The London Gazette Extraordinary
Foreign-Office, June 5, 1815[edit]
LETTERS, of which the following are extracts, have been this morning received by Lord Castlereagh from Edward Cooke, Esq: one of His Majesty's Under Secretaries of State for Foreign Affairs, [as] dated
Rome a Via della Croci, May 20, 1815[edit]
I INCLOSE copies of military reports from Colonel Church, who is employed, under General Nugent, to the 18th instant, by Lord Stewart's directions.
On Tuesday last, I went to Civita Vecchia, with the view of communicating with Lord Exmouth in his passage from Genoa to Naples. On Thursday evening his Lordship's flag appeared in the offing, with four sail of the line, and I went on board and put him in possession of all details; upon which he proceeded forthwith to the Bay of Naples, where he must have arrived this morning.
The Berwick of 74 guns, Captain Bruce, came to Civita Vecchia, on Saturday: finding that a French frigate had gone into Gaeta, probably with a view of carrying off the Buonaparte family, be proceeded, by my desire, on Tuesday evening, in order to blockade Gaeta.
A Neapolitan General arrived at Civita Vecchia on Wednesday front Palermo, which he left the 8th: he reported to me, that the King had left Palermo for Messina; and that the British and Sicilian troops were ready to embark. Letters had been sent from General Nugent and Lord Burghersh, by Terracina and Ponza, to General M'FarLane, advising the debarkation, to be as near Naples as possible.
If Lord Burghersh's dispatches have arrived, your Lordship will-have been, informed that the Due de Gallo had surrendered two sail of the line, and the whole arsenal of Naples, by capitulation, to Captain Campbell, of the Tremendous on his threatening to bombard the city.
The accounts herewith sent will prove satisfactorily to your Lordship, that the war is on the eve- of being successfully terminated. The Neapolitan army does not support the cause of Murat, much, less the people, who receive the allied troops as liberators, and are merely anxious for the restoration of their ancient and legitimate Sovereign, being exasperated and disgusted with all the vexations, deceptions, and perfidies of Murat.
I have sent the originals of Colonel Church's reports to Lord Stewart at Vienna.
I most sincerely congratulate your Lordship on the prospect of so early and happy termination to the projects of Murat.
ARMY OF NAPLES. Head-Quarters of General Count Nugent, Bivouac of Arcé, May 15, 1815.[edit]
MY LORD,.
MY last report, dated Rome the llth instant, stated the march of General Count Nugent's corps from Valmontone, in the Roman states, on Firentine, and towards the frontier of the kingdom of Naples; the enemy retiring before him, and only engaging in partial combats occasionally, has since that period been driven beyond the Garigliano, as far back as St. Germane, a distance of thirty miles from his frontier, followed by the advance guard, close to that town.
On the 14th, Marshal Murat having arrived in person at St. Germano, and the enemy being considerably reinforced, he advanced again from St. Germano, and drove back the advance guard of this army; the same evening he attacked the out posts at all points, and surrounded them with great superiority of numbers not withstanding which the gallantry of the troops-was such, that every detached guard not only cut its way through the enemy, but brought in a number of prisoners, to the amount of three or four hundred. The attack of the outposts was not followed up, as we had reason to expect, by a serious operation against our position at Ceprano on the Garigliano, in expectation of which the troops remained the greater part of the day in order of battle. On the 15th the enemy began again to retire; his movement was then plainly ascertained to be a manoevre to cover and facilitate the escape of Marshal Murat to Capua, who arrived at St. Germano with only three or four officers and a few dragoons, and left it again in a couple of hours. Towards sun set on the same day, General Nugent resumed the offensive, notwithstanding the disparity of numbers, the enemy having near ten thousand men; crossing the Garigliano on abridge thrown over it, to replace that burnt by the French General Manheis, when he sacked and burnt the unfortunate town of Ceprano, he pursued his march on the road towards St. Gennano, and bivouacked under the little town of Arcé whence this report is dated.
General Manheis has been joined by the Minister at War M'Donald, and it is probable that their combined force will occupy this night a position on the Melfa, a few miles from this camp.
On the line of operations of General Count Nugent, the right occupies Ponte Corvo, Fondi, and Itri, and the left extends as far as Isola and Sora.
I have great satisfaction in informing your Lordship of the loyal disposition of the inhabitants of this part of the country, where the cockade of the legitimate Sovereign is universally worn.
The army will advance again to-morrow, and the details of its progress transmitted to your Lordship as soon as St. Germano is occupied, or a combat accepted.
- I have the honour to be, &c.
- (Signed) C. CHURCH.
- His Excellency Lieutenant-General Lord Stewart, G.C.B. &c &c. &c. Vienna.
ARMY OF NAPLES. Head-Quarters General Count Nugent, Sán Germano, May 17, 1815.[edit]
My LORD,
MY last dispatch, dated from the bivouac of Arcé, brought the details of the operations of General Count Nugeut's corps up to the date of the 15th instant.
I have now the satisfaction to inform your Lordship, that, since that period, a series of bold and rapid movements, on the part of that General, have been crowned with the most complete success, and the enemy's army opposed to him defeated and totally dispersed.
On the night of the 15th, the advanced guard moved forward from the camp of Arcé on the road towards St. Germnno, having the enemy in front strongly posted on the banks of the Melfa; daring the night, however; he retreated to San Germano, breaking down the bridge across that river. No time was lost in throwing a bridge over the Melfa, and at ten o'clock, on the morning of the 16th, it was crossed by the infantry; the cavalry in the meantime having passed it where it was fordable for horses.
