zareth and Saffat, in order to watch and oppose the progrefs of the enemy, and cover the fiege of Acre, nor the remainder of that divifion, under Kleber himself, fent for his fupport, were found adequate to that object. General Junot, furrounded and attacked by nearly three thousand cavalry, was forced to fall back upon Caff-cana. Kleber had, on the eleventh of April, reached Sed-jarra, within four miles of Cana, when four thousand Turkifh and Arabian cavalry, fupported by four or five hundred foot, coming down froin the hills, furrounded the French, and were preparing to charge them. Kleber attacked the village of Sed-jarra, and routed the Turkish cavalry, which fled acrofs the Jordan. But by this time, or within a day or two thereafter, the whole Syrian army, having paffed the Jordan, in different divifions, at the bridge of Jacob, and at that of El-mecana, encamped on the plains of Fouli (the ancient Efdrelon), where they formed a junction with the Samaritans, or Naploufians. The united army amounted from fifteen thoufand to eighteen thousand men, and (as was computed by the French generals), together with the armed inhabitants of the country, by whom, as is ufual in Afia, they had been joined in their march, and after their arrival in the plains of Fouli, to above forty thousand. At the fame time, Simon, the commandant of the party of French at Saffat, had been obliged to retire within the fort, where he was attacked by the enemy, who attempted to carry the place, by fcaling it. They were repulfed, with great lofs, but the French ftill held it in a flate of blockade, with very little of either am munition or provifions. Buonaparte, informed of thefe circumftances, by general Kleber, who, at the fame time, intimated his intention of making an attempt to get behind, and furprize the enemy), immediately determined to attack at all points, and come to a decifive engagement with a multitude, by whom he might be attacked and haraffed, at their pleafure. He gave orders to Murat, general of brigade, to leave the encampment before Acre, with a thousand infantry and a regiment of cavalry, by forced marches, to feize poffeflion of Jacob's bridge, to fall on the befiegers of Saffat, in rear, and, having railed the fiege of that place, to join general Kleber. This general, retarded by the difficulty of the roads, and the defiles through which he had to pass, could not reach the Syrian camp till about two hours after funrifing. The enemy, warned of his approach, by their advanced parties, from the heights of mount Hermon, was quickly on horseback, and marched forward, as far as the village of Fouli, which they occupied with the Naploufian infantry, and two fmall pieces of cannon, carried on the backs of camels. Buonaparte, leaving only two divifions to keep the trenches, and carry on the fiege of Acre, with what remained of his cavalry, after detaching general Murat to Jacob's bridge, the divifion of Bon, and eight pieces of artillery, haftened to the relief of Kleber. Having marched from Acre on the fifteenth of April, he reached and took post on the heights of Saffuria, in the evening of that day, and, on the next morning, at day-break, marched towards Fouli, along the Gorges of of the Samaritan mountains. From the laft eminence that he had to pafs, he faw Efdrelon, or Fouli, and mount Tabor: and, at the foot of this mountain, general Kleber in clofe action with the enemy. The general had drawn up his men, in number two thoufand, upon fome ruins, where he had depofited his baggage, and where he maintained a refiftance to twenty thousand cavalry, by whom he was nearly furrounded. Buonaparte formed his troops into three fquare bodies, of which one was cavalry, and made proper difpofitions for turning the enemy, at a great distance, and cutting off their communication with their camp, as well as their retreat; and, with the afliftance of general Murat, deftroying or overthrowing them in the Jordan. The cavalry, with two field-pieces, were fent to take the enemy's camp; the infantry proceeded to turn their army. When it had advanced within the diftance of half a league of Kleber, Buonaparte difpatched, for his fupport, the general Rampon, with a demi-brigade, and general Vial, with another, to cut off their retreat towards the mountains of Naploufia; while he himself ordered his foot-guides to lead him to the proper places, for intercepting their retreat to their magazines at Jenina. The enemy, then, for the first time, began to perceive, that the approaching forces were Frenchmen. Their great mafs of cavalry was thrown into diforder. The difcharge of an eight-pounder announced the arrival of the French to Kleber, who, thus affifted, charged the Turkish cavalry with the bayonet, and attacked and carried the village of Fouli. The enemy, perceiving that they were cut off, both from their magazines and camp, were ftruck with confternation. They threw themselves behind mount Tabor, and, having gained, during the night, the bridge of Gizel-mecana, retreated towards Damafcus, in great diforder, and. with great lofs. In the mean time, general Murat had furprized the fon of the general of Damafcus, at Jacob's bridge, had taken his camp, putting all, who had not fled, to the fword, raifed the fiege of Saffat, and purfued and haraffed the enemy's retreat for feveral