War Department Print E-mail
LONDON GAZETTE.

WAR DEPARTMENT............................#1

DOWNING STREET, DECEMBER 30.

DISPATCHES have been received at this office from the MARQUIS OF WELLINGTON, dated the 19th and 22d inst.

It appears that since the battle of the 13th MARSHAL BOULT has made several movements on the right bank of the Adour, and towards the rear of SIR ROWLAND HILL's position;  but these movements were foreseen, and frustrated.

The enemy being foiled in every attempt to dislodge the allied forces from their position, the main body of the French army has retreated from Bayonne, and has marched up the right bank of the Adour, towards Dax.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
WAR DEPARTMENT.
DOWNING STREET, DEC. 31.

A Dispatch and its enclosures, of which the following are copies and translations, have been received by EARL BATHURST, addressed to his Lordship by LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR HAMILTON, and dated

       Heligoland, Dec. 20, 1813.

My Lord,

I have the honour to acquaint your Lordship, that the army under the command of the PRINCE ROYAL OF SWEDEN, has taken possession of the Duchy of Holstein, after several actions, attended with complete success to the allies;  it appearing that on the 4th inst. the different corps d'armee moved forward, and on their passage over the Stenknitz, MARSHAL DAVOUST precipitately retired upon Hamburgh, leaving the right flank of the Danish army quite exposed, which was taken advantage of by GEN. COUNT WORONZOFF, who advanced beyond Bergedorff, and defeated all the French cavalry, in a bloody engagement at Wandsbeck.

   The allies pursued vigorously their advantages, taking many prisoners, cannon, waggons, and military stores, and having entirely separated the Danes from their old ally the French, forced them to take shelter in the fortress of Rendsburg.

GEN. BARON DE TOTTENBORN was also enabled, during these events, with his light troops, to do essential service and to take possession of the batteries of Wollerwick, by which the navigation of the river Eyder is secured and rendered free.

   The General's communication to me bearing date the 11th and 18th inst. from Tonningen, is laid before your Lordship, together with the terms upon which a cessation of arms, under the mediation of the Court of Austria, has taken place between the allied army and that of the Danes.

I have the honour,&c.

W. O. HAMILTON.
Lieutenant Governor.


======= WAR DEPARTMENT #2

TONNINGEN, DEC. 11, 1813.

SIR,

I hasten to apprise you of the brilliant successes which have attended the Prince Royal of Sweden's operations against the Danes.  In less than six days, the whole of the Duchy of Holstein has been conquered, and the war is to be continued in the Duchy of Sleswig, which I have just entered, after passing the Eyder at Frederickstadt, and taking possession of Tonningen and Husum.

   My posts are at Husum, where I took 7 pieces of cannon, and upon the roads of Flensburg and Schleswig.  I hope that the battery of Wollerwick, which I have caused to be surrounded by my troops, will soon capitulate, and thus the communication by sea will be open.  Some gun-boats which the Danes had at the mouth of the Eyder, have escaped, and if the naval forces of your countrymen are not too distant from these coasts, they might now fall into their hands.

I have the honour to be, &c.

GEN. DE TOTTENBORN.
==============================

WAR DEPARTMENT...........................#3

TOTTINGEN, 13 DEC.

SIR,

I hasten to communicate to you the events which have taken place in these parts, subsequently to those of which I apprised you in my last letter.  I was on the point of carrying my operations into Schleswig, beyond Frederickstadt and Husum, when I received intelligence of a very obstinate engagement which GEN. WALMODEN, with a part of his troops, had sustained against the whole Danish army, which after this action, (in which the loss of both sides may be estimated at more than a 1,000 men) took shelter in Rendsburg.

   The communication between GEN. DORRBERG, (who had been detached upon the right bank of the Eyder) and GEN. WALMODEN being momentarily cut off, and the enemy having been reinforced at Schleswig, and I could only send a detachment towards Flensburgh to intercept the enemy's communications.

