liAB QI7IS of W K I , f , .[ N < i T ON Published bv Van ir,„kUbL Ml, THE LIFE THE MOST NOBLE ARTHUR, 1 \ MARQUIS ANB EARIL OF WELLINGTON, WELLESLEY", ALL IN THE COUNTr OF SOMERSET, K. B. LIEUTENANT GENERAL ; MARSHAL GENERAL OF THE PORTUGUESE, ANV CAPTAIN GENERAL OF THE SPANISH ARMIES ; COMMANDER I.N CHIEF OF HIS BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S FORCES IN THE PENINSULA; ALSO, BD1CE OF CIUDAD EODRIGO, K. C. S. Sic. Sic. T.HE FIRST PART BY FRANCIS L. CLARKE. THE SECONP PART, ,'ROM THE ATTACK ON THE CASTLE OF BURGOS TO THE TAKING OF B0RDE41X. BY WILLIAM DUNLAP. JVEW-YORK. Printed and Published by Van Winkle and Wiley, Corner of Wall and New-streets. 3814. ^ MnJ A ' k %\ District of fttw-York, $s. BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the twenty fourth day of May in the thirty l. s. eighth year of the independence of the United States of America, Van Win- kle and Wiley of the said District, have deposited in this Office the title of a Book the right whereof they claim as Proprietors, in the words following, to wit : "The Life of the Most Noble Arthur. Marquis and Earl of Wellington, Viscount Wel- "lingtou, of Talavera and of Wellington, am! Baron Douro of Wellesley, all in the County " of Somerset, K- fi.; LieutenantGpneral ; Marshal General of the Portueuese, and Captain "General of the Spanish armies: Commander in chief of his Britannic Majesty's forces in " the Pciinsula: al=o Duke of Cimlad Rodrigo, K C. S hi:, kc. The first part by Krancis " L, Clarke. The second part, from the attack on the castle of Burgos to the taking of " Bordeaux, by William Dunlap " In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An Act for the encouragement of Learning, by serurin? the copies of Maps, Charts, and Books to the Au- thors and Proprietors, of such copies during the time therein mentioned " And also to an Act. entitled, " An Act, supplementary to an A<-t, entitled. An Act for the encourage- ment of Learning, by seeming the copies of Map., Chart', and Hooks to the Authors and Proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending the benefits thersofto the arts of designing, e::graving, and etching historical and other Prints." THEROM RUDD, Clerk of the District Court for the District of Jfew-York. /nighted by Sir Henry Sidney, the lord deputy, and appointed a member of the privy council. This able statesman, by his Lady Catherine, who w as a daughter of Sir Thomas Cusack of Cussington, in the county of Meath, Lord Chancellor of Ireland, had three sons, of whom the second, Sir Henry, of Castle Carbury, was the immediate ancestor of the present line. During his father's lifetime, aDd in the reign of Q,ueen Elizabeth, he was constable of Philipstown Fort,j after- wards seneschal of the king's county; and, in J 561, appointed by the Earl of Sussex, the lord deputy, providore of the army, similar to the modern office of commissary-general. He married Anne, daughter of his grace, Adam Loftus, Arch- bishop of Dublin, and his eldest son, Sir Henri/ Colley, succeeded him at Castle Carbury, of whom we only find it recorded that he married Anne, daughter and co-heiress of Christopher Pey- ton, Esq. auditor-general of Ireland; and his eldest son, Dudley 27 Collcy, of Castle Carbury, Esq. having distinguished himself much in the royal cause, was appointed an officer in the army by King Charles II. soon after the Restoration, and had also a grant and confirmation of the lands of Ardkill and ColliQgstown in Kil- dare. He was also a member of parliament for Philipstown. This Dudley married Anne, daughter of Henry Warren of Grangebeg, in the county of Kildare, Esq. and had a numerous family by her, of whom Henry was his successor ; and a daugh- ter Elizabeth married Garret Wellesley (or Wesley) of Dangan, in the county of Meath, Esq. a family of ancient Saxon extraction, being settled in the county of Sussex. This Henry Col ley, Esq. by his marriage with Mary, only daughter of Sir . William Usher, of Dublin, tnt. left a numerous family : and his youngest son, Richard Collcy, was the first who adopted the name of Wellesley, as heir to his first cousin, Gar- ret Wesley, of Dangan, who left him all his estates on conditiou of his taking the name aud arms of that family, all which was granted, and recorded in the herald's office, &c. in 1728. He appears to have held several offices under the crown : was au- ditor and registrar of the royal hospital of Kilmainham, second chamberlain of the court of exchequer, sheriff of the county of Meath in 1734, and member of parliament for the borough of Trim in the same year. , In consideration of his public services, his majesty George II. was pleased to create him a peer of Ire- land, by the title of Baron of Mornington, in 1 747. He married Elizabeth, daughter of John Sale, L. L. D. registrar of the dio- cess of Dublin, and representative in parliament for the borough ofCarysfort; and his eldest son, Garret, having succeeded him in his barony, was soon after, in 1 760, created Viscount Wellesley and Earl of Mornington, having before that held the office of custos mtulorum of the county of Meath. He married Anne, eldest daughter of the right honourable Arthur Hill, Viscount. Dungannon, and had issue, the present Marquis of Wellesley, William, now Wellesley Pole, in consequence of inheriting the estates of William Pole, of Ballifin, Esq. Arthur, the subject of.our present biography, and several other children. The first earl having died whilst a great part of his family were 28 yet ia tjieir infancy, a most important care devolved upon their amiable mother, whose prudent and energetic conduct overcame the obstacles attendant upon an impaired state of fortune, arising from causes which it had been impossible to counteract. It has been well said, that her wise and liberal economy, in conjunc- tion with the energies of an active and well iuformed mind, had supplied not only the deficiencies of fortune, but also the loss of a father. It must be confessed, indeed, that much of this power to do good on the part of Lady Mornington arose from the very generous and liberal conduct of the present marquis, who, with a magnanimity aud fraternal conduct which must always redound to his honour, gave up the entire management of the family estates to her guidance ; and, though in the heyday of youth, not only submitted cheerfully to those prudential restraints which her pa- rental care suggested, but actually paid off all his father's debts, out of an honourable regard to his memory. Arthur, the subject of our present biography, was born at Dangan, near Dublin, on the 1st of May, 1 769 : and at an early age was sent to Eton, that he might receive the benefit of a pub- lic education ; and, as he had chosen the army for his profession, he afterwards weut, at the close of the American war, to Angiers, in France, in order that he might acquire the theory of military science in that celebrated school, then under the direction of the much esteemed Pigjicrol, who has long beeu considered as the Vaubau of modern warlike architecture and engineering. While pursuing his studies here, he received his commission as ensign, the 25th December, 1787, and, at the age of twenty- Ihree, he bore the rank of captain in the 18th regiment of light dragoons, from which corps, on the 30th of April, 1 793, he was appointed to the majority of his present regiment, the 33d, in the room of Major Gore, who then resigned. In this junior rank of field-officer he did not long remain, but availed himself of his seniority to purchase in succession from Lieutenant Colonel Yorke, who resigned his commission in that regiment ; and his appointment took place on the 30th September, 1793. Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley, uow scarcely four and twenty. 1 29 engaged in active service under his gallant countryman the Earl of Moira, and early in 1794 was actually embarked with that force which was intended to have erected the standard of loyalty in Brittany ; but the fate of the Netherlands and of Flanders was no sooner decided by the uufortunate issue of the early part of the campaign of that year, under his royal highness the Duke of York, than his lordship was ordered to proceed with his little army to Ostend. After the surrender of Tournay, indeed on the very day on which the capitulation was signed, his royal highness was obliged to abandon his position near Oudenarde, and to retire towards Antwerp ; to which city he sent his sick and wounded. The French immediately took possession of Oudenarde, and, most for- tunately for themselves, were there supplied, as well as at Tour- nay, with large quantities both of military stores and provisions, for want of which they must otherwise have soon been in extreme distress. At this eventful period, the little army under the Earl of Moira arrived at Ostend ; and his lordship, having got intelligence of the perilous situation of his royal highness's forces, soon found it necessary to call a council of war, in which it was considered that it would tend more to the ultimate safety of the British army to proceed immediately to its relief, than to risk the chance of a siege, which the French would certainly undertake ; and in which eveu the bravest and most protracted defence of the garrison, whilst the French were pressing on the duke with such an im- posing force, would not tend in the slightest degree to make a diversion in his favour. The Earl of Moira himself and his small force had now to pro- ceed by land to the British head-quarters in the face of a superior enemy ; he had taken care, however, with the most admirable de- gree of military precision, to secure a communication, and to en- sure his junction with that part of the allied army under General Clairfayt ; and the rapidity of the march fortunately exposed nothing to chance, though the French general had orders to strike at the corps at all events, and had taken every preliminary measure for that purpose. 30 Though the evacuation did not take place until the 1st of Jul) yet Lord Moira had pushed on so fast with the main body of his little force, that, oo the 29th of June, he had arrived at Malle, only four miles from Bruges, on the way to Ghent. On this route he received a letter from the Duke of York, (which had come round by Sluys in consequence of great part of the country being in possession of the enemy,) desiring him to em- bark his whole army, and to join him at Antwerp ; but the pro- ceedings were too far advanced to execute this order. Soon after he received another pressing order to march by Sluys and Sas de Grand, the Bruges road appearing impracticable to his royal highness, and thus to join the British army more rapidly than the passage by sea would allow. Feeling himself completely now justified in his course of proceedings, this prudent and in- defatigable officer had, after a most tedious and difficult march, and encountering continual obstacles, reached the town of Alost ; but such had been the previous sufferings of his troops, that, from their leaving Ostend until their gaining that position, they were without baggage or tents, and exposed through all their route to the inclemency of a wet and unhealthy season. Presuming on the fatigue they had endured, and trusting to their consequent weariness, the French attacked them on the 6th of July. The piquets being driven in, they penetrated into the town; but, upon his lordship advancing with a reinforcement, the enemy retreated in coufusion. Though the name of Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley was not jmentioned particularly in this affair, we have been given to un- derstand that he (although his own regiment was embarked) had accompanied the army on their march, and commanded a cover- ing party in the rear, on which service he was highly instru- mental in the repulse of the French army upon this occasion. Two days after this action, on the 8th of July, Lord Moira effected a junction with the Duke of York. Soon after the Earl of Moira resigned his command, and returned to England. During th*- progress of the retreat of his royal highness, the French having passed the morass at Piel, deemed an insuperable barrier between the contending powers, a sudden attack was made upon all the posts on the right of the British army on the 31 14th of September, when that of Boxtel, the most advanced, was forced, with a loss of 1,500 of the troops of Hesse Darmstadt, who were completely surrounded and cut off. The possession of Boxtel by the enemy rendering the whole line of posts untenable, as it completely commanded the river Dommel, which runs im- mediately into the town by Fort Isabella, the commander in chief thought it absolutely necessary to retake it, and for thai purpose detached the reserve, composed of the brigade of guards, and 1 2th, 33d, 42d, and 44th regiments of the liae, with cavalry and (artillery. At daybreak on the 15th, General Abercrombie having reconnoitred, found the enemy so strongly posted, that he did not venture to risk the attack without positive orders; and, upon sending back to his royal highness for instructions, he was desired to persist in the attack, but not to proceed further than he thought prudent. In front, and inclining to the left of Abercrombie's corps, which had advanced through Schyndel, was a plain, skirted by a thick plantation of firs, in which the French had constructed se- veral masked batteries. The Coldstream regiment had been left on