LONDON. 
the bridge over the Rio Chuelo; on the oppoiite bank 
of which, the enemy had conftructed batteries, and efta- 
blifhed a formidable line of defence. The general, there¬ 
fore, refolved to turn this pofition, by marching in two 
columns from his left, and, eroding the river higher up, 
to unite his force in the fuburbs of Buenos Ayres. He 
fent directions at the fame time to colonel Mahon, who, 
with two regiments, was bringing up the heavy artillery, 
to wait for further orders at the village of Reduction. 
Major-general Gower, having the command of the right 
column, eroded the river at a ford called Paffo Chico, 
and, falling in with a corps of the enemy, attacked and 
defeated it. Next day, general Whiteiocke, with the 
main body of the army, having joined general Gower, 
formed his line by placing dr Samuel Auchmuty’s brigade 
on the left, -extending it towards the convent of the Re- 
colletta, from which it was diftant two miles. Two regi¬ 
ments were ftationed on its right. Brigadier-general 
Craufurd’s brigade occupied the central and principal 
avenues of the town, being diftant three miles from the 
great fqaure and fort 5 three regiments on his right ex¬ 
tended in a line towards the Refidentia. 
The town was thus nearly invefted; and this difpodtion 
of the army, and the circumftances of the town and fub¬ 
urbs being divided into fquares of 140 yards each dde, 
together with the knowledge that the enemy meant to oc¬ 
cupy the flat roofs of the houfes, gave rife to the follow¬ 
ing plan of attack: Brigadier-general dr S. Auchmoty to 
take pofleftion, with a regiment, of the Plaza de Toros, 
and the adjacent ftrong ground, and there to take poll. 
Four other regiments, divided into wings, were ordered 
to penetrate into the ftreet direCtly in its front. The 
light battalion divided into wings, and each followed by 
a wing of the 95th regiment and a three-pounder, was or¬ 
dered to proceed down the two ftreets on the right of the 
central one, and the 25th regiment down the two adjoin¬ 
ing; and, after clearing the ftreets of the enemy, this lat¬ 
ter regiment was to take poll at the Refidentia. Two fix- 
pounders .were ordered along the central ftreet, covered 
by the carabineers and three troops of the 9th light dra¬ 
goons ; the remainder of which regiment was placed as 
a referve in the centre. Each divifion was ordered to 
proceed along the ftreet direCtly in its front, till it arrived 
at the laft fquare of the houfes next the river Plata ; of 
which fquare it was to take pofleftion, forming on the flat 
roofs, and there wait for further orders. Two corporals 
with tools were ordered to march at the head of each co¬ 
lumn, for the purpofe of breaking open the doors. The 
whole troops were unloaded ; and no firing was to be per¬ 
mitted until the columns had reached their final points 
and formed. A cannonade in the central ftreets was the 
fignal for the whole to come forward.—The iffue of the 
conflict which enfued, was fuch as was to be expended 
from a plan fo weak, and indeed ludicrous. Our troops 
moving forward in the appointed order, with their un¬ 
loaded mufkets and iron crows, , were affailed by a heavy 
and continued (howerof muiketiy, hand-grenades, bricks, 
and ftones, from the tops of the wiadows of the houfes, 
the doors of which were barricadoed in fo ftrong a man¬ 
ner, as' to render it almoft impoftible to force them. The 
ftreets were interfeeted by deep ditches; and cannon, 
planted on the infide of thefe, poured volleys of grape-fhot 
on our advancing columns. They were ialuted alio with 
grape-fhot at the corners of all the ftreets. Every houfe- 
liolder, with his negroes, defended his own dwelling, 
which was in itfelf a fortrefs. Yet, in the midft of all this 
affailance, and while the male population of Buenos Ayres, 
by the means of deftruCtion juft mentioned, was employed 
in its defence, fir S. Auchmuty, after a moft fpirited and 
vigorous attack, in which his brigade fuffered much from 
grape-fliot and mufketry, made himfelf matter of the Plaza 
de Toros, took 82 pieces of cannon, an immenfe quantity 
of ammunition, and 600 prifoners ; which ferved as a place 
of refuge to fome other regiments that were overpowered 
by the enemy. Brigadier-general Craufurd with his bri- 
Vol. XIII. No. 897. 
