>3 04 fj O N 
difadvantageotis to the Britifii government than it was de¬ 
trimental to a very great number of individuals. Sir Home 
Popliam wrote home to the fociety at Lloyd’s coffee-houfe, 
and to the principal manufacturing towns in Britain, fet- 
ting forth how fine a market had been opened to a great 
variety of Englifli goods. And the miniftry, as foon as 
they heard of the conqueft of Buenos Ayres, fent thither a 
(Trip of war with a convoy of merchantmen. The market 
was overftocked; many London merchants fuffered great 
lofs, and fome were ruined. The conduit of fir Home 
Popharn was generally attributed to rapacity; his Juccefs, 
as far as his own intereft was concerned, in his projects, 
to a very pla'ufible, eloquence, and addrefs in operating 
on the particular characters, prejudices, intereft, and paf- 
fions, of men, and bodies of men. His conduit was de¬ 
clared by a court-martial, held in March 1807, -to be highly 
reprehenfible in a Britifh officer, and leading to a fubver- 
lion of all military difcipline, as well as fubordination to 
government; and he was reprimanded accordingly. 
It was not greatly to be wondered at, that the Britifh 
miniftry did not fhow much promptitude in fupportingan 
expedition unauthorized by government, and originating 
in fuch views as that of fir Home Popham’s enterprise 
againft Buenos Ayres. Befides, the view's and hopes of 
Mr. P’ox were wholly pacific. He was not difpofed, it 
.may be prefumed, to fend out an armament to the Rio- 
de-la-Plata, fo long as there was any hope that all dif¬ 
ferences with France might be fettled by negotiation. 
£lis inviolable attachment to peace was perhaps the no- 
blefl feature in his public character. Even his rnoft de¬ 
termined enemies lamented his death, when they faw the 
negotiations which had owed their birth entirely to him 
expire as our only minifter of peace expired. 
In October 1806, the very month after Mr. Fox’s death, 
a reinforcement was fent to La Plata, from England, un¬ 
der the command of fir Samuel Auchmuty, and convoy 
of fir Charles Stirling, in the Ardent fhip of war, who was 
appointed to fuperfede fir Home Popham in the naval de¬ 
partment. The tranfports were fuch bad failers, that 
they were obliged, in their voyage, to go into Janeiro for 
water. He there received intelligence of the recapture 
of Buenos Ayres; hut of our having poflefTion of Maldo¬ 
nado, near the mouth of the river. The general, on his 
arrival at Maldonado,found our troops were without artil¬ 
lery, without (lores of any kind, with only a few days’ 
provilion, and without any profpeft of procuring more, 
unlefs by. detaching a large force many miles into the coun¬ 
try, expofed to the infults of a corps of 400 horfe, that 
hovered round the Englifli to intercept fupplies. Maldo¬ 
nado u : as an open town, and fo fituated, that with a fmall 
force it could not be rendered tenable. The only point 
that appeared aflailable with propriety, as it had alfodone 
to general Beresford, was Monte Video. He conceived 
liis refources equal to the enterprife ; but he found it a 
mofl arduous undertaking. He had not entrenching-tools 
fufficient to make approaches ; and, after a few' days' firing, 
the whole powder .in the fleet was reduced to 500 barrels, 
about four days’ confumption; to add to his difficulties, 
.4000 picked troops, with 24 pieces of cannon, were ra¬ 
pidly approaching him. He therefore determined, if pof- 
fible, to take the place by affault; in which defign v though 
with a heavy lofs, he happily fucceeded. The number of 
Britifii troops employed in the reduction of Monte Video 
amounted to upwards of 4000, of which 12,00 were en¬ 
gaged in the florm ; that of the Spaniards to 6000. The 
lofs j@rf,the Britifh, which fell chiefly on the forming co¬ 
lumn, was 600. The lofs of the enemy was very great; 
about 800 killed, 500 wounded, and upwards of 2000 of¬ 
ficers and men, including the governor, prifoners. The 
merit of our loldiers was greatly enhanced by the bravery 
of their opponents. Sir.Charles Stirling, in his letter to 
Mr. Windham, dated Monte Video, Feb. 8, fays, “It has 
been much the cultom to fpeak (lightly of the refifance 
to be expedited from the Spaniards in this country, and 
with confidence of the facility which has been given to 
3 
DON. 
naval operations by a prior knowledge of-the river; but 
the battles lately fought prove the former opinion to be 
erroneous; and experience proves that all the information 
hitherto acquired had not prevented the moll formidable 
difficulties.” 
