State of Public Jffairs in December* 
[Jan. I, 
%\'as mvjch annoyed by the well-directed fire 
cf the TJst-* In the meantime one wing of 
the 50th regiment occupied the town, and 
secured the prisoners, and the other wing, 
along with the threesix-pounders, skirted the 
cutside of it, the artillery, as soon as within 
range, firing with great eii’ect upon the 
squares. 
Whilst the enemy was thus occupied on his 
right, Major-General Howard’s column con¬ 
tinued moving round the left j and our caval¬ 
ry advancing, ana crossing his head of their 
column, cut off the enemy’s cavalry from 
his infantry, charging it repeatedly, and put¬ 
ting it to the rout. The 13th Light Dra¬ 
goons, at the same lime, took possession of 
tne enemy’s artillery. One of the charges 
made by the two squadrons of the 2d Hus¬ 
sars, and one of tiae 9th Light Dragoons, was 
particularly gallant j the latter commanded 
by Captain Gore, the whole under Major 
Btissche, of the Kussars. I oujghc previously 
to have mentioned, that, the British cavalry 
having, through the darkness of the night, 
end the badness of the reads, been so.mewhat 
delayed, the Spanish cavalrj under the Count 
de Penne Villannur was, on this occasion, 
the first to form upon the plain, and engage 
the enemy, until the British were enabled 
to come up. 
The enemy was now in full retreat, but, 
Major-General Howard’s column having 
gained the point to wnich it was directed, 
and the left column gaining fast upon him, 
he had no recourse but to surrender or to dis¬ 
perse, and ascend the mountain. He prefer¬ 
red the latter, and, ascending near the eastern 
extremity of the ascent, and which might 
have been deemed inaccessible, was foriowi.d 
closely by the 28th and 3-Ith regiments, 
whilst the 39ch regiment, and Colonel Ash¬ 
worth’s Portuguese infantry, followed-round 
the foot of the mountain by the Truxillo 
road, to take him again in fia.nk. At the 
same time, Brigadier-General Morillo’s in¬ 
fantry ascended at-some distance on the left 
with the same view. 
As may be imagined, the enemy’s troops 
were by this time in the utmost panicy his 
cavaTy was flying in every direction, the in¬ 
fantry threw away their arms, and the only 
effort of either was to escape. The troops 
U!;der Major-General Howard’s command, as 
■well as tl'.cse he had sent round the point of 
the mountain, p'drsuea them ever the rocks, 
SKiking prisoners at every step; until his 
own men became -so exhausted and few in 
number, that it was necessary for him to 
halt and secure the prisoners, and leav^ the 
further pursuit to the Spanish infantry unaer 
General Morillo; who, from the direction 
lii wh.th they had ascended, bad now become 
tne most advanced. The force General Gi¬ 
rard had with him at the commencement, 
which tc-nsisted of 25C0 infantry and 600 ca¬ 
valry j bsing at tins time totally dispersed. 
In the course of these operations, Brigadier- 
General Campbell’s brigade of Portuguese in¬ 
fantry (the 4th and lOth regiments) and the 
18th Portuguese infantry, joined from Casa 
de Don Antonio, where they had halted for 
the preceding night j and, as soon as I judged 
they could no longer be required at the scene 
of action, 1 detached them with the brigade, 
cor.sisting of the 50th, 71 sc, and 92d, regi¬ 
ments, and Major-General Long’s brigade 
of cavalry towards Merida. They reached 
St. Pedro that night, and entered Merida 
this morning ; the enemy having, in the 
course of the night, retreated from hence in 
great alarm to Almendraiego. The Count 
de Penne Viileniur formed the advanced guard 
with his cavalry, and had entered the town 
previous to the arrival of the British. 
The ultimate consequences of these opera¬ 
tions I need not point out to your lordship; 
their immediate result is the capture of one 
general of cavalry (Brune), one colonel of 
cavalry (the Prince D’Aremberg), one lieu- 
tenanc-colonel (Chief of the Etat Major), 
one aid de-camp of General Girard, two lie'u- 
tenant colonels, one Commissaire de Guerre, 
thirty captains and inferior officers, and up- 
waids of 1000 of no.n-commissioned officers 
and soldiers, already sent oft under an escort 
to Portaiegfe ; the whole of the enemy’s ar¬ 
tillery, baggage, and commissariat, some ma¬ 
gazines of corn, which he had collected at 
Caceres and Merida, and the contribution 
of money which he had levied on the former 
town, besides the total dispersion of Ceneiai 
Girard’s corps. The loss of the enemy in 
killed must also have been severe, while that 
cn our side was comparatively triflii-jg, as ap¬ 
pears by the acconrpan) ing return, in which 
your lordship will lament to see the name of 
Lieutenant Strennwit^, aid-de-camp to Lieu¬ 
tenant-General Sir Willi'cim Dr.-kine, whose 
extreme gallantry led him into the midst of 
the enemy’s cavalry, 2nd occasioned his be¬ 
ing tske.n prisoner. 
Thus has ended an expedition which, al¬ 
though not bringing into play to the full ex¬ 
tent the gallant-ry and spirit of those engaged, 
will I trust, give them a claim to your lord¬ 
ship’s approbation. Ko praise of mine can 
•do justice to their admirable conduct ; the 
patience »ind good-wiii shewn by all ranks 
during forced marches in the worst of wea¬ 
ther ; their strict attention to the orders they 
received, the precision with which they 
moved to the attack, and their obedience to 
command during the action; in ,shyr-!:| dbe 
manner in which every one has per.or^ifd hia 
duty from the first ccminencement -v! the 
operation, merits my warmest ikanka, and 
will not, I am sure, pass unobserved by your 
lordship. 
To Lieutenant-General Sir William Lr- 
skine, i must express my obligations for hia 
assistance and advice upon all occasions 1 to 
Major-General Howard, win? disniOunted and 
Lesdei 