piquet at Erp, a village on the river Aa, between Bois Ie Due and Helmont. The cavalry, 1st and 3d guards, with the 33d and 44th regiments of the line, pushed on towards the point of attack, the 12th and 42d remaining in reserve on and near Schyndel. Some French hussars showed themselves boldly on the level ground, as a lure to the British' cavalry ; and, retreat- ing before them, dispersed when they had drawn our unwarj squadrons within reach of their batteries, which immediately opening upon them, they sustained some loss before they could possibly fall back. General Abercrombie having little doubt, by this time, of the proximity of the French grand army, and con- ceiving he had obeyed his orders in the fullest extent, by ad- vancing as far as prudence would justify, determined to recall his troops, and to retreat within the British lines of,, encampment. About one hundred were killed and wounded during the affair; and although the British retired in very good orde\ yet the nar- rowuess of the road had caused a regiment of IriSh light dra- goons to throw the 1st guards into some confusion. Taking ad- 32 vantage of this delay, the enemy's squadrons advanced in full force ; but fortunately the thirty-third were formed in the rear when their gallant leader, with great judgment aad promptitude, caused them to open, and permit the dragoons to pass through, when instantly wheeling up into line, they threw in a few cool and well directed volleys into the thickest of the assailants, which obliged them to retreat with precipitation, and thereby enabled General Abercrombie to complete his retreat without further mo- lestation. On the 2d of December, his royal highness the Duke of York being recalled, the command of the allied armies devolved upon the Hanoverian General Walmoden ; and on the 30th of December, 1791, the head-quarters being then at Aruheim, an at- tack was meditated on the enemy ; for which purpose a corps was formed of ten battalions of British infantry, of which the 33d was one, under Major General Lord Cathcart, Major General Gordon, and Lieutenant Colonel Mac Kensie; six squadrons of ' light cavalry, and one hundred and fifty hussars, under Major General Sir Robert Lawrie ; the loyal emigrant corps, and four battalions and four squadrons of Hessians, under Major General de Wurmb : the whole being commanded by Major General Da- vid Dundas. This respectable force was divided into three columns. The left column to attack by the dike : the centre to attack in such a manner as to keep the church of Werdenberg upon its left wing ; and the right column, consisting of four British battalions, and the Rohan hussars, to keep their left wing appuye to the Vliet, to turn Tuj 1, aud to attack it in the rear. Lord Cathcart found the road by which his column waslo march so impracticable, that, being obliged to make a great de- tour, he could not come up in time; and General Dundas finding, at his arrival near Werdenberg, that the enemy had abandoned • it during the night, he thought it advisable to push on with the other two columns, and to begin the attack immediately upou Tuyl. This attack was executed with such gallantry aud spirit by the troop?, that, notwithstanding the natural strength of this post. 33 (he abattis of fruit trees, that the enemy had constructed, the bai- tcries of the town of BommeJ, which flanked the approach, and the immense number of the defenders, yet it was soon carried, and the enemy driven across the river, (then everywhere passa r ble on the ice,) with a considerable loss. Four pieces of cannon also were taken ; and the whole detachment received the highest praise, not only for their spirited conduct in the execution of the enterprise, but also for the patience and perseverance with which they encountered the immense fatigues and hardships, consider- ably enhanced by the cold and severity of the season. The success of the whole was so far complete as thus to oblige the invaders to recross the Waal. Notwithstanding the advantages gained on the 31st of Decem- ber, yet, as the frost was still increasing, it was judged expedient that General Dundas's corps should fall back upon Lingen, leaving outposts upon the Waal ; a movement which was executed on the night of the 3d of January. The severity of the Aveather still increasing, the enemy were induced, on the 4th, to recross the Waal near Bommel. The advanced posts of the allies were immediately driven in, and Tuyl fell into the hands of the assailants. General Dundas, not* withstanding, still thought that he should be able to defend Met- teren, and thus to check the further progress of the enemy ; but the advanced posts of ttie Hessians, nearest to his post, having been obliged also to fall back, the commander in chief, in concert with the other principal officers, thought it prudent to send or- ders to him, and also to General Dalwick, to unite their detach- ments immediately, and at daybreak of the 5th, to make a vigor- ous attack upon the enemy to drive them across the Waal. But about two in the afternoon of the 4th, the French attacked the post at Mettcren about a mile in front, where part of the 33d regiment, with a piquet of eighty cavalry and two curricle guns were posted ; their superior number, and their disposition to surround this brave little detachment, soon made it necessary to fall back on the other part of the regiment, which was sup- ported with two howitzers. In this difficult movement, tbey 34 were very hard pressed by a large body of the enemy's hussar^ that gallopped along the road with great vivacity. The troops having beforehand been in an alert situation, the village of Geldermalsen was soon covered by the 42d and 78th; when the whole of the 33d took its place in the line of defence, and the other troops were in reserve on the opposite dike of the Lingen, that river being completely frozen, and everywhere passable. In the early part of this affair, Colonel Wellesley and his lit- tle band must have displayed great activity ; but the charge of the superior body of the enemy was so impetuous, both on the cavalry and infantry, that at first they had the advantage, and il is even said, had taken the two curricle guns ; but the reserve of the 33d coming up, the guns were retaken, and the enemy re- pulsed, so as to allow of the gallaut few falling back with regu- larity on the main body. The enemy still persevering in their attack, and being now re- inforced, advanced on the village of Geldermalsen, both in front and flank ; but after a great deal of musketry firing, for about an hour, were everywhere repulsed by the steadiness of the troops, and forced to retire. The violence of the frost having now converted the whole country into a kind of plain, which thereby afforded the greatest facilities to the French army in all their movements, General Dundas thought it necessary to fall back during the night upon Beuren, where General Dalwick was already stationed. This circumstance, and the excessive fatigue which the troops had undergone in those operations, at a season of the year, and in situations, in which they were often obliged, from want of can- tonments, to pass the night without cover, determined the com- mander in chief to take up a position behind the Leek, extending from Cuylenberg to Wageningen. Another reason for this movement, was a march made by a considerable columu of the enemy, atteuded by a large train of artillery towards Gorcum ; whilst their attack upon the right, combined with an attempt upon Thiel, evidently indicated a Hit regular plan of operations, even during the severity of the weather. In the mean time a partial change took place in the movements of the British ; for a very considerable and sudden thaw having come on upon the 6th, which offered a prospect of still preserving the position upon the Waal, it was judged proper that the troops which had not yet crossed the Leek should remain in the canton- mentp they then occupied, and that the rest should again move forward. On this occasion Lieutenant General Abercrombie and Major General Hammerstein, with the greatest part of their corps, and some Austrian battalions, were to have begun their march upon Thiel, and towards Bommel upon the 7th; and General Dundas's corps received orders in consequence, to occupy Beuren, and the heights near it, on the 8th, in order that they might cooperate with the former detachments. Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, it was extremely changeable; and it had happened very unfortunately that the frost set in again most unexpectedly; but as the troops were al- ready put in motion, and counter orders might have prevented a combination, from the extent of the line, General Dundas having assembled his corps, with a zeal and exertion both on his part and that of the different commanding officers, which drew forth the highest prake from the commander in chief; he proceeded towards Beuren on the morning of the 8th, having detached in ad- vance two battalions, who Avere afterwards to have marched upon Thiel, to cooperate in the attack upon that place. On their ar- rival at Beuren, they found all the British posts upon the Lin- gen driven in, and the enemy in force near Beuren ; but as soon as more troops came up, Lord Cathcart was sent forward in ad- vance, and soon drove back the enemy, with great loss, beyond Geldermalsen. The retreat of the British army was still, however, absolutely necessary, but under circumstances of the most horrible suffer- ing, which cannot be related better than in the words of an eye- witness. *' On the 16th of January we marched at the appointed hour; at; and, alter a very laborious journey, about three o'clock io the af- ternoon reached the verge of an immense desert, called the We- law, when, instead of having a resting place for the night, as we expected, we were informed that we had fifteen miles further to go. Upon this information many began to be very much deject- ed, and not without reason ; for several of us, besides suffering the severity of the weather, and fatigue of the march, had neither eat nor drank any thing, except water, that day. • " For the first three or four miles such a dismal prospect ap- peared as none of us was ever witness to before ; a bare sandy de- sert, with a tuft of withered grass, or solitary shrub, here and there. The wind was excessively high, and drifted the snow and sand together so strong, that we could hardly wrestle against it r to which was added a severity of cold almost insufferable. The frost was so intense, that the water which came from our eyes, freezing as it fell, hung in icicles to our eyelashes ; and our breath, freezing as soon as emitted, lodged in heaps of ice about our faces, and on the blankets or coats that were wrapped round our heads. " Night approaching fast, a great number, both men and women, began to linger behind, their spirits being quite exhausted, and without hope of reaching their destination ; and if they once lost sight of the column of march, though but a few moments, it being dark, and no track to follow, there was no chance of finding it again. In this state numbers were induced to sit down, or creep under the shelter of bushes, where, weary, spiritless, and with- out hope, a few moments consigned them to sleep ; but, alas ! who- ever slept waked no more ; their blood instantly congealed in theis veins, the spring of life soon dried up ; and if ever they opened their eyes, it was only to be sensible of the last moments of their miserable existence. " Others, sensible of the danger of sitting down, but having lost the column, wandered up and down the pathless waste, surround- ed with darkness and despair ; no sound to comfort their ears but the bleak whistling wind ; no sight to bless their eyes but the wide trackless waste, and ' shapeless drift ;' far from human help, far from pity, down they sunk — to rise no more J" 37 The sufferings of the British army, at this period, were indeed great in the extreme. Removing the sick in wagons without sufficient clothing to keep them warm, iu that rigorous season. had sent some huudreds to their graves ; whilst the shameful neg- lect that theu pervaded all the medical departments had rendered the hospitals nothing better than slaughter-houses. Without covering, without attendance, and even without clean straw, and sufficient shelter from the weather, they were thrown together in heaps, unpitied and unprotected, to perish by conta- gion, whilst legions of vultures, down to the stewards, nurses, and their numberless dependants, pampered their bodies, and filled their pockets with the nation's treasure. Though the sufferings which Colonel Wellesley must now have endured were great in the extreme, iu commou with the whole army, yet these were to him a school of experience ; and he has ever since directed his best attentions to the comfort of his troops, whose conduct, under the most trying circumstances, have always tended to their glory. At this period the diminished British army had every dis- advantage to encounter ; for through the activity of the French commanders, and the inhospitable feelings of the Dutch, whose hatred was never concealed when they had fair and safe oppor- tunities of manifesting it, they were totally unable to make any thing like a determined stand. On the 27th of January, 1 795. they were able to reach Deventer, after one of the most fatiguing and distressing marches which perhaps was ever experienced by a retreating army. Here, then, they fondly hoped to enjoy some little respite from their sufferings, and from the absolute necessity of the most sedulous attention ; for, notwithstanding all their suf- ferings, such had been their courage and perseverance, as to en- able them in the midst of their arduous trials to convey with safety to this rendezvous all the ammunition and military stores, artillery, and implements of war of all descriptions belonging to the army. Further than this, however, from the unwillingness of the coun- try people to supply them with cattle and wagons, and from the rapid diminution of their strength, they were unable to convey 38 them, and were therefore obliged to destroy great part to prevent their falling into the hands of the enemy, whose rapid approach made it necessary to evacuate Devcntcr on the 29th. On the 10th of July they were able to cross the Vecht, and two days after to reach the Ems; still pursued by a harassing enemy, who, however, never dared to attack them seriously until the 24th of the month, when a large and superior body of the French army came up with the rear. An action immediately took place ; but our little baud displayed such firmness that the assailants were totally unable to make any impression upon them, and were obliged to allow them to resume their march, and to pursue it unmolested into the country of Bremen, where the kindness of the German boors formed a most pleasing contrast to the sullen apathy, or more spiteful enmity of the Dutch. During the whole of this arduous retreat, Lieutenant Colonel Wellesley, at the head of three battalions, had covered all the movements ; aud, even under circumstances of the greatest and most peculiar difficulty, acted in such a manner as to excite the applause pf all, and to gain the approbation of his superiors. 