NATALONIA was the theatre of the most active military operations in Spain about the close of the last, and the commencement of the present year. A convoy of provisions for the supply of Barcelona and the French army, being assembled in Palamos Bay, Capt. Rogers, of the Kent, resolved to attempt its destruction. Accordingly, on December 13th, a body of 350 seamen and 250 marines, under the command of Capt. Fane, who volunteered his services, landed on the beach, and moved forward to take the town and batteries in the rear. They met with very little opposition, and succeeded in spiking the cannon and mortars, blowing up the magazine, and destroying all the vessels. In the meantime the enemy, who had been reinforced, collected and advanced upon the party, which, on its retreat, mistook the way to the beach, and marched through the town, where a severe fire was maintained from the walls and houses. The result was the capture or destruction of the greatest part of the English.

Capt. Fane was among the prisoners.

The reduction of the important fortress of Tortosa, which capitulated on January 2d, has been recorded among the events of the preceding year. Marshal Suchet, fully sensible of the value of his conquest, lost no time in repairing the fortifications, and he also put in a state of defence the forts at the mouth of the Ebro. On Jan. 8th he sent a division against Fort Balaguer, situated on the coast at some distance to the north of that river It arrived in the middle of the night; and on the next morning, the governor hesitating to obey a summons to surrender, an assault was immediately made, and the place was carried, part of the garrison escaping to Tarragona, and the rest being made pri

soners.

The siege of Tarragona was the next operation of importance meditated by the French; and previously to undertaking it, Marshal Macdonald put his army in motion for the purpose of attacking the Marquis Campo Verde. On Jan.

15th

15th the whole Italian division of the French army marched from Valls, near Tarragona, to attack the Spanish General Sarsfield, who was posted near Pla, when a warm action ensued, terminating in the complete repulse of the assailants with a considerable loss. This check seems to have had the effect of deferring for some months the fate of that city.

The Spanish cause sustained an afflictive loss by the death of the Marquis de la Romana, on Jan. 23d, at Cartaxo, whither he had gone with two divisions of his army to partake the glory and danger of Lord Wellington, This illustrious general had distinguish ed himself on various occasions by the spirited defence of his country against its unprincipled invaders, and had been particularly successful in clearing Estremadura of the enemy. A short time before his death, on hearing of the new movements of the French in that province, he had ordered the troops, with which he had joined the allied army, to march to the frontier. Lord Wellington, in communicating the melancholy intelligence, says, that "in him the Spanish army has lost its brightest ornament; his country, their most upright patriot; and the world, the most strenuous defender of the cause in which we are engaged," His remains were temporarily deposited at Lisbon, with distinguished funeral honours, Gen. Castanos succeeded to his command.

Whilst Massena was lying in front of the main allied army in Portugal, the other French generals were intent upon improving the opportunity of gaining advantages in the adjacent parts of

Spain. In the beginning of the year, the Duke of Dalmatia (Soult) having assembled the 5th corps, with other troops near Llerena, advanced towards the Spanish army, and coming up with the rearguard at Usagre, on Jan. 3d, obliged them to make a hasty retreat. Gen. Mendizabal retired upon Merida; and Ballasteros endeavoured to gain Calera; but being immediately attacked, after a contest of two hours he was routed, and pursued in the direction of Fregenal, with a considerable loss of men. He afterwards marched down the left bank of the Guadiana, purposing to embark a part of his troops at Ayamonte for Cadiz; but having taken a position at Castilegos to cover the embarkation, he was attacked by a division of Soult's corps, and driven across the Guadiana, with great loss. On the 7th, Soult advanced upon Merida, whence the Spanish cavalry had on the preceding evening been driven; and Mendizabal, with the Portuguese cavalry, re-entered Badajos, Soult being informed that a consi-, derable number of men had been thrown into Olivença, immediately invested the place; and on the 22d, soon after the breaching battery began to play, the governor proposed a capitulation. He was, however, told that nothing would be accepted but a surrender at discretion, with which he complied without further delay, and a garrison of 4500 became prisoners of war. In the meantime, General Lahoussay, from the army of the centre, had received orders to cross the Tagus, and push forward a division upon the Guadiana, in order to connect himself with the

5th corps charged with the siege of Badajos.

