road, I determined to seek a bye-road across impracticable mountains, in order to announce my arrival to the brave garrison of Tarragona, which refused all summons, and defended itself with high valor. In short, on the 12th, I made fires on the mountains, and advancing on the 13th beyond the village of Vallidellos, my troops could see and be seen from Tarragona.

"In the mean time, General Maurice Matthieu set out from Barcelona, and pushed forward to Arbos. The resistance of the place, and the march of columns from Barcelona and Valencia, frightened the enemy, and obliged him precipitately to raise the siege, and re-embark the greater part of his troops, abandoning under the place twenty-seven pieces of artillery, and an immense number of bombs, bullets, &c. all of which have been conveyed te Tarragona. The convoy of one hundred and eighty sail left the shore of Salus, and came to anchor under Balaguer; this mass of vessels presented a fine spectacle. On the 14th, I advanced my troops to reconnoitre the fort, some battalions defended the approaches to it, and the fire of the fleet was more hot than murderous upon us. Near Valladellos the English Dragoons were roughly handled by the Westphalian light-horse; and the 5th light infantry obliged five English battalions to fall back under Hospitalet, and the fire of the English ships.

"On the 15th and 16th, there were slight skirmishes, and the report of twenty-five deserters proved to me, that the enemy, either covered by the fort of Balaguer, or embarked, were placed out of the reach of any attempt on the part of the land army.

"Whilst was acting in Catalonia, I had left General Harespi, with the 2nd and 3rd divisions before the Xucar, On leaving him, I directed he should draw in his advanced posts, and establish himself in works, prepared for some time behind the river: this movement being executed with precision, when on the 11th, General Elro with a numerous cavalry attempted to press on our rearguard. General Meselop, who commanded it, turned, and at the head of a squadron of the fourth Hussars, vigorously charged the enemy, killed or wounded fifty men, and brought back sixty horses, and as many prisoners. The Irish Colonel Oronan was of the number.

"On the 18th in the morning, a double attack was

made on the points of Alberique and Alara; General Harispe sustained in a great part of the day, the enemy's demonstrations, a brisk cannonade took place, but the enemy refused to engage. The Duke del Parque, with the divisions of the Prince D'Anglona, and of the English Roche, attacked in two columns, General Habert, before Careaxento, who did not hesitate to march against the enemy at the head of a squadron of the fourth regiment of Hussars, and the whole of the 14th and 15th of the line. He reached and broke the enemy in the streets and garden of Careaxento; more than four hundred Spaniards were killed or wounded, seven hundred soldiers, and thirty officers made prisoners; the colours of the Carmona regiment taken, and the enemy put completely to route. From this time up to the 18th, the enemy had undertaken nothing serious against the troops of Valencia.

"The expeditionary fleet continues at anchor off Balaguer, keeping battalions near Hospitalet, and under the fort. My troops being acting in deserts, I decided upon bringing them towards Corapolle, upon the Tarragoua road, to procure them water, of which we had been deprived for two days, where I have been informed, that General Matthieu informed of the raising of the siege of Tarragona, hed advanced to that town and to Reuo. 1, however, persisted in prolonging my stay in Catalonia, in order to unravel the enemy's projects, when yesterday I learned, that the English had resolved to blow up the fort of Balaguer; this resolution, which entirely entered into my projects, proves to me, that the enemy will not renew his attacks upon Tarragona, nor seriously not in Catalonia, which sufficiently informs me of what remains to be done.

"Thus M. le Duc, the first operation of the English upon a line of eighty leagues, has been confined to the taking of a fort, and a garrison of eighty-three soldiers, commanded by a Lieutenant, whilst they have lost in killed, wounded, prisoners, or deserters, upon the Xucar, or at Tarragona, above one thousand six hundred and sixty men, and a flag: whilst they have raised the siege, and abandoned twenty-seven pieces of cannon, before a dismantled place without fosses, but defended by a small, but very valiant garrison." Such was the account given

by Marshal Soult of the raising of the siege of Tarragona, and the taking of Fort St. Philippe.

Valencia was evacuated by Marshal Soult, on July 5th, and the brave General of the Spanish Guerilla's Mina, took Saragossa from the French on the 30th of the same month. The garrison consisting of five hundred men, were made prisoners; forty-seven pieces of cannon were taken, and a vast quantity of ammunition, clothing, &c.