39 SECTION II. Arrival in -India — Projected attempt on Manilla — Expected war in the Car- natic — Preliminary observations — Religious customs and manners of the Hindoos — Political state of society— Tippoo Suitaun's politics — His negotia- tions with France — French troops landed at Mangalore— Governor Ge- neral's reasons for engaging in the war — Insidious conduct of the Sultaun — Formation of the army for the Mysore — Nizam's subsidiary contingent put under the separate command of Colonel Wellesley — Anecdotes of Lieute- nant General Harris — Advance of the army — Skirmishes and attacks of the enemy— Battle of Mallavelli — Advance to Seringapatam— Siege of that important city and fortress— Brilliant attacks conducted by Colonel Welles- ley — Affair of the ^ultaunpettah — Storm and surrender — Anecdotes of forlorn hope, &c. — Anecdotes of Colonel Dunlop — Tippoo's conduct and fall- Anecdotes of General Sir David Baird— Discovery of Tippoo's body Anecdotes of Tippoo Sultaun — Anecdotes of the Storm — Changes in the Mysore government — Tippoo's sons sent prisoners to Vellore, and the rightful Rajah reinstated on the throne of his ancestors — Treasure found in the palace, Ste. — Beneficial consequences of the fall of Tippoo — Grati- tude of the army to Lord Mornington, and his exemplary self denial— Galiant and judicious conduct of Colonel Wellesley against Dhoondia Watigh —Battle of Conahgull, &c. &c. &c. A NEW era now arrived in which the splendid abilities of Colonel Wellesley had an opportunity of being brought forward, his brother, the Earl of Mornington, (now Marquis of Wellesley,) being appointed to the high and important station of governor general of our oriental empire, whither the colonel, with his own regiment, accompanied him; and they arrived at Kedgeree at the mouth of the Ganges, on board the Virginie frigate, on the 17th of May, 1798, when the governor general proceeded for Calcutta, went through the usual ceremonies, and took on him the execution of his arduous office. The Spanish war having then been commenced, an attack ob their settlements at the Philippine Islands was determined on. and a large force not only assembled, but partly embarked for that service, in which Colonel Wellesley would have enjoyed a high command ; but the intrigues of the French with the native princes of India, obliged the governor general to change his plan? on the instant, and reserve his rroops for the defence of tlwi British territories. 40 Notwithstanding the friendly protestations of Tippoo Sultaun, die experience of the campaigns under the Marquis of Corn- wallis had shown that the loss of the Coimbatoor country and other districts, and even of many of his hill forts in the Mysore, had produced no steady effect on his mind, and he seemed to fear nothing whilst he possessed his capital ; the Earl of Mornington, therefore, determined on decisive measures; and the reduction of Seringapatam was considered as an object of the first considera- tion. The important operations Avhich now took place in India re- quire a few preliminary lines. Tippoo Sultaun, impelled by his rooted enmity to the British nation, had already despatched two ambassadors, who embarked at Mangalore for the Isle of France, and arrived at that island to- wards the close of January, 1 798. These ambassadors Avere re- ceived publicly and formally by the French government, with every circumstance of distinction and respect ; and they were entertained at the public expense during their continuance on the island. Previous, indeed, to the arrival of the ambassadors in that island, no idea, nor even rumour, existed there of any aid to be furnished to Tippoo by the French, or of any prospect of a war between that prince and the company ; but, within two days after their arrival, a proclamation was issued by the governor general, stating that an embassy had arrived with letters from Tippoo Sultaun, addressed not only to the government of the Isle of France, but to the executive directory at home, proposing to con- clude an offensive and defensive alliance, to subsidize whatever troops France might send to his assistance, and to commence against British India a war, for which the Sultaun was described as fully prepared ; and stating at the same time that he was wait- iog with anxiety the moment when the assistance of France should enable him to satisfy his ardent desire of expelling the British nation from that country. Such a proclamation was no doubt very impolitic, as giving full warning to England of what she might expect, and thereby enabling the Company's servants in India to be upon their guard, 41 s'or the proclamation soon found its way to Calcutta ; but as it concluded by offering encouragement to the subjects of France to enter into the service of Tippoo Sultaun, on terms to be fixed with his ambassadors then on the spot, it is likely the governor thought a full development necessary to encourage the plan in view of raising men. Tippoo Sultaun, therefore, having actually concluded these offensive and defensive engagements with France, then our ene- my; having permitted the French troops to land publicly at Mangalore, and having thus collected by their aid a force openly destined to carry those engagements into effect ; having also ap- plied to the directory of Frauce for a more powerful force, des- tined to the same end ; and having also declared that the delay ©f the meditated blow proceeded from no other cause than his expectation of receiving further aid from the enemy ; the Earl of Mornington conceived himself perfectly justified in asserting that the Sultaun had most flagrantly violated the treaties existing between him and the Company, and that he had actually com- mitted an act of direct hostility and aggression against the Bri- tish government in India. In addition to this, the governor general had received undoubt- ed intelligence that Tippoo had for some time previous been en- tirely employed in military preparations, in perfect couformity with the hostile spirit of his engagements Avith our inveterate ene- my ; that the greatest part of his army was in a state of equip- ment for the field ; and that a considerable portion of it was ac- tually encamped under his personal command. All this, however, was in direct opposition to the communica- tions from Tippoo himself; for he had not then attempted to allege even the pretext of a grievance against the British go- vernment ; and even in his letters to Sir John Shore, now Lord Teignmouth, whilst his ambassadors were actually at the Isle of France, nay, dated on the very day on which the French force landed at Mangalore, he declared that " his friendly heart was disposed to pay every regard to truth and justice, and to strength- en the foundations of harmony and concord between the twona- 8 42 tiotis;'' aud lie concluded Avith expressing a desire thai Sir John would impress Lord Moraington with a sense of the friendship •and unanimity so firmly subsisting between the two states. Lord Mornington was fortunately not to be cajoled by these pacific de- clarations ; but considering the act of Tippoo Sultauu's ambassa*- dors, ratified by himself, and followed up by the admission of a French force into his army, as equivalent to a public, unquali- fied, and unambiguous, declaration of war, he determined on an immediate attack upon his capital, as demanded by the soundest maxims both of justice and policy, and as the best and surest means of frustrating the execution of his unprovoked and un- warrantable projects of ambition «nd revenge. The departure of the large force destined for Manilla, it was afterwards ascertained, would have proved a signal to the watch- ful vengeance of Tippoo to invade the Caraatic, even without waiting for the aid of a French force, the assistance of which did not appear necessary to him during the contemplated ab- sence of such a considerable portion of our army. The whole proposed plan of operation became, therefore, necessarily changed, and the Madras army, under Lieutenant General Harris, was concentrated at Vellore, in the Carnatic . but, from the unavoidable delays in providing the necessary equipments for so large a force, it was not in a condition to begin its march before the 11th of February, 17 99. The con- tingent of the Nizam, amounting to about 6,000 of the Com- pany's troops, under the command of Colonel Roberts, and sub- sidized by his highness, together with the same number of his own native infantry, marched from Hyderabad, under the com- mand of Meer Allum Bahauder, and had arrived at Chittoor, even before General Harris was ready to march from Vellore. In order to give the Nizam's force the utmost respectability, the commander in chief not only strengthened it with some of the Company's battalions, but appointed the 33d regiment to join it, giving the geueral command of the British force thus serving to Colonel Wellesley. This arrangement, which was highly pleasing to Meer Allum. 43 added greatly to the confidence of his troops, and tended much to render them essentially useful. Colonel Wellesley had thus under his commaud the whole ol the Nizam's detachment, forming the reserve of the army, and comprising his own regiment the 33d, the 11th, part of the 2d and 4th, two battalions of the 1st Bengal regiment, two brigades of artillery, the Nizam's infantry commanded by Captain Mal- colm, and the cavalry of the same prince commanded by their own native officer, Meer Allum. Along with these he had a distinct staff; and the cavalry alone amounted to 6,000 men ; the whole army under General Harris being returned 36,959 fighting men, all well equipped, amply and liberally supplied, excellent in discipline, and never surpassed by any army ever formed iu India, in the skill and ability of the officers in all departments. It must be confessed, indeed, that the expedition was begun uuder^mtoward circumstances, for the cumbrous baggage and numerous attendants on the Nizam force, as well as that of the European troops, the immense quantity of public stores and pro- visions, the long train of ordnance, with above forty thousand Benjarres, formed altogether such a host as not to admit of be- ing covered by the effective force ; so that if Tippoo had em- ployed his powers, with the military skill which lie was sup- posed to possess, he might, without hazarding an engagement, by desultory skirmishes, distant cannonades, and other hostile move- ments, have so harassed the infantry, and weakened the cavalry, that a great part of the baggage, stores, and ammunition, would probably have fallen into his hands, and the army have thus been greatly impeded in its march to the place of destination, particu- larly as the rainy season was then near setting in. The commander in chief, Lieutenant General Harris, having determined to advance to Seringapatam, by the route of Talgaut- poram and Cankanelli, the march commenced at daybreak on the 10th of March, 1799. Tlie cavalry were in advance, the baggage on the right, and the detachment under Colonel Welles- ley, which had marched by the left, moved parallel at some dis- tance on the right flank of the army. 44 Even on the first day's advance, the enemy began to annoy them. Parties of their horse were in all directions, and were not only active in burning the forage, and destroying the villages, but had even the audacity to attack Colonel Wellesley's rear guard, consisting of a company of Sepoys. Of these twenty were killed upon the spot, and Lieutenant Reynolds, and thirty- six wounded; but the commanding officer taking prompt steps, they were immediately repulsed. On the 19th, after a fatiguing march