ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



were full of the enthusiastic pa- 

 triotism of the Spaniards. All 

 ranks, they reported, and ages 

 had taken up arms, were eager to 

 rush upon their enemies, and de- 

 termined to die rather than sub- 

 mit to a treacherous, cruel, and 

 impious invader. Such also was 

 the spirit of the proclamations 

 published by the Provincial Juntas. 

 So prevalent at this time was the 

 conviction of the universal enthu- 

 siasm of the Spaniards, in the British 

 cabinet, that in a memorial trans- 

 mitted for the information of Sir 

 John Moore, by the British se- 

 cretary of state, it was stated, 

 that the French armies could not 

 enter the defiles of Asturias with- 

 out exposing themselves to be 

 destroyed even by the armed pea- 

 sants. In the month of Septem- 

 ber it was considered as most pro- 

 bable, that the Spaniards alone 

 would soon drive the French out 

 of the Peninsula. — Lord William 

 Bentinck was directed to make 

 inquiries respecting the intentions 

 of the Spanish government on the 

 expulsion of the French. And 

 directions were given, under par- 

 ticular circumstances, to urge the 

 invasion, with a combined Bri- 

 tish army, of the South of France. 

 Such was the flattering picture 

 presented to the view of Sir John 

 Moore, before he commenced his 

 march, and was enabled to judge 

 for himself. 



In aid of Sir John Moore a con- 

 siderable detachment from Eng- 

 land was to land at Corunna under 

 Sir David Baird, with whom he 

 was to form a junction on the bor- 

 ders of Leon an J Gallicia. Sir 

 John was charged at the same 

 timo to act in concert with the 

 British commander-in-chief at 



Lisbon, and to receive requisitions 

 or representations, either from 

 the Spani. h government or the 

 British minister, upon all occa- 

 sions, with the utmost deference 

 and attention. The British mi- 

 nister plenipotentiary to the cen- 

 tral government of Spain, was Mr. 

 John Hookham Frere, who had been 

 lately appointed to that office in 

 the place of Lord William Ben- 

 tinck. 



By the resignations of the three 

 generals, Dalrymple, Burrard, and 

 Wellesley, wiiich took place al- 

 most immediately on these ar- 

 rangements. Sir John was libe- 

 rated from a part of those embar- 

 rassments, in wliich so compli- 

 cated a plan must have involved 

 him, and, having become com- 

 mander-in-chief as it were by ac- 

 cident, he was left unfettered by 

 superiors to adopt such measures 

 as appeared to be most proper and 

 efficacious for giving speedy effect 

 to the expedition. 



These measures, however, ne- 

 cessarily produced delay. The 

 secretary of state for the war de- 

 partment seems to have been 

 wretchedly deficient in his calcu- 

 lations, or perhaps he had but a 

 very vague and confused idea of 

 the equipments necessary to a 

 marching army. Sir John's was 

 unprovided with carriages for the 

 artillery or commissariat stores, 

 or for the light baggage of the 

 regiments. No magazines were 

 formed on the line of march. Nor 

 was the commissariat department 

 in such a state as to give any great 

 hope that these defects would be 

 speedily or effectually remedied. 

 It was not till the 27th of Octo- 

 ber, that Sir John Moore, above a 

 month after he had received his 

 appointments 