IGS 
gade, being cut off from all communication with any of 
the other columns, was obliged to furrender; fo alfo was 
lieutenant-colonel Duff, with a detachment under his 
command. Still, however,, the refult of this day’s action, 
left general Whiteiocke in pofleftion of the Plaza de To¬ 
ros, a ftrong poll on the enemy’s right, and the Refiden¬ 
tia, another ftrong poll on his left; whilft general White¬ 
iocke himfelf occupied an advanced poll on his centre. 
But thefe advantages had coft about 2500 men in killed, 
wounded, and prifoners.—This was the fituation of our 
army on the morning of the 6th of July, when general Li- 
nieres addreffed a letter to the Britifti commander, offer¬ 
ing to give up all his prifoners taken in the late affair, 
together with the 71ft regiment, and others taken with 
brigadier-general Beresford, on the condition of his‘defin¬ 
ing from any further attack on the town, and withdraw¬ 
ing, his majefty’s forces from the river Plata; intimating, 
at the fame time, that, from the exafperated- ftate of the 
populace, he could not anfwer for the fafety of the pri¬ 
foners if he perfifted in offendve operations. General 
Whiteiocke, influenced by this confideration (which, he 
fays, he knew from better authority to be founded in faCt), 
and reflecting of how little advantage would be the pof- 
feffion of a country the inhabitants of which were fo ab- 
folutely hoftile, refolved to forego the advantages which 
the bravery of his troops had obtained, and acceded to 
a treaty of peace, on the bafts that had been propofed by 
the Spaniffi commander. 
At a general court-martial, held at the hofpital of Chel- 
fea, on the 38th of January, 1808, and continued by ad¬ 
journments until the 18th of March, lieutenant-general 
John Whiteiocke received the followingfenten.ee: “That 
the faid lieutenant-general Whiteiocke be caihiered, and 
declared totally unfit and unworthy to ferve his majefty 
in any military capacity whatever.” 
The plan of attack on Buenos Ayres adopted by ge¬ 
neral Whiteiocke, it would appear, was none of his own 
contrivance, but one propofed to him by lieutenant-ge¬ 
neral Gower. This was declared by the general himfelf 
in his defence ; and general Gower admitted in his evi¬ 
dence, that the bafis of the plan adopted by general 
Whiteiocke was very much like his. Indeed, general 
Whiteiocke appears, from bis trial, to have been very 
undecided and wavering in his conduft, and in that ftate 
of mind which repofes on the counfels of others. To¬ 
wards the end of the trial, public curiofity was lefs ex¬ 
cited to know its iffue, than the intereft or means by 
which general Whiteiocke had obtained his important 
appointment. 
After the battle of Friedland and the peace of Tilfit, 
all the continent of Europe lay proftrate before Bonaparte. 
But the-ifland of Great Britain, miftrefs of the feas, ftill 
defied his power, and threatened to harafs his extended 
coalls with never-ceafing aggreffion, which flie feemed 
ftill able to continue by means of the refources opened 
by her valt commerce. It was againft this commerce, 
that Bonaparte had now to make war; and, as he could 
not do this at fea, his fleets having been almoft annihi¬ 
lated, he conceived the extravagant defign of doing it at 
land, by (hutting it out, not only from the ports of 
France, Italy, and Holland, but from all the ports of Eu¬ 
rope. 
By a decree, dated at Hamburgh, November it, 1807, 
and another at Milan, the 27th of December, declaring 
the whole ifiand of Great Britain to be in a ftate of 
blockade, he in a great degree compelled all the other con¬ 
tinental powers, .even Portugal for a time not excepted, 
to prohibit commerce with any of the dominions of his 
Britannic majefty. No nation was allowed to trade with 
any other country, in any articles, the growth, produce, 
or manufactures, of any of the Britifti dominions, all of 
which, as well as the ifiand of Great Britain itfelf, were 
declared to be in a ftate of blockade. He appointed 
commercial refidents in every trading country ; and no 
(hip was to be admitted into any of his ports without a 
JLT u lutifcuiion 
