402 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1810. 



His passion for the army predomi- 

 nated over every other, and al- 

 most every thought of his mind 

 was concentrated in that single 

 point. He at last fell a victim to 

 his heroic gallantrj'. General 

 Graham, who entertained a just 

 conception of his merit, had com- 

 manded him to bring off the de- 

 tachment that had so long and so 

 bravely defended the fortress of 

 Matagorda. This fortress had been 

 very injudiciously dismantled in 

 part, previous to the arrival of the 

 French. Sensible, too late, of the 

 importance of its position, as it 

 commonds the entrance into the 

 inner harbour, it was resolved to 

 defend it ; principally with a view 

 to retard the approach of the 

 French towards Cadiz. The de- 

 tachment employed for this pur- 

 pose succeeded in keeping posses- 

 sion of the fort for about three 

 weeks. The French employed 

 nearly fifteen days in constructing 

 their batteries ; and the first they 

 opened was at the distance of 

 about 1,200 yards. Their second 

 battery opened at the distance of 

 about 800 yards : they succeeded 

 in making a breach, and it was 

 their intention to have stormed it. 

 The little garrison had suffered so 

 much, having lost about half its 

 number in killed and wounded, 

 that it became necessary for the 

 remainder to evacuate the place. 

 Major Lefevre recommended that 

 some gun-boats shouldbeemploy- 

 ed against the French batteries, 

 both to annoy the enemy, and to 

 divert their fire during the evacua- 

 tion. This, however, was unfortu- 

 nately omitted. The French, 

 therefore, still kept up a tremen- 

 dous fire upon the fort. Theevacu- 

 ation was effected in good order ; 

 and major Lefevre continuing in 



it to the last, was, at the moment 

 of retiring from it, struck between 

 the shoulders by a thirty-two 

 pound shot, and instantly killed. 



OCTOBER. 



lnSoho-square,JonasDryander, 

 esq. librarian to sir Joseph Banks, 

 and to the Royal Society, and a 

 vice-president to the Linnean So- 

 ciety, aged sixty-three. His emi- 

 nent attainment in that branch of 

 sciencewhich he chiefly cultivated, 

 had long placed him in the first 

 rank among the naturalists of Eu- 

 rope ; and his catalogue of the 

 Banksian library, which is before 

 the public, will be a lasting monu- 

 ment of erudition, perseverance, 

 and sound judgment. 



At Ealing, John Williams, esq. 

 one of the king's serjeants-at-law, 

 a native of Carmarthen, and for- 

 merly fellow of Wadham College, 

 Oxford. He was a man gifted by 

 nature with extraordinary powers 

 of memory, and an excellent under- 

 standing; to these happy endow- 

 ments he added the most patient 

 and persevering application to the 

 study of the law ; his labours were 

 crowned with success ; he became 

 one of the most eminent lawyers 

 of modern times. His luminous 

 expositions, sound deductions, 

 clear reasoning, profound and ac- 

 curate knowledge in his profession, 

 were justly appreciated in West- 

 minster-hall by his cotemporaries, 

 and will long be recollected by 

 them with admiration and merited 

 eulogy ; but his professional and 

 posthumous fame will not rest on 

 the frail basis of living testimony ; 

 his edition of lord chief-justice 

 Saunders's Reports will remain 

 to after ages a splendid monument 

 of his intimate acquaintance with 

 the laws of his country. 