through a country full of jungles and defdes, intelligence was received that the army of Tippoo had advanced to Allagoor, a village near Sultaunpettah ; and on the 28th, the left wing and the cavalry having encamped «dose to a pass about seven miles from Cankanelli, the right were advanced to Arravully, and Colonel Wellesley's division took tip its ground at some distance in the rear. On the 23d, after securing several posts and passes of import- ance, the right wing of the cavalry marched from Achil, and en- camped at Sultaunpettah, the left wing and the battering train advancing to Achil, while Colonel Wellesley, with his detach- ment, marched from Cankanelli, and encamped in front of the ar- my, and the village of Allagoor, from whence the Sultaun's army had retired. Early on the morning of the day, as the colonel and his advance approached Sultaunpettah, a cloud of dust to the westward evidently denoted that the army of Tippoo was then in motion, and it afterwards appeared that it had just quit- ted its position on the westward bank of the Maddoor river, and had encamped at Mallavelly. As the movements from this date led to an action in which the colonel had an opportunity of greatly distinguishing himself, we shall notice them more mi- nutely from the observations of an eyewitness. Pursuing their march, the right wing, the cavalry, and the detachment under Colonel Wellesley, halted on the 25th of March, and were joined by the left wing and the battering train. On the 26th the whole moved in compact order, and encamped five miles to the eastward of Mallavelly. This gave Tippoo an opportunity of executing part of his intentions; for the spies, on 45 Jheir return from his camp, positively asserted that he had de- clared his intention of attacking them " as soon as they ventured out of the jungles," or thick forests through which they had to pass; and his having waited some days encamped on the bauks of the Maddoor appeared to confirm the truth of their reports. The ground taken up by the army on the 26th was open, and easily to be seen from the adjoining heights ; and the enemy's ad- vanced parties, amongst which were some elephants, soon appear- ed upon a distant ridge. From thence, after reconnoitring the British encampment for a considerable time, they retired, and in the evening fourteen or fifteen guns were seen in motion ; the whole of which circumstances seemed to point out that the Sul- taun was preparing for the execution of his threatened attack. On the 27th, therefore, at daybreak, Colonel Wellesley's di- vision was ordered to move parallel to the left, but at some dis- tance, so as to cover the baggage, and to be in readiness to act as circumstances should require ; whilst the main body of the army marched from its left flank on the great road leading to Malla- velly. Major General Floyd commanded the advance of the whole, having under him all the piquets; together with five re- giments of cavalry ; he approached within a mile of Mallaveliy. but was there obliged to halt, in consequence of discovering a numerous body of the enemy's cavalry on the right flank, whilst their infantry remained on the heights beyond that place. He was convinced that this was Tippoo's grand army ; and having reconnoitred his position, discovered some guns moving towards the right of the enemy's line, as if with the intention of occupying a ridge which enfiladed the low ground on the east- ern flank of the village. He immediately concluded that these guns were intended to open upon our line whilst passing this ground; and having given the proper information to the command- er in chief, measures were immediately taken for an instant at- tack, in order to frustrate his plans. Colonel Wellesley, with his division, was directed to attack the Sultaun's right flank, whilst the piquets, under Colonel Sher- brooke, supported by the right wing of the main body, under 46 Major General Brydges, were to penetrate through the village ot Mullavelly towards the centre of the enemy's line ; and Major General Popham, with the left Aving and the rear guard, was to remain at the fort end of the village of Mallavelly, for the pro- tection of the battering train and the baggage ; the five regiments of cavalry being formed on the left of the road, with orders to support Colonel Wellesley's attack. The colonel no sooner put his force in motion, and his ma- noeuvre was perceived by the Sultaun, than the guns were drawn olF to a ridge beyond that which they at first occupied. Here the main body of the enemy's infantry was drawn up, but at so great a distance, that it was at first imagined they were about to retire; and at this period General Harris, who had led the piquets and the right Aving in person, arrived at the fort of • Mal- lavelly, while Lieutenant Colonel Richardsou,the quartermaster- general, having advanced to reconnoitre the ground on the wes- tern side of the fort, now waited for instructions. The general, indeed, was of opinion, from the enemy remain- ing at so great a distance, that lie did not mean to advance ; he, therefore, gave orders to Colonel Richardson to mark out the ground for a new encampment, which he performed under the protection of Colonel Sherbrooke with the piquets, reinforced by the 2jUi light dragoons, and the second regiment of native cavalry. He had scarcely, however, marked out this new v-i -oiiiid, when twelve or fourteen guns were opened from different parts of the enemy's line, at a distance of two thousand yards. Though at this distance they soon got the range, and did some execution ; but our advanced troops were soon in motion, for Colonel Sherbrooke immediately pushed forward with the piquets to a village in front of the left of the hostile army, from which he soon drove oft' a party of their cavalry and rocket men. This position was of such consequence that a body of the enemy's horse soon began to hover on our right flank ; hut they were kept in check by the 25th dragoons, under Colonel Cotton, who still maintained their position. The piquets were, indeed, now the most advanced part of the army, and had been most fu- 3 • 47 diciously posted by Colonel Sherbrooke with their right to the village; but they were now considerably annoyed by the can- nonade and rockets; and, the cannonade increasing, the 5th, 1st, and 3d brigades were ordered to advance and form upon his left. At this juncture Colonel Wellesley, supported by Major Ge- neral Floyd, with the three remaining regiments of cavalry, ad- vanced en echcllcn of battalions ; and the whole line thus moving slowly and steadily, time Avas given for the whole to act toge- ther, the enemy's cannonade being answered by as many of the fieldpieces as could be brought up ; the action thus becoming general along the whole front. At this moment a desperate attempt was made on the part of Tippoo, by moving forward a column to the number of two thousand men, in excellent order, towards the 33d regiment, but this gallant corps, reserving its fire with the utmost steadiness, received that of the enemy at the distance of sixty yards; and, continuing to advance, the column gave way and were thrown into disorder, at which critical moment General Floyd making a rapid charge completed the rout with great slaughter. The enemy's first line, with the whole of its guns, was now forced, by the advance of the whole British line, to retire to the ftext height, where their second line was formed. They were at this time almost beyond the reach of our guns, and the cannon- ade, which had lasted three hours, having ceased on both sides, On account of the distance, the enemy retreated : indeed, it may be said that the action, properly speaking, was of very short duration ; for, although some corps of their infantry, as well as cavalry, exhibited the strongest proofs of courage, yet it was totally impossible for them to withstand the determined va- lour and steadiness of the British force. The British loss was inconsiderable, three officers only being wounded, six Europeans killed, and thirty-four wounded ; the loss of our native troops amounting to only about half that num- ber; but though the enemy appeared to suffer severely, yet it was impossible to ascertain the extent of their loss, as they car- 48 vied oft* both killed aod wounded, which were afterwards under- stood to have amounted to upwards of one thousand ; and it was afterwards accurately known, that of the column which attacked Colonel Wellesley, and was afterwards charged by General Floyd, only two hundred and thirty remained on the field, in a state for service, after the action was over. It has also been mentioned that some of the prisoners asserted that the infantry were driven on by the horse, and ordered to attack the British ; a fact further corroborated by an eyewitness, who adds, that the firmness of those corps which opposed his majesty's 33d regiment, as well as the gallantry of a party of horse that charged the European bri- gade, was perhaps never exceeded by the Sultaun's troops on any former occasion. On the approach towards Seringapatam Colonel Wellesley, with his divisiou, accompanied "by the cavalry, and the right wing of the army, encamped on the north side of the river Cauvery, whilst the left wing crossed that river at a very prac- ticable ford, a movement which tended much to defeat the pro- posed plans of the enemy against their advance. On the 1st of April, 1 799, the whole army was within thirteen miles of Seringapatam ; on the 3d the army marched by the left, and Colonel Wellesley's division, keeping on the right, moved along the bank of the river, the whole encamping again upon the high road, at the distance of five miles from that fortress. To go through all the details of this important siege would be far beyond our proposed limits ; we shall, therefore, briefly state that on the 5th of April the whole British army took up its ground opposite the west face of the fort of Seringapatam, at the dis- tance of only three thousand five hundred yards, the left being to the river Cauvery, whilst Colonel Wellesley, with his division, was encamped en potence, to the right of the whole. In front of the British camp were several ruined villages, and rocky eminences, besides an aqueduct, which, passing from the left of the camp, takes there an easterly direction till it ap- proaches within seventeen hundred yards of the fort, where it winds oft* to the right to a large grove of cocoa trees and bam- 4y boos, called the Sultaunpettah Tope : and these positions afforded cover for the enemy's infantry and rocket men so near to the camp, that many of the rockets thrown from these places fell among the tents. In order to dislodge them from this cover, Colonel Wellesley had orders, ou the evening of the 5th of April, to have the 33d regiment, and the 2d Bengal regiment, in readiness at sunset; whilst Colonel Shaw with the 12th, and two battalions of Sepoys with their guns, received similar orders : the former being des- tined to scour the Sultaunpettah Tope, whilst the latter was to attack the posts at the aqueduct. It was a little after sunset be- fore these detachments advanced, which they did both at the same instant, the obscurity of the night being at the same time rather unfavourable to their operations. Colonel Wellesley, im- mediately upon entering the Tope, was assailed from it. on every side by a hot fire of musketry aud rockets, which circumstance, added to the darkness of the night, the uncertainty of the ene- my's force aud position, and the baduess of the ground, obliged him solely to confine his operations to the mere object of making a diversion, and to postpone the attack of the post until a more favourable opportunity, whilst Colonel Shaw was enabled to seize upon a ruined village within forty yards of the aqueduct, so as to secure his troops from the musketry of the enemy, who, how- ever, still retained possession of the aqueduct itself. The commander in chief the next morning (the 6th) observing that the village where Colonel Shaw was posted was still much galled by the enemy's musketry, a reinforcement during the night having arrived at the aqueduct, and feeling that the posses- sion of the Sultaunpettah Tope was absolutely necessary not only for the support of Colonel Shaw's post, but also for the security of the camp against the annoyance of the enemy's rocket9, he made a disposition to drive in the whole of the enemy's outpost extending from the Cauvery to the Tape, and ordered that three distinct, but simultaneous, attacks should be made uuder cover of some guns brought forward for that purpose. The attack on the Sultaunpettah Tope was again intrusted to 50 Colonel "Wellesley; Colonel Shaw was to advance from the ruined village which he occupied, and to dislodge the party posted in the aqueduct; whilst Colonel Wallace was to attack a village on the enemy's right flank, with the grenadiers of the 74th and two companies of Sepoys; and the whole was to take place exactly at nine o'clock. At the appointed hour Colonel Wellesley advanced to the at- tack of the Tope with the Scotch brigade, two battalions of Se- poys, and four guns ; and the enemy firing under cover of the bank of the aqueduct, their fire was returned by a few discharges from the fieldpieces, when the whole corps rushed on with great gallantry; and the colonel having judiciously detached parties to take the post in flank, the enemy were thereby immediately thrown into confusion, and forced