GENERAL HISTORY. 



[153 



of joy. Joseph had retired with 

 the army of the centre by the 

 Toledo road, leaving a garrison in 

 fort la China in the palace of la 

 Retiro. 



On the evening of the I3th la 

 Retiro was invested, and prepara- 

 tion was made for attacking the 

 works on the next morning, when 

 the commandant of la China sent 

 an offer of capitulation. The ho- 

 nours of war were granted him, 

 upon surrendering the whole gar- 

 rison and all the persons in the 

 fort prisoners, with all its maga- 

 zines and artillery. The total 

 number of prisoners of all de- 

 scriptions amounted to 2,500. Of 

 brass ordnance 189 pieces were 

 found, with a great quantity of 

 ammunition, stores, provisions, 

 and clothing. Such were the first 

 fruits of the victory of Salamanca, 

 In the south-east of Spain the 

 cause suffered a reverse by the 

 repulse of an attack upon General 

 d'Hariape's posts at Castalia and 

 Ybi in Valencia. General O'Don- 

 nel, with the army of Murcia, at- 

 tacked the post of Castalia on 



i July 21st, but was defeated with 

 the loss of about 3,500 men. His 



' retreat was covered by General 

 Roche, who had advanced from 

 Alicant to co-operate in the enter- 

 prize. On August 10th General 

 Maitland, with an expedition sent 

 by sea from Sicily, after hoviering 

 for several days on the coasts of 

 Cataioniaand Valencia, and making 

 demonstrations of landingin various 

 parts, disembarked at Alicant. 



Astorga, which had been long 

 under siege by the Spaniards, ca- 

 pitulated on August 18th, its gar- 

 rison, consisting of three battalions, 

 surrendering prisoners of war, upon 

 the condition of being exchanged, 



as soon as circumstances should 

 permit, for Spanish prisoners. The 

 French General Foy, who marched 

 from Valladolid with a considerable 

 force to raise the blockades of Toro 

 and Zamora, and the siege of 

 Astorga, arrived too late for the 

 latter purpose, though he effected 

 the others. 



The desertion of the long-con- 

 tinued blockade of Cadiz by the 

 French, was another important 

 consequence of Lord Wellington's 

 victory. This city, the seat of 

 the Spanish legitimate government, 

 had for some years been in a state 

 which rendered its inhabitants pri- 

 soners on the land side, and sub- 

 jected them to much distress from 

 scarcity and sickness. This was 

 aggravated by the sense of dan- 

 ger from a bombardment, which, 

 though distant, had latterly, by 

 means of improvements in de- 

 structive contrivance, become more 

 serious. All the attempts of the 

 Spaniards themselves to break up 

 the blockade had failed ; and even 

 when the enemy had been obliged 

 to withdraw the greatest part of 

 their troops, the strength of the 

 works discouraged any effort to 

 force them. But at this period, 

 the advance of the allied army to 

 the centre of the kingdom, and 

 the weakened state of the invaders 

 in the east, whence many veteran 

 corps had been recalled to augment 

 the mighty army destined against 

 Russia, rendered it no longer safe 

 to carry on operations at so many 

 detached points, and concentiation 

 of force was now become neces- 

 sary. On the night of the 24th 

 and morning of the 25th of Au- 

 gust, the French abandoned their 

 works opposite to Cadiz and the 

 Isla, except the town of port 



Sunta 



