APPENDIX to the CHRONICLE. 469 



from the latter part of the enemy's 

 force. 



[^The dispatch concludes "with 

 speaking in high terms of captain 

 Titley, lieutenant Bones, and the 

 ether officers oj the royal navy and 

 marines, as well as Mr. Heddle, 

 assistant commissary Hamilton, 

 and captain Odium, the bearer of 

 the dispatch.'] 



C. W. Maxwell, 

 Major R. A. corps. 



Downing-street, Aug. 15. — The 

 folloiving dispatches tvere this 



day received from Sir Arthur 



Wellesley. 

 Talavera de la lieyna, July 29. 



My lord, — Gen. Cuesta followed 

 the enemy's march with his army, 

 from the Alberche on the morning 

 of the 24th as far as Santa Olalla, 

 and pushed forward his advanced 

 guard as far as Torrijos. For the 

 reasons stated to your lordship in 

 my dispatch of the 24'th, I moved 

 only two divisions of infantry and 

 a brigade of cavalry across the Al- 

 berche to Cassalegos, under the 

 command of lieut.-gen. Sherbrooke, 

 with a view to keep up the commu- 

 nication between gen. Cuesta and 

 me, and with sir R. Wilson's corps 

 at Escalona. It appears tliat gen. 

 Venegas had not carried into exe- 

 cution thatpart of theplan of opera- 

 tions which related to his corps, and 

 that he was still at Damiel in La 

 Mancha ; and the enemy in the 

 course of the 24th, 25th, and 26th, 

 collected all his forces in this part 

 of Spain, between Torrijos and 

 Toledo, leaving but a small corps 

 of 2,000 men in that place. His 

 united army thus consisted of the 

 corps of marshal Victor, of that 

 or gen. Sebastiani, and of 7 or 8,000 



men, the guards of Joseph Buona- 

 parte, and the garrison of Madrid ; 

 and it was commanded by Joseph 

 Buonaparte, aided by marshals 

 Jourdon and Victor, and gen. Se- 

 bastiani. On the26thgen.Cuesta's 

 advanced guard was attacked near 

 Torrijos, and obliged to fall back, 

 and the general retired with his 

 army on that day to the left bank 

 of the Alberche, gen. Sherbrooke 

 continuing at Cassalegos, and the 

 enemy at Santa Olalla. It was then 

 obvious, that the enemy intended 

 to try the result of a general action, 

 for which the best position appear- 

 ed to be in the neighbourhood of 

 Talavera ; and gen. Cuesta having 

 consented to take up his position 

 on the morning of the 27th, I or- 

 dered general Sherbrooke td retire 

 with his corps to its station in the 

 line, leaving gen M'Kenzie with a 

 division of infantry and a brigade 

 of cavalry, as an advanced post in 

 the wood, on the right of Alberche, 

 which covered our left flank. The 

 position taken up by the troops 

 at Talavera extended rather more 

 than two miles; the ground was 

 open upon the left, where the 

 British army was stationed, and 

 it was commanded by a height, on 

 which was, in echelon and in se- 

 cond line, a division of infantry, un- 

 der the orders of major-gen. Hill. 

 There was a valley between this 

 height and a range of mountains 

 still further upon the left, which 

 valley was not at first occupied, as 

 it was commanded by the height 

 before mentioned ; and the range 

 of mountains appeared too distant 

 to have any influence upon the ex- 

 pected action. The right, consist- 

 ing of Spanish troops, extended im- 

 mediately in front of the town of 

 Talavera down to the Tagus. This 



pari 