This very important frontier town for some time engaged the principal attention both of the invaders, and of the defenders of Spain. After the investment had been completed by the besiegers, it was interrupted on Feb. 5th by the arrival, on the heights of St. Christoval, cf the two Spanish divisions detached from the allied army before Liston, which soon after entered Badajos. On the 7th the garrison made a general sally on the right of the French attack, and succeeded in carrying two redoubts, but these were soon recovered, and the Spaniards were driven back with considerable loss. Another sortie took place on the 9th, in which the two Spanish divisions, and the cavalry, established themselves on the heights of St. Christoval for the purpose of renewing the communication with Elvas and Campo-Mayor. As it was necessary to remove this impediment to the siege, as soon as the waters of the Guadiana and Gebora, which had inundated the fields, were subsided, preparations were made for an attack. This was effected on the 19th, and the result was almost the anniilation of the Spanish force, 850 being killed, and 5200 taken prisoners. The siege was then closely pressed, and a breach being made practicable on March 10th, the governor signed a capitulation, by which Badajos was delivered to the French arms, its garrison, to the number of more than 7000, exclusive of the sick and wounded, remaining prisoners of war. This disaster was evidently a cause of great shagrin to Lord Wellington, to

whom the retreat of Massena seems to have given confident hopes of being able to send relief to Badajos. in time to save it. In his communication of the event to the regency of Portugal he made severel pointed observations on the subject, whence it appears that even after the unfortunate battle of Feb. 19th he had made arrangements for succouring the place, which would have taken effect had it held out a few days longer. He concludes in these strong terms: "It is useless to make any reflection on the facts here stated The Spanish nation has lost in the course of two months the fortresses of Tortosa, Olivença, and Badajos, without any sufficient cause; at the same time Marshal Soult, with a corps of troops, which never was supposed to exceed 20,000 men, besides the capture of the last two places, has made prisoners and destroyed above 22,000 Spanish troops"

About this time, however, Spain was the theatre of an action highly honourable to the British arms, at least, and which gave promise of more enterprize on the part of the Spaniards than had lately been displayed by them. Towards the close of February, the Spanish government determined on an expedition for the purpose of makinga combined attack on the rear of the French army blockading Cadiz.

A British force excceding. 3000, under Lieutenant-gen. Gra ham, an la body of 7000 Spanish troops, commanded by Cen La Pena, were embarked in Cadiz Bay on board the men of war and a number of transports, in order to he landed on some part of the coast to the east, where they were to form a

junction

junction with the Spanish forces at St. Roche. They disembarked at Algesiras; and being all united at Tariffa, moved from thence on Feb. 28th. On March 1st, Gen. Zayas pushed a strong body of Spanish troops across the river Santi Petri, near the coast, threw a bridge over, and formed a tete-dupont. This post was attacked by the enemy on the nights of the 3d and 4th, who was finally repulsed, though not without considerable loss to the Spaniards. On the morning of the 5th the allied army, after a march of sixteen hours from their camp, arrived on the low ridge of Barrosa, about four miles to the south of the Santi Petri. An attack on the rear of the enemy's lines near Santi Petri, by the Spanish vanguard, having opened the communication with the Isla de Leon, Gen. Graham received directions from Gen. La Pena to move to a position about half way from Barrosa to that river. As he was on his march, he received information that the enemy had appeared in force on the plain, and was advancing towards the heights of Barrosa. Sensible of the importance of this position as being the key to that of Santi Petri, Gen. Graham immediately countermarched, in order to support the troops left for its defence, and before he could get disentangled from an intervening wood, the troops were seen returning from Barrosa Hill, while the French were ascending it. With the promptitude of skill and presence of mind united, the general instantly determined on attacking the enemy, for a retreat under such circumstances would have endangered the whole allied VOL, LIII.

