B 11 1 T A I N. 



705 



Britain, which, about the beginning of March, was posted on 

 the Tagus, to oppose the entrance of the French into 

 Portugal, was obliged to leave the passage of that 

 river open to the French, who directed their first ef- 

 forts in Portugal against Oporto. The city, though 

 defended by 21-,000 men, and 200 pieces of cannon, 

 opposed only a feeble resistance, and the enemy pro- 

 ceeded against Chaves. The Portuguese general Sil- 

 viera, who commanded there, made a prudent retreat 

 from it, and permitted the French to enter j but he 

 returned with reinforcements, and retook it by sur- 

 prise, together with 1500 prisoners. 



In the mean time, the patriots of Gallicia, who 

 had rested fo perfectly neutral during the appearan- 

 ces of a British army among them, made a partial in- 

 surrection when it could be of least service, and, as- 

 sisted by two British frigates, compelled the inhabi- 

 tants of Vigo to surrender. 

 State of the In the beginning of April, the principal French 

 French and and Spanish armies were thus situated: The Mar- 

 allied ar- quis de Romaua, with a handful of his forces, was at 

 tnics. Villa Franca. Cuesta having been joined by a small 



corps under theDuke of Albuquerque, had halted, in 

 his retreat before the French, in Vera Cruz. General 

 Reding, who had been several times defeated near 

 Terragona, and who had been foiled in an attempt 

 to surprize Barcelona, had been reinforced by some 

 troops from General Blake, and both were employed 

 in harassing the progress of the French in Catalonia. 

 Marshal Soult (the Duke of Dalmatia) was at O- 

 porto ; the Duke of Elchingcn ( General Ney) oc. 

 cupied the neighbourhood of Corunna and Ferrol ; 

 and the Duke of Belluno (Marshal Victor) was ad- 

 vancing towards Lisbon on the north of Badajos, 

 whilst Cuesta and Albuquerque retreated before him. 

 After the junction of these commanders, the former 

 thought himself sufficiently strong to give battle to 

 the French under the Duke of Belluno, who had 

 advanced to Medellin with 20,000 foot and 3000 ca- 

 Cuesta de- valry. Cuesta suffered a severe defeat, and some of 

 bated by (,is regiments behaved with notorious cowardice ; but 

 ren other bodies of his troops were deemed to have dis- 

 played so much gallantry, and the conduct and spirit 

 of the General appeared in such a light to his coun- 

 trymen, that the Supreme Junta issued from Seville 

 a decree appointing him captain-general of their 

 forces, and honorary as well as pecuniary rewards to 

 his soldiers. 



Treaty The resolution of Britain still to make common 



ith Spain cause with the Spaniards, was expressed early in the 

 ratified. year by a solemn treaty between the two powers. 

 Don Pedro Cevallos (the author of the Exposition 

 of Bonaparte's Conduct towards Spain) came to 

 London, as ambassador from the Junta, with full 

 powers to ratify an alliance which had hitherto re- 

 ceived no formal ratification. His Britannic Majesty 

 "bound himself, by the treaty, not to acknowledge 

 smy other king or Spain and the Indies, than Ferdi- 

 nand the VII. or his lawful successors acknowledged 

 by the Spanish nation. 



The war between France and Austria had scarce- 

 ly commenced, when the ministry, who had so loud- 

 ly condemned their predecessors for having failed to 

 co-operate in the last continental campaign, deter- 

 mined on sending to the Continent a very powerful 

 VOL. IV. PART II. 



expedition. The Earl of Chatham was appointed to Biiiaia. 



command, a choice which was exceedingly unpopu- * ' -> -J 

 lar, and cast an " ominous conjecture on // /,/,. CJiononMl. 

 xiin; .1.1." The proverbial indolence of that nol! 

 man's character was the first reproach of ministers 

 respecting the expedition ; and it was their last, 

 though tacit, apology for its failure. But the real 

 history of the commander's proceedings fully proved 

 that the object of the expedition, not the hand to 

 whom it was entrusted, was the blameable cause of 

 disaster. The public learnt, when it was too late, 

 that Mr Pitt, to whom the same expedition had been 

 suggested, had seriously sounded the difficulties of 

 it, and, after consulting the ablest military and naval 

 authorities, men who knew and had examined th 

 enemy's strength on the spot, had renounced it as 

 utterly inadvisable. 



Towards the end of July, this armament was as- Expedition 

 sembled on the shores of England, the largest that to WaJcho- 

 had ever been prepared in this country. It consisted ren. 

 of a military force of SJ-,000 infantry, 2000 cavalry, 

 and 16 companies of artillery ; the whole was com- 

 manded by Lieutenant-Gencral the Earl of Chat- 

 ham ; and of a naval force of 39 sail of the line, and 

 36 frigates, besides mortar-vessels and gun-boats, un- 

 der the orders of Rear- Admiral Sir Richard Strach- 

 au. This conjoint expedition had for its object the 

 capture or destruction of the enemy's ships cither 

 building at Antwerp or Flushing, or afloat on the 

 Scheldt ; the destruction of the arsenals and dock- 

 yards at Antwerp, Terneuse, and Flushing ; the re- 

 duction of the island of Walcheren ; and the render- 

 ing (if possible) the Scheldt no longer navigable for 

 ships of war. The arrangements with respect to the 

 debarkation of the army, were, for the most part, en- 

 trusted to Sir Home Popham : indeed, by many, it 

 was supposed that he was the original mover of the 

 expedition, and that the general disposition of at- 

 tack had been suggested by him. The plan of the Plan of the 

 expedition was thus traced in outline before it sailed, expedition 

 The occupation of Walcheren was confided to Lieu- 

 tenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, and the left wing of 

 the army, consisting of 13,000 men. The naval ar- 

 rangements of this division were under the immediate 

 direction of Rear-Admiral Otway. The point of 

 debarkation depended upon the directions of the wind, 

 and farther operations on the state of the defences of 

 the island ; for such was the information of those 

 who planned the expedition, that it was doubtful 

 whether Veere, Middleburgh, and Flushing, were 

 not places of considerable strength, each requiring a 

 separate attack. Lieutenant-General the Marquis 

 of Huntly, with 5000 men, was to land upon the 

 island of Cadsand, and to maintain himself in an en- 

 trenched position, with a view to cut off the com- 

 munication between the town of Flushing and the 

 Continent. Commodore Owen was to co-operate in 

 this part of the service. A force of 5000 men, un- 

 der Lieutenant-General Grosvenor, was destined to 

 occupy the island of Scliouwen ; while Lieutenant- 

 General Sir John Hope, with the reserve of 7500, 

 was to laud, and carry the island of South Beveland, 

 and to act as a corps of observation during the at- 

 tack of Walcheren. Sir Richard Keats had the na- 

 val charge of the reserve. The remainder of the 



