The battles of the world

by J. Douglas Borthwick

The next day, as the troops marched forward to St. Benoit, His Excellency was met by delegates bearing a flag of truce, and stating that the insurgents were prepared to lay down their arms unconditionally. Almost every house exhibited something white; and, on arriving at St. Benoit, 250 of these misguided men were found drawn up in a line and suing for pardon, stating that their leaders had deserted them. They were immediately dismissed to their homes and occupations. With the return of the troops from the county of the Two Mountains the military operations, connected with the first insurrection in Lower Canada, may be said to have terminated.

ST. DIZIER, BATTLES OF.—In France.—Between the Allied armies and the French—one of the engagements being commanded by Napoleon himself. The French sustained in these battles, as in several proceeding, severe defeats, and led the way by which the Allied armies entered Paris. Fought, January 27th and March 26th, 1814.

ST. JEAN DE LUZ, BATTLE OF.—“Soult had a strong position on the Nivelle from St. Jean de Luz to Ainhoe, about twelve miles in length. General Hill, with the British right, advanced from the valley of Baztan, and attacking the French on the height of Ainhoe, drove them towards Cambo, on the Nive, while the centre of the Allies, consisting of the English and Spanish troops, under Beresford and Alton, carried the works behind Sarre, and drove the French beyond the Nivelle, which the Allies crossed at St. Pé, in the rear of the enemy. Upon this the French hastily abandoned their ground and works on the left of the Nivelle, and during the night withdrew to their entrenched camp in front of Bayonne. Wellington’s headquarters were established at St. Jean de Luz, November 10th, 1813.”

ST. QUENTIN, BATTLE OF.—Philip II, of Spain, assisted by the British, defeated the French here, August 10th, 1557.

ST. SEBASTIAN, BATTLE OF.—The fortified works, through which ran the high road to Hernani, were carried by the English Auxiliary Legion, under General Evans, after very hard fighting. The British naval squadron off the place, lent, under Lord John Hay, very great aid to the victors. Fought, May 5th, 1836. Again, on the 1st of October, same year, a vigorous assault was made on the lines of General De Lacy Evan by the Carlists. Both sides fought with great bravery, but the Carlists were repulsed after suffering severely. The Anglo-Spanish loss was 376 men, and thirty-seven officers killed and wounded. The General was also wounded.

ST. SEBASTIAN, SIEGE OF.—By the British and Allied armies, under Wellington. After a short siege, during which it sustained a heavy bombardment, and by which the whole town was nearly laid in ruins, it was stormed by General Graham, and taken, August 31st, 1803. The loss was almost all on the British side in the storming—the Spaniards losing few.

ST. VINCENT, BATTLE OF CAPE.—Between the Spanish and British fleets off this Cape. The latter was commanded by Admiral Sir John Jarvis, who took four line of battle ships, and damaged considerably the rest of the Spanish fleet, February 14th, 1797. His own fleet consisted of 15 sail of the line only—whilst the enemy’s fleet was 27 sail, 7 of which carried from 112 to 130 guns each.

ST. VINCENT, CAPE.—Admiral Rooke, with 20 men of war, and the Turkish fleet, under his convoy, was attacked by Admiral Tourville with a force vastly superior to his own, when 12 English and Dutch men of war, and 80 merchant men were taken or destroyed by the French, June 16th, 1693. Here, also, Admiral Rodney destroyed several Spanish ships, January 16th, 1780.

SALAMANCA, BATTLE OF.—Fought July 22nd, 1812.—“Lord Wellington had fought the battle of Talavera in less than three months after he had marched out of Lisbon, and in only three months and six days after his landing in Portugal. He had seen some kind of action and enterprise to be absolutely necessary. It was demanded by England; it was expected by Spain and Portugal. Hence he first drove the French out of Oporto and out of the Portuguese dominions, and then, in conjunction with a Spanish army, marched upon Madrid, and fought a battle with the French.

But these three months sufficed to show him, how utterly valueless was the aid proffered him by the Spaniards. They left him without provisions; they furnished him with no means of transport; and when they placed an army by his side, that army could do nothing but run away, and spread alarm and consternation on every side. Hence, so soon as he fully understood the real condition of affairs, he wrote home to the British government in these plain terms: