.foreign intelligence BUONAPARTE'S RETREAT FROM SYRIA. Sir Sidney Smith to Lord, Nelson. Tigre, at Acre, May 9, 1799- M* Lord, the .honor to inform your Lord jhip by my letter of the 2d inftaut, that we were busily employed completing two ra velins for the reception of cannon to flank the enemy's nearest approaches, distant only V nyards from them. They were attacked 1 Vat vi - night and almost every night fnce, bos the .:ni.my have been each tins.' repulsed with conSderable lofn; the enemy continued to baUer in breach with progreflive success, It. * v, irie several timesattempted toftorm, fc as often been beaten back with ient.■ r-.f slaughter. Our bed mode of de- Jem been frequent sot ties to keep them ft r-fenfive, and impede the progress of tfj covering works. We have thus b'-x'ij one continual battle ever since the be, g of the siege, interrupted only at fto» i( ervals by the exceflive fatigue of eve lividual 011 both tides. We have been long anxiously looking for a reinforce ment, without which we could not expeft to be able to keep ths place so long as w< have. Ihe delay in its arrival being occa sioned by Haffau Bey's Aaving originally re ceived orders to join me in Egypt. I was obliged to be very peremptory in the repe tition of my orders tor Ki •< to join me here ; it was not however till the evening of the day before yefterd3y. the 51ft day of the ficge, that this fleet of corvettes and transports made its appearance- The ap proach of this additional II length was the signal to "Buonaparte for a mod vigorous j and perl'everiog assault, in hopts to et pof. j fcfiion of the town before the reinforcement to the garrison could disembark The co nil ant fire of the belegeri was suddenly increased ten fold, our flanking fire from a float was as usual, plied to the utmost, but with left effeft than heretofore, at the enemy had thrown up epaulments and traverses of fnfficient thickness to protect him from it. The guns- that could be worked to the greatest advantage, were a l'rench brafu eighteen pou der in the Light 1 bouse callle. manned from the Theseus. un der the direAion of Mr. Scovder, master's mat'-j and the last mounted 2 j pou .der in the North ravelin manned from the Tygre, under the direftiou of Mr, Junes, midlhip man. These guns being within grape dif tanee of the head of the attacking column, added to the Turkllh mufquitry, did great j • execution. And I take this opportunity of Recommend ng these two petty officers, whefe indefatigable vigilance and zeal merit ■fiy warmed praise. TheTvgre's two 68 pound carronades, mounted in two germes lying in the Mole, and worked untlfcr the direction ef Mr. Bray, carpenter of the Ty gre, one of ths bravest and most intelligent nien I ever served with, threw (hells into the centre of this column with evident tf fe&, and checked it considerably. Still, how«vcr, the enemy gained ground, and made a lodgment in the second (lory of the NE. tower j the upper pjrt being entirely battered down, and the rui«s in the ditch forming the ascent by which they mounted. Daylight (hewed us the French ftandird on the outer angle of the toyver The fire of the besieged *as much (lackened in compa* rifon/to that of the besiegers, and our flank ing fire was become of lels effeA, the energy having covered themselves in this lodgment, and the approach to it by two traverfers across the ditch, which they had conftru&ed under the fire which had been opposed to them du-ii'g the whole of the flight, and, which were now seen composed of land bags and the bodies ef their dead, buih in with them, their bayonets only being visible above them. Haffan Bey's troops were in the boats, though as yet but half way on shore. This was a most critical point of the contest.; and an effort was necessary to preserve the place for a short time until their arrival. _ I accordingly landed the boat* at the Mole, and took the crews up to the breach armed with pikes. The er.thufiaftic grati tude if the Turks, men, women and chil dren, at fight of fucb a reinforcement, at such 3 time is not to be described. Many fugitives returned with us to the breach, which we found defended by a few brave Tnrks, wbofe most deftruftive missile weapons were heavy stones, which ttriking the afiailant on the head, overthrew the fore, mod down the dope, and impeded the pro. grefj of the reft. A fuectffion, however, afceaded to the assault, the heap of the ru ins between the two parties ferviag as a bread work fdr both, the muzzels of their mufquets touching, and the spear heads of the standards locked. Gezxa Pacha hear ing the Britifa were on the breach quitted his station, where according to the 1 urki(h ancient cudom, he was fitting to reward such as (hould bring him the beads of the enemy, and distributing mufq'iet cartridges with his own hands. The energetic old man coiritig behind us, pulled us down with violence, faying if any harm happened to his British friends, all was loft. This amiable contest as to who fho»ld de fend the breach, occafiored a rufti of Turks , to the spot, and thus time was gained for the arrival of Haffan Bey's troops.