GENERAL HISTORY. 



[33 



inovemenls threatening to cut off 

 the enemy's retreat on Parma, 

 they evacuated Reggio, and re- 

 treated behind the Enza. On 

 March 9th, an English fleet of 45 

 transports, couvoyed by two ships 

 of the line, and some frigates, 

 which sailed from Palermo, en- 

 tered the port of Leghorn, and 

 disembarked a body of 8,000 men. 

 Lord Bentinck, who arrived from 

 Naples, issued a proclamation to 

 the Italians, in which he stated 

 the purpose of Grfat Britain to 

 be the effecting of their deliverance 

 from tyranny, and called upon 

 them to unite in the same cause. 

 The events which had taken place 

 at Paris, were still unknown on 

 the right bank of the Po, near 

 the middle of April. On the I'.Jth 

 of that month, the king of Na- 

 ples forced the passage of the 

 Taro, and pursued the enemy as 

 far as Firenzuola. On the follow- 

 ing day he renewed his attack, 

 and threw a bridge over the Sacca, 

 in which operation he was vigo- 

 rously opposed, but without pre- 

 venting its execution. The Nea- 

 politan army then advanced within 

 a league of Placentia. Con- 

 siderable loss was sustained on 

 both sides in these actions, which, 

 like those at Toulouse, may be 

 reckoned among the useless ex- 

 penses of the war. All further 

 military operations were closed by 

 the armistice, concluded on the 

 IGth, between the viceroy and the 

 commanders of the allied forces. 

 By this convention, the French 

 troops were to cross the Alps, and 

 the Italian troops to continue to 

 occupy all that portion of the 

 kingdom of Italy, which had not 

 yet been possessed l>y tlie forces 

 of the allies. Tlie important city 

 Vol. LVI. 



of Genoa in the mean time had 

 been the object of the expedition 

 from Sicily, under the command 

 of lord W. Bentinck, of the suc- 

 cess of which, detailed in the 

 London Gazette, the following is 

 a summary. After the occupation 

 of Spezia, his lordship, having 

 been informed that there were 

 only 2,000 troops in Genoa, de- 

 termined to make a rapid advance 

 upon that city, in order to gain 

 possession of it, whilst yet in a 

 defenceless state. On his arrival 

 at Sestri, he found that the gar- 

 rison had been reinforced to be- 

 tween 5 and 6,000 men ; he how- 

 ever determined to proceed, and 

 the enemy was gradually dislodged 

 from the strong intervening coun- 

 try. On April 16th, dispositions 

 were made for attacking the enemy, 

 who had taken a very strong po- 

 sition befoie Genoa, extending 

 from forts Richelieu and Tecla by 

 the village of St. Martino to the 

 sea, through a country thickly 

 covered with country houses, only 

 communicating with each other 

 by narrow lanes between high 

 walls. The attack began at day- 

 break on the 17th, and the Italian 

 troops, with the Calabrese and 

 Greeks, obtained possession of the 

 two forts. The attacks on the 

 enemy's right were made by 

 Major-general Montresor's divi- 

 sion, supported by that of Lieut.- 

 gen. Macfarlane. The defence 

 was long maintained through fa- 

 vour of the intersected nature of 

 the ground, but at length the 

 enemy was turned, and obliged to 

 retire precipitately into the town. 

 At noon the army took a position 

 in front of the most assailable part 

 of the city, and on the same day 

 sir Edw. Pellcw's squadron of 