to retire with great precipita- tion. At this precise moment Colonel Wallace took possession of the village, on the right flank, which commanded a considerable part of the aqueduct ; and Colonel Shaw having quitted the ruined village, rushed upon the enemy, and drove them from that part of the aqueduct from which he had been so much annoyed during the night ; the whole of the advanced line of posts was immediately occupied by our troops, the success of those bril- liant attacks, so ably planned, and so gallantly executed, secu- ring to the assailants a strong connected line of posts, extending from the river to the Tope, a distance of about two miles, forming, in some measure, by means of the aqueduct, a complete line of contravallation at a proper distance both from the camp and from the line of attack. On the 26th, the enemy still retaining possession of parts of an entrenchment, at the distance of two hundred and thirty yards from the approaches, it was found necessary, in order to facili- tate the further operations of the siege, that they should be dis- lodged from it to secure the working parties from the effects of musketry. It was settled that all the batteries should keep up a smart fire upon these works, and also on the entrenchments, for at least half an hour before the assailants advanced ; but that as soon as they should be seeu to approach the posts of the enemy, 51 then the fire should be directed against that line of lire, ia the fort itself, from which most annoyance might be expected. The direction of these attacks was given to Colonel Wellesley, who on that day commanded in the trenches, which he did with such precision and gallantry, that the two columns, which advanced a little after sunset, stormed the entrenchment with great spirit, threw the enemy into confusion, and succeeded in establishing the posts, which were immediately secured as effectually as possible from the annoyance of the fire from the works. The batteries having at noon, on the 3d of May, rendered the breach almost practicable, scaling ladders, fascines, and other materials, were ordered to be sent to the trenches, after sunset, and to be kept in readiness for the assault. The breach being considered practicable on the evening of the 3d, the troops destined for the assault were stationed in the trenches before daybreak of the 4th, at which time Colonel "Wellesley was ordered to take the command of the reserve in the advanced works, in order to act as circumstances might point out, his own regiment, the 33d, forming part of the left column, under Lieutenant Colonel Dunlop, which was to attack the north- ern rampart. About half past one in the afternoon, General Baird having completed his arrangements, stept out of the trench, drew his sword, and, in the most heroic and animating manner, said to his men, " Come, my brave fellows, follow me, and prove yourselves worthy the name of British soldiers!" In an instant both columns rushed from the trenches, and entered the bed of the river, under cover of the fire of the batteries ; but, being immediately disco- vered by the enemy, they were assailed by rockets and musketry. In six minutes the forlorn hope, closely followed by the rest of the troops had reached the summit of the breach, where the British colours were almost instantly display ed ; a most glorious and ani- mating sight to the rest of the army, whose anxiety was imme- diately relieved ; for until our troops had crossed the ditch, (al- though every precaution was taken for filling it if necessary,) 52 even the most sanguine minds could not be utterly void of, doubt.* In a few minutes more the breach, one hundred feet wide, was crowded with men, who being now collected in sufficient force to enter upon the rampart, fded off to the right and left according to General Baird's instructions. The conduct of Tippoo himself was on thi6 occasion highly creditable to his personal character. According to his usual custom, he went out early in the morning to one of the cavaliers of the outer rampart, whence he could observe Avhat was doing on both sides. He remained there till about noon, when he took his usual repast under a pandal. At this time he seems to have liad no idea of an immediate attack, even though told that the British lines were unusually crowded with Europeans; but merely sent orders to Meer Goffar, a favourite officer, to keep a strict guard. He was informed a few minutes afterwards that Meer Goffar was killed by a cannon shot. " Well," said he, " Meer Goffar was never afraid of death." Yet he was evidently agitated, ordered the troops near him immediately under arms, and desired his servants to load his carbines; and, hastening along the ramparts to- wards the breach, he then met a number of his troops flying be- fore the van of the assailants, who, he now first perceived, had mounted the walls. Here he exerted himself to rally the fugi- tives, encouraging them both by voice and example. He repeat- edly fired on our troops himself, and one of his servants asserted that he saw him bring down several Europeans from the breach. At this critical moment, the front of the European flank com- * The forlorn hope was led by a sergeant of the light company of the Bom- bay European regiment, who volunteered his services on the occasion ; his name was Graham- He ran forward to examine the breach, and mounting it he pulled off his hat, and with three cheers called out " Success to Lieu- tenant Graham," (alluding to his having a commission if he survived,) on which he rejoined his party, and remounted with them with the colours in his hand. Upon reaching the rampart, he stuck the colour staff in it, exclaim- ing, " Damn 'em, I'll show them the British flag!" and was at that moment sh'-t through the head. The gallant fellow left a European widow and four children behind him, who were, however, taken care of. 53 panies approached the spot where lie stood ; he now found himself almost deserted, and was forced to retire to the traverses of the north ramparts. These he defended one after another with the bravest of his men and officers, and indeed several times, assisted by the enfilading fire from the inner walls, obliged our troops to halt in their advance, until the 12th regiment, crossing the inner ditch, took him in flank. Yet even then, whilst any of his troops re- mained with him, he disputed every inch of ground, until he ap- proached the passage across the ditch to the gate of the inner fort. Here he complained of pain and weakness in one of hi^ legs, in which he had received a bad wound when very young; and ordering his horse to be brought, he mounted ; but seeing the Europeans still advancing on both the ramparts, he made for the gate followed by his palanquin, and a number of officers, troops, and servants. Here, as he was crossing to the gate, he received a musket ball in his right side, nearly as high as the breast; he, however, still pressed on until he was stopped about half way through the arch of the gateway, by the fire of the 12th light in- fantry from within, when he received a second ball close to the other. The horse he rode on, being also wounded, sunk under him; and his turban fell to the ground. Many of his people fell at the same time, on every side, by musketry both from within and without the gate. The fallen Sultaun was imme- diately raised by some of his adherents, aud placed upon his palanquin under the arch, and on one side of the gateway, where he lay or sat some minutes, faint aud exhausted, till some Europeans entered the gateway. A servant who survived rela- ted that one of the soldiers seized his sword-belt which was very rich, and attempted to pull it off; that the Sultaun, Avho still held his sword in his hand, made a cut at the soldier with all his re- maining strength, aud wounded him about the knee ; on which he put his piece to his shoulder, and shot the Sultaun through the temple, when he instantly expired ! No less than three hun- dred men were killed under this gateway, besides numbers wounded, so that it soon became impassable, except over the bo- dies of the dead and dying. 54 During the contest, and before the palace of Tippoo was ac- tually given up, Major Allan had gone in with a flag of truce, in order to convince the princes, the sons of Trppoo, of the folly of resistance. All of them were alarmed at the proposal; and were particularly reluctant to allowing the gates to be opened except on the authority of their father, to whom they desired to send. At length, however, Major Allan having promised that he would post a guard of their own Sepoys within, and a party of Europeans on the outside, and having also given them strong assurances that no person should be allowed to enter the palace, except by his au- thority, and that he would return and remain with them until General Baird arrived, he convinced them of the necessity of compliance, and had the satisfaction of observing that the princes, as well as their attendants, seemed to rely with confidence on the assurances he had given them. On opening the gate, he found General Baird and several offi- cers with a large body of troops assembled ; and he then return- ed into the palace for the purpose of bringing the princes to the general* He had some difficulty, however, in conquering the alarm, and the objections which they raised as to quitting the palace; but they at length permitted him and Colonel Close to conduct them to the gate. The indignation of General Baird was at that time justly raised, by a report which had then reached him, that the Sultaun had most inhumanly murdered all the Europeans who had fallen into his hands during the siege ; this was heightened, probably, by a momen- tary recollection of his own sufferings, during more than three years' imprisonment in that very place; he was nevertheless sensibly affected by the sight of the princes; and his gallantry on the assault was not more conspicuous than the moderation and humanity he displayed on this occasion. He received the un- happv princes with every mark of regard, repeatedly assuring them that no violence or insult should be offered to them, and he gave them in charge to Lieutenant Colonel Agnew and Captain Marriott, by whom they were conducted to head-quarters in camp, escorted by the light company of Colonel "Wellesley's 1 bii •ten regiment, the 33d, whilst, as they passed, the troops were ordered to pay them the compliment of presented arms. General Baird now determined to search the most retired parts of the palace, in hopes of finding Tippoo Sultaun. He ordered the light company of the 74th regiment, followed by ethers, to enter the palace yard. Tippoo's troops were immediately dis- armed, and search was made through the various apartments. #he killedar, or commanding officer of the palace, being en- treated, if he had any regard for his own life, or that of the Sul- taun, to inform the British where he was concealed, he laid his hand upon the hilt of Major Allan's sword, and in the most so- lemn manner protested that the Sultauu was not in the palace. but that he had been wounded during the assault, and lay in a gateway in the north face of the fort, Avhither he offered to con- duct the party, saying that if it was found that he had deceived them, the general might inflict on him whatever punishment he pleased. General Baird, on hearing the report of the killedar, proceeded to the gateway, which was covered Avith many hun- dreds of the slain. The number of the dead, and the darkness of the place, made it difficult to distinguish one person from another, and the scene was altogether shocking ; but aware of the great political importance of ascertaining beyond the possi- bility of. doubt the death of Tippoo, the bodies were ordered to be dragged out, and the killedar and the other two persons with him were desired to examine them one after another. This, how- ever, appeared endless; and as it was now becoming dark, a light was procured, and Major Allan accompanied the killedar into the gateway. During the search they discovered a wounded person laying under the Sultaun's palanquin : this man was afterwards ascertained to be Rajah Cawn, one of Tippoo's most confidential servants. He had attended his master during the whole of the day; and, on being made acquainted with the object of the search, immediately pointed out the spot where the Sultaun had fallen. By a faint, glimmering light, it was difficult for the killedar to recognise the features ; but the body being brought out, and satisfactorily proved to be that of the Sultaun, 56 was conveyed in a palanquin to the palace, where it was \ nised by the eunuchs and other servants of the family. When the Sultaun was first brought from under the gateway, his eyes were open, and the body was so warm that for a fev moments Colonel Wellesley, who, with his accustomed activity, was then on the spot, was doubtful whether he was not alive; but, on feeling his pulse and heart, that doubt was removed. The countenance was no way distorted, but had an appearance of calm composure. His turban, jacket, and sword-belt, were gone ; but the body was recognised by his people ; and an officer who was present, with the leave of General Baird, tore off from his right arm the talisman which contained, sewed up in pieces oi fine flowered silk, an amulet of a brittle metallic substance of the colour of silver, and some manuscripts in magic Arabic, and Persian characters. The body was placed in his palanquin, and conveyed to the court of the palace, showing him, who had leit that palace in the morning a mighty prince, now brought back a lump of clay, and his kingdom overthrown!