On the same day before daylight, General Nugent advanced his whole corps to the Melfa, and having there received a reinforcement of hussars and chasseurs, he marched forward in order of battle to attack the enemy at San Gramano, where the united forces of Macdonald, Manheis, and Pignatelli had taken post. A small corps of advance had marched from Ponte Corvo to turn the enemy's left flank, and which had already got behind his position, and the armed inhabitants of the village of Piedemonte, with a few soldiers, possessed themselves of the strong position of the Convent of Monte Casino, upon the mountain which protects the right flank of San Germano; the army at the same time advanced upon the high road, preceded by the whole of the Tuscan cavalry, and some squadrons of hussars. On the approach of the troops, the enemy declined the combat, and hastily-abandoned his position, leaving behind him many prisoners and deserters, and fell back to the village of Mignano, nine miles distant from this place; San Germano was in consequence immediately occupied by the Allied Troops.
The taking of San Germano was but the prelude to a movement which terminated gloriously for this army, in the total annihilation of the enemy's corps opposed to it.
In the position of Mignano, where his whole force was again united, he was attacked at midnight by the advanced guard commanded by Baron D'Aspre, with about seven or eight hundred men, the darkness of the hour preventing him from ascertaining the strength of the attacking corps, the enemy's troops, after a few discharges of musketry, were totally routed, saving only his cavalry and artillery —In this attack, singularly successful and highly creditable to Baron D'Aspre and the troops under his orders, above one thousand prisoners have been made, a quantity of arms and military equipments taken, and the whole of the enemy's infantry dispersed. Deserters in companies of hundreds, have come in and are hourly joining this camp.
This brilliant affair has concluded the operations of Count Nugent in this quarter, in which he has destroyed the army called the Army of the Interior, with a force originally very inferior to that of the enemy. During the last ten days, the Neapolitan army has lost at least from six to seven thousand men; and the whole number of this army (alluding solely to the army opposed to General Nugent) escaped from the general overthrow, cannot amount to more than seven hundred men. In the course of this General's movements, commencing at Pistoia, he has, at different periods, defeated the enemy's Generals Carascosa, Manheis, Livron, Macdonald, and the two Pignatelli's, besides others; and not. even the presence of Marshal Murat himself, at San Germano, on the 15th, could prevent the destrnction of his army, and consequently the ruin of his authority.
General Count Nugent's head quarters are at Mignano, from whence I have returned and forward this report} and the column of his right wing, which advanced from Terracina, occupies Mola di Gaeta, the enemy having retired over the Garigliano,and burnt the bridge.
- I have the honour to be, &c.
- (Signed) C. CHURCH. His Excellency Lieutenant-General Lord Stewart, G.C.B. &c. &c. &c. Vienna.
ARMY OF NAPLES. Head-Quarters, Bivouac of Cajaniello (near Calvi), May 18, 1815[edit]
MY LORD,
I HAD the honour to transmit to your Lordship a report, dated yesterday, with details of the occupation of St. Germano, and of the defeat of the enemy at Miguano; I have now to report the junction of the whole Austrian force, under the command of General Baron Bianchi, at this camp. Cagauiello being the angle of the junction of the high roads leading from Rome, Aquila, and Pescara to Capua and Naples. The different divisions commanded by the Generals Nugent, Mohr, Neyperg, and D'Eckart, form for the moment but one corps the advanced guard of which, under General Starhernberg, is at Calvi. The shattered and wretched remains of the enemy's army, which, little more than a month ago, Marshal Murat published to the world as consisting of eighty thousand combatants, is now reduced to a corps, perhaps, not amounting to eight thousand effective men, including the detachments of invalids, gendarmerie, civic guards, &c. drawn from Naples and the provinces; with this force, broken in spirit, the majority of which detest the cause of the usurper, it appears that Marshal Murat will take post in and about Capua, until finally overwhelmed by the superb and victorious army which will now surround him in every direction.
Having but this moment reached the general head-quarters with General Nugent's corps, I cannot yet state which of the Austrian corps will march on Naples by Caijagga and Caserta, nor which will blockade the enemy's position of Capua, and in the present state of affairs it seems immaterial the great object being now to save the capital from any rising of the populace, and the consequences that might follow an event so much dreaded by all classes of the inhabitants.
The organization of the Neapolitan volunteers has gone on amazingly well and it is even probable that a detachment of them may be sent to pass the Volturno at its mouth, and push on to Naples, by the road of Pozzuoli; in that case I believe I shall be entrusted with this operation.
I am very happy to state, that although the whole of the country through, which we have passed has risen in arms against the usurper's forces, no act of disorder or excess has been committed by the armed inhabitants, who have on no occasion been allowed to act in independent bodies, under the denomination of Massa; on the contrary, they have been obliged to act according to military discipline and under the direction of regular officers.
- I have the honour to be, &c,
- (Signed) R. CHURCH.
- His Excellency Lieutenant-General Lord Stewart, G.C.B. &c. &c. &c.
Extract of a Second Letter from Edward Cooke, Esq. dated Rome, May 22, 1815[edit]
I HAVE kept my Courier, hoping every hour to hear from Lord Burghersh, and I have now the satisfaction to send an extract from his letter, which has just been received, dated Teano, the 21st instant.
"I send this letter in great haste. A Military Convention has been signed, by which the whole of the kingdom of Naples; save a few, places, Gaeta, Pescara, and. also Ancona, have been surrendered to the Allies. Murat has not yet treated nor is it exactly known where he is, but he has been informed he must go under a guard of honour to Austria.—The army goes into Capua to-day; to morrow we occupy the heights round Naples, and the next day, the 23d, we go into the city."
The officer who brought the letters, says Murat was at Salerno. Lord Burghersh had received no intelligence of Lord Exmouth, but his Lordship must have arrived at Naples.
[The dispatches from Lord Burghersh have not yet been received.]
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