XV
THE BRITISH AND PORTUGUESE ARTILLERY
IN THE CAMPAIGN OF 1810
To match the list of the Artillery units in Wellington’s army which the late Colonel F. A. Whinyates was so good as to compile for me for the year 1809, and which forms Appendix XI of my second volume, I have compiled, with the invaluable aid of Major John H. Leslie, R.A., who is responsible for all the British section, the following appendix to cover the year 1810.
Royal Horse Artillery.
Two troops served in the Bussaco campaign, viz.:—
- A Troop, Captain H. D. Ross, which had arrived in Portugal in July 1809. [Present-designation, ‘A Battery,’ R.H.A.]
- I Troop, Captain R. Bull, which had arrived in August 1809. [Present designation, ‘I Battery,’ R.H.A.]
There was also present in Lisbon the skeleton of D Troop, Captain G. Lefebvre. [Present designation, ‘V Battery,’ R.H.A.] But this unit had suffered from perils of the sea: a transport carrying part of its officers and men had been driven ashore on Ireland; and the portion which arrived in March 1810, being incomplete and almost horseless, was not sent to the front. It lent some men to the other two R.H.A. batteries: the rest were employed in the Lisbon Forts.
Royal Foot Artillery[666].
Two batteries served in the Bussaco campaign, viz.:—
- 6th Company, 7th battalion, Captain G. Thompson, which had arrived in March 1809. [Present designation, 18th Battery, R.F.A.]
- 7th Company, 8th battalion, Captain R. Lawson, which had arrived in September 1808. [Present designation, 87th Battery, R.F.A.]
There were also present in the Peninsula, but not in the Bussaco campaign:—
- 1st Company, 4th battalion, Captain J. Hawker [now 72nd Company, R.G.A.].
- 10th Company, 8th battalion, Captain P. Meadows [an extinct unit].
Both of which arrived at Lisbon in October 1810, and waited in the Torres Vedras Lines for the retiring army, having come too late for the field operations. Also
- 1st Company, 8th battalion, Bt.-Major A. Bredin [now 27th Battery, R.F.A.].
- 2nd Company, 1st battalion, 2nd Captain H. Baynes [now 2nd Battery, R.F.A.].
- 10th Company, 5th battalion, Captain F. Glubb [now 48th Company, R.G.A.].
All of which had arrived in 1808-9. But Baynes’s battery had not taken the field since Talavera, and Bredin’s and Glubb’s [both incomplete] had not gone to the front in 1809 or in 1810. They had all lain within the Lines since the winter of 1809-10.
In addition there were five batteries with Graham’s force at Cadiz.
- 8th Company, 5th battalion, Captain H. Owen [now 60th Company, R.G.A.].
- 6th Company, 9th battalion, Captain P. J. Hughes [an extinct unit].
- 6th Company, 10th battalion, Captain W. Roberts [now 63rd Company, R.G.A.].
- 4th Company, 10th battalion, Captain R. H. Birch[667] [now 21st Company, R.G.A.].
- 5th Company, 10th battalion, Captain W. H. Shenley [now 11th Company, R.G.A.].
King’s German Legion Artillery.
- 2nd Company, Captain C. von Rettberg [arrived August 1808].
- 4th Company, Captain A. Cleeves [arrived August 1808].
Both present at Bussaco. In the 1809 campaign they had been commanded respectively by Captains A. Tieling and H. L. Heise.
Portuguese Artillery.
The Portuguese Artillery force consisted of four regiments of about 1,200 men each, from which batteries were formed from time to time for field service, or garrison service indifferently.
In the Bussaco campaign there took part the following units, which were present at the battle:—
- 1st Regiment, two batteries under Major Alex. Dickson, both of 6-pounders, viz. those of Captain Pedro de Rozierres and Captain João da Cunha Preto.
- 2nd Regiment, two batteries under Major V. von Arentschildt, viz. those of Captain João Porfirio da Silva and Captain Jacinto P. M. Freire, both of 3-pounders.
- 4th Regiment, one battery commanded by Captain Antonio de Sousa Passos (6-pounders).
There were also at the front, but not engaged at Bussaco, two more batteries, which were with Lecor’s division behind the Alva, on the Ponte Murcella position—viz. one of 9-pounders, captainless till Oct. 1, when it came under the command of Captain Wilhelm Braun, and one of 3-pounders. The former joined Dickson’s division on Sept. 28; the latter joined Arentschildt’s division.
Two more field batteries joined the army at the Lines after its retreat: that of Captain Francisco Cypriano Pinto (6-pounders) was allotted to Dickson’s division; the other (no captain, 9-pounders) joined Arentschildt’s command.
The rest of the Artillery at Lisbon was utilized as garrison-artillery for the Lines, receiving into its ranks an immense proportion of half-trained volunteers from the Militia and Ordenança, so that the whole can hardly be considered as forming part of the regular army. I have reckoned it into the militia force in the preceding table. The districts served by this artillery, the commanders of the districts, and the number of effective men in each were on Nov. 15, 1810:—
| Regulars. | Militia- volunteers. | Total. | |
| Alhandra Forts—Major João C. Pinto | 258 | 182 | 440 |
| Bucellas Forts—Colonel Romão de Arriada | 218 | 847 | 1,065 |
| Monte Agraça Forts—Major J. J. da Cruz | 150 | 300 | 450 |
| Torres Vedras Forts—Captain F. J. V. Barreiros | 150 | 248 | 398 |
| Mafra Forts—Major Caetano P. Xavier | 233 | 305 | 538 |
| 1,009 | 1,882 | 2,891 |
Adding these to the 701 men of the nine field batteries we get 3,592 in all, of whom 1,710 were regulars.
The officer in command of the whole Portuguese artillery was Marechal de Campo J. A. da Roza. Colonel Romão de Arriada commanded the 1st Regiment.
The 4th Regiment of the Portuguese artillery, that of the Oporto district, furnished only one battery (that of Captain Passos) to the army of Wellington, the rest of it being either serving with Silveira’s army in the north, or with Trant, or doing garrison duty at Oporto. This regiment had also contributed to the lost garrison of Almeida.
The 3rd Regiment supplied no men to the field army or the garrison of the Torres Vedras Lines, being absorbed in garrisoning Abrantes, Elvas, Campo Mayor, and the other places on the frontier south of the Tagus.