   I was preparing to attck Schleswig, in case the enemy did not accept the summons which I had sent to him to evacuate the place, when I received intelligence of the armistice which has been concluded with the Danes, by the mediation of Austria.  I hasten to communicate a copy of that interesting document.

Before the conclusion of the armistice, I succeeded in obtaining possession of the battery of Wollerwick, which has surrendered by capitulation, after having been  cannonaded for several days.  We have taken, on this occasion, 28 pieces of cannon, very considerable quantities of provisions, ammunition, &c.

This important capture makes us masters of the mouths of the Eyder, and the communication by sea is entirely free.  I hope to make good use of this, and invite you to do the same.

I have the honour to be, &c.

GEN. DE TOTTENBORN.

[In the suspension of arms, it is agreed that all hostilities shall cease fromt he 15th inst. to the 29th at midnight, but that the allies shall be at liberty to possess themselves if they can of the fortresses of Gluckstadt and Frederickstadt, those places not being under the command of PRINCE FREDERICK OF HESSE.  No ammunition or troops to be carried into Rendsberg, nor any augmentation whatever to the Danish garrison there, on any pretext whatever, during the cessation of hostilities;  nor any more troops to be allowed at Schleswig than such as are for the guard of PRINCE CHARLES OF HESSE, and those not to exceed 1000 men;  nor are the allies to augment the number of their forces in the Duchy of Sleswig before the expiration of the armistice.]
---------------------------------

WAR DEPARTMENT.................... #4

ADMIRALTY OFFICE, JAN. 1, 1814.

^^^Copy of a letter from VIC ADMIRAL SIR EDW. PELLEW, Bart.  Commander in Chief of His Majesty's ships and vessels in the Mediterranean, to JOHN WILSON CROKER, Esq. dated on board his Majesty's ship 'Caledonia', off Toulon, the 6th Nov. 1813.^^^

SIR,

If I was not aware that every shot fired from his Majesty's fleet before Toulon upon that of the enemy would be pompously displayed in the Miniteur, by the Government of France, to deceive all Europe as well as their unhappy subjects.  I should have considered it unnecessary to trouble their Lordships with the following details of the transactions of the squadron under my command on the 5th inst.

His Majesty's fleet had been blown off their station by a succession of hard gales for eight days, and it was only yesterday morning that the land was discovered, together with the inshore squadron, as per margin**, which had reached Cape Sicie the preceding evening.

The fleet were standing with close reefed topsails, towards Toulon, to reconnoitre, with a strong wind from E.N.E. when at 10  A.M. the enemy, as customary with such winds, was seen getting under weigh, and came out with fourteen sail of the line, and seven frigates, for their usual exercise, close in shore, between Cape Brun and Cape Carcaviane.

A sudden change of wind to N.W. seemingly unexpected by them, permitted me to hope that we should be able to bring the rear to action;  and the Scipion having communicated by signal the prospect of cutting off the leewardmost ships, she was directed, with the advanced squadron, to attack.

The Caledonia, Boyne, and San Josef, leading some distance a head, and followed by the fleet, were thought, near enough to afford support, with every prospect of success;  but unfortunately, from the wind heading, they were not able to fetch the leewardmost ship, a three decker, bearing the flag of a Rear Admiral, to windward of St. Marguerite, and consequently only a partial firing took place, in passing on different tacks, and after wearing from the shore, between Sepet and Cape Brun.

**(Scipion, Mulgrave, Pembroke, Armada)

Had the body of the fleet been more advanced when the change of wind took place, I am confident we should not only have brought the enemy to close action, but every ship we had weathered, would have been our reward, although they had not been above a league eastward of the port, and always under cover of the batteries.

The French fleet, the moment the wind changed, used all possible expediton to get back into the harbour, and the Vice Admiral was among the first that reached the anchorage.

The casualties of the ships on this occasion are too trifling to mention, were it not for the wounds of two fine young officers, LIEUTENANT CLARKE, of the marines, and MR. CUPPAGE, Signal midshipman of the San Josef, who each lost a leg by one unlucky shot.

====================================
 
< Prev   Next >