198 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



From the number of dead found 

 upon the ground the enemy occu- 

 pied, his loss on the whole most 

 have been very great. Marshal 

 Victor was present in the French 

 camp, to give orders for the re- 

 treat. 



We have thus seen the greatest 

 effort the French are capable of 

 making frustrated by eighteen hun- 

 dred I3ritish and Spanish troops, 

 with only the defence of a paltry 

 wall ; and an army often thousand 

 men, commanded by a marshal of 

 France, retreating from them si- 

 lently in the night, after having 

 been repulsed and defeated, leav- 

 ing behind all their artillery and 

 stores, collected at a great expense 

 and by immense exertions. 



I inclose a return of artillery 

 and stores taken from the enemy. 

 The unremitting vigilance and ex- 

 ertion, the zeal and intrepidity, of 

 every individual of this garrison is 

 above praise. 



I have the honour to dispatch 

 this by my acting aid-de-camp. 

 Captain O'Donoghue, of the ^Tth 

 Kegiment, who is in possession of 

 every information relative to my 

 proceedings at this place, an offi- 

 cer of great merit and considera- 

 ble length of service. 



I have the honour to be, &c. 

 (Signed) J. B. Skerrett, 

 Colonel. 



London Gazelle Extraordinary, 

 Wednesday, Feb. 5, 1812. 



Downing- Street Feb. 4?. 

 Major the honourable A. Gordon 

 has arrived this evening at Lord 

 Liverpool's Office with a dispatch, 

 addressed to his lordship by Gene- 

 ral Viscount Wellington, dated 

 iCiallegos, Jan. 20, 1812. 



My Lord, — I informed your 

 lordship in my dispatch of the 9th, 

 that I had attacked Ciudad Rodri- 

 go, and in that of the ISth, of the 

 progress of the operations to that 

 period ; and I have now the plea- 

 sure to acquaint your lordship, 

 that we took the place by storm 

 yesterday evening after dark. 



We continued from the lath to 

 the 19th to complete the second 

 parallel, and the communications 

 with that work ; and we had made 

 some progress by sap towards the 

 crest of the glacis. On the night 

 of the ISth, we likewise advanced 

 from the left of the first parallel 

 down the slope of the hill, towards 

 the Convent of St. Francisco, to 

 a situation from which the walls 

 of the Fausse Braye and of the 

 town were seen, on which a bat- 

 tery of seven guns was constructed, 

 and they commenced their fire on 

 the morning of the 18th. 



In the mean time, the batteries 

 in the parallel continued their fire; 

 and yesterday evening their fire 

 had not only considerably injured 

 the defences of the place, but had 

 made breaches in the Fausse Braye 

 wall, and in the body of the place, 

 which were considered practicable; 

 while the battery on the slope of 

 the hill, which had been com- 

 menced on the night of the 15th, 

 and had opened on the 18th, had 

 been equally efficient still further to 

 the left, and opposite to the suburb 

 of St. Francisco. 



I therefore determined to storm 

 the place, notwithstanding that the 

 approaches had not been brought 

 to the crest of the glacis, and the 

 counterscarp of the ditch was still 

 entire. The attack was accordingly 

 made yesterday evening in five se- 

 parate columns, consisting of the 

 i troops 