— I had ; now to combat the Pacha's repugnance to admitting any troops to his Albanians into < the garden of his Seraglio, becoming a very 1 important pod as occupying the Terra-plein of the Ramparts, Thert was not above two 1 hundred of the original thousand Albanians 1 left alive. 'This was no tune to and t 1 * - *' • Jtfr* ... -2 I overruled his objeftioas by introducing the Chifllick regiment of one tboafand men ar med with bayonets, disciplined after the European method under Sultan Selini's own eye, and placed by his inipona] Majedy's express command at my disposal. The gar rison, animated by the appearance of such a reinforcement, was now all on foot, and there being consequently enough to defend the breach, i to the Pacha to get rid of the objeA of his jealousy, by ope.iirt; his" gates to let them make a fallv and take .the dflailajits in flank ; he readily complied, ' and I gave diredtions to the Golonel to get possession of the enemy's third parallel or • nearest trench, and there fortify himlelf by ' fhifting the parapet outwards, Trns order being clearly understood, the gates were ' opened, and the Turks rulhcdout; but they were not equal to such a movement, and were driven back to the town with lofis. Mr. Bray, however, a* uiual, protected the town gate efficacioufly with grape from the sixty-eight pounders. The sortie had this goad effed, that it obliged the enemy to expose themselves above their parapets, so that oar flanking fire brought down numbers of them, and drew their forces from the breach, so that the small number remaining on the lodgement #ere kil.ed or dispersed by our few remai' ing hand grenades thrown by Mr, midlhipman ef the Theseus. The eneiry began a new breach by an incel fant fire divedted t» the southward of the lodgment, (hot knocking down whole fheet3 of a wall much less solid than that ot the tower 011 which they had expended lo much time and amtiuition. The groupe of Generals and Aids-du- Camp which the (hells from the (ixty-eight pounders had frequently dispersed, was now i ' re-alTembled 011 Richard Caur de Lion's I Mount. Buonaparte was diftinguifliaMe in - centre of a (emi-circle ; his gcdiculations in. '■ ' dicated a renewal of attack, and his dispatch- I | ing an Aid-du-Camp, (hewed that he waited -' only for reinforcement. I gave directions - ! for Haffan Bey's Ihips to take their ftutions | in the Ihoal water and made the Tigre's fig > nal to weigh and joiu the Theseus to the ; ; northward. A little bufore sunset a mafiive ! column appeared advancing to the breaih . with a foletnn dep. The Pacha's idea was 1 | nat to defend the brink this time, but rather t |"to let a certain number of tliu enemy in, • and then close with them, according to the 1 Turkish mode of war. The .column thus t i mounted the breach unmolested, and dafcend • ed from the rampott into the Pacha's gar i den, where in a very few minutes, the bra -1 ved and mod advanced among them lay , headless corpses, the sabre, with the addition • of a dagger in the othiir'hantl, provyig more - \ than a match for a-bayonet ; the red retreaL , ed precipitately ; and the commanding officer t 1 who was seen manfully encouraging his men f to mount the breach, and who, we have , since learnt to be General Lafne, was, rar t ; ried off, wout ded by a luuiket (hot. Ge | neral Rombaud was killed!' Mucb confu -1 fion arose in the town from the eiltry : of the enemy, it -ha ving been impossible, nay . impolitic, to give previous infbrmtitiftii to t every body of the mode .of defence adopted, , left the enemy fliould come to a-knowledge . of it by means of their numerous eroifa , ries. | The British uniform, which had hitherto , fervedas a rallying pointfor the old garrison r wherever it appeared, was now in the dusk. , midaken for French, the newly arrived Turks not distinguishing between one hat arid.ano , ther in the crowd : And thus many a frvere f blow of a fab.re was parried by cur officers, . among whom Col. Douglas, Mr. Ive?, and Mr. Jones had nearly loft their lives, as they f were forcing the r way through a torrent of fugitives. C*lm was-reftored by the Pacha', exertions, aided l»y Mr. 