Lawry Cole, aud brigadier-general W. D. Ackland, for their gallant and meritorious conduct in the action with the French troops at Maida, on the 4th of July last, and to the officers under their command. 2dly, That the thanks of that house should be given to the non-commissioned officers and private soldiers serving under the same, for their bravery and good conduct, and that this vote should be signified to them by the officers of the respective corps." On the question being put, these motions were carried, nem. con. and the thanks were ordered to be communicated to the general officers in the usual way. The house then adjourned for the Christmas recess, till Wednesday the 31st of December. On the same day, December 22d, thanks to the same commander, offi. cers, and men, were moved in the house of commons, agreeably to the previous notice, by Mr. WindhamWe have already had occasion to notice how well qualified this gentleman is for appreciating, and celebrating the merit of such achievements as the battle of Maida, in giving some account of a debate on a motion in the house of commons by Mr. Jones, respecting a convention at El. Arisch, and the alleged policy of not permitting the French to evacuate Egypt. Mr. Windham, on that occasion, was naturally led to estimate the mighty advantages we bad gained, in point of reputation, by a series of engagements, particularly that of March the 21st, near Alexandria. The battle of Maida, like that of Alexandria, was a great and animating subject, and it was treated by Mr. Windham with suit able powers of reason and elo. quence. He praised his countrymen, (to use the language of the sacred Scriptures,)" with his whole heart: he praised them also with his understanding. +” The action he said to which his motion referred, was one of the most distinguished exploits that ever appeared in the annals of this, or any other country. Every man must be so thoroughly sensible of its character and importance, that it was altogether unnecessary to dwell upon this subject. If he ventured to say any thing upon it, it was merely from an impulse to indulge his feelings. There was not so much as one of the various views in which this exploit could be considered, that did not rank it with the proudest achievements of our ancestors: that did not raise it to a level even with the memorable days of Cressy, Poictiers, and Agincourt. One peculiar character which belonged to this distinguished service, was, the accession it produced to our stock of national glory, the most valuable possession of a great nation. Other services might cut a greater figure in respect of acqui sition of territory, or other resources, though not of a nature to call for the sort of honours and distinctions merited by achievements of this kind. But in respect of reputation, it was singularly distin guished even in the midst of those splendid and brilliant triumphs to which this country had been so much accustomed-of what importance it was to keep up a high character for military spirit; how necessary it was to encourage it, with every ho nourable distinction of public approbation and gratitude; how impos • Vol. XLIII. 1801. Hist. of Europe, p. 190. + Fsalm 47. 7. sible sible it was for any great country to preserve its character and independence without the possession of such feelings-These were topics on which it was unnecessary for him to insist. But if ever there had been a period of the world when a strong military feeling was wanted, for the preservation of the greatness and glory of a country, it was the present it was this period, when the whole world had become as it were one universal camp; when all nations were occupied with military views, military services, and military fame; when these military pursuits were substituted in place of the civil arts of life; when no country could be safe that did not cultivate them, could no longer hope to continue its independence. It was not because we had lost any part of the military spirit or character of the country, that he dwelt with such pride on the battle of Maida; certainly not. This country had never forfeited its just character for military superiority, yet, from the circumstances in which the war had hitherto been carried on, and the pre-eminence of our great and glorious naval exploits, we had not had the same opportunity of distinguishing our arms by land as by sea. The nations of this continent too, seemed to have been brought over to the opinion, which they were very willing to adopt as some consolation to themselves, that our military pow. er, was not proportionably so strong by land as by sea. Now the immediate tendency and effect of the glorious battle of Maida, would be, to meet these opinions, and correct the error in which they originated. Many persons in this country appeared to entertain, and in their writings avowed, the opinion that the troops of the enemy were superior to British troops. This opinion was flattering to the enemy: but he trusted that it had not gone far into the country, and was convinced that it had not made any impression upon the people or the army. British soldiers were strangers to any feelings that would prevent them, whenever they came into contact with the enemy on nearly equal terms, from displaying British valour as conspicuously by land as by sea. It was a general opinion that all our naval exploits had been achie. ved by a superiority of experienced discipline and skill. But he could not subscribe to such a position. Many of those heroic achievements which had raised the reputation of our navy to the highest pitch of glory, had been performed by the naked valour of Britons, without the aid of skill or discipline. Of this description, were the exploits performed in boarding ships, in cutting out ships from under the protection of batteries, and in various other operations performed by British seamen on shore; in every one of which the native valour of our countrymen was uniformly triumphant. There were no such instances to be found recorded in the military annals of the enemy. The enemy however had maintained, and been at great pains to propagate the idea, that they were as much superior to us by land, as we werc to them by sca. And the delusion seemed to have prevailed on the Continent. But the battle of Maida had broken the charm. Every cir cumstance of its progress, the conduct of the officers, and the bravery of the men, had established the ascendency of British valour, and maintained that superiority which this country possessed in all ages. In proof of this, he could appeal to the determination, as appeared by the gazette, gazette, of sir John Stuart to advance with his inferior force to the attack of the enemy, even in the strong position he occupied, if the eney had not advanced to meet him. The issue of the action that ensued, would prove to the chief of the enemy, and to his troops, who arrogated to themselves a superiority Over all other troops, that they are not invincible, as they would represent themselves; that they could not withstand the valour of British troops when fairly opposed to them in action. And yet, from whatever causes, certainly not for want