Alexandria Daily Advertiser

BERLIN, Nov. 3.

The Prince of Hohenlohe to the king of Prussia.

"SIRE,

I HAVE not had the good fortune to conduct the army entrusted to me over the Oder, and to screen them from the further pursuit of the enemy. After I had reached the neighborhood of Boitzenburg by forced marches, on the 27th of October, and had the intention of passing those defiles, in order to reach Prentzlow on the same evening, I found them already in the enemy's possession. I forced them, but did not think it prudent to continue my march in a direct line, because the whole of my cavalry, being without forage for several days, was quite exhausted; and by break of day I had reason to expect the cavalry would be engaged, and that the issue would be unfavorable. I therefore immediately turned to the left, and in the course of the night reached the vicinity of Schoenermark. I had already given orders for pushing strong patrols towards the enemy; about two in the morning these returned, and brought me no information of the enemy's being at hand. At length I pushed a patrol as far as Prentzlow, which brought intelligence that they had seen nothing of the enemy, and that the French patrols had not shown themselves at Prentzlow. I then continued my march for Prentzlow, there I hoped to find bread and forage, of which every one stood in need. I had no sooner reached the heights of Prentzlow than the enemy showed himself upon my right flank. An engagement immediately ensued; the enemy's superior numbers & artillery compelled me to retreat through Prentzlow. The hope of finding bread & forage here was now, extinguished by the enemy's advance. Several of his battalions showed themselves on my right, and being much superior in artillery and cavalry, he was upon the point of renewing the attack upon my front. Many of my battalions were without ammunition; the whole of my riding artillery was lost; and for the cannon that was left, according to the report of colonel Huser, there was not ammunition for more than five discharges. I was still seven miles distant from Stettin; and the very last hope of obtaining any thing upon the march had vanished. From my support which still remained near Lychen, and from general Blucher's corps I was already cut off, without cavalry fit for action, without ammunition, and above all without provisions; and convinced that I should only risk the lives of the few that remained as an unavailing sacrifice in your majesty's service, I submitted to my hard fate, and entered into a capitulation with the enemy, the conditions of which your majesty will see in the supplement to this dispatch. I can safely lay my whole conduct during the campaign before your majesty and posterity, and await the result with an unshaken confidence. I believe I can prove that I have been the unhappy sacrifice to the circumstance of not having had my earliest proposals acted upon. The misfortune alone, and not the shame, affects me. The superiority of the enemy's cavalry had, for some days past, nearly ruined the whole detachment under general Schimmelpenninck. It was upon the existence of this corps, which had destroyed all the bridges over the Kuhnow, the Havel and the Fr. now canal, that I rested the practicability of my retreat. In the supplements, your majesty will perceive the extent of the losses sustained by the above mentioned detachments; I have conducted an army without bread, forage or ammunition, while the enemy moved in the same direction. The impossibility of obtaining my object is neither imputable to my want of zeal, good will, or to the inadequacy of my orders The greatness of my misfortunes may be regretted, but I cannot be deprived of the truncheon of honor.

I am preparing to lay at the feet of your majesty a circumstantial detail of all the events which have occurred since the 14th inst.

F. L. Prince Of Hohenlohe.

Prentzlow, Oct. 29, 1806."