148] ANNUAL REGISTER, 1813. 



tachments of the enemy, contrived 

 to escape through the midst of 

 them, and became as formidable 

 as before. General Ballasteros, 

 who had been declared Captain- 

 General of Andalusia, on the 14th 

 of April surprised and destroyed a 

 column under General Rey, Me- 

 rinOp an enterprising chief, sud- 

 denly attacked a considerable body 

 of the enemy near Aranda, on 

 April the 16th, and made upwards 

 of 500 prisoners, with several 

 officers. This success gave him an 

 opportunity of making a just, 

 though severe, retaliation for the 

 execution of three members of 

 the junta of Burgos by the enemy, 

 and of some of Merino's soldiers 

 who had fallen into their hands : 

 twenty prisoners were put to death 

 for each of the former, and ten for 

 each of the latter. On the other 

 hand, the French, collecting in 

 force on the borders of Gallicia, 

 made a feint of attacking that pro- 

 vince, to favour their design of re- 

 entering that of Asturias, which 

 they effected on May the I7th, 

 under General Bonnet, and took 

 up their former quarters in Oviedo, 

 Grado, and Gijon. 



On April the 24th, Lord Wel- 

 lington was at Alfayates, on the 

 Portuguese border, the enem}' hav- 

 ing retired upon his advance. 

 They had crossed the Agueda on 

 the 23rd, and were then in full re- 

 treat towards the Tormes. General 

 Drouet was at that time at Fuente 

 Ovejuna, in Cordova, and Marshal 

 Soult at Seville. His Lordship, on 

 the day of the above date, dis- 

 patched Sir Rowland Hill to carry 

 into execution the plan of an at- 

 tack upon the enemy's posts and 

 establisiimeuts at the passage of 

 the Tagus, at Almaraz, in Estre- 



madura, near the border of New 

 Castile. This post afforded the 

 only good military communica- 

 tion below Toledo across the Ta- 

 gus, and from that river to the 

 Guadiana, all the permanent 

 bridges below that of Arzobispo 

 having been destroyed in the ope- 

 rations of the war, and left un- 

 repaired. The bridge at Almaraz 

 was protected by strong works 

 thrown up by the French on both 

 sides of the river, and was further 

 covered on the southern side by 

 the castle and redoubts of Mira- 

 bete, about a league distant, com- 

 manding the pass of that name, 

 through which runs the only car- 

 riage road to the bridge, which is 

 that to Madrid. 



The necessary preparations for 

 this expedition would not permit 

 General Hill to begin his march 

 from Almendralejo till the 12th of 

 May. On the 16th, he formed his 

 force into three columns, the left 

 directed against the Castle of Mi- 

 rabete ; the right, against the forts 

 of the bridge ; and the center, to 

 the high road leading to the pass of 

 Mi rabete. The approach was so 

 difficult, that it was day-break on 

 the 19th, before the attack could 

 be made. The right column, pro- 

 vided with scaling ladders, moved 

 to the assault of Fort Napoleon, a 

 strong fortress on the left bank of 

 the river. The ardour of the troops 

 broke through all obstacles, and in 

 the midst of a destructive fire they 

 rushed on with fixed bayonets, and 

 drove the garrison through the se- « 

 veral intrenchments across the 

 bridge, which, having been cut on 

 the other side, obliged many of the 

 fugitives to leap into the river, 

 where they perished. The panic 

 communicated itself to the garri- 

 son 