Before intelligence was received of the recapture of 
Buenos Ayres, in Auguft, by the Spaniards, it was hoped 
by the Britifii miniftry, that an expedition to the weft 
might meet with the fame fuccefs which, it was yet be¬ 
lieved, had attended his majefy’s arms on the eaft coaft 
of South America. With a view to this objedt, and to 
the opening and facilitation of a commercial intercourfe 
with the interior of the country, a force of 4200 men was 
fent out, under the command of brigadier-general Crau- 
furd, at the end of October 1806, accompanied with a 
competent naval force under that of admiral Murray. The 
choice of the courfe to be Ifeered, whether to the ealtward, 
by the way of New South Wales, or to the weft ward, round 
Cape Korn, was left to admiral Murray, who, it appears, 
proceeded in the eaftern direction as far’as the Cape of 
Good Hope. It was explained to the general, that the 
object of the expedition was the capture of the feaports 
and fortrefies, and the reduction of the province of Chili. 
If the general fhould fucceed in obtaining poflefTion of 
Valparaifo and St. Jago, or eftabliP.iing any other i’uffici- 
ent footing in Chili, he was inftrufled to take the earlieifc 
poffible means of appriling brigadier-general Beresford 
thereof, and of concerting with him the means of fecuring, 
by a chain of polls, or in any other adequate manner, an 
uninterrupted communication, both military and commer¬ 
cial, between the provinces of Chili and Buenos Ayres. 
But, when intelligence was received of the recapture of 
Buenos Ayres by the Spanifh foldiery affifted by the 
townfmen, the Fly (loop of war was dif'patched w ith or¬ 
ders to general Craufurd to proceed, not to Chili, but to 
the Rio de la Plata, to join the Britifii force under the 
command offirSamuel Auchmuty. The floop fortunately, 
as was then fuppofed, arrived before the general left the 
Cape of Good Hope. He fet fail from the Cape in April, 
and arrived in La Plata on the 14th of June. After this 
junction between the two generals, the whole Britifii force 
in La Plata was computed at 9500 men. “ As it had been 
thought advifable, (to ufe the words of the fecretary 
of ftate for the department of war and colonies,) that 
an officer of high rank, as well as talents and judgment, 
fiiould be fent to take the command of fuch of his ma- 
jefty’s forces as were at that time employed, or likely foon 
to be employed, in the fouthern provinces of South Ame¬ 
rica, it was his majefty’s pleafure to make choice for that 
purpofe of general Whitelocke .” The general accordingly 
fet fail for his deftination early in March, carrying an ad¬ 
ditional force of 1630 men ; of which there was a troop of 
horfe-artillery to the number of 130, difmounted, with 
harnefs and appointments. The fervice intruded to his 
care, was the reduction of the whole province of Buenos 
Ayres. 
General Whitelocke arrived in La Plata on the 9th 
of May: on the nth, he took the command of the troops ; 
one divifion of which, confiding of the troops that had 
arrived with general Craufurd, was ftationed at Colonia, 
oppofiteto Buenos Ayres, and one at Monte Video. Tranf¬ 
ports were ordered for the reception of troops for their 
paflage to Buenos Ayres. On the 28th of June, a force was 
afl'embled near Encenada de Barragon, amounting 107822 
rank and file; including 150 mounted dragoons. It w'as 
provided with eighteen pieces of field-artillery, and 206 
horfes and mules for their conveyance, and for that of 
fmall-arm ammunition. There was, befides, a large quan¬ 
tity of ordnance-ftores embarked, and a referve-artillery 
of heavy pieces, mortars and howitzers. There were en¬ 
trenching-tools for 1000 men, fix pontoons with their 
carriages, See. See. 
After fome fatiguing marches, through a country much 
interfered by fwamps and deep muddy rivulets, the army 
reached Reduction, a village about nine miles diftant from 
the 
