354 
LON 
nowned for its immortal defence, which had coft two 
fieges and three armies to France. 
While thefe events took place on the right of the army, 
general Graham, with the left wing, compofed chiefly of 
Portuguefe and Spaniards, advanced on the high road from 
Vittoria to Bayonne. The French now evacuated all their 
Nations in Bifcay, except Santona and St. Sebaflian ; and, 
uniting their garrifons to the divifion of the army of the 
north, which was at Bilboa, they aflembled a force fome- 
what more confiderable than had at firft been fuppofed. 
They made a pretty britk ftand in difputing the frontier- 
pofitions. Their firfl effort was at the junction of the road 
from Pamplona with that from Bayonne; they ported 
themfelves on a hill commanding thefe two roads, and 
feemed determined to maintain it. A vigorous attack, 
however, by Lieut.-col. Williams, quickly diflodged them ; 
and they then retreated into Tolofa, a town flightly for¬ 
tified; and, by barricading the gates, and occupying con¬ 
vents and large buildings in the vicinity, they fucceeded 
in rendering it a ftrong pofition. It was neceffary to 
bring forward a nine-pounder, in order to burft open one 
of the gates. The allies entered ; but it was already dark, 
and the troops of all the different nations were confufedly 
mixed, and could fcarcely be diftinguifhed. The perplexity 
thus occafioned enabled the French to efcape with fmaller 
lofs than they mult otherwife have incurred. The enemy 
now made their laft ftand on the Bidaffoa, which forms 
here the boundary between Spain and France. They were 
driven acrofs it by a brigade of the army of Galicia under 
the command of general Caftanos; and they burnt the 
bridge over the river. Port Paflages, a harbour of confi¬ 
derable importance at the mouth of the Bidaffoa, was then 
taken by Longa, and its garrifon of 150 men made pri- 
foners. A Spanifh divifion then inverted St. Sebaftian’s. 
From this brilliant career of the allies in the north of 
Spain, we muft now turn to the operations which took 
place on the eaftern coaft of the peninfula. 'In Catalonia 
and Valencia the French ftill maintained a very large force, 
and were in poffeffton of numerous fortrefles, fome of 
which ranked with the ftrongeft in Europe. The impor¬ 
tance of this military force was greatly increafed by the 
diftinguifhed ability of Suchet, under whole command it 
was placed. This commander now occupied a pofition in 
front of Valencia, at St. Felipe, on the line of the Xucar. 
The allies, on the other hand, had collected a very confi¬ 
derable force in and near Alicant. Several Britifh and 
native regiments had been withdrawn from Sicily ; a large 
force, drawn from the population of the neighbouring.pro¬ 
vinces, had been organized in the Balearic iflands under 
Britifh officers, and was now commanded by generals 
Roche and YVhittingham. Thefe could aft in combina¬ 
tion with the fecond Spanifh army under general Elio, 
which was drawn up along the frontiers of Murcia. 
About the middle of April, the Anglo-Spanifh army un¬ 
der fir John Murray came out of Alicant, and advanced to 
Caftella. General Elio at the fame time took port at Yefla 
and Villena. It appears, however, that thefe different corps 
had not been in a ftate of fufficiently-clofe combination. 
Suchet faw the advantage which might be derived from 
the overfight. Collecting his whole difpofable force, he 
on the nth of April attacked the corps of general Elio 
unfupported by the reft of the allies; drove it with foine 
lofs from Yefla, and, having inverted the caftle of Villena, 
compelled it, with its garrilon of 1000 men, to furrender 
next-day at difcretion. 
Having thus fucceeded as to the Spanifh army, Suchet 
proceeded to the attack of the Britifh pofitions. On the 
12th at noon he affailed the advanced polls at Biar, under 
Col. Adam. The refiftance was vigorous, and was main¬ 
tained againft a fuperior force for five hours ; and Col. 