* * Tippoo Sultaun, at the time of his downfall, was about fifty -two years of age. His constitution was much impaired, and he was subject to two dis- orders, the frequent return of which kept him under a constant course of medicine. In person he was from five feet eight to nine inches high, and rather inclined to fat, although formerly very thin ; his face was round, with large full eyes; and there was much animation and fire in his countenance ; he wore whiskers, but no beai'd ; was very active, and sometimes took very long walks. He had eleven children ; but only two of these were born in marriage, a girl and boy. His disposition was naturally cruel ; his temper was passionate and revenge- ful ; he was prone to be abusive, but his words were often false and hypo- critical, as best 6uited his purposes. He professed himself to be a Jfaib, or forerunner to one of the Twelve Prophets whom the Mahometans believe are yet to come ; and under this pretence he persecuted all other casts, forcing numbers to become Mussulmen. In the war of 1790, in particular, when he had ravaged the country of the Nairs on the Malabar coast, it was computed that upwards of twenty thousand persons had suffered under his persecutions in the short space of about four months. The men who refused to submit to cir- cumcision were hanged on the trees surrounding the villages ; and the women of the cast, the noblest in India, on refusing to adopt the Mahometan custom of revering their bosoms, which they consider as a mark of degradation and 37 Every delicacy was shown to the remains of the unfortunate chief ; and the preparations for his funeral were superintended by the principal Cansce of Seringapatam, every article which lie thought proper to order being provided, in order that the ce- ■slavery, had their breasts cut off, and suffered many other insults and indig- nities. Shortly after this, he had nearly lost his life in an attack on the lines of Travancore, where he was forced to leave his palanquin behind him, together •with his pistols, and a small signet or seal ring which he usually wore, and which the editor of these sheets has seen, and so very small that the finger on which it was worn must have been delicate in the extreme. His wealth, after the conclusion of the first war with England, was very great. In an inventory which he caused to be taken of it, there were enumerated 700 elephants 6,000 camels, 11,000 horses, 400,000 bullooks and cows, 1 00,000 buffaloes, 600,000 sheep, 300,000 firelocks, 300,000 matchlocks, 200,000 swords and cresses, or daggers, and 2,000 guns of different calibres in Seringapatam and his other fortresses : and his total revenue amounted to five crores and ninety- two lacks of pagodas, worth three rupees each. His policy, however, arising from his prejudices, was inimical to his in- terest ; for the revenues diminished greatly after hi6 father's death, partly from his removing all the Brachmans and others of the Hindoo cast, who ■were well versed in country business, from the offices of collection, and partly from his' forbidding the sale of arrack and gunja throughout his dominions, which had formerly produced a very considerable revenue. Upon the whole, though this man was certainly a very extraordinary cha<- racter, yet his abilities have been undoubtedly overrated : and it is now con- sidered that he was neither so good a statesman, nor so able a general, as has often been represented. Selfish, cunning, and rapacious, he acted upon narrow principles, both in government and war ; and was greatly deficient in that comprehension and vigour of mind which are essential ingredients in the composition of all true greatness ; though it must be confessed that he possessed a considerable share of prudence, and was not wanting either in promptitude or judgment. The consequence of all this was, that his revenue regulations, though framed with great ability, and apparently well calculated to enrich both the prince and people, were frustrated in their operations by his shifting and narrow policy ; and the same contrast ran through all his conduct and all his character, both political and military. His revengeful disposition may be easily conceived from the following cu- rious extract from one of his own MSS. " The means I have taken to keep in remembrance the misfortunes I ex- perienced six years ago (alluding to the war with Lord Cornwallis) from the wialiGe of my enemies, arfi to discontinue sleeping on a. cotton bed, and to 8 reinohy might be performed with as much pomp as circumstan- ces would admit of. Indeed Colonel Wellesley, who was then appointed commandant, gave directions not only that four flank companies of Europeans should attend, but also that minute guns should be fired during the interval, a mark of respect which the Prince Abdul Khalic at first declined the acceptance of, until he was convinced of its true intent. On the morning of the 5th of May, Colonel Wellesley relieved General Baird ; and on the following day was appointed to the permanent command of Seriugapatam, as noticed above, on which occasion he with the greatest promptitude used every means in make use of a cloth one; when I am victorious, I shall resume the bed of Cotton." His thoughts were constantly bent on war and military preparations. He lias been frequently heard to say, tbat in this world he would rather live two days like a tiger, than two hundred years like a sheep ; and, something on this principle, he adopted the figure of the royal tiger as a species of ar- morial bearing, and as the emblem of his state. His father had chosen the elephant. The title of " Lion of God" was formerly given by Mahomet to his son- in-law, A li, to denote tbe prowess and valour by which he signalized himself in fighting under the prophet's banners. Innumerable, indeed, are the tra- ditions and records of the deeds of this celebrated warrior ; and he seems to have been a second Jack the Giant Killer, as many of the romantic tales of the Moor-men have him as their hero. On his example Tippoo was anxious to form himself; and him he adopted a9 the guardian genius, or tutelary" saint, of his dominions. It was natural, therefore, for him to assume his name ; and accordingly upon his sabres and other arms he had a cipher cut in Arabic characters, signifying " the Lion of God is the conqueror ;" and these letters were so artfully arranged as to bear some resemblance to a tiger's face ; and it is perhaps likely that the assumption of the tiger as his own emblem was as much in honour of Ali as boastfully indicative of his own disposition, for the natives of Hindoostan make no distinction between the tiger and the lion. It was a favourite maxim with him that kings should be inflexible in their orders ; that God had forbidden the use of wine ; and that he should persist in exacting a strict obedience to his edicts on that subject. Yet, with all this inflexibility, his conversation was remarkably lively, entertaining, and instruc- tive ; and, dming his meals, he was fond of reciting passages of the most ad- mired historians and poets ; and sometimes amused himself with sarcasm* upon the infidels, and the enemies of his government. - 59 his power to prevent every kind of excess. Public notice was given that severe examples would be made of any persons detect- ed in the act of plundering the houses, or molesting the inhabitants ; four men were in consequence executed for plundering, and the most perfect tranquillity was immediately restored. These exam- ples, and the personal activity of the colonel himself, who went into all the houses of the principal inhabitants to establish safeguards, soon produced a general confidence ; the inhabitants, who had fled on the night of the storm, returned to their habitations, and resumed their usual occupations ; in a few days the bazars were stored with all kinds of merchandise and provisions, for which there was a ready and advantageous sale ; and an eyewitness declares that three days after the storm, the principal streets were so crowded as to be almost impassable, presenting rather the ap- pearance of a fair than of a captured city. The first important duty which fell upon Colonel Wellesley after the capture, he being one of the commissioners* appointed for the final regulation and establishment of the new conquest, was the removal of the families of Hyder AH and Tippoo Sul- taun from Seringapatam to the Carnatic. The details of this delicate office, of this painful but indispensable measure, fell to his lot as commandant ; and though his conduct and regulations were considered as subject to such suggestions as might be offer- ed by the other members of the commission, yet it has been well said, that to his prudential precautions, which the occasion re- * In detailing the steps necessary for tlus delicate business, the governor ge- neral in his instructions observed, that it could not be intrusted to any person more likely to combine every office of humanity, with the prudential precau- tions required, than Colonel Wellesley; and he therefore committed to his discretion, activity, and humanity, the whole arrangement; but subject always to such suggestions as might be offered by the other commissioners. He added that Colonel Wellesley, in his name, would give the most unequivocal as- surances of protection and indulgence to every part of the family ; and that he was persuaded that the humanity of General Harris would induce him to exert every effort to mitigate all the rigorous parts of this necessary and most expedient revolution, so loudly called for by a due regard to British interest* s>nd "he welfare of the natives themselves. 60 quired to prevent the possibility of commotion or escape, to his discretion, activity, and humanity, throughout the whole of this arduous and difficult task, is justly ascribed the facility with which it was accomplished. Information having been given that a quantity of jewels were concealed in the seraglio, application was made to Colonel Wellesley, the commandant, for permission to search, which he readily granted ; and the proper notice being given to remove the women from the apartments which it was intended to examine, the gentlemen deputed for that service proceeded to the task. They were disappointed, however, in their object, for they did not fled any thing of value ; and it was ascertained afterwards, that Tippoo never intrusted his women with the care of his jewels, or even of their own. On this examination it appeared that there were in all, inclu- ding some of the wives and other ladies of the late Hyde^s family, six hundred and fifty females in the seraglio and palace ; a number almost equalling those of Solomon himself. This business at first made some noise ; and the governor ge- neral, in a subsequent despatch, observed, that he had heard, with the utmost degree of surprise and concern, that the zenana, or women's apartment, in the palace of the Sultaun, was searched ; and added that he could have wished, for the honour of the Bri- tish name, that the apartments of the Aromen had not been disturb- ed. He acknowledged that in the heat and confusion of an as- sault, such excesses are no doubt frequently unavoidable ; but that he should ever lament that this scene should have been act- ed long alter the contest had subsided, and when the whole place had submitted to the superiority of our victorious arms. He then observed that if any personal ornaments, or other articles of value, were taken from the women in that unfortunate moment, lie trusted that the commander in chief would jnake it his busi- ness to vindicate the humanity of the British character, by using the most aealous exertions to obtain a full restitution of the pro- perty in question. After this observation, he hinted that he thought it superfluous to add his most anxious expectation 105 talents were not permitted to sink into oblivion, as we find him a very few days after in his place in the house, attending to the charges brought forward against the marquis, his brother. In the early part of 1307, Sir Arthur Wellesley was appointed chief secretary for Ireland, under his grace the Duke of Rich- mond ; and on the 8th of April, 1807, was sworn in a member of the British privy council in consequence of that political office. During the subsequent months he was sometimes resident in Ireland, attending to the duties of his office, and at others fulfill- ing his duty in the united parliament. At this period the attempts of Bonaparte to shut the Baltic against English commerce were nearly successful, and his plans ef seizing the Danish navy for the purpose of the invasion of these countries was well known to government ; a fact which, though denied by many at the time, has since been fully proved serving in the troops sent to suppress the unhappy rehellion which then raged in that country. The eldest of these three was Henry, the ancestor of the present family, who had for his services a grant of the lands of Tullinally, now better known by the name of Pakenham Hall, in the county of Westmeath; which are still in possession of the family. He seems to have been of considerable conse- quence in that part of the country, and was elected member of parliament for Cavan, in the county of VI eath, after the Best- ration. His son, Sir Thomas Pakenham knt. was prime sergeant to his majesty in Ireland He died in 1709, and was succeeded by his son Edward, who sat in parliament for the county of Westmeath during great part of the reign qf George I His eldest son, Thomas, also sat in parliament for the town of Long- ford, and in 756 was called up to the house of peers as Baron Longford He married Elizabeth, heiress of Michael Cuffe, Esq. of Ballinrobe in the county of Mayo, and had a son, Edward Michael, the second lord. Lady Longford being grand niece of the last Earl of Longford, she was, on the 5th of July, 1775, created Countess of Longford, with remainder to her son Edward; but he, though Baron Longford never inherited the earldom, dyingbefore his mother. He married Elizabeth daughter of > ercules Langford Rowley, Esq. by the late Viscountess Longford, and had a numerous family consisting of the pre- , sent earl ; Edward Michael now a major general, and serving with his illus- trious brother-in-law; William, a captain in the navy, unhappily wrecked in the Saldanha frigate; and, amongst other daughters, Elizabeth, the PRESENT MOST NOBLE MARCHIONESS OF WSLI.TSSTOR. 