of St. Sebastian was taken by storm. The success in this quarter was rendered complete by the surrender, on the 18th September, of the castle of St. Sebastian. The great event, as it may be very justly termed, of Lord Wellington entering France, took place on the 7th of October, the day of crossing the Bidassoa. Sir Thomas Graham directed a combined force of English and Portuguese to cross at the bridge, and attack the enemy's entrenchments at Andaye, which they effected with great spirit, though strongly opposed, and took seven pieces of cannon in the redoubts. The division of the Spanish army, under the command of General Freyre, crossed somewhat higher in three columns at fords, and was equally successful against the enemy on the heights opposite. Major-General Charles (now Count) Alten, with the light division, supported by a Spanish division, under Generals Longa and Giron, attacked the entrenchments and posts on a mountain called La Rhune, which they carried, the light division taking 220 officers, and 400 men prisoners, with three pieces of cannon. Arriving at the foot of the rock on which the hermitage stands, they repeatedly endeavoured to take that post by storm, but without success, and it was not till the next day that Lord Wellington directed a fresh attack, the effect of which was, that the enemy evacuated all their works to defend the entrance to their camp. The fall of Pamplona having completed the liberation of that part of Spain from the French arms, and disengaged the right of the allied army from the service of covering the blockade, Lord Wellington did not delay to put in execution a meditated operation against the troops opposed to him in France. From the beginning of August they had occupied a position with their right upon the sea, in front of the town of St. Jean de Luz, their centre on a village in Sarré and on the heights behind it, and their left on a strong height in rear of Anboue, and on a mountain protecting the approach to that village; and they had one division at St. Jean Pied de Port, which joined the rest after the allied army had crossed the Bidassoa. The whole of this position, naturally strong, they had fortified; their right, especially, was made so secure, that it was not thought expedient to attack it in front. Lord Wellington, owing to heavy rains, was obliged to defer, till the 10th of November, his attempt, the object of which was to force the enemy's centre, and establish the allied army in rear of their right. The attack was made in columns of divisions, each led by a general officer, and having its own reserve. Sir Rowland Hill directed the movements of the division on the right, and Marshal Beresford those of the centre. The operations began at daylight, and their variety, with the resistance experienced, caused it to be night at the time when the army had effected the purpose of gaining the rear of the enemy's right. On the following morning the French were pursued across the Nivelle, which river they had passed after quitting, during the night, all their works and posts in front of St. Jean de Luz; and on the following night they retired to an entrenched camp in front of Bayonne. "In the course of these operations," observed Lord Wellington, "we have driven the enemy from positions which they had been fortifying with great labour and care for three months, in which we have taken 51 pieces of cannon, 6 tumbrils of ammunition, and 1,400 prisoners;" and his Lordship expresses his satisfaction at being able to report the good conduct of all the officers and troops. The loss in his Lordship's army, though severe, was not so great as might have been expected. It did not comprise any general officer. In the following month another considerable conflict with the French took place in their own territory. After the retreat from the Nivelle they had occupied a very strong position in front of Bayonne, under the fire of that place, and including posts in the rivers Adour and Nive. It had been the determination of Lord Wellington to cross the Nive immediately after the passage of the Nivelle, but heavy rains prevented his moving the troops from their cantonments till the 8th of December. On the 9th, his Lordship directed the right of the army, under Sir Rowland Hill, to pass at one point, while the sixth division under Sir Henry Clinton, should pass at another, and both operations succeeded completely, the enemy being driven from the right bank of that river, and retiring towards Bayonne. A series of movements ensued on both sides during the 10th, 11th, 12th, and 13th, connected with the passage of this river, in which the enemy made several desperate attacks upon parts of the allied army, which were repelled with great gallantry. After one of the actions two German regiments came over to the allies. The general result was, that the enemy having failed in all their attacks, and incurred great loss, withdrew to their entrenchments. The loss of the British and Portuguese was also considerable, amounting, in all the days, to between 4 and 5,000 in killed, wounded, and missing. Of the Spanish were returned only 5 killed, and 21 wounded. The eventful campaign of 1813 being terminated, Lord Wellington, with his victorious troops, took up winter quarters upon French territory. The great success and high merits of Lord Wellington in the campaign of 1813, induced the Cortes of Spain, which had elevated him