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wards Barcelona surrendered, and all Catalonia immediately declared for King Charles.

On the opposite side of Spain the allies had laid siege to Badajoz, but were obliged soon after to raise it by the Marshal du Thesse, the French general in command of the combined French and Spanish army; and, in the contest, the Earl of Galway lost his right hand.

The proceedings in Catalonia were, however, considered so important for the general cause, that both Houses of Parliament at home were induced to congratulate her majesty upon her message informing them of these events, in November 1705. But the progress of the allies on the eastern side was still very circumscribed, little remarkable happening until the latter end of December, when a Catalonian Colonel, of the name of Nebot, was induced to leave the opposite party, with about 950 cavalry, and to join King Charles at Denia, in Valencia, who soon after captured Xabea, a small place in that vicinity, which slight successes seem to have induced the whole kingdom of Valencia to declare in his favor, when his new friend, Colonel Nebot, took possession of its capital.

At the close of the year the French and Spanish armies proceeded to besiege Valencia; but the Earl of Peterborough having marched with the English army to its relief, this plan was given up, and an attack was made upon St. Mattheo; but Peterborough not only obliged them to deeamp, but also took possession of Morviedro.

In the early part of 1706, a battle of some importance for the numbers engaged, but of little in its consequences to either party, took place at San Estevan de Libera, after which the Spanish and French troops, under du Thesse, commenced the siege of Barcelona; which was, however, so speedily raised, on the arrival of Sir John Leake from Lisbon to its relief, that the assailants left behind them 106 brass guns, 23 mortars, and an immense quantity of provi

sions

sions and ammunition. On the opposite side of the kingdom, the allies took Alcantara, in which they found 47 pieces of brass cannon; and Moraliza and Coria having soon after fallen, the Earl of Galway published a manifesto in the name of his royal mistress, calling upon the Spaniards to acknowledge King Charles as their lawful monarch.

In May, in the same year, Ciudad Rodrigo was captured by the allies, after a siege of five days; and the news of the raising of the siege of Barcelona having just then arrived, the Portuguese were in high spirits, and the allies proceeded to push through Spain for Madrid, where King Philip returned with all possible expedition; but, soon finding that he had no troops on whom he could depend, he destroyed every thing of value which he could not carry off, and retired towards Burgos in order to be ready for a retreat into France.

On the 26th of May, Carthagena declared for the Austrian claimant, and was secured by an English squadron; and in June the English and Portuguese confederate army, commanded by the Earl of Galway and the Marquis des Minas, pushed on for Madrid, which made such an impression upon the inhabitants, that deputies were sent out to acknowledge their submission and allegiance to their new monarch. On taking possession of the capital King Charles was proclaimed, and the example of the inhabitants of Madrid was voluntarily followed by Toledo, and several other places of importance, inclusive of the whole kingdom of -Arragon. Charles, however, was still with the English army at Barcelona, and is accused of want of celerity in staying too long there, notwithstanding the repeated solicitations of the Earl of Peterborough, and the invitations of the generals in the capital, who were all anxious that he should repair to Madrid. But even when he set out for that place he occupied so much time in the siege of Saragossa, that the confederate forces, for some reason never sufficiently explained, had evacuated Madrid, whither King Philip soon after proceeded with a few forces, having had time to reco

ver

ver from his alarm at the former rapidity of movement on the part of his assailants.

In Valencia the war was still carried on with some briskness; and, in July, Sir John Leake proceeded with the English fleet before Alicant, which was immediately afterwards taken by storm, though the castle held out for a short time; but at length surrendered upon an honourable capitulation. This, however, was but of little importance to the cause of Charles; for the return of Philip to Madrid had such an ef fect, as to induce the kingdom of Castile to declare for him.

King Charles was, therefore, compelled to join the confederate army at Guadalaxara; and this he was the sooner reduced to, as the Earl of Peterborough, who had just then received the commission of an ambassador extraordinary, was leaving the eastern coast of Spain, in order to proceed for Ltaly, in hopes of raising some supplies. Soon after, Sir John Leake arrived at Majorca with the British fleet, and obliged that island and Iviça to declare for King Charles ; but this was shortly counterbalanced by the recapture of Carthagena; and the year was closed with the death of Pe dro, King of Portugal.