leagues. Murat, having left a party to guard the poft of Jacob's bridge, and thrown provifions into the caftle of Saffat, on the feventeenth of April, took poffeffion of the fort, fituated on the lake of Tiberias, where he found a year's ammunition and provifions. The column of cavalry, fent to attack the Syrian camp, under the command of the adjutant-general, le Turcq, had completely furprized it, taken five hundred camels, with tents, ftores, and provifions, killed a great number of inen, and made two hundred and fifty prifoners. Buonaparte gave orders, that all that was found in the villages of Noures, Jenina, and Fouli, fhould be deftroyed by fire and fword. After reproaching his Naploufian prifoners, for having taken up arms against him, without provocation, he reftrained his vengeance, and promiled them his protection, on the condition, of their remaining quietly, in future, in their moun tains. The lofs of the enemy, according to their reports, on their return to Damafcus, exceeded five thoufand men. They could fcarcely conceive, that, at the fame juncture of of time, they had been beaten on a line of nine leagues. With military combinations, on plans of any extent, thofe barbarians are unacquainted: they are to be confidered. indeed, not as warriors but as hordes of robbers. General Kleber, with his divifion, pofted in different ftations, was left to guard the Jordan; Buonaparte, with the divifion under general Bon, and the cavalry usder general Murat, returned to the camp at Acre. New works were pufhed with great vigour, on both fides. Fresh affaults were made by the befiegers and forties by the befieged. The French, on the twenty-eight of April, were encouraged by the arrival of three pieces of battering-artillery, 24pounders, brought to Jaffa by the frigates under the vice admiral Pernée, and fix pieces of eighteen, fent from Damietta; and, on the feventh of May, the Englifli, by the appearance, in the bay of Acre, of a flect of corvettes and tranfports, under the command of Haflan Bey. The approach of this additional ftrength was the fignal to Buonaparte for a moft vigorous and perfevering affault, in hope to get poffeffion of the town, before the reenforcement to the garrifon could difembark. The gun-boats, being within grape diftance of the head of the attacking column, added to the Turkish mufketry, did great execution: ftill, however, the enemy gained ground, made a lodgement on the fecond ftory of the north-caft tower, the upper part being entirely battered down, and the ruins of the ditch forming the afcent by which they mounted. Day-light, on the morning of the cight of May, difcovered the French 9 ftandard on the outer angle of the tower. The fire of the befieged was much flackened, in comparifon with that of the befiegers, and the flanking fire of the former, from the ravelines, was become of lefs effect, that the enemy had covered themfelves in the lodgements beforementioned; and the approach to it, by two traverses, were now seen, compofed of fand-bags and the bodies of the dead built in with them, their bayonets only being visible above them. Hafan Bay's troops were in the boats, but as yet only half way on the fore. This was a most critical point of the conteft; and an effort was neceffary to preferve the place, for a fhort time, till their arrival. Sir Sidney, therefore, landed the boats at the Mole, and took the crews, armed with pikes, up The enthufiaftic to the breach. Many gratitude of the Turks, men, women, and children, at the fight of fuch a reinforcement, at fuch a time, was not to be defcribed. troops returned, with the very opportune reinforcement, to the breach, which was defended by a few brave Turks, whofe most deftructive miffile weapons were heavy tones: thefe, ftriking the af failants on the head, overthrew the foremost down the flope and impeded the progrefs of the reft. A fucceffion, however, afcended to the afault, the heap of ruins between the two parties ferving as a breaftThe muzzles of work for both. their mufkets touched one another and the fpear-head of the ftandards Ghezzar, were locked together. hearing that the English were on the breach, quitted his ftation, where, according to the ancient Turkith cuftom, he was fitting to, reward fuch as fhould bring him the heads heads of the enemy, and diftributing mutket-cartridges with his own hand. The energetic old man, coming behind, forcibly pulled them down, faying, if any harm happened to his English friends all was loft. This amicable conteft, as to who fhould defend the breach, occafioned a ruth of Turks to the fpot, and thus time was gained for the arrival of the first body of Haflin's troops. It became neceffary to combat the baflaw's repugnance to the admiffion of any troops, but his Albanians, into the garden of his feraglio, become a very important poft, as occupying the terre-plein of the rampart. There were not above two hundred of the original thoufand Albanians left alive. This was no time for debate: his objections were over-ruled. A regiment, called the Chifflick, was introduced, confifting of 100 men, armed with bayonets, and difciplined after the European method, under fultan Selim's own eye, and placed, by his orders, under fir Sidney's immediate command. The garrifon, animated by the appearance of fuch a reinforcement, was now all on