saud auxiliaries, Hanoverians, Swiss, and Spaniards, we have an aggregate of one hundred and twenty thousand men. Of these 120,000 men, 50,000 were either stationed in Madrid, or encamped in the vicinity, under the orders of Murat and marshal Moncey. From this great body at or near the capital, detachments were sent to take possession of Cadiz and of Valentia. One of these detachments proceeded towards its destination under the orders of the general of division Dupont: the other marched to Valentia, under marshal Moncey himself. Marshal Bessieres, whose principal force was posted at Vittoria and Pampeluna, for guarding the two roads to Madrid, and securing the communication between that capital and Bayonne, had it in charge to pusk detachments to the right and left, for bridling as great an extent of country as possible. The reduction of the city of Valentia, would be an important step towards that of the whole province, and also open a way for combining the operations of marshal Moncey and general Dulesme in Catalonia. That of Cadiz, besides the importance of its harbour, ships, and Daval arsenal, would terminate a military line of posts from Bayonne by Vittoria, Burgos, Madrid, Cordova, and Seville, that should completely divide the Peninsula from north to south, and cut off all cooperation between the eastern and western divisions. Marshal Bessieres, who commanded the northern army of the French, was opposed by general Cuesta, who was at the head of the forces of the four western provinces of Gallicia, Asturias, Estramadura, Leon, and certain unsubdued, or as they were called by the French, refractory districts of Biscay. General Castanos was commander in chief of the four kingdoms of Aldalusia, with the provinces of Grenada and Valentia, which had united themselves with Andalusia. Admiral Cisneros was captain general of Murcia; Don Joseph Palafox of Arragon, and count Espellata, as already mentioned, of Catalonia. The garrisons of St. Roch and Ceuta, joined their brethren in arms, under the general command of Castanos; those of Majorca and Minorca, the patriots of Catalonia. It is possible, by entering into the plans of commanders, and tracing the means by which they were either frustrated or accomplished, to give even in such a brief narrative as ours a general, though by no means a circumstantial or detailed account of military operations in ordinary campaigns: but not to relate all the enterprizes and skirmishes of the various parties that appeared in arms against the French in the different provinces of Spain in 1808, under the orders of the different juutas; which indeed would fall under the denomination rather of provincial than of national history. Therefore we shall confine ourselves to a sketch of the principal actions and events; those that were followed by the most important results, or by which the issue of the contest was most materially affect ed. The heroism and patriotic ar dour, that were displayed by so many individuals and small parties, in a kind of mountainous and de sultary warfare, in different provinces, deserve, indeed, to be recorded; nor, whatever may be the final result of the present conflict, will provincial historians be wanting to transmit to posterity their glorious efforts. The army under Dupont, when it left Madrid, towards the close of May, amounted to 15,000 men; but in its progress, it was gradually diminished by sickness, by desertion, and by the necessity of sending out from time to time, parties for bringing in forage and provisions, the greater part of which were destroyed or taken by parties of armed peasants. Having crossed the mountains of Morena, while the insurrection was yet without any thing of consistency or form, he descended into the plains of Andalusia, and on the 7th of June advanced to Cordova, of which he took possession, with out much opposition from the few Spanish troops quartered there, joined by a number of peasants. For three days, the city of Cordova, was given up to pillage. The churches, after being swept of their sacred vessels and ornaments, were converted into stables. On the 13th, parties of French were advanced beyond Cordova. On the 16th, the French mander being informed that general Castanos was marching against him, at the head of 21,000 regular troops, infantry, 25,000 cavalry, and a numerous artillery, besides a great number of insurgents who volunteered their service, retreated from Cordova to Andujar; where he took up a strong position with the Guadalquevir in front, and added to the natural strength of the place, deep entrenchments. General Castanos being unwilling to waste any part of his force by attacking the enemy in his entrenched camp, determined to com cut off his supplies, by coming between him and another division of Dupont's army, posted under the immediate orders of general Wedel. General Dupont, in this straiteued and perilous situation, dispatched messenger after messenger to Madrid, calling loudly for reinforcements. A division of 8000 men, was sent under the orders of general Belliard, famous for his exploits in Upper Egypt, by the Sierra Morena.And Dupont, in order to facilitate a junction with the expected reinforcements, quitted his position at Andujar, and fell back on Baylen. But Castanos posted divisions and detachments of his army in so judicious a manner as not only to cut off all communication between the corps under general Wedel and general Dupont, but also between this last corps, which was the most numerous, and Madrid. The deplorable situation to which Dupont was reduced, is thus described in an intercepted letter from him to general Belliard. "We have not a moment to lose for quitting a position in which we cannot subsist. The soldier being under arms the whole day, cannot now, as heretofore, reap the corn and make bread: for all the peasants have abandoned both their hamlets and their harvests. For heaven's sake, send us prompt reinforcements; in one word, a body of troops forming one compacted mass, of which the component parts shall be as near to each other as ever it is possible. If we suffer the enemy to keep the field, all the southern provinces and the other troops of the line will hasten to take part with the rebels. A decisive blow in [04] Andalusia, Andalusia, would contribute greatly The first shock of the French was so furious, that the foremost companies of the Spaniards, suffer ed prodigiously. But the Spaniads maintained their ground, and supported by their artillery, attacked and drove the French before them at all points. Yet the French kept up the conflict, constantly renewing their assaults without any other interruption than what was unavoidably occasioned by momentary retreats, for the formation of fresh columns, till half an hour past midday. At different times they broke through the lines of defence, with the boldness peculiar to troops accustomed to conquer, and sometimes advanced even to the Spanish batteries. The last attack was led on by Dupont himself, who with the other generals placed himself at the head of the columns, under the fire of the Spanish artillery, which, on that day, was admirably well served, as was admitted by the French, who owned that they had forty pieces of cannon dismounted. At two o'clock P. M. the advanced guard of the division under general Pena arrived at the scene of action, and began to play on the enemy with his artillery; when a flag of truce appeared, desiring to treat for a capitulation. An armistice ensued of course. But during this, the division under the command of general Pena, was attacked by the French division, 6000 strong, under general Wedel, who came up, while Dupont was engaged with the generals Reding and Coupigny, from Carolina. The battalion of Condova was surprized and taken, with two field pieces. The number of the French killed and wounded in the battle of Baylen, amounted, it was computed, to 3000; that of the Spaniards, to 1200. The negociation between Dupont and the Spanish commander-in-chief, general eneral Castanos, did not last long. upont was told at once that he ust surrender at discretion: which e agreed to. General Wedel's vision was comprehended in the pitulation as well as that of Duont, forming together a body of 4,000. It was agreed that general Vedel's divisiou should be sent ome by sea, to Rochfort. Marshall Moncey was not more uccessful in Valentia, than general Dupont in Andalusia, though he scaped capture, and made good is retreat, though with a heavy oss in killed, wounded, and prioners, to Madrid. The kingdom f Valentia is well fortified by naure by means of the rivers Gabriel and Xuccar, and by a chain of teep and rugged mountains. The passes through these were guarded by some troops of the line, and a considerable body of Valentian nsurgents. These guards were atacked by Moncey, on the 21st of June, and routed.