LON 
ftiem ’a vqry numerous artillery, moftly rendered unfer- 
viceable, and a large quantity of llores and powder un¬ 
confirmed, teftifying the precipitation with which the 
retreat was made. 
On Auguli the nth, in the morning, the French eva¬ 
cuated Bilboa, and on the fame and the following day it 
was occupied by Spanifh troops. On the 13th, however, 
a French force of 3000 men, under general Rouget, ad¬ 
vanced from Durango to recover the town. They gained 
poflellion of its two bridges, but were attacked in their 
pofition on the 14-th by a force under general Renovales, 
who compelled them to make a precipitate retreat towards 
Zornoza. On the zilfthe French again advanced towards 
Bilboa with an additional force, and made a vigorous attempt 
to re-enter it, which was refilled by generals Mendizabel 
and Renovales, and terminated in a defeat of the alfailants, 
who halfily retreated with confiderable lofs to Durango. 
Immediately after the evacuation of the lines of Cadiz, 
the city of Seville was alfo freed from the invaders. On 
Auguli 27, a combined force under general La Cruz 
and colonel Skerret entered Seville, in which were eight 
French battalions of infantry and two regiments of caval¬ 
ry ; and, after a tumultuary fight in the llreets, on the 
bridge, and in the fuburbs, the French were driven out, 
leaving horfes, baggage, and effe&s, and about two hun¬ 
dred prifoners. The inhabitans were fo zealous in their 
country’s caufe, that they, rulhed forward in the midlt 
of a heavy fire to lay planks acrofs the broken bridge 
for the paflfageof the allied troops. About the fame time 
the French evacuated the city and caftle of Areos, in A11- 
dalufia, and all the line from Guadalete to Ronda, blow¬ 
ing up their fortifications, and deltroying cannon and 
ammunition. 
Marlhal Maflena was now expefted from France, to take 
thq command of the army of Portugal (fo called by the 
French ); and it became neceflary for lord Wellington to 
attend clofely to its motions. He accordingly quitted Ma¬ 
drid on the iff of September, having previoully ordered 
his troops to be colleiled at Arevalo. From that place 
the army moved on the 4th, and on the 6th croflfed the 
Douro. It advanced into Valladolid, the enemy retiring 
before it on (he Puilerga, which river they eroded. 
At this time, jofeph Bonaparte had made a junc¬ 
tion with marlhal Suchet in Valencia. The latter 
was polled upon the Xucar, watching the troops under 
general Maitland, which, after an advance from Alicant, 
had retreated, and were cantoned in the villages about 
that city. Marlhal Soult was in Granada; he had been 
followed by Ballafteros, who had been fuccefsful in ha- 
railing his rear. Cordova and Jaen were cleared of the 
invaders. General iir Rowland Hill was at Truxillo, 
whence he was to advance to Oropefa. 
Lord Wellington continued following the enemy, who 
were retiring upon Burgos ; and on the 16th he was joined 
by three divifions of infantry and a fmall body of cavalry 
of the Galician army under general Caltanos. On the 
17th the enemy were driven to the heights dole to Burgos, 
through which city they retired in the night, leaving be¬ 
hind them fome llores and a quantity of provifion. A 
confiderable garrifon was placed in the caftle of Burgos, 
which commands the paflage of the river, and retarded 
the crofting of the allied army till the 19th. The French 
had alfo fortified with a horn-work the hill of St. Michael, 
three hundred yards from the caltle, and commanding l'ome 
of its works. The pofteftion of this hill was a neceflary 
preliminary to an attack on the caltle; its outworks were 
therefore immediately occupied by the allied troops; and, 
as foon as it was dark, an aflault was made on the horn- 
work, which was carried, but not without confiderable 
lofs. A mine which had been laid under the exterior 
line of the caftle exploded on the night of the 29th, and 
made a breach in the wall, which a party of the alfailants 
immediately attempted to Itorm ; but, the darknefs cauling 
the detachment which was meant to lhpport them to mils 
its way, they were driven off. A fecond mine, however. 