'l'rotte, jud arrived j witV Haffau Bey, ,an,d thus the conted of } twenty-five hours ended, both parties being j lo fatigued as to be enable to move. Buonaparte will, 110 doubt, renew the at-' j tack, the breach being, as above described, t perfe£tly pra&icable for fifty men abrcs.it ; j indeed the town ii not nor ever hasbeen de j tenfible according to the rules of art, but f according to every rule it mud and fhalt be defended, not that*it is worth defending, r but we feel that it is by this breach Buona partf means to march to farther conqueds. ' I is 011 the i!Tue of this ccfciflitt that depends the multitude of fpeitaters on the surround ing hills, who wait only to fee how it ends to join the vidtory, and' with such a rein " fortement for execution of his own projects, Conftantinnplc and even Vienna mud feel the fhoek. Be aflured, my Lord, the magnitude of [ our obligation does but increase the energy : of our efforts, in the attempt to discharge > our duty, and though we may, and probably • (hall be overpowered, I can venture to fay that the French army will he so much far. » ther weakened before it prvails, as to be lit tle able to profit by its dear-bought viftory. I have »he honor to be, &c. [ W. SIDNEY SMITH. Rear Admiral N t ELSO>!. 1 Tigre, at anchor off Jay a, "May 30. 1 My LOHD, ' TH E providence ps Almighty God has ' been wonderfully nianifeded in the. defeat '< and precipitate retreat of the French army ; » the means we had of opposing its gigantic 1 efforts againd us being totally inadequate of themselves to the production 6f such a result. ■ The meafnre of their iniquities seems to have i been filled by the massacre of the Turkish ' pri Toners at Jaffa in cool blood, three days I after their capture ; and the Plain of Naza reth has been the boundary, of Buonapa'te's 1 extraordinary career, j He railed the siege of Acre on the 2Cth of May, leaving all his heavy artillery behind him, either buried or thrown into the sea, where however it is visible, and can easily be weighed. The eff£umfuncc» whjth ltd i : if/ • '** » . » to this event, subsequent to my last dispatch •f the 9th inO'.'are as follow : Conceiving that the ideas of Syrians as to the luppolcd irrefiftiblc proweft ut invaders mull be changed, tince they had witnessed the checks which the besieging ar my daily met with ii> their operations bctore the town "«!' Acre, I wrote a circular letter to the princes and chiefs ot" the christians ot Mount Lebanon and also to tlx Sheiks ot the Drul'es, reealliwg them to * fenl'e of their duty, and engaging them to cut ofl the i ap plies from the French camp. I sent them at j the lime time a copy of Buonaparte's impi ous proclamation, iii which he boast* ol hav- j ing overthrown *ll chriftiat: eftabli(hment», j accompanied trilh a luitable exhortation, | carting upon thewi to chufe between the Iriendftiip of a Chriflian Knight and that oi an unprincipled renegade. ! This letter hast all the effeiS that I could ; delire, they immediately sent me two ambal faders, profefling not only triendlhip but obedience ; and assuring me that in proof ot the latter they had sent out parties to arrest such of the Mountaineers as lhould be found carrying wine anirg'un-.jiowder to the French camp, and placing eighty priloners of this description at my dilpuial. I had thus the l'atisfa&ion to find Buonaparte's career fur ther northward effeftually flopped by a war like people, inhabiting an impenetrable coun try. Gen. Kleber's division had been sent eastward tbwardt the fords of the Jourdan, to opuofe the Damascus army ; it was recall ed thence to take its turn in the daily efforts to mount the breach at Acre, in which eve ry other division in succession had failed, with the loss of their braved men, and above three fourths of their officers. It seems much was hoped from this division, as it had by its firmnefs, and the steady front it opposed in the form of a holUw (quare, kept upwards of ten thousand men in check dur ing a whole day in the piotli fid«s. AAlf thjs failure the French. Grenadiers abfolutrly refuf-d to mount the 'Brearh" afiy. jjiore putrid bodies of their unburied companibns, facrificed in for * nn-r att'atki by Buonaparte's impatience and precipitation, which led him to commit such