156 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1814. 



These frigates sailed in company 

 from Cherbourg, on the 20th of 

 October last, and were to cruise 

 for six months. It becomes me 

 now to notice the very meritorious 

 conduct of Captain Forrest, not 

 only in assiduously keeping sight, 

 but repeatedly offering battle to a 

 force so superior ; nor less deserv- 

 ing of my warmest approbation is 

 Captain Worth, of this ship, whose 

 indefatigable attention durins: the 

 many manoeuvres attempted by the 

 enemy in this long and arduous 

 chase, was equalled only by the 

 exemplary behaviour of every offi- 

 cer and man under his command. 

 I have the honour to be, &c. 

 P. C. Durham, 



Rear Admiral. 



WAR DEPARTMENT. 



Downing-street, Feb, 13, 1814. 

 A dispatch, of which the follow- 

 ing is a copy, was last nigiit re- 

 ceived at Earl Bathurst's office, 

 addressed to his Lordship by 

 General Sir Thomas Graham, 

 dated Mercxem, Feb. 6, 1814 ; 



Head-quarters, Mercxem, 

 Feb. 6, 1814. 

 My Lord, — I should have been 

 happy to have had to announce to 

 your Lordship, that the move- 

 ment on Antwerp, fixed by 

 General Bulow for the 2nd inst. 

 had produced a greater effect ; but 

 the want of time, and of greater 

 means, will account to your Lord- 

 ship for the disappointment of our 

 hopes of a more satisfactory result; 

 for General Bulow received (after 

 we had got the better of all the 

 -gicHt obstacles in the wiy of taking 

 a position near the town) orders 



to proceed to the southward to act 

 in concert with the grand army ; 

 and the state of the weather, for 

 some time back, not only prevent- 

 ed my receiving the supplies of 

 ordnance and ordnance stores from 

 England, but made it impossible to 

 land much of what was on board 

 the transports near Williamstadt, 

 the ice cutting off all communica- 

 tion with them. 



I have, however, sincere pleasure 

 in assuring your Lordship, that 

 every part of the service was con- 

 ducted by the officers at the head 

 of the tlifferent dejiartments, with 

 all the zeal and intelligence pos- 

 sible. 



To make up for the want of our 

 own artillery, all the serviceable 

 Dutch mortars, with all the am- 

 munition that could be collected, 

 were prepared at Williamstadt; 

 and on the evening of the 1st, the 

 troops of the first and second divi- 

 sions, that could be spared from 

 other services, were collected at 

 Braeschat, and next morning this 

 village (fortified with much labour 

 ever since our former attack) was 

 carried in the most gallant style, 

 in a much shorter time, and with 

 much less loss than I could have 

 believed possible. 



Major General Gibbs, command- 

 ing the 2nd division (in the absence 

 of Major General McKenzie, con- 

 fined by a dangerous fall from his 

 horse), ably seconded by Major 

 General Taylor, and by Lieutenant 

 Colonel Herries, commanding Ma- 

 jor General Gibbs's brigade, con- 

 ducted this attack, in which all the 

 troops engaged behaved with the 

 usual spirit and intrepidity of Bri- 

 tish soldiers. 



Ifeel [larticularly indebted to the 

 officers already named, and also to 



