Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About Georgia express. (Athens, Ga.) 1808-1809 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1809)
f—p Tate of forward nets. The Prefidcnt, it is cxpc&ed, wifi be ready for fea on the firft of June. The other vtffcls above mentioned are in aftual fervfce — ihtCbefapeake, the JVajp and the Argus on the Eaf . Nation \ the Hornet gone to t Orleans with Gen. Wilkin ’ t ,<nd fuite ; the Vixen ordered v ! ; Southward to cruize between rlefton, S. C. and St. Mary’s; Enterprise, at Norfolk } the .■/ nat Baltimore. J ho’ the profpett of entering uews of thefe veffels were at firft ny. flattering, yet now we onder d, that men are entering very fail, particularly in the Eaftern —Captain Hull tn a very few days entered a full crew for the Che i: ■> :ake, and about 100 for the onttitutton ‘at New-York. Thirty additional gun-boats, have been ordered to New-Orleans. they arrive there it is ur.der ood, that we lhall have at that lace aneffc&ive force of fifty gun oats. LONDON, January 24, 1809. Copy of a letteY from the Honorable Michael lie Courcey, Rear Admi ral of the White, to the Honorable William Wellefey Pole , dated on board his Majejly's floip the Ten nant, at Corunna , the Vjib and *8 th infant. January 17, 1809. Sir— Having it in defign to de tach the Coffack to England as foon as her boab> fhall ceafe to be effen lial to the embarkation of the troops, I feize a moment to acquaint you, for the information of the Lords Commitfioners of the Admiralty, that the (hips of war, as per mar- and tranfports, under the or ders of rear-admiral Sir Samuel Hood, and Commiffioner Bowen, arrived at this anchorage from Vigo on the 14th and ifsth inftant j the Alfred and Hindcftan, with fom* tranfports, were left at Vigo to re ceive a brigade of three thoufand five hundred men, that had taken that route un<de the Generals Allen and Crawford. In the vicinity of Corunna, the enemy have prefled upon the Bri tifh in great force. The embarka tion of the Tick, the cavalry, and the ftores went on. The night of die itfth, was appointed for the general eaibarkatiort of the infant ry j and, mean time, the enemy prepared for attack. At 3p.m. an action commenced ; the enemy, who had been polled on a lofty hill en deavoring to force the Britifh on another hill of inferior height, and nearer the town. The enemy were driven back with great (laughter * but, very for ty am I to add, that the Britifh, though triumphant, have fuffered fevere loffes. lam unable to com municate further particulars, than chat Sir John Moore received a mortal wound, of which he died laft: night j that Sir David Baird loft an arm } that feveral officers, and many men had been killed and wounded ; and that the fhips of war have re ceived all fuch of the latter as they could accomodate, the remainder being fent to the tranfports. The weather is now tempeftuous, and the difficulties of embarkation are great. All except the rear guard are embarked; confiding perhaps, at the prefent moment, of a,6#o men. The enemy having + Ville de Paris , Fiftory, Bar ffieur, Zealous , Implacable , Eliza beth t Norge, Plantagenet, Refolution, Audacious, Endymion , Mediator , bVriUpt c&rnoh tot till overhang ing the teach, have forced the ma jority of the tranfports to cut or ftp. Embarkation being no longer prac ticable at the town, the boats, have been ordered to a fandy beach, near the light-houfe j and it is hoped that the greater part, if not all, will ftill be embarked, the (hips of war hav ing dropped out to facilitate em barkation. * JANUARY Is. The embarkation of the troop* having occupied the greater part of laft night, it has not been in my power to detach rhe Coffack before this day j and, it is with fatisfa&ion I am able to add, that in confe quence of the good Order maintain ed by the troops, and the unwearied exertions of Commiffioner Bowen, the captains and other officers of the navy, the agents, as well as the boats* crews, many of whom were for two days without food and with out repofe, the army have embark ed to the I*ft man, and the fhipi are now in preparatory for fteering for England. The great body of the triniports having loft their anchors, ran to fea with out the troops they were ordered to receive, in conlequencl of which there are fbme thousands on board the (hips of war* Several trinf ports, through mifmanagement, ran on (hore. The feameh appeared to have Abandoned them, two being brought out by the boats’ crews of the men of war, two were burnt and five were bilged. I cannot fconclude this hafty attempt, with out exprefling my great obligation to rear-admiral Sir Samuel Hood, whofe eyes Was every where, and whofe exertions Were unreinkted. 