14 106 by his own state papers. Little, indeed, wns now wanting to the completion of his plan but the consent of Denmark : she op- posed, however, but a feeble obstacle to his ambition, aud he proceeded by threats and negotiations to prepare her for his views ; whilst his army on the borders of Holsiein was ready to take advantage of any opportunity that might offer for a sudden irruption into that country. The British government, having kept an attentive eye upoe these transactions, determined to frustrate them by sending to sea a powerful military and naval armament, consisting of about twenty-seven sail of the line, with 20,000 men; and such had been the secrecy attending the whole preparation of this expedi- tion, that it was at sea before either its destination or its force was known to the public. The command of the troops Avas given to Lord Cathcart, and Sir Arthur Wellesley accompanied him on the service; and the naval part of the expedition was under the direction of Admiral (now Lord) Gambier, assisted by other gallant officers. On proceeding to sea one division of the fleet, under the im- mediate superintendence of Commodore (now Sir Richard) Keats was detached to the Great Belt, with instructions to allow no military force of any description to enter the Island of Zea- land ; and this enterprising, yet prudent, officer having conducted his squadron through an intricate and difficult navigation, station- ed his vessels in such a manner as completely to fulfil the orders intrusted to him. The British army was conducted by the main body of the fleet to the Souud, when the operations com- menced with the greatest vigour. A proclamation was immediately issued by the commander ia chief declaring the circumstances under which they were obliged to proceed to this debarkation. On the 18th of August, 1807, the reserve of the army landed at five in the morning with the ordnance of a light brigade, and occupied, the heights of Hellerup, before Copenhagen; and in the course of the day additional troops were landed. A flag of truce was then received from Major General Peyman, coraman- lOf der in chief iu Copenhagen, requesting passports for the two Princesses of Denmark, nieces of his Danish majesty, to leave Copenhagen, which were granted ; and in the evening the army marched by their left in three columns, and lay upon their arras in advance. At daybreak the whole army marched in three columns to invest the town, and every arrangement was made for that purpose in the course of the day. About noon hostilities actually commenced by the piquets towards the left being attacked, whilst the Danish gun-boats, rawing out of the harbour, cannonaded the left of the line with grape and round shot. The piquets soon drove in and pursued the enemy, and resumed their posts, being supported by the advance of part of the line; and the British gun brigs and bombs, having been towed as near the harbour as they could be, opened a fire, though at a consi- derable distance, upon the Danish gun-boats, forcing them, after a long and heavy cannonade* to retire into the harbour. On the succeeding day (the 18th) the attacks of the gun-boats were renewed upon the light British vessels in advance ; but a brigade of artillery on shore being brought to enfilade them, they were forced to retire, as well as part of the garrison which had come out in advance upon the road. In the course of the day the engineering and entrenching tools were landed, and every thing was prepared for commencing the siege in form. At three in the morning of the 24th, the army was under arms; the centre advanced its position to the height near the road which runs in a direction parallel to the defences of Copenhagen, on to Fredericksburg, occupying that road and some parts beyond it. The guards at the same time occupied the suburbs on that side, flanked by a detachment of the 79th; and there they dis- lodged a piquet of the enemy, who, iu their retreat, concealed thirteen three pounders which were afterwards found. All the piquets of the garrison now fell back to the lake or inundations in front of the place, the British piquets occupy- ing their ground, and in the afternoon, the garrison having showed itself on all the avenues leading from the town, as it with a design either to recover ground or to burn the suburbs, the dif- ■ 108 ferent corps in advance drove them in on all sides, and at the same time seized all the suburbs on the north bank of the lakes, some of which were only 400 yards distant from the ramparts. In this aflfair Sir Arthur was engaged with his division, and General Sir David Baird's division turned, and carried a re- doubt which the enemy had been some days constructing, and which was that night converted into a work against them. In the course of the evening the Danes set fire to the end of the suburb nearest to Copenhagen, the upper part of which was occupied by the guards, and was now defended by them ; but this was of little avail, for iu consequence of the general success along the whole line, the works which had been intended, and indeed begun by the British army, were abandoned, and a new line of attack was taken, within about 800 yards of the main body of the place, and even nearer to it on the flanks. On the 25th the cannonade was briskly kept up on both sides ; and on the 26th, it being understood that the Danish General, Castenschiold, had formed an army iu the interior of the island consisting of three or four battalions of disciplined troops, be- sides a number of armed peasantry, it was judged necessary to disperse this force ; and Sir Arthur Wellesley was despatched for that purpose, having with him the reserve of the army, eight squadrons of cavalry and horse artillery, under Major General Linsingen, the 6th battalion of the line, King's German Legion, and a light brigade of artillery. He marched to Roskild Kroe,* and on the 27th advanced in two divisions to attack the enemy in front and rear at Koenerup; but finding that Castenschiold had moved up towards Kioge, he took a position to cover the be- * Roskild is the most ancient town in Zealand, and is situated on a branch of the Jisefiord, in a valley, whilst the banks of the river form a very striking contrast with its low situation. It has been long in a declining state ; but the scenery around it is beautiful in the extreme, with vast forests of oak, through ■which at intervals various spires and steeples steal upon the view, whilst in its immediate vicinity are innumerable corn fields, interspersed with cheerful hamlets and detached farm steads. In the town is the ancient cathedral and frying place of the royal family. 109 sieging army. On the evening of the 27th, he placed Colonel Redan with a force at Vallens-break, and on the 28th General Linsingen marched towards Roskild, thereby forming on the right of Sir Arthur's main body. Sir Arthur Wellesley having had reason to believe that Gene- ral Castenschiold still remained at Kioge, he determined to at- tack him on the 29th of August, and arranged with General Linsingen, that he should cross the Kioge rivulet at Little Sellyas, and turn the Danish left flank, whilst he himself should move along the sea road towards Kioge, and attack in front. Both divisions accordingly broke up in the morning of that day, and marched according to the concerted plan. When Sir Arthur approached to Kioge, he found the enemy in force on the north side of the town and rivulet, from whence they imme- diately commenced a cannonade upon the patroles of hussars in front of the British troops. At this time their force consisted of three or four battalions of the line, with cavalry on both flanks, and apparently a large body beyond the town and rivulet. At the time agreed upon with General Linsingen, Sir Arthur formed his infantry in one line, with the left to the sea ; having the two squadrons of hussars upon the right ; and as there had been some appearance of a movement by the enemy to their left, and he had not had any communication with General Linsingen, and of course was not certain of his having passed the rivulet, Sir Arthur, with his accustomed promptitude, immediately ordered the attack to commence in tchellon of battalions from the left, the whole being covered by the first battalion of the 95th regiment, and by a well directed fire from the artillery. It fell to the lot of the 92d regiment to lead this attack ; and they performed their part in the most exemplary manner, being equally well supported by the 52d and 53d. So warmly were they handled by the British, that the enemy were soon obliged to retire to an entrenchment which they had formed in the front of a camp on the north side of Kioge, and they also made a disposition of their eavalry upon the sands, to 110 charge the 92d in flank, as advancing to attack this entrench* merit. By this disposition of the Danish force, Sir Arthur was obli- ged to move Colonel Redan's hussars from the right to the left flank, aod to throw the 43d into a second line ; after which the €3d carried the entrenchment, and forced the enemy to retreat into the town in great disorder. They were followed immediately, in the most gallant style, by Colonel Redaa and his hussars, and by the first battalion of the 95th regiment, and afterwards by the whole line of infantry. Upon crossing the rivulet, it was found that General Linsingen's corps had advanced upon the right flank, and the whole joined in the pursuit. At this moment Major General Oshoken, the second in com- mand of the Danish force, who had joined the enemy on the pre- ceding evening with four battalions, attempted to make a stand in the village of Herfolge ; but he was attacked so briskly by the hussars, and a small detachment of the 1st and 95th, that he was compelled to 6iirreuder, alone; with Count Wedel Jarisburg and several other officers, and about 400 men. On this occasion the loss of the enemy was very great; many fell during the action, and there were sixty officers and eleven hundred men taken prisoners. In the flight the Danes threw away their aims and clothing, and many stands of the former fell into the hands of the pursuers, besides several pieces of cannon. On the 1st of September, 1307, the mortar batteries being nearly ready for service, the place was summoned ; but the an- swer arrived late, accompanied by a desire to take the pleasure of his Danish majesty on the subject, so that no reply could be sent until the following day. On the evening of the 2d of September, the land batteries, and the bomb and mortar vessels opened a tremendous fire upon the town, and with such effect, that in the course of a very short time a general conflagration appeared to have taken place. The lire was returned but feebly from the Danish ramparts, and from *he citadel and crown batteries. On the evening of the 5th of September, a letter was sent by 3 Ill the Danish general to propose an armistice of twenty-four Iioues for preparing an agreement on which articles of capitulation might be founded. The armistice was declined, as tending to unnecessary delay, and the works were continued ; but the firing was countermanded, and Lieutenant Colonel Murray was sent to explain that no proposal of capitulation could be listened to> unless accompanied by the surrender of the fleet. On the 6th this basis having been admitted by a subsequent letter, Lord Cathcart sent for Sir Arthur Wellesley from his com- mand in the country, where, as was said in the public despatches, he had distinguished himself in a manner highly honourable to himself and advantageous to the public service ; and he, with Sir Home Popham, and Lieutenant Colonel Murray, was appointed to prepare and conclude the terms of capitulation. These officers, with their accustomed energy, having insisted on proceeding immediately to business, the capitulation was drawn up in the night betweeu the 6th and 7th of September, and the ratification exchanged in the course of the morning, Lieute- nant Colonel Burrard taking possession of the gates at four o'clock in the afternoon. The Danish navy, delivered up in consequence of this treaty, consisted of sixteen ships of the line, fifteen frigates, six brigs, and twenty-five gun-boats, besides vessels on the stocks ; in the arsenals were found stores sufficient to fit this fleet for