Cite: http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article627768
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EXTRACTS from the
Rio De Janeiro Gazette Extraordinary.
Rio de Janeiro, April 6, 1809
An article dated Lisbon, Feb. 14, 1809, states
the following account of the operations of the French army in Spain, as communicated by a pr- ivate Correspondence.
Bonaparte presented himself before Madrid on
the 1st of December last, at the head of 80,000 infantry and 8000 cavalry, and from the night of the 1st to the morning of the 5d kept up a conti- nual attack on the posts of Fuencand, Fezzos, St. Bernardo, and Alcala, and was repulsed with considerable loss; -- but on the morning of the 8d renewed vigorously the attack, and succeeded in
carrying the battery of the Casa da Chold. On the 4th he in consequence entered Madrid, keeping as secret as he could the severe losses he had sus- tained. We leard, however, that among the slain is the cruel General Graehy.
After the action 6000 infantry arrived from the
division of Hey, with several regiments of cavalry from Suingdha by way of Somaherea, and the was
follow of 4000 cavalry, with a body of artillery, marched towards Taiapazia, but soon returned and soon directed their march towards Toreco and Arcijzes, to join 19,000 infantry, and 1200 cavalry, who were on their march to Anastasia.
Bonaparte in the meantime suppressed the In- quisition, deposed the Cardinals who had declared the nuility of the decrees of Bayonne, reduced the religious orders to a third part, and declared as traitors the Duke of Infaniado, Count of Ade-
puira, the Dukes of Ossuno and Cirales; after which he plundered the public funds, the convents, and the houses of the grandees ; and banished to France Signor Mos, with 800 calleers and other Spanish subjects ; many others being sent to pri- son amid the reproaches of thei insulting ene- mies. On the 18th Bonaparte preposed in coun- cil a new enterprise against Saragassa; which being opposed by his Generals, he marched for Gualdarama on the 20th, with 18,000 chosen men, accompanied by a largeuala of artillery, 800 wag- gons, and a prodigious quantity of cattle pillaged from among the various provinces. We have to regret that the British forces were nearly surroun- ded ; but shortly after, however, a number of waggons with wounded returned to Madrid ; the actual number that were brought in in the course of that day amounting to 4700 men. Among the
killed were the Prince de Neufehatel, two Generals in chief, and two Generals of division. The French themselves acknowledge that they lost nearly 1000 men in the snow on the Guardaramo;
that their whole artillery was blocked up ; and that their troops refused to proceed until compelled by Bonaparte in person, who was obliged to me- nace them sword in hand.
The whole force at Pardo, Caravanchel, and several lesser posts on the 5th of January did not exceed 8000 men, the division that had marched to Tuinvenu having that day returned almost to-
tally disarmed, & then consisting of 3000 cavalry & as many infantry, who had fled from their colours.
Bonaparte's design in this sudden enterprise up- on Madrid is conjectured to have been for the purpose of giving a decisive stroke, and entering Portugal at the same time, as Sault was then at- tacking Oviedo, Junot at Bargos, and Victor at Arragon.
The combined force of Spain and England in
the northern Spanish provinces has induced Bo- naparte to direct his whole force thither, leaving the southern provinces without reinforcement, so that the English in Catalonia who could before only act upon the defensive, being no longer un- der that necessity, have attacked and very much annoyed the French in that quarter.
Rio de Janeiro, April 7,
Arrived the 4th instant a vessel from Pernam- buka, after a passage of 45 days, with intelligence of a vessel arriving there in 60 days from Lisbon, from whence she sailed the 21st of February, and bringing accounts that the Spanish still continued successful against the French ; against whom Aus-
tria as well as Turkey, had also taken arms ; in consequence of which those powers had opened their ports to all British vessels. The Austrians are said to have already gained some advantages over the French, the accounts of which had been
received at Lisbon with the most lively satisfac-
tion.
On the 8th of December last arrived at Falmouth the Queen Charlotte parquet, from Port Royal in Jamaica, which left in company with His Majesty's ship Argo, and on the 27th of October fell in with
the Bacchante, from which vessel information was received that the Spanish inhabitants of the town of St. Domingo had rised against the French troops, and massacred the whole, Gen. Ferraada being kept close prisoner in the town.
A number of American patriots are arrived at
Cadiz to join in the expulsion of the French from
the Spanish Territory.