--Having crossed the monntains, he marched straight on Valentia. On the 26th, he was attacked at Bunolos by general Caro, a nephew of the illustrious general Romanas, and suffered pretty severely, in both cavalry and infantry. He was attacked again by general Caro, be tween Quarte and Mislata, when he also sustained considerable loss. Nevertheless, though thus harassed, he continued his march, and on the 28th, opened a heavy fire on Valentia, of both artillery and musquetry, which was continued without ceasing from mid-day to the evening. The Valentians returned his fire with some pieces of artillery planted at the gates of the city, and by showers of musketry, from the tops of houses. On the other hand, he had to maintain a conflict with general Caro, who had followed the French close at their heels, for the defence of Valentia. An impetuous charge with the bayonet, made such havoc among the ranks of the French, that they retired, at about eight hours at even to their camp between Quarte and Mislata, which was fortified by strong eutrenchments and formidable batteries. From thence he continued his retreat on Madrid, harassed for some days by general Caro, as he had been on his march through the plain of Valentia. Of 15,000 men, infantry, cavalry, and artillery, that marched with Moncey from Madrid, 10,000 returned, and 150 waggons carrying the wounded. Fifteen hundred were made prisoners, and sent to Carthagena. The campaign of Arragon was still more glorious to the Spanish patriots, than those of Andalusia and Valentia. Arragon, situated between Madrid and the frontier of France, was obliged to fight with one reinforcement of fresh troops after another. In every engagement before the walls of Saragossa, Palafox was victorious. The inhabitants of Saragossa equalledit was not possible to exceed the patriotic heroism of the Numantians and Saguntines. Every mode of defence and attack that human imagination could devise, was adopted, and whatever human courage could dare, was performed. Saragossa, the capital of the kingdom of Arragon, is situate on the right bank of the Ebro, with a suburb on the left bank, connected with it by a stone bridge. Though the mountains that bound the valley of the Ebro are distant, yet Saragossa is commanded by some high ground, called the Torrero, about a mile to the south-west. The walls of Saragossa appear to have been constructed merely to facilitate the means of levying the taxes on every article brought into the town for sale. The gates, which are nine in number, are of the most simple construction, and the line between them, is in some places preserved by the mud wall of a garden; in others, by buildings, or by the remains of an old Moorish wail, which has a slight parapet, but without any platform even for musquetry. The houses are three stories in height: the streets very narrow and crooked, excepting one or two market-places, and the street called the Corso, situate nearly in the centre of the town. The population is estimated at about 60,000 souls. On the 25th of May, the inhabitants of this defenceless city, and the peasantry of the surrounding country, rose to repel the aggressions of the French, and to frustrate the design of changing the dynasty on the Spanish throne, announced in the manifesto of Murat, May 20th. The captain-general of Arragon, Guilliamah, had betrayed an inclination to submit to the enemy. He was, on this account, seized, and thrown into prison, and the government unanimously conferred on Don Joseph Palafox, the youngest of three brothers of one of the most distinguished families in Arragon. This nobleman, at the commencement of the revolution, had been selected from the officers of the guards to be second in command to the marquis de Castellar, to whose custody the Prince of the Peace was confined after his arrest at Aranjuez.— Though he had been in the Spanish guards all his life, he had never seen actual service. His time had been principally passed in the dissipation of Madrid, where he was not a little distinguished by the splendour and fashion of his appearance. At the commencement of his command, the neighbouring provinces of Navarre and Catalonia were in possession of the French. The passes of the Pyrenees leading directly into Arragon, were open, and Murat, with the main body of the French forces, were stationed at Madrid. Thus surrounded by his enemy, general Palafox mustered the regular troops quartered at Saragossa, amounting to 220 men; and he found the public treasury of the province could not furnish him with more than 2,000 reals, a sum in English money, equal to twenty. pounds sixteen shillings and eight pence. Animated however by the patriotism and the confidence reposed in him by his countrymen, he did not despair of the cause of his country. On the 31st of May, he published a proclamation, encouraging the Arragonese in their noble ardour, and declaring war against France. "Providence has preserved in Arragon a great quantity of muskets, ammunition, and artillery. The unmerited honour you have conferred on me, constrains me to draw aside the veil that covers the most detestable villany. My life, which can have no value in my sight but in as far as it may be subservient to your happiness and the prosperity of my dear country-my life is the least sacrifice I can make in return for those proofs of confi dence |