Marshal Soult having been appointed commander-inchief of the French armies in Spain, he took the general command on July 13th. On July 24th, Marshal Soult collected the right and left wings of his army, with one division of his centre, and two divisions of cavalry, at St. Jean de pied de Port, and on the 25th, attacked with between twenty and thirty thousand men, General Byng, who was posted at Roncesvalles. Lieutenant-General Sir Lowry Cole marched to his assistance, but afterwards withdrew in the night, and marched to the neighbourhood of Zubiri. In the actions which took place on this occasion, the twentieth regiment eminently distinguished itself. Two divisions of the centre of the enemy's army attacked Sir Rowland Hill's position in the Puerto de Maya, at the head of the valley of Bastan.. The brigades of General Pringle, and General Walker, gallantly repelled the fierce attack of the enemy; animated by the heroic conduct of their superior officer, Lieutenant-General the Hon. William Stuart, brother of Lord Viscount Castlereagh, who was wounded slightly, all the regiments charged with the bayonet. On July 27th, Sir Lowry Cole and Sir Thomas Picton took up a position to cover the blockade of Pampeluna, they were joined by the Marquis of Wellington. The enemy attacked the hill on the right of the fourth division of the allied troops, which was then occupied by one battalion of the fourth Portuguese regiment, and by the Spanish regiment of Pravia. These troops defended their ground, and drove the enemy from it with the bayonet. Sensible of the importance of this eminence, Lord Wellington reinforced the foreign troops with the fortieth regiment. The sixth division of the British army were attacked by a very large force of the enemy, assembled in the village of Sorausen, but the French were driven back with an immense loss from a fire on their front, both flanks and

rear. The battle now became general, and was in favor of the Allies uniformly, excepting in one instance, where a battalion of the tenth Portuguese regiment of Major General Campbell's brigade was posted, this battalion having been overpowered. The twenty-seventh and forty-eighth regiments were now ordered to charge, and they acquitted themselves with great honor, driving the enemy away with great loss. In the further operations of the allied army, the brigade of Major General Byng, attacked, and took possession of the village of Osliz. In the different attacks on the enemy, the Earl of Dalhousie, General Byng, Sir Lowry Cole, Sir Thomas Picton, and Hon. Edward Pakenham were eminently distinguished. General Byng took in Elizando, a large convoy going to the enemy, and made many prisoners; this distinguished officer also gained possession of the valley of Bastan. The French made a formidable attempt to relieve the blockade of Pampeluna, which was entirely frustrated by the operations of a part only of the allied

army.

An attack was made on St. Sebastian, on June 25th, in which the troops under the command of Sir Thomas Graham behaved with distinguished gallantry, but the resources of the enemy were such as rendered it necessary to desist from the assault. The loss sustained was severe. Major Fruzey was killed.

Lieutenant-General Lord William Bentinck, (who succeeded General Sir John Murray in the command of the Catalonian army) having received information, that Suchet had returned from Villa Franca to Barcelona with five thousand men and that he had been joined by Decaen with six thousand more, suspended operations for the siege of Tarragona. Suchet continuing to advance upon Tarragona, Lord Bentinck resolved upon retiring in the night, and his army arrived at Cambrilla on August 16th. Tarragona was blown up by the French on the 18th.

Notwithstanding the late ineffectual assault upon St. Sebastian, operations were carried on to gain possession of it with unabated vigor. Batteries were re-opened against that place on August 26th, and on the following day, the island of Santa Elara at the entrance of the harbour, was taken. On August 31st, the storming of St. Sebastian took place, and it was carried. The loss

of the English was very great. Colonel Sir Richard Fletcher was killed, and Generals Leith, Oswald, and Robinson, wounded. Sir Thomas Graham's account of the storming of St. Sebastian is too important not to present it to our readers.

"MY LORD,

Oyarzun, Sept. 1, 1813.

"In obedience to your Lordship's order of the preceding day, to attach and form a lodgment in the breach of St. Sebastian which now extended to the left, so as to embrace the outermost tower, the end and front of the curtain immediately over the left bastion, as well as the faces of the bastion itself; the assault took place at eleven o'clock, A. M. yesterday, and I have the honor to inform your Lordship, that the heroic perseverance of all the troops concerned, was at last crowned with

success.

"The column of attack was formed of the second brigade of the fifth division commanded by General Robinson, with an immediate support of detachments, namely, one hundred and fifty volunteers of the light division, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Hunt, four hundred of the fourth division under Major Robinson, and two hundred of the fourth division under Major Rose; and having in reserve the remainder of the fifth division, consisting of Major General Spry's Portuguese brigade, and the first brigade under Major General Hey; as also the fifth battalion of Cucadores of General Bradford's brigade under Major Hill: the whole under the direction of Lieutenant General Sir James Leith, commanding the fifth division.

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Having arranged every thing with Lieutenant Leith, I crossed the Urumia to the batteries of the right attack, where every thing could be most distinctly seen, and from whence the order for the fire of batteries, according to circumstances would be immediately given.

"The column, in filing out the right of the trenches, was as before exposed to a heavy fire of shell and grapeshot, and a mine was exploded on the left angle of the counterscarp of the horn work, which did great damage, but did not check the ardor of the troops in advancing to the attack. There was never any thing so fallacious as the external appearance of the breach; without some