to the rank of a grandee, to give the strongest proof of their esteem and confidence, by a resolution declaring him Commander-in-Chief of the Spanish armies. This appointment was notified in the annexed letter from the Spanish Secretary of State to the British Ambassador. "MOST EXCELLENT SIR, "I have the honour to inform your Excellency that the general and extraordinary Cortes, wishing to improve the glorious successes of the allied army, with a view to put an end to the calamities of war, which bear heavy upon the nation; considering that nothing can contribute more effectually to the attainment of so interesting an object, than the placing of all troops in the Peninsula, under the direction of one commander, in order that there may be unity in the plans and operations of the allied forces, and setting the highest value on the distinguished talent and eminent services of the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, Captain-General of the national armies, have decreed, in a secret sitting, that during the co-operation of the allied forces, he shall be invested with the command in chief of them all, exercising it conformably to the general ordinances, with this difference only, that whatever is enacted in article 6, title 1, &c. of the same, a copy of which is annexed, shall be extended to all the provinces of the Peninsula-that illustrious commander, corresponding with the Spanish government through the office of the Secretary at War. "The Regency of the kingdom has directed me to request your Excellency will have the goodness to transmit this important communication to the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo, with as little delay as possible; he being persuaded that this meritorious commander will see, in the above-mentioned determination of the Cortes, a most solemn and authentic testimony of the national gratitude for the eminent services which he has rendered to Spain, as also of the great confidence to which he has entitled himself by the uncommon talents and military virtues for which he is conspicuous; and by the unlimited zeal with which he devotes them to the furtherance of the common cause. "His Highness is anxious to hear of the Duke of Ciudad Rodrigo having occupied the above-mentioned situation; that being officially informed of it, he may direct the publication of the resolutions of the Cortes, by which his Lordship is invested with the same. "I beg your Excellency will admit of the sincere assurance of my high consideration and respect. "May God, &c. 29th September, 1813. "IGNACIO DE LA PEQUALA.” To this address, and to the Ambassador's accompanying letter, the following answer was returned. "MOST EXCELLENT SIR, "I have had the honour to receive your letter of the 29th September, inclosing a letter of the same date, from Don Ignacio de la Pequala, by which I learn that the general, and extraordinary Cortes, have been pleased to direct, that the command of all the Spanish forces be conferred on me; for which signal proof of confidence on the part of the congress and government, I request your Excellency will express my deepest gratitude to the Secretary of State. "I most anxiously wish to do whatever lies in my power, to promote and obtain the laudable object of the Spanish nation, in their just contest with France. And I feel no reluctance to undertake the new task, and responsibility inseparable from the exercise of the command of the Spanish armies; but I cannot announce my acceptance of the honour conferred upon me by the Cortes and government, without the previous permission of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to whom I will immediately apply for this purpose. "I am the less concerned at this delay, as having long been in the habit of confidentially communicating with the general at the head of the Spanish armies, as to the general object I had in view in the operations of the Anglo-Portuguese under my command; suggesting at the same time, such measures as they might adopt, to effectually co-operate with me. I have constantly found them attentive to those suggestions, and received from them whatever assistance they could give; and, accordingly, I am convinced they will continue to do so, although I do not immediately assume the chief command; I therefore believe, that no inconvenience can result from my applying to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, previous to entering upon the honourable trust conferred upon me by the Cortes. "This token of confidence on their part, and that of the government, and the terms in which it has been communicated to me, is a most flattering proof of those authorities, being persuaded, that in the command of the other two members of the alliance, with which I had before been invested, I have done whatever lay in my power to promote the common cause of the allied nations. I deem it, therefore, needless to make any protestations on this point, and hope, that in this new and more exalted situation in which I shall shortly be placed as Commander-in-Chief of the armies of all the allies in the Peninsula, I shall not only be supported, but succeed in impressing the Spanish government, Cortes, and nation, with a firm belief that all my measures will have for their sole object the furtherance of the common cause in which they are all so earnestly engaged. I have the honour to be, &c. "WELLINGTON." "Villa Toro, Oct. 2d, 1813. |