State of Public Affairs in Decembcf, 
18 ! 2 .] 
Beaded his trocps «p the difficult ascent of the 
Sierra, and throughout most ably conducted 
his column, and to Major-General Long for 
his exertions at the head of his brigade, I 
feel myself particularly indebted. I must 
also express my obligations to Colonel Wilson, 
Colonel Ashworth, and I-ieustenant-CoIonel 
Stewart, commanding brigades, for the able 
tnanner in which they led them. Lieutenant- 
Colonel Cameron, the Hon. Lieutenant-Co¬ 
lonel Cadogan, the Hon. Licutenaut-Colonel 
Abercromby, and Lieutenant-Colonels Fen¬ 
wick, Muter, and Lindsay, Majors Harri¬ 
son and Basscbe, M^jor Parke, commanding 
the light companies, and Captain Gore com¬ 
manding the 9th light dragoons, Major 
Hartmann, commanding the artillery, Lieu¬ 
tenant-Colonel Grant, and Major llirming- 
ham, of the Portuguese service, Captain Ar- 
resaga, of tlie Poituguese artillery, whose 
guns did so much execution, severally merit 
my warmest approbation by their conduct ; 
and I must rot omit to mentio'n the exertions 
made by Brigadier-General Campbell and lus 
troops, to anive in time to give their assist¬ 
ance. 
General Giron, the Chief of General Cas- 
taiios’ Slaft, and second in command of the 
fifth Spanish army, has done me the honor 
to accompany me during these operations j 
and I feel much indebted to him for his as¬ 
sistance and valuable advice. 
Brigadier-General the Count de Penne Vil- 
lemur, Brigadier-General Morillo, Colonel 
Downie, and theSpanis'i officers and soldiers 
in general, have conducted tfiemselvesi la a 
tvianaer to excite my warmest approb ition. 
I'o Lieutenant Colonel Rooke, assistant 
adjutant-general, and Lieutenant-Colonel 
Otfeney, assistant quarter-niaster-general, for 
the able manner in which they have conduct¬ 
ed their departments, and also for the valu¬ 
able assistance and advice which 1 have at all 
times received from them j to tlic officers of 
the adjutant and quarter-nnister-generars 
departments j to Captain Squire of the Royal 
Engineers, for his intelligence and indefati¬ 
gable exertions during the whole operation, 
and Captain Currie and my personal scafi', 
my wa'-mest thanks are due. 
This dispatch will be delivered to your 
lordship by Captain Hill, luy fiist aid-de- 
camp, to whom I beg Co refer your lordship 
for ail further particulars. 
i have the honor to be. Sec. 
(Signed) R. Hill, Lieut.-Gen. 
To General Viscount Wellington, 
P.S. Since writing the above Report, a 
good many more prisoners have been made j 
and I doubt not but the whole will amount to 
R3 or 1400. 
Brigadier-Gj^neral Morlllo has just returned 
from the pursuit of the dispersed, whom he 
followed for eight leagues. He reports, that 
besides those killed in the plain, upwards of 
feOO dead \ver€ found in Chg woods and ragun- 
tuins* 
593 
General Girard escaped in the direction of 
Serena with 2 or 300 men, mostly without 
arnis, and is stated by his own sid-de-camp 
to be Wounded. ^ 
Return of killed, wounded, and missing,—« 
Total British loss, 7 rank and file, 5 horses, 
killed J 1 lieutenant-colonel, 2 majors, 4cap¬ 
tains, 4 Serjeants,- 47 rank and fde. 3 1 
horses, wou'nded j 1 general staff, missing. 
Iota] Portuguese loss, 0 rimk and file 
wmunded. 
Names of officers wounded_2d Hussars 
King’s German Legion—Major Bussche and 
Captain Schultze, slighty, 
2d batt. o9th foot-captain Saunderspn, 
severely. 
1st batt. 92d foot—Lieutenant-Colonel 
Cameron, slightly; Captain Donald M‘Do- 
nald, severely; ' Captain John M Pherson, 
severely, but not dangerously ; Brevet-Ma¬ 
jor Dunbar, slightly. 
Missing.—21stLigbtOragoons— Lieutenant 
Strenuwirz, aid-de-camp to Lieutenant-Gene¬ 
ral Sir William Erskine, bare. 
AMERICA. 
The President of the-United States, on 
November the 5th, communicated, hy 
Mr. Coles, his Private Secretary, the 
following Message to Congress:— 
Fe//ozv Citizens of the Senate^ and cf the Hottse 
of Representatives, 
In caJliog you together sooner than, a se¬ 
paration from your homes would have been 
required, i yielded to considerations drawn 
from the posture of our foreign affairs; and, 
in fixing tlie present for the time of your 
meeting, regard v/as had to the probability of 
further developments of the policy of the 
belligerent powers towards this countr'yj 
which might the more unite the nationai 
councils in the measures to be pursued. 
At the close of the last session of Congress 
it was hoped that the successive confirmations 
of the extinction of the French decrees, so 
tar as they violated our neutral commerce 
would have induced the Government of Great 
Britain to repeal its Orders in Council, and 
thereby authorise a removal of the existing- 
obstructions to her commerce with the United 
States. .. 
Instead of this reasonable .step towards s.i- 
tiSihiction and friendship between the two 
nations, the orders were, at a moment when 
least to have been expected, put into more 
rigorous execution; and it v.'as communicated, 
througli the British Envoy just arrived, that, 
whilst the revoca'ion of the edicts of France* 
as officially made known to the British Go¬ 
vernment, was denied to have taken place, 
it was an indispensable condition of the repeal 
of the British orders, tirat commerce should 
be restored to a footing that would admit the 
productions and manufactures of Great Bri¬ 
tain, when owned by neutrals, into markets- 
«h,ut ag-jiait Uiem by her enemy, the United 
Scales 
