grenadiers advance, they suddenly dispersed. General Bligh
continuing his route through the village, encamped in the open
ground, about three miles from the bay of St. Cas, which was this
day reconnoitred for re-embarkation; for he now received undoubted
intelligence, that the duke d'Aiguillon had advanced from Brest to
Lambale, within six miles of the English camp, at the head of twelve
regular battalions, six squadrons, two regiments of militia, eight
mortars, and ten pieces of cannon. The bay of St. Cas was covered by
an intrenchment which the enemy had thrown up, to prevent or oppose any
disembarkation; and on the outside of this work there was a range of
sand hills extending along shore, which could have served as a cover
to the enemy, from whence they might have annoyed the troops in
re-embarking; for this reason a proposal was made to the general, that
the forces should be re-embarked from a fair open beach on the left,
between St. Cas and Guildo; but this advice was rejected, and, indeed,
the subsequent operations of the army savoured strongly of blind
security and rash presumption. Had the troops decamped in the night
without noise, in all probability they would have arrived at the beach
before the French had received the least intelligence of their motion;
and in that case, the whole army, consisting of about six thousand men,
might have been re-embarked without the least interruption; but instead
of this cautious manner of proceeding, the drums were beaten at two
o'clock in the morning, as if with intention to give notice to the
enemy, who forthwith repeated the same signal. The troops were in motion
before three, and though the length of the march did not exceed three
miles, the halts and interruptions were so numerous and frequent,
that they did not arrive on the beach of St. Cas till nine. Then the
embarkation was begun, and might have been happily finished, had the
transports lain near the shore and received the men as fast as the boats
could have conveyed them on board, without distinction; but many ships
rode at a considerable distance, and every boat carried the men on
board the respective transports to which they belonged; a punctilio of
disposition by which a great deal of time was unnecessarily consumed.
The small ships and bomb-ketches were brought near the shore, to
cover the embarkation; and a considerable number of sea-officers were
stationed on the beach, to superintend the boats' crews, and reg