1 have the honor to be, Stc. M. DE COURCET. Hazy weather rendering the Coffack obfeure. I detach the Gleaner with this difpach. London, January 2 6. A vejfel is arrived irl Ply mouthy which was in Corunna Bay on the 18 th. She was going into Corunna to difpofe of a cargo of fifh, but was deterred by obferving the town in fames . It isJuppojcd that the French having met with refiftance, had Jet fire to the town } or which is per haps more probable , that they had committed this aft of cruelty, in order to punijb the inhabitants. Another etc count in circulation jes ter daj Wad that g vejfel Tad arftvcd from Corunnawhich place Jbe tep on the 21 ft injt. and that whenJhe Jailed, the Spaniards fill held out, not with ftanding the enemy continued a vigo rous bombardment of the town. fVitb the exceptions of the tranf porf lojl on the Manacle Rocks, all the reft, we believe , are fafely arriv ed. Sir David Baird is on board the Ville de Paris at Spit bead, $7 officers are alfo on board the fame Jhip. The men of war*s boats were employed yefierday in landing the Tick and wounded. It is J,aid Junot*s-army from Portu gal joined Soult on the night before the battle of Corunna. They bad thus a fecond opportunity of paying a tribute to Britijb valor. All the letters from the outports, at which tranfports have arrived from Corunna, agree in fating that our ar my fufjered the mofi dreadful dijlrefs during its precipitate retreat from Lugo. In an aft ion with the French on the 7 1by in which we repulfed them, we fuftained fame loft. On the %tb cur troops retreated in dijorder, under the imprefficn that the whole army from Madrid was advancing upon them. The cavalry herfes were fiaugbtered in great numbers, The French had placed behind their dra gons rifittnen , who did great execu tion from behind hedges , and from eminences. It is eftimated that we lof in the retreat upwards of 7006 men. As toZ fated yefierday , Sir John Moore exprejfed no dejire to have bis ‘remains conifeyed to England, and they were interred in the citadel at Corunna, on ;the Monday evening.— The remains of General Anflruther were depofited ai the fame time. The eldejf Jon of Sir Hurry Burrard, an aid- de-camp to Sir John Moore , was feverely wounded in the laft engage ment , and was put on board the Au dacious, in which Jhip he died on the lift. In all the men of war that have come home , troops were embarked, en account ef many of the tranfports having been blown to fea. —Oh board ef one man of war, there are upwards of 40 wounded officers. A number of prifoners have alfo been brought to England. Colonel Maxwell, of the iCtb re giment, has loft an arm, but be, as well as Sir David Baird, we, are happy to find, is in a fair way of re covery. .The tranfport which was loft oh the Manacle Rocks near Falmouth, had on board icc of the Jtb dragoons— -93, we grieve to fay, perijhed—among them were the hon. Major Cavendifh, fon of Lord George Cavendifh , Capt. Duncanfield, and lieut. tVaide grave. The Primrofe ftobp , which was loft at the fame time on the fame rocks, was outward bound—only one boy was Javed. Amongft the Jitfferers were, it is Jaid, Major Tucker and his brother . The thanks of both houfes of Par liament were voted laft night to the officers and men by whom the viftories of Corunna and Vimiera had been gained. An addrefs to his Majefty was alfo voted , praying that he would srder a monument to be erefted in St. Pauls, to the memory of Sir John Moore. The naval officers andJedinen were alfo thanked for their fer vices at Co runna, and We muft fay that our thanks ffioulf be extended to the ad miralty. The fending fo large a na val force to Corunna, was a tnoft ju dicious meafure. Had not Sir Samu el Hood and Admiral De Courcy been there to affift in bringing off the troops, half, if not more, would, in all pro bability, have been left behind ■, fat the tranfports , owing we fuppofe to the circumftavce of their being