of courage in their adversaries, the events of the late wars had contributed to countenance the opinion of the French being invincible. They conquered, because it was thought they could conquer. This victory, however, had dis. solved the spell. It was obtained in the face of Europe; under the eye of the nation for whose interest the expedition was undertaken, and had proved to the world, in a manner not to be concealed or disguised, that French troops are inferior to British troops: And here, Mr. Windham thought it necessary for him to take some precaution for guarding against any possible misconstruction of his meaning. Nothing could be further from his intention, than to represent this exploit at Maida, as exclusively glorious for the reputation of the British arms. The whole of the campaign of Egypt was equally conspicuous for the lustre it cast upon the military character of the British nation. The battle of Maida condensed into a single action, all the same merits that had been displayed in every operation during that glorious campaign. It was a lesson to VOL. XLIX. this country, to the enemy, and to the world, of the comparative value of British and French troops, and thoroughly confirmed the decisive superiority of British valour. There never had been an action so com. pletely calculated in all its circum. stances to establish this truth ile could not more forcibly illustrate this fact, than by adopting the eloquent language of sir John Stuart on the subject. "It seemed," said the gallant general, in his dispatch, "as if the prowess of the two nations was to be brought to trial before the world." Certainly no action, under any circumstances could be better calculated for such a trial. If two sets of philosophers had set themselves to make an experiment by doing away every thing extraneous to their process, they could not have succeeded more accurately. In the first part of the action, the two parties advanced against each other with the bayonet; an operation which, though much talked of, seldom took place between great bodies of men. All the circumstances that had happened previously to the shock, concurred to bring the courage and intrepidity of the two rival nations to the trial. The contest was decided, not by any superiority of corporeal strength, but by the predominance of personal intrepidity. Both armies advanced firmly to the charge until within half a yard of each other. In this moment of perilous trial, British resolution and valour held out, while the enemy shrunk back with panic from the terrible contest.-It is not improper to state here, that hardly any of our men were wounded by the bayonet.-He had to apologize to the house for having trespassed so long on their attention; but really the the theme was so pleasing, that he could not refrain from dwelling upon it with peculiar satisfaction.-He should not now detain the house any longer than whilst he could state some circumstances respecting the action, which were not generally known. By these circumstances it would appear, that the victory had been more decisive, and the defeat of the enemy more complete than was at first supposed. Sir John Stuart had correctly stated the amount of his own force as under 5,000 men. But, when he wrote his dispatch, he had not the means of ascertaining with accuracy the force of the enemy. In that dispatch it had been stated at nearly 7,000 men, but it should have been stated at nearly 8,000 men. This fact had been discovered from returns found upon the persons of some of the officers that had been killed. The next circumstance he had to mention, respected the amount of the enemy's loss. Sir John Stuart stated the numbers killed, at 700. But it had been afterwards ascertained by observations made on the spot, that the number killed in the action amounted to 1,300. Fifteen hundred prisoners had been the immediate fruit, and a great number more had fallen into our hands from the consequences of the action. So that thus, in killed, wounded, and prisoners, a number of the enemy had been disposed of, nearly equal to the whole of the British force. Another consequence of the atchievement was, that it had set the Calabrians free from the presence of the enemy, and had totally broken up the force of general Regnier in those provinces, which amounted to 1,300 men. It was not perhaps necessary to & have dwelt so much on the advantages that resulted from the battle. But the glory that had been acquired in it, he held to be of infinitely greater importance, than any immediate benefits that had been derived from the action. This it was that would carry the effect of the brilliant exploit beyond the single instance, by restoring the military renown of this country, which had been called in question. He who gave glory to his country, gave that which was far more valuable to it, than any acquisition whatever. Glory alone was not to be taken away by time or accidents. Ships, territories, or possessions, might be taken from country, but the mode of acquiring them could never be forgotten. The acquisitions that were the consequence of the glorious days of Cressy and Poictiers, had long since passed into other hands: but the glory of those illustrious atchievements, still adhered to the British name, and was immortal. tract, that pure essence which endured to all ages; whilst the residuum, the grosser parts, passed away, and were lost in the course of time. On this ground it was that, in his opinion, the victory of Maida would stand as high as any exploit upon the records of our military atchievements, and that the glory of general Stuart, and his brave army, would descend to the latest posterity, unless the country should at any time sink into such a state of degradation, that the memory of former glory would be reproach to existing degeneracy.-Even in such a state of degradation, he was sure, that such an instance as this, was calculated to rouse a nation to emu. late the exploits of its ancestors. It was that fine ex Mr. Windham having moved the same same resolutions as those moved in the house of peers by lord Grenville; Sir John Doyle rose to second the motions. Having witnessed, he said, upon many trying occasions, the zeal, discipline, skill, and courage, in this instance, so brilliantly displayed, by that gallant officer and his brave companions, he could not reconcile it to his feelings to confine himself to a passive and cold assent. The thanks of parliament were never better deserved, nor would they be any where more highly prized. "I know, sir, so well the feelings of those gallant men, that whatever privations they may have endured, whatever labours sustained, or whatever dangers encountered, they will find themselves amply repaid by the approbation of a beloved sovereign, and the approbation of a brave and free people.-I rely upon the good feelings of the house to pardon this effusion so naturally drawn forth, and which if I were willing, I am unable to suppress."-The motions were agreed to nem. con. Lord Howick presented the papers relative to the late negociation with France.-The day fixed for taking them into consideration, was Monday the 2d of January. CHAP. |