should cross the Douro, and pretend to defend themselves at Oporto by so doing. 'Marshal Beresford. • Believe me, &c. 'ARTHUR Wellesley. Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley, K.B., to Viscount 'I had the honor to apprise your Lordship on the 7th instant, that I intended that the army should march on the 9th from Coimbra, to dispossess the enemy of Oporto. The advanced guard and the cavalry had marched on the 7th, and the whole had halted on the 8th, to afford time for Marshal Beresford with his corps to arrive upon the Upper Douro. The infantry of the army was formed into three divisions for this expedition, of which two, the advanced guard, consisting of the Hanoverian legion, and Brigadier General R. Stewart's brigade, with a brigade of six pounders, and a brigade of three pounders under Lieut. General Paget; and the cavalry under Lieut. General Payne; and the brigade of Guards, Brigadier General Campbell's and Brigadier General Sontag's brigades of infantry, with a brigade of six pounders, under Lieut. General Sherbrooke, moved by the high road from Coimbra to Oporto, and one composed of Major General Hill's and Brigadier General Cameron's brigades of infantry, and a brigade of six pounders, under the command of Major General Hill, by the road from Coimbra to Aveiro. • On the 10th in the morning, before daylight, the cavalry and advanced guard crossed the Vouga, with the intention to surprise and cut off four regiments of French cavalry, and a battalion of infantry and artillery, cantoned in Albergaria Nova and the neighbouring villages, about eight miles from that river, in the last of which we failed; but the superiority of the British cavalry was evident throughout the day: we took some prisoners and their cannon from them; and the advanced guard took up the position of Oliveira. · On the same day Major General Hill, who had embarked at Aveiro on the evening of the 9th, arrived at Ovar, in the rear of the enemy's right; and the head of Lieut. General Sherbrooke's division passed the Vouga on the same evening. 'On the 11th, the advanced guard and cavalry continued to move on the high road towards Oporto, with Major General Hill's division in a parallel road which leads to Oporto from Ovar. 'On the arrival of the advanced guard at Vendas Novas, between Souto Redondo and Grijo, they fell in with the outposts of the enemy's advanced guard, which were immediately driven in; and shortly afterwards we discovered the enemy's advanced guard, consisting of about 4,000 infantry, and some squadrons of cavalry, strongly posted on the heights above Grijo, their front being covered by woods and broken ground. The enemy's left flank was turned by a movement well executed by Major General Murray, with Brigadier General Langwerth's brigade of the Hanoverian Legion; while the 16th Portuguese regiment of Brigadier General Richard Stewart's brigade attacked their right, and the riflemen of the 95th, and the flank companies of the 29th, 43d, and 52d of the same brigade, under Major Way, attacked the infantry in the woods and village in their centre. 6 These attacks soon obliged the enemy to give way; and Brigadier General the Hon. Charles Stewart led two squadrons of the 16th and 20th dragoons, under the command of Major Blake, in pursuit of the enemy, and destroyed many and took several prisoners. On the night of the 11th the enemy crossed the Douro, and destroyed the bridge over that river. 'It was important, with a view to the operations of Marshal Beresford, that I should cross the Douro immediately; and I had sent Major General Murray in the morning with a battalion of the Hanoverian Legion, a squadron of cavalry, and two 6 pounders, to endeavor to collect boats, and, if possible, to cross the river at Avintas, about four miles above Oporto; and I had as many boats as could be collected brought to the ferry, immediately above the towns of Oporto and Villa Nova. The ground on the right bank of the river at this ferry is protected and commanded by the fire of cannon, placed on the height of the Serra Convent at Villa Nova; and there appeared to be a good position for our troops on the opposite side of the river, till they should be collected in sufficient numbers. 'The enemy took no notice of our collection of boats, or of the embarkation of the troops, till after the first battalion (the Buffs) were landed, and had taken up their position, under the command of Lieut. General Paget, on the opposite side of the river. 6 They then commenced an attack upon them, with a large body of cavalry, infantry, and artillery, under the command of Marshal Soult, which that corps most gallantly sustained, till supported successively by the 48th and 66th regiments, belonging to Major General Hill's brigade, and a Portuguese battalion, and afterwards by the first battalion of detachments belonging to Brigadier General R. Stewart's brigade. 