APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. 359 



«f this excellent army of reserve has 

 received the following detailed dis- 

 patch from lieutenant-general Don 

 Juan O'Neil, who commanded the 

 troops in the engagement, from II- 

 lucca, whither he retired with field 

 marshal D. Felippe St. March. 



Most excellent Seignor — A few 

 hours after my conference with your 

 excellency at Caperoso, respecting 

 the good condition of the troops un- 

 der my command, at that most im- 

 portant point, full of ardour and 

 enthusiasm, from the superiority 

 which they conceived themselves to 

 possess over the enemy, who for so 

 long a period had not dared to at- 

 tack us, and from advantages of 

 greater magnitude which they anti- 

 cipated in the direction of Pampe- 

 luna ; and when your excellency, 

 convinced of the necessity of not 

 permitting a favourable opportunity 

 to pass, for executing designs in 

 which I cordially concurred, pro- 

 ceeded to consult with the captain- 

 general of the army of the center ; 

 I received a dispatch from the cap- 

 tain-general of the army of the cen- 

 ter, and the representative of the 

 supreme centralJunta, D. Francisco 

 Palafox, dated the 21st inst. inform- 

 ing me of the extreme urgency that 

 all my troops should immediately 

 put themselves in motion, and pro- 

 ceed by way of Tudela, to the right 

 of the line, which was to be formed 

 upon Cascante and Tarragona, as 

 faras the heights of Moncayo; and 

 charging me not to lose a moment, 

 since they had given orders for the 

 inarch of the army of the center, 

 and were on the point of attacking 

 anddefeatingtheenemy, in order to 

 save that army ; an object, the at- 

 tainment of which would be of the 

 greatest importance for Spain, and 

 totally disconcert the plana of the 



enemy. — Surprised at the novelty 

 of this dispatch, so completely at 

 variance with the plan we had agreed 

 upon at Caperoso the day before, I 

 sent to inform your excellency, and 

 before I received your answer, your 

 dispatch, dated at Tudela on the 

 same day (the 21st) reached me, 

 directing, that in consequence of 

 what the captain-general of the cen- 

 ter had stated to you, I should, the 

 instant I received it, march with the 

 whole of my army, and the troops 

 belonging to the center attached to 

 it, for Tudela, there to fix my head- 

 quarters, it being understood that 

 the troops that occupied the posts 

 of Cintriunego, Calahorra, and the 

 other parts of the Ebro, were al- 

 ready on their march for Borja and 

 Tarragona, and consequently that 

 any delay might be very injurious, 

 and expose the army to be turned 

 in that quarter. On the same day, 

 as my troops were just setting oiF, 

 Ireceivedyourexcellency'sanswer, 

 confirming your previous order, in 

 consequence ofthearmyof thecen- 

 ter having already commenced its 

 movement. I cannot describe to 

 your excellency,thesensation felt by 

 thetroopsundermycommand,incon- 

 sequence of this retrograde move- 

 ment, as all of them, previously ani- 

 mated by the preceding fortunate 

 movements, found all their hopes 

 frustrated, and saw themselves re- 

 moved from the advanced situation 

 that they always occupied in front 

 of the enemy. An event so unex- 

 pected disheartened them ; and in 

 order to inspire them with the same 

 degree of ardour which they had 

 hitherto manifested, and to prevent 

 the fatal consequences of which I 

 was apprehensive, I exerted my 

 authority, accompanying it with 

 the most energetic persuasion, and 



showing 