DON. 303 
being fprung on Oflober 4th, another breach was made, 
which was immediately ftormed with fnccefs, and the al¬ 
lied troops eltablilhed themleives within the exterior line. 
The French were Hill upon the Ebro, and made no effort 
to diliurb the befiegers. The garrifon of the caftle of 
Burgos made forties on the 6th, and the 10th, in which 
they confiderably injured the works of the allies, and oc- 
cafioned fome lofs of men ; the jpeliegers, however, eifefted 
a breach in the interior line, and lodged fome troops dole 
to it. ' 1 'hings continued nearly in the fame Hate till the 
18th; when lord Wellington, having received a fupply 
of ammunition, and completed another mine, determined 
upon ftorming the breach in the fecond line as foon as 
that th oil I’d explode. The attempt was made with great 
gallantry ; but the fire of the enemy directed to the fpot 
was fo powerful, that the alfailants were obliged to retire 
with confiderable lofs. 
The hopes of final luccefs now grew fainter, efpecially 
as the French army began to make demonftrations of a 
l'erious defign to rail'e the liege. The army of Portugal 
had been reinforced by frelii troops from France, and by 
all the difpofable part of the army of the north, and was 
now in formidable ftVength. On the 13th they had made 
a reconnoiffance of the allied outpolts at Monafterio; and 
on the 18th they had made an attack in force, and gained 
poflelfion of the heights commanding that town, whence 
the outpoil had been obliged to retire. They afterwards 
attempted to drive in other outpofts, but for the time 
were repulfed. General Hill now lent intelligence of the 
enemy’s intentions on his fide to move towards the Tagus; 
and it was become neceflary for lord Wellington to be 
near him, that their two armies might not be infulated, 
and rendered incapable of communication. His iordfliip 
therefore found it advifable to take the mortifying Hep, 
on the night of the 20th, of breaking up the liege, and 
moving his whole army back to the Douro. He affirms, 
that he was never very fanguine in his hopes of luccefs ill 
this fiege, though the advantage he lliould have derived 
from the poflellion of the place appeared to juilify a trial. 
He probably depended upon a coup de main, his artil¬ 
lery being apparently inadequate to regular operations. 
The time loft before Burgos was, however, a ferious 
evil, by allowing the enemy to colledl all his force ; and 
was probably decilive of the remainder of the campaign. 
The allied troops were withdrawn from Madrid, having 
firll deitroyed the fort of la China, and all the llores and 
guns it contained, which had not been carried away. A 
body of the enemy entered that capital on November 1. 
Sir Rowland Hill, who had retired from the Tagus, and 
taken poll on the Jacama, was direfted to quit that pofi¬ 
tion, and march northwards; and in the beginning of No¬ 
vember he arrived unmolelled on the Adaja. Lord Wel¬ 
lington directed iir Rowland to continue his march upon 
Alba deTormes ; and on November 6th he himlelf broke 
up from his pofition before Tordefillas, and proceeded 
for the heights of St. Chriftoval in front of Salamanca. On 
the 8th he took his pofition on thofe heights; and upon 
the lame day general Hill occupied the town and caftle of 
Alba, polling troops on the Tonnes to fupport them. On 
the 14th, the enemy having crofted theTormes in force, lord 
Wellington broke up from Sc. Chriltoval, and moved with 
an intention to attack them; but, finding them too ftrong- 
ly polled, he withdrew all the troops from the neighbour¬ 
hood of Alba to the Arapiles, or heights near Salamanca 
which had been the feene of his victory. Finding, on the 
15th, that the enemy were lirengthening their poiitions, 
and pulhing on bodies to interrupt the communications 
of the allied army with Ciudad Rodrigo, his Iordfliip de¬ 
termined to move upon that place, which he reached on 
the 19th, followed by a large body ot the enemy, which, 
however, did not prels upon his rear. Some lofs was l'uf- 
tained from a cannonade in palling a river; and lieutenant- 
general fir Edward Paget had the misfortune to be taken 
priloner, as he was riding alone through a wood. On 
the 24th of November, the head-quarters of the allies were 
J again 
