1 8 1 h] Siaie of Public Affaires in October^ S85 
«hem In; and they pushed on nearly as far as 
Alfayates. I then made General Pakenham 
attack them with his brigade of the 4th di¬ 
vision, supported by the Honourable Lieu¬ 
tenant general Cole, and the 4th division j 
and by Sir Stapleton Cotton’s cavalry j and 
the enemy were driven through Aldea 
de Ponto, back upon Alburgaria, and the 
picjuets of the cavalry resumed their station. 
But the enemy, having been reinforced by 
the troops which marched upon Furcalhos, 
again advanced about sun set, and drove in 
the piquets of the cavalry from Aldea de 
Ponte ; and took possession of the village. 
Lieutenant-general Cole again attacked 
them with a part of General Pakenham’s 
brigade, and drove them through the village, 
but night having come on, and as General 
Pakenham was not certain what was passing 
on his flanks, or of the numbers of the 
enemy, and he knew that the army were to 
fall back still farther, he evacuated the vil¬ 
lage, which the enemy occupied, and held 
daring the night. 
On the 28th, I formed the army on the 
heights behind Scito, having the Sierra das 
Mesas on their right, and the left at Kendo 
on the Coa, about one league in rear of the 
position which they had occupied on the 
27th. The enemy also retired from Aldea 
de Ponte, and had their advanced posts at 
Albergaria; and, as it appears that they are 
about to retire from this part of the country, 
and as we have already had some bad wea¬ 
ther, and may expect more at the period of 
the equinoctial gale, I propose to canton the 
troops. 
1 cannot conclude this report of the occur¬ 
rence of the last week, without expressing 
to your lordship my admiration of the con¬ 
duct of the troops engaged in the affair of the 
25th iiist. 
[His lordship then proceeds to enumerate 
the dilTerent officers and regiments which dis¬ 
tinguished themselves in the difterent skir¬ 
mishes with the enemy.] 
His serene highness the hereditary Prince 
of Orange accompanied me during the opera¬ 
tions which I have detailed to your lordship, 
and was for the first time in fire, and he con¬ 
ducted himself with the spirit and intelli¬ 
gence which afford a hope that he will be¬ 
come an ornament to his profession. 
The enemy having collected, for the ob¬ 
ject of relieving Ciudad Rodrigo, the army 
of the north, which were withdrawn from 
the attack which they commenced on Ge¬ 
neral Abadia, in Gailicia, in which are in¬ 
cluded 22 battalions of the imperial guard, 
and General Souham’s division of infantry, 
composed of troops recently arrived in Spain 
from the army of Naples, and now drawn 
from the frontiers of Navarre, where they 
had been employed in operations against 
Mina, together with five divisions and all 
the cavalry of the army called of Portugal, 
eomposing altogether an army of jioE Itsi? 
than 60,000 men, of which 6,000 were ca« 
valry, and 125 pieces of artillery j I could 
not pretend to maintain the blockade of Ciu¬ 
dad Rodrigo, nor could any efforts which 1 
could make, prevent or materially impede 
the collection of the supplies or the march 
of the convoy for the relief of that place. I 
did all that 1 could expect to effect without 
incurring the risk of great loss for no object j 
and as the reports, as usual, were so various 
in regard to the enemy’s real strength, it was 
necessary that I should see their army, 
I have had no report from the north since 
I addressed your lordship last, nor from the 
south of Spaioj 
General Girard had collected at Merida, a 
small body of troops, but I imagine that he 
will break up this collection again, as soon 
as he will hear that Gen, Hill is at Porta- 
legre. I have the honour to be, &c. 
(Signed) WELLINGTON. 
I enclose a statement of the killed and 
wounded, on the 25ih and 27th inst, 
25.-—General total—1 serjeant, 27 rank 
and file, 37 horses killed j 1 lieutenant-co« 
lonel, 3 captains, 2 lieutenants, 1 quarter¬ 
master, to Serjeants, 1 drummer, 90 rank and 
file, 49 horses, wounded; 1 serjeant, 2 
drurnmers, 22 rank and file, 3 horses, mis¬ 
sing. 
27.—Total general loss—1 captain,. 13 
rank and file, 5 horses killed ; 1 major, 4 cap¬ 
tains, 4 lieutenants, 3 serjeants, 1 drummer, 
64 rank and file, 14 horses, wounded j 9 rank 
and file, 6 horses, missing. 
Fr ex delay Oct. 2, 1811. 
Since I addressed you dn the 29lh Sep¬ 
tember, I have learnt that the enemy retired 
from Ciudad Rodrigo on the 30th, the army 
of the North, towards Salamanca, and, it is 
said, Valladolid ; and the army of Portugal 
towards Banos and Placentia. 
Girard’s division of the 5th corps, which 
I intorraed your lordship had been collected 
at Merida, has retired from thence, and has 
again been cantoned in the neighbourhood 
of Zafra. 
J likewise learn that General Foy, v/ho 
had advanced as far as Zarza Major in the 
valley of the Alagon, with his own division, 
and one of the army of the centre, has re¬ 
tired towards Placentia. 
south AMERICA., 
We inserted many months since .the 
declaration of independance of the ex¬ 
tensive provinces of tlie Caraccas j the 
following declaration of rights has since 
appeared. \ 
“ The supreme congress of Venezuela, in 
its legislative session for the province of Ca¬ 
raccas, taking into consideration that to the 
neglect and disregard of the rights of man, 
which have hitherto prevailed, must be 
ascribed all those evils wffiich this people 
have endured for three centuries past j and 
actuated by the desire of re-establisbing chose 
sacred principles on a solid basis, has resolved 
* 3 C 2 i& 
