batteries, and de stroying the guns on each side of the inlet below the bar of the Bilboa river.

In the afternoon of the same day, fir

Home Popham landed at Algorta, with the Captains of the squadron, General Carrot and Sir Howard Douglas, and a detachment of the royal marine force, under his orders; but, as the country was particularly close, and calculated for a surprise, they re-embarked before night. The castle of Galea was destroyed by Captain Bloye; it consisted of eight eighteen and twenty-four pounders: the guard-house and gun-carriages were burnt, and the trunnions knocked off the guns. The batteries of Algorta and Begona were destroyed by Lieutenants Groves and O'Reilly, the former mounting five eighteen-pounders, and the latter four. On the opposite side of the inlet, the batteries of El Campillo las Quersas and Xebiles, mounting eleven guns, eighteen and twentyfour-pounders, were destroyed by Lieutenants Coleman and Arbuthnot.

On the 25th, at dawn, parties of the enemy were seen advancing, and, at five, entered the destroyed batteries of Algorta, but soon retired from thence on the squadron's making a disposition to stand up the inlet. They afterwards formed on the plain, and were found to consist of two thousand men at Algorta, while four hundred were sent to Puerta Galetta. Three of his Majesty's sloops closed with the fort at the latter place, silenced it, and drove the enemy from it. Sir Home expresses his belief that the enemy's corps was the one for which rations had been ordered at Guernico, and which was therefore completely diverted from its original destination.

Sir Home Popham concludes by com mending the zeal and exertions of the officers under his orders on these several occa sions, in all which the squadron has not had a single man hurt.

Admiralty-Office, July 28.

Admiral Lord Keith has transmitted to John Wilson Croker, Esq. dispatches from Captain Sir Home Popham, of his Majesty's ship Venerable, giving an account of his farther proceedings subsequent to those reported in his former letters, and inserted in the Gazette of the 14th instant. On the 2d, the squadron under his orders being off Guetara, an attack was intended to be made upon that place, and two companies of Royal Marines were landed under Major Williams, accompanied by General Carrol, for the purpose of reconnoitring; but some parties of the enemy being discovered crossing the hills, and the guerillas, whose cooperation had been expected, being engaged with the enemy in a different quarter, the plan of attack was relinquished, and the marines re-embarked, but without loss.

The

The guerillas had been employed in an ac tion with a detachment of the enemy conducting eighty prisoners from Asturias. One hundred and thirty of the enemy were stated to have been killed, and fifty taken, who had been left wounded on the field of battle, and the Spanish prisoners were liberated. On the 6th Sir Home Popham arrived off Castro, where a 24 pounder and a company of marines had been landed by Sir George Collier from the Surveillante, to assist Colonel Longa in an attack on the place. Information was however received of the approach of 2500 French troops, whose arrival obliged Longa to retire, and the parties landed from the squadron were again reembarked without loss. In the evening the enemy were seen marching into the town. On the 7th the enemy were driven from the town by the fire of the squadron, and took post on the hills, and preparations were made for a landing and attack on the castle on the following morning, which accordingly took place on the 8th, when the commandant of the castle surrendered with 150 men, the remainder of the enemy's force having marched towards Larido. Twentysix guns of different sizes were found in the town and castle of Castro; those in the former were withdrawn, and the latter was put into a state of defence, and garrisoned by the marines and Spanish artillerymen of the Iris, Captain Christian. On the 10th the squadron proceeded off Puerta Galletta, to co-operate in an attack upon it with the Spanish troops under Longa; and on the 11th much firing was kept up against the batteries; but the enemy being found to be stronger than the Spaniards had expected, the attack was abandoned. During the morning, Captain. Boyle, of the Lyra, landed with a party of marines, and knocked off the trunnions of the guns in the Bagona battery, and destroyed one mounted on a height. On the 12th, the Venerable anchored off Castro, which had been feebly attacked by the enemy the evening before; one of the imperial guards was wounded, and brought in a prisoner. On the 15th the enemy's moveable column having been drawn by a feint to Santona, from whence it could not reach Guetaria in less than four days, another attack was intended to be made upon the latter place, in concert with the guerillas under Don Gaspar, and with the promised aid of one of the battalions under General Mina. Early in the morn→ ing of the 18th, one 24 pounder under Lieutenant Groves, and a howziter under Lieutenant Lawrence, of the marine artillery, were landed from the Venerable, and mounted on a hill to the westward of Guetaria, under the directions of Captain Mal

colm, of the Rhin, while the honourable Captain Bouverie landed with two guns (one short 24-pounder and one twelvepounder carronade) from the Medusa, and after many difficulties in drawing them up, mounted them on the top of a hill to the eastward. The Venerable's guns began firing at noon, and continued till sun-set, when those of the enemy on that side were silenced; and the Medusa's were but in readiness to open on the following morn ing. During the night, however, intelli gence was received of the approach of a body of French troops, which afterwards proved to be a division of between two and three thousand men, that had just arrived at Saint Sebastian's from France, and was immediately sent forward by forced marches to Guetaria. The uncertainty with respect to the enemy's force, and the disposition of the guerillas to oppose their advance, pre vented the re-embarkation of the guns and men landed from the squadron, until the retreat of the Spaniards, after some skir mishing with the superior numbers of the French, in which the latter are stated to have suffered severely. Captain Bouverie then destroyed the two guns from the Medusa, and re-embarked with all his men, and every thing belonging to the guns→→ Captain Malcolm was detained longer by a message brought to him by one of Doa Gaspar's aid-de-camps, stating that the ene my had been beaten back, and urging him to remain in his battery; finding, however, that the enemy was advancing fast, he gave orders to re-embark, and brought of his party, with the exception of three midship. men and twenty-nine men, who were taken prisoners, but fortunately without having one man killed or wounded. Sir Home Popham had sent to propose an exchange of the men taken on this occasion for some of the French prisoners on board the squa dron, and was in hopes of proceeding in this proposal. The Spaniards lost a captain of artillery, and had a serjeant and ten mea badly wounded. Those in want of surgica aid were received on board the Venerable. The detachment expected from General Mina's army arrived the morning after the action, and joined Don Gaspar, having marched eighteen Spanish leagues in two days.