army. The troops with which he was engaged were the two divisions, Rufin and Laval, of General Victor's army. The for mer of these, which had gained the ascent of the hill, was attacked by the British right wing, commanded by Gen. Dilkes, while the' latter was engaged by the left wing supported by a battery of ten guns. In less than an hour and a half, from the commencement of the action, the enemy was in full retreat on all parts, leaving behind them an eagle, six pieces of cannon, two- generals wounded and taken, another, with many other officers killed, many prisoners, and the field covered with arms and dead bodies. The exhausted state of the British troops rendered pursuit impossible, and there were no allies at hand to partake in the victory, though two Spanish battalions which had been attached to Gen. Graham's division, and left on the hill, whence they had been ordered to retire, hastened back as soon as it was known that the British were engaged. The number of French in the action was computed at about 8000, and their loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners was supposed to amount to 3000. That of the victors was severe, amounting to 1243 killed and wounded. Although the battle of Barrosa was among the minor actions with respect to the numbers engaged, and had no important consequences (for the blockade of Cadiz was not intererupted) yet in no instance during the war was British valour more conspicuously displayed; and Gen. Graham acquired universal applause for the ability and firmness of his conduct, and thenceforth [[]]

ranked

ranked amongst our most popular commanders. A detachment of Portuguese also, which acted with the British, maintained the character acquired by the disciplined troops of that nation. It had been concerted that the fleet at Cadiz, commanded by Admiral Keats, should make a diversion by an attack on the French works in the bay, but it was not till the 6th that the weather would permit a landing. On that day parties of marines and seamen were landed between Rota and Catalina, and between the latter and Santa Maria's, while at the same time Catalina was bombarded from the sea, and the gun and mortar boats were employed against the other batteries. The result was that two redoubts were stormed, and the guns of all the sea-defences from Rota to Santa Maria's, with the exception of Catalina, were spiked, and the works dismantled.

The conduct of Gen. La Pena, on the day of Barrosa, was by no means satisfactory either to the English commander, or to his own countrymen; and he was suspended from his command, and subjected to a military inquiry. This acquitted him of the charge of cowardice, but the stigma of want of skill and enterprize seems to have remained with him, and to these defects were attributed the little advantage obtained from the heroic exertions of the allies of Spain. It is not to be concealed that the French have given a very different account of this affair, both with respect to the numbers engaged, and the result, which they represent as an advantage gained on their parts. In fact, the allied troops returned to Cadiz,

the bombardment of which city: was immediately resumed by the enemy, though more in a kind of bravado than for any material effect.

On March 10th, Gen. Ballasteros surprised Gen. Remon at Palma, dispersed his detachment, and made 500 prisoners. The guerillas were at this time active in various parts of Spain, and found much employment for the different French commanders; but their successes are so differently repre- . sented by the opposite parties, that a consistent narrative can scarcely be framed from the several reports.. The following statement, however, of the manner in which the occupation of Spain was divided between the natives and their in-, vaders about the beginning of April, will convey all the most important intelligence respecting: the condition of the country at that period.

The strong frontier towards France was almost entirely in the : possession of the French, who thereby secured uninterrupted access to the peninsula.

In Catalonia, the capital, Barcelona, and the towns of Figueras, Lerida, Gerona, and Tortosa were held by the French; whilst Tarragona, and the whole mountainous part of the province, were still in possession of the Spaniards, who had a force of 14,000 regulars, under the command of the Marquis de Campoverde. The French commander in chief was General Macdonald.

The provinces of Navarre, Biscay, and Asturias were occupied by the French; but the patriots had a small force on foot in the mountains of Asturias, command

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