!806.] State of Public J ff'dir sin September, \ZOG, 293 



feamen as were incorporated with the latter, 

 aixi others that had been praftifeil to arms 

 <liiring the pafiage, into the tranrpoits, and 

 his Majefty's (hip Narciffus, which was ef- 

 fected on the 16th ult. and thou^Vi then 

 only ahout ninety miles from Buenos Ayres ; 

 fiili, though to his flcill Sir Home Popham 

 aJJcd the moft pcrfevering zeal and afliduity, 

 yet from fog's, the intricacy of the navigation, 

 and continual oppofing winds, it was not until 

 the 24th, at night, that we reached oppoiitc 

 to it. \Ve found ourfelves the next morning, 

 about eight miles from the point of J^'-^'''"*^' 

 whe; e I prcpofed landing, having been in- 

 formed by an EngliftmLm, who was Pilot fo.r 

 t'.e river, and who iiad been tjkcn by th'; 

 Narciffus out of a Portuguefe veiVel, that it 

 was an excellent place, and an cafy accefs 

 from it into the country. As foon as the 

 wind would perirdt, on the 5;.5th, Sir Home 

 Popham 'took the iiiipping as near as it was 

 polfible for them to coj and at a convenient 

 ih-lance for difemhariiinj, which was eHecled 

 in the courle of the afternoon and night, and 

 without any oppofition ; the enemy remaining 

 at the village of Reduction, on a height 

 about two miles from us in our front : tile 

 whole intermediate fjiace, as well as to the 

 right and left, being a perfeft liat j but niy 

 guide informed me that though in winter it 

 was im.|;a:iible, it was then very pratlicable, 

 ana eafy for guns to pafs. 



It was eleven o'clock in the morning of tiie 

 2Cth, before I could move off my ground, and 

 tlie enemy coulri, from this polition, have 

 counted ev.ery man I had. He was drawn, up 

 along the brow of a hiU^ on which was the 

 I'lllage of Reduction, which co\ered his 

 right flank, and his lorce conufted principally 

 jof cavalry (I have been lince in.ovmed two 

 thcufand), with eight field pieces. 



The nature of the grounJ was fuch, that I 

 was under the necefiity of going diveiSlly to 

 his front J and to make my line, as much as 

 I could, equal to his, I lormed all the troops 

 into one line, except the St. Helena infantry, 

 ofl.iO mea, which 1 formed J!^0 yards in 

 the re.,r with two field pieces, with orders to 

 make lace to the right or left, as either cf our 

 fiank, ihould be threatened by his cavalry. 

 1 had twolix pounders on each flanlc, and two 

 howitzers, in the centre of the firil line. In 

 this order I advanced againft the enemy, and 

 aiter we had got within range o. his guns, a 

 tongue of fwamp crofTed our front, and 

 tjbli^ed 11)5; to halt v\hilft the guns took a 

 fniall circuit to crofs, and which was fcarcely 

 performed when the enemy opened their 

 licld pieces on us, at firit well pomf.-d, but 

 as we advanced at a very quick rate, in fpite 

 of the boggy groui.d that very foon obliged 

 U3 t > leave all our guns behii.d, his lire did 

 us but little injury. 'J'iiC 7 111 regiment 

 reaching the bottom of the heights in a pretty 

 good line, f'condcd by the marine battalion, 

 the enemy would not wait tlieir nearer ap- 

 prvjiihj but retired from the blow of the hiU, 

 '4 



which our troops gaining, and commencing s 

 fire of fmall arm*, he fled with precipitation, 

 leaving to us four field.:^ieces and cm; tum- 

 bril, and we faw nothing more of him that 

 day. ' 



I halted two hours on the field to reft the 

 troops, and to make arrangements for t king '■ 



with us the enemy's guns and our own, whicii ^' 



had now, by the exertions of Captain Ebn- 

 nelly, of his .■vlajefty's ihip Nurciflus, been 

 extricated from the bog. He iia-t accidejitally 

 landed, and accompanied the tioops, on feel- 

 ing them advance to the enemy, and I aaj 

 niuch indebted to him for his voluntary aliift- 

 ,ance. 



I then marched in hopes of pveventing tiie 

 deftruftion ol the bridge over the Rio Chuelo, 

 a river at tliis feafon of the year not fordable, 

 and wliici) lay between us and the city ; dif- 

 • tant from it about three miles, and eight 

 -from our tlien fituation ; and though I ufed 

 every diligence, I had tiic mortincatijn to fee 

 it in flames long before I could reacii it. r 

 halted the troops for the night a miic rom it, 

 and pulhed on three cjmpanies- of tiie 71ft, 

 under Lieutenant Colonel Pacic, with two 

 hoivirzers, to the bridge, to endeavour to pre- 

 xvent its total deft.-uclion. 1 accoiiijjanieii 

 this detachment, but on reaching the bridge 

 found it entirely confumed ; and as the e.ie- 

 my during tiie night was heard bringing down 

 guns, i withdrew the detachment fie.'brs 

 light, as their pofition was thought too opea 

 and expofed to the enemy's fire, who h;id at 

 nine o'clock, on hearing forae of our loldiers 

 go to the river to get water, opened a /ire 

 inim their guns, and a conilderable line of ia- 

 ■ fantry. 



As foon as it was light I fent Captain Ken- 

 net of the cngi.ieers to reconnoitre the fides 

 of the river, and found that on our fide we 

 had little or no cover to protcd^ us, whiW: 

 ■the enemy were dra^vn iip behmd liedges, 

 houfes, and in the ihipping on the onpotite 

 bank, the river not thiity yards wide. A« 

 our fituation and circum fiance could not ad- 

 mit of tlje leaft delay, I determined to force 

 - the pafTnge, and tor thatpurptjfe ordered down 

 the field-pieces, vvh.ch, witli the adaition of 

 thole taken from the enemy the day uci'ort-, 

 were eleven (one I had fpiked and left, not 

 . being able to bring it oft";, to the water's 

 edge, and ordered the infantry to remain in 

 the rear, undercover, except the li^ht com- 

 pany and grenadiers of the 71il:. Asourguns 

 approached, the enemy opened a very ill di- 

 rected tire rrom great guns and mufquetry : the 

 former (oon cealed a.'ter our life opened, the 

 latter was Icept up lOr more than half an 

 hour, but though clofe to us, did us but lit- 

 tle or no injury, fo ill was it diredled. We 

 Ihen found means, by boats and rafts, to crofi 

 a .ew men ver the llio Chuelo, and on or- 

 dering all fire to ce.ife, the little of them 

 tiiat remiined ceafed alfo. 



The troops which oppofed us during the.Os 



two days apjiear to have been alnuft entirely 



provincial 



