56 



ANNUAL REGISTER, 1809. 



determination, was taken up in 48 

 hours, upon the suggestion of the 

 Spanish Deputies. And he could 

 not but think it a most extra- 

 ordinary thing, that the provin- 

 cial Juntas, who could not con- 

 cert measures for the defence of 

 their own country should know 

 how to advise the means by which 

 a British army was to co-operate 

 with them. The deputies of one 

 cf these provincial juntas were em- 

 ployed in advising his Majesty as 

 to the best means of employing 

 his troops elsewhere. And he be- 

 lieved that they were more actu- 

 ated by the desire of not seeing 

 the expedition come among them- 

 selves, than by any thing else. On 

 the 30th of June, in opposition 

 to all the previous designs, the 

 only direction sent to the army 

 was, in the words of the juntas, 

 " To expel the French from Por- 

 tugal ;" words, with respect to 

 which General Dahymple had said, 

 that if they had been selected for 

 being equivocal, they could not 

 have been more so. On the morn- 

 ing of the 30th of June, these in- 

 structions were sent ; on the night 

 of the 30th of June, new instruc- 

 tions, in consequence of fresh dis- 

 patches from Sir C. Cotton, &c. 



Sir A. Wellesley had told them, 

 that although he sailed under these 

 instructions of the 30th of June, 

 he yet conceived himself to sail 

 with general powers, and liberty 

 to apply his force in any quarter 

 in which it might be serviceable 

 in Spain. One would have thought 

 that, with this latitude to Sir Ar- 

 thur, there being hardly a point 

 on the coast where cavalry would 

 not have been most useful, caval- 

 ry would have formed a consider- 

 able part of the force under his 



command, yet there were but 300 

 cavalry, of which 200 only were 

 fit for service. Sir Arthur says, 

 (on his examination before the 

 Board of Inquiry) that when the 

 expedition sailed, it being uncer- 

 tain whether it might not remain 

 long at sea, and it being doubtful 

 in what part of the peninsula it 

 might be serviceable, it was thought 

 adviseable not to take good horses 

 to draw the guns. I have heard 

 (said Lord Petty) of cases where 

 it has been necessary to have par- 

 ticularly good artillery horses ; I 

 have heard of cases where it has 

 not been necessary to have any 

 artillery liorses at all ; but this is 

 the first time in my life that I have 

 ever heard of an expedition in 

 which it was thought expedient to 

 have bad artillery horses ; or that, 

 because the expedition itself was 

 uncertain, and the plan not fixed, 

 therefore, if by chance it should 

 become otherwise, the instruments 

 were to be imperfect and insuffici- 

 ent, as it would be found these were. 

 The account of Col. Robb describes 

 the horses as sick, lame, blind, 

 cast-ofF, and unfit for service. Now 

 this was not by accident, but by 

 concert, between Lord Hawkes- 

 bury and the lord lieutenant. 



The gallant general sailed on 

 the 12th of July, conceiving him- 

 self to be the commander of the 

 expedition which was to effect the 

 destruction of the enemy in Por- 

 tugal. And yet, three days after, 

 on the 15th of July, a new com- 

 mander in chief was appointed ; 

 and, in fact, not only one, but 

 six general officers superior to him 

 in ranks, were, in that short space 

 of time, sent out to Portugal. 

 This variety of tonmianders hav- 

 ing been appointed. Sir A. Wel- 

 lesley 



