after much hesitating and negotiation, had been at last impelled, by the violation of her territory, to draw out her troops against France ; when the news of the battle of Austerlitz and of the armistice, again terrified her into feeble councils. The result of these was, that her minister Haugwitz, signed a treaty at Pa ris, by which Prussia became the ally of France ; the guarantee of her conquests in Germany, and her asso ciate in the spoils of the vanquished coalition. This infamous affair was speedily made known to Europe. It. was declared in a proclamation, that his Prussian ma jesty had formally annexed to his dominions the Electo rate of Hanover, belonging to the Emperor Napoleon by right of conquest, and transferred to Prussia in return for three of her provinces. The ports of the German ocean were also declared to be shut against British trade and shipping. The conduct of Prussia in thus humbling her self to a vassalage of hostility, left Britain no choice but retaliation against her commerce and navigation, and her flag, for a time, disappeared from the Baltic.
The peace of Presburg, which the Emperors oil:ranee and Germany signed alter the battle of Austerlitz, and the treaty concluded with Prussia, left Bonaparte at li berty to take vengeance on the court of Naples. He accordingly issued a proclamation, from his head quar ters at Vienna, declaring that the Neapolitan dynasty had ceased to reign. Fourteen thousand Russians and ten thousand English had landed in that kingdom, with a view to produce a diversion in favour of the Austrians in Lombardy ; and the king of the two Sicilies had evinc ed a determination to support their operations. But the catastrophe of the allies in Germany, proved too late the futility of the enterprize. Scarcely had the dreadful threat of Bonaparte reached his Sicilian majesty, when a courier arrived from the Emperor Alexander, recall ing the Russians to Corfu. The retreat of the English followed as a necessary consequence. Sir James Craig, their commander, wisely determined to retreat to Sicily, without waiting for the arrival of the enemy ; and the king and queen of Naples, thus abandoned to their fate, sought refuge, as before, at Palermo. After the evacu ation of Naples, Sir James Craig established his head quarters at Messina, as the station best adapted for pro tecting Sicily from invasion ; while Sir Sidney Smith, with a squadron of five ships of the line, and a force of frigates and gun-boats, protected it by sea; insulted the territory of the new sovereign of Naples, (Joseph Bo naparte,) and took possession of the island of Capri. In April 1806, the command of the troops in Sicily devolv ed on General Stuart, who, for his services, was reward ed with the red ribband, from the bad health of Sir James Craig, who returned to England. It was of the
utmost consequence that Sicily should be preserved from the power of France ; and it was, therefore, with difficulty that General Stuart agreed to diminish his small force, by co-operating with the schemes of the court of Palermo, for exciting insurrections on the coast of Calabria ; but prompted, at last, by acenunts of the favourable disposition of the Calabrians, and hoping to destroy the resources of the enemy for invading Sicily, he consented to land a part of his army on the continent, and make trial of the loyalty of the people to their for mer sovereign.
Four thousand eight hundred effective men were landed on the morning of the 1st of July, in the Gulf of St Euphemia, near the northern frontiers of lower Calabria. inhabitants British commander's proclamation, in viting the nhabitants to his standard, attracted so few, that he was hesitating whether to reimbark his troops, when he learned that General Regnier, with a French army nearly equal to his own, was encamped at Maida, about 10 miles distant. Understanding also that the enemy expected reinforcements, he determined to an ticipate their arrival, and advanced, next morning, to attack Regnier. The two armies were separated by a plain, from four to six miles in breadth, extending from sea to sea, and bounded on the north and south by chains of mountains. Regnier occupied a strong position, which he abandoned in the confidence of superior num bers, and in contempt of the British troops, and ad vanced with seven thousand men to charge them Ott the plain. The British, only four thousand eight hun dred strong, were surprized, but not dismayed at the numbers of their antagonists, and advanced with alacrity. Regnier had taught his men to believe, that they would fly on the first charge—a presumption which was quickly changed into astonishment, when they saw the ranks of our countrymen advancing rapidly to meet their charge. The action began on the right of the British, and after some firing, both sides prepared for the bayonet.
As the French came on, their line grew uneven, one part of it halting at some distance, another venturing nearly to cross bayonets with our men ; but, on the point of contact, they turned and fled. They were over taken with immense slaughter, and their left wing totally routed. On the right, the enemy made an effort to retrieve the day ; but were also repulsed by the steadiness of the English left, and their cavalry being thrown into disorder, in an attempt to turn the English flank, by a fire from the 20th regiment, which landed during the action, and came up at this critical junc ture, they abandoned the field with precipitation, leav ing in prisoners, wounded and killed, not less than 4000 men.