foot, and there being, confequently, enough to defend the breach, fir Sidney propofed to the bathaw to get rid of the objects of his jealoufy, by opening his gates to let them make a fally, and then to take the affailants in flank; a requeft with which he readily complied. Orders were given to the colonel to get poffeffion of the enemy's third parallel, or nearest trench. The gates were opened; the Turks rufhed out, but were driven back to the town with lofs. The fortie, however, had this good effect, that it obliged the enemy to expofe themselves above their parapets; fo that the flanking fire of the befieged brought down numbers of them, and drew their force from the breach: the fmall number, therefore, remaining in the lodgement, were killed or difperfed. The groupe of generals and aidsde-camp, which fhells, from fixtyeight pounders, had frequently dif perfed, was now affembled on a mount, called Richard Cœur de Lion. Buonaparte was diftinguished in the centre of a femi-circle: his gefticulations indicated an intention to renew the attack, and his difpatching an aid-de-camp to the camp fhewed, that he waited only for a reinforcement. A little before funtet, a maffive column appeared advancing to the breach, with a folemn ftep. The bafliaw's idea was, not to defend the breach this time, but rather to let a certain “ number of the enemy in, and then clofe with them, according to the Turkish mode of warfare. French column thus mounted the breach unmolefted, and defcended from the rampart into the bafhaw's garden, where, in a very few minutes, the braveft and most advanced among them lay headlefs corpfes; the fabre, with the addition of a dagger in the other hand, proving more than a match for the bayonet. The reft retreated precipitately; and the officer commanding the column, who, as afterwards appeared, was general Lanne, while he was manfully encouraging his men to mount the breach, was feverely wounded. General Rambaud was killed. The During this conteft, immense multitudes of fpectators, on the furrounding hills, waited only, according to the manner of Afia, to fee how it would end, to join the victors. [D] Sir Sir Sidney Smith, conceiving the ideas of the Syrians, as to the fuppofed irreftability of the French, must be changed, fince they had witnefled the checks which the befieging army daily met with, in their operations before the town of Acre, wrote a circular letter to the princes and chiefs of the Chriftians of mount Lebanon, recalling them to a fenfe of their duty, and engaging them to cut off the fupphies from the French camp. He fent them, at the fame time, a copy of Buonaparte's impious proclamation, in which he boafts of having overthrown all Chriftian eftabliments, accompanied with a fuitable exhortation, calling upon them to choose between the friendship of a Chriftian knight, and that of an unprincipled renagado. This letter had all the effect that he could defire. They immediately fent him two amballadors, profeffing not only friendthip but obedience; affiring him that, in proof of the latter, they had fent out parties to arreft fuch of the mountaineers as fhould be found carrying wine and gunpowder to the French camp; and putting eighty prifoners of this defcription into his hands, and to be at his difpofal. Buonaparte's career farther northward was thus effectually flopped by a warlike people, inhabiting an impenetrable country. The Turkish Chiflick regiment made a fresh tally, the next night, the ninth of May, the lieutenantcolonel, Soliman Aga, being determined to retrieve the honour of the regiment by the punctual execution of the orders he had received, to make himself mafier of the enemy's third parallel, which he did moft effectually but the impetuofity of 3 a few carried them on to the fecond trench, where they loft fome of their ftandards; though they fpiked four guns before their retreat. Kleber's divifion, inftead of mounting the breach, according to Buonaparte's intention, was thus obligeď to wafte its time and firength in recovering their trenches; in which, after a conflict of fome hours, it fucceeded. A flag of truce was now fent into the town, by the hand of an Arabian dervife, with a letter to the bafhaw, propofing a ceffation of arms, for the purpofe of burying the dead bodies, the ftench from which had become intolerable, and threatened the existence of every one of the armies on both fides; many having died delirious within a few hours after being feized with the first fymptoms of infection. While the anfwer was under confideration, a volley of flot and fhells on a fudden announced an affault, which, however, the garrifon was ready to receive, and the affailants only contributed to increate the number of the dead bodies in queftion, "to the eternal difgrace of the general" fays fir Sydney Smith, "who thus difloyally facrificed them." Sir Sydney faved the life of the Arabian dervife, who had come with the flag of truce, from the effects of the indignation of the Turks, and took him off with himfelf to the Tigre, from whence he fent him back to the general with a meffage, which made the army afhamed of having been expofed to fuch merited reproof. It must have been extremely painful to fir Sydney, whofe humanity was equal to his extraordinary intrepity and bravery, and who had exerted himfelf, with fuccefs, |