LORD WELLINGTON'S ARMY.

The accounts received since our last, ef the progress of Marquis Wellington's army, have been published in the following official bulletins :

Downing Street, Sept. 24, 1812. Lord Wellington left Madrid on the 1st inst. to direct the movements of the troops

troops which he had ordered to be collected occupied in force, was stormed and carried. at Arivalo.

They moved from Arivalo on the 4th, and passed the Douro on the 6th, at the fords of Herrara and El Albiago. Foy, finding Astorga had surrendered, returned to the Esla, and marched upon Carvajalar, with the view of cutting off the Portuguese militia, employed under the Conde D'Amarante, in the blockade of Zamora. The Lieut.-General made good his retreat, without loss, to the frontiers of Portugal. Foy carried off the garrison of Zamora, on the 29th ult. and marched for Tordesillas. The conduct of the Conde D'Amarante and his troops merits particular attention.

The whole remains of the Army of Portugal are collected between Valladolid and Tordesillas. Their advanced guard was posted on the 6th at La Cisterniga. The allied troops moved forward on the 7th.The enemy retired from Cisterniga during the night; abandoned it on Lord Wellington's approach; and crossed the Pisuerga, and blew up the bridge. They were closely followed through the town by Col. Ponsonby, with detachments of the 12th Light Dragoons. They returned along the right of the Pisuerga to Duenas. When General Foy moved towards Astorga, the army of Gallicia retired. Since his march on the Douro, they have advanced to the Esla.

The Empecinado has informed Lord Wellington that General Villa Campo had taken prisoners 1000 men, who had been in the garrison, and had evacuated Cuenca, after the surrender of the Retiro.

STORMING OF FORT ST MICHAEL.

Downing Street, Oct. 5.

The Messenger Neates arrived this morning with dispatches from the Marquis of Wellington, dated Villa de Toro, near Burgos, September 21, 1812. His Lordship had been joined on the 16th at Pamplica by three divisions of infantry and a small body of cavalry of the army of Gallicia, under the Captain-General Castanos.On the 17th, the enemy took a strong position behind Celada del Camino, from which they retired in the night.

The enemy having left a garrison of 2,500 men in the Castle of Burgos, continued his retreat through that town to Breviesca, leaving some stores, and a large quantity of wheat and barley. On the morning of the 19th, the Marquis of Wellington passed the river Arlanzon, and the enemy's outposts were immediately driven in. night the horn-work which they had constructed on the hill of St Michael, commanding part of the Castle, and which they had

At

Three pieces of cannon, 1 Captain, and 62

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Captain Williamson, 42d Regt. 1st Battalion, slightly; Captain M'Kenzie, ditto, ditto, severely; Capt. Davidson, ditto, ditto, slightly; Lieut. Fraser, ditto, ditto, severely; Lieut. James Stewart, ditto, ditto, slightly; Volunteer, John Lane, ditto, ditto, severely. Captain Dudgeon, 58th Regiment, 2d Battalion, slightly; Lieut. Carter, ditto, ditto, severely. Lieut. O'Heher, 60th Regt. 5th Battalion, severely. Lieut. Grant, 79th Regiment, 1st Battalion, severely. Lieut. M'Donald, ditto, ditto, severely, since dead.

UNSUCCESSFUL ATTACK ON BURGOS.

War Department, Downing Street,
Oct. 11. 1812.

It appears, by a dispatch received this morning, from the Marquis of Wellington, dated Villa Toro, 27th ult. that, on the 22d, his Lordship directed an attempt to be made to storm the exterior line of the enemy's works at Burgos. The detachments of the Portuguese troops, who attacked on the flank, were so strongly opposed, that they could not make any progress; and the attack in front by the British was not persevered in.

Marshall Soult left Granada on the 15th ult. and, it is said, marches by Caravaca upon Valencia. General Ballasteros entered Granada upon the 17th.

The town of Consuegra surrendered by capitulation to General Elio on the 22d.

Total British loss-1 Major, 2 Captains, 1 Lieutenant, 1 Ensign, 2 serjeants, and 47 rank and file, killed-6 Captains, 4 Lieutenants, 1 Ensign, 10 serjeants, and 217 rank and file, wounded.

KILLED.

Major Lawrie, 79th foot, 1st battalion. Captain Scharnhorst, 2d line battalion, King's German Legion.

Lieutenant Hansing, ditto, ditto. Ensign Cullen, 42d foot, 1st battalion, Captain Williams, Royal Engineers.

WOUNDED.

Lieutenant M'Kinnon, 1st battalion 42d foot, severely.

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