LONDON. 
all fhe exertions the French were capable of. But the 
operations of the Spaniards and their Englifh aliies were 
not confined to the defence of Cadiz. They a£led on the 
offenfive, in roufing, encouraging, and aiding, the natives 
in a refinance of the invaders. A detachment of 5000 
men, under the command of the Spanifh general Don Louis 
Lacey, difembarked at Algefiras, and inarched by St. 
Roche, on the town of Ronda. At this place there was 
ftationed a French force of 6000 men. Being informed 
of the unexpected arrival of the Spaniards, whole num¬ 
bers report had greatly exaggerated, and that they were 
to be attacked by furprife in the night, they fuddenly 
evacuated Ronda, and fled in great diforder, leaving be¬ 
hind them their arms, provifions, and ammunition; .the 
whole of which fell into the hands of the Spaniards. 
Though the number of the Spanifh regulars 'Was exagge¬ 
rated, the whole of Lacey’s troops, regulars and volun¬ 
teers, in a few' days after his landing at Algefiras, is laid 
to have amounted to 11,000. All the arms found at Ronda 
were diftributed among the inhabitants of the mountains. 
Parties of French were agdin marched againli the infur- 
gents, as the French called them, by general Sebaftiani. 
A murderous warfare was carried on on both lides. The 
Spaniards were obliged to retreat. The mountaineers 
■were defeated in various aftions, but not pacified. All 
the Brilifh officers and men who have had occafion to fee 
any of the Spanifh mountaineers, agree in their defcriptions 
of the ferocious and favage appearance and air of the Al- 
pujarrefe, and other Spanifh mountaineers. They every 
day were bringing prifoners to-Gibraltar, with fpoils taken 
from the Frenchmen they had killed, fuch as horfes, hel¬ 
mets, uniforms, &c. The nifties, who were wont to be 
clothed like the Ruffian boors, in fheep-fkins, were many 
of them completely accoutred in French uniforms. 
On the 2ad of Auguft, a combined expedition fet fail 
from the port of Cadiz againft Moguer, a town in the 
province of Seville, on the river Huelva, below its junction 
with the Tinto, where a French divilion w>as polled under 
the command of the duke of Aremberg. The laifd-force 
confifted chiefly of Spaniards, to the number, it would ap¬ 
pear, of from 12 to 15005 but there was alfo an Englifh 
divifion, t under the orders of captain George Cockburn. 
The land-force was commanded by the Spaniih general 
Lacey. Captain Cockburn had charge of the naval part 
of the expedition. In the evening of the 23d, when the 
fquadron w’as about four leagues from the entrance of the 
Huelva, the general intimated to captain Cockburn his 
defire to difembark on the coaft along which they were 
failing, by which means the troops could reach Moguer a 
good deal fooner than by water. About ten o’clock the 
troops began to difembark; and the w hole, with the horfes, 
ammunition, &c. being fafely landed between one and 
two o’clock, the general began bis march along the coaft. 
Eleven Englilh flat-bottomed boats advanced for the pur- 
pofe of tranfporting the army over a large branch of the 
Huelva, which interfeCts the road to Moguer, and comes 
a great way to the fouth and weft of Moguer, into the 
country. By the paffage of the Huelva, in the boats, the 
march was not retarded a moment. It arrived at Moguer, 
twenty-two miles from the point of difembarkation, to¬ 
wards eleven in the forenoon, Auguft 24. The Spaniards, 
forgetting their fatigues, proceeded immediately to attack 
the French; who, not expediting fuch a vifit, were driven 
from the towm almoft without refiltance. They foon ral¬ 
lied, however, and made fevera! attacks on the advanced 
Spanifh line, in order to recover what they had loft. But 
the Spaniards Hood firm, and repelled their onfets with the 
utmoft bravery. Captain Cockburn, in his difpatch to ad¬ 
miral Keates, commanding the naval force at Cadiz, fpeaks 
in the higheft terms of the alacrity and ardour with w hich 
the Spaniards fuftained the fatigue of a march of twenty- 
two miles, after three fucceffive nights palled without repole, 
and of the firmnefs and valour they difplayed in their en¬ 
gagements with the French, Thefe, belays, had raffed his 
admiration to the higheft pitch, and added to his hopes 
Von. XIII. No. go*. 