The last Gazette also contains an article from Copenhagen, which states that such was the dread- ful scarcity of provisions throughout Denmark,
that a merchant who had purchased several thou- sand horses, with a view of furnishing them on contract to Government for the use of the cavalry had been ordered to have them all hilled for the sussistence of the inhabitants, to whom the horse-
flesh was sold at 40reis (which is about five- pence ) per pound.
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From the above, which are the only interesting passages contained in the Gazettes received, we cannot anticipate any great degree of satisfaction
to our readers, as the events related make only part of a series, which is restered visibly obscure by
the want of a connexity. --- So far as bears related to the affairs of Spain, in whose fortunes a love of justice and humanity have interested and engaged the British Empire, we lament the obvious inade- quacy of the foregoing passages to the object of
dispelling those anxieties in which we all partici- pate most sensibly ; but we may nevertheless in- dulge in the gratifying suggestion, that no hope can be too sanguine of the eventual success of
the combined army of Spain and Britain against an enemy whose chief inducement to the depopu- lation of empires is the elevation of his own single
family, who has cruelly converted the imperial sceptre into the scourge for millions ; and whom posterity must regard as the most atrocious of
usurpers, because he has never once demonstrated an inclinanon to repay with happiness or even with security the compliance or rather the servility of a people who submitted to his self-election.
The above accounts inform us that he attacked Madrid with a force too powerful to be long resis-
ted, it being an unfortified city ; and yet his losses on the occasion are at the same time stated to have been very considerable. At Saragossa he has been uniformly unsuccessful. This city, which
is the capital of Arragon, had been long besieged
with great loss to his army ; and is an equally for-
midable and valuable strong-hold, lying on the
borders of Catalonia. The prompt direction of a large division of his forces against L'alaveira, which lies between 50 and 60 miles south-west of
Madrid, and afterwards against Felado and Aram-
jaez is a demonstration that he hoped more from a coup-de-main than any regular plan of siege, and
had his attempts been successful he would have se-
cured a line of posts which would have given him
the command of most of the places in the neigh-
bourhood of Madrid. But the disappointment of
his projects upon these towns, and the necessity of persevering in his plan of rapid operation were
sufficient reasons for his forming a sudden deter-
mination to detach about 20,000 of his horse and foot for Andalusia, which is the south-westernmost
province of Spain, and contains several strongly fortified places. It immediately joins Algarva, the
southernmost province in Portugal, and is separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the straits of of Gibralter. Upon its coast is the City of Cadis, about midway between which and Gibraltar is the town of Trafalgar, whose name has been rescued from obscurity by the immortal NELSON. The
movement of so large a force towards Andalusia no doubt gave the impression of his having a design to overun Portugal and Spain together, as Souit was then at Oviedo, which is the capital
of Asturia, bounded by the Cantabrian mountains on the South, and by the Bay of Biscay on the North ; while Dunot was at Burgos, in Old Castile, and Victor at Arragon, the capital of which is Saragolia.
The notion of his endeavoring to extend his chain of posts as far as Andalusia seems, however
to be contradicted in the article following that to which our last observations have a reference which states, that Bonaparte had resolved to confine his operations to the Northern provinces of Spain. in consequence of the combined force of Spain and England being employed there.
From Bonaparte's immediate interference with the civil authorities upon his getting possession
of Madrid, he appears to have been stimulated by motives of resentment against private individuals
as well as public bodies ; his denunciation of the noble personages ; the banishment into France
and imprisonment of many other persons are afresh proof of the narrowness of his mind, as well
as the impolicy of some of his measures ; for surely no other politician would hope to derive from increasing the general destestation against himself. The pilage of public and private property
requires no comment at all,as it has uniformly been a leading feature in his system of offensive operation. The Gazettes inform us that the British forces were nearly surrounded ; but that shortly after an immense number of wounded were returned to Madrid, amounting to 4700 in one day from which we have to infer, that the British army were victorious, for if otherwise no doubt the account would have reported it. The personal appearance of Bonaparte in Spain is in some measure accounted for
by the reluctance of his troops to prosecute a contest from which they must derive eternal execration,
and the consequent necessity to awe them into obedience by his presence, which strikes terror into the hearts even of his greatest favorites. So far, upon the whole, as we may at present judge, any
chabges that may have taken place in the affairs of Spain and the rest of Europe militate strongly against the ambition of the Corsican Emperor. As a maritime power France may be literally said to be in state of perfect non-existence : --the wealth and position of Spain which before enabled him to facilitate his projects, he now feels the want
of, and by pillage would be fain atone for the in- jury he has done himself.