THE

DISPATCHES

ОР

FIELD MARSHAL THE DUKE OF WELLINGTON,

IN

FRANCE AND THE LOW COUNTRIES,

IN

1814-15.

To Lieut. General W. Clinton.

SIR, 'Cahors, 1st May, 1814. I beg that, in case the British and German infantry directed by my orders of the 4th and the 8th of March to embark for Gibraltar and Sicily should not have embarked, you will give orders that they may march by Zaragoza on Tudela, following the march of the troops who have moved under the orders above mentioned.

You will direct the Commissaries attached to your corps to take measures to provide for these troops till they shall arrive at Tudela, where they will be taken charge of by the Commissariat of this army, and they will there receive further orders.

'Lieut. Gen. W. Clinton.

I have the honor to be, &c.

⚫ WELLINGTON.

Memorandum with the above Letter.

'Show this letter and desire Hill to give orders accordingly to Sir Robert Kennedy. These may march-the 10th and 67th regiments, and two or three battalions of Germans. Let this letter go by an officer through Narbonne and Catalonia to Tarragona. Let a copy be sent by another officer by Roncesvalles to General W. Clinton. 'W.'

VOL. XII.

B

'I arrived here yesterday, and I received in the night the enclosed extract of a letter which Lord Bathurst had written to me on the 14th of April, the original of which I ought to have received before I left Toulouse, but which Fremantle delivered to me only this day.

You know as much of the force and object of this expedition * as I do. It is to be 12,000 infantry, the 14th light dragoons, and four companies of artillery. If you should determine to accept the command, you should prepare to set out for England by Paris; and as I shall leave this on Saturday or Sunday, and shall be at Toulouse on Wednesday or Thursday, you might set out immediately after my arrival.

I beg you will desire Murray to order the corps under mentioned to assemble at or near Bordeaux without loss of time.

'Lieut. General

Sir R. Hill, K.B.

Believe me, &c.

6

WELLINGTON.

Pray tell Murray that I do not answer his letter, as I shall be at Toulouse so soon.'

To Earl Bathurst.

• MY DEAR LORD,

Paris, 5th May, 1814.

I arrived here yesterday, and received your letter of the 27th, with the extract of the private letter of the 14th.

6

I received your Lordship's dispatch (No. 27), of the 14th, before I quitted Toulouse, but not your private letter, nor any instructions from the Commander in Chief to which your Lordship's dispatch, No. 27, related, notwithstanding that the mails had arrived to the 20th inclusive. I could not, therefore, take upon me to adopt any measures to carry your Lordship's wishes into execution; and I conclude that

The projected expedition to North America under General Lord Hill; afterwards divided into separate corps, under Generals Kempt, Power, and Robinson, and sent to serve in Canada. Other corps were also sent under Generals Ross, Pakenham, Gibbs, and Keane.

both your Lordship's private letter and the instructions from the Commander in Chief have been intrusted to a private hand, which as usual has created delay.

Much inconvenience may not result from the delay as far as regards the troops, as I shall return to the army as soon as Lord Castlereagh will permit me; and I do not believe there are any transports ready for them. But if I had received your Lordship's letter before I quitted Toulouse, I could have settled the matter with Sir Rowland before I came away. From what he said however to me casually, while talking about the intended secret expedition, I am inclined to believe that he will accept the command if it is wished, notwithstanding the desire he feels to remain a little time in England.

In the night on the road to Paris I received your Lordship's letters of the 20th, directing the embarkation of the 6th and 82nd regiments, and the march of all the British and German troops from Catalonia to Pasages.

I sent the orders accordingly forthwith; and I hope the orders will have arrived in Catalonia in time to stop the embarkation of the troops for Sicily and Gibraltar before ordered under your Lordship's directions.

Since writing the above I have received your Lordship's private letter of the 14th, and the instructions of the same date from the Commander in Chief; and I only wish I had received them before I quitted Toulouse. The orders for the execution go off by express this day. I think your Lordship will be disappointed in your expectations that some of the officers will go upon this expedition; and the Commander in Chief is very much mistaken in his estimate of the strength of the corps. But I consider his orders positive to send 12,000 men, including the 29th regiment as 1000, and I shall act accordingly. I do not know the strength of the Anglo Sicilian corps.

'I have arranged for the march of the Portuguese troops through Spain.

To the Earl of Liverpool.

· Paris, 9th May, 1814.

I have received your Lordship's letter of the 3rd, and I beg that you will lay before His Royal Highness the Prince Regent my grateful acknowledgments for the fresh marks which your Lordship has announced to me of His Royal Highness's grace and favor*. Nothing can be more satisfactory to me than that His Royal Highness should have rewarded the services and merits of my gallant coadjutors, who, I am sure, feel equally grateful with me for His Royal Highness's favors, and are equally desirous of aiding by every means in their power to forward His Royal Highness's views for the prosperity of his kingdom f.

I beg your Lordship also to accept my thanks for your favorable recommendation of my services to His Royal Highness.

I return to the army to-morrow, in order to carry into execution the convention with the French Government, and the orders of the Government for the expedition.

I propose to go to Madrid in order to try whether I cannot prevail upon all parties to be more moderate, and to adopt a constitution more likely to be practicable and to contribute to the peace and happiness of the nation. I am afraid that I shall not be in England till the end of June; but I hope I shall be able to do much good by this journey. A very short time in England will enable me to settle all that I have to do there.

The Earl of Liverpool.

Believe me, &c.

WELLINGTON.

To the Earl of Liverpool.

'MY DEAR LORD,

'Paris, 9th May, 1814. I have been informed only since I arrived here of the Prince Regent's kindness to my mother last year, upon the occasion of the battle of Vitoria; and I am afraid that I shall have appeared insensible of it in not taking an carlier opportunity of making my grateful acknowledgments for it.

*Advancement to a Dukedom.

Peerages to Sir John Hope, Sir T. Graham, Sir S. Cotton, Sir Rowland Hill, and Sir W. C. Beresford.