annoyed ty the enemy's fire, ran to jea, before they had got troops on board. So etftive, however, was the conduit of cur feamen, that not a ftngle man was left behind, nor even a Jingle piece of artillery. And thus we accomplifhei our embarkation in the face of a fupe rior force , to which we bad given fuch a fpecimen 0} our fteadinefs, our courage , and our difeipline, that they dared not make a ftngle boftile move ment, even againft the laft folitary re giment that moved from the town on the beach. Portsmouth, Jan. 23. Th’s afternoon arrived the Nimrod tranfport, and Rcftock bofpital Jhip, from Corunna, with about 30 officers and 250 foldiers belonging to our ar my, on board.—Thefe Jhips left Co runna on Tuefday morning laft, when tt was thick weather, and not feeing the body of the Tranfports , they tho't it advifable to rnn for England, as our army badymbarked, and left the country . The officers arrived , give the moft gloomy accounts ef the embar kation of our army. They fuppofe we have loft about 5000 men (the leaft number,) 1500 of whom were killed and wounded , in an aftion on this day’ If anight, when the French army con ffling of 3O*CCO mer.y attacked our “Covering army. Fourteen tranfports were funk from the heights of Corun na, which the enemy took piffifiicn of before ‘all our tranfports could get cut of Corunna harbor. The foldiers on beard them were moftlyJaved; feveral of the officers arrived were on board two of them. Moft of the artillery was embarked before the enemy made any attack \ but ail the horfes belong ing to the dragoons were killed ; all the baggage taken , and all the ammu nition defiroyed. , The military cheft, value 600,000 dollars , fell into the enemy's hands.” GEORGIA EXPRESS. ATHENS, APRIL a*7~ For the Georcia Express. Fellow-Citizens of America, I believe no former period of our hi'ftory, fince we affumed he* fchara&er of an independent nation, has been viewed with equal interelE and folicitude as the prefect; not only by the American people, but by thofe European nations, among, whom the fmaHeft veftige of liber ty or jui*ice remain*. Our laft: Congrefs was marked as the only remaning bulwark b:hind which juftice and the rights of nations could hope td make a ft and, all other barriers having been broken, down, and ftfept away by the vi’o- 1 lence and usurpations of the infuri ated J^elfrgerants of Europe : Here the Americans, a$ leaft, expected to fc,e the fpiric of *76 difplayed— Here they counted with confidence on that fteadyj dignified firmneffi which characterised the old revolu tionary Congrefs, to corrupt or in timidate whom, was, on the pars of Britain, an effort equally vain.—• Here they hoped, that all perfonali ties and local confiderations giving way f unanimity and a patriotic seal for the general good would (lamp their evefy a£L But after a long, irrefolute, capracious feffion, and a great expenditure of public trea fure, how have their expectations and hopes been blafted> and hww their feelings humbled to the duft 1 Loud wa the ckmor at firft, and much was faid about Britifh outrage and infults, and French aggrtfiions and indignities ; but before the fef fion clofed* personalities, recrimi nation, and local confiderations u furped the place of national objects * and the queftion appears to have been, to w hat ports could the Eaft ern people fend their jifh, potatoes and onions leaft fubjedt to plunder* or their veffels to captute ? When a nation becomes fo d bafed by avarice as to fufFerits cha racter, and dignity to gjve way to confiderations like thefe, it is ripe for a foreign yoke, and patriotifm among fuoh a people is but an empey found I Had no violations of the Embargo taken place for twelve months from the paffage of the law, there is no fort of doubt but every point contended for by our government,, would have been yielded by the belligerants j the clamors of tories, tory-editors, and Britifh agents, and EaClors not-, withftandmg. But, unfortunately for our country, thefe mifereants, afliffed by the co-operation of Eaf tern avarice, have been too fuccefs fui, not only in their violations of the Embargo, but in their efforts tat induce the government to abandon a fyftem, from which the moft im portant future benefits would have refulted. Among the caufes which will be afligned by the belilgeraota