Adam at length fell back upon the main body only in 
compliance with the orders of Gen. Murray. Suchet 
proceeded on the following day, to attack the main pofi¬ 
tion at Callalla. It was one of confiderable ftrength. 
jThe right of the allied army was defended, along the 
D O N, 
whole front, by a deep ravine, while on the left, where 
the ravine terminated, it occupied a pretty extenfive range 
of hills. Suchet began by threatening the right with a 
ftrong body of cavalry : the allied force, however, re¬ 
mained fecure in its ftrong pofition, and declined an en¬ 
counter upon this ground. Suchet then, with all his co¬ 
lumns united, made a defperate attack againft the range 
of hills upon which the left was ported. The allied, 
force, confifting of Col. Adam and Gen. Whittingham’s 
- divifions, .repulfed the onfet in the mod gallant manner; 
the enemy were completely driven back, and forced to 
commence a hafty retreat. As his fuperiority in cavalry 
gave him great advantages for proceeding in the direffc 
line, general Murray commenced a flank movement by 
Alcov, in hopes of reaching firft the entrenched camp at 
St. Felipe. It is ftated however that, the French having 
reached Alcov only a quarter of an hour before the allies, 
this plan was fruftrated. Sir John Murray then returned 
to his pofition. In this action Suchet for the firlt time 
experienced the valour of Britifh troops ; and, in con¬ 
tending with them, was for the firft time deferted by his 
wonted invincibility. The allied army, however, did 
not make any attempt to follow up its fuccefs. The ad¬ 
vance from Alicant indeed appears to have been made, 
lefs with the view of pufhing forward in that direftion, 
than of feconding the grand operation in the north of 
Spain, and of preventing Suchet from detaching any of 
his force in that direction. 
About the fame time, however, that lord Wellington 
began to move from Salamanca, fir John Murray, under 
his direftion, undertook a new plan of operations. On 
the 28th of May, he embarked at Alicant the whole force 
under his command, and failed, on the 31ft, for the coaft 
of Catalonia. At the fame time the duke del Parque, 
with the third Spanifh army, united himfelf with general 
Elio, for the purpofe of prefling upon Valencia and the 
army of Suchet. The combined force landed on the 3d 
of June at Salon Point, and immediately inverted Tar¬ 
ragona. At the fame time a detachment was fent againft 
the fort of St. Felipe, which commanded the principal 
road leading from Tortofa. This fervice was fuccefsfully 
accomplifhed by the exertions of Col. Prevoft, and Capt. 
Adam of the Invincible. Meantime fir John Murray 
continued for eight or ten days the liege of Tarragona; 
but the place ftill held out, and there appeared no pro- 
fpeft of redncing.it till after an interval of the fame du¬ 
ration. Intelligence was then received, that general Ma- 
thieu had fet out from Barcelona with 9 or 10,000 men, 
and had, on the evening of the 11th, pafled through Villa 
Franca on his way to Vendrello, only twenty miles diftant 
from Tarragona. It was alfo learned, that Suchet, with 
nearly the fame force, had pafled through Valencia, and 
was evidently on his way to operate a junction with Ma- 
thieu, and attack the allied army. On confidering thefe 
circumftances, fir John Murray conceived it impoflible to 
accomplifh his object, and determined to re-embark his 
troops without delay. So urgent did the danger appear 
to him, that a confiderable proportion of the cannon was 
left in the trenches, left, by the delay of a day, the change 
of weather or the arrival of the enemy fliould render the 
re-embarkation impoflible. 
No fufficient light has yet been afforded to enable us 
decidedly to form a judgment on a tranfaifion fo humili¬ 
ating to the Britifh arms. A court-martial was expected, 
but none has hitherto been field; and it would rather 
feem, that fir John’s friends are availing themfelves of the 
oblivion into which more interefting fubfequent events 
have thrown this expedition, to avert all enquiry into the 
conduct of it. In confidering the expedition more parti¬ 
cularly, it feems fcarcely poflible to avoid the fufpicion of 
fome error, either in the conception or execution of it. 
From the moment that the Britifh landed fo great a force 
at Tarragona, it became obvious to the plained capacity, 
that, both from Valencia and from Barcelona, all the 
French difpofeable troops would be inttantly drawn to¬ 
wards 
