Ji R I T A I N. 



703 



itary 



ration-: 

 1809. 



iture of 



iti- 



ue.' 



e city of 

 Domin- 

 iurrcn- 



rd Cocli- 

 e at- 

 ts a 

 ench 

 t in 

 quo 

 ads. 



thai slate in which il anciently was, before these bo- 

 roughs had been partially depopulated. Mr Ci 

 from some inscrutable view of the subject, coi 

 to let the bill pass, amended by ministers, or rather 

 annihilated as to every object which he had proposed 

 in framing it. 



The chancellor of the exchequer stated the loan 

 ry for making up the ways and means of the 

 year 1809, at fourteen millions six hundred thousand 

 pounds. The whole expenditure of the year had 

 amounted to seventy-cue millions, nine hundred and 

 eighty-nine thousand pounds, being an increase of 

 seven millions four hundred thousand pounds from 

 tie expenditure of the last year. 



We now come to the warlike operations of the 

 year. 



In the West Indies, the success of the British arms 

 was complete wherever they were directed. The 

 island of Martinique was reduced in 27 days, from 

 the departure of the expedition which sailed against 

 it from Barbadoes. The principal place in the island 

 which the enemy attempted to defend, was Mount 

 Sourrier, which guarded the access to Fort Bourbon. 

 The enemy repeatedly charged our troops ; but here, 

 a in every action where the bayonet has been employ- 

 ed, the superiority of the British soldier was conspicu- 

 ous. The French were entrenched on the heights, 

 and were protected by light artillery. From this 

 strong position they were driven ; and Fort Bourbon 

 being laid open to our attack, the whole island sur- 

 rendered. 



In the beginning of July, General Carmichael sail- 

 ed from Jamaica for the purpose of co-operating with 

 the Spaniards in the reduction of the city of St Do- 

 mingo. At first the French General Barquier, who 

 commanded the city, refused to surrender; but when 

 General Carmichael made judicious and decisive pre- 

 parations to carry the plan by assault, the governor 

 thought proper to capitulate. 



The navy of France, unable to cope with ours in 

 open sea, was gallantly attacked by Lord Cochrane 

 in its own harbours. A French fleet of eight sail of 

 the line had been blocked up in Brest harbour by Ad- 

 miral Lord Gambier; but in the begin n in <;>,f February, 

 had made their escape to Basque Roads, where they 

 were joined by four sail of the line. Hue the task 

 of attempting to destroy them, was conn. ulted to Lord 

 Cochrane. He sailed from England in the Impe- 

 rieuse, and Lord Gambier received orders to employ 

 him in attacking the enemy's fleet with iireships. 

 On the 10th of April, a number of fire vessels, and 

 of transports, filled with CongreWe's rockets, joined 

 Lord Gambler's fleet. The filling of the chief ex- 

 plosion ship was committed to Lord Cochrane. He 

 caused puncheons, placed with the ends upwards, to 

 be filled with fifteen hundred barrels of gun-powder. 

 On the tops of the puncheons nearly 400 shells, with 

 fusees, were placed, and, in the intermediate spat 

 about 3000 hand-grenades. The puncheons were 

 fastened together by cables, and kept steady and im- 

 moveable, by wedges and sand rammed between 

 them. In this dreadful ship, Lo- 1 Cochrane, with 

 one Lieutenant and four scan. en, committed b.im-elf. 

 On the evening W the eleventh of April, the lire-ships 

 and the explosion -jl'.ip iiroce-.-Jcd witha strong north- 



erly wind and a flood tide. When 



the enemy, a boom was perceived, 



in front of the French, in order to protect their line. 



Tins was quickly broken, and the English advanced 



under a heavy lire from the forts in the island of Aix. 



The French fleet, dismayed and thrown into con- 

 fusion, attempted to avoid destruction by cutting 

 their cables and running on shore. Lord Cochrane 

 approached with his explosion ships as near the ene- 

 my as possible, and perceiving that they had taken 

 the alarm, set fire to the fusee, and betook himself 

 with his companions to tho boat. They were not 

 able, however, to get out of the reach of danger, be- 

 fore the fusee exploded. Instead of having fifteen 

 minutes, the time on which they had calculated to 

 escape from the exploding ship, they had not left tin-- 

 vessel more than nine minutes before she blew up. 

 The lieutenant, who accompanied Lord Cochrane. 

 expired through fatigue, and two of the sailors were 

 so nearly exhausted, that their lives were for some 

 time despaired of. Immediately on joining his ship, 

 Lord Cochrane proceeded to attack the French \ ea- 

 sels that were thrown on shore, and for some time 

 sustained their fire alone, before any other man of 

 war entered the harbour. He made a signal to Lord 

 Gambier that seven of the enemy's ships were on 

 shore, and might be destroyed ; but the admiral, af- 

 ter giving orders to moor and weigh, was obliged to 

 anchor again, before he reached the Aix Roads, on 

 account of the wind and tide being against him. 

 Six of the enemy's ships, in the mean time, escaped 

 up the river Charente ; four of the remaining ships 

 were attacked by Lord Cochrane, in the Impc 

 followed by three other T't's. The result of a bril- 

 liant action, which he supported against the united 

 ships and batteries of the enemy, was, that one of 

 their ships of 120 guns, five of 74', and two frigates 

 were driven on shore, and either destroyed or render- 

 ed useless. One of 80, two of 71, and one of 50 

 guns, and three frigates, were burnt by our own or 

 by the enemy's crews. 



Since the peace of Tilsit, Austria had ! 

 with new injuries from France, the det.iil of which ii 

 foreign to our history. But slill, ami. 1st thr.-.j 

 injuries, her gowrnn.ent had not IJLVII itli'' iluiing 

 the favourable moment when the presence of 

 leon was required in Spain. In the spn: 

 the Archdi'ks; Charles put himself at the head of 

 the whole imperial army, with more extensive power 

 than had been enjoyed by any cxmnr.L;i' 

 days of Tilly and \Vallei;.,u-m. On the lOiii ot 

 April, the van of the Austriaoi cr* ; >. d '! c 1 

 advanced into Bavaria. When in uin.a 

 had reached Paris by telegraph, Bonaparte left hi; 

 capital, and repaired to his he;ul nuart-rs at 

 stadt. After some partial actions, which prov 

 astrous to the Austrian:,, the French en-.peror, dis- 

 cerning that the division of the Archduke Loy 

 imprudently separated from the mu: made a 



furious attack upon the Austnans at Ebc 1 

 put them to the route, with the lo3 of 

 pu.shed on In 



and, putting the fugitives to a set: 

 9000 iron.' prisoner! 1 . The Arclx! 1 . s ha- 



ving, ui the mean time, i,, 





Lord i 

 r'ir.c r!c- 

 strciys the 

 greater 

 part of tlic 

 Freiu-li 



1111(1' r 



diaries 

 marc- > 

 to 0::: 