The year 1707 was a most unfortunate one for the confederate arms; for, on the 5th of April, they were completely defeated at Almanza, whilst under the command of the Marquis des Minas, and the Earl of Galway, having upwards of 10,000 men killed, wounded, and taken prisoners. The whole number of British in the action were only 14,000; yet it is believed that it was entirely owing to the ill con duct of the Portuguese that the day was lost. So strong indeed was this opinion, that the House of Lords shortly after severely censured the Earl of Galway for having yielded the post of honour on that day to the Portuguese. It was also matter of complaint at home that the number of British troops was so small, although 29,000 had been voted by Parliament for the service of the Peninsula.

The

The shattered remains of the confederate army were, notwithstanding their defeat, able to retire in pretty good or der to Alcira, from whence they sent their wounded to Barcelona, and then crossed the Ebro, where King Charles had retired some time before with a small force, and was stationed at Tortosa at the mouth of that river. This movement they were now obliged to make, in order to defend Catalonia.

The victorious army pursuing their advantage, and being no longer kept in check by the confederates, soon recovered Valencia, Saragossa, &c. but Philip lost much of his popularity by the atrocious conduct of France, in ordering the unfortunate town of Xativa, on the right bank of the river Xucer, in Valencia, to be utterly burnt and destroyed, and in depriving both Arragon and Valencia of some of their most ancient privileges. In July the party of King Charles was so strong in Italy, that he was proclaimed king at Naples; but his cause began to decline rapidly in Spain, fresh forces having arrived from France, under the command of the Duke of Orleans, who invested and took Limosa, a strong and well fortified town in Catalonia, under the observance of the confederate army: yet to counterbalance this in some degree, the Imperialists, under Count Thaun in Italy, captured Gaeta by storm, where they laid hold of all the partizans of King Philip in that country, and were thus enabled to secure Naples for King Charles.

So great was the discontent at home at this period, respecting the conduct and issue of the war, that very strong debates were held in both Houses; yet nobody thought of giving up the cause, but each body of the legislature came forward with an address to Queen Anne, stating their opinion, that no peace could be safe or honourable for the country, or for our allies, which would secure Spain and her colonies to the power of France. They also requested her to call on the emperor to send some additional and powerful reinforcements into Spain, under the command of Prince

Eugene,

Eugene, (the Wellington of that day) but the emperor appears almost to have neglected this remonstrance from our court, as he merely sent a few troops under Count Stahremberg.

It is also a curious fact, that the House of Commons, after a long and close examination, addressed her majesty complaining that there were then only 8660 British troops. in the Peninsula, instead of 30,000, the number voted; to which the answer was, that nearly the whole number voted had been sent, but were now thus reduced in consequence of death and desertion.

About the middle of 1708, after a long interval of quiet, the French captured Tortosa on the left bank of the Ebro; an advantage counterbalanced by our conquest of Minorca on the 19th of August by Sir John Leake, and Major General Stanhope, with only 3264 men; and, in November, Denia and Alicant again fell under the French arms.

The siege of Alicant having been undertaken by the French, and conducted mostly as a blockade for three months, they contrived at last to form a mine under the rock on which the castle stands, which being partly blown. up, the governor and several valuable officers lost their lives; yet the castle held out nearly two months longer, and was only forced to surrender, but on honourable terms, after a siege conducted with great exertion.

On the 27th of April another unfortunate defeat of the confederate troops took place on the banks of the river Caya, after which the Earl of Galway escaped with great difficulty; but the Earl of Barrymore, Major General Sankey, Brigadier Pearce, and two whole brigades, were made prisoners of war.

Some negotiations about this time had taken place, by ́ which it was stipulated that Charles III. should be acknowledged as the lawful Spanish monarch, and that the French army should evacuate that kingdom; but Lewis XIV. after amusing himself with the credulity of the allies, laughed at

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