sea ; and though all the men of war, both English and those captured, were laden with those stores, there still remained enough to fill 02 sail of transports, amounting to upwards of twenty thousand tons. The loss sustained by the British, in both services, was com- paratively trifling; but that of the Danes is computed to amount. to about 2,000 persons, with the destruction of nearly 400 houses, besides the burning of property, &c. The damage doue by the bombardment was considerable. The aumber of houses totally destroyed amounted to 305, and about 600 damaged. Among the former was the great cathedral, the steeple of which fell in with a dreadful crash. All the buildings 112 in the neighbourhood of the cathedral were a heap of ruins, it being chiefly against that quarter that the bombardment was di- rected, probably, as it was said, from a wish to do the least possi- ble injury, that being the worst built part of the town. A great part of the buildings of the university were also destroyed. The number of individuals who perished was reckoned at 600, and nearly as many severely wounded. In short, the distress and confusion in the city was truly hor- rible; but after the capitulation, the magistrates and principal inhabitants gave every relief to the unhappy suiTerers, who were chiefly of the lowest classes. For this purpose several churches, which had not suffered from the bombardment, were fitted up for their reception ; and it is much to the credit of the British com- mander in chief, that he offered to send in provisions and other necessaries, but his proffered assistance was refused. After the posts were thus taken possession of, the squadroa proceeded to rig and fit out the ships that filled the spacious basins where they were laid up in ordinary, and at the expira- tion of the term limited in the capitulation, they were all, together with the stores, timber, and every other article of equipment fouud iu the arsenal and store-houses, prepared for conveyance to England, where, with the exception of one line of battle ship which grounded on the Isle of Huen, and was destroyed, they all arrived safely in the month of October. On the return of Sir Arthur from Copenhagen, he was in his place in the house ou the 1st of February, 1808, when the thanks were delivered by the speaker to the various officers. During a long and arduous session he dedicated himself to the civil service of his country with as much advantage to it, and honour to himself, as he bad heretofore done in the field; and when we contemplate the records of parliament in the years 1806, 7, and 8, it is impossible not to admire that manly com- prehensiveness of mind, and liberality of sentiment, which fitted him for every discussion, and carried him through many warm debates without ever creating him a single enemy. 113 Even in May, 1808, Sir Arthur continued his official services, and in that month brought in a bill for enforcing the residence of the episcopal clergy upon their benefices in Ireland, and for erecting churches, and building glebe houses, in that kingdom. From these civil duties, however, he was soon called to take a command on the scene of his present glory ; we shall, therefore, postpone all further detail to the succeeding section. 15 114 SECTION V. Conduct of Bonaparte towards Spain — Proposed emigration of the Spanish royal family— Downfall of the prince of peace — Abdication of the Spa- nish king — Madrid taken possession of — Inauguration of King Ferdinand — Journey of King Ferdinand to Bayonne — Its consequences — Anecdotes of the Queen of Spain — Anecdotes of Bonaparte — Massacre of the iuha- bitants of Madrid by the French — Joseph placed on the throne of Spain — Enthusiastic patriotism of the Spanish people— Evacuation of Madrid by the French — Enthusiasm of England in the Spanish cause— Expedition prepared to defend Portugal, and succour Spain — Sir \ rthur Wellesley proceeds to Spain- Joins the British admiral off the Tagus — Returns to Mondego Bay in Portugal— Lands the army— Anecdotes — March of the army — Topographical and military sketches of the country — March to Uo- leia — Attack and defeat of the French — Anecdotes — Reinforcements ar- rive from England — Arrival of Sir Harry Burrard — Battle of Vimiera — Sir Arthur Wellesley superseded in the command — Arrival of Sir Hew Dalrymple — Convention of Cintra — Anecdotes of the French, &c — Mili- tary and political observations — Sir Arthur Wellesley returns to England — Court of Inquiry — Observations — Explanation of Sir Arthur's conduct — Issue of the court of inquiry, and his majesty's marked displeasure at the convention, &c. &c. &c. NO sooner had Bonaparte concluded the treaty of Tilsit, by which he had subjugated the north of Europe, than he turned his attention to the west of the continent; and not content with having the resources of Spain and Portugal, and their transat- lantic dominions, at his command, resolved to place some of his own family upon their thrones. He took advantage of the opportunity which the vileness and imbecility of the Spanish royal family gave him, to pour large bodies of French troops into the Spanish territory; nay, so great was the infatuation, supposing that they only came to preserve order and tranquillity, that the government actually issued orders to receive and treat the French even on a more liberal scale than was used towards their own native army. By these means, in a very short time, all the most important posts and fortresses of Spain, nay, the whole of Portugal, were in French occupancy. 1.15 when Napoleon ventured to 'throw off the mask, by complaining to the King of Spain, that the measure of uniting the Prince of Asturias to one of his own relatives was not in sufficient for- wardness. The king had no course left but to express his wishes for the immediate solemnization of the marriage ; to which Bona- parte only replied by sending his creature, Don Eugenio Isquierdo, back to Madrid with confidential communications, the proceedings on which were conducted with such secrecy, that their tenor can only be known from the fact that soon after his departure from the Spanish capital, to return to Paris with the issue of his negotiations, the king and queen had begun to make preparations to emigrate from their native couutry to their transatlantic dominions in Mexico. Deprived of what they considered the support of the prince of peace, the miserable occupants of the Spanish throne dared no longer attempt to exercise the royal power, but immediately put in execution that resolution, which it has been asserted they had for some time entertained, of resigning the sovereign power to the Prince of Asturias. The Freuch general, Murat, judging the present circumstances favourable to his master's cause, immediately advanced to Madrid ; giving out, that Bonaparte might be expected imme- diately at the capital, and the proximity of his troops operated on the Prince of Asturias to make him anxious, at least for the pre- sent, to conciliate the good will of the invader. In fact, so very anxious was he to avert or to avoid any cause of displeasure, that after having communicated his accession to the throne in the most friendly, affectionate, and even submissive terms, he actually sent a deputation of three of the first grandees to Bayonue, to compliment his imperial majesty in his name. Murat now played his master-stroke of policy ; for, having possessed himself of the Spanish capital, he avowed that his po- litical interference was now necessary ; and that until the emperor acknowledged Ferdinand VII. it was impossible for him to take any step that should appear like an acknowledgment of his right to the crowD ; and that, in fact, he was under the necessity of 116 treating only with the former monarch. Those who had sup- ported the son, certainly in opposition to the father, now saw the tables completely turned, and too soon knew what they had to depend upon ; whilst, to give some colour to it, Murat listened to the solicitations of the king and queen to release their favourite Godoy from imprisonment. In this state of things, as Cevallos informs us, the young mo- narch made his public entry into Madrid, and Murat, reiterating the reports of the immediate arrival of Napoleon, induced the king's brother, Don Carlos, to set off with great haste to meet him ; at the same time his agents were busy in persuading the late king and queen to enter a protest against their own act of abdication. With promises of friendship and favour Murat continued to Urge the youthful monarch to proceed towards the north in or- der to compliment his imperial majesty on his arrival in Spain; and not having met Bonaparte at Burgos, he was induced, by the earnest and pressing entreaties of Savary, to proceed on to Vit- toria. There he actually received information of Napoleon's arrival at Bordeaux, in his way to Spain, and soon after of his beiug at Bayonne on the 15th of April. Ferdinand, after a little hesitation, determined to proceed to Bayonne, but scarcely had he crossed the limits of Spain when he began to express his sur- prise that no person had yet come to receive him. On his approach to Bayoune, he was met by the Prince of Neufchatel, aud Duroc, the marshal of the palace, accompanied by a detachment of the guard of honour which the citizens of Bayonne had formed to attend upon Napoleon. They invited Ferdinand to proceed for Bayonne, where a place had been prepared for his residence ; and there he arrived on the 20th of April ? but his suspicions were now a little more alarmed by the circumstance of this abode being but little suitable to the rank of its royal guest. He seems also to have been much struck by this remarkable and expressive neglect forming a striking con- trast with the studied magnificence with which he had prepared for the reception of the upstart emperor at Bladrid. In fact, the whole scene made a great impression on him ; but whilst he was engaged in considering his feelings and his doubts concern- ing the meaning of a reception which he had so little right to ex- pect, it was announced to him that Napoleon was on his way to pay him a visit. In a short time he arrived, accompanied by a number of his generals ; and the youthful monarch having gone down to the street door to receive him, the two monarchs em- braced each other with every appearance of friendship and af- fection. The Emperor of the French, as it is related by an eye- witness, staid but a short time with his majesty, and they em- braced each other again at parting; when, soon after, Marshal Duroc came to invite the king to dine with Napoleon, whoso carriages were coming to convey him to the castle of Marsac, about a mile and a half from Bayonne, then the residence of the French court. On his arrival there Bonaparte came as far as the steps of the coach to receive him, and having again embra- ced him, led him by the hand to the apartment provided for him. During these occurrences the Queen of Spain had interested herself very much with Murat for the release of Godoy ; and inconsequence Bonaparte himself had written to Ferdinand VII. previous to his having him in his power, to which the young monarch had merely answered that Godoy's life should be spared. But Bonaparte immediately wrote to Murat to demaud him from the Junta ; he in consequence was released, and immediately con- veyed to Bayonne, escorted by a guard ; and there he arrived on the 26th of April, had a castle appoiuted for his residence, and was treated in all respects as a person of the first consequence ; and on the last day of the same month the abdicated monarch, Avith his consort, arrived there also, thus putting the whole of the Spanish royal family into the power of Napoleon. To follow up the occurrences which ensued after this, pre- vious to the fiual imprisonment of the different branches of the royal family, and trace the deep policy and graft; villany of Bonaparte through the whole transaction, would be to encroach 118 too much ou our own subject.* We shall proceed, therefore, to the public cause of Spain, whose inhabitants paid very little at- tention to the various acts of abdication and renunciation in favour of JN'apoleon, but seemed determined to act for themselves. The policy of Bonaparte induced him to send also for the Queen of Etruria and her son, (daughter and grandson of the Spanish king,^ th«*j at Madrid; but this the populace opposed; though, at last, they permitted the unhappy prisoners to set off. The sorrow and alarm, however, of the queen and her son, had such an effect that the popular resentment and indignation were raised to the highest pitch, when an aid-de-camp of Murat's ar- rived with a detachment of French troops, and a scene of the bloodiest carnage commenced. It has been a matter of debate who were the first aggressors ; but that is of trifling consequence ; it is enough that the French began with volleys of musketry, by which numbers were killed, many of whom had not joined in the affray. The news immediately spread like wild fire, and every person who could procure arms rushed to the scene of action. The issue of this business unhappily only tended to rivet more * One occurrence which took place on this occasion is almost too incredi- ble for history, and perhaps surpasses events of any former times. In the evening of the 5th' of May, N apoleon went to visit the king and queen ; and there were present at this interview their son Don Carlos,