225 
that fuch a people malt ultirpately prevail and triumph 
in fuch a catife. Of general Lacey lie lays, that he (bowed 
himfelf worthy to command fuch men. The coolnefs of 
the general, his ability, and active bravery, qualified him 
in a lingular manner for the kind of fervice on which ho 
wms then employed. The Spaniards were not lefs liberal 
in their praifes of the Englilh. In the Regency 6-axetre 
Extraordinary of Cadiz, Aug. 30, it is faid, “ The Spaniih 
and Englilh marines contributed in the moft diftinguilhed 
manner to the fortunate fuccefs of the enterprife; and 
our allies, and particularly captain Cockburn, acquired 
new claims to the gratitude of the Spanifh nation.” 
Some artillery, ammunition, and other articles, being 
landed from the.veffels on the night of the 24th, meafures 
were taken for purfuing the enemy. The next day a di¬ 
vifion advanced, and took poffeffion of the town of Niebh, 
about ten miles north-eaft from Moguer, to the great joy 
of the inhabitants, and all the country round. B.ut ge¬ 
neral Lacey, apprifed that the French were on their march- 
in great hafle towards Seville, having deftroyed the maga¬ 
zines and batteries, and fpiked the guns of Moguer, re- 
embarked his troops, and fent them back to Cadiz, where 
they arrived fafely on the 30th of Auguft. 
The Englilh flotilla of gun-boats alfo deftroyed the bat¬ 
teries and redoubts of St. Mary’s, and forne other points, 
on the Bay of Cadiz. 
A fecret expedition that fet fail from Gibraltar,, on the 
nth of October, under the command of lord Blaney, 
againft.Malaga, produced very different effects from the 
preceding. The objeCl of the expedition was to take 
Fort Fangarola, in order to draw the enemy out of Ma¬ 
laga ; then to re-embark, fet fail for that city, and with 
the affiftanee of a reinforcement to be fent without delay 
from Gibraltar, to deftroy the enemy’s works at Malaga, 
and drive away the hords of privateers that took (heller 
in its harbour. It was calculated that Fort Fangarola 
would furrender without refiftance. The expedition con¬ 
fifted of about 4 or 500 Englifh of the 89th regiment, 500 
German deferters enrolled and armed at Gibraltar, a num¬ 
ber of artillery-men, and a Spanifh regiment fent over from 
Ceuta. This armament, on the 14th of October, difem¬ 
barked three leagues weft from Fangarola, fituate about 
four from Malaga. The garrifon, 160 men, when a di¬ 
vifion of the troops under lord Blaney were within can- 
non-fhot, fired upon them with a 24-pounder, and foine 
other pieces of fmaller calibre. Lord Blaney had fruited 
that a herald of truce would do the bulinefs : he had not 
at hand either fcaling-ladders or battering-cannon : he 
brought up fome pieces from the Slips in the night, and 
planted them on ground from whence they could play 
with advantage. The fire of the garrifon ceafed about 
eleven o’clock A. M. but they Tallied but, and ftormed 
the battery. The officers of the Englifh divifion which 
remained on the flanks of the height on which the bat¬ 
tery was raifed, while the reft of the Hoops were moving 
to the pofitions affigned by the general, attacked the af- 
failants, and the battery was cleared. In a very fhort time 
a more numerous party of the French appeared in the 
niidft of the cannon ; the battery was taken, and the Eng¬ 
lifh troops took to flight. ‘The arrival of 1200 men from 
Malaga, encouraged the French, and llruck a panic into 
the Englifn and Spaniih troops. The French from Ma¬ 
laga were difguifed in Spanifh uniforms ; of which ftra- 
tagem, on their near approach to Fort Fangarola, lord 
Blaney was apprifed by fome French deferters ; but his 
lordfhip firmly believed them ftill to be Spaniards, and 
threatened to cut off with his own hand the head of any 
traitor that Ihould fire on the troops that were come to 
join them. He perfevered in the error of miitaking them 
for friends till the moment they told him he was their pri- 
ioner; which happened nearly at the fame inftaiit when 
the battery was taken a fecond time. It fortunately hap¬ 
pened, that the 32b regiment, which followed the expe¬ 
dition a few days after its departure from Gibraltar, had 
landed two compaiues.at the moment wlien the encounter 
3 M took 
