BRITAIN. 



0-71 



Adda, and entered Milan in triumph. Several other 

 important victories were gained by the allies, by 

 which they recovered Turin, Alessandria, and Man- 

 tua. These events having encouraged the Neapoli- 

 tans, they reduced fort St Elmo, with the assistance 

 of the British seamen underCommodore Trowbridge, 

 and effected a most sanguinary and vindictive counter- 

 revolution in their capital. The people of Tuscany 

 acted the same prirt, and Rome surrendered to the 

 summons of the British commodore. 



Suwarrowt after his victories in Italy, for which 

 he was honoured with the title of Prince Italinzky, 

 turned his arms into Switzerland ; but there he was 

 arrested by the prevailing fortune of the French, or 

 rather by the misconduct of his Austrian allies, who 

 precipitately retiring from the Rhine, left the Rus- 

 sians in danger of being enclosed between two armies, 

 and necessitated their retreat. 



The temporary success of the allies was. however, 

 so important, that it was deemed expedient to make 

 an attempt to rescue the pvople of the United Pro- 

 vinces from the subjugation of the French. For this 

 purpose, an army of 36,000 men was prepared, of 

 which 17,000 were contributed by the Emperor Paul, 

 on a stipulation of ample pecuniary compensation 

 from the British Government. The Prince of Orange 

 (whose son, the hereditary Prince, received a com- 

 mand in the expedition) drew up an address, to be 

 distributed among his people, exhorting them to re- 

 turn to their allegiance, and to give their aid to the 

 Anglo-Russian army, which was sent to support his 

 cause. About the end of August, a landing was 

 made by the British army, and after an engagement 

 with a body of the French and Dutch, they took 

 possession of the Helder fort, with the magazine and 

 shipping. Admiral Mitchel, who commanded the 

 fleet in this expedition, entered the Texel unopposed, 

 and captured the whole Dutch fleet, amounting to 

 12 ships, eight of which were of the line, their crews 

 refusing to fight against the cause of the Prince of 

 Orange. 



On the 10th of September, General Abercromby, 

 waiting on the defensive till an expected reinforce- 

 ment should arrive from England, was attacked by 

 the Gallo-Batavian army, in three large divisions. 

 They were repulsed, however, at every point. With- 

 in a few days of this well fought action, his Royal 

 Highness the Duke of York arrived, to take the chief 

 command of the army; but though he was accom- 

 panied with a reinforcement from England, and a 

 Russian army, the aspect of affairs grew immediately 

 unfavourable. On the 19th of September, the allies 

 proceeded to act on the offensive : they attacked the 

 French and Batavian troops under General Brune, 

 near the town of Bergen ; but though they brought 

 off a number of prisoners, and some pieces of artillery, 

 they were obliged to retire to their former position, 

 with a large loss of men. To be stopt in such cir- 

 cumstances, was, in fact, to be defeated. Two other 

 sanguinary actions took place, on the 2d and 6th of 

 October, in which the Anglo- Russian army kept the 

 field during both days, but experienced such resist- 

 ance as effectually ruined their cause. The difficul- 

 ties in obtaining provisions, also, daily increased, and 

 the army of the enemy was obtaining fresh reinforce- 

 ments. Overcome by these obstacles, the Duke of 

 York entered into a convention with General Brune, 

 3 



the French commander, by which the invading army 

 were suffered to retire, on condition of eight thousand ' 

 seamen, French and Batavian, at present prisoners in ' ;M "> ( ' ; 

 England, being restored to their reipective coun- 

 tries. 



Bonapart 



( 



aparte, after having reconquered Italy, had no Bonapar 

 possessed himself of Egypt, than he turned "* 

 his arms against the Holy Land, and invading Syria, 

 commenced the siege of Acre. At the head of a 

 chosen band, exceeding twelve thousand, and with a 

 staff of great military skill and experience, he arrived 

 at that place, which was poorly fortified, and defend- 

 ed only by a small garrison of Mussulmans. A gallant but i ' 

 British officer, however, (Sir Sidney Smith), who *' 

 had been left on the coast, with a small flotilla, mspi- Bravery of 

 ritcd the governor and the garrison to make a vigor- sir Sydney 

 ous resistance, and assisted him so effectually with a Smith at 

 body- of seamen and marines, that Bonaparte was Acre. 

 baffled in eleven attempts to carry it by assault. The 

 conqueror of Italy, after experiencing, for the first 

 time in his life, a defeat, was obliged to retire, having 

 lost eight of his generals, eighty-five of his officer*, 

 and one half of his army. Retreating to Cairo, he 

 proceeded from thence to Aboukir, to encounter a 

 large body of the Turks who had effected a landing 

 there, under the command of Mustapha Pacha. He 

 consoled himself for his late disgrace, by a signal vic- 

 tory over 18,000 of these undisciplined barbarians. 

 Soon after this event, the affairs of Europe recalled He escap 

 him to France, to take that high share in the events to Franct 

 of his country, which has so materially affected the 

 face of Europe. 



The British power was, in the mean time, preser- Progress of 

 ved in India by the overthrow of its inveterate ene- l " 

 my Tippoo Saib. Since the event of the last war, d j a 

 which deprived that prince of half his dominions, he 

 had secretly meditated revenge, and cultivated the 

 friendship of the French republic, with the same as- 

 siduity with which he had formerly sought that of 

 the monarchy. Already he had received a small 

 force from the Mauritius, and was busily preparing 

 for a new attack upon the English ; the Earl of 

 Mornington, governor of Bengal, sent General Harris 

 with an army of 18,000 men, including 6000 njf.ives, 

 who took several forts on the frontiers of Mysore. 

 A pitched battle was soon after fought, in which 

 Tippoo was entirely defeated, and General Harris 

 commenced the siege of Seringapatam, the capital of 

 his dominions. The trenches being opened, the can- 

 nonading having lasted for three days, orders were 

 given for carrying the place by storm ; about noon, 

 on the 4th of May, at an hour when, according to 

 custom, the Asiatic troops were resigned to repose. 

 General Baird commanded the troops, who ascended 

 the breaches in the fosse, and in the rampart of the 

 fort. The capital was taken, and the sultan himself, 

 who had shared the dangers of his troops, was found, 

 after the engagement, among a heap of the slain. The 

 greater part of his dominions was seized by the Bri- 

 tish East India company ; a small part being allotted 

 to our ally the Nizam of the Decan. 



In the opposite quarter of the globe, the British Surinam 

 arms were also successful. The flourishing settle- taken b) 

 ment of Surinam was this year wrested fruin the tne Bril 

 Dutch, by a body of troops collected from St Lucia 

 and Martinique, and embarked on board a squadron 

 commanded by Lord Hugh Seymour. 



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