Encyclopaedia Britannica, or, a Dictionary of arts, sciences, and miscellaneous literature : enlarged and improved. Illustrated with nearly six hundred engravings > Volume 19, Scripture-SUG

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pain, every quarter. On the 8th of November Sir John
p 'Moore reached Almeyda. The weather was at this
time extremely unfavourable, and the troops were ex-
pofed to almoft inceffant rain. They entered Spain on
the nth of November, and on the 13th Sir John ar¬
rived with his advanced guard at Salamanca, where he
halted, intending to aflemble there all the troops which
were on their march through Portugal. While he re^
mained at Salamanca, he was informed that a confider-
able French force had affembled and taken poffeffion of
Valladolid, at the diftanee of only twenty leagues, by
which one of the places that had been intended for ma¬
gazines was loft. At this time Sir John had with him
only three brigades of infantry without artillery, and it
would be at leaft ten days before the whole of the divi-
fions could come up. He was thus expofed to almoft
an immediate attack by the French without any effec¬
tual fupport from the boafted patriotifm of the Spa¬
niards.
The fituation of affairs in Spain had now become ex¬
tremely critical^ and every account fent to Sir John
Moore by men of found judgment, was filled with con¬
vincing proofs that the Spanilh government had con¬
cealed from their ally the very defperate ftate of their
affairs. General Hope, by a long and tirefome march,
had reached the neighbourhood of Madrid, whence he
wrote a letter to Sir John, ftating that every branch
■was afteifted by the disjointed and inefficient con 11 ruc¬
tion of the government. On the 28th of November
Sir John was advertifed of the late defeat and difperfion
or Caftanos, and of the little probability there was of
his being able to march forward, fo as to effect any thing
of advantage. He therefore determined to fall back,
though this determination was evidently in oppofition to
the withes and advice of his officers. Frefti difpatches,
however, from the feat of government, diminilhing the
Ioffes which had been fuftained by the patriots, and ex-
aggerating the ardour with which the people were ac-
I tuated, induced him to delay his retreat, efpecially as
I he had now a complete, though-fmall corp-,, with caval¬
ry and artillery, and could, by a movement to the left,
eafily effedf a junction with Sir David Baird, while the
divifion under General Hope had, by rapid marches, ar¬
rived in the neighbourhood of Salamanca.
In addition to the mifreprefentations by which the
commanders of the Britifh forces, and the Britiffi envoy
at Aranjuez, had been deceived, they had now to con¬
tend with two defigning men, who, it foon appeared,
| were in the French intereft. Thefe were Don Mori a, the,
late governor of Cadiz, and a M. Charmilly. By the
machinations of thefe men, Mr Frere was led to advife,
and Sir John Moore ftrongly incited to undertake, bring¬
ing the whole of the Britifh force to the neighbourhood
of Madrid, where they would foon have been complete¬
ly within the power of the enemv. Though by thefe
arts Sir John was effedfually miffed, he did not fuffer
himfelf to be drawn into fo dangerous a fnare. He, how¬
ever, advanced beyond Salamanca, and fent forward the
referve and General Beresford’s brigade towards Toro
on the Douro, where they rvere to unite with the cavalry
under Lord Paget, who had advanced thither from Af-
torga. On December 12th, Lord Paget, with the
principal part of the cavalry, marched from Toro to
Fordefillas, while the brigade under General Stewart
moved from Arivolo. In the vicinity of Tordefillas,
near the village of Rtieda, the Britifh forces were firft Spai*.
oppofed by the French, a fmall party of whom were at- v*”
tacked and defeated.
While Sir John Moore was at Toro, he received in¬
telligence that the duke of Dalmatia was at Saldana
with a confiderable body of French troops, that Junot,
duke of Abrantes, was marching with another towards
Burgos, and that a third under the duke of Trevifo was
deltined for Zaragoza. He was very defirous that the
firft of thefe generals ffiould advance to meet him, and
with this view he had come forward to Toro, which he
reached on the 16th of December. He had hoped for
efte&ual affiltance from the corps commanded by the
marquis de la Romana, but he foon found that this ge¬
neral could render him no fupport. He had now re-
folved to threaten the communication between France
and Madrid5 and, if a favourable opportunity offered,-
to attack the duke of Dalmatia’s corps, or any of the
covering divifions that fhould prefent themfelves. Fie
forefaw that this would neeeffarily draw upon him a
large French force, and of courfe would prove an im¬
portant diverfion in favour of the Spaniards-, who would
by this means have the opportunity of collecting in the
fouth, and reftoring their affairs. The army was now
near the French pofition. The cavalry under Lord
Paget were puffied fo forward, that their patrols reached
as far as Valladolid, and had frequent fuccefsful Ikir-
mjffies with the enemy. Colonel Otway met a detach¬
ment of French cavalry, charged them, and made the
whole prifoners.
On the 18th of December, Sir John’s head-quarters--
were at Caitro Nuevo, and Sir David Baird’s at Bene-
vente, on the road to join. him. On the 2Cth Sir John
reached Majorga, where he was joined by Sir David
Baird. The united Britiffi army now amounted to ra¬
ther fewer than 26,000 men, of whom about 2000 were
cavalry. The weather was extremely cold, and the
ground covered with deep fnow. Still the exertions of
the troops were indefatigable, and the cavalry in parti¬
cular attacked and defeated a confiderabie body of
French horfe. On the 21ft the army reached Sahagun,
where Sir John eftabliffied his head-quarters, and deter¬
mined to halt for fome time, to refreffi Ins troops, after-
th& fatigues which they had undergone.
Sir John had now arrived within a very fliort difiance
from Saldana, where the duke of Dalmatia was polled,,
with the flower of the French army; and preparations
w ere made for an attack, which was waited for with all
the ardour and impatience which diftinguilh Britiffi
troops* In the mean time, however, repeated couriers
arrived at head quarters, the bearers of unpleafant in¬
telligence. Certain information w’as received, that a
ftrong French reinforcement had arrived at Carrion, a
little to the right of Sahagun, that the French corps,
which was marching to the fouth, had halted at Tala-
vera, and that the enemy were advancing from Madrid
in confiderable force. Sir John now fan' that his mo¬
tions had been watched by Bonaparte, and that all the
arts of this experienced general had been preparing to
entrap him. To advance was madnefs; to retreat, al¬
moft in the face of an enemy, was a meafure of the ut-
moft danger, but it was the only alternative.
On the 24th of December Sir John began filently His retreat,
and fecretly to prepare for his retreat, and to provide,
as far as poffible^ for the defence of thofe parts of the
country