palpable errors as even fcamtn co'uld take ad vantage of. He Teemed to kave no princi ple of aftion • btit that of pigling forward, and appeared-to (lick at nothing to obtain the objeft of" his ambition, although it must be evident to everj> bodyelfe that even if he fucceeded'to take 't'he town, the fire of the Chipping must d r > v *. him out of it again in a (hort time ; howevc-r, the knowledge the had of the inhuman massacre at Jaffa, rendered them desperate in their per sonal defence. Two attempts to aflsffinatft we in the town having failed, recourse was to a most flsgraat breach of every law of hoi *r and of war. A flag of truce was sent into the town by the hand of an Arab Dervife with a letter to the Pacha proposition a cessation ojF arms for the purpoft of burying the dead bodies the flench from which, became intolerable, and threatened the exiflence of every one of us on both fides, many having died delirious within a fl-w hours after being fei*ed v with the firft symptoms of infeftion. It was na tural to us to be conftqueritly off our guard during the conference. While the anfeer was under conlideration, a volley of (hot and (hells, on a sudden, announced an assault,' which, however, the garrison was ready to receive, and the assailants only-contributed to increase the number of the dead bodies in queflion, to the eternal disgrace of the General, who thul disloyally facrificed them. I saved the life of the Arab from the «ffe& of the indignation of the Turks, and teak him ess to the Tigre with me, from whence I sent him back to the General, with a inef fage which made-tie arsiy afliamed of haying been exposed t« such » merited reproof. Subordination was now at an end, and all i hopes of success having Vanilhed, the enemy j had no alternative left but a precipitate re- ; treat, which was put in execution in the night between the 20th and 21ft inft. I had i above said that the battering train of artil lery (except the carriages, which were burnt) is now in our hands, amounting to twenty three pietes. The howitzer* and medium twelve pounders originally conveyed by land with niijch difficulty ; and fuccefsfully em ployed to make the firft breach, were em barked in the country veflels at Jaffa, to be conveyed coafl-wife, together with the worfl among two thousand wounded, which em barrassed the march of the army. This ope lation w„s to be expeded. I took care, therefore, to be between Jaffa and Damietta before the French army could get as far as the former place. The vessels being hurried to fea> without seamen to navigate them, and the wounded being in want of every neeeffa 17,evea water and provisions, they fleered ftrart-td'his'Majefty's ships, in fall confidence of receiving th« succors of Immiv'v, in which they were not disappointed. I have sent them 011 to. Damietta, where they will receive such further aid as thefr situation re quires, and which it was out of my power to giv.- to so many. Their expre(lions of g-ratitode to us were raiiigk-d with execra tions on the name of their General, who bad, as rhe)[ said, thus expoled them to peril ra ther than fairly and honorably renew the in teicourfe with th* Englilh, which he had ! b'oken off by a falfe and malicious affeAion, | that I had intentionally exposed the former ! prisoners to the int'e&ion of the plague. To ! the honor of the French army, be it said, j this assertion was not believed by them, and jit thus recoiled 011 its author. The lflten -1 tion of it was evidently to dft.av.ay theeffeft j which the proclamation of the Porte began I to make on the soldiers, wbofe eager handi | were held above the parapet of their works j, to receive them when thrown from the breach. He cannot plead misinformation as his ex cuse, his aid-de-camp, Mr. Lalleuiand, hav ing had free intercouife with these prisoners on board the Tigre when he came to treat abost them ; and having been ordered, tho' too late, not to repeat their expreflions of contentment at the profpeft of going home. It was evident to both fides that when a ge neral had recourse to such a {hallow, and at the fame time, to such a mean artifice as a malicious falfhood, all better resources were at an end, and the in bis army was consequently increased to tl)e highefl pitch. The utmost disorder hat been manifefted in the retreat, and the whole track between Acre and Gaza, it strewed with ihe dead bodies of those who h ve funk under fa t gue, or the effed of flight woundt—fuch as could walk, unfortunately for them not having been embarked, ihe rowing gun boats annoyed the van column of the re treating army, in iti march along th* beach, and the Arab* harraffed its rear, when it turned inland to avoid their fire. We ob served the smoke of mufquetry behind the sand hilltfrom the attack of a party of them which came down 10 our boats and touched our flag with every token of union and ref peft. Ifmael Pacha, Governor of Jerusa lem, to whom notice was sent of Buon aparte'a preparation for retreat, having en tered this town by land at the sana? time that we brought our gun* to bear on it by sea, a flop was put to the mafTacrc and pil lage already begun by the Nablufiant The Eogl.fh flag, re-hoiftedon the Conful't house (under which the Pacha met tntj serves as an asylum for all religious and ev* ery description of {he surviving inhabitant*. The heaps of unburied Frenchmen lying on the bodies of those whom they massacred, two months ago, afford another proof of di vine justice, which has caused these murder ers to perish by the infedion ariflng from their own atrocious ads. Seven poor wret ches are left alive in the hospital, where they are proteekca and (hall he taken care of> We have had a most dangrront and < painful duty in disembarking here to pro leit the inhabitants, but it hasbeen effc&ual- 1 ly done, and ifmael Pacha defervet every ' credit for his humane exertions, and cordial co operations to that efie&. Two thousand cavalry are jult dispatched to harrafs the French rear, and lam in hopes to oYertake their van in time to profit Ly their disorder ; but this will depend on the aficmbling of fufficient force, and on exertions of which I am not absolutely matter, though I do my utmoftto give the neteffary inipulfe, and a right direction. I have every confidence that the officers and men of the three (hips under my orders, who, in face of a tnoft formidable enemy, ha«e fortified a towa that had not a single heavy gua mounted on the land fide, and who have carried on all inter course by boats under a conliant Are of , mufquetry and grape, will be able efficaci cully to affilt the army in its future operati ons. This letter will be delivered to your lordship by lieut. Canes, fit ft of the Tigre, , whom 'I have judged worthy to command the Fhefcus as captain, ever since the death ot my much lamented friend and coadjutor, capt. Miller. I hav« taken lieut. England, firft of that (hip, to my affillance in the Tigre, by whose exeniont and. those of lieut. Summers and Mr. Atkiofon, together with the bravery of the reft of the officers . and men that (hip was saved, though on fire ( in five places at once, from a deposit of j French (hells bursting on board her. I have the honor to be, &c. W. SIDNEY SMITH.- Rt. Hon. Lord Nelson, Rear 1 Admiral of the Blue, kc. J [Here follows a lift of the killed and 1 wounded. 1 •" 1 FVSTaF.It OF BVONAPARYK. , T he letter of Sir Sidney Smith, covering j the preceding, was dated 16th June, 1799, j at which time he was off Mount Lebanon. Accounts from Conftantinop e of July 2j, state, " That ?.t Gaza, in a muitny of the ( French troops, Buonaparte narrowly efca- . pc;l aflaflination ; that gen. Kleber at length , restored order ; and the army being muster- ; ed was found to be gnly 2800 strong j The Grand Vizier was in rapid pursuit of j the French, and was expeftcd speedily to , reach Damascus. Still further accounts \ (Conftantinbple, Auft. 10) fay that Abou lrand Rofetta in Fgypt, had been captu- • red by the allied arm:*, which were proeeed -111 g again ft Alexandria.— Some ofthe Turks i wounded in the assault of Aboukir, have ar- 1 rived at Conftantineple. Sir Sidney Smith , commanding the I urks in the assault, in ! which 150 Frenchmen were put to the , (word. Several sacks of French ears, have 1 been transported to the Graud Seignior. FRANKFORT, Sept. i 7. A considerable part cf the French army has re-crossed the Rhine near Manheim. ' 1 ; ' "\ v ,\i . " : .V ' ' '".ffC '.t/.W'--* 4 -. , - - r ' l \\-aU. . Fo Ur th ou f. ald ;ndc r^ £ o ranian(l of . the General ot L>i V i(ior 4 yf \ , va i - , cl' 7 T.r'"- " u " Quet Mailer is aJJV> arrived. h • f ,n that the arwsH- %Ilt before the arrival rf the Austrian,. Thev 700-0 ''»d.icady to meet .the enemy. JTTc Archduke', hc »d quarters are expected to arrive to-day in,t neighbourhood of Heidelberg,f r01 „ W lfl^ DARMSTADT, Sept.' , 9 . Ihe grand plan 9 f the Archduke CharW f tof theatre of war to the'left banks of the Rhine, develop itlelf rapid , A the moment the trench feared thafthe Arch duke would attempt to turn :vf a (r, n , r the Gde of Donauefchingen (f or whlch pole he had sent lome ot hi, troops to Basle) he rapidly broke up ,n tour The firft of* ?h'r C "Y" UPI> ° llte ,! rn- / fe C ° lum " S 15 in the Bergftrafle, forming a fcmi-c.rcle, which f , tends to within three miles of Man\.e lm from thence to Brachial and Durlach ' In neither of these points the French WO «S make a stand. It « generally believed, that the Archduke will cross the Rhine, but it i not known in which quarter. Great quan tities of pontoon* follow his ariny. BRUSSELS, September ig. Letters from the Rhine announce that the Auftrii.isand peafantshave crofted the Kid da at several points, and have obliged the French to reJtr'efs that river. It appears by the dilpofitions of the 10.000 men with the people of the country of Mentz and thereby cauie our Generals to detach a force » the left bank of the Rhine ; and thus he hopes that we Hiall be cbhgtd to&nd a part of the forces defhned f or Holland to the Rhine. On the 15th arrived here the Marquis of Miilqui*, JijriniJi Envoy Extraordinary to* the Court of Berlin ; lie going to iucceed the Chevalier Azara at Paris. AM the troops in our neighboring depart, menu, and on the coasts, are inarching for Batavia. A great number of Dutch officers of the Prince's party, after the canted of HoHaftd by the French, retired into Belgium : thiy have now let off, it is said for Wcftptulia, to join the, Stadthoidcr. Gen. van der Duyn, who resided at Bruf. k-ls. set off with so much precipitation, thtt he did not get his pzflport. VIENNA, September 14. Six tboufand Ruffian?, which are arrived on the frontiers of the Austrian part of Po. land, will march in fix divisions through Upper Hungary. STUTGARD, September 20. An Imperial officer pa (Ted this day through this city, to bring the account of the cap. ture of the fortrefa of Tortona, to the Arcb. duke. The garrison confiding of 1044. men, lrft it on the l lib, agreeable t® .the convention of August 24th. The Auftri. kn* found about 100 cannon in the citadel. The terms of capitulation are as yet «n ---known. The garrison flattered itlelf to be relieved by the armies ot Moreau and Cham, pionct, but the pofitien of the Auftriant m..de this impuffible. According toletteri from Schafheufen, of September 18, nothing had taken place in Switzerlaad. TO THE PUBLIC. TB'i " time being fixed on, when the MILITARY LAND (commonly called Knox's) WARRANTS, granted to the United States' army, are to be regifter td and located,—the fubferibers have-* ei» plortd that tract of land on which thofc war. rants are to be laid; with a view, and for the purpol'e of offering their services as lo- Caters. " ' ■ • We take the liberty'of suggesting, " that weart at least as well acquainted with the fitu'ation, quality of the foil, &c.of the dif ferent townihips in the alorefaid 'traft, as any other person :" this will, perhaps, ap pear more clearly, by observing, that Wil liam Cf. ScuSnk assisted in running the Indian bonndary line; at which time he conOderably travcrfed that traft: he also afiiflsd in l\jrv<:ying and laying it oft into townfliips, and at other times ranged over it, to gain information. But to obtain a more complete and accurate knowledge, we have lately spent between two and three months, with several assistants, in particu larly examining the different townships and quarter towndiips ; by which means we have acquired an accuiate knowledge of the « diftritt.— We now offer our iervicts public, as Locaters, with afft'ranccs th* v-t. will locate every persons warrants int c to us to the be ft advantage, agreea) their rights of location, which is to i termined ac-cording to law. For oui il vioes we demand the one equal tenth either in lands or warrants, when we 1 .at* a full traft, of four thousand acres or 1 for one person or firm ; the land to be t < in a fquart, at a corner of the traft > w corner is to be equitably determined l>c the time of location.—The one equal i , [•art, in cafti or warrants, when we conneft and locate any amount left than four thou sand acres. We will be in Philadelphia from December next, until after tfie time 0 location, to trnnfaft this bufuiefj.. An) ! person v,ifiling to iatisfy himfelt farther, will please to call on us, by letter, (postage paid) or otherwise ; when due atteiU'on wi bt paid, and such vouchers tr/ay be seen »s we have to offer, Which we hepe will be ll tisfaftory. MARTIN BAUM, WILLIAM C. SCHENCK, Philadelphia, Oft. 9, 1799-