'Lieut. General Paget was unfortunately wounded soon after the attack commenced, when the command of these gallant troops devolved upon Major General Hill. Although the French made repeated attacks upon them, they made no impression; and at last, Major General Murray having appeared on the enemy's left flank on his march from Avintas, where he had crossed, and Lieut. General Sherbrooke, who by this time had availed himself of the enemy's weakness in the town of Oporto, and had crossed the Douro at the ferry between the towns of Villa Nova and Oporto, having appeared upon their right with the brigade of Guards, and the 29th regiment, the whole retired in the utmost confusion towards Amarante, leaving behind them five pieces of cannon, eight ammunition tumbrils, and many prisoners. 'The enemy's loss in killed and wounded in this action has been very large, and they have left behind them in Oporto 700 sick and wounded. ' Brigadier General the Hon. Charles Stewart then directed a charge by a squadron of the 14th dragoons, under the command of Major Hervey, who made a successful attack on the enemy's rear guard. In the different actions with the enemy, of which I have above given your Lordship an account, we have lost some, and the immediate services of other valuable officers and soldiers. • In Lieut. General Paget, among the latter, I have lost the assistance of a friend, who had been most useful to me in the few days which had elapsed since he had joined the army. 'He had rendered a most important service at the moment he received his wound, in taking up the position which the troops afterwards maintained, and in bearing the first brunt of the enemy's attack. 'Major Hervey also distinguished himself at the moment he received his wound in the charge of the cavalry on this day. 'I cannot say too much in favor of the officers and troops. They have marched in four days over eighty miles of most difficult country, have gained many important positions, and have engaged and defeated three different bodies of the enemy's troops. 'I beg particularly to draw your Lordship's attention to the conduct of Lieut. General Paget, Major General Murray, Major General Hill, Lieut. General Sherbrooke, Brigadier General the Hon. Charles Stewart; Lieut. Colonel Delancey, Deputy Quarter Master General, and Captain Mellish, Assistant Adjutant General, for the assistance they respectively rendered General the Hon. Charles Stewart in the charge of the cavalry this day and on the 11th; Major Colin Campbell, Assistant Adjutant General, for the assistance he rendered Major General Hill in the defence of his post, and Brigadier General the Hon. Charles Stewart in the charge of the cavalry this day; and Brigade Major Fordyce, Captain Currie, and Captain Hill, for the assistance they rendered General Hill. 'I have also to request your Lordship's attention to the conduct of the riflemen and of the flank companies of the 29th, 43d, and 52d regiments, under the command of Major Way of the 29th; that of the 16th Portuguese regiment, commanded by Colonel Machado, of which Lieut. Colonel Doyle is Lieut. Colonel; that of the brigade of the Hanoverian Legion, under the command of Brigadier General Langwerth, and that of the two squadrons of the 16th and 20th light dragoons, under the command of Major Blake of the 20th, in the action of the 11th; and the conduct of the Buffs, commanded by Lieut. Colonel Drummond, the 48th, commanded by Colonel Duckworth, and 66th, commanded by Major Murray, who was wounded, and of the squadron of the 14th dragoons, under the command of Major Hervey, in the action of this day. 'I have received the greatest assistance from the Adjutant General and Quarter Master General Colonel Murray, and from all the officers belonging to those departments respectively throughout the service, as well as from Lieut. Colonel Bathurst and the officers of my personal staff, and I have every reason to be satisfied with the artillery and officers of engineers. 'I send this dispatch by Captain Stanhope, whom I beg to recommend to your Lordship's protection: his brother, the Hon. Major Stanhope, was unfortunately wounded by a sabre whilst leading a charge of the 16th light dragoons on the 10th instant. 'Viscount Castlereagh." 'I have the honor to be, &c. 'ARTHUR WELLESLEY. Return of Ordnance captured on the 12th May, 1809. Ten 12 pounders; twelve 8 pounders; eighteen 4 pounders; sixteen 3 pounders; two howitzers. Abstract of the Killed, Wounded, and Missing in the Army under the command of Lieut. General the Right Honorable Sir A. Wellesley, K.B., in action with the French Army under the command of Marshal Soult, on the 10th, 11th, and 12th of March, 1809. Lieut. General the Hon. Sir A. Wellesley, K.B., to Marshal Beresford. 'MY DEAR BEresford, 'Oporto, 12th May, 1809. 'I wrote to you at twelve, to inform you that the enemy had left this town, excepting their small guards, and that my troops are passing over. As soon as one battalion, the Buffs, had passed, the enemy made a most furious attack upon them, which they continued for about two hours. We threw over reinforcements as fast |