those of the enemy on that side were silenced, and the Medusa’s were put in readiness to open on the following morning. During the night, however, intelligence was received of the approach of a body of French troops, which afterwards proved to he a division of between 2000 and 3000 men, that had just arrived at St. Sebastian’s from France, and was immediately sent forward by forced marches to Guetaria.
“The uncertainty with respect to the enemy’s force, and the disposition of the guerillas to oppose their advance, prevented the re-embarkation of the guns and men landed from the squadron, until the retreat of the Spaniards, after skirmishing with the superior numbers of the French, in which the latter are stated to have suffered severely. Captain Bouverie then destroyed the 2 guns from the Medusa, and re-embarked with all his men, and every thing belonging to the guns. Captain Malcolm was detained longer, by a message brought to him by one of Don Caspar’s akle-de-camps, stating that the enemy had been beaten back, and urging him to remain in his battery. Finding, however, that the enemy was advancing fast, he gave orders to re-embark, and brought off his party, with the exception of 3 Midshipmen and 29 men, who were taken prisoners, but fortunately without having a man killed or wounded. The Spaniards lost a Captain of artillery, and had a serjeant and 10 men badly wounded. The detachment expected from General Mina’s army arrived the morning after the action, and joined Don Gaspar, having marched eighteen Spanish leagues in two days.”
Subsequent to the affair of Guetaria, Sir George Collier served on shore with a detachment of seamen and marines landed to co-operate with a guerilla regiment in an attack upon the castle of St. Ano, and received a wound when pursuing the French garrison from thence towards Santander[1]. In the following year he was appointed Commodore of the squadron employed in that quarter, where he contributed iii no small degree to the success of Lord Wellington’s army, then approaching the French frontier.
By a letter addressed to Lord Keith, June 25, 1813, we are informed that the whole line of coast, from Guetaria to Santona, had already been evacuated by the enemy; and on the 1st of the following month Sir George Collier reports the retreat of the